Clank.
Handcuffs tightening around Mikael Portren’s wrist.
The waiting Hayni Rosales and the knights looked at me, bewildered. Just yesterday, Mikael had acted as though he would attack at any moment, but now he was complying meekly with the arrest; they must have thought I was using magic.
“Thanks. I think this will all work out well because of you.”
Hayni bowed deeply, sincerely thanking me, but I responded with a bittersweet smile.
“He’s definitely a villain, but he’s a father to a child. Please show a bit of consideration for that child’s sake.”
As I added that it was for Michelle Portren, she nodded in agreement.
Since she was the one making the arrest, she must hold some power.
“But there are more knights than I expected. Did you not trust me and call for backup right away?”
Looking at the numbers, it seemed like there were nearly fifty of them. It felt like they were ready to fight Mikael for sure.
But Hayni awkwardly laughed and glanced at the knights.
“No, before the knights from the royal side even asked for support, they were already here!”
“……”
“I thought I was going to die from the tension. If you hadn’t handled things beforehand, Mikael Portren would have been dead today.”
With that, Hayni headed back toward the mansion to clean up the scene.
I slowly stretched out while gazing at the sky.
Three female students walked toward me from different directions as the sunrise began to brighten the dark early morning, signaling the end of the night.
Rin appeared just like she did when I left her at the hotel, looking perfectly fine. I briefly wondered if there had been an attack on the hotel.
Hayun had some wounds but was wearing a relieved expression. She seemed to have completely abandoned the name Ren.
The one in the worst condition appeared to be Sen.
Although she had succeeded in driving off the Chokugen Faction that came to kidnap Michelle, the wounds indicating a fierce battle stained her clothes with blood.
Of course, Rin rushed over to treat Sen, but even before that, Sen didn’t look too bothered despite her injuries.
‘Both of them achieved something.’
Hayun and Sen.
Both had declared independence from the family and parents that bound them.
And now, it was the turn of the gray-haired girl who held Sen’s hand and stepped outside.
“Ah, Dad?”
“Michelle……”
Mikael couldn’t lift his head at the sound of Michelle calling for him. Before he left, he wanted to see Michelle at least once, but seeing her now, he was overwhelmed with guilt.
“Dad……”
At first, Michelle’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she slowly clenched her fist and hit Mikael’s thigh.
“You idiot! You told me I had to be a good kid! What are you going to do if Dad turns out to be a bad person?”
“Ah, Michelle. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Mikael knelt in front of Michelle. The knights restraining him tried to take him away, insisting it was unnecessary, but Hayni stopped them.
The father and daughter, holding each other, cried endlessly.
While wailing, Michelle clearly told her dad.
“I’m sorry, Dad, is it because of me? You became friends with those bad people because they brought my medicine, didn’t you?”
“No, no, Michelle.”
Mikael wanted to tell her it was because of her, but Michelle spoke even more firmly.
“So I will live kindly. I will help and save so many more people than the ones who hurt you.”
“……!”
“Then maybe Mom will smile down from the sky? Maybe God will lessen your punishment just a little?”
“Ah, ah……”
Mikael stared at his daughter with tears in his eyes.
“Dad, I will definitely pay for my sins. I don’t know when we’ll meet again, but I will… endure and live well.”
“Since when have you grown this big?”
Having always been together, there were things he hadn’t noticed.
It was change and growth.
Watching the little girl he thought he had to protect now standing proudly on her own.
Mikael slowly kissed her forehead.
“Thank you for growing up like this, for being born as a daughter of this incompetent dad.”
“I’m really, really happy to be your daughter too, Dad.”
The girl began to spread her wings, leaving her father’s arms on this dawn.
*
“Haah, do I really have to go to this party?”
Elise, poking at the ridiculous mask with her finger, wondered. No, her real name is Alice de Frisia.
The third princess of the Frisia Kingdom was getting ready to attend a party hosted by the Sermon family in celebration of the Aios Academy’s vacation.
A neatly dressed maid next to her smiled gently as she fixed Alice’s hair.
“You should at least make an appearance at such a party. The Sermon family went through the trouble of organizing a grand masquerade ball just to invite our princess.”
“Haah, so annoying.”
Alice had hardly participated in any public activities, except when she was very young.
She had no intention of getting involved in power struggles as she was the third princess with a low ranking.
Watching the first and second princes fighting excitedly made her sick of power.
The veiled third princess.
To invite her, the Sermon family specifically organized a masquerade ball to create an environment where Alice could move comfortably.
“The mask should be something elegant.”
“How about a swan?”
“Sounds good. As for the necklace… this one will do.”
“Isn’t it a bit long?”
Indeed, the necklace hung down to her chest, making it look slightly long on her. However, Alice seemed to have already made up her mind, as she didn’t change it.
She had always been like this.
Once Alice fixated on something, she would tend to get overly immersed or obsessed with it.
This time was no different.
Wasn’t she suddenly smitten with a common male student and creating a strange scene before?
“By the way, I’ve received the last report from Lavender.”
“Hmm?”
