Upon hearing the report from Hunter, Crown Prince Harrison cackled bitterly.
âMission failedâŚâŚâ?â
I feel like Iâm in the middle of an irritating prank thatâs not even amusing.
Failure? I could never have even imagined the possibility even in the first place.
Two people were enough to handle the Dukeâs escort.
It should have been the case.
His judgment was never wrong.
I asked you to kill one ordinary humanâwho isnât even a knight nor a wizard.
You canât even handle such an easy task. How useless are my servants?
âHaâŚ.â
The crown prince, Harrison, sighed low, rubbing his forehead.
After a moment of silence, he grabbed the statue on the table.
There was a dull thud. Blood flowed from Hunterâs forehead, which was in front of him.
Blood droplets fell, smearing red on the pure white marble floor.
A voice of contempt cursed above Hunterâs head.
âYou uselessâŚâŚ.â
Without the thought of wiping the blood that ran down his face, Hunter silently took the blame.
Kill Olivia Ashford.
That was an order that Hunter had received.
And as ordered, he had slaughtered the Dukeâs escorting knights.
The last one had been a little bothersome, but in the end, the knight couldnât be his opponent. [t1v: he is talking about Sir Hans]
As soon as he had swung the sword straight into the escortâs chest, he thought he was hallucinating that the night had disappeared.
Hunter looked up and saw a massive pillar of light breaking through the night sky.
It was the direction of Princess Ashford, who had fled. Following his intuition that something unusual had happened, Hunter headed straight for it.
Then, he witnessed an incredible sight.
âKyyaahhhhhhh!
An inferno from hell was devouring the wizard.
A fierce blaze that seemed to have burn the whole area was coming from a man.
Princess Ashfordâs slave.
He was an ordinary human being.
How the hellâŚâŚ.
While Hunterâs mind was in chaos, the Imperial knights convened.
While the knights and the silver-haired man were confronting each other, the princess, who thought he was dead, opened her eyes.
Soon after, the silver-haired man suddenly disappeared from there, holding the princess.
âIf you are going to make excuses, they should at least make sense.â
Harrison suppressed his resentment as he explained.
âOliviaâs slave was a wizard? Thatâs ridiculous!â
âYou may not believe it, butâŚâŚ itâs true. I saw him burn Gray to death with my own eyes.â
âSo you mean, that slave has been hiding that he is a mage from Olivia?â
âThatâs not clear. However, he was indeed overwhelmingly stronger than Gray. In my opinion, the energy he exuded was incomparable.â
Hunterâs sixth sense was as accurate as his sharp eyes when he judged an opponentâs strength.
Harrison was also aware of Hunterâs talent.
Harrison tried to think rationally, holding back his boiling anger.
âStronger than GrayâŚâŚ. If Hunterâs absurd remarks are true.â
Heâs probably not an ordinary sorcerer.
The existence of such a powerful magician would soon be revealed to the world.
Harrison looked down at Hunter, who was bleeding profusely. He said, kicking his tongue.
âHide yourself for a while. And donât put reveal your incompetent face in front of me until I call you.â
Hunter bowed his head and retreated silently.
Harrison called in his servant to wipe the bloodstained floor.
Since he was a child, Harrison was a perfectionist; he hated it immensely when his plans went wrong.
Life rarely goes as planned, but Harrison was different.
Because he was the Crown Prince of the Empire.
Having power and status that ordinary people did not have, he could easily accomplish everything he planned for.
It was a motto he took pride inâplan excellently and do flawlesslyâ but lately, nothing went right; it was infuriating.
Not only was the second prince sent to war still alive, but he was awakening as a Sword Master.
He tried to consolidate my position as heir to the throne by bringing the Ducal house of Ashford to his side so that the Second Prince would not dare have intentions that were above his station.
What to do with Olivia Ashford, who didnât act according to his will?
Harrison achieved his purposes by relentlessly cleaning up hindrances. It was a tactic that served him well in the past.
Harrison tapped his finger on the table.
He didnât intend to keep Olivia alive just because the assassination failed.
Thereâs a way not to get his hands dirty.
âYouâll get a new end.â
A fishy smile hung around Harrisonâs mouth.
***
I slowly blinked.
Gradually, my vision got used to the light, and the familiar pattern of the ceiling of my room caught my eye.
As soon as I realized where I was, my nerves awoke.
My hand trembled where the wound was.
The terrible wound pierced by the ice was healed.. gone as if the whole thing were a nightmarish fairy tale.
It wouldnât have been weird if I lost my life.âŚ.
I couldnât believe it⌠how was I alive?
I slowly lifted up my heavy body.
Leaning against the bed head, I swallowed my breath.
I didnât know before because he had been so still and quiet, but Kian was asleep lying on his stomach on the bed.
I looked at him carefully.
The trauma from the ice pillar had been wiped clean.
Kian is alive. This is not a fantasy. Itâs reality.
Relief flooded in like a tidal wave, and I exhaled.
Kianâs long, rich eyelashes trembled, perhaps because he was aware of the subtle sound.
His eyelids opened, and clear eyes like the autumn sky were revealed.
