episode_0049

The existence before our eyes.

Zeros aims his sword at Princess Maeve

The moment she saw his actions, Katlena’s face turned red with shock.

“Zero! What the heck!”

Although it was a wooden sword, the person in front of me was clearly the princess of the empire.

Zeros’s actions of pointing his sword at such a person could, in some cases, be considered a crime of high treason by pointing his sword at the imperial family.

Katlena immediately tried to stop Zeros from committing such a terrible act.

“Put that down. This is the princess of the empire! For whatever reason, this kind of thing…”

at that time.

“Katlena!”

The next moment, Zeros speaks in a firm voice I’ve never heard before.

For a moment, Katlena was speechless, embarrassed for another reason, by his appearance that made it difficult to believe that the person in front of her was a ten-year-old boy.

And, looking at such a Katlena, Zeros spoke to her in an incredibly calm voice.

“Just a moment.. Please step out. Katlena.”

“ㅁ… What? But..”

“Please. Please..”

“… ”

Zeros’ words were so earnest.

So Katlena had no choice but to leave the room and leave Zeros behind.

That doesn’t mean she left the place completely or lost interest, though…

*

Even in the situation where Katlena was sent away, the young servant still aimed the wooden sword at him.

Although this in itself was a ridiculous provocation to Maeb, who was already one of the best witches in the Academy.

If you put your mind to it, you could easily break a wooden sword with a snap of your fingers and strangle this boy’s neck instead.

However, instead of choosing to subdue the guy right in front of her, Maev began to feel quite interested in the boy.

‘It doesn’t seem like you’re rushing in without caring about your life..’

Even if he was a fool, he could not have been unaware of the consequences if he had done something like this to the princess.

Nevertheless, she felt considerable interest in the boy’s actions, as he did not hesitate to commit such a horrific act, and asked.

“What’s your name?”

“… My name is Zero Raymond. I am truly sorry to meet you in this manner, Your Highness.”

With those words, Zero put the wooden sword away with a slightly trembling expression.

Seeing him like this, Maeb smiled coldly and spoke to him.

“Looking at it, it seems like you don’t know what the current situation is. I’d like to hear the reason why you did such a big thing.”

Maeb nods slightly as if to say something.

Regarding this, Zeros calmly chose his thoughts amidst the still lingering anxiety.

At this very moment, what he was doing was a kind of gamble.

I absolutely didn’t want to do that either… but it was a gamble to prevent the worst.

Then, Zeros began to carefully bring out the words that had been in his head the moment he pulled out his wooden sword.

“Of course. It was to stop what the princess was about to say. I thought it would be good for my master and the princess.”

“..for me?”

Zeros says something unexpected.

At this, Princess Maeb showed a slightly bewildered expression.

and..

“Ha.. Ahahaha. You’re a lowly servant, but you’re saying something quite bold. Yeah, keep going. Why was the rudeness you committed helpful to me? If it pleases me, I’ll consider sparing you at least once. ”

“… Thank you very much for saying so, Your Highness. If so, I will tell you the answer to your question. ”

With those words, Zeros looks at the princess with a cold gaze.

The princess felt a bit of bewilderment at the unexpected expression on his face that she never thought a 10-year-old would show, and looking at her, Zeros spoke in a cold voice.

“What the Princess is trying to say, that she can change Lady Katlena’s mind… is definitely about her birth.”

“Um..”

“That Lady Katlena is not the daughter of the Duchess of Rosetta, but the child born to Cassio Azak, the daughter of the late Imperial Chancellor Saladin Azak.”

A secret that everyone in the Duchy of Dragona is keeping quiet about, and in fact, only Katlena knows about it.

However, no one here has ever dared to tell the princess about that fact.

This was because of the warnings from her parents, Radu, the Duke of Dragona and Catlena’s father, and Rosebetta, Catlena’s ‘mother’, who were concerned about the harm Catlena would receive.

Even the Imperial Chancellor Saladin, who could be considered a party to the matter, had tacitly agreed to this, so revealing the fact was virtually taboo in the principality.

Maeb, who holds the status of princess, had just tried to break this taboo.

He said this because he was proud of his status, which even the Duke of the Duchy could not touch.

And Zeros threw himself to stop the princess’s actions.

“Yes, that’s right. Indeed… I’ve heard that she’s quite a smart girl, but you’ve already figured out that part. But what’s the big deal? As you said, her body has the noble blood of our imperial prime minister, not that lowly bitch of the Dragona duchy. In that case, wouldn’t it be right for her to come under me, the princess of the empire, and serve me and the empire, rather than the children of that lowly bitch?”

“… ”

Honestly, if we were to look into Katlena’s lineage, Maev’s words were correct.

Her father, Duke Radu, was originally a loyal subject of the Empire, and that loyalty remains strong even now. Her mother was the daughter of the Imperial Chancellor, so it can be said that her original background is close to the Empire.

And, upon learning of this fact in the original work, Katlena actually sided with the Empire as Maev had said.

“From my perspective, simply telling the truth is a way to bring in capable people. And on top of that, it’s also a way to stab that arrogant Elios in the heart. But why would this have a bad outcome for me?”

The princess speaks in a sharp voice.

About this… Zeros spoke to her in a voice that was not at all discouraged.

“That will happen for now. But as a result, the princess will be branded as an enemy of the Duchy of Dragona.”

“..what?”

Maeb, who for a moment did not understand the meaning behind those words.

Looking at her like that, Zeros spoke in a cold voice.

“Think about it. It is a taboo that the Duke and Duchess, and even the Prime Minister, tacitly agree to. Even if they have the excuse that they are students in the Academy, what kind of thoughts would the Duke and Duchess have about someone who mercilessly broke that taboo?”

“…Ha. Are you trying to threaten me with those guys right now? No matter how great the power of the Dragona Duchy is, how dare a mere subject dare to go against the royal family…”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but that’s true.”

“What?”

Zeros speaks firmly and with a confident voice.

Then he spoke clearly to the princess who was looking at him with a blank expression.

“I don’t know what the Princess thinks, but the current power of the Dragona Duchy is such that even the Padishah has a hard time manipulating it. Even if we leave aside the complicated story of the excessive autonomy of the Dragona Duchy… isn’t there a clear reason that the Princess knows best?”

“..No way..”

The moment he heard those words, a fact came to Maev’s mind.

It was about a reality that was turning her insides upside down even at this very moment, a reality that she absolutely could not ignore.

‘Elios Noshelrat Dragona… That damn bitch keeps her head upright in front of me, the princess… Is that why?’

Elios, who had always been proud and arrogant, never bowing his head even when looking at himself.

Up until now, Maeb had simply been forcing herself to accept it, thinking that it was because she was the student council president and that this was her home ground, the Duchy of Dragona.

However, after listening to Zeros, she was finally able to perceive the detailed inside story.

Elios’ confidence stems precisely from the deep power dynamics between the Principality and the Empire.

‘I can’t completely believe what this guy Zeros is saying, but it’s somewhat credible… and if it’s true, then the attempt just now must have been quite dangerous.’

The duke’s feelings were provoked by the princess herself.

If it were a normal hierarchical relationship, there wouldn’t be a problem. But if it’s not a normal subordination relationship, but a relationship where they watch each other’s reactions, then this could cause a big diplomatic problem.

Convinced by that fact, the princess nodded with a slight cold sweat…

Seeing Maeb like that, Zeros let out a deep sigh of relief.