“From now on.”
He said leisurely.
“I will tell you one interesting fact about Serafinrie.”
&
An interesting fact about Serafinrie.
The moment I heard those words, I immediately realized what Baron was trying to do.
Serafinrie, the person in question, realized it too.
She looked at Baron with startled eyes, and in an instant, her face went deathly pale.
She must have known she had to stop him from speaking.
But the words wouldn’t come.
Fear.
And shame.
Because those emotions had come rushing in all at once.
Aileen and Ian probably didn’t know the details.
But just from Serafinrie’s reaction, they could tell.
At least, they could tell that Baron held a fatal card in his hand.
I understood the prince’s objective.
In the future, Serafinrie would become Aileen’s greatest supporter.
Baron must have realized that as well.
So if Aileen didn’t help Serafinrie here, Serafinrie and Aileen’s relationship would end.
And Ian?
That man was likely not to move in the first place.
Because what mattered to him wasn’t Serafinrie, but Aileen.
And if that happened, the relationship between the three of them would naturally fall apart.
In the end.
Baron had been aiming for this very situation.
The most influential families.
Luchevalt.
Dharmont.
Belmardian.
His goal was to ensure that when he became king in the future, those three families would not unite as one.
Wow.
This really is politics.
Brutal.
“An interesting fact... I’m curious.”
Just then, Ian spoke with a light laugh.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to him, but Ian’s face showed no particular tension.
It made sense.
If the relationship between Belmardian and Dharmont fell apart,
from Luchevalt’s perspective, there was nothing bad about it at all.
When Ian reacted that way, Serafinrie’s eyes trembled even more.
The shock couldn’t help but be great.
The man she liked, in the end, would not move for her sake.
She had just confirmed that right before her eyes.
Was that why?
Her shoulders even began to tremble faintly.
Quiver.
She gripped her own arm tightly.
It seemed she was trying somehow to suppress the trembling, but it didn’t seem to be working.
No, she couldn’t stop at all.
I felt a little sorry for her.
On the outside, she looked strong, but Serafinrie was still only seventeen.
Especially since she was such a proud child.
If that secret was revealed, there was no need to imagine how great the shock would be.
Because it was already all visible in her eyes.
Then Baron’s gaze moved again.
This time, he looked at Aileen.
“Now.”
Baron said leisurely.
“How will you stop my mouth?”
Aileen clearly understood what he meant.
Rice cultivation.
The profits that technique would create were enormous.
Right now, she must have been calculating.
Her relationship with Serafinrie.
And the profit that the rice cultivation method would bring.
Which of the two was greater?
But in the end, Aileen would help Serafinrie.
Even if not now, Serafinrie would become her right arm in the future,
so there was no way she would cut off that connection here.
Yes,
that was what I thought.
But.
“I’m truly sorry to Serafinrie, but.”
Aileen continued.
“I don’t think I have a way either.”
Huh?
Seriously?
Aileen’s expression had hardened coldly.
Calm,
and utterly emotionless.
It was the very look that was far too familiar to me.
And the moment Serafinrie heard those words.
Her body shook even more violently.
Quiver.
The trembling grew worse.
Humiliation,
beyond shame,
now even fear.
Those emotions engulfed her all at once.
“I see. Then it can’t be help—”
“Your Highness.”
It was me.
And in that instant, every gaze turned toward me.
“May I ask what it was that you intended to obtain from Sir Ian?”
Baron looked at me,
and an intrigued smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“If you knew what it was, could you give it to me?”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Or do you have something else that can shut my mouth?”
A brief silence passed, and then Baron laughed again.
“Well, if it’s you, perhaps you might have an unexpected move.”
At those words, Serafinrie and Ian looked at me at the same time.
The two of them probably still didn’t know.
The fact that I had told Aileen the rice cultivation method.
That meant Aileen had been hiding that part thoroughly as well.
They would find out after today, though.
I lowered my head briefly.
“I will try.”
“Hmm.”
Baron lightly touched his chin.
“Very well.”
And then he said calmly.
“What I was going to demand from Ian is a battle.”
After pausing for a moment, he added.
“With our lives on the line.”
The air on the balcony froze in an instant.
Among knights, there were countless geniuses.
And.
Among them, the two people most frequently mentioned.
Baron Bel Elstragard.
And Ian Luchevalt.
Just who was stronger?
That story was a popular topic even among knights,
but the two of them were in positions where they couldn’t easily have a proper duel.
A prince and a great noble.
That was why Baron hadn’t gone out of his way to propose a duel first.
A formal match would have no meaning to him.
“I don’t think you can fulfill that in his place.”
Baron looked down at me.
“Do you have something groundbreaking?”
Baron immediately smiled as if he found this amusing, then continued.
“No, you must.”
His eyes flashed.
“That must be why you spoke up so confidently.”
Of course.
I had dared to interrupt while he was speaking in this situation.
If I didn’t have something, the result would be obvious without needing to say it.
He took a step closer.
“You’ve suddenly become far more interesting than those two.”
Scary.
He was too sharp.
If Aileen was the type to meticulously pressure her opponent,
Baron was completely different.
He was the style to crush others with overwhelming power.
But was he stupid?
Not at all.
If anything, he was too smart.
That was what made him even scarier.
Because he knew exactly when,
where,
and how to use that power.
To be honest.
Baron was far scarier than Aileen.
Because if things went wrong, he could just kill you and be done with it.
“I do.”
“Oh?”
The corner of Baron’s mouth rose.
“As expected. Haha!”
He looked truly delighted.
Baron liked battles.
To be a little more precise.
He liked interesting things.
“But you see.”
Baron tilted his head.
