With the saint’s shout to stop, Ileil suddenly halted her hand wielding the weapon.
The wooden sword hovered half an inch from Prinshitt’s throat, the tip trembling slightly.
Her golden pupils contracted into thin lines; Prinshitt could clearly see the cold sweat seeping from the other’s forehead—this wasn’t the posture of a victor, but rather that of someone struggling in a nightmare.
“What exactly are you thinking…… Ileil.”
Prinshitt asked in confusion. She realized that during the morning practice just now between Ileil and herself, Ileil’s gaze hadn’t focused on her at all—Ileil was completely fighting Prinshitt based on combat instincts, which was why her strikes were so lacking in restraint.
The wooden sword in Ileil’s hand fell to the ground with a thud. Ileil blinked as if awakening, her pupils regaining focus.
The muffled sound of the wooden sword landing echoed in the girl’s ears. Ileil stared at her trembling hands, the bloodstains from the sword hilt grinding her palms oozing tiny beads of blood. She suddenly remembered her father’s bloodied hands in the dream—those large hands that had once gently stroked her hair, ending up just as scarred.
What exactly…… am I doing?
The morning breeze brushed her sweat-soaked back, bringing a sobering chill. Only then did Ileil realize how rapid her breathing was, as if she had just gone through a life-and-death battle. And standing before her was Prinshitt—the Aressto princess she was supposed to protect, now clutching her swollen wrist, her ruby eyes mixed with confusion and stubbornness.
“I……”
The morning light filtered through the oak branches around the training ground, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Ileil stared at those swaying light spots on the floor, as if this could help her avoid Prinshitt’s probing gaze. She clenched her fists, the stinging pain in her palms making her a bit more alert.
Careless, Ileil. To actually get serious with the princess……
This realization hurt her more than the pain in her palms. Originally, in the past week serving as the princess’s sparring partner, she had gradually gotten used to restraining her sword edge, acting as a suitable opponent for Prinshitt, this beginner in swordsmanship. But after last night’s nightmare, Ileil found it somewhat hard to control herself after picking up the sword—even without her usual dual swords, an ordinary practice wooden sword could make her lose control.
“I’m truly sorry, Your Highness……”
Ileil said mechanically, the light in her golden eyes dimming.
Prinshitt didn’t get angry as usual; she just patted the dust off her training outfit with her uninjured hand and asked seriously:
“We can talk about the apology later. Your mental state doesn’t look good; what exactly happened?”
“I just had a nightmare, and then…… didn’t sleep well.”
Ileil turned her face away, avoiding Prinshitt’s probing gaze. However, Prinshitt looked completely unconvinced:
“Are you the type to be troubled by nightmares? Ever since I drove you out of the manor yesterday and you wandered back after a while, you’ve seemed off the whole time!”
Prinshitt leaned closer to Ileil; looking at the girl who was unlike her usual sharp self, she pressed:
“After you went out last night, did you encounter something? I order you—you must tell me the truth.”
The princess’s voice carried an irresistible command, but Ileil heard a hint of… concern? She slowly lifted her head, meeting those eyes as clear as rubies.
“Your Highness, I…”
“Don’t brush me off with excuses like ‘didn’t sleep well.'” Prinshitt shook her swollen wrist; the action made her wince in pain, but she quickly resumed her proud expression. “Last night, what exactly did you go through?”
Ileil’s gaze unconsciously drifted to the edge of the training ground. Lily was watching the two nervously, her cat ears twitching uneasily; while Dorias stood quietly there, observing their confrontation.
What can I say? That I saw the scene of my father being killed in a dream? That my father’s killer might be hiding some unknown secret? That I’m actually a witch turned from a man?
These things were one more absurd than the last; this somewhat naive princess probably couldn’t guess what had happened to her even if she racked her brains.
“I just… remembered some past events.” She finally said in a low voice, bending down to pick up the fallen wooden sword. “About my deceased birth father.”
“Is that so…”
Prinshitt’s eyes widened slightly; this was the first time Ileil had actively mentioned her past in front of her. She gazed at Ileil’s golden eyes, which indeed weren’t as sharp as usual.
The princess opened her mouth, seeming to want to ask more, but Dorias stepped forward, timely interrupting this dangerous conversation.
“Your Highness, your wrist needs treatment.” The saint positioned himself between the two; behind him followed the cat-eared priest holding a long staff. “Let Lily heal you; I think Miss Ileil needs to calm down.”
“…….”
Ileil looked at the saint before her in some surprise. She had originally thought Dorias would watch from afar, but didn’t expect him to come to her rescue.
“Fine. Then I’ll let this matter go for now.”
Prinshitt was quite obedient to Dorias. After seeing him approach, she went to Lily’s side and extended her injured hand.
“Let me heal you, Your Highness.”
Cat-eared priest Lily’s holy staff emitted a soft white light. The swelling subsided at a visible rate, but during the treatment, the princess’s gaze never left Ileil’s face.
“Feeling better? Your Highness.”
“This little injury is nothing.” Prinshitt flexed her wrist; looking at the bloodstains on Ileil’s hand, she said:
“Go take care of Ileil—she doesn’t look in good shape.”
“Ah, yes, Your Highness!”
As expected of Her Highness, so magnanimous. Lily responded promptly, her lips curving up slightly. She approached Ileil: “Miss Ileil, let me heal you first too! I’m quite skilled in healing divine arts!”
“Mm…”
Ileil said softly, somewhat mechanically extending her hand. The healing light enveloped the injured hand; the girl’s golden eyes reflected the cat-eared priest’s smile.
