#31
Sercil’s first meeting with her was the same in the original work and before my regression.
‘Duke’s daughter who had been scheming to take the Crown Prince’s fiancée position and Sercil who attended her awakening ceremony ball as the Crown Prince’s partner.’
The Marsien Ducal House, one of the Empire’s three great ducal families.
Since it was the awakening ceremony ball of the ducal family’s precious daughter, it would be difficult for the Crown Prince not to attend once invited.
Even knowing that the ducal family would try to implicitly solidify an engagement relationship with Theodore at that event.
So Theodore hyung-nim decided to bring a partner to that occasion.
It was also when the two hadn’t fully realized their feelings for each other yet, and he had chosen this because he didn’t know how terrible Lady Marsien could become.
‘But I knew.’
Because I knew Lady Marsien from the original work.
So before my regression, I stubbornly attended that ball.
A twenty-two-year-old awakening ceremony ball. It was a ball that nobles held following the royal family’s twenty-two-year-old awakening ceremony.
Since they didn’t have a separate awakening period when unique magic manifested, the term “awakening ceremony ball” wasn’t appropriate, but it had been decided on that name as if following a trend.
There were many related rumors that if you connected with someone you met at this ball, it would last a lifetime, so it was regarded as a kind of coming-of-age ceremony for young nobles.
Actually attending such an important event without an invitation wasn’t proper etiquette.
Still, I insisted on attending, activated my nullification magic by drawing blood beforehand, then broke Sercil’s curse before the magic’s effect wore off.
In front of everyone.
‘I was trying to let him seize the initiative before being attacked by the young lady.’
Looking back now, what an absurd thought that was.
The young lady tends to bow somewhat to those stronger or higher in status than herself.
Since Sercil couldn’t match her in status, I thought that if I just broke his curse, Sercil’s magical power that had been suppressed by the curse would be revealed.
‘In the original work, the information that Sercil was a fairy hadn’t come out yet…’
I didn’t know Sercil’s hidden ability was his ‘race.’
I collapsed as soon as I broke the curse, and with just my eyes barely open, I helplessly watched Sercil being revealed as a fairy at that scene.
Theodore hyung-nim, pale as a sheet, picked up the unconscious Sercil and ran out, and Marcus hyung-nim turned attention to himself with a troubled expression to handle the situation.
‘And that person looked at me coldly.’
The Archduke picked me up with a polite attitude, then whispered in my ear as we left the ball.
“Your Highness. Did you know that the invited half-demons had just arrived at the ball?”
I didn’t know.
And I don’t understand why that’s a problem now either.
…Is Sercil okay?
That’s what I wanted to say.
But I was in such bad condition that I couldn’t speak, couldn’t even move my mouth.
He seemed to take my silence as affirmation.
“Did you need a sacrifice… You’re a troublesome person.”
The smile on his lips was beautiful, but his muttering voice was cold.
After that, Sercil was marked as a person of interest by the half-demons, and was bullied by the young lady who had joined hands with them, eventually falling victim to the half-demons’ supreme curse…
There was nothing I could do.
Whatever I did seemed like it would only hasten the time for his destruction.
…But this time, I won’t reach such a foolish result like then.
“A sacrifice.”
Right, just as you said then, this incident requires a sacrifice.
Someone had to draw the young lady’s attention so her hidden ability would be revealed.
If we don’t know the ability the young lady is hiding, it could interfere with the protagonists’ future actions.
We need to know to be able to stop her.
‘The young lady will definitely use black magic when she meets an opponent who doesn’t succumb to fear magic. Just like she did to Sercil.’
Then the half-demons’ attention will focus on her, and if the 2nd Prince, who already interfered once with placing a curse on the Crown Prince, happens to be her target.
‘As a result, all the aggro will be focused on me.’
Maybe I can even redirect the half-demons’ curse that was aimed at Sercil to me.
There can’t be two of the same supreme curse in one era.
“Sacrifice?”
I stopped briefly at someone’s voice I heard then.
I turned my head.
Theodore hyung-nim was standing at the doorway, looking down at me.
“I need to hear what you’re talking about.”
Why was it?
That hyung-nim’s gaze wasn’t as sharp as I knew it to be.
If it had been him at this time before, he would have added a threat or two rather than just that level of reaction…
“…Ah. Something I heard in passing came to mind.”
“What did you hear?”
Hyung-nim began slowly approaching me with his characteristic cold face.
I answered with a grin.
“It was something the palace people were saying, nothing special. I heard they offer young beasts as sacrifices in the half-demon district.”
