~Chapter 31~
“Hey, wait…! I’m unarmed right now…!”
“It’s your fault for wandering in here with no weapon! Why didn’t you even bring your sword?”
“Did you come to the training ground for a date or something?”
“Oh, right, how could a lion even hold a sword? Just pull out your claws right now!”
He must be pretty strong if he’s the captain, but—
Leopard, surrounded by the others while unarmed, was soon on the defensive.
Soon enough, he was rolling on the ground, and the wolf-knights started kicking him without mercy.
“You crazy idiots! This is mutiny…!”
“Ha, where does a beast dare to talk back to a human?”
And when the golden knights saw their captain and boyfriend being beaten up so badly…
Instead of stopping it, they just pointed and burst out laughing.
“Puhahaha—!”
Wow, what a mess.
Funny thing is, there aren’t even any actual dogs here.
Elodie really didn’t want to know any more about Leopard’s wild personal life, so she tugged on Howlf’s sleeve.
“Just bring all the wolves with you.”
Of course, she planned to reward the ones who helped her feel better, even if it was just a little.
While Edmund was walking from the library to the main palace—
“Ed.”
A soft voice like a breeze called out.
It was so gentle and pleasant, no one could dislike that sweet voice.
But Edmund frowned a little at the sound of that familiar voice.
‘So he really did come to Valkyrisen.’
Cesare Martino Silveria.
He glanced back to check, then hugged his books tighter and kept walking.
“Don’t call me so casually.”
“That’s cold, aren’t we childhood friends?”
“I don’t have anything like that.”
“You shouldn’t say that out loud.”
The prince just smiled lazily, following behind like he was used to it.
The heir to Silveria always showed more interest than necessary in Edmund, who was really just someone he knew as a kid.
He would come close, judge, and even get angry all on his own.
Edmund always found it annoying and troublesome.
Even though they didn’t get along, Cesare just couldn’t leave him alone.
“If you want friends, just pick someone else. There are plenty of people around.”
“But the only person I want to be friends with is right here.”
“Anyone except me.”
“You have a bad habit, you know. You never try to hang around people with high status.”
Did he think I was jealous…?
Edmund stopped and gave him a look of disbelief.
He was actually impressed that Cesare could even think of something like that.
Edmund never chose who to talk to by status.
He never even cared about people enough to use words like “hang around.”
If anyone ever felt that way, it was probably because the so-called high-status people were rude in front of him.
Like now.
“Oh, finally you look at me.”
The prince winked, like it was just a joke to get Edmund’s attention.
Edmund saw no point in answering and turned away.
But Cesare was persistent.
“I heard you got engaged. That’s why I came.”
“Just another rumor, I guess.”
“Really? It sounded like a pretty believable rumor to me.”
“It’s not true.”
“Then who was that girl my servant offended? The one they say you defended?”
“Not your business.”
“I came to apologize. It’s a master’s duty to take responsibility for their servant’s mistakes.”
“I already took care of it according to Valkyrisen’s law, and you accepted that, so there’s nothing more you need to worry about.”
“…”
So you’re defending her?
Seeing Edmund shut him down so clearly, Cesare tilted his head, like he was thinking, “What’s this?”
Edmund always got angry if someone tried to mess with the weak. But he’d never seen him act like this over a fiancée before.
‘The young master’s fiancée…’
So he really does have one now.
‘I heard she’s so beautiful you can’t look away if you see her just once.’
He thought he’d heard a rumor like that.
A strange smile spread on Cesare’s lips.
Did he fall for her at first sight or something?
Whether it was true or not, seeing Edmund try to hide it made Cesare want to dig even more.
“No. I really need to apologize.”
“…”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“Since when did you ever care about doing the right thing?”
Edmund let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead.
His golden eyes, shining between his fingers, were sharp as a blade.
“Your Highness.”
“…”
“No one in Valkyrisen should ever be treated as a toy. No one here deserves that, not even someone who’ll be king someday.”
“You’re always so rude.”
You really think of me as a villain, huh?
Even when Cesare tried to look hurt, Edmund didn’t even blink.
“Hmph.”
Cesare dropped the act and shrugged his shoulders.
His green eyes flashed coldly between his rounded eyelids.
“Just answer me one thing.”
“….”
“If you answer, I’ll leave—without even saying sorry like you want.”
What does he want to ask now?
Edmund held back his annoyance, thinking if answering would get Cesare to leave, he might as well do it.
“My servant almost stole that ‘magic cotton,’ right? I never expected to find it hidden in Valkyrisen.”
“Are you asking why I didn’t sell it in the market?”
“No, if you just let everyone use it, it wouldn’t be rare anymore.”
Magic that even animals and commoners could use?
Who would even want that?
“Would I really ask something so obvious? What I want to know is—why didn’t you use it?”
As usual, Edmund didn’t get what he meant.
“Why would I use it?”
“You have no reason not to. If you used the magic cotton to learn magic, your value would go up.”
“With the duke’s sword skills, and magic on top of that… You’d be admired everywhere you go.”
Wouldn’t that be a waste?
“Why would I want power that isn’t really mine?”
“Why isn’t Valkyrisen’s magic cotton yours?”
Edmund frowned, annoyed he even had to explain this.
“Being born with magic talent is rare. If I learned magic with no effort or respect, I’d be stealing someone else’s hope or dream.”
“If someone really needed that power, I’d give it to them.”
“I was lucky to be born a noble and have so much. I don’t want to take more and steal someone’s chance.”
“Noblesse oblige.”
Cesare let out a bitter laugh.
He was sure Edmund would never see him as one of those “people who truly need it.”
Cesare smirked.
When he spoke again, his voice was sharp as a knife.
“What if learning even basic magic could have saved your parents when the old duke died? Did your stubborn ideas make you miss your only chance…?”
But before he could finish, a sword was silently pressed against his throat.
