Each with Their Own Story (6)
"Now it's over. I won't show you any more."
That's enough. Thanks to you, I was able to realize it. That my previous life and this life are completely different worlds.
"Excellent. As expected of my disciple."
Now I know what I have to do. But….
For some time now, an unusual surge of mana had been pressing against my senses.
Someone was following our procession alone.
They had kept a careful distance at first, but now they were slowly closing the gap.
Heading straight for the carriage at the center where Lua and I rode.
I suppose I need to step out again.
"It's your life. I've even taught you magic, so live exactly as you wish."
Master spoke those words and vanished once more.
Lua was sound asleep, and there was nothing else to do inside the carriage anyway.
After extremists, now a skilled tracker. Why is this short journey—one that shouldn't even take a week—so relentlessly eventful?
"Heading out again, Your Highness?"
The captain of the escort knights asked as I opened the carriage door.
"I'll return shortly. Continue the procession without stopping. I'll find my own way back."
"Understood!"
He could have objected, but the captain never questioned my personal movements.
During the previous ambush, when I had warned that attackers were lying in wait, he had immediately sent out scouts.
They had found the enemy exactly where I said they would be.
Combined with the large-scale spy purge back in Solea, my warnings had earned his complete trust.
"Please return safely. Of course I trust you, but…."
"That's a given. If Lua wakes up, tell her I went for a short walk."
"I will obey your command."
The higher one climbs in the mastery of mana, the more sensitive one becomes to the flows around them.
Especially when that flow belonged to another mana user—it was almost impossible to miss.
The presence I sensed was at least fifth-circle.
Yet the surrounding mana moved with calm stability, which told me the tracker was no mage.
The moment I moved away from the procession, I leapt forward without hesitation.
Even if they couldn't sense my mana, they would certainly hear the sound of my movement.
Sure enough, the tracker immediately began to move.
But a mere fifth-circle practitioner.
The title "skilled" was far too generous for someone at that level against me.
When the tracker realized I was closing in, they stopped.
I slowed my approach and faced them directly.
The tracker was clad entirely in black from shoulder to toe, face hidden behind a dark mask.
They wore compression bandages, but it was obvious at a glance that this was a woman.
Honestly, the bandages seemed pointless.
Her figure was hardly boyish; no amount of wrapping could conceal her gender.
The tracker drew two daggers and dropped into a combat stance.
Of all things, she had to pull blades on me.
"Who are you?"
"You first."
"I asked first!"
"But you're the one who followed us first."
"That is true. Still, I cannot tell you who I am. Wait… now that I look at you…."
Silver hair, blue eyes, luxurious clothing, and a youthful face.
"You're the prince."
"Correct. So now will you tell me who you are?"
"I already said I cannot. Still, this is surprising. I heard you had only just reached the third circle, yet your realm is higher than mine. Have you been deceiving everyone?"
"Yes. And I intend to keep deceiving them for the time being."
"I've already seen through your lies."
The tracker now knew I was Prince Erewon and that I had reached a far higher realm.
None of that mattered.
"Why do you think I didn't bother hiding my identity?"
"Why?"
"Because if I wish, I can simply erase you—someone who knows the truth."
"You…."
I didn't wait for her to finish.
I launched myself forward in a sudden strike.
The tracker had already been in combat stance, so she swung both daggers at my incoming form.
But what good were daggers against me?
I am a sword saint.
I drew my blade mid-flight.
The first dagger met my sword head-on.
I carried the momentum of my leap and possessed superior raw strength.
One of her daggers spun from her grip and soared into the sky.
A gap opened.
"Got you."
I closed the distance in an instant, swept her legs, and drove her backward onto the ground.
At the same time, I pressed my scabbard against her throat.
"Ugh! To subdue me so easily… just who are you?"
"You already know. Erewon, prince of Solea. I answered you honestly, so now you'll answer my questions, won't you?"
