Ch.5857. The Imperial Princess (1)

# 57. The Princess (1)

Drens pointed at me and said.

“Are you the one called Albert?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He signaled for me to come up as he climbed onto the arena, and I followed him.

Once on the arena, I could see that quite a large number of spectators were watching us.

Not just our party members, but also students and teachers whose names I didn’t know, and even reporters were watching our duel.

‘Do I need to fight intensely?’

The atmosphere was creating that kind of pressure.

It was especially tense because everyone was just silently watching us without saying anything.

‘It’s… starting.’

In that tense atmosphere, Gloria, the teacher in charge of this match, climbed onto the arena.

“The one who leaves the arena, becomes incapacitated, or surrenders will be the loser.”

It was something everyone already knew, but given the situation, I listened attentively.

“Ready… begin!”

As soon as the match started, Drens threw punches into the air at an incredible speed.

The [Shock Waves] created by those punches rapidly approached me.

They were invisible to the naked eye.

So I closed my eyes and concentrated all my senses.

‘Faster than I expected.’

-Swoosh! Swoosh!-

Those [Shock Waves] were clearly targeting my head and heart.

But I reacted and narrowly twisted my body to avoid them.

Drens was quite taken aback by this surprising sight, as were the spectators watching the duel.

I smiled at Drens and used one skill.

-Woong!-

Unlike before, I summoned [Sword of the Distant Abyss] in dagger form, and as I expected, a weapon with impressive stats appeared in my hand.

‘Dexterity 100…’

Even in my previous life, I had only raised [Sword of Darkness] to A+, so I had never held a weapon with such stats before.

In that state, I also activated [Mortal’s End].

“Ugh…”

Everyone was quite bewildered by the sudden pressure that descended.

“What kind of skill is that?”

“I don’t know…”

“It doesn’t seem like simple [Killing Intent Release]… and his hair color too…”

For the sake of my overly talkative opponent, I rushed at him before he could finish speaking.

Thanks to my body that had become light as a feather, I was able to reach him in an instant.

To him, confused by my unexpected speed, I offered a piece of advice.

“Only those with overwhelming skill can afford to be so relaxed during combat.”

I attacked him using only one arm and both legs, without using my dagger.

I caught his incoming punch with one hand and strongly kicked his thigh with my leg.

“Ugh!…”

The stat boost wasn’t just for dexterity; even though it was a dagger, it increased my strength by 40.

Drens clutched his kicked thigh, barely enduring the pain.

“If this were a real battle, you’d already be dead.”

I stood still watching him, but in a real fight, I wouldn’t be this kind.

Unless I were a psychopath who enjoyed seeing others in pain.

“Shut up!”

Drens, perhaps angered, shouted loudly and punched the air once more.

Still clutching his thigh with one hand.

“Please bear with it and get up.”

I dodged the [Shock Wave] flying toward my face with just a slight tilt of my head, and kicked him squarely in the abdomen while he was still pathetically holding his thigh.

“Gahk!…”

Drens collapsed on the spot, spitting blood, and just like before, was busy nursing his injury.

I deactivated all my skills and quietly watched him.

“You psychopath…”

“That’s not it, I just lost the will to continue.”

“Aren’t you being too careless?…”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? Only the strong can afford to be relaxed, which means ‘the strong are allowed to be relaxed.'”

“What an annoying bastard…”

Looking at him glaring at me with resentful eyes, I asked.

“So when exactly are you going to surrender?”

“You son of a b*tch!”

Unable to contain his anger, he finally threw a punch directly at me.

It was certainly a better choice than before, but it was too late.

‘You should have done that from the start…’

-Thud!-

I kicked his chest hard again, and he flew out of the arena.

As soon as the duel ended, Gloria announced the winner, and with that, today’s final duel came to an end.

Party members and reporters bombarded me with questions as I left the arena.

“What was that just now? And what was that sword?”