Lavender was the stealth organization Alice had created herself.
While their combat skills were lacking, they excelled in information manipulation and collection.
Even the first and second princes and princesses knew about it, but they thought it was just the youngest’s playtime, so they didn’t care too much. However, Alice had quite the eye for talent, and so capable people had assembled who could not simply be dismissed as mere playmates.
Just a week ago, Alice would have been visibly delighted by news from Lavender, but now she merely looked bland and uninterested.
“Daniel McLean seems to have gone to the Forest of the Demon Realm. Probably to obtain herbs for Michelle Portren.”
“School starts soon, and he has a big task ahead. Even if his skills are outstanding, the Forest of the Demon Realm is a place where strength is irrelevant… I am quite disappointed in him despite the expectations.”
Alice sighed as she hung the necklace around her neck.
“I thought I could wipe out both the Renn family and the Portren family while also catching some Tudogs. The Renn family has disappeared without a trace, Mikael Portren has been restrained rather than killed. There’s some evidence left with the Tudogs, but…”
“They’re just too elusive to catch.”
“Sigh, it’s all so disappointing. I believed Daniel McLean would show up in the stage I prepared and cause a proper stir.”
She muttered, as if completely losing interest, and the maid cautiously asked.
“But, excuse me, Your Highness, why Daniel McLean? Wasn’t it Ares Helias originally?”
“Well, Ares isn’t bad either. But, how can I put it, Daniel had a raw edge to him. He felt wild and untamed?”
“……”
“If he passes this examination, I thought I might scout him, but I’m really let down.”
The moment Alice became interested in Daniel was amusingly during a theater practice.
“Take it easy, is this a joke? This is supposed to be a play. You all read the script before participating, right?”
“You wouldn’t want it, right? Some strange guy touching you must be uncomfortable. But I feel the same way. I don’t want to be chummy with two weird girls. It’s disgusting. But I’ll just do it.”
“Ugh, I have no desires for losers like you.”
Daniel had radiated killing intent towards Alice, who felt uncomfortable with a commoner touching her.
It was the first time in her life.
To Alice, who had always lived ruling above others, where a mere finger could make those in front of her vanish, this person instilled both fear and intimidation.
From that moment, her interest in Daniel began.
After she learned he had defeated a powerful magical beast that appeared during the festival, her interest deepened.
Therefore, she prepared for the recent incident in Bethel.
Leaking information, calling in characters, calculating the return time from Yggdrasil.
None of the participants in the Bethel play knew they were just puppets on Alice’s palm.
“Well, it’s all the same. Just as usual. Got my hopes up, got disappointed.”
“……”
“Ares is the same. Following a common male and wooing him was quite a unique experience and somewhat fun, but now with his recent behavior, I think it’s time to end that as well.”
“That’s a relief; frankly, I worried about what he might do to you, Your Highness.”
“That idiot? Hehe, it’s amusing. If he does, I might actually consider giving him another look.”
Just like Daniel McLean was special, Ares Helias was also special.
He possessed the beauty, charm, and grace that didn’t make her feel distasteful, even as a commoner with royal lineage.
Thanks to that, she could act like a lovesick woman following him; if he were an ordinary commoner, she would not even have been able to exchange words with him.
“I hope something interesting happens at this masquerade.”
With that, Alice turned her back on the maid’s farewell and headed to the stage.
But of course, in the end, it was just disappointment.
She had hoped that a masquerade would differ a little since it was her first, but apart from wearing masks, it was nothing different from a regular social party.
It was quite pleasant to wander freely among crowds who didn’t know she was the third princess, but that was all it was—quite pleasant.
Men who sensed the grace she couldn’t hide even under a mask approached to ask her to dance, but Alice flatly declined.
‘Boring.’
It was so boring.
Too boring.
As the ball reached its peak and the musicians and conductor sped up, Alice’s steps aimed outside the ball.
If only one man hadn’t asked her to dance.
The man with the black mask and black hair.
Radiating a wild aura different from the nobles, he didn’t even know the basic etiquette of asking to dance and simply extended his hand as if greeting.
“It feels off that I’m the only one dancing. Don’t you think you should give it a try too?”
In his voice, she felt certainty.
Daniel McLean was standing right in front of her.
Her heart began to pound like it would burst as her mind raced with thoughts.
How?
Wasn’t he heading into the Forest of the Demon Realm to acquire herbs for Michelle, resolving the Bethel incident?
What on earth was he doing standing here before her?
What did he figure out?
Could it be that he’s guessed she was the mastermind behind the Bethel incident?
In that brief moment, Alice spun her extraordinary mind, but no matter how she thought, Daniel McLean shouldn’t have evidence to pinpoint her as the mastermind.
Slowly, very slowly, a smile formed on Alice’s lips.
How on earth is it that you’re standing right in front of me?
That made her feel like she could go crazy.
Her mind that had almost slipped into boredom sprang back to life, a thrilling jolt surging through her whole body.
“Ah, the ball is just beginning.”
Alice accepted Daniel’s invitation to dance.
