Translator: Nox

Chapter 24

“What……”

Lloyd stood there blankly for a long while before twisting his face like a furious demon.

He pointed at me and raised his voice.

“You think that lame excuse is gonna fly!? And my knight was just carrying out my orders, so there’s no issue…!”

“Lloyd, Your Highness! My rudeness was only to stop the fight between Your Highnesses, who are brothers, but that man pushed Imperial Prince Your Highness without any reason, so his crime is far heavier!”

Before Lloyd could even finish, I unleashed a barrage of excuses.

My voice boomed so thunderously that even the leaves dangling from the trees shook.

“So, if you punish him first, I will gladly accept my own punishment!”

Once I’d finished speaking, I hugged Edwin close and bowed deeply.

Thanks to that, not only the noble youths gathered there but even the passing servants began whispering as they looked our way.

“That’s true enough. For a mere knight to dare lay hands on an Imperial Prince’s body……”

“No matter how easygoing the Third Prince is, shoving him is going too far……”

“He might be the Second Prince Your Highness’s guard knight, but he’s just a lowly subordinate like the rest of us— isn’t that too reckless?”

Lloyd’s guard knight seemed to realize the mood was turning against him.

The bastard finally grabbed me by the collar.

“What did you say, you bitch!? Only Lloyd Your Highness can judge my crime! How dare you!”

“That goes for me too!”

“What?”

“My master is Edwin Your Highness, so only Edwin Your Highness can judge my crime! You don’t get to butt in!”

“You, you loudmouthed bitch! Who do you think you’re messing with!?”

The knight’s face flushed red then purple as he seized my wrist.

Then, with his other hand, he hoisted his sword high.

The instant the knight’s blade gleamed with sharp menace under the noonday sun—

“Argh—!”

The knight let out a short, guttural scream and crumpled to the ground.

His right wrist—the one gripping the sword—was twisted at a grotesque angle.

“You shouldn’t swing a sword recklessly in the Imperial Palace.”

It was a languid baritone that slithered up my spine like a shiver.

I slowly lifted my head.

Standing where the knight had been was a man.

A man clad in pitch-black armor.

“Careful. That’s dangerous.”

The man twirled the sword in his hand with casual ease.

It was unmistakably the one the knight had held just moments before.

Lost in a daze staring at him, I barely noticed Lloyd approaching.

He looked far more irritated than before, though his tone had grown polite.

“King Kaiden, Your Majesty.”

Kaiden, the young king of the fledgling Adamant Kingdom, gave the Second Prince a brief nod.

Evidently displeased by the casual gesture, Lloyd scowled.

“Why is Your Majesty here?”

In response to Lloyd’s question, Kaiden continued with a smile playing on his lips.

“I was just passing by and thought this lady was being attacked by some thug, so I intervened.”

The guard knight wore silver plate armor and carried a sword.

Anyone could tell he was a knight, yet the man feigned ignorance as if deliberately toying with the Second Prince.

Lloyd’s voice sharpened, as if he’d been personally insulted.

“This man isn’t a thug— he’s my guard knight!”

“Oh? Is that right?”

Kaiden widened his eyes, the picture of genuine surprise.

“I had no idea. He just looked like a common thug swinging a sword at a woman, no matter how I squinted.”

“Hah!”

Lloyd drew in a sharp, incredulous breath at the king’s words.

“Your Highness, before you start nitpicking other people’s subordinates, maybe manage your own first.”

“Wh-what……”

“Of course, you’ll want to curb that habit of lopping off hands for the pettiest reasons first.”

“Petty reasons? How dare you talk to me like that…!”

It was right then, as the furious Lloyd began raising his voice.

“Lloyd, mind your manners with a guest.”

“Father…?”

From behind the man stepped someone draped in a crimson cloak.

A middle-aged man wearing a crown adorned with jewels.

Kabelius III, Emperor of the Ventrum Empire.

He had the plain look of a rural villager rather than an emperor, but his eyes were anything but ordinary.

“We see the Sun of the Empire—!”

At the emperor’s abrupt arrival, everyone flung themselves flat to the ground.

Lloyd, too, dropped to one knee with a flustered expression.

“The Second Prince sees you, Father!”

He wore the look of someone who’d never dreamed the emperor would show up here.

“Lloyd, what is this commotion in the sacred Imperial Palace?”

“Well, that woman was rude to me, so I was about to punish her.”

“Rude? What sort of rudeness?”

“That’s……”

Lloyd hesitated to speak.

Of course— he was in the wrong too.

The emperor sighed at his second son.

