Chapter 104

Whether King Argen raged or not, Avin merely grinned and answered with shameless ease.

“Haha. Sorry. How am I supposed to beat someone that tiny and cute?”

“Avin! You stay right there! If you really leave, you’re in trouble! That’s an order!”

King Argen went so far as to call it an order, but Avin simply strolled away and vanished through the doorway.

Soon, I was the only one left standing blankly inside the arena.

“Hah!”

The commotion among the spectators showed no sign of dying down.

King Argen dropped heavily into his chair and clenched his teeth as he desperately fanned his reddened face.

In the original novel, Avin had been an upright, pure-hearted young man who could never tolerate injustice.

But the boy I had just seen was more than merely mischievous in a way appropriate for his age. He had even seemed a little crooked.

Did growing up differently from the original novel change his personality?

“My goodness... What kind of situation is this?”

In any case, once he disappeared, the flustered referee glanced sideways at me.

And so, the result of this match was—

“...With Avin’s forfeit, the winner is Princess Aisha Kreutz!”

—that.

“.......”

I didn’t exactly win, and I didn’t exactly lose....

“What was that?”

“Man, I was looking forward to it....”

I did my best to ignore the deflated reactions from the audience and scurried out of the arena.

“Haaah—.”

I thought I was going to die of awkwardness.

Only after I had passed through the doorway and reached somewhere the spectators could no longer see me did I finally let out the breath I had been holding.

I needed a moment to sort everything out.

I had met the protagonist of the original novel. Granted, he was a little different from the version I knew.

And I had learned something that had never appeared in the original novel: back when he was training at House Pose, he had often watched Aisha.

And the reason had been curiosity and affection.

Judging by how embarrassed he had looked, that part did not seem to be a lie.

But at the same time, another face overlapped with his in my mind.

Kyle, who had been unavoidably separated from me today but usually followed me around everywhere.

“Huh.”

I stopped short and considered the matter seriously.

Wait. Am I some kind of harem queen in this world?

Ah. No. That wasn’t it.

Shake, shake.

I shook my head hard and glanced back toward the arena.

Whatever the reason, I had gotten tangled up with the male protagonist.

That alone had thrown the original story completely off course. Avin was not supposed to come North and meet Calypse until he was nearly an adult.

On top of that, he had used ice power.

And judging by the way he spoke, even House Pose had apparently kept the fact that he possessed poison power hidden.

And why didn’t King Argen introduce Avin as Duke Pose’s illegitimate son?

It feels like he’s plotting something...

“Daaad—! Lucaaas!”

Anyway, I’m exhausted, so I’m going to lean on my family.

“Aisha.”

I returned to the spectator stands with my pitiful brows drawn into a straight line, and Calypse, who had already come out to meet me, hurriedly lifted me into his arms.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Sniff. No.”

Dad cradled me like a baby, fussing over me, and used his other hand to smooth out my tousled hair.

As he carried me back toward our seats, he asked,

“You two kept standing awfully close together. What did that mold say to you?”

“He’s not mold, his name is Avi—”

“Did he scare you? [N O V E L I G H T] Did he mock you and say making snow fall barely counts as a power?”

He abruptly cut me off and asked in a low voice.

Calypse’s gaze had gone cold.

If I said yes, he looked ready to chase Avin down, public sparring match or not.

Dad had obviously seen Avin use ice power too, but even now, he seemed more concerned that I might have been hurt than about the power itself.

“No! Nothing happened!”

Shake, shake—

For the sake of my worried father, I shook my head violently.

“Then why the hell was that moldy bastard clinging to you?!”

But this time, an indignant protest erupted from below.

It was Lucas.

“And what? He called you c-cute?!”

Standing near my dangling feet, he swung his fists through the air and shouted furiously.

“She is cute.”

“D-Dad!”

When Calypse cut in, Lucas’s eyes went round like a rabbit’s—

“Of course, that doesn’t mean some mold gets to say it.”

After checking his son’s reaction, Calypse sided with him.

Lucas, who had looked utterly dissatisfied a second ago, brightened again and started swinging his fists.

“Exactly! Damn it. I should’ve been the one fighting that creepy bastard!”

The knights’ matches that followed mine and Avin’s were already underway, but the two of them remained completely absorbed in their conversation as we walked.

