Chapter 45
(Prince’s Point of View)
This is bad—bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad—
What am I supposed to do!?
—No, wait.
There’s still hope.
As long as my older brother, the First Prince, doesn’t come to the royal capital.
If I’m the only prince here, then I’ll be the one to inherit the throne—!
That’s right. Once Sybel arrives, I’ll apologize to her and ask for her forgiveness.
She said she bullied Anika, but that was only because she was jealous of her.
If I tell Sybel that I love her, and if she becomes my fiancée again—this time as the true Saint—then surely she’ll come back to my side!
“Prince Marcus!! This is terrible! We’ve received word that monsters are heading for the castle!!”
“What!?”
At that moment, a retainer burst into the room at full speed, shouting as he entered.
“Please flee at once, Your Highness! Ah—Lady Anika, please, please grant us the Saint’s divine protection…!”
“I-I can’t…! Prince Marcus, please help me…!”
The retainers, who believed Anika to be the Saint, tried to take her away with expressions like drowning men clutching at straw.
“Hey, Marcus, what should we do!?”
“…!”
Anika turned back toward me, her eyes filled with tears as if pleading.
Rick, seeing this, raised his voice as though ordering me—but I couldn’t care less.
If I stop Anika here, it would mean admitting that she isn’t the Saint.
Before Sybel has even arrived, that would be disastrous… wouldn’t it?
“Wyverns!! Prince Marcus! A flock of wyverns is heading this way!!”
“W–What!? Why does this keep happening one thing after another…!”
Another retainer came tumbling in, shouting the report.
Of all monsters—it had to be flying wyverns…!!
They can fly, which makes them especially troublesome. This is truly bad.
It’s almost as if the capital has turned into Tori…!!
“Prince Marcus, please escape through the underground passage immediately…!”
Damn it… is running away my only option now?
Is there really nothing I can do but buy time until Sybel arrives!?
Clenching my teeth, I looked out the window—and even from here, I could see something flying toward us.
Defeating that many wyverns would be no easy task, even for the Royal Knights.
If only the First Knight Order, famed for monster subjugation, were here…!
Ah… it’s hopeless. I’m finished.
At worst, I might be eaten alive by those flying lizards—
“I’m going to fight!”
“Rick…”
“I can use fire magic. I should be able to buy some time until the First Knight Order arrives!!”
As I watched my childhood friend dash off, his brave back disappearing from view, a crushing sense of regret washed over me.
I never imagined it would come to this.
I already knew that excuse wouldn’t be accepted.
Lowering my gaze, I saw Anika—who had grown noticeably plump—collapsed on the floor, sobbing.
The retainers begged her for help, while her mother clutched her shoulders in panic.
…We never should have banished Sybel so easily.
But truly, I never thought it would turn out like this.
I didn’t know.
I had never seen real monsters before.
This country—my surroundings—had been far too peaceful.
“Prince Marcus!”
“…”
I walked over to the window and looked outside carefully.
From this room, I could see everything clearly.
The knights drew their swords, fired their arrows, and fought desperately.
I had always watched their training like this, thinking of it as someone else’s concern.
Born as the king’s son, pleased that I would rule in an era blessed with a Saint, I believed the Saint would simply bring peace to the country without me having to do anything.
Relations with neighboring nations were good. With a Saint, everything would be fine from now on.
I thought I was a lucky prince—
That all I needed was to gain the position of crown prince instead of my brother.
“…Was I wrong?”
“Prince Marcus…”
Anika reacted to the words that slipped from my lips.
Still, I didn’t take my eyes off the knights fighting outside.
They loosed arrow after arrow at the approaching wyverns—but missed.
Even so, not a single knight showed any sign of giving up.
But it was useless. They would all be killed anyway.
—Just as that thought crossed my mind,
The wyverns’ movements suddenly slowed.
The knights’ arrows began to hit their marks one after another, and the wyverns fell to the ground.
“What in the world is…?”
“It’s the First Knight Order!!”
“What!?”
Following a retainer’s shout, I looked into the distance and saw several carriages racing toward the capital.
Ah…
It’s Saint Sybel.
Sybel has returned to the royal capital—
The moment I realized that, all strength drained from my body.
