Chapter 32
“Mi—Miss…?”
One of the knights gently placed a fingertip on Lorr’s shoulder. She was still standing frozen in place.
The young lady was so small and fragile that he was careful not to grab or lift her.
“Y-yes!”
Lorr answered obediently and took a few steps back, her gaze still fixed on Kainel.
Kainel had just finished sparring with Alcaid and was visibly exhausted.
He tried to catch his breath slowly, but his entire body was already soaked in sweat.
Even without drawing his sword, there was a sharpness in the tension he held, ready to strike at any moment.
It felt like Reycal and Kainel could clash swords at any second. The way they stared at each other was intense.
Sparks seemed to fly in the space between them.
If this continued, they really might start fighting…!
“No!”
Bravely, Lorr leaped into the midst of the sparks.
Feeling the gazes of Kainel and Reycal turn toward her, Lorr turned to Reycal and spoke seriously:
“Kainel is hurt!”
Then, as if warning him not to do something, she crossed her short arms into an X.
Reycal was momentarily speechless.
Seeing Lorr shielding Kainel behind her back while scolding him made him feel like a real villain.
No, I just let this little brat have a sparring match… and now I’m a bad guy for hurting a child?
Reycal’s cheeks puffed up. He felt both wronged and frustrated.
Even the promise to be gentle melted away in front of Lorr’s unwavering green eyes.
Even when Reycal glared, Lorr spread her arms to block him, as if to protect Kainel. Of course, Kainel was bigger than Lorr, so his head stuck out a little.
Seeing Reycal frozen in panic, Lorr turned to Kainel and spoke in a stern voice:
“Kainel! You get scolded too!”
“No, I didn’t do anything…”
“Tsk!”
From behind the small yet sturdy Lorr, Kainel, who had been so confident, tried to resist when the scolding turned toward him.
But seeing Lorr’s strict expression, he quickly averted his gaze and pretended to ignore it.
Lorr clicked her tongue like an adult and began scolding Kainel:
“You’ve been lying in bed for so long! Even sparring with your father just now must have been tiring! If you keep overdoing it, you’ll just end up in bed again! No way!”
After a thorough scolding, Lorr narrowed her eyes, raised her eyebrows, and pressed her lips together.
“…….”
Everyone in the training hall remained silent.
‘Hehe. Everyone’s scared of Lorr!’
Lorr felt a bit proud and shrugged her shoulders. It almost looked like her shoulders were rising to her ears.
In truth, everyone was too busy trying to calm their hearts at Lorr’s cute, capable demeanor to speak—but Lorr had no way of knowing that.
With no one correcting her, her misunderstanding only deepened.
All the servants held their breath, watching the standoff between the three.
But there was one person who wasn’t charmed by Lorr’s cuteness, only struggling in frustration.
“No…”
Reycal had only agreed to the sparring because Kainel wanted it, yet he ended up feeling like a villain tormenting a sick child.
‘Why is everyone acting like it’s all my fault?’
He felt upset with Lorr too. Unlike the mysterious little brat, he was her cousin, sharing the same blood.
And yet she worried more about that kid than me? I wasn’t the only one holding a sword…
As Reycal was about to send a resentful look toward Lorr, he felt a sharp gaze from above. It was Kainel.
When Reycal looked at him, Kainel’s usually sharp eyes softened slightly.
A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth, teasingly.
The kid was mocking him, and it wasn’t just a tease—it was a victorious sort of smile, as if he’d won.
Reycal’s hair bristled—not from fear, but anger!
Finally, the anger Reycal had been holding back exploded.
“That brat was the one who wanted to spar first! As the Crown Prince, I can’t ignore someone who challenges me.”
Raising his sword, Reycal gestured toward Kainel.
That cheeky little brat made that expression where Lorr couldn’t see it. He was definitely trying to annoy him.
It was annoying enough that he was lurking next to Lorr. Well, it’s a good opportunity to teach him a lesson.
“You can’t just protect your friend like that.”
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely—not jealousy. There’s no way the Crown Prince would feel such petty emotions for some insignificant kid like Kainel.
“So, Lorr, you don’t need to step in. Everyone is responsible for themselves.”
Yes, it was improper to have someone intervene during a sparring match. Lorr’s action was out of line.
‘So, I’m justified.’
Reycal’s twisted sense of righteousness showed clearly on his face. His expression was blank, his voice stiff, and his eyes glared even more sharply.
Now, out of pride alone, he couldn’t put down his sword.
Lorr tilted her head, seemingly trying to understand Reycal’s firm words.
She didn’t understand why her brother wouldn’t lower his sword, or why he wanted to fight someone who was hurt, even though Kainel had said he was in pain.
Then her eyes met Reycal’s.
‘Ah!’
A flash struck Lorr’s mind. Reycal’s gaze reminded her of the expression he had in the dining hall—like he was looking at the thing he hated most in the world.
…the expression when he disliked Lorr, and the expression now were almost the same.
‘…Does he dislike Kainel too?’
But Reycal had just met Kainel today. There was no reason to dislike him.
As Lorr rolled her eyes, thinking hard, realization dawned. Her heart turned cold.
‘Is it… because of me…?’
Thump. Thump.
Her heart pounded.
Being disliked by someone hurt terribly.
And Reycal’s expression was exactly the same as before.
The expression of someone disliking another.
So…
‘Could it be… he dislikes Kainel because he dislikes me?!’
Otherwise, there was no reason for Reycal to dislike Kainel, whom he was meeting for the first time.
Crash!
Lightning struck Lorr’s mind. She looked at Reycal with trembling eyes.
Unaware of Lorr’s conflicted thoughts, Reycal gripped his sword tightly and declared:
“Then, if you’re ready, let’s begin the sparring.”
“…It’s fine, Lorr.”
Even with Reycal’s cold words, Kainel responded meekly.
And then he gave a gentle smile, as if resigned to the situation.
Reycal, a head taller and much bigger, stronger, and sturdier than Kainel.
And Kainel, still hurt (in Lorr’s eyes), pale, sweat beading on his face from the earlier sparring.
It was obvious to Lorr who looked worse.
“Y-you… y-you… villain!”
Lorr screamed, her eyes sharp as daggers.
“Reycal… is a villain!”
Hurting the weak is villainous!
“Is that so?”
“Yes. In the training hall, that’s what happened between the young lady, His Highness the Crown Prince, and the child named Kainel.”
Alcaid, reviewing documents, chuckled softly at the report. After dealing with serious matters all day, hearing this small, trivial story lifted his mood.
Even the youngest, Lorr, had successfully mediated the dispute. He thought it deserved a reward.
He regretted not being able to see Lorr bustling about firsthand.
“What should we do?”
Since it was a child’s matter and no serious harm was done, they could probably just let it go.
Thanks to Lorr’s desperate intervention, the sparring never happened.
It was said that even now, whenever Lorr looked at Reycal, sparks still seemed to fly in her eyes…
But it was a matter for children; time would solve it.
Thinking of Lorr upset because of Reycal was saddening, but Reycal must have taken a bit of a hit as well, so maybe it was fair.
‘Being hated by Lorr is only a loss for him.’
Alcaid smiled faintly, recalling how Lorr had jumped for joy at the news that Reycal, her cousin, was coming.
“Well, let the children solve their own matters. Besides…”
Tap, tap, tap.
Alcaid tapped the desk with his fingers, lost in thought, as he returned to reviewing the documents.