They did not seem to realize it, but I did.

Every word of their conversation was reaching the people around us, whose eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

“Young Lord Lucas has quite the fiery temper.”

“He looks so cold at first glance, too. How unexpected. He actually has a cute side that suits his age.”

“More importantly, Princess Aisha really is showered with affection by both the duke and the young lord.”

“I’m jealous.... I wish a handsome duke like that would worry about me just once.”

I could hear every whispered word from here.

...Embarrassing.

Thump—

With nowhere left to put my gaze, I buried my face in Dad’s chest.

“Dad.”

Lucas suddenly called Calypse as though something had just occurred to him.

“What.”

“Come to think of it, how did that mold guy use ice power earlier? He isn’t even from a branch line, and he looked like an ordinary commoner. Could someone who isn’t from House Kreutz really use ice power—”

“Mouth.”

That was when it happened.

Calypse abruptly cut Lucas off.

His voice was shockingly flat.

Lucas, who had been chattering without much thought, flinched.

“Later. Keep your mouth shut now.”

Startled by the command-like words from Calypse, who had been nothing but gentle until now, Lucas lowered his head.

Only then did he seem to realize that people were watching us.

And that, under the current circumstances, discussing why Avin was able to use ice power would put House Kreutz at a disadvantage.

“.......”

Once Lucas fell silent, Dad wordlessly ruffled his hair with a rough hand.

Then, as soon as he sat down, he quietly gave an order to the knight commander.

“Lilith Tex. The one who used ice power during the last heir examination.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Send an urgent message to Knox, who is handling my duties at the ducal castle in my place. Find out when that child first manifested ice power, under what circumstances, and whether she can still use that power now. Tell him to investigate and report back immediately.”

“Understood.”

Mindful of everyone watching, the knight commander gave the barest hint of a bow before disappearing without a sound.

...So he really has been thinking about it this whole time.

He had spent so much time teasing Lucas and me that I had thought he was not taking it particularly seriously.

But the man who now sat with his back straight was no longer the affectionate father we had known moments ago.

He was Calypse Kreutz.

Calypse, too, seemed to have realized that this entire situation was part of the king’s plan.

There was no way he could miss it.

King Argen lounged comfortably with one leg swaying, his upper body lazily tilted against the armrest.

“.......”

And he was staring directly at us with a lingering smile.

Calypse’s jaw tightened.

His red eyes, set deep beneath sharply defined lids, fixed on King Argen without wavering.

Like a predator waiting for its opponent to expose an opening.

That was when—

“The next match! Delon of Kreutz against Tom of the Frozen royal family!”

The silent battle of wills between the two men ended with the referee’s announcement.

But—

“W-What?!”

King Argen was the one who laughed last.

“T-That knight is using ice power too, just like that commoner kid earlier?!”

In the middle of the arena.

During the newly begun duel between two knights, the royal knight who had been getting pushed back by the Kreutz knight stomped on the ground.

A massive pillar of ice suddenly erupted from beneath his feet.

“.......”

At the sight, one of Calypse’s eyebrows rose over his otherwise expressionless face.

“...What is this?”

Lucas, too, stood up from his seat in disbelief.

“D-Does that even make sense? Why are ice power users appearing one after another...?”

“And that power really is being used by the Frozen royal knight, not the Kreutz knight, right?”

“Can something like this actually happen?”

People began whispering with their mouths hanging open as though they had witnessed something they were never meant to see.

Some nobles even glanced toward us and murmured, “I thought ice power only appeared in House Kreutz?”

And as those reactions spread, King Argen’s smile grew deeper and deeper.

The next match was the same.

“Boyce of Kreutz against Little of the Frozen royal family!”

And the match after that.

“Dom of Kreutz against Kosher of the Frozen royal family!”

Every single knight of the Frozen royal family used ice power.

And House Kreutz was completely wiped out.

“Whew. Once you can use a power, you don’t even need a sword, do you?”

The royal knight who had effortlessly defeated a Kreutz knight with ice power hummed to himself as he left the arena.

...How in the world...?

I hurriedly looked at Grace, who was seated beside King Argen.

But then Grace, whose face had remained expressionless from beginning to end, turned her head toward me.