episode_0033

The princess expresses her joy by jumping up and down while hugging herself.

In her arms, Zeros was experiencing an overwhelming sense of despair that came in an unexpected way.

‘Ah.. no.. what the heck is going on? Huh.. passing? Me? There’s no way that could happen? I clearly adjusted my score so that I would have just barely passed. At most, two questions, and even if I had accidentally gotten one more question right, there would have been zero chance of me passing, so why on earth..’

From Zero’s current point of view, where there is absolutely no way to find out what happened at the time, no matter how much he racks his brain, there is no answer.

Zeros, who had been in such despair, naturally began to picture the future that would unfold after this.

Now that he has been accepted into the academy, Zeros will be stuck with Katlena from now on.

This means that the lesson with Princess Elios from two years later will also go down the drain, and it will be difficult to raise the level of affection with her to the original level.

And there’s another problem.

Because of this, the princess’s affection for him, which was already quite strong, was likely to burn even more fiercely rather than cooling down, and if that happened, it was clear that the eyes of those around him would become more and more fixed on Zeros as Princess Katlena’s loyal servant.

As if we could already see that in the gaze of Duchess Rosetta.

And this meant that Princess Elios, Zero’s ultimate goal, would also think the same way, and as a result, the possibility of Zero’s destruction would become even lower.

‘What kind of a beggarly fate is this… Are you saying that I’m destined to be buried with Princess Katlena without even trying to cut ties with you?’

No matter how hard I struggle, I feel like I’m sinking deeper and deeper into a swamp.

In a situation where he was falling into such a pitch-black chaos that he couldn’t even see an inch ahead, Zeros stopped thinking for a moment and could only laugh helplessly with an expression that seemed to have drained his soul, trying not to show his emotions at all costs.

*

“Sigh..”

Zeros sighs as the ground collapses in front of the door.

It’s been three days since I was hit with the unexpected hammer of admission to the academy.

He was living each day in a semi-liberated state.

Fortunately, it seemed like the people around me felt like the tension had eased as a result of passing the exam.

‘That’s true, but… I can’t just sit here and do nothing.’

Although it was a significant blow to my future mail plans, I still felt that I couldn’t just accept death like this.

To give up on life while still alive and well? That is something that Zeros cannot tolerate in his personality.

Even if the end truly meant death, Zeros was determined to struggle until the very end.

However, even Zeros had no choice but to eventually admit that a change was definitely needed in that method.

‘With this, it’s virtually impossible to take the Princess Elios route. If that’s the case, it’ll be really difficult, but… I have no choice but to head in that direction. Since I have to drag you along anyway…’

The difficulty level has changed from normal to hell.

However, through this incident, he realized that he could never leave Katlena’s side, and he began to strengthen his resolve to take that difficult path.

‘The only good thing is that Princess Katlena has quite a crush on me. If I use that well… it might not be completely impossible. I’m a bit unlucky in this life, but I’ll do whatever it takes to survive.’

Thinking like that, Zeros gave up on the path he had been pursuing until now, which was to cut off Katlena and join Helios.

However, on the other hand, Zeros began to feel a little more at ease inside as he made that decision.

‘With this… at least I won’t have to hesitate to devote myself to that child. That alone might be a good thing.’

Zeros feels a sense of solemn determination and a bit of peace at the same time.

However, apart from making such a momentous decision,

The outfit Zeros was wearing at this moment was a very neat suit.

A suit that feels completely different from his usual clothes, and that even Zeros thinks looks quite nice.

And then, in the next moment, the door in front of Zeros’ eyes, who had been waiting like that, began to slowly open.

Immediately after that, the scene he saw was…

‘and…’

The next moment, the serious atmosphere from just a moment ago disappears, and for a moment, Zeros begins to show a blank expression on his face.

That would be the case, at this very moment. She is in front of his eyes.

The sight of Princess Katlena was such that anyone who saw it couldn’t help but make that expression.

Katlena was already a great beauty even in normal times.

The black dress and ornate accessories draped over her body.

And, makeup applied by an expert to make the already pale skin look even more transparent.

With such a perfect base and perfect decoration, it seemed as if Katlena’s appearance at this moment was showing the ultimate beauty that a girl of this age could show.

