Neoris’s body crumbled and dispersed.
It was a strange stealth technique, as if blending in with shadows. Under my permission, Neoris took her leave.
After all, I had heard most of the information I needed.
Of course, I hadn’t heard about “the Eye of the Dragon.” However, that information could be obtained along with additional investigation results concerning the “cave.”
The crucial piece of information was when the incident would actually occur.
If it was referred to as the “Homecoming Festival,” there was now less than a week left until the event. In other words, it also meant there was little time remaining.
Now that the timeline had been specified, it was time to start preparing.
The procession of the Homecoming Festival would form a large-scale parade. It would be reasonable to assume that the Dark Cult would deploy a force of that magnitude in opposition.
The larger the scale of the two opposing forces, the more casualties were inevitable.
At this point in time, it was impossible to cancel the Homecoming Festival or preemptively thwart an attack. Therefore, there was only one answer.
To minimize the damage, reinforcements were needed as much as possible to bolster the entirety of the parade and its escort.
The problem was that I lacked the authority to do so, nor did I have a rational basis for the Academy to accept my proposal.
It was troublesome.
A soft groan escaped my lips involuntarily.
After all, I didn’t always have the answers, but it was frustrating whenever I faced situations I might have to endure with my eyes wide open.
Nonetheless, I decided to set such concerns aside in a corner of my mind.
It wasn’t even a problem worth contemplating, and I still had another pressing task left.
Just then, my eyes, which had maintained silence for a while, glanced to the side.
There stood two women.
A girl with hair as dark as the night sky and light gray eyes, the 5th Imperial Princess, Sien.
And a lady knight, seemingly the princess’s escort. She was also a beauty, with striking blue hair.
Upon meeting my gaze, the two had different reactions.
Sien stiffened, her body tensing up, and then glared at me with a chilling, cold look.
On the other hand, the lady knight couldn’t meet my eyes, merely biting her lips. Perhaps the memory of being defeated by “me” from the future lingered unpleasantly.
After all, for one of the Imperial Court’s royal knights to be subdued by an academy student, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she fell to ridicule.
She appeared to have a significantly diminished sense of self-worth. I wanted to offer some words of comfort, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so.
I believed I was a distinct entity from “me” in the future, but it was clear that she would not see it that way.
Thus, the only thing that came out of my mouth was a curt question.
“…What’s the matter?”
Sien listened to my voice and scrutinized my face.
Then, as if slightly startled, her eyes widened for a moment before she countered with a cool tone.
“Are you really so indifferent after putting a frail woman’s shoulder in a pinch?”
I found that amusing and snorted a laugh.
The Imperial Intelligence Department was practically a mass of classified information. Stealth and infiltration missions were daily tasks for them.
Undergoing torture or training to build resilience against potential torture was obligatory.
Of course, recalling the previous attack on the News Department made me a bit anxious. Weren’t all the members screaming in unison with each joint crushing?
It was not a sight befitting a normal intelligence agent.
However, if it was merely tearing skin, even trainees would have some level of resilience.
If Neoris’s scream had genuinely been one of terror rather than a smoke screen, it would mean that the Imperial Intelligence Department had not completed any resilience training against torture.
An intelligence agent from the Empire screams when pricked by a thorn while sneaking in?
That was absurd. As I thought about it, a chilling sense of discomfort surfaced, momentarily wiping the smile from my face.
Torture and screams.
There was an unshakeable feeling, like a rock splitting the flow of thought in my brain.
Yet, I couldn’t afford to be lost in such thoughts, for the princess’s gaze upon me was too cold.
I opened my mouth as if it were nothing.
“There are royalty that bully the second son of a country baron, so what’s the big deal?”
“You insulted me first…!”
Her shaky voice testified to the princess’s fury.
Indeed, as the flower hidden by the royal family, she looked beautiful even in anger, but it elicited little feeling from me.
It was because there had been so many beauties around me lately.
From Celin to Seria, the Virgin Saint, Senior Elsi, Senior Delphine, and Emma.
