Chapter 23: I Stand in the Wilderness

Even within the academy, it wasn’t as if students—especially those of a certain status—didn’t have private spaces for personal use.

Furthermore, for high-ranking nobles or members of the Royal Bloodline.

In fact, being assigned a space comparable in size to a classroom was not particularly difficult.

Above an intellectual space where convenient furniture and luxury goods were elegantly arranged.

A red-haired boy, his face flushed as if engulfed by a Flame Demon, vented his anger into the air.

Suddenly, he turned his black eyes toward a girl, approached her, and asked.

“Seras. Answer me. What is the reason? What have you been idling around for all this time?”

The boy had come right up to her face.

He was trembling, as if suppressing his rage like a wild beast.

Prince Alessius.

A noble lineage so exalted that even the noble Blue Blood found it difficult to approach.

For example, the Golden Bloodline.

The current Hero Emperor is the Emperor of the Berg Empire and the Head of Household of the Enjul Clan.

However, even the great Enjul Clan had a precarious foundation two generations ago.

Infighting and discord among blood relatives.

The resulting dissonance.

And the subsequent series of civil wars, both large and small.

The authority of the Imperial Family had been on the verge of sliding down a cliff.

It was the current Hero Emperor who stabilized that power structure.

However, if there is one flaw or point of intellectual critique regarding him, it is that he took no concubines other than the Magic Empress Melineos.

The Religious Order praised this highly, calling it very wholesome and faithful to marital duties.

Thanks to this, the only descendants of the bloodline are Princess Elhermina and Prince Alessius.

To those who don’t know better, it might seem like nothing, but it means a power vacuum could occur at any time.

Nevertheless, the reason the Imperial Family is praised as being blessed by the Religious Order—that is, by God—is because both the Princess and the Prince were born with unparalleled talent.

However.

If one digs deeper, the gap in that talent and the difference in the size of their vessels become even more pronounced.

Seras, taking in his hearty yet refined appearance, stared sharply into his eyes—which were darker than hers—and replied.

“I have no way of knowing what you are trying to ask.”

“It’s no fun when you act like that! No fun at all!”

“Your Highness Alessius.”

Seras spoke with a serious demeanor.

“The moment Her Princess Highness expressed her intention to keep him by her side and desired an engagement, all our intentions became naught. Please accept that fact quietly.”

“Just because my sister wants it! Am I supposed to tolerate it! I! I, Alessius!”

“This is a decision made through the words of His Majesty the Emperor. As long as Kariel is not dead, it cannot be undone.”

“…….”

Though her words were cold, Alessius was not unaware that Seras was more uncomfortable than anyone else deep down.

It was simply that the flames of anger were surging in his chest.

Because he couldn’t bear it, he had simply exploded in irritation.

“…Damn it all.”

“Have you calmed down?”

He waved his hand and said.

“My apologies. I took my anger out on you for no reason.”

“…Is this the first time it’s happened?”

“At least a little… Sigh. Forget it.”

One moment he is raging like fire.

The next, he quickly becomes calm and composed.

Rather, because he doesn’t bottle things up, he holds few grudges, and because he is honest, treating him as a superior isn’t particularly unpleasant.

But a temperament that is merely soft means, in another sense, that he cannot legitimately manifest the dignity of a ruler.

For a ruler or a leader, the one who leads must be decisive and possess the courage to move forward at the very front.

In that regard, while Alessius still shows hasty and clumsy sides, it could be said that he possesses sufficient talent for the role.

…The problem was.

He was still young.

But the Princess, who wasn’t much older than him, was already following the procedures of a completed monarch.

As a monarch, she could be perfect.

However, it was impossible to feel any affection for her.

Above all, she lacked humanity.

She remained silent even when she should be angry, and indifferent when she should be joyful.

Rather.

It was better to be like the Prince before her, who was rich in emotional expression.

…That didn’t mean he recklessly threw tantrums everywhere.

When he expressed his emotions, it was usually one of two things.

Either an enemy or an ally.