âMasterâŚ?â
He lifted himself up by calling me in a cracked voice.
Kianâs light blue eyes trembled like ripples.
With a tearful smile, he spoke,
âYouâre awake.â
It sounded as if he was talking to a person who woke up from a long sleep.
How long have I been lying downâŚâŚ.
I couldnât guess.
Nevertheless, the horrible events of that night were as vivid as it happened just moments ago.
I was heartbroken recalling Kian who was terribly wounded, while trying to save me.
I said, holding back quivering emotions from my voice.
âSorry for worrying you, Kian.â
Kian shook his head slightly. He looked at me anxiously and said,
âAre you alright? Are you in pain anywhere?â
âYes, I am fine now.â
I was in awe and wondered how I was alive.
Did a miracle transpire?
Then, Kian said.
âI have something to tell you, Master.â
He seemed to have something important to say.
As if hesitating, his lips seemed to lose the words he needed to say for a moment. Finally, he spoke with his eyes cast down.
âActually, I became a wizard that day.â
For 20 years, he thought he was an ordinary human being, but he was actually a magician.
He seemed confused by the fact.
On the other hand, I wasnât surprised because I knew the future and that his mana would awaken.
But I couldnât reply that I knew.
How did I know all that? I couldnât explain it.
âHow did this happenâŚâŚdo you know?â
Kian shook his head.
âI donât know either. All of a sudden, magic exploded out of me.âŚ.â
While recalling his awakening, he looked bewildered.
There is a complicated story behind the reason why Kian has not been able to use magic.
I wish I could explain everything to him.
But if it leads Kian on to a villainous pathâŚâŚ.
Is there anything more foolish than blackening him with my own hands?
My head got complicated, so I couldnât figure out what to say.
When I was silent, Kian smiled as if I shouldnât worry and said:
âBut with that power, I was able to protect my master.â
At that remark, a memory that I had forgotten suddenly passed through my mind.
A warm and dazzling glow from a group of lights that enveloped me in a silent and still darkness.
The light had poured continuously into me while I had been straddling the boundary between life and death.
As I remembered the memory that I couldnât tell whether it was a dream or a reality, the realization came like lightning.
âIs the person who healed meâŚâŚwas that you?â
He nodded quietly, affirming that he had saved my life.
Hearing the answer made me feel inexpressible.
Yes, it was him.. as expectedâŚâŚ.
Initially, I should have helped Kian wake up and then left the story after his role was over.
But Kian changed my fate.
His will twisted the story and eventually brought me back from death.
I said, looking at Kian in the eye.
âThank you, Kian.â
I canât express all of my gratitude to you by saying thank you, but still.
âThank you, too. Thank you for living, Master.â
said Kian softly as he smiled.
The smile made my heartthrob for a moment.
âIs my body still not completely healedâŚ?â
I put my hand on my chest, where I felt a thorny pain. There was a sound of shoes, and the door opened.
The visitor was a butler and my father.
A tsunami of relief spread on the faces of the two people who found me.
âLady!â
âOlivia!â
My father, who came in a hurry, opened his arms and hugged me with all his might.
He said in a muffled voice.
âThank you for waking up.â
My fatherâs body was dry and fragile.
When I saw my father, who was much weaker than when I first possessed this body four years ago, I suddenly felt sad.
How worried he must have been when he heard that I was attacked.
Even if Iâm not really Olivia, Iâm still his only daughter.
I spoke in a slightly tearful voice.
âIâm sorry to have troubled you.â
âWhatâŚâŚ. Youâre safe, thatâs enough.â
My father didnât say much.
Still, I could gauge the magnitude of his sincerity.
Slowly loosening his hug, he turned his head and looked at Kian.
âThank you. You saved my daughter.â
The father spoke to Kian in a polite tone.
âYou are my daughterâs lifesaver. Tell me if you want anything, Iâll listen to any request as much as my abilities allow me.â
Kian thought about it for a while and soon shook his head slightly.
âI donât want anything. Because I did what I had to do.â
âReally, is there nothing you want?â
Kian looked at me for a moment and answered briefly.
âYes.â
âIf thatâs what you want, I respect you. But let me know whenever you change your mind.â
The conversation between the two ended there.
Iâve been cornered by both my father and butler wearing black suits, so I changed the subject around.
âWhat happened to my escort knights?â
As soon as he received the question, my fatherâs expression darkened. He spoke in a solemn voice:
âWe are on our way to the funeral of the knights.â
Even though I had assumed so, the grief of the confirmed reality was beyond painful.
My father spoke as if he were trying to comfort me.
âWe recovered the bodies of the guards while you were asleep. I buried the knights and paid consolation money to the bereaved families. Of course, how can I comfort them with that, butâŚâŚ.â
My fatherâs words faded away and died. A heavy silence fell for a moment.
âIs there anyone left?â
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âSir Hans barely escaped with his life. However, his injuries are so severe that he hasnât woken up yet.â
It was unexpected good news; Sir Hans was alive.
However, before I could rejoice, the fact that we were the only survivors made my heart heavy.
The father changed his posture and asked:
âBut, Olivia⌠Can you guess who sent assassins after you?â