My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 67

“Ugh…”

Seri stretched her curled-up body and let out a groan. Because she hadn’t drawn the curtains, the sunlight hit her face directly.

Reluctantly getting up, she shivered from the cold she felt on her skin.

Last night’s magic effect that Maria had cast on her had worn off.

“It’s cold.”

After wrapping herself in clothing, Seri sighed as she felt her body warming up.

“I didn’t get much sleep… It’s all because of that guy.”

She mumbled while tidying her disheveled hair with her fingers. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Praus, leaving her utterly bewildered.

“I’ve never met someone so straightforward…”

Seri had encountered countless men, and it would have been strange if she hadn’t.

Being the only daughter of the Emperor, it was expected that she would interact with many men.

However, the men she always had to meet had some ulterior motive.

Whether it was for status, wealth, or connections to the royal family, their reasons varied, but none of them held ‘love’ in their hearts.

Seri had already grown tired of that, which led her to despise men.

But Praus felt somewhat different to her.

Though she thought his manner of speaking was rough and that he seemed to have thrown manners out the window, she instinctively sensed something kind within him.

‘When he spoke, it felt like he was considering me more than himself.’

In truth, her perception wasn’t wrong.

Praus was indeed being considerate to save Seri.

Although he had limitations in expression due to his expression management skill, he showed her as much as he could.

And since Praus’s goal was to save Seri and elevate her to become the Empress, he couldn’t display any greedy demeanor like others did.

He had no intention of becoming the Emperor’s son-in-law, nor did he harbor even the slightest personal feelings for Seri.

Yet.

“The fact that he brought up the engagement, wants me to survive, and is willing to risk his life to become my ally…”

‘That person… surely likes me, right?’

Her delusion was off by quite a margin.

“But it’s only our second meeting. Did I captivate him with just my looks? I’ve heard of such cases… Is it that ‘love at first sight’ kind of thing?”

Standing before the mirror, she gazed at her face.

Just having gotten out of bed, her face was vulnerable in many ways, but the golden hue radiating from her hair and eyes was still dazzling, and her distinct features made it easy for anyone to deem her beautiful.

“He said I caught his eye. Ugh! Ah! But I’ve heard it’s easy to fall for someone at first sight… Hmm, should I meet him a bit more?”

If Praus heard this, he would probably slap his forehead in exasperation.

“Then if we become lovers, we might end up doing all sorts of things… surely…”

Knock, knock.

Her spiraling, embarrassing thoughts were interrupted by a knocking sound.

“Princess Seri, are you awake?”

It was the voice of the guard knight assigned to watch over her, from Chris’s side.

The knight standing in the hallway immediately reacted to the mumbling from Seri’s room.

Seri felt her briefly raised spirits plummet, leaving her irritable.

‘If it were Praus, how would he wake me up…? No, no, no!’

Frantically shaking her head, Seri thought to herself.

‘Let’s not think strange thoughts. Praus is just a commoner. We can’t have anything between us.’

For a moment, she almost let her emotions take control, but instinctively regained her reason.

This was due to her survival instinct, not because she was a realistic person or that reason outweighed emotion.

For her, emotions were unnecessary things when she occupied a position where a wrong judgment could lead to death.

At least in front of others.

‘Besides, I can’t completely trust Praus’s words. Saying that becoming the Emperor is the path for my survival… how could I believe such a sudden claim?’

Still, Seri couldn’t help but ponder.

In reality, this engagement wasn’t something she desired, and she had felt doubt about her situation multiple times.

‘Even if I don’t become the Emperor, if Praus becomes my ally, having a guard knight around wouldn’t be bad… He easily took down the Knight Commander, so having him around would definitely make me feel safe.’

As she glanced at the magic scroll lying on her bed, she covered it with her blanket.

For her, who couldn’t hold any certainty about anything at the moment, the best course of action was to observe future situations without drawing any conclusions.

“Princess?”

“Ha, come in.”

She looked at the knight entering her room.

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Ah… good morning.”

‘Thinking of doing nothing today doesn’t even make me want to smile.’

She almost said this but instead let out a sigh.

She knew that complaining to someone who wasn’t even her own knight would only make her appear unpleasant.

“Breakfast will be brought as usual—”

“I’m sorry, Princess. Today, Crown Prince Chris has requested to have breakfast together.”

“Brother Chris?”

Seri’s mind briefly halted at the sudden call from Chris.

‘Why?’

As her thoughts quickly returned, she recalled her actions over the past few days and pinpointed the highest possibility.

Meeting with Praus.

That was all there was.

‘Did I really tell him I was going to meet Brother Chris that time?’

Only then did she realize why Praus had suggested they talk at night and why he did it in whispers so that others wouldn’t hear.

Understanding that Chris was keeping an eye on her, he had been considerate not to let her face an awkward situation.

“…Why the sudden request in the morning?”

“You’ll understand when you go. But… there seems to be a strangely lingering warmth in your room.”

Hiding her unease from the keen knight’s perception, Seri spoke.

“You call that warmth? Want to sleep here and find out?”

“…My apologies.”

