As soon as I regained my senses, the first visitor I faced was Neoris, my senior.
Of course, if we were to follow the order, it would have been the Lady Virgin Saint that I encountered first. However, since she was originally part of the temple’s permanent staff, it felt somewhat ambiguous to call her a ‘guest.’
Therefore, the first visitor to seek me out was Neoris.
However, Neoris did not seem particularly pleased about holding this honor.
In fact, she appeared to be feeling fear.
It was because I had requested that the news of my awakening be kept confidential, both to the Lady Virgin Saint and to Neoris.
Neoris seemed completely unable to guess the reason.
Of course, the reason was nothing particularly significant.
So, to reassure her, I had to ask with a faint smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, um… that…”
Neoris hesitated slightly even at my question.
After a while of fumbling, she finally seemed to muster her determination and asked, with her eyes tightly shut.
“Um, um… why are you throwing and catching the hand axe…?”
Upon hearing those words, my eyes turned to the hand axe thrown into the void.
After rising in a straight line, the hand axe quickly descended back into my hand. I was in the process of regaining the sensation in my hand by repeatedly tossing and catching it in the sky.
That much was possible even if I propped myself up with only my upper body in bed.
It seemed that Neoris found that aspect somewhat perplexing.
So, I answered as if it were no big deal.
“Well, I have to use it soon.”
Neoris’s complexion began to pale.
As the look of fear in her eyes deepened, she hurriedly bowed her head, trembling.
A faint voice slipped through her lips.
“I-I apologize. If there was anything wrong, please feel free to say…”
“What do you mean?”
I spoke as if incredulous, but Neoris was still just glancing cautiously at me. A tongue-click sound escaped my mouth in disbelief.
Seeing Neoris so frightened, it seemed I could afford to delay regaining my senses a bit longer.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret. This was why there had been a loud noise when my hand placed the axe on the table.
Neoris made a small whimper, looking as if she were about to cry.
Hoping she had calmed down a bit, I explained the circumstances of why I had called her.
“Your Highness, the Imperial Princess, what happened?”
“Ah, um, that is…”
It was a simple question, but it took a little time for the startled Neoris to calm down.
As she hesitantly continued, her explanation was not much different from what I had heard from the Lady Virgin Saint.
“So, to summarize, you felt sorry for what you did to me and blamed everything on yourself?”
“Yes, yes, that’s correct.”
“And the Imperial Princess believes it’s her fault?”
“Yes, probably…”
My hand instinctively went to my forehead.
I sighed deeply, shaking my head.
“…This is a mess.”
In reality, the Imperial Princess’s transgression wasn’t that severe.
Although it was a somewhat problematic action to involve those around me, I could understand why a lower noble would meddle with a member of the imperial family.
Above all, she hadn’t caused irreversible harm to Reto or Celin.
The Imperial Princess had just recently turned eighteen.
She had experienced many wounds in her childhood and had a deep mistrust of humans. It must have been difficult for her to form normal human relationships. The chances of making a wrong judgment would only increase in such circumstances.
If we couldn’t understand that immaturity, then there were too many people in the world who’d stumble before they even grew up.
However, it was clear that the Imperial Princess had wronged me.
Perhaps concerned about that, Neoris cautiously asked while glancing at me.
“Um, what about your sister’s company…?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I said, shaking the letter envelope I had received that morning.
It was a letter from my sister. Neoris, who couldn’t have guessed its contents, could only look at me with a puzzled expression.
A bitter smile formed on my lips as I was about to explain the situation absentmindedly.
It wasn’t something I needed to discuss right now. Still, I emphasized once more.
“My sister… you don’t need to worry about her. More importantly, Neoris, about that anesthetic poison you mentioned before…”
The sudden recall of past memories caused Neoris to stiffen again.
She broke into a cold sweat, her body tensing as she reluctantly avoided my gaze.
It seemed the nightmare of that day was coming back to her.
After all, a branch of the Imperial Intelligence Department had been smashed by just one academy student, so it was understandable.
Neoris opened her mouth again, fumbling.
“Y-yes. How could I so foolishly… use such a poison…”
“Is it applied to a poisoned needle?”
Neoris’s words hung in the air.
As if unable to comprehend my intent, she cautiously watched my expression. However, no matter how much she looked, she couldn’t read my mind.
After all, it was a question asked out of genuine curiosity.
Neoris continued, still maintaining an air of wariness.
“Of course… it isn’t. It’s a rare venom collected from a creature called ‘Rock-Catching Spider’ that lives in the Great Forest. Once it’s injected into the body, the effect is immediate. It causes paralysis, and the primary poisonous effect seems to be the coagulation of internal magical power…”
Her explanation, which started with a faint voice, soon excitedly turned into a flood of information from Neoris, who loved poisons.
It was fortunate that she was so passionate about it.
However, I didn’t have the luxury of time, so I had to get straight to the point.
“Just give me one.”
At that, Neoris looked like she was about to cry.
“Th-that’s extremely rare, so even within the Intelligence Department, only a limited number of people have a small quantity…”
“Just one, please.”
In the end, Neoris, with trembling hands, had to pull out a small vial from her possession.
There were even faint tears glistening in her eyes.
