The Third Assassination Attempt
I did it. I really did it. ‘…So aura does work after all.’
Armand frowned, lost in recollection. The princess, Violetta, was not human. She was a descendant of the exalted dragon race. As proof, no ordinary blade could wound her. Physical damage itself was impossible. Even the Holy Sword had failed to pierce her skin. Only when coated with aura could it penetrate. But even that had proven useless.
[Haaah…! Just a little deeper. Deeper…♥]
Instead of pain, she had reveled in the sensation of her own heart being stabbed. Her face had been flushed with ecstasy as she let out joyful sighs. It was as if he had merely scratched an itch for her…
What was certain was that only aura could allow penetration. Yet even then, he still couldn’t inflict any real damage. Violetta hadn’t shed a single drop of blood. It was a phenomenon he simply couldn’t understand. No matter how noble a dragon might be, they were not immortal. Even if this was a world from a novel whose serialization had been canceled and whose power balance was completely broken, the author must have at least envisioned a proper ending. If they had planned for a total disaster ending, they wouldn’t have dropped the story midway. Which meant that the final boss, the worst evil magic dragon, was merely a long-lived species—not truly undying.
‘At this rate, won’t she awaken as the magic dragon even faster than in the original story?’
Armand tapped his fingers against the table. A hearty meat stew sat before him. He was having a late lunch. The dining hall was frequented by imperial knights—mostly lower-ranking ones. Armand sat alone in a quiet corner. It was a rare moment of peaceful rest, free from the princess’s side.
Violetta had left to see the emperor, granting him this brief freedom. Whether the curse was lifted or not, she remained as willful as ever. She was rather kind to him, though.
‘…She’s out of her mind.’
The refreshed expression she’d worn after being stabbed to her heart’s content kept circling in his head. The princess was an impossibly radiant woman. Even the sight of her being stabbed had been beautiful. For a moment, he wondered if he had been bewitched by that insane scene. It was ridiculous. He was the one who had stared into her eyes without falling under their curse. Moreover, thanks to the Holy Sword’s divine power, most of those curse-like symptoms had supposedly been lifted. And yet he had still been momentarily captivated by her—
Am I the crazy one?
Armand spooned up the warm stew, trying to clear his head. The savory meat and rich broth stimulated his tongue, washing away the stagnant thoughts.
‘Get a grip. No matter how beautiful she is, at her core she’s still a reptile.’
And soon she’ll die by my hand.
With a soft thunk, Armand stabbed his fork into a chunk of meat, steeling his resolve. He would eliminate the princess and survive at all costs. It was the goal he had longed for his entire life. And that fervent desire soon—
Pure white aura transformed the fork, making it glow.
Thud. The aura was so intense that the piece of meat on the end of the fork sliced clean through like pudding and slid off. That was the power of aura. There was nothing aura could not cut. Even if the opponent was the worst evil magic dragon.
‘Wait… Could it be that the Holy Sword itself prevented any damage?’
A single possibility flashed through his mind. What if he stabbed her with pure aura, without any holy power? The Holy Sword naturally contained divine energy. Even this body, born from a priest’s bloodline, carried a trace of it.
“Still… something feels off.”
Chewing his meat in the corner of the dining hall, Armand fell back into thought. In the original story, the hero had wounded the magic dragon with the Holy Sword. Pure aura alone had been completely ineffective. But now it was the opposite. The Holy Sword had no effect at all. If anything, it had only alleviated her preliminary symptoms. Using it had practically helped her awaken as the magic dragon.
‘This is seriously fucked up.’
His head was growing complicated again. It didn’t make sense. There had to be more settings he didn’t know about. Whatever. There was no point agonizing over it. He would just have to test things one by one. No amount of pondering would change anything. He was the type to learn by smashing straight into the problem. For the third assassination attempt, he would use an ordinary sword, infusing it with as much pure aura as possible. Of course, no one knew when that opportunity would come again.
