ADVD 02

Chapter 2

Everyone watching was horrified.

It was only natural. After all, this wasn’t just anyone—this was the Crown Prince’s presentation.

And a mere prince, of all people, had completely ruined it.

But the one who caused the commotion, the 13th prince himself, didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Uwaaah! S-Save me! I said save me! Aaaaaah!”

The 13th prince rolled across the stage, thrashing about. His face was a mess of tears and snot.

The Crown Prince stood frozen, staring blankly at the shattered model of the capital.

Unable to watch any longer, the Emperor shot to his feet and shouted,

“What are you all doing?! Drag the 13th prince out of here!”

“D-Don’t come near me! I taste bad! Nooo, aaaaaah!”

Finally, after several palace attendants dragged the 13th prince offstage by force, silence returned to the salon.

“Has the boy gone mad? This won’t be taken lightly!”

The Emperor was clearly furious. Several nobles rushed to his side, trying to calm him down.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind all this—Cecil—was thinking…

“Was that too much for a twelve-year-old? I thought I was holding back…”

She had always dealt with adults and powerful opponents. So even if she thought she’d gone easy, it probably wasn’t “easy” by the standards of a twelve-year-old kid.

“I’ll have to tone down the strength of my illusions from now on.”

As she was reflecting, someone suddenly pointed at Cecil and spoke up.

“It was Cecil! I saw her do something weird to Henry!”

It was the 4th princess, Susanna. She was seventeen, and though not quite as favored as the Crown Prince, she was still among the Emperor’s beloved.

Henry was the name of the 13th prince.

“I swear it’s true! She pressed her hand against Henry’s forehead and muttered something, and after that, he started acting weird!”

At Susanna’s shrill voice, every eye turned to Cecil.

The Emperor also turned toward her.

“Was this your doing?”

His voice was as cold as ice. It didn’t resemble the voice of a father speaking to his eight-year-old daughter in the slightest.

“Answer me, Cecil. Did you do that to Henry?”

Cecil widened her eyes innocently, as if she had no idea what was being said.

“Huh? I don’t understand what you’re all talking about. How could I possibly do something like that to Henry?”

Tears welled up in Cecil’s big, round eyes.

Having lived as a wicked dark mage who had deceived countless people, shedding a few tears to draw sympathy was child’s play for her.

“Sister Susanna, Father… Please believe me. I didn’t do anything. You know what they say—I’m just ‘Hopeless Cecil.’”

Even as she sniffled, Cecil made sure to control her gaze and tone precisely.

The quiver in her voice and her words were all carefully calculated.

On the other hand, Susanna, despite being a favorite of the Emperor, was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.

Compared to the seasoned dark mage Cecil, Susanna’s ability to sway public opinion didn’t stand a chance. She didn’t even have any real evidence.

“Poor thing, being called ‘hopeless’ by her siblings…”

“Imagine a seventeen-year-old going after an eight-year-old like that…”

As expected, the crowd’s reaction tilted exactly the way Cecil wanted.

She received looks of pity and empathy, while Susanna drew glances of criticism.

In such a situation, Cecil was confident she could get out of the accusations easily—

—if only she were in her usual condition.

Just as she was about to deliver a few final words to seal her innocence, a wave of dizziness hit her. Her stomach churned and strength drained from her limbs.

“Ah… I must’ve overdone it.”

To think using just that level of illusion magic would leave her like this… An eight-year-old body really was more trouble than she’d thought.

Susanna wasted no time attacking the opening.

“So you’re saying I’m lying? How dare you, you insolent little 17th princess!”

“Calm down, Susanna. If we really want to know whether Cecil did something, we can bring in a court mage.”

The Crown Prince, who had been observing quietly, spoke up.

“A court mage would be able to detect even the faintest traces of magic. Personally, I don’t believe an eight-year-old could do anything like that… But if you insist, feel free to check.”

He gave her a sly smile as he finished.

“This is bad.”

Cecil knew how to conceal magical traces, but not in her current state.

At this rate, everything would be exposed.

The cause of the 13th prince’s outburst. The fact that she used dark magic.

Even knowing this, Cecil tried to stand—but stumbled and collapsed.

“…!”

But she didn’t hit the ground.

Two large hands caught her. The embrace was warm and steady.

Jet-black hair like raven feathers. Fierce golden eyes like a predator’s. A sharply defined nose and jawline. A body so well-built it couldn’t be hidden even under a thick coat.

The man holding Cecil looked like a sculpture, beautiful yet strangely ominous.

And Cecil knew exactly who he was.

“So you came, villainous duke.”

From his arms, she smiled faintly.

Raven V. Bartholomew.

A legendary villain and a mastermind of crime.

His infamy was so great that people said 70% of the crimes in the capital were influenced by him.

No one dared to cross him. Not even the Emperor.

The Duke of Bartholomew wrapped his coat around Cecil and stood up.

“I’ve heard the imperial family is bloodless and tearless, that they teach their children to survive by devouring their siblings.”

His sharp golden eyes swept over the gathered royals—especially the Emperor.

“I thought it was just a nasty rumor. But seeing an eight-year-old being cornered like this over baseless accusations… perhaps it’s true.”

“B-Baseless? What do you know—!”

At Susanna’s protest, the Duke’s voice turned cold as ice.

“Is it reasonable to say an eight-year-old made the 13th prince go insane? Driving a child to the point of collapse in front of all these people over something so laughable… It seems this royal family has no decent human beings.”

Despite his biting words, Susanna couldn’t say a thing. His menacing aura left her frozen in fear.

“As expected, the Duke of Bartholomew has a soft spot for kids.”

Cecil knew him well.

The great villain of their time, and yet surprisingly tender toward children.

And he was not the type to stand by when a child was being unjustly interrogated and collapsed in front of him.

“After all, even before my regression, he and I shared a deep, unbreakable connection.”

When Cecil had been searching among the noble attendees for someone to rely on, she had spotted him.

And after much thought, she had come to one conclusion—he was the only choice.

“Even if I’m just one of dozens of princesses, and no one really cares about me, I’m still royal property. A political tool, ripe for marriage alliances.”

In fact, before her regression, she had almost been used exactly that way.

So there was no way the imperial family would give her up easily.

“To take someone like me, you need to be from a house powerful enough to counter even the imperial family… And in this empire, only the Bartholomew family fits that bill.”

Thus, Cecil made her decision—to entrust herself to the Duke of Bartholomew.

“Well then, I think I’ve seen enough. I’ll be taking my leave. I’ll escort Her Highness myself.”

“Duke Bartholomew, wait!”

“Duke Bartholomew!”

Brushing off those trying to stop him, the duke carried Cecil out of the salon.

On the way to the royal quarters, Cecil spoke from his arms.

“Um, Your Grace…”

At the sound of her voice, the duke turned to look at her. His once cold eyes softened so suddenly it was almost surprising.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Please take me with you. I don’t want to stay in the palace anymore. I want to go with you.”

Cecil rolled up her sleeve, showing her bare arm. It was covered in red wounds and blue bruises.

“My brothers and sisters… they hate me. They bully me and hit me whenever they feel like it.”

A flicker of emotion flared in the duke’s eyes as he saw her injuries.

“And the adults don’t help. Even when they see my siblings hit me, they just ignore it.”

Her voice trembled, as though it could break at any moment.

“I really hate it here. If you’d take me with you, I would…”

Even though the Duke was known to be soft toward children, Cecil didn’t believe for a second that pity alone would move him.

She was a powerful dark mage and someone who had returned from the past—she had a wealth of knowledge. Including things that could be useful in a deal with the Duke.

She was just about to offer one of them when—

“I understand,” he said.