23. The Princess

23. The Princess

Claire Lovennt.

The Emperor’s fifth child and the Empire’s third princess.

… And simultaneously, the shortest among the Imperial children, standing at 145cm.

“Yawn….”

She was sleeping soundly in her academy dormitory, her golden hair spread across the bed. She was so deeply asleep that she didn’t notice her clothes had ridden up, exposing her belly button.

If an Imperial tutor had seen this, they would have lectured her about her demeanor as a princess. However, since only the princess was present, no one knew whatever she did. Since being forcibly enrolled in the academy by Imperial decree a few days ago, this was the only part Claire genuinely liked.

Knock, knock.

“Heeek!”

Claire, who had been sleeping for so long, was startled awake by a quiet knock.

Could it be that the Imperial tutor had come to scold me? With her mind still groggy, Claire hastily tidied her posture, then realized she was in the dormitory. The Imperial tutor, who was busy enough teaching the Crown Prince, would have no reason to come all the way here to reprimand the third princess, who had the lowest claim to the throne.

Then who was at the door? The moment this question arose, a familiar female voice came from behind the door.

“Princess, there’s a letter for you.”

“Ah, yes! Just a moment!”

Claire quickly got out of bed and opened the door. Standing there was her only attendant, a maid with long black hair, holding a letter with a demure posture.

“Let’s see… House of Grand Duke Lyra?”

Claire took the letter and looked at the seal imprinted on it. The seal of a white wolf was prominently displayed in the center of the letter, where it was folded and sealed. Claire tore open the letter with force, without hesitation.

RIIIP!

“Princess, when opening letters, use a knife….”

“Hey, hey, there’s no one to scold me anyway, so what’s the big deal?”

Besides, if a letter from the Grand Duke’s family was addressed to her, there was only one person it could be from. Her best friend, one year her junior, the second daughter of the Grand Duke, the black-haired wolf.

“Freya!”

It was Freya von Lyra.

After a long silence, she was surprised to receive a letter after enrolling in the academy. Claire’s golden eyes sparkled as she began to read the letter.

Her expression was like that of a naive child delighted to receive a gift, but her attendant, knowing how much this petite princess hated being called ‘childlike,’ decided to simply watch the adorable Claire.

It was the attendant’s secret hobby, unknown to anyone.

… Actually, it was a secret hobby of the attendants, unknown only to the third princess.

“Ahem… Hmm hmm.”

The beginning of the letter was a casual greeting. Although the letter was written in a very light tone for a princess, Claire didn’t care at all. She detested etiquette, so if the tone had been serious, she would have thrown the letter out the window.

“Hmm… Huh?”

Claire, who had been reading the letter without a moment’s pause, soon tilted her head. The letter contained not the usual chatter, but a sincere request from Freya.

<Claire, I have a favor to ask. My older sister is entering the academy with you this time. But I’m worried about her, since she’s a bit clumsy. If it’s okay, could you watch over my sister? Not openly, but from a distance. And if you could, please write down in detail what she’s doing and send it to me. For example, if my sister makes friends, or if she’s close to someone. Please! That’s all. -Sent by Freya.>

It was so earnest that even the underscores were underlined.

“Hmm….”

Claire thought for a moment. Freya’s sister… yes, her name must be Skadi. A wolf with white hair, unlike Freya.

Whenever she secretly visited the Grand Duke’s estate without her father’s knowledge, Freya always actively blocked her, so she never got to greet her and only saw her back from afar. Skadi probably hadn’t even seen her.

Anyway, even if she only saw her from afar, her appearance was so distinctive. If she had seen her, she would surely remember….

‘I think I saw her at the entrance ceremony, but I’m not sure….’

The entrance ceremony that day was somewhat chaotic, and Claire herself was still venting her frustration about being forcibly enrolled to an innocent attendant, so she couldn’t remember clearly.

‘But isn’t this essentially a request to spy on her?’

Even for a close friend, sending a letter after a year and asking to spy on someone else made Claire feel a little hurt. Her lips pouted.

The attendant carefully stored that cute expression in her heart.

Regardless of the content, Claire continued reading the letter. After the closing remarks, a postscript was written.

The moment she read that, Claire accepted Freya’s bribe.

… The Empire’s third princess, Claire Lovennt, despite her childlike appearance, was a person who loved swords immensely.