"Don't make me laugh. I'd rather…."
Thud.
Her head lolled to the side.
Not dead—I had simply struck her temple and knocked her unconscious.
I pried open her mouth and slipped a finger inside.
Just as I expected, a small pill was tucked beside her molar.
In an emergency, she had planned to bite down and end her own life.
Whoever had sent her had chosen a ruthless method.
I washed the saliva from my finger with a pulse of mana.
"I didn't expect to use this so soon."
"Indeed. When it's not your little sister but someone else, you're completely merciless, aren't you?"
Master had appeared at some point and now watched with great interest from beside me.
"Is there any need to watch? She openly showed hostility toward me."
I sent my mana flowing into the unconscious woman's body.
It was time to test the memory-reading spell I had learned against my will.
Her name was Alcmene.
No family name. She came from Parta.
Even that much was enough for me to understand why she had traveled so far.
But since I could read everything, there was no reason to stop there.
Alcmene belonged to the shadow unit newly formed by Nelaos after his return from the imperial academy.
In Parta, defeating an opponent through anything other than honorable combat had always been considered a disgrace.
Yet Nelaos had created the shadow unit anyway, determined to win against the empire by any means.
Alcmene, once a high-ranking female warrior of Parta, had been reassigned to that unit on Nelaos's orders.
Her mission here was to incite the people of Solea into war with the empire.
If Solea entered the conflict, the empire's front lines would fall into chaos.
It was Nelaos's calculated move to seize the advantage on the eastern front.
Strategically sound, but it left a bitter taste.
Solea had already suffered enough.
This was like pouring oil onto a raging fire.
Alcmene had not only stirred up the most extreme factions in Solea but had also cooperated with imperial spies.
She had played both sides, taking whatever profit she could.
Yet I uncovered one unexpected detail.
"Huh? This woman…."
She respected Nelaos, the man known as the Great Prince, but she also loved him.
The same person who had incited crowds and swung her daggers at me without mercy possessed the pure, delicate heart of a maiden.
A timid, utterly devoted love that found joy simply in serving him.
"So what will you do with her? She knows your identity. Will you kill her here?"
"No. I'm going to use her."
I lifted Alcmene and slung her over my shoulder.
Returning to the procession, I handed her to the captain of the escort knights.
"Your Highness? An unconscious woman from the forest… Surely you didn't…?"
"Stop whatever you're imagining. It's not what you think."
"Understood. Then who is she?"
"One of the spies hidden in Solea. Place her with the captured imperial agents. But bind her arms and legs so she cannot commit suicide, and gag her as well."
"What kind of woman requires such measures?"
I handed him the two daggers she had used.
"What are these?"
"Her weapons."
"What? You fought her?"
The captain quickly examined Alcmene's body.
"Her muscles are exceptionally well-developed. She's no ordinary woman—she's a combatant. Yet you fought someone like this and don't have a single scratch?"
"I was lucky. My surprise attack succeeded."
"A surprise attack… You don't mean…."
The captain's face flushed bright red.
I had no idea what wild thoughts were running through his head, but they were clearly not wholesome.
For a moment I was tempted to peer into his mind with magic, but I refrained.
"Stop those thoughts as well. This is a command from your prince."
With my business concluded, I headed back toward the carriage, a grim premonition settling over me.
The conflict between the empire and Solea was far more tangled than I had realized.
When I opened the carriage door, Lua was awake and waiting for me.
Her eyes were clear; she must have slept well, and it looked as though she had been awake for some time.
"Welcome back, older brother."
"Older brother? Weren't we going to use 'oppa' from now on?"
"No. I reconsidered. 'Oppa' feels too casual. You aren't someone I can address so lightly, older brother."
"Even so…."
"Did you have a safe trip, older brother?"
I had felt pleased when she finally started using the warmer title, but her gaze was now so resolute that I couldn't argue.
For now, I would let it pass.
"Yes, I had a good trip."