—What’s that knight’s name? The one who saved Her Highness’s life.
—You don’t know Armand? He was pretty famous even back when he was in the imperial knight order.
—Ah, so he’s the same person as the youngest Sword Master?
—I heard he’s not just a regular Sword Master. Supposedly he uses aura infused with holy power.
—Isn’t that basically a holy knight from the church?
—That’s what makes it even more impressive! He chose to wield his sword for His Majesty the Emperor instead of the gods.
—For someone so young, his loyalty is incredible. He turned down the cushy path of a holy knight to join the imperial guard instead.
From somewhere across the hall, the murmuring voices reached him. The imperial knights who were eating had begun gossiping about Armand. He pretended not to notice and quietly listened. His ears perked up on their own.
—So how exactly did he save Her Highness?
—They say he cured the illness she’d suffered from for so long.
—How could a knight do that?
—Beats me. Probably used holy power or something?
—Then what were the imperial priests doing all this time…?
From what he could gather, only vague rumors had spread. Which made sense. If word had gotten out that he had stabbed the princess in the chest, people’s gazes wouldn’t have been so kind.
—Are you talking about the guy who received a medal from His Majesty yesterday?
—It’s definitely him. I thought he’d die quick once he was assigned to guard Her Highness.
—He joined the imperial guard and immediately earned His Majesty’s favor?
—Yeah, and he even got a reward, apparently.
—Is that true? Does anyone know what he received?
—Hmm. Since he’s still in the imperial guard, it doesn’t seem like he asked for a title…
The whispering gradually spread throughout the dining hall. Even though he had deliberately sat alone in the corner… everyone’s attention had somehow shifted in his direction.
—That guy was actually my junior, you know? He used to follow me around like a big brother.
—I even taught him swordsmanship myself. Just the other day he was begging me to go easy on him during sparring… Kid’s really grown up.
A few were openly name-dropping Armand and bragging. But Armand didn’t react. He had no time to waste on such riffraff. His only concern was how to carry out the third assassination attempt. That was all that occupied his mind.
—I know what reward Armand received from His Majesty.
Then came a whisper that actually caught his attention.
—What? What was it?
—I heard it through the grapevine… He was promised marriage to Her Highness.
—R-really? An engagement with the princess?
—Yes. I heard it from the guys on patrol earlier. They said the two of them have been rolling around in the bedroom together since broad daylight.
‘Ah, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me—’
His appetite vanished in an instant. The engagement was an exaggerated rumor, but the source of this nonsense was none other than Violetta herself.
—Heh heh, it’s not entirely impossible. He’s the man who saved her. Of course she’d fall for him hard.
—Still, that guy is something else. No matter how beautiful Her Highness is…
—Hey! Don’t say anything more. Unless you want to get dragged off by the intelligence bureau.
—Wait a second. If the rumor is true, shouldn’t we start riding the Armand line right now?
—Exactly. He might become even bigger later.
—Come on. You know what Her Highness is like. If you get tangled up with her even a little, you’ll be the one who suffers.
—Hmm, that’s true, but…
The dining hall grew noisier and noisier. They were practically shouting now. Yet it was hard to call it badmouthing. Most of the talk was praising Armand’s reputation. Throwing a fit in this atmosphere would have been ridiculous. But still—
—Still, no matter how you look at it… getting involved with Her Highness seems pretty difficult.
—That’s easy for you to say. I’d be thrilled.
—Lucky bastard, that Armand.
—Who knows? Maybe he’s different in bed.
It didn’t bother him that the empire’s knights were casually speaking of the imperial family. He had no interest in that. But he absolutely could not tolerate them treating him like her fiancé and spreading nonsense about it.
Scrape.
Armand stood up to set the record straight. His face was twisted with displeasure. Who the hell was engaged to the assassination target?