All of them were women boasting rare beauty.
That said, the princess’s beauty wasn’t diminished, but my heart had already been hardened, having been trained to withstand such moments.
The princess, still unresponsive, frowned even more at my response. She asked me.
“…Whose backing do you have? A prince or a princess? Who is supporting you to be so confident?”
“Neither… It was all my doing.”
My answer contained not a shred of falsehood, causing her eyes to fill with deep suspicion.
It was natural since no prince or princess was backing me.
If anything, one could argue that I received the Blood of the Dragon transmission; in that case, the Emperor could be considered my backing. But that was also something connected to “me” from the future, making it a fact I couldn’t reveal to the princess at this moment.
I gradually began to move my feet.
It was about time to go back. I had no particular matters with the princess or her escort.
There were far too many tasks that needed immediate attention.
If I wanted to reduce the bloodshed that would occur during the Homecoming Festival, I needed to act from this moment.
However, it felt slightly wrong to leave without saying anything, so I paused as I passed the princess.
“…It would be best if you were cautious from now on.”
My whispered words sounded like an unexpected provocation.
I could even say I wished it would be taken that way. The more cautious the princess became, the higher the possibility of her escort becoming denser.
For now, the princess was the highest priority for protection.
“Me” from the future had indeed doused the princess with holy water. While my future personality was dirty, I was not the type to provoke someone without reason.
In other words, it meant there was a reason to do so.
I decided to respect his judgment. That was why I had provoked the princess one more time.
The effect was remarkable.
“What are you…?”
Her voice trembled, breaking off.
It was a strangely excited expression.
A faint luster began to shimmer in the 5th Imperial Princess’s gray eyes. It was a change difficult to notice, but upon closer inspection, it was apparent.
Her pupils were elongating vertically.
“What are you… worrying about me so sincerely? I’m the princess of the Imperial Court! I’m not someone who should be pitied by the second son of a country baron!”
Her burning gaze seemed ready to kill me. If emotions had physical weight, my face would already be scratched.
“…Do I look that weak to you?”
Her question, blurted out while trembling, bore deep emotion, indicating I had struck at her vulnerable spot.
Thus, she curled up and sharpened her thorns.
The more she did so, the more she appeared fragile, perhaps without realizing it.
The princess couldn’t control her escalating emotions.
Initially mere subtle tremors, her agitation gradually intensified until it ultimately calmed.
Her cold gaze was fixed on me.
It was as if all emotion had been stripped away from those eyes. It felt like she was looking far away, with nothing rising to her retina.
The princess merely wore a lifeless smile.
“Now that you’ve hit me, this Academy must feel like your world, huh? You’re mistaken… the real world lies outside.”
With a step, she approached me as if to close the distance.
A sweet fragrance tickled my nose. With an alluring yet poisonous gaze, the princess looked up at me.
It was attractive yet deadly.
“Your younger sister is beautiful. It seems her future is bright?”
Her whispers dripped with mockery.
With a vague smile, the princess continued to flick her tongue.
“Not just your sister. Everyone connected to you… just wait and see what happens to them outside the Academy. I’ll make them pay the price for daring to underestimate me… but well, it may not be bad for your sister, huh?”
A giggle escaped the girl’s lips.
“If her face is just decent, she won’t have to worry about a living. If she’s even from a noble family, she’ll be welcomed in the brothels…”
I let out a long sigh.
“…Your Highness.”
To my emotionally detached voice, the one caught off guard was, in fact, the princess.
She scrunched her face slightly, looking perplexed.
I stared at the princess for a while in silence.
It was a look that was hard to describe—whether a pity or sadness.
As I was about to say something while flicking my lips, I eventually gave up on the conversation.
At that moment, her eyes were filled with a fiercer enmity.
My hand moved towards my waist, and the lady knight standing beside the princess narrowed her eyes.
And the ray of light descended.
Toward the princess’s shoulder, the blade.
Sien’s gaze turned blank.
