Chapter 105

Grace’s pale green eyes were fixed on us from not far away.

Sitting perfectly straight with her back rigid, she was looking in our direction.

The only thing her gaze wanted was—

Conversation.

But—

“Finally, Duke Calypse Kreutz of House Kreutz and the Frozen royal family’s—”

“That should be enough. I believe I have shown the people everything that needed to be shown.”

When the referee called Calypse’s name, King Argen interrupted as he rose from his seat.

With a triumphant expression, he looked down upon the thousands of people.

“I believe this public sparring match has clearly demonstrated the level of our knights. Am I not right?”

At those words, spoken with a smile, Calypse’s gaze grew even sharper.

“From this day forward, I hope everyone will clearly understand the extent of the Frozen Kingdom’s military strength.”

Yet despite his confident declaration, the people could not even cheer.

Their bodies seemed frozen as they kept their mouths shut. Every single one of them looked either terrified or utterly shocked.

Among all the people filling the enormous arena, it seemed that the only person capable of speaking was King Argen.

“Actually, the greatest significance of today’s sparring match lies elsewhere. As you have all seen, every one of our knights used ice power during this public match.”

And then the topic everyone had been wondering about finally came from King Argen’s mouth.

He looked pleased by the fact that thousands of people were paying attention only to him.

“They used to say that power was a gift from the gods. That was not true. The knights you saw today were not born with power. They received it later in life.”

Emphasizing each word one by one, he spread out his hand and declared,

“It was thanks to me developing power through magic!”

“......!”

The silence among the crowd, as quiet as if everyone had died, erupted into chaos.

“Magic can create power?”

“I’ve never heard anything like that before....”

“But teleportation portals were also said to be nothing more than fairy tales before Queen Grace developed them.”

“Then is it true that His Majesty King Argen developed power? This isn’t merely on the level of creating a portal. This would overturn the entire world!”

That was right.

The world really had been overturned.

Because this was an event that had never once been mentioned in the original novel.

My thoughts were so tangled that I could only stare blankly as the king continued speaking.

“Furthermore, I intend to ensure that power is not monopolized by only a select few chosen people. From now on, I will grant power to everyone who shares my will.”

“M-My goodness.”

“T-Then...”

At this unexpected statement, the nobles’ expressions began to change.

If King Argen began by granting ice power to the royal knights, then the next recipients would naturally be the nobles closest to him.

The nobles who had been sitting in their seats began standing one by one, looking dazed.

“The sun of the world shines upon the Frozen Kingdom!”

And without exception, they lowered their heads to show their submission.

Some nobles even burst into tears of emotion and cried out King Argen’s name.

He will save the world. He is our savior.

That was when—

“However, the royal knights have only recently received ice power. And I believe Princess Aisha also manifested her power somewhat late...”

King Argen’s gaze, which had been fixed on the people, suddenly turned toward me.

There seemed to be a strange madness hidden in his gray eyes.

For a moment, I thought of Duke Pose and shrank back.

“Yes. That is correct.”

Calypse stood up from his seat.

As if he had done it intentionally, he naturally stepped in front of me, blocking me from view.

Thanks to him, that greedy gaze was cut off.

But Argen continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“There is something I am curious about. Princess Aisha, who was born with power. The knights who received power from me. If people who manifested power around the same time, despite having different origins, undergo the same training, what kind of difference will appear?”

At those words, Calypse said nothing.

“Such an experiment will be of great help to those who receive power in the future. Therefore, Princess Aisha shall remain in the royal palace for the time being and undergo training.”

While listening to him, my heart, which had been gradually beating faster, began pounding violently.

As expected. There was another intention hidden behind this.

I had thought he wanted to use the public sparring match to display the ice power he claimed to have created.

But he had another purpose.

The purpose itself was bringing me to the royal palace.

King Argen realized it too. He knows that I know who placed dark magic on me.

My heart was beating so hard it felt like it might burst out of my tiny body.