“Why?”
His gaze turned toward Serafinrie.
“Why are you going this far for Serafinrie?”
He smiled in puzzlement.
“You two aren’t particularly close.”
Then he added playfully.
“Or what... did you fall for her at first sight?”
At that moment.
I felt Aileen’s gaze pierce into me.
Why are you suddenly glaring at me?
Who do you think I’m doing this for right now?
I cleared my throat for no reason.
“Ahem. Well, she is extremely beautiful, but that’s not it.”
In an instant, everyone’s gazes focused on me,
and I looked at Serafinrie for a moment as I spoke.
“It’s just.”
I paused to catch my breath.
“Seeing someone so dignified and admirable trembling in fear like that felt pitiful.”
I meant it.
To be precise, I didn’t want to see such a young girl already trembling under that kind of terror and pressure.
But.
At my answer, everyone stared at me blankly.
A brief silence passed.
“Heh-heh.”
Baron’s shoulders shook.
“Puhahaha!”
In the end, he burst into loud laughter.
“Well, well. You were a romantic man.”
Baron slowly approached,
and the closer his steps came, the stranger the pressure became.
“Very well.”
He looked down at me again.
“What will you give me? It will have to be something greater than what Aileen has, at the very least.”
“Of course.”
Something greater than rice cultivation.
From their perspective, it would be almost impossible to think of such a thing.
But I,
I intended to give him something truly big.
Well, in any case, it’s something you’re going to end up having later.
“What is it?”
“A mine.”
“A mine?”
I said briefly.
“Gold.”
In that instant, all four of their eyes widened at the same time.
A gold mine.
There was no need to explain its weight.
“However.”
I added.
“Do not try to learn the information here.”
I couldn’t explain in detail either.
“What if it’s a lie?”
I answered immediately.
“My life.”
Anyway.
If it’s bullshit, you’re going to kill me, aren’t you?
So it’s better for me to say it coolly first.
Another brief silence passed.
At last,
Baron grinned,
and slowly held out his hand.
“A good trade.”
The moment he judged it to be a sufficiently good trade,
he didn’t drag things out any longer.
As expected, how decisive.
I took his hand and said,
“That secret disappears forever now.”
“I promise.”
Baron answered casually, but I trusted him completely.
A royal’s promise.
Those were heavier words than one might think.
A promise personally made by a member of the royal family was not something they broke carelessly.
At least, especially not in a place like this.
“Ahh.”
Baron lightly loosened his body.
“Today’s meeting was very enjoyable.”
His gaze turned toward me.
“Especially you, Reion.”
The corner of his mouth rose slightly.
“I’ll look forward to meeting you again next time.”
“It is an honor.”
“Heh-heh.”
With a laugh,
Baron turned to leave, then stopped and looked back again.
“This really is the first time you’ve seen me, right?”
What is he talking about?
Of course it is.
Before I could nod and answer, he waved his hand.
“No. There’s no way that’s true.”
He chuckled.
“Well, I like you very much.”
Tap.
He lightly patted my shoulder.
Even if he’s a prince, this brat is younger than the real me, yet he’s patting me on the shoulder and walking off.
What can I do?
I’m deeply honored.
Thank you very much.
He left the balcony with a laugh like that,
and a brief silence followed.
Why is the atmosphere like this?
It was a strange mood.
“Reion.”
The first to speak was Serafinrie.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
What’s this?
Why is she speaking politely?
And also.
What’s with that smile?
Was Serafinrie someone who knew how to smile like that?
It was a prettier smile than I’d expected.
I smiled lightly and nodded.
“It was nothing.”
Serafinrie looked at me for a moment.
Only for a very brief moment, but that gaze lingered longer than I expected.
Then she swiftly turned away.
After Serafinrie left the balcony, this time Ian opened his mouth.
“You said your name was Reion, right?”
He looked at me.
“That’s right.”
“I’ll make sure to remember that name as well.”
His eyes were serious.
“And I acknowledge you.”
At last, with a gaze that had become a little sharper, he said seriously,
“My rival.”
Excuse me?
Why?
“To show such guts in front of His Highness.”
Ian nodded, then chuckled.
“And on top of that, your intelligence network.”
His smile deepened.
“Ha. Yes. This is the level my rival should be at.”
He turned his back and said,
“See you again.”
Ah.
That bastard got serious.
When Ian gets serious, he’s truly terrifying.
In the end, everything went according to this fearsome witch’s plan—
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I flinched in that instant.
Aileen was looking at me.
Her eyes.
They were eyes that instantly brought back memories of the old days.
I was flustered by that chilly, cold gaze.
It wasn’t as if I could tell her that, in the end, this had benefited her too.
“Your life... on the line?”
“Yes?”
I was taken aback by the unexpected words.
“Ah, aah... Well, if it were a lie, I would die anyway for the crime of mocking His Highness.”
Aileen nodded.
“That’s true.”
Then she spoke slowly.
“But... to Serafinrie, those words must have sounded very wonderful.”
She looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“A man who would even offer his life for her.”
Uh.
I didn’t think of it that way.
I laughed for no reason.
“Come on... surely not.”
Because I was a little flustered, I scratched my head.
“She will. She was standing at the edge of a cliff, and you saved her.”
She narrowed her eyes at me once more.
“And on top of that, the fact that you even staked your life.”
She smiled.
But there was bitterness in that smile.
“That won’t disappear. Whatever meaning it may hold.”
At last, she looked at the place where Serafinrie had been standing.
“For a moment, I even wished I had been Serafinrie.”
Why does it feel like I did something wrong?
I really did step in to help the two of them, though?
But what did she say at the end?