Page 191

Christmas, inside the main hall of Zerion Academy.

Just moments ago, the hall had been tense, filled with the sharp nerves of nobles who had been circling like hyenas after Isabel’s entrance.

But now, the hall was quieter than ever.

And the reason was simple.

Two individuals had entered and completely seized control of the room.

The 3rd Imperial Princess, Iris Hysirion.

The 1st Imperial Prince, Lukraizen Hysirion.

Two people who resembled each other, yet were paradoxically described as opposites.

They were the two heirs to the Imperial throne who split the Empire’s power between them—no wonder the nobles were in an uproar.

It was rare for the two of them to appear in the same place at the same time.

Usually, that only happened during official imperial meetings.

Even those had been nonexistent for a few years, as Iris had been attending the academy.

But now, today, the two successors to the throne stood face-to-face once again after a long time.

Sweat trickled down the backs of the nobles.

They rushed to greet the two, as if their feet were on fire.

Even nobles from outside the Empire reacted the same.

Either one of the two could realistically become Emperor—it wouldn’t be a surprise.

In such a situation, who you greeted first could impact the entire nation.

To them, it was an impossible situation to navigate.

And as for Isabel—

“Pushed to the sidelines, huh.”

Isabel sat in the seat assigned to her within the hall, looking down at the struggling nobles trying desperately to manage the situation.

Soon, her gaze quietly landed on me.

“This is your doing, isn’t it.”

I pretended not to hear her.

Isabel let out a long sigh.

“I can understand Iris showing up, but how in the world did you bring the 1st Prince?”

“The 1st Prince and I are very close, you know.”

“The only men you’re close with are Card and Grantoni.”

Don’t do this—I have other friends too.

But I couldn’t really deny it.

She wasn’t wrong.

“Even for the 1st Prince, this incident at the Demon Dungeon has raised a lot of red flags.”

I glanced at the 1st Prince, who was chatting with some nobles.

“This visit is just a pretext. That over there—that's the real reason he came.”

He wasn’t the type to move just because I asked him to.

He was a seasoned political player through and through.

Just then, the 1st Prince glanced in this direction.

Our eyes met, and he gave me a faint smile.

I understood what that look meant.

He was about to play the “Nia” card.

My eyes drifted toward Iris.

This incident would be a heavy blow for her.

My real enemy was Lord Robliage, not Iris.

But in order to take down Robliage, I had to shake up the 3rd Princess’s faction.

And Iris would have to bear the brunt of that fallout.

At that moment, my eyes met Iris’s.

She curled her lips slightly, then gave a small nod as if to say she was fine.

That surprised me.

Had she already heard something?

Iris had her own network of informants.

Perhaps, judging from the series of recent events, she had already deduced what would happen today.

Come to think of it, she was the one who had asked me to prevent Nia’s death.

Given that, it made sense she would have anticipated this situation.

“To everyone gathered here today, I have something to announce.”

Just then, the 1st Prince began to speak.

At the same time, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway.

The nobles turned their questioning gazes toward the 1st Prince.

He, however, was completely unbothered.

“The recent Demon Dungeon incident involving Nia Cynthia…”

The 1st Prince was finally playing the card that would shake the 3rd Princess’s faction.

“It was not an accident, but an assassination attempt.”

An assassination of a noble.

Everyone present knew how serious this was, especially coming directly from the 1st Prince.

Shock spread across the faces of the 3rd Princess’s supporters.

The incident involving Nia had always been something the 1st Prince’s camp had used to criticize the 3rd Princess’s faction.

But up until now, it had only been whispers behind closed doors.

To say such a thing publicly, in front of so many—

It meant only one thing.

He had evidence.

“No, let me correct myself. This was an assassination attempt by those who seek to sow chaos in the Imperial family.”

Bang—

At that moment, the doors to the hall burst open.

All eyes turned toward them.

And soon, everyone’s eyes began to widen.

Because the person who entered was a face they all knew.

The successor to the Yellow Magic Tower.

A member of the Imperial Magic Knights.

Nia Cynthia.

He entered the hall accompanied by a few others.

“Deputy Professor Nia, you’re alive…”

Isabel, seated next to me, let out a breath of relief.

She didn’t know him well, but she never welcomed death, even of strangers.

To her, the fact that Nia was alive was a great relief.

“Nia Cynthia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

In response to the 1st Prince’s call, Nia stepped forward.

My gaze naturally shifted to the woman beside him.

She had dark brown hair and wore a veil that obscured her face.

I recognized her immediately.

Nikita.

“As His Highness said, I was indeed the target of an assassination attempt during the Demon Dungeon incident. And until today, I deliberately stayed hidden in order to uncover those who were behind it.”

Nia’s eyes turned toward the flustered nobles of the 3rd Princess’s faction.

Eventually, his gaze reached Iris as well.

“3rd Princess Iris Hysirion, what are your thoughts on this?”

Urgent whispers rippled through the 3rd Princess’s faction.

But Iris remained silent.

Most of the people in her faction didn’t follow her personally.

They followed Lord Robliage.

Iris had only borrowed Robliage’s influence to gather her support.

So it wasn’t exactly right to say that the faction’s crisis was her personal crisis.

Maybe that was why—

Even now, her expression was calm, cooler than one might expect.

“As a knight of the Empire and the next Count of Cynthia, Nia Cynthia has faced an assassination attempt.”

Iris’s unique voice rang clear through the ears of everyone present.