“I heard you’re siblings with Miss Aelin, is that true?”

“We heard you’re also acquainted with Princess Elizabeth…”

I sighed deeply at the bizarre scene.

‘I really hate this…’

***

In the quiet library, she handed me a mug filled with a beverage.

“It’s tough, isn’t it?”

“Very tough…”

Spending about an hour under that relentless barrage of questions had been absolutely exhausting.

Still, seeing her face after so long somewhat healed my tired heart.

She smiled maturely, as if she understood everything, and said.

“Now that you’ve become a bit famous, it’ll only get worse.”

“You must be very tired…”

“Still, I’m glad that people are recognizing me.”

She was never the type to talk to anyone about her stress or troubles.

She always seemed to suffer alone and swallow her pain by herself.

‘Finally showing some emotion, it was getting frustrating to watch…’

I sipped the drink and listened attentively to her story.

“Originally, Riel was the only person who knew, and even with Riel, I tried to hide it as much as possible to avoid worrying her… but somehow, I don’t want to hide things from Albert.”

My face grew hot from the suddenly sweet atmosphere.

“It’s really strange… I’ve never had anyone like that before.”

“You’re being unusually forward today…”

Maybe it was just my imagination, but her violet eyes seemed to shine even brighter today.

“Am I?”

“Yes…”

When I answered in a small voice, she averted her gaze and asked.

“Does Albert find my behavior burdensome?”

“N-no?!”

I realized I had answered too loudly and felt a bit embarrassed.

I fanned my heated face and said.

“I actually like it, but… it’s such a new side of you that I need time to adjust…”

This side of her was too dangerous for my heart.

In fact, my heart was already beating wildly out of control.

“That’s a relief then…”

“…”

The mood and timing were perfect for a confession, but for someone like me with absolutely no dating experience, it was simply impossible.

All I could do was look at her relieved face and sigh with relief myself.

As I was marveling at my own pathetic state, she asked an unexpected question.

“How does Albert think of me?”

Hearing that question, I was so shocked that not only my brain but even my heart seemed to stop, but after taking a deep breath.

I answered calmly.

“I think you’re very beautiful and trustworthy…”

“That’s quite an unexpected answer… I thought you’d say something like ‘I like you’ or ‘Why are you asking when you already know?'”

“I thought you’d already know that I like you, so I didn’t mention it. Did you want to hear it directly?”

Her words made me a bit more composed.

But even that small composure didn’t last long.

It shattered with just one sentence from her.

“Yes… I want to hear it.”

Seeing her say those words with such a shy expression made my heart start racing uncontrollably.

-Thump! Thump!-

It was beating so loudly that I could hear it even if I stayed still.

‘Calm down…’

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

I was still in a serious state, but I had calmed down a bit.

At least enough to say those words.

I carefully opened my trembling lips.

“I… I like you…”

After saying that, I immediately turned my head to avoid her gaze.

I don’t know what state I was in, but it certainly wasn’t normal.

“Thank you, but you’re being very shy.”

“I’ve never… done this before.”

In reality, I had been a workaholic who had never experienced romance in my life.

“Were you single all your life?”

“Of course…”

She smiled at the mention of being single.

“That’s a relief, I’ve been single all my life too…”

“But really… why are you like this today?”

“You seemed to be having a hard time today… so I thought it was an opportunity.”

“Op… opportunity?”

I didn’t understand the hidden meaning behind the word “opportunity.”

Or more precisely, I was pretending not to understand.

And in that ripe atmosphere, in the quiet library.

In that picture-perfect situation, she looked like she had something to say to me.

That “something” was certainly closely related to the “opportunity” she had mentioned earlier.

But I had been thinking about that opportunity too.

Ever since I met her, in fact.

In the situation she had set up, I tried to gather a bit of courage.

To seize the opportunity she had provided, I slowly opened my mouth, before she could speak.

“Princess, there’s something I want to say.”