‘Honestly… her face is unbelievably pretty. On top of that, her personality is better than I thought… If only her fate weren’t so bad.’

Feeling such sincere regret in his heart, and at the same time remembering that it was his job to change her fate, Zeros could not take his eyes off Katlena’s face.

Seeing him like this, Princess Katlena said with a slight smile on her lips.

“Have you been waiting long? Then let’s go.”

“Ah.. N.. Yes! Understood, Your Majesty.”

“Hehehe.”

Zeros, who was momentarily dazed by Katlena’s words, answered with a slightly nervous voice.

Seeing him like this, Katlena let out a small laugh as if she found it amusing.

and..

“Go..Your Majesty?”

Catlena, who still holds Zeros’ hand tightly.

Zeros began to feel his face automatically blush at the sensation of her soft yet warm hands, and looking at Zeros like that, Katlena spoke in a voice that sounded sweeter than usual.

“What’s wrong? Strictly speaking, the main characters of today are us two, right? Although this is a celebration of my admission, in my case, I was originally in the position to just enter, whereas Zeros took the test and passed to enter.”

“Well…that’s true, but how could a servant like me…”

“I said it’s okay. Don’t worry about useless things and just go quickly. Everyone will probably be waiting with bated breath.”

“Um…ah, I understand, Your Majesty.”

Zeros was unable to say anything more to Katlena, who spoke in such a commanding tone, and was just quietly dragged along.

A while later, we arrived at the place where Zeros was being held by Katlena.

It was a grand banquet hall located in the center of the palace.

Lavish decorations and abundant food and drink.

And a great number of people gathered from all over the duchy.

Their gazes began to turn to the star of the day, who had arrived at the banquet hall at the same time.

“The main character of today has finally arrived. She is the third princess of the Dragona Duchy, Princess Catlena Sopaa Dragona!”

The voice of the servant in charge of guiding them echoed throughout the banquet hall, and immediately afterwards, Katlena bowed her head politely to show respect to the people who were looking at her.

So, after the simple greeting announcing the main character’s appearance, the banquet began again.

The only difference was that the attention of those who had been talking among themselves began to turn to the princess, the main character of the day.

“I am Maros, the lord of Halden. I sincerely congratulate you on your admission.”

“Yes, thank you, my lord.”

“I am Count Manros from the Macedon region. My son is also entering school this time, so I hope he becomes good friends with the princess.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for coming all this way.”’

Catlena receiving congratulations from high-ranking nobles and responding in return.

Among them were not only humans, but also those classified as so-called demons, but even so, Katlena calmly accepted their greetings.

Even at a young age, he clearly knows who he is and what his position is.

Watching that sight, Zeros could clearly feel once again that she was not an ordinary girl, but a princess of this country.

at that time..

“Katlena!”

“Ah! Grandpa!”

The next moment a slightly noisy sound is heard.

At the same time, Katlena, who had maintained her dignity the whole time, looked surprised for a moment, then quickly put on a happy expression and said to him…

He ran to his maternal grandfather, whom he was meeting for the first time in his life.

Saladin Azak.

This is a person whose face we have never seen before, as he normally lives in the Empire and not in the Duchy of Dragona. This time, he came here in person to congratulate his granddaughter on her admission to school.

Katlena expressed her joy as a granddaughter, and her grandfather also hugged his beloved granddaughter tightly.

“My granddaughter, you’ve grown up so much since I last saw you. So you’re going to enter the academy this time, right? That’s great. I couldn’t prepare for you because I came in a hurry today, but I’ll make sure to send you a nice gift soon.”

“Thank you, Grandpa, but it’s okay. I’m just grateful that you, who is so busy, came to see me in person?”

“Hehe, my granddaughter is already saying such great things. But don’t refuse. My busy grandfather hasn’t done anything for me, so I want to give something to my granddaughter like this.”

“Grandpa too..”

So, the two people are having a friendly conversation between the granddaughter and her maternal grandfather.

Looking at the sight of family bonds being felt, the people attending the party had warm expressions on their faces.

Except for one person…

‘Imperial Chancellor Saladin Azak. I never thought that even Seolma would see the root of all evil in this way…’