“Enough. If you won’t answer, I’ll ask someone else.”

The emperor’s gaze settled on me.

“Rise.”

At his command, I stood and bowed deeply at the waist.

“We see the Sun of the Empire.”

“You’re the one who was shouting just now?”

“Yes.”

“Fine lungs on you. I heard it all the way from the path I was on.”

“My apologies.”

“Very well. Is everything you said the truth?”

The emperor fixed me with his stare and pressed on.

“You touched the Second Prince only to stop a fight between princes, while that knight laid hands on the Third Prince for no reason.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

That was when the Second Prince’s knight cut in, interrupting me.

“Y-Your Majesty! I’m innocent! It was just a mistake!”

The emperor’s eyes turned icy cold.

“I don’t recall granting you leave to speak.”

“I-I’m s-sorry.”

Why butt in when you’re beyond saving?

I shot the knight a silent sneer in my mind and bowed my head.

“Yes, exactly as Your Majesty heard.”

“So you claim innocence, while he’s guilty?”

“I never said that. I only asked that he be punished first, since his crime outweighs mine.”

“Hm.”

The emperor hummed thoughtfully, then raised his hand with evident resolve.

At that single gesture, the guards standing in formation behind him surged forward.

“Drag that one to the execution grounds and sever an arm. Strip him of his knighthood as well.”

At the emperor’s decree, the Second Prince’s guard knight went deathly pale.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty—! I’m innocent! Lloyd Your Highness, save me! Lloyd Your Highness!”

The knight stretched a hand toward Lloyd, but it was no use.

His master had cast him aside long ago.

“And as for you.”

The emperor turned to Edwin, who trembled at my side.

The boy looked so terrified he could scarcely draw breath.

The emperor watched him a moment longer, then shifted his gaze back to me.

“Your actions were rude, but your intent was pure, so I’ll overlook the offense this once. Don’t expect it again.”

“I am most grateful, Your Majesty.”

Just then, Lloyd shot to his feet, his face thunderous.

“Father! That woman grabbed my arm and shoved me too! How can you—!”

“Lloyd. Enough.”

“Father—!”

Even I found it surprising.

My punishment—if you could call it that—was far too lenient compared to the knight’s.

But the emperor showed no sign of relenting.

“Lloyd, I’ll personally select your new guard knight. Leave it there.”

“Ugh!”

Unable to contain his rage at the emperor’s words, Lloyd whipped his head away.

Panting heavily, he glared at me and Edwin in turn.

“…With the matter settled, there’s no need for me to linger. This son will take his leave.”

He offered the emperor a perfunctory bow and stormed off.

His stomping footsteps alone made it clear his fury hadn’t ebbed.

The emperor shook his head at the sight.

“A prince who can’t rein in his emotions like that.”

He gave an awkward smile to the man at his side.

“My apologies. You’ve seen quite the unseemly display.”

“Not at all. Boys that age are brimming with hot blood, aren’t they?”

The man standing beside the emperor.

I knew him.

The man whose gaze had met mine in the central garden—the young king of the new kingdom Catherine had mentioned.

It was him, without a doubt.

‘He had no presence at all.’

I recalled the moment he’d appeared right before me.

I hadn’t sensed his existence until he’d snapped the knight’s wrist.

My senses might be dulled in this ordinary woman’s body, but to miss him entirely like that…

‘Maybe the rumors about him slaying a hundred magic beasts single-handedly aren’t just tall tales.’

As I mulled over the man before me, the emperor stirred.

“It’s hot out. Let’s return to the palace and continue our talk.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s go!”

I bowed as the emperor passed by my side.

The man following in his wake brushed past me as well.

‘Jasmine?’

In that instant, a familiar fragrance teased my nose.

The soap scent I’d favored in my past life.

A subtle mint threading through an everyday jasmine aroma.

Sold only at a modest rural apothecary in the empire, it was rare to encounter anyone else who used it.

So why did the exact same scent waft from this foreign king?

‘It feels uncanny.’

To catch my previous self’s signature fragrance on a total stranger.

Drawn by the scent, I started to lift my head without thinking—

A low murmur reached my ears alone, as if whispered just for me.

“I figured you only excelled at moon embroidery, but you’ve got a sharp mind too.”

The words pierced like he’d peered straight into my thoughts.

‘…Moon embroidery?’

Face stiffening, I looked up.

Beautiful amber eyes, fierce as a beast’s, fixed on me.

The man quirked his lips in a smirk, then swept past like a gust of wind.

“See you around.”

With those cryptic parting words.