The Tigeris Subjugation Camp
Aleon, who was sipping wine from a brass cup, lifted his gaze.
“Is that true?”
“Yes! There aren’t as many monsters as expected. For something that arrived later in the year than usual, their condition is fairly calm.”
With a doubtful look on his face, Aleon stared out at the vast forest across from him.
“That’s a little odd.”
Winter was the season when the monster population exploded. It was also when they became most ferocious.
‘But they’re calm, you say.’
Turning the cup in his hand absentmindedly, he said,
“You’re sure about this?”
The scout straightened up and nodded vigorously.
“Yes! We suspect it’s because summer lasted longer than usual this year.”
Aleon nodded and gestured for him to leave.
The wine in his cup rippled slightly. Aleon stared into it and murmured,
“…It looks like I’ll be able to return within the promised time.”
He turned his head to the side.
“Ansen. Are the enhancers and potions ready?”
But there was no response.
In front of the burning campfire, Ansen was nodding off despite his lord’s question.
“…Ansen Daniel.”
“Yes?”
Only after Aleon called him again did Ansen finally lift his head.
“I asked if the thirty units of weapon enhancers and healing potions I ordered earlier are prepared.”
Still groggy from sleep, Ansen blinked blankly and then nodded quickly.
“Ah… yes, they’re ready. They’re on the supply wagon. I can make more on demand if needed.”
“Good.”
“Are you trying to keep your promise to the Lady?”
Ansen yawned widely as he asked.
Aleon took a sip of wine with a weary look, staring at Ansen as if he were a nuisance.
That man always managed to turn one sentence into ten.
“I mean, seriously. Using thirty enhancers just to fight monsters? If it were me, I’d reconsider.”
“…”
“Of course, I know Your Grace is the richest man in the Empire, but still, you should try to be a little more frugal…”
Ansen trailed off mid-sentence.
Aleon’s eyes on him were as menacing as a monster’s.
“…I was just offering a personal opinion.”
Ansen cleared his throat and looked away from the duke’s gaze.
Soon, the sight of knights laughing and drinking caught his eyes.
Just watching them was enough to give him a headache.
He muttered,
“…So noisy. No wonder they’re called barbarians.”
At that, a knight roasting bird meat nearby shot to his feet.
“Hey, Twig! What did you just say?!”
Ansen frowned and waved his hand dismissively.
“…Your animal instincts must make your ears sharp.”
But the knight had already approached him.
Despite his intimidating build, his face was full of mischief. He threw an arm around Ansen’s shoulders and grinned.
“Oh? Our druggie’s face looks a little weird today.”
Ansen looked at him like he was a bug and shook his head.
“…Pick one nickname—Twig or druggie, Pig.”
“What?!”
The knight’s face turned bright red as he stood up. He was so large that the ground shook when he stomped his foot.
From across the way, someone said nonchalantly,
“Kopel, leave the druggie alone and come over here.”
“But he just called me a pig!”
“Well, you are a pig.”
“Felix, you bastard! Did you really just say that?!”
Ansen looked back and forth between Kopel and Felix with a fed-up expression.
The two were so inseparable that people around them had started calling them “Kopelix” as a pair.
“Captain! No, Your Grace! Instead of this weakling, you should’ve brought Kashian! He may be young, but he’s way more useful than this twig!”
Kopel shouted, flustered. Aleon, who had been quietly sipping wine, frowned.
Aleon had once been the captain of the Tigeris Knights during the Imperial War years ago.
Veteran members like Kopel still called him “Captain” out of old habit.
“Your Grace, I agree,” Felix chimed in. “If you’d left the druggie and brought Kashian, we could’ve shortened this mission by three days.”
Aleon slowly placed his empty cup on the ground.
“Enough.”
Kopel and Felix instantly shut their mouths.
“We’d actually lose time without this guy’s enhancers. And most of you have already benefitted from his potions.”
The knights hesitated but eventually nodded in reluctant agreement.
Monsters from the Cursed Lands varied wildly in type and danger level.
If you were unlucky, you might encounter a wyvern or a huge ogre.
Even elite soldiers of Tigeris occasionally got injured facing those kinds of threats.
Ansen’s healing potions were essential in such situations.
He was reputed to be a rising star in the Empire—and it seemed that wasn’t entirely false.
His potions could heal even gruesome, torn-up wounds in no time.
Looking around at the now subdued knights, Ansen smirked and said,
“Now that you’ve realized that, try to watch your mouths. Otherwise, if your heads or arms get lopped off, there won’t be any potions coming your way.”
His mocking tone made Kopel’s face flush again.
But he just twitched his lips and said nothing more.
