A Twisted First Impression
The Emperor’s youngest daughter—his precious late-born child—Serena had just taken a direct shoulder tackle from me, from behind. The second she opened her mouth about what happened on the street, I would become nothing but dew on the execution grounds. My dreams of buying a house, receiving a mountain of food expenses, owning a private villa, and spending lazy afternoons sunbathing on a private beach… all of it would vanish.
“You…!”
Just as Serena pointed at me and started to speak—
Whoosh—!
“Huh?”
Something shot past me at blinding speed. Before Serena could utter another syllable, it closed in on her and snatched her hand.
“Aigoo, my pretty Sally! Daddy missed you so, so much!”
I stood frozen, unable to hide my shock at the Emperor, whose voice and entire demeanor had flipped one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. Serena, meanwhile, was desperately trying to push away the father who had lunged at her for a hug and was now rubbing his cheek against hers, all while avoiding his eyes.
“F-Father. You’re not a young man anymore—please mind your dignity. I’m nineteen now. How long are you going to keep calling me Sally like I’m a little girl? And your beard is scratchy.”
“Oh no, how could this be…! Is my beard bothering you? I’ll shave it off right this instant! If my daughter doesn’t like it, then this beard means nothing—”
“I was just saying that. I didn’t actually want you to shave it.”
“Aigoo, my daughter takes after her father in both kindness and looks. How can she be so perfect!”
Watching the Emperor turn into a complete baby-talking doting father the moment he laid eyes on his youngest daughter, I broke out in a cold sweat. I had never dreamed he had this side to him.
In the game, Serena had been away studying at the academy, so she was never at the palace. Meeting the Emperor in-game wasn’t part of a standard romance-fantasy route—it was the kind of thