episode_0272

A large wave rose in Arina’s eyes at Crown Prince Albert’s seemingly commanding step back.

Arina’s lips slightly part at the story from last year that suddenly came out.

“That… What are you talking about all of a sudden, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“The princess is trying to kill Prince Karsein right now. From my perspective, shouldn’t I stop her?”

“You’re trying to kill me! Why would I…!”

“No. If you had stopped Harnie’s actions just now, Prince Karsain would have definitely died. Because of your lack of knowledge.”

As soon as he finished speaking, “Cough!” Carcein’s coughing sound rang out.

“…!”

“This happens quite often on the battlefield. There are times when you have to cut into your comrade’s flesh with a knife to remove the foreign substance stuck inside. It may seem crazy, but if you don’t take that measure, you can end up with all sorts of complications like sepsis and necrosis.”

Albert continued speaking, chuckling.

“And besides that, your actions have destroyed Carcein’s plans time and time again.”

“Plan…?”

“Look at that.”

Albert shows us the skeleton, which still has the appearance of aggregate.

“Most of the collapsed structures here are mixed with aggregate, which supports the frame of the building. In other words, it is the strongest part of the building, and it is perfect for making a ceiling to hold it up and create space.”

-Bam.

“But if you look at the other side, it’s not like that. Even if it’s the same stone, if it’s a sword wrapped in mana, it’s easy to cut. These are actually the most dangerous. They’re like boulders that hit people’s heads and become debris that crush their bodies.”

Thud.

Albert uses mana to break the stone blocks used to build the building.

“But you pulled out your sword saying you had to save Karsine, and what were you trying to break?”

Arina falls silent at those words.

Because what she was trying to break was none other than aggregate.

Arina answers, her fists clenched.

“That was definitely my mistake. I didn’t know much about buildings. But, isn’t it just luck that Karsane survived like this?”

“Foot. Luck. Hahaha! ”

The crown prince held his forehead and laughed.

“You only feel uncomfortable with the collapse of this building, but don’t you feel uncomfortable with Prince Karsain who survived in such dire conditions?”

“…Yes?”

“The rocks on the opposite side of the space that just collapsed are cut very sharply, like cucumbers. Even the weight on both sides was balanced to create a ceiling of skeletons, so there was enough space that no one would get crushed. Is this just luck?”

Most would say it was luck.

You could say that it was lucky that there was space left in the midst of the ground being dug up and the debris being tangled and crushed like this.

But Albert didn’t miss it.

“Even if you miss, it’s minor. If you get hit properly, it’s basically serious. If you get hit in a vital spot like the crown of your head, it’s not strange to die instantly from a fatal wound. If those things are falling on your head, and you try to survive by leaving space on both sides and breaking the balance of the other side, and making a ceiling out of gravel.”

-Swish!

He continued, crushing the broken stone with his feet.

“This was thoroughly calculated and planned. From start to finish, it was a plan made in that short moment just to survive.”

Arina swallowed hard at the crown prince’s further explanation and looked around again.

‘This… was the plan?’

Arina bit her lips at the unbelievable result.

If that’s true, it means that Arina almost killed Karsine several times.

Even when the debris was being carelessly cleared away, no distinction was made between the aggregate and the debris.

It also means that digging without considering the space below and the center of gravity also led to Carcein’s death.

Not only that, but at the end, he even stopped Harnier from trying to remove the foreign object stuck in his back.

This means that it was an action that drove Carcein to death without missing a single one.

‘…That’s ridiculous.’

That makes no sense.

“I think it makes sense that the fiancee pulled out the thing stuck in Karsain’s back, but His Highness the Crown Prince’s interpretation is wrong.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It is none other than Karsain. A man who has not even properly learned the etiquette and manners of a nobleman, there is no way he could make such thorough calculations.”

Yes, because the opponent is none other than Karsine.

“I could use examples of all sorts of incidents and accidents I’ve committed in the past, but there’s no need to go that far. Wouldn’t it be enough to just list the incidents that happened on my birthday?”

It’s a widely circulated rumor that Karsene ruined Arina’s birthday party.

“You didn’t prepare a single birthday present? I can understand that much. Well, I’ll let it go even if you forcibly pulled out my hair tie. However, it’s pathetic to bring it back and lie about it.”

What was the atmosphere like that day?

It was no easy task to train.

“So, is this what the princess is saying? If you have common sense, you would never do something like that, so there’s no way Karsain could come up with a plan that uses such cleverness?”

“Yes.”

There was no way I had planned it in the first place.

This plan could not have come from that head.

If there’s any chance, it’s her fiancée. As always.

As Arina gave a short answer, the crown prince’s expression became even more grim.

“I’ve always felt sorry for Arsien. I’ve always been so harsh and cruel to her. But it was a necessary action. If we didn’t compete for the same throne as royalty, there would be those who would try to harm Arsien instead.”

Albert strides towards Arina.

“Yeah. Even though it’s a lame excuse, I think it’s something I did for my little brother. At least for me. But.”

The crown prince, who had finally approached her, grabbed Arina by the collar with his eyes sparkling.

“Why don’t you even think of Carcein as your younger brother?”

“…Your Majesty. No matter how much trouble Karsain causes, that─”

“You don’t think he was just acting foolishly at the birthday party, but trying to avoid a plot to take over the successor position, do you?”

“Successor… position…?”

When Arina was puzzled by the mention of succession, Albert didn’t miss the moment and stabbed her with a sharp knife.

“I don’t know why I didn’t question that behavior. No matter how much I think about it, it’s still strange. Like not being able to get a single birthday present.”

“…”

“That’s exactly what the rumor was going around. Should we just dismiss this as an incredible coincidence?”

From the symposium to the martial arts competition.

Karsine, who had shown such outstanding performance and achievements that he could not help but be talked about, was once rumored to be a worthy successor among the nobles.

This isn’t a coincidence either, is it?

“It seems the princess hasn’t changed. Last year, this year. She’s been repeating the same actions of trying to kill Karsain.”

“No…! I…!”

“The princess’s sword could have been stopped at that time. Even if it wasn’t, it means that she could have protected her brother by forfeiting, like Prince Karsain did in this martial arts competition. But she didn’t. I think I know why now.”

Albert turns around.

“I’m disappointed. My sister feels inferior to her younger brother. The future of the Bagrand Dukes will be very dark.”

Albert, who even mentioned the family name, walked away with the back of his head turned away.

Harnier had just removed both of the pillars that had been embedded in Karsain’s back. Since emergency measures had been taken in advance, he was quickly carried by the crown prince to the palace doctor, and treatment began.

Meanwhile, Arina just blankly stared at the scene.

I repeated it over and over again.

I thought about it over and over again.

“Inferiority complex… that’s what they say.”

A rebuke asking if he had an inferiority complex toward his younger brother.

-Tiring!

▶Hidden Episode. Cleared the Sword that Cut the Flesh◀

▶There has been a change in Arina Bagrand’s emotions.◀

[ Arina Bagrand ]

[ Inferiority complex → ??? ]

[ Current figure: 80% ]

▶A hidden episode exclusive to the character Arina is unlocked.◀

▶When all conditions are met, the intimacy setting will change.◀

▶There is only one condition currently achieved!◀

[ 1. You will be pointed out by Crown Prince Albert Schenian Pesellos regarding issues related to Karsene. ]☑

***

-Tiring!

My eyes open to the familiar alarm sound.

“Huh!”

But as soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing that hit me was not the status screen, but excruciating pain.

▶Not all abnormal statuses have been recovered.◀

▶You must recover all abnormal statuses through sufficient rest.◀

I came to my senses in a flash of pain.

Yeah. I was a crazy guy who threw myself between buildings with falling corn. It’s strange that it didn’t hurt.

Things weighing twice my body weight were falling on me from all sides, crushing me, so I had to consider it a miracle that I survived.

Just like that time when he threw himself to save the author.

‘…I can’t believe this has happened twice.’

Still, I have no regrets.

I looked around and saw an empty bed right next to me. The empty bed had been roughly cleaned up and the blankets were scattered about.

Looking at the hair tangled in the blanket she was using, she must have been lying down and gone somewhere.

And. when I turned my head to the other side, the owner of that hair was sleeping uncomfortably on the bed.

“I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of nagging when I wake up.”

Harnie also nags as much as the author.

After a brief sigh, I turn my gaze to the status window.

▶Status Abnormality: Bleeding Stage 5 has disappeared.◀

▶Status Abnormality: Necrosis Stage 3 has disappeared◀

▶Status Abnormality: Detailed Level 4 is recovering.◀

▶Status Abnormality: Fracture Stage 4 is recovering.◀

…

…

Looking at the current state, you can see that there are many abnormal conditions that are disappearing or recovering one after another.

Then, his stats were temporarily lowered due to injury, and a warning window also caught his eye.

And at the end of it.

▶Avoided the bad ending.◀

It is written that he did not face death.

For one thing, it seemed like he somehow managed to survive even after committing such a crazy act.

“…But what is this?”

▶This is a reward for clearing the hidden episode.◀

[ You can attend the after-party with the Bagrand Dukes . ]

Are you attending the after party?

“Ha. Really.”

I can’t help but laugh out loud.

It is a set schedule for the aftermath of the Yellow Dragon Martial Arts Tournament to be followed by a party, and the story also follows this.

But there’s no benefit to participating here. The after-party banquet hall is full of traps of all kinds, and there are also many nobles who will pick a fight with Carcein.

“But, going in there is a reward?”

I really don’t understand why they put this in as a reward.

I couldn’t close my mouth.

Ugh. What a fucking game.

“Would it be okay if I went with Harnie?”

It’s always been like that.

Their goals may overlap…

“…”

Suddenly, I had that thought as I was looking at the sleeping Harnie.

“They say it looks a lot like the author.”

Their sleeping positions are similar. Their eyes are closed. Their weights seem similar… Their heights seem similar. Even the nutrition seems to be concentrated in certain areas.

“Actually, the background is similar. The author also said that he had a half-brother…”

Besides that, I was falsely accused of being called a ‘golden snake’ by the girls at school.

If we expand a bit more, the incident that happened today also felt like that─

-Click.

“You’re already up? You’re quite resilient. No, looking at that body, I guess that’s what it should be.”

“…!”

Silver hair and gold eyes.

It is a common appearance of the royal family.

But their appearance was different from that of the two siblings I had seen so far.

“Ah. Don’t try to get up, even if you throw away all the pretense.”

Crown Prince.

This is Albert Schenian Peselos.