Chapter 160
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Chapter 160
To the side, I could see knights standing dumbfounded before the barracks that had been reduced to chaos, staring at me. They were the men I had just saved.
Kaiden, oblivious to the situation, continued examining my body for wounds. Hyzen had certainly claimed that Kaiden was in poor condition, but it was now clear that had been a lie.
"What is the meaning of this?"
At that moment, a weighty, low-toned voice rang out from among the armed knights who had their blades trained on me. Immediately, the knights sheathed their swords and parted ranks.
Like the parting of the Red Sea, a man with black hair dressed in an elegant, antiquated uniform emerged slowly between the divided knights.
The man who walked with rigid, precise movements swept his gaze across the assembly with an indifferent expression. A suffocating silence fell over us. The man before me, who had instantly overwhelmed and unnerved the armed knights, felt strangely unfamiliar.
"Lower your swords."
At the man's menacing command, the knights stamped their feet and lowered their blades with disciplined precision.
"Crown Prince."
At my call, he looked at me. The knights standing behind Enoch's back turned pale as they followed his gaze to me.
Most of them seemed to have expected Enoch to respond with sharp words and reproach. I myself harbored similar expectations.
The Enoch of the past would have despised even being called by me, Margaret, so I understood the knights' reaction.
Yet Enoch stepped before me, bowed at the waist, and lifted his hands to cup my cheeks, examining my face carefully.
"Call me Enoch as you always do. Are you hurt anywhere?"
I stared at Enoch with wide eyes. His words barely registered, for I was acutely uncomfortable under the overwhelming gaze of the knights behind him.
Cold sweat began to form.
"Do not worry, Margaret. I shall treat your wounds."
Kaiden pulled me away from Enoch and positioned himself in front of me. The look in Kaiden's eyes as he glared at Enoch was far from ordinary.
"The Empire's soldiers require proper management. To receive aid from a passing civilian, with military discipline in such disarray—it's unacceptable."
Kaiden clicked his tongue and gestured toward the knights whose lives I had saved.
I supposed it was debatable whether I, riding an Anaconda and firing flares, would truly be overpowered by these knights, but I set that aside for now.
Enoch's gaze slowly turned toward the knights who were watching nervously from the corners.
Among them were Noel and Hyzen.
"An explanation is required."
At Enoch's interrogation, the knights appeared flustered and bewildered. Noel, standing at the front, stammered almost on the verge of tears.
"That is... it's not like that..."
"While we were resting, a pack of sea crocodiles attacked. At that moment, Flone Young Lady appeared and slew the crocodiles."
Unable to bear it any longer, Hyzen answered in his stead, and Noel vigorously nodded in agreement.
"Y-yes, that's right. There were about a dozen or so, and the Young Lady, along with her divine beast, shot and killed all the crocodiles with magic tools. Every single one that attacked us."
The moment Noel finished speaking, the surroundings began to stir. The knights standing behind Enoch could not hide their bewilderment.
'Every single one?'
'But there was even a Tower Master present. How is that possible?'
'Considering the power of the magic tools the Young Lady fired earlier, it's not entirely implausible, is it?'
'We even saw the divine beast devouring the crocodiles. It's not completely unreasonable.'
The murmuring grew progressively louder. I remained silent, unsure of where or how to begin.
My primary concern was not the dozens of knights before me, but rather those who had been speaking ill of me. When our eyes met, Noel and Hyzen flinched in surprise and averted their gaze.
Somehow, my mood had turned bitter. Unable to suppress the urge to be sarcastic, I finally addressed them.
"You should increase the intensity of your training. To gossip about a noble lady and then receive aid from that very same noble lady—it's shameful for knights."
At my words, all eyes turned toward them. The five knights who had been speaking ill of me, including Noel and Hyzen, shrank back with ashen faces.
I felt their questioning gazes turn toward me, so I swept my eyes across the assembly and offered an explanation.
"Ah, these noble knights were gathered here, tearing apart and slandering a mere noblewoman. How amusing."
The knights who had been gossiping about me merely gawked in shock, their mouths hanging open. Seized by sudden fear, they rushed toward me and dropped to one knee.
"We beg your forgiveness, Young Lady. Please pardon our rudeness."
"Our conduct was unbecoming of the knightly code. We deserve your rebuke. And we thank you for your aid."
They grasped the situation faster than I'd expected. Every knight who had spoken ill of me knelt and apologized.
"If you knew it was rude, you shouldn't have spouted such nonsense. Touch Margaret, and I'll tear you to shreds. Keep your mouths shut."
Kaiden, standing at an angle, threatened the kneeling knights and mimicked biting and tearing like a wild beast, growling menacingly.
In that moment, someone pushed through the crowd of knights. Vibrant pink hair caught my eye first, followed by a black eye patch covering the right eye.
Despite wearing the black patch, Asdal looked every bit the refined and elegant prince. I greeted him warmly.
"Hardtack King... no, Crown Prince! Is your eye alright?"
Asdal, who had been about to return my greeting cheerfully, paused and narrowed his brow. He swept his gaze around the room, then tilted his head toward me and whispered softly.