The silver-haired girl glanced at Prinshitt out of the corner of her eye, just in time to meet Prinshitt’s gaze that seemed like concern. Their eyes met, and Prinshitt retracted her gaze as if guilty, putting on an ‘I’m not concerned about you’ look.
This guy…… could she really be a tsundere?
Ileil thought silently to herself. She suddenly felt very fortunate—that the one she faced was a princess like Prinshitt, kind at heart. Although Prinshitt’s first impression on Ileil wasn’t great, if the princess were some villainous type, Ileil wouldn’t have good days ahead.
……
“Today’s investigation plan has changed, everyone.” After Ileil was mostly healed, Dorias spoke up.
“What happened, Mentor?” Prinshitt asked.
“Mr. Gro sent someone with a message this morning; suspicious traces were found in the western woods of the town…… He claims to have discovered the ‘True God of Death’ and specifically requested that I immediately go to accompany him in the investigation.”
Ileil raised an eyebrow; it seemed Gro had informed the saint about Kol’s disappearance yesterday.
“On what grounds? What right does that mercenary leader have to send you away, Mentor?”
Prinshitt replied somewhat unhappily, but Dorias just sighed helplessly:
“Please calm down, Your Highness. Mr. Gro doing this perhaps has his own intentions. After this week of reacquainting myself with Mr. Gro, he is temporarily a reliable ally in my mind.”
Speaking well of Gro, this saint. Although Ileil had to admit, Gro was indeed reliable when doing serious work.
The saint’s gaze swept between Ileil and Prinshitt: “According to the original plan, Your Highness should go to the Adventurers’ Guild today to investigate recent clues about missing townsfolk. Given the current situation…… I will temporarily leave the team today. I’m truly sorry, Your Highness.”
Prinshitt didn’t say more. After yesterday’s argument with Ileil, she ultimately agreed with Ileil’s view: her current self was still a burden to the team, and restricting a saint like Dorias by her side was absolutely not good for the bigger picture.
After all… in last week’s investigation, their side had truly gained almost nothing.
In contrast, Gro’s mercenary group—at first, Prinshitt looked down on their unorthodox methods. But in reality, all the clues were found by Gro’s side. Even the guard team dispatched in Renn Town was mostly supplemented by the mercenary group’s personnel—even Duke Lokas said he trusted Gro’s character; what did she have to refute?
“Fine—since Mentor said so, then we’ll do that.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness.”
A flash of relief passed through Dorias’s eyes. He paused, his gray-blue eyes looking straight at Ileil: “So, Miss Ileil…… could I ask you to take responsibility for ensuring Her Highness’s safety today?”
Is this testing me?
Dorias suddenly asking this so seriously made Ileil uncomfortable instead.
Clearly, her duty was to temporarily serve as the princess’s personal guard.
“This is my duty, Mr. Dorias. I will protect Her Highness Prinshitt’s safety with my life.”
Ileil met Dorias’s gaze and replied firmly.
Such an answer…… should be enough to satisfy him.
“I’ll leave Her Highness to you.” Dorias nodded satisfactorily; originally, there was a hint of worry in his gray-blue eyes. But after hearing Ileil’s response, the doubt in his eyes vanished. After patting Ileil’s shoulder, the saint turned and left the scene.
“Then I’ll go ahead to Mr. Gro’s temporary camp—the three of you.”
Dorias looked back at them one last time, then departed with steady steps.
……
“He’s gone.” Ileil watched Dorias’s figure fade into the distance, then turned to the princess beside her, who was lost in thought:
“Next, it’s up to you to make the plan. Your Highness, if we’re going to the Adventurers’ Guild for investigation, then let’s hurry and set off.”
“Don’t rush to the Adventurers’ Guild yet, Ileil.” Prinshitt spoke up, looking thoughtful, as if she had her own plan:
“Before that, I want to go find someone first.”
“Who?” Ileil asked somewhat warily; she was now the princess’s personal guard after all, and couldn’t let this naive princess meet some strange strangers on a whim.
“Don’t look at me with that weird expression.” Prinshitt noticed Ileil’s particularly serious look and explained:
“The person I want to see is the nun of Renn Town’s church—Emilia. Last night, I heard the manor’s servants say that something seems to have happened at Renn Town’s church, so I temporarily changed plans to go ask.”
“Is that so.”
Hearing Prinshitt say this, Ileil’s guard relaxed a bit.
But only a bit.
“So, how many people are you planning to take? It seems all the combat-capable people around you are gone, even Dorias has been sent away. The people you can rely on now seem to be just me and Lily.”
“……Uh, that seems to be the case.”
Prinshitt’s expression was a bit embarrassed. As the princess of Aressto, Ileil had sighed more than once that Prinshitt’s treatment was a bit too poor.
“Your Highness, may I ask an impolite question? If you don’t want to hear it, then I won’t say it.”
Ileil frowned slightly, staring into Prinshitt’s crimson eyes, and said seriously.
“Just say it already. Asking like that and stopping halfway is just teasing my curiosity.”
Prinshitt rubbed her forehead; she had prepared herself mentally to answer Ileil’s question.
“Forgive my bluntness, but besides Dorias, most of the soldiers guarding you, in my view, are half-baked ones I could take down in three moves. But as far as I know, Aressto should have plenty of elite forces.”
The silver-haired girl took a deep breath,
“This question, I’ve wanted to ask since the day I first met you—as the princess, why don’t you have any decent combat power around you?”
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