“It seems everyone is misunderstanding something. I—”
He walked over to the table where the loudest nonsense was being spouted and opened his mouth. He intended to publicly clarify his position in front of everyone. But Armand never got to finish his sentence.
“Armand—!”
“……?!”
A familiar voice came from the dining hall entrance.
“Your Highness? What brings you here…?”
It was none other than Violetta’s voice. And for once, it sounded unusually excited.
Violetta approached with a bright, ringing laugh. Then—
Right in front of everyone, she grabbed his hand without hesitation. A gentle, lover-like smile bloomed on her face.
‘See? I knew it.’
‘Told you. She’s completely smitten.’
‘She’s fallen for him hard.’
Everyone nodded slightly at the sight. It was the moment the rumor became reality.
✧ The imperial garden where blue leaves had been neatly trimmed. A man and woman strolled between the flowers and bushes, hands tightly clasped.
Their strides didn’t match. Violetta walked a step ahead, and Armand was reluctantly being pulled along by her grip.
“I really have gotten better. Now I can look at the maids and knights without any discomfort. They don’t obsess over me anymore, you know?”
Ah, and Father said—
Violetta chattered away with light, excited steps. She had every reason to be in a good mood. The pain was gone. She no longer collapsed without warning. Even the people around her no longer pestered her after meeting her eyes. With the curse that had haunted her entire life lifted, the world looked completely different. She felt like a bird finally freed from its cage, wanting to fly wherever she pleased.
“And you know, I sent a letter to a friend I met at the church when I was little—”
“Um… Miss, I’m sorry to interrupt, but could you please let go of my hand now?”
Armand, who had been dragged around every which way, finally spoke up cautiously. He had held it in as long as he could.
“Hm? Why?”
“People might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand? What kind of misunderstanding?”
“They might start looking at our relationship in a strange way.”
“Then I’ll just have to gouge out all those eyeballs.”
“……”
I’m an idiot for even bringing it up.
Armand muttered inwardly and gave up on trying to free his hand.
“Besides, why should I, a princess, care about what other people think? I’m the one who wants to keep you by my side because I like you.”
“…Pardon?”
“I like you, so I’m keeping you close. Armand, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a pleasant walk like this.”
Humming softly, Violetta enjoyed the scent of grass and flowers, still holding his hand tightly.
‘For now, I have no choice but to play along…’
Faced with this, Armand could only let out a small sigh. He didn’t want to pour cold water on her mood. And it wasn’t as if he could openly defy the exalted dragon princess.
“By the way, what is your schedule for the rest of the day? I haven’t received any reports—”
Instead, Armand decided to change the subject.
“Schedule? I don’t really have any.”
“…Huh?”
Violetta’s daily routine was simple. Since she was outside the line of imperial succession, she had no official duties. Her poor health had also made public activities impossible before.
“Today, I’m going to play with you, Armand.”
Her main activities had always been recuperation and amusement.
“I am a knight who protects Your Highness. I am not a jester.”
“Hm? Are you rejecting me right now?”
“I can listen to your stories as much as you like, but I cannot completely abandon my duties.”
“You’re more old-fashioned than I thought.”
“It’s not old-fashioned. People usually call it diligence and sincerity.”
Armand drew the line as firmly as he could. He didn’t want to be swayed by the princess. He didn’t want to grow attached to his assassination target, either.
“Really? Then how about we have a sword spar to help with digestion?”
“…A spar, you say?”
“That should be fine, right? Handling a sword is a knight’s job.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Yes. After being stabbed by a sword yesterday and today, I suddenly feel like holding one again after so long.”
Violetta released his hand and stood facing him. She assumed a somewhat clumsy sword-drawing stance. She was Violetta, after all—she would do anything to stay close to Armand.
“If that’s what you want, then it’s fine with me.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Being able to cross blades with you is an honor for a knight like myself.”
Armand answered with a small smile. He had been wanting to test an ordinary sword on her anyway—
‘If I’m lucky, I might be able to finish her off this time.’