"Listen here, Young Lady. I haven't the faintest idea what this 'hardtack' business is, but 'arrogant' would suit me better."
"...Pardon? Ah, if you prefer, I'll call you the Arrogant Crown Prince."
"No, that's not what I meant... Sigh, never mind."
Asdal lost his words and scratched the back of his head. His once sharp temperament had become mild, almost bland. It was a welcome change nonetheless.
"Well, in the middle of our conversation, our Half-Em... Ahem. The Crown Prince suddenly disappeared, so I followed."
Asdal had been about to say "Half-Emperor" but corrected himself as he surveyed the stern-faced Langrid knights.
Of course, the knights seemed shocked by something else entirely.
'I've heard rumors that the Crown Prince of Hestia dislikes Flone Young Lady.'
'It seems those rumors were false.'
I didn't know who said it, but they certainly had nerve. Enoch and Asdal must have heard that too.
I wanted to leave this place quickly.
Perhaps sensing my discomfort, Asdal changed the subject.
"You two should have a separate conversation with us. There's much to discuss."
Asdal pointed directly at Kaiden and me. Kaiden nodded eagerly, as if he had no objections. There was something oddly familiar about him that kept nagging at me.
"The rest of you will await your disposition."
Enoch turned to the knights who had slandered me with a stern expression, then turned his back. The knights trembled with fear at his words.
Noel and Hyzen couldn't even meet my eyes, their faces full of guilt.
When the other knights were slandering me, those two had defended me. I knew that. But since they had been present at the gathering, I couldn't bring myself to take their side.
Thus I turned away from them and followed Enoch and Asdal. Once we had moved away, I saw the knights who had been standing still scatter in perfect order.
Whether it was because Kaiden's comment about their lack of discipline had stung them, their movements were so precise and orderly that they resembled robots.
In a certain sense, Kaiden truly seemed to be a person of remarkable influence.
We entered Enoch's barracks.
A round table sat in the barracks. Enoch removed his jacket and draped it over a chair, then offered us seats.
"Make yourselves comfortable."
Enoch showed particular kindness by pulling out a chair specifically for me. But Kaiden, watching this display with shameless audacity, sat in the chair Enoch had pulled out.
Enoch looked at him in bewilderment, but Kaiden paid no mind and casually picked at his ear.
Asdal, his face showing complete indifference to the silent contest between the two men, clapped his hands together.
"Well, I'm relieved we're all safe."
I sat down beside Kaiden and looked across at Asdal, who stood before us.
The black eye patch covering his right eye looked quite striking, though it was unfortunate that even divine power couldn't heal it.
"Are you truly certain about your eye?"
"Why, are you worried about me? This looks rather dashing, doesn't it? I'm quite satisfied with it myself. An eye patch on the Crown Prince—it has quite the story to it, wouldn't you say? Appropriately menacing too."
Asdal burst into laughter with a good-natured expression. He was true to form.
How strange the human heart is. His artless manner had been so irritating on the Island, but now that I'd accepted him as a true ally, I found myself pitying him instead.
"After all, this wound came from rescuing the very Crown Prince of the Empire—what an honor! I almost feel sorry for the Half-Emperor now. He'll carry guilt in his heart every time he sees my eye, won't he? Hmm, that's rather burdensome, so perhaps he should keep his guilt to a reasonable level."
Asdal draped an arm over Enoch's shoulder and whispered to him. Of course, his whisper was loud enough that we all heard it clearly.
I'd heard that Yuanna and Rujeep had gone to meet with people from the Papal See, so it seemed only we remained.
As I quietly observed Asdal's theatrics, Kaiden, sitting beside me, spoke.
"Margaret, don't mind what those people are saying."
"What?"
Startled by his words, I glanced at his face, then at Enoch and Asdal.
"Kaiden, no matter what, you can't just call the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince like that—"
"No, I meant those guys from earlier."
Kaiden laughed as if exasperated and clarified. Only then did I realize he was referring to the knights who had been spreading rumors about me.
"Ah... How can I not mind? That's my reputation. But don't worry—I'm not discouraged by such things."
At my response, even Enoch and Asdal, who had been bickering, turned to look at me. Suddenly, a heavy silence fell, and the atmosphere grew strange.
"No, really, I'm fine. But Kaiden, how is your body? I was on my way to see you."
I turned back to Kaiden and asked.
Having his body taken over by Jenath was no trivial matter. It must have consumed an enormous amount of mana and caused considerable psychological trauma.
Kaiden looked at me with an inscrutable, quiet expression. Then he turned his body completely toward me and tilted his head.
"What if I'm not alright? What will you do then?"
"What?"
What did he mean? Not understanding, I simply stared at his face.
Then he took my hand and pressed his lips gently against the back of it. The sensation of his lips on my hand burned like a brand.
"If I say I'm not alright, will you come to my barracks and nurse me back to health?"
Without lifting his lips from the back of my hand, Kaiden looked up at me with a mischievous gaze.
This was the real Kaiden. Yes, this was him—the true Kaiden.
"Stop that."
Surprisingly, it was Asdal, not Enoch, who stopped Kaiden first. Asdal pushed Kaiden away from me.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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