“Ah.”
He leaned against the opposite side of the window where I was sitting and crossed his arms.
And without looking at me, he said.
“They certainly do such useless things.”
“Haha.”
Wait, isn’t this an opportunity?
I opened my mouth as appropriately natural villain words came to mind.
“Young beasts, that is quite useless.”
With a mysterious smile.
As if the action itself wasn’t useless, but rather young beasts had no meaning as sacrifices.
“……”
Hyung-nim smoothly rolled his half-lowered eyes to look at me.
When I shrugged and smiled brightly at his cool gaze, he clicked his tongue and spoke after a moment.
“You don’t not know that magic requiring victims is prohibited, do you?”
“Ah, I know. I know indeed. Don’t worry, Your Highness. At least such unseemly things won’t happen in the imperial palace.”
“……The same goes for noble territories.”
“Hmm. Then we’d have to confine the half-demons to that territory… It’s worrying?”
When I responded playfully with a mysterious smile, he frowned.
But that was all, there was no further reaction.
Like threats, or threats, or threats…
‘Ooh. This must be the effect of the deal!’
He can’t trust me but can trust the contents of the magic contract.
Meaning if I don’t harm them, there’s no need to engage deeply!
‘…Crown Prince hyung-nim is being kind to me.’
I was secretly sparkling my eyes at this unexpected gain when he looked at me intently and said.
“So, you’re going to the ball today.”
“Yes. You’ll help me, right?”
“I did need a partner anyway.”
“That worked out well!”
I asked him excitedly.
“But what brings you here at this early hour? Don’t tell me…”
“……”
“Your Highness, you missed seeing me…!”
“Do you want to die?”
“Come on, it’s a joke. And we made a contract, so you can’t kill me and still use me!”
Some complicated emotion flashed in Theodore hyung-nim’s eyes.
He let out a short sigh and said.
“I brought people to prepare you, so do as they say.”
“……What?”
“It seems necessary to maintain secrecy, so I brought people I personally selected. Keep in mind that I won’t let it slide if you treat them carelessly.”
“What?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
He tilted his head slightly.
“You didn’t think you could go to the ball dressed as usual, did you.”
“Um… wouldn’t that be okay for me~?”
I hadn’t even thought about it since I’d never experienced such a thing.
“Whatever I wear, people will anyway.”
“Anyway talk shit?”
“……”
That was rough word choice for someone who generally used classical royal speech.
I was blinking with my mouth agape, stuck in the same smile, when he said indifferently without waiting for my answer.
“If you’re going to be an unwelcome guest anyway, you should at least observe proper etiquette. It’s not like you’ll only attend this once, right?”
“Th-that’s true?”
I need to attend balls for a month or two until the second incident occurs.
“Besides, from what I heard earlier, we need to look quite intimate.”
“Yes… we need to pretend to be close brothers.”
“That’s right.”
Suddenly, an arrogant smile appeared on Crown Prince hyung-nim’s lips as he observed me.
…He’s smiling while looking at me?
“Come in.”
That wasn’t directed at me.
He didn’t add any further explanation.
The palace people who immediately entered had different gaits from those of the prince’s palace.
Neat movements that made just enough sound to be felt.
Professional but relaxed expressions, and the spirit they showed when they surrounded me at the Crown Prince’s single gesture.
“Haha, Your Highness. Should we do this from dawn?”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
Though modest for something directed at me, no matter how I looked at it, this seemed like revenge for taking me as a partner.
“You must have quite disliked it, Your Highness.”
“Hmm. Knowing that makes you even more detestable.”
“What?”
I heard a chuckling sound.
When I looked at him thinking “no way,” the arrogant smile that had been tinged with mischief from earlier had already disappeared.
He said expressionlessly, “Then I’ll see you in the evening,” and left the room just like that.
“We shall attend to you, 2nd Prince Your Highness.”
* * *
The unidentified palace people didn’t show discomfort toward me, but they often hesitated.
Especially when they saw my body undressed for bathing.
“……”
When they finished all preparations with strange movements that barely touched me, I was blankly watching the sun set.
I couldn’t tell how the day had passed.
‘I did act up a bit in the middle because I wasn’t feeling well. But they withdrew as if they’d been waiting and returned in exactly one hour…’
Amazing. To read the mood like that!
Thanks to that, I was even able to get rid of the smell of blood.
Unfortunately, at this time I only thought those palace people were real palace people.
How could I know they were imperial secret knights who had frequently smelled blood scents.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
