CHAPTER 31
After a 10-minute break, the second round began immediately.
Everyone was groaning over just one female knight, but the expressions of the magic troops brightened instantly upon hearing they had the right to substitute fighters.
“With substitution rights, we’ve got the winning edge!”
“Let’s crush that damned Estier knight!”
Seeing them clench their fists with enthusiasm, Cecil smirked broadly.
As she drew her sword, the mages each began reciting their incantations as if they’d been waiting for this moment.
The second act had begun.
Cecil unsheathed her sword and slashed it fiercely toward the mages.
Her red hair flew wildly, so similar to the color of her aura that it looked like blazing flames dancing in the air.
“Ugh, damn it!”
Taking advantage of the mages being overwhelmed by her momentum, Cecil wrapped blazing red flame-like aura around her blade and leapt high into the air.
She targeted the mage who was nearest to completing their incantation.
Before he could cast his spell, he had to dodge Cecil’s sword, which disrupted and completely reset his chant.
And then—
“Thought I was done for, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
The mage under attack twisted his lips into a grin and barely managed to block Cecil’s blow using his wand.
He shouted,
“You think we didn’t make a plan during the 10-minute break? We figured out your fighting style from round one! Everyone, attack—!”
He had bought time for the rest of his allies to finish their incantations.
Aside from him, 29 other mages successfully completed their chants, and countless magical circles lit up in the sky.
Cecil bit her lip and attempted to retreat swiftly, but the mages attacked first.
BOOOOM—!
A deafening explosion echoed across the arena.
Sandstorms kicked up, blurring vision. I shut my eyes tight to protect them, while around me, mocking laughter from the remaining mages rang out.
“Hah, so this is the Empire’s so-called greatest knight, approved by Estier? What a joke.”
“Looks like her win in the first round was pure luck.”
“Now that real magic’s been cast, she’s just standing there dumbfounded. She’s like a puppy out in battle for the first time!”
They clutched their bellies laughing and leaned toward me, who was sitting right nearby.
“Your Highness, perhaps you should surrender before you lose your precious knight?”
“She won’t survive Lord Lubrigo’s magic. There’ll be nothing left of her.”
“Just surrender. Defeat isn’t always shameful. Sometimes it brings enlightenment—ha ha!”
“We’ll see.”
I crossed one leg over the other and rested my chin on my hand, gazing down at the arena.
As the sand cleared enough to reveal the field—
“Ah—yep. No matter how cheap it feels, many-on-one battles really are the most fun. Gets the heart pounding.”
A cheerful voice rang loudly across the arena.
Cecil stood up from where she’d fallen, brushing the dust off her backside roughly.
The dilation in the mages’ pupils said everything. I smiled and said,
“Looks like you’ll need a full team substitution, Tower Master.”
“….”
“Wait, make that a complete swap.”
Around Cecil, the mages—now patients—lay sprawled, suffering from electrocution, frostbite, burns, and deep cuts.
A mage from the audience stood up and screamed,
“What the hell…! This is fraud! It’s fraud! The Princess and that knight clearly conspired in some despicable scheme! Otherwise—!”
Even the remaining mages began casting suspicious glances at Cecil and me.
“Lord Lubrigo’s mages aren’t so easily taken down! And those are third-circle mages! They’re strong enough to match an entire Imperial unit!”
“No matter how powerful Cecil Blonmind may be, this calls for an investigation—for the honor of Lord Lubrigo!”
“….”
Adix Lubrigo silently watched his second unit, now utterly defeated, with a chilling expression.
Unaware of the true nature of this outcome, the mages now turned their suspicions on me.
“Your Highness, what exactly did you do to our unit and to Lady Cecil Blonmind?”
“What did I do?”
“We’re asking if you used some foul trick…!”
Well, technically, I did give her some guidance.
‘Our Cecil is so absurdly strong she could slap a Kraken off the southern coast with her bare hands,’—that’s what I hinted at.
One: Fight only with hands and feet as if kneading yeast. But never kill a mage.
Two: No matter the insult, keep your reason over emotion.
Three: If it’s an insult toward me, go ahead and beat them up.
We followed all three perfectly.
No mages died, we maintained rationality in the face of mockery, and when it was about the imperial princess—me—she dished out justified punishment.
Did you really think we didn’t catch on to your plan?
After the first round, they must’ve realized Cecil’s power.
So clearly, the second unit had plotted to send out a sacrificial mage to draw Cecil’s attention.
So I told Cecil:
“Let them hit you like they want.”
“What? But Your Highness, Lord Lubrigo’s mages are far stronger than even the imperial court’s.”
“But you have ‘aura,’ don’t you?”
Only a few transcendents at the peak of power can use their aura to create barriers.
Barriers that might withstand even tremendous magical attacks.
And Cecil had been a transcendent knight since I was 13, so I placed my bet on her.
In short, the mages lying collapsed on the training field were all knocked out by the rebound of their own magic against Cecil’s aura barrier. We didn’t actually do anything sneaky.
I looked at Adix Lubrigo, the master of the mages, and smiled sweetly.
“Tower Master, do you truly believe Sir Cecil and I used underhanded tactics?”
As someone who can see magical flows, he knew we’d fought honorably.
He frowned deeply, grinding his teeth.
“…Estier wins.”
“Tower Master!”
“This is outrageous!”
“We absolutely cannot accept this defeat—urk…!”
Suddenly Adix turned a piercing glare on his subordinates and growled in a cold voice.
“Silence. A bunch of minnows from a muddy stream have just turned Lord Lubrigo’s name into a joke.”
“….”
“No need for a third round. I admit defeat in this first wager. However—”
Adix shot a sharp glance my way.