Truth be told, Aleon’s knights were fond of Ansen despite the teasing.
They had something in common.
Many members of the elite Tigeris force were commoners like Ansen—some had been beggars, foreigners, or menial workers in backwater mercenary groups.
The reason they’d made it into the knight order of one of the Empire’s Four Great Dukes?
Aleon’s principle of judging purely by merit.
Duke Tigeris was well-known for not discriminating based on status.
He never disrespected those with abilities just because they weren’t noble-born.
It was a sharp contrast to the Empire of Ervia, where the powers of commoners weren’t even acknowledged as “real abilities.”
Ansen himself was a commoner. He may have looked too weak to even lift a sword properly, but he never held the knight order back.
That was proof of the Duke’s discerning eye.
“…Now that I think about it, Kashian might’ve actually been a hassle due to his inexperience. At least the druggie has been here a few times—no need to teach him everything.”
Kopel muttered in a more subdued tone.
“Besides, Kashian stayed behind to protect the Lady. He may be young, but he’s diligent. No worries there.”
Jackson added, and Felix nodded, raising his drink again.
Aleon, watching them, finally spoke.
“There are fewer monsters than expected, and they’re not especially aggressive. We’ll finish this quickly and return to the capital.”
All the knights bowed their heads.
“Yes! Let’s start bashing them in tomorrow!”
Kopel’s cheerful voice kicked off another rowdy drinking party.
Aleon refilled his glass with wine and looked up at the sky.
Hard to believe this was the sky above the Cursed Lands—it was filled with beautifully twinkling stars.
In a nearby forest
“My name is Tatio.”
“…”
“Not Rubel.”
Rubel muttered coldly.
We had come outside and were now facing each other across an old wooden table.
I met his wary gaze and quickly nodded.
“Y-Yeah, you’re Tatio.”
And in a trembling voice, I added,
“…But I came because I know you’re the missing prince.”
Rubel’s expression hardened again. I continued speaking.
“I also know that you plan to go to the capital in a few years.”
At that, his eyes widened slightly.
A cold breeze blew past, rustling our hair. I shivered from the chill.
In the original novel, Rubel had been in the capital.
Even though he had a hidden base in the Cursed Lands, he showed himself in the capital without hiding.
As a result, he was constantly exposed to danger and pursued by assassins—but still, he stayed there.
‘There must be a reason Rubel chose that path.’
Someone so sensitive about survival wouldn’t go to the capital without knowing the risk.
‘There must’ve been something worth risking his life for.’
My eyes grew calm with clarity. His hidden identity was the “Missing Prince.”
There was only one possible answer.
‘He must be trying to reclaim the throne.’
Otherwise, it didn’t make sense.
Even in the novel, although it wasn’t explicitly stated, he moved with Esteline for that goal.
I looked at him with unwavering certainty and, though a bit late, began the speech I had prepared.
“And also… I know you’re going to get hurt. Badly. Your life will be in danger.”
Surprise flashed in Rubel’s eyes. I tried to stay calm as I held out both hands.
“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything now. How do I know all this? Well…”
“…?”
…Where should I start?
With how I possessed this body?
Even though I had prepared for this, explaining it suddenly felt complicated. As I was organizing my thoughts—
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through.
“You can see the future.”
My thoughts froze. I opened my eyes wide.
Rubel was watching me with a strange expression as he blurted out the unexpected words.
“Huh?”
“Your power. It’s seeing the future.”
His face was completely serious—no trace of doubt in his expression.
I blinked dumbly, forgetting to even respond.
‘What the heck is he saying?’
…I had planned to tell him everything honestly.
To convince him, I thought it best to reveal all my secrets.
First, I’d explain my possession, then share my true goals.
But now, I didn’t understand why Rubel was suddenly saying this.
“…Why would you think that?”
He finally answered.
“Because I already know someone like that.”
He frowned, clearly troubled, and rubbed his temples. Then he muttered to himself,
“So that’s why you knew my identity.”
“…”
“You knew I was a prince because of that.”
His golden eyes held traces of anguish.
A long silence followed.
I couldn’t find any words, just blinked.
Then his lips slowly parted again.
“…But you said you came to protect me.”
At that moment, the moon emerged from behind the clouds. Bathed in its light, Rubel’s face looked stunning.
I found myself staring at his eyes, almost entranced.
“Then… are you on my side?”
Once again, he threw out a completely unexpected question.
My lips parted slightly in surprise.
‘Right now… more important than my identity or goals, is whether I’m on his side?’
But soon enough, I nodded to myself inwardly.
‘…Yeah. Why take the hard road when there’s an easy one?’
“Yes. I’m on your side.”