If it was an enemy, there was no need to be mindful, so he treated them harshly.

If it was an ally, since they were someone he would go to the end with, he showed a moderate amount of favoritism.

“The fact that she warned you directly, Seras, could also be interpreted as a warning directed at me, right?”

“Likely so.”

Stop your foolish antics.

Now that I have decided to take him, I will no longer overlook or tolerate any pathetic tricks.

“It cannot be denied that it is a political masterstroke.”

“I know. I know!”

It was likely to secure the Imperial bloodlines faithfully before passing on the throne.

Perhaps the Emperor would live a long life, and the turn for the current Princess or himself would come very late.

Furthermore, the bond between Lueld and the Hero Emperor.

Even the bond with the Religious Order, connected and recognized through the Saintess.

They would achieve a bond that could never be severed.

“If things go wrong, you and I might end up joined in the future.”

“I suggest you wake up from your dream.”

“Of course, I do not break my promises.”

Seras replied in a sighing tone.

“…Eras is still striving to become a child worthy of Your Highness.”

“…….”

Even if their relationship became tangled in some way, this was the reason why, without a doubt, it could never be completely severed.

“I should go visit him.”

He was just trying to soothe his fluctuating emotions.

Slam!

“Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

A boy approached him and whispered in his ear.

“Right now—what kind of nonsense is this?!”

“What happened?”

When the boy looked at the Prince as if seeking permission.

“Have you only seen this for a day or two?! It’s not something to hide, so why are you walking on eggshells around me?!”

“Then….”

To associate with the Prince meant always facing and confronting his temper.

The boy calmly told Seras what he had just heard.

“There is a rumor spreading among the students that Lembert, the swordsmanship instructor, was toyed with by Kariel.”

“…Does that even make sense?”

Seras crossed her arms with an expression as bewildered as the Prince’s.

“What do the witnesses say?”

“…Rather than swordsmanship, they say it was some kind of trick? They wonder if it was Dark Arts.”

“Dark Arts?”

The Prince cut in.

“Is a swordsmanship instructor of the Empire so pathetic that he would be toyed with by some trivial Dark Arts? By some shabby country bumpkin who gets beaten up everywhere?”

“…He’s not exactly a country bumpkin.”

At Seras’s words, the Prince shouted.

“I mean his appearance! His appearance!”

Tsk, the Prince clicked his tongue and gestured with his chin for the boy to continue.

“It is true that he was subdued with a sword, but they say he just lunged in with strange postures and movements, and the instructor got caught up in it, fell, and dropped his sword.”

“What on earth is that? Where did he even learn such a thing… No, could it be Sir Lueld…?”

“Indeed, everyone is wondering if he became like that after learning something from Lord Lueld.”

“It will be hard to be sure without seeing it for myself.”

After all, the Prince himself had Lueld as a teacher.

If there was anyone who could be called a dedicated teacher among Lueld’s many students, it was indeed Hero Lueld.

That didn’t mean he showed favoritism or guided him with particular devotion.

It was more like giving a few pointers on how to improve or what to practice.

However, for the Prince, who was quick to understand, simply filling in the gaps and scratching the itch was enough.

He intended to honor him as a teacher.

“…….”

Strictly speaking, pushing that man’s son while being his student might seem like a contradictory act of tyranny…

At first, he hadn’t intended to ostracize the fellow to this extent.

But.

The more he watched, the more there were aspects that went beyond irritation and sparked a deep-seated rage.

‘That indifference is what makes me even angrier.’

Having everything, why does he act as if he has nothing?

At the very least, Lueld would not have been as stubborn or strict as his father, His Majesty the Emperor.

Because of a small mistake, until the skin burst and muscles tore, and blood flowed freely.

Has that brat ever experienced a punishment where even screaming was not permitted?

Even his sister occasionally had to endure all sorts of punishments for failing His Majesty’s tests.

Not to mention himself.

And yet, what?

‘That damn bastard is taking my sister away?’

How could he tolerate that?

Even if that bastard became a man worthy of his sister, it would be irritating.

For such a pathetic loser to dare… dare!

“Shall I go and check first? Or… would you like to verify it yourself?”

“…….”

At that, the Prince’s boiling emotions settled again.

“Seras. What do you think I should do?”

“Since you lose your composure whenever you see Kariel, wouldn’t it be better if I checked first?”

“……That makes sense.”

However.

“That is not a basis for me to accept your opinion.”

Whether he had actually become great.

Or whether he had been hiding his power.

“I shall verify it personally.”

If incompetence had turned into competence, as a member of the Royal Bloodline who must lead his subjects, he should gladly welcome it, should he not?

“…….”

But if he had deceived and tried to force the world to be fooled.

…If he was trying to wash away his dishonor by spreading clumsy rumors at the engagement ceremony with his sister.

“Hmph.”

Personally peeling away that false mask with these hands.

The kindness of preemptively blocking a future dishonorable situation.

That would be the generosity and warmth a member of the Royal Bloodline could show.

====

-There is such a thing as the Sword of the Heart.

A truly vicious thing that splits the soul and shreds the mental skin into pieces, without the victim even realizing they’ve been stabbed.

-Because one cannot respond properly, the victim will feel deeply wronged, but if ignorance and weakness are also sins, what can be done? You must bear it yourself.

Patience.

That, too, eventually has a limit.

-There is a limit to how much one can endure. If we assume that thinking and reasoning also consume Mental Power, why do you mistakenly believe that the other side’s Mental Power is not being consumed?

Enduring physical pain is the same.

Enduring mental pain is the same.

-The reason you became sick from the heart, and why those pathological symptoms extended into physical abnormalities, is because your body was beaten to a pulp by those invisible knives and bludgeons.

“…….”

Nevertheless, because you endured and held on until the end.

-It may sound absurd, but because you survived without dying, the limit of your Mental Power has increased.

“Is that a good thing?”

-There are pros and cons.

Let’s say the increase in the limit of Mental Power is good.

But.

-The patience you can muster has decreased by that much, hasn’t it? Why is that? The storehouse of Mental Power grew larger and was filled to the brim. Why has it become harder to endure and hold on than before?

Kariel, who had been silent, answered with relative certainty.

“Is it because the pain has grown larger?”

-The nuance is correct.

The wounds given to you have not yet healed.

They have never been healed.

And then, fingers were shoved into those wounds.

Blades were thrust and stirred.

And then, again.

Filth, rotten water, hot water, and heaps of salt were poured in.

Far from healing, there was no way to recover.

-Because you were being beaten and stabbed continuously without a moment’s rest. That is why today hurts more than yesterday, and not only do you worry and agonize over the wounds of tomorrow, but you have come to dread a future that hasn’t even arrived.

“…….”

The reason you couldn’t sleep at night.

The reason you welcomed the moon and hated the sun.

-Every time the sun melted the shadows, you must have agonized day by day.

Gratitude to the falling sun.

Resentment toward the rising sun.

“…….”

In the library, I am enveloped in silence.

With my gaze fixed outside the window.

As if checking for someone.

As if chasing someone.

I am glancing alternately between the entrance below and the library entrance further away.

However, with a mindset distinctly different from before.

As I close my eyelids.

From very far away.

The sound of footsteps drifts in.

It could be an auditory hallucination.

A hallucination created by the fear and anxiety within me.

However, noises that sometimes matched, and other times I wished they didn’t.

For a moment, I am captured by such hallucinations without any basis.

Thump, thump, thump.

The things that hovered between illusion and reality finally materialize.

With that, the hallucinations echoing in my mind cease.

The sound of footsteps striking the ground is dragged into reality.

“…….”

As I turn my gaze.

There is the Prince and a few followers.

As if they had just discovered me, they stood still and stared at me fiercely.

The hunted prey.

With a wounded hind leg, burying its face in a small burrow.

A fragile rabbit.

Whose best it could do was simply endure.

And today, it finally faced the predator.

Half by choice.

Half by force.