“I’ll choose the next game, Princess.”
“If that’s what you want.”
I shrugged as if indulging him. Adix let out a bitter chuckle.
“You won’t be smiling soon, Princess.”
“Oh, how scary.”
“Click your tongue all you want. The second wager’s in a week. Until then, we’re in a ceasefire.”
I nodded.
He grabbed one of his lieutenants by the hair and used a teleportation spell. Judging by the atmosphere, that man was the commander of the magic division.
As the mages trembled in humiliation, Carmen came to me with an awkward smile.
“Your Highness, the atmosphere is tense. You should return. I’ll escort you with Sir Cecil.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
“It’s my duty.”
He quickly took my hand and Cecil’s, leading us to the fifth floor.
With a troubled look, he bowed deeply.
“Maybe it’s best not to run into the mages for a while.”
He probably feared they’d retaliate if I encountered them.
I agreed to stay confined in my room for a while, and only then did Carmen sigh in relief, bowing again before vanishing.
As he left, I turned to Cecil, who looked completely disheveled, and asked with concern,
“Are your injuries okay?”
She roughly rubbed at the small scratches on her face.
“This? Bit of spit’ll fix it!”
…I better disinfect her before she gets a secondary infection.
Two days had passed since the first wager with the Tower Master ended. With no word yet, I muttered irritably,
“What kind of game is he planning?”
Usually, the winner decided the format of the next game, but Adix had reversed that.
If that sly fox is scheming, he’ll use this next wager to crush me no matter what.
I shouldn’t have acted so generous.
It wasn’t pride from winning, not even from besting that Adix Lubrigo.
“Guess I’m still just a kid after all.”
Even if my mind’s that of an adult, sometimes my childish body triggered impulsive thinking, and I couldn’t quite hide my embarrassment.
Then—
“Your Highness, you’re worried?”
Asta suddenly appeared out of thin air and rested her face lightly on top of my head. She was so casual about it that I didn’t react, either.
She’d visited me several times—teleporting into my room—ever since the first game ended.
At first, it caught me off guard, but over time I figured she must be lonely.
Asta often babbled about her daily routines and always took me up to the seventh floor.
I stroked her silky hair and asked,
“Are you taking me to Jayster again today?”
I’d grown used to her visits. She nodded silently.
When she held out her hand, I took it naturally. A faint shimmer of light rose around her like a heat haze.
The world distorted slightly—and we were on the familiar seventh-floor corridor.
As always, she brought me to Jayster’s door and beamed at me.
By now, I was curious—
Why was Asta so fixated on Jayster?
Does she have a crush on him?
Since I’m the type to ask questions on the spot, I asked bluntly:
“Why do you care about Jayster so much?”
“Huh?”
“You always bring me here, and you always look at him. Do you like him?”
Asta scrunched her face and shook her head.
“Asta only loves the Tower Master.”
“Then why care so much about Jayster?”
“That’s… he just weighs on my mind.”
Asta stopped and fidgeted with her lips.
“I want to see him smile, not look so sad. But when I get close, my chest feels crushed, so I can’t approach him.”
So that’s why she always watched him from a distance.
I gently stroked her sorrowful head and looked away, troubled.
“All right, just don’t make that face. I’m weak to crying kids.”
Because of Yevgeny crying all the time, I’ve come to see crying children as my greatest weakness.
Seeing my discomfort, Asta giggled and replied, “Okay!” and kept walking.
“Your Highness, I leave him to you again today.”
She dropped me off in front of Jayster’s slightly open door, peeked in through the window to see him, then vanished in an instant.
I shrugged and knocked.
“Jayster, open the doo—”
“Lilian.”
Before I could finish, Jayster opened the door first and called my name.
I was surprised. He murmured softly,
“I thought I heard your footsteps…”
I asked hesitantly,
“You’re not scared of me anymore?”
“We introduced ourselves, didn’t we?”
“But I’m still a princess.”
“I just want to call you Lilian.”
With a drenched-puppy expression, he added, “Is that okay…?”
I ended up shaking my head gently.
“…Go ahead.”
“Thanks, Lilian.”
He smiled brightly and stepped aside. After days of visiting, he’d finally opened his heart.
We sat side by side on the couch, reading or chatting.
I usually shared stories of the imperial family, while he told me about his life. That was the main theme of our talks.
At some point today, he suddenly unwrapped a candy—probably from Adix’s people—and placed it in my hand.
“Hey, Lilian, what kind of deal are you here to make with that man?”
I popped the candy in my mouth and answered,
“There’s a business he’s been working on. If I can get it from him, I might be able to reclaim my rights.”
“Business…?”
“Yeah. It might be the key to taking back what’s mine.”
He looked at me with concern.
“Then… what are you putting on the line?”
“….”
I looked at him silently.
Jayster, having gone through hardship, was sharp—so his unexpected questions often threw me.
I crushed the candy in my teeth and answered simply.
“To break his boring peace.”
“Break it…?”
“Did you know, Jayster? People with too much magic hardly ever age. Unless someone stabs their heart, the Tower Master will keep ruling forever.”
“R-Really…?”
He seemed confused, not seeing how that related to breaking peace.
So I explained lazily.
“Repeating the same routine gets painfully dull. I bet Adix Lubrigo knows that better than anyone. So if I want his business, I need to entertain him.”
“But he’s scarier than you think, Lilian.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because… he always looks angry when he sees me.”
…Huh?
I tilted my head. Jayster continued in a gloomy voice.
“Even when he first brought me here, he frowned. And when I lost my mom’s keepsake… he glared at me, so, so angrily.”
…The Tower Master did that…?
Adix Lubrigo, who freezes at the thought of his own son?
I realized something wasn’t adding up.