“If there is someone who instigated this assassination, they must, without question, pay the price.”

Her statement was resolute.

She is the final villainess.

If anyone dares to stain the hem of her dress, she would cut them off without hesitation.

The 3rd Princess’s faction knew this all too well.

Above all, there was no way Duke Robliage would let those who failed an assassination go unpunished.

The 3rd Princess’s faction’s face turned pale.

No matter how much they try to drag down Iris and Duke Robliage, this is the Empire.

Even if those people disappear, the two of them will not.

All they could do now was accept the reality that had arrived.

“I, the First Prince, Lukraizen Hysirion, will thoroughly investigate and uncover the truth of this matter.”

“I, the 3rd Princess, Iris Hysirion, will also lend my full cooperation under my name.”

A case that would be investigated personally by both the First Prince and the 3rd Princess.

Even if there had been no actual assassin, someone would be made guilty. It was that serious.

The First Prince glanced briefly at Iris, then turned sharply on his heel.

“This is where I take my leave from the party. We must act before the evidence is erased.”

Nia and Nikita also followed behind the First Prince.

Between fluttering veils, my eyes briefly met Nikita’s.

With a disguised face unlike her usual self, she gave a faint smile before leaving.

For a moment, I thought Nia had glared at me like fire, but hopefully that was just my imagination.

Iris silently watched the First Prince’s back.

Though blood relatives, they were two people who could not care less for each other.

The party turned into chaos in an instant.

The First Prince’s bombshell announcement caused an uproar.

This matter was going to escalate more than expected.

His real aim was to use this incident as a pretext to bring down Duke Robliage.

‘He’ll use Nia’s assassination attempt to tie Duke Robliage to the villain faction and push the narrative that way.’

How Duke Robliage would respond would be the key to everything.

Thanks to that, the Christmas party was utterly ruined.

I casually said to Isabel:

“You can rest easy now.”

In this kind of situation, Christmas or whatever didn’t matter anymore.

“…It’s been a more exhausting day than I expected.”

Isabel exhaled and leaned back into the chair.

“More than that, you took off the bandages.”

“You noticed.”

Isabel gave a soft smile.

Then she lightly asked me,

“That glove… it’s to cover the scars, isn’t it?”

I have many scars on my body.

Isabel had long known about them.

As she said, I was wearing gloves now.

Of course, my clothes were also long-sleeved.

“It’s still winter, so sleeves help cover it. And for the eyes, I have some special lenses I prepared before.”

As long as the remnants of the ancient dragon didn’t go berserk, it could all be hidden.

Isabel gave a short, sympathetic sigh.

“Still, I guess taking off the veil’s bandage is progress.”

“I’ll slowly reduce it.”

As I smiled, Isabel let out a sigh as if she couldn’t help but yield.

Knock knock—

Just then, a knocking sound came from behind us.

When I turned my head, a familiar face was pressed against the window.

A girl with indigo blue hair had her cheek squished against the glass.

“Sharin.”

I called her name and opened the window.

Sharin perched herself on the window ledge.

“Yaaawn… hubby, Bell, hi.”

Sharin lazily waved her hand.

Judging by her face, she had just woken up and come here like a sleepy child.

“What’s going on?”

“Just checking if my hubby and Bell are cheating on me.”

Suddenly, I was branded a cheating husband with Isabel.

It was absurd for me, but Sharin looked seriously up at Isabel.

“Bell, what did you do with hubby while I was gone?”

She asked in a probing tone.

And that probing hit the mark.

Isabel’s shoulder flinched ever so slightly.

Sharin’s brows began to knit.

Then her expression grew more annoyed.

“What did you do?”

“……”

Isabel said nothing.

Sharin grunted and climbed further up onto the window.

I couldn’t watch anymore, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and helped her over the windowsill.

Then Sharin immediately clung to me.

She buried her face in my chest, rubbing her head back and forth, and asked repeatedly,

“What did you do? What did you dooo? What did you doooo?”

“W-We didn’t do anything!”

Isabel quickly tried to explain.

Sharin puffed up her cheeks.

“Then I want to do it too.”

She looked up at me.

“Hubby, do it for me too.”

“W-What?!”

Isabel shouted in panic.

“Absolutely not!”

“Why is it okay with Bell and not with me?”

“What’s not okay is just not okay!”

Isabel’s firm refusal made Sharin’s eyes grow more furious.

“Both of you, calm d—”

“Why is it only Bell…”

A sharp edge appeared in Sharin’s voice.

And then, emotions exploded.

“I was the one who got engaged to hubby first. Bell’s the one who crossed the line.”

“Sharin, hold on.”

I tried to stop her, and Isabel’s face froze at those words.

She had always felt guilty for falling in love with someone her friend loved.

And now, Sharin had unwittingly hit that exact nerve.

“Why do you act like you’re not greedy when you clearly are? I hate that about you, Bell. You’re never honest about your feelings.”

Just as I was trying to defuse the situation—

Sharin said something she shouldn’t have.

Isabel froze and looked back at her.

But Sharin, with a face full of genuine anger, stared hard at Isabel.

“Sharin.”

“…I don’t like that about you, either.”

Isabel finally opened her mouth.

“I hate how you always do whatever you want. You never think about how others feel and just take whatever you want.”

Fights always start from small things.

This was a spark igniting the faint embers of resentment they both harbored.

“……”

“……”

Sharin and Isabel glared at each other.

It was a crack forming between two people who used to be closer than anyone.