——

Finding Freya’s sister was not difficult. Her distinctive white hair, wolf-beast ears, and tail were impossible to overlook.

Walking down the path with a stoic expression, a sword at her waist. Claire let out a soft gasp as she looked at the sword.

“Ooooh…!”

A pure white sword, as if embodying snow, just like her hair. Sensing a faint ice-attribute magic, it was undoubtedly a magic sword.

Magic sword.

A weapon imbued with magic semi-permanently by the fusion of powerful strength and will, called a magic armament, and when limited to a sword, it is called a magic sword.

Due to its creation principle, it was naturally not an easy weapon to obtain. It would probably take splitting an avalanche with a sword, perhaps more than once, to create one.

Even in the Empire’s vast treasury filled with all sorts of gold and treasures, magic armaments were few and far between. Even Claire, a princess, was seeing a magic sword for the first time in her life.

Claire’s eyes sparkled as she followed Skadi, seeing the magic sword for the first time. Every time she looked at the gleaming sword, all sorts of desires consumed her.

I want to see that beautiful sword up close. I want to touch that pure white blade. I want to douse myself in its coldness. I want to lick the sword. I want to taste it.

Since it’s an ice-attribute magic sword, perhaps her tongue would stick to it. However, if her tongue could stick to a magic sword, it might be a reward. Claire followed Skadi, hiding behind the trees.

As she walked, her tail swayed, and the sword at her waist swayed along with it, Claire’s eyes followed it. The magic sword, which she saw for the first time in her life, was so beautiful.

Freya had a sword like this at home all this time, and she hid it from me! Knowing how much I love swords?

Claire inwardly expressed her displeasure to her close friend. Nevertheless, she kept her eyes fixed on the sword, fearing she might miss even a single moment of its appearance.

Reflecting the sunlight and sparkling, emitting coldness as if revealing itself…. Claire was completely captivated by its perfect form.

A magic armament is not simply a weapon imbued with magic. Only when someone gathers immense power and will, shakes and distorts the world, and interferes with the existence of a weapon, is a magic armament truly created.

Naturally, in that process, the weapon is fundamentally transformed, thus achieving ‘perfection.’ What is beyond flawless, which even the Empire’s top blacksmiths must dedicate tens of years to create, is engraved into the magic sword.

And the same applied to that magic sword. Perfect balance tailored to the owner, a hilt that felt like it would perfectly fit the hand, and a beautiful blade that would remain eternally sharp without dulling. It was truly a divine beauty…!

… Claire continued to praise the sword on her own.

‘… Why does my ear itch?’

Meanwhile, Skadi, whose ear was itching, perked up her ears.

Then, Claire, who continued to follow her, saw Skadi stop in front of someone. A red twin bun. Given her distinctive appearance, she was surely the eldest daughter of the Marquisate of Louer. Moreover, there were several people around.

While wondering why the two had met, the eldest daughter of the Marquisate of Louer-Frisia von Louer-shouted.

“Frisia von Louer requests a duel with the Princess.”

Gasp, Claire swallowed hard. She didn’t know why they were dueling, but she let out a gasp of relief, thinking she would surely witness the moment that sword was swung.

As the two prepared for the duel, the number of spectators steadily increased. Claire, whose view of the dueling ground was obstructed due to her small stature, was anxious and, in her haste, spoke to the nearest person.

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

“Give me a piggyback ride!”

The female student, who was unexpectedly giving the princess a piggyback ride. Claire, unfazed, looked at the dueling ground.

WHOOSH!

The moment Claire looked at the dueling ground, spectacular magic unfolded within the protective barrier. Blazing flames and storms, earthquakes that shook the earth….

‘I can’t see the sword!’

… All of that was merely an obstruction to Claire, hiding the sword.

However—

SWISH!

At that moment, dozens of spells were cleanly sliced in half. As if daring to say that such things couldn’t possibly hide her, with an arrogant and haughty demeanor.

It felt as if all time had stopped.

Parting waves of flame, sparkling frost flowers, swirling cold air….

Then, as the sword swung horizontally, the entire dueling ground froze over.

Claire saw snowflakes formed by the freezing air, and when they slowly landed on the tip of her nose….

‘So cool.’

She was completely mesmerized by Skadi.

Freya’s letter had been forgotten long ago.