Seeing how precious the poison seemed to her made me feel a twinge of guilt, but there was no helping it.
Everything was for the sake of the Imperial Court.
Right after I sent Neoris away, I also seized the opportunity of the empty moment to leave the temple.
Of course, I hadn’t received permission from the Lady Virgin Saint.
I figured I would have to listen to quite a bit of scolding later.
My journey to find the Imperial Princess didn’t take long before it came to an end.
As I approached the source of the murmuring sounds, I found a large crowd gathered. At the center stood the Imperial Princess, collapsed and crying.
The sight of her repeatedly hitting her chest and gagging did not seem normal at all.
She even swatted away anyone who approached with bloodshot eyes.
The murmurs revealed a negative perception of the Imperial Princess. Most of it consisted of insults aimed at her, or lamentations about how she had become a member of the nobility without any sense of propriety.
One fact that nearly everyone agreed upon was this: something was wrong.
They didn’t know the reason for the Imperial Princess’s intense reaction.
She had memories of being cruelly bullied in her childhood because of the “Dragon’s Eye.” Her own mother had tried to strangle her, so one could not even imagine how deep those scars ran.
Now the bullying had started again, so one could only imagine the extent of her feelings of loss.
She had even come close to being killed by the head maid, who was manipulated by a dark priest. That maid had been someone she spent her whole life with.
It was no wonder she was struggling to keep her sanity.
But people didn’t understand that fact. Perhaps they didn’t even want to know from the beginning.
What they needed was a scapegoat.
Yet, as the situation escalated to this extent, a sense of unease began to seep into their gazes.
The Imperial Princess had the backing of the Imperial Court. If the girl was so broken, the Emperor’s wrath could blanket the academy, leading to a strange fear spreading among the students.
Ultimately, someone would have to step in to resolve it: both the Imperial Princess’s pain and this extreme situation.
A sigh escaped my lips.
As I did, a few who recognized me began to step aside hesitantly. I accepted their implicit invitation and walked through the gap without hesitation.
Soon, the entire crowd parted.
In the thoroughfare, only the Imperial Princess, who was sitting on the ground, and I remained. The girl, who had been crying and sniffling, stared at me with glazed eyes.
Her sobbing halted.
However, the tears swelling in her eyes only grew larger. Unsteadily, she clung to me as if she were crawling.
The girl wept and pleaded.
“I-Ian… I was wrong. I was so awful, right? I’m sorry for not realizing it all this time. I’m sorry for acting so proud… w-wah…”
Countless apologies poured forth.
“I-I must have tormented you, that’s why it’s coming back on me, right? My dear, I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I-I should have… I should have done something!”
I remained silent.
“Please, please forgive me, Ian… I’ll do anything, anything. If you would just forgive me… Yes! I swear on the honor of the Imperial Court that I won’t ask anything of you!”
It was then that my lips parted.
“…You swear on the honor of the Imperial Court?”
My voice was low but edged with firmness.
It was loud enough to catch the ears of those observing this scene. The crowd began to stir, realizing the situation had taken an interesting turn.
The honor of the Imperial Court.
Nobles would stake their lives for honor. If nobles could be so, then it was even more fervent among the royals.
Naturally, it was something a mere princess couldn’t claim lightly.
The Imperial Court could solely be represented by the Emperor. However, since such words came from a member of the royal family, it could not be easily dismissed.
At this point, it was nearly impossible to toy with each other so openly.
Of course, should it be deemed excessive, I could be summoned covertly. But even that was an inevitable situation.
From the outset, I was already bound to be summoned by the Imperial Court just for being the owner of the blood-signal letters.
I didn’t know how I would navigate this, but at least it was certain that I had not managed to silence the Imperial Princess.
She must have made that noise when requesting a new material for my treatment.
In other words, I didn’t particularly face any additional risk.
“Y-yes… of course. If only I could be forgiven…”
“……If you can be forgiven, you’ll do anything, is that it?”
I interrupted the Imperial Princess’s words once more.
She nodded vigorously as if dazed. My gaze swept across the crowd.
They had clenched their mouths shut once more, watching me and the Imperial Princess. Their eyes shone with excitement, curious to see what I would do.
Truly, they were a vile bunch.
They had jumped at the chance to join in when she was being tormented, yet they so casually criticized the Imperial Princess when the tide turned.
And now, when a problem arose, they were all merely trembling in place, and now they looked like they were enjoying a spectacle.
So, I wanted to leave a warning.
A white trajectory was drawn in the air just then.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
My hand seemed to fumble at my waist, and before I knew it, the hand axe had been drawn and slammed into the Imperial Princess’s shoulder. It was a blow deep enough to shatter cartilage.
The Imperial Princess’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The onlookers were similarly shocked. Their eyes nearly popped from their heads.
Blood splattered, and the Imperial Princess’s body swayed and fell backward.
As I watched her, I uttered a single line.
“Then let’s exchange a few blows.”
Immediately after securing the hand axe at my waist, I pounced onto the Imperial Princess, just like a swift beast.
Then, I drove my fist into her cheek.
“Ah, it hurts! Ahhh!”
It was a moment when the surroundings fell silent immediately.