I could see people reacting positively to Argen’s words and nodding along.

Voices filled with admiration spread through the crowd.

His Majesty prepared so many things for us.

The atmosphere made it impossible to simply refuse.

There was nothing I could do.

All I could do was cling tightly to Dad’s pant leg like it was my only lifeline.

Then the nobles sitting behind us began whispering.

“Why isn’t Duke Kreutz answering...?”

“Surely he isn’t thinking of refusing, is he?”

“Oh, come on. This experiment will benefit the public. There is no way the person who protects us would do that.”

“Exactly. He is Duke Kreutz. The hero of the Frozen Kingdom!”

But even as the unreasonable whispers continued and Calypse showed no reaction—

“Could it really be...?”

“Now that I think about it, His Majesty said he wanted to compare House Kreutz’s power with the power created through magic. It may be good for us, but...”

“It would not be very pleasant for the duke, who has enjoyed authority because he was born with power.”

“What? That sounds almost like you are saying...”

“That he would dare refuse His Majesty the King’s command.”

The conversation gradually spread, creating a massive public sentiment.

The atmosphere became such that if Calypse refused King Argen’s order here, he would become the greatest villain in the world.

I looked up at him nervously.

But—

“I refuse.”

Calypse answered without even blinking.

“The child is still too young to train with knights.”

It was the moment when the hero of the Frozen Kingdom became the villain of the world.

***

I do not know how much time passed after that.

“He refused His Majesty the King’s command?!”

“I thought he was a noble person who cared only about protecting the country and ignored honor... But in the end, Duke Kreutz was worried about losing his own position.”

“What a selfish man. Training with the royal knights would have been an excellent experience for Princess Aisha too.”

“The princess is a girl anyway. Even if she became a knight, what use would she have?”

“But that experiment would have given us valuable information!”

Criticism poured down from all directions.

Held in Calypse’s arms, I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut.

Calypse had become a villain because of me.

Even though I had tried so hard to change the original story.

In the end, because of his family, because of me, he turned his back on the people just like he had in the original.

Calypse. Meet with me alone.

Yes. Understood.

In the frozen atmosphere, King Argen demanded a private meeting with him, and Dad handed me over to the knight commander standing beside him.

“They will not allow us to use the portal in this situation. Go to an inn near the city center by carriage.”

“...What? But—”

“It is safer to remain in the center than to head all the way back North without me and risk being attacked. Make sure the area around you is properly guarded.”

Just as he said, the best thing we could do right now was avoid attracting Argen’s attention.

Following Calypse’s orders, we immediately rented a carriage and quietly left the royal palace.

At the inn, Lucas stayed in the room next to mine, and the knight commander decided to guard the door of my room.

I lay on the bed, trying to organize the chaotic day that had passed by in a blur.

“Eek!”

Suddenly, a scream close to a shriek came from beyond the window.

“W-What?!”

An enemy?!

Startled, I sprang up and rushed toward the window.

And when I looked outside—

“W-Why are knights from another house here in the center where the royal family is located...?”

“What is happening? Is a war about to break out?”

People who had been whispering while staring in one direction scattered hurriedly.

Among those entering their houses, closing their doors, or hiding in alleys, armed knights marched somewhere in perfect formation.

Schletz... Marquis House?

My eyes narrowed when I saw the rose engraved on the shields the knights carried.

House Schletz.

Queen Grace’s family.

***

At that same time. The royal palace reception room.

“I remember when you first succeeded in subjugating a monster.”

Cigar smoke drifted from the smiling lips of Argen.

“When that giant orc suddenly appeared, everyone was terrified... but you simply cut off that orc’s head and brought it to me. Do you remember how happy everyone was back then?”

“.......”

Calypse did not answer.

In Argen’s gaze as he looked at that emotionless face, there was nothing but envy.

“In front of the people making a fuss about a hero appearing, you merely sat there proudly and silently. Just like you are now.”

Soon, a hollow laugh escaped from between his teeth.