What she learned as she grew older were ‘expression management’ and ‘voice control’. It was a resolution to never show her emotions.

“Then I shall summon a magician to ensure your room stays warm at night.”

“I told you that was done a few days ago.”

“It is the Crown Prince’s command. Since you will be meeting your fiancé frequently, it would be troublesome if you caught a cold.”

‘How ridiculous. Just using my younger brother like that.’

She didn’t particularly like Chris, but knowing she would be able to sleep in warmth eased her a bit.

‘Speaking of which, fiancé…’

Seri knew that her fiancé lacked nothing.

Being the son of the Grand Duke, he was mighty and somewhat handsome, so she rated him quite well.

However, it didn’t fit her temperament since everything was arranged by others.

‘But to think he wants to break off the engagement… How much does Praus actually like me…?’

She was building one mistake after another without the person involved realizing it.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

*

“It’s been a while. Come, sit.”

Chris welcomed Seri with a smile from his seat of honor, gesturing to the spot right next to him.

“…Where are the other brothers?”

Seri asked as she took her seat.

“Since our father mentioned that he’d soon select the next Emperor, have we ever shared a meal together?”

“No, we haven’t.”

“If you know that, don’t ask such pointless questions.”

“Yes, I apologize.”

Seeing Chris’s serious expression at the mention of the other princes, Seri bowed her head as she always did.

“But what’s the reason you called for me?”

“Let’s eat first.”

At his words, maids approached as if they had been waiting and began setting the meal in front of her.

While there were undeniably warm and delicious looking dishes being placed before her, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of being raised like an animal.

Knowing that all of this was done for her made it feel all the more miserable.

However, her body responded honestly.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of the hunger from the previous night. Reluctantly, she picked up her spoon to sip the soup.

As she felt her formerly cold body warming up, she savored the flavor.

“…Seri, the engagement is going smoothly. You don’t need to do anything.”

Chris spoke the moment Seri took a bite of the food he had prepared for her.

Her appetite instantly vanished, and she hesitated to set down her spoon.

“Is that so?”

She wanted to express her desire not to be engaged but held back.

Last night, Praus had told her to continue with the engagement, so she thought it wasn’t time to make a choice yet.

But she knew that someday she would have to choose between Chris or Praus.

“By the way… I heard Praus visited your room yesterday. What did you two talk about?”

Seri’s heart began to race at the mention of Praus.

She panicked, wondering if their covert discussion from the night before had been uncovered, but she tried hard to suppress her turmoil and set down her spoon.

“…We didn’t talk about anything much.”

“I heard he whispered something in your ear. What did he say?”

Whispered in your ear.

That phrase made Seri realize that Chris wasn’t asking about their private conversation of the previous night, and it sped up her thoughts.

In any case, since he asked, she had to provide some answer, so she couldn’t afford to be vague.

Recalling how Praus sighed when she brought up Crown Prince Chris, she crafted the most plausible response.

“He said that Crown Prince Chris is being unreasonable…”

‘Sorry, Praus.’

“Unreasonable? Ha! You’re kidding, right? A madman who hugs other races, calling me unreasonable?”

‘Hugging other races…?’

Seri momentarily failed in her expression management at that unexpected statement, her face unconsciously revealing her shock.

“Other races are just accepted for the empire’s labor, not because they are treated as equals. Why don’t you understand that?”

As Chris rambled on, Seri managed to rein in her expression.

‘Is Praus friendly towards other races? Like Duke Aus? Come to think of it… the magician he brought yesterday was an elf. Could it be that he thinks, like me, that rather than oppressing other races, we should unite our strengths? If that’s the case…’

“Seri.”

“Ah, yes.”

Chris’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing. I just found it strange that other races are treated like that, considering they should be subjects to be ruled over.”

“Right. It seems you actually know something.”

Chris smiled satisfactorily at Seri’s false agreement.

“Why, I wonder, did he tell you that?”

“I don’t know either. Maybe it’s because he wants to create a connection with me and the royal family. It’s silly to say, but I might seem the weakest in the royal family.”

“Is that so? Then I shouldn’t allow anyone connected to Praus to enter the palace.”

“…For that reason?”

“Reason? Are you questioning me about my reasons now?”

Chris slammed his fork down, chilling the atmosphere. Despite thinking, ‘Oh, that brat is throwing a fit again,’ she kept her expression calm.

“No, I just… was curious about whether he poses a threat to the royal family.”

“A threat… Sure, he might become a threat. So, until the Succession War is over, there will be no contact whatsoever. If he’s not my ally, I must ensure he doesn’t become a part of the opposing forces.”

Chris understood that Praus was the biggest variable.

He believed that if Praus aligned with another prince’s faction, his position could become precarious.

After all, Praus was considered one of the strongest figures in the empire at the moment.

And with skilled swordsmen and magicians under him, Chris had no reason not to be wary.

“Anyway, just keep that in mind, and you should be preparing for the wedding obediently.”

“Yes, brother.”

‘It seems I’ll have to summon Praus to my room soon. If he provides me with the assurance I need, then at that point…’