Chapter 141

‘When did this happen?’

It seemed to have occurred after Shinwoo struck out on his own, but my memory was a complete blank, as if it had been painted over with ink.

‘Ah… come to think of it, I still haven’t checked the Memory Fragment.’

I had a feeling the key was hidden inside it.

I furrowed my brow at the crushing strength of Dante’s grip.

“I get it, so could you let go of my wrist…”

The moment I tried to twist my hand free, the bedroom door burst open. It was Johan, who had left with a wounded expression.

“…Sir Johan?”

Why was he back?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, Johan grabbed my other wrist.

“Lady Astell, come with me.”

“…What?”

Johan pulled on my arm.

‘Wh-what is happening….’

I could only blink, my arms held captive by two men.

“Paladin, what do you think you’re doing?”

Dante’s smile was dangerous as he continued.

“Let go of her arm.”

“Why don’t you let go first, Your Highness?”

Johan didn’t back down in the slightest. His usual gentle expression was now cold and hard, his soft touch firm and resolute.

“Have you forgotten? The Princess is my lover.”

“Isn’t it fake? But my feelings are real.”

“So? Is that your way of saying you won’t let go?”

“It’s not that I can’t. I won’t.”

“Ha!”

Dante let out a hollow laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

The atmosphere turned murderous.

The situation was so tense it felt like swords could be drawn at any moment, yet the chat window was in a celebratory mood.

– [Anonymous Constellation: T_T This is the greatest sight of the century.]

– [Anonymous Constellation: I love you guys so much T_T You’re the best T_T]

– [Anonymous Constellation: Bring Kaiel over too! Hurry!!!]

– [Anonymous Constellation: Everyone clipped that, right? Go back to the last part!]

– [Anonymous Constellation: Uh oh, I think Astell’s going to be mad if she finds out….]

– [Anonymous Constellation: What’s financial therapy for if not for times like this?]

[System: An Anonymous Constellation has sponsored 100,000 points.]

What a mess. An absolute mess.

It must be entertaining for the spectators. But what could I do? The one on the receiving end wasn’t having any fun at all.

“Both of you, let go.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Astell.”

This wasn’t some sweet, childish squabble between two men trying to win a woman’s heart.

They were just being stubborn, refusing to lose to the other.

I let out a sigh.

“I’m going to count to three. If you haven’t let go by then, you’re going to experience something very unpleasant.”

Unsurprisingly, neither of them budged.

“Three.”

“…”

“…”

“Two.”

“…”

“…”

I brought my heel down on Johan’s instep.

“Ugh!”

Caught by the surprise attack, Johan flinched and his grip loosened. As his hand reflexively slipped away, I pulled my arm free and drove my elbow into his solar plexus.

*Thwack!*

“…Hngh!”

Johan doubled over.

He had managed to step back at the last second to deflect the blow, but he wasn’t unharmed. He staggered, clutching his chest.

After lightly dispatching Johan, I turned to Dante.

His eyes crinkled into a thin, charming smile.

“Darling, well done…”

Before Dante could finish his sentence, I closed the distance between us.

Then, I grabbed the collar of the still-blinking, bewildered man and threw him over my back.

“Wh-what…?”

Taller people lose their balance more easily. Dante couldn’t even resist as he was slammed onto the floor.

“…Ugh!”

Unable to break his fall properly, Dante groaned and curled into a ball.

It must have hurt so much he couldn’t breathe. I’d intentionally slammed him onto the marble floor where there was no carpet.

“Hoo.”

This was the first time I’d moved so violently since defeating the Earth Dragon. My body, which had felt stiff all this time, finally seemed to be loosening up.

‘People really need to stay active.’

*Crack, crack.* I tilted my head from side to side, stretching my neck muscles.

“Since I’m all warmed up, how about a sparring match?”

Dante and Johan’s faces went pale.

“…Darling, I think my back is broken.”

“I, I can’t feel my solar plexus….”

“I didn’t use that much force. Stop being dramatic and get up.”

Dante and Johan began to subtly back away from me.

Really? After grabbing my wrists like they were going to pull my arms off, now they wanted to run?

Just as I was about to get into a scuffle with the two men trying to escape, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

*Knock, knock.*

“Hm? Why did you leave the door open…”

Kaiel stopped mid-entry, his gray eyes sweeping over us slowly, with an expression that screamed he found us pathetic.

“The three of you, what are you doing right now?”

* * *

I went out into the city of Akron with Kaiel.

Of course, Johan and Dante had tried to tag along, but they tucked their tails between their legs and decided to stay behind after receiving my icy glare.

As soon as we were outside, all eyes were on me. I saw people whispering as they looked at my uniform.

‘The rumors must have spread all the way here.’

I was glad I hadn’t worn my cloak. I found a seat at a cafe in the center of the main street.

Thanks to its location, the place was crowded.

Most people were wearing cloaks, which looked bizarre, but the atmosphere was pleasant. There were many customers who looked like families.

“They’re going to fall… someone should stop them.”

I watched the children running between the tables for a moment before turning my attention to the menu.

“…It seems Akron only has coffee.”

There were only two items on the menu. Cold coffee and hot coffee.

“Shouldn’t a cafe at least have cookies or something? Don’t mages eat dessert?”

“We do. We just don’t like it enough to buy it.”

“…So you’re saying you don’t eat it because you think it’s a waste of money.”

“Correct.”

At least the coffee was good.

I finished my cold coffee and soothed my empty mouth with ice.

“Mages really seem to love money.”

“Because money doesn’t betray you.”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. His thought was identical to one I’d had in my past life.

“I think so too. Betrayal is something only people do.”

Kaiel let out a low chuckle.

“About the barrier that was sold at auction. The points are ready.”

“Already?”

“One percent of the winning bid of 2.4 billion. Exactly 24 million points.”

[System: Kaiel has sponsored 24,000,000 points.]

So efficient. I was right to go into business with Kaiel.

I checked my vastly increased point balance and smiled brightly.

“Received. Should I write you a receipt?”

“That won’t be necessary. I can see it in the sponsorship [Record].”

“You’ll be selling the barrier made from the Earth Dragon’s core via auction as well, right?”

“Of course. I plan to hold an auction for it, along with the barriers made from the other cores, as soon as we return.”

“Excellent.”

The day my ultimate skill would become mine was not far off.

‘Now all I have to do is collect the Memory Fragments.’

I ordered another cold coffee and looked around.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic here. This area would be a good place to set up a branch.”

“All seven schools of magic are located around here. Geographically, this is the best location.”

I nodded and stirred my coffee with a straw.

“Do you think the Council of Elders will come to me?”

“They are men of exceptional pride and self-esteem. But they are just as rational. In the end, they will have no choice but to seek you out, Princess.”

“You know them well, as expected of someone from Akron. I was right to come with you, Sir Kaiel. I feel secure.”

Kaiel bowed his head slightly. Even though he was wearing a hood and I could only see his chin, I could tell he was feeling sheepish.

‘So this man gets embarrassed too.’

After fiddling with his coffee cup for a moment, he spoke.

“Do you remember when I mentioned there was something I needed to investigate discreetly?”

“I do. You said you couldn’t sleep because of it. Is it alright if I ask what it was?”

“…”

For once, Kaiel, who always spoke his mind without hesitation, seemed to waver.

“What is it? Is it something difficult to talk about?”

“…It’s about the Second Prince.”

“The Second Prince?”

Why would Kaiel need to investigate Dante? What connection did they have?

Judging by Kaiel’s demeanor, it wasn’t something simple. I lowered my voice.

“Is there some kind of problem with the Second Prince?”

“There was that incident in the Gray Forest.”

“What… Oh, are you talking about when the Second Prince and I were trapped in that pit?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“At that time, the Constellations in my channel said this.”

“What did they say?”

“That the Second Prince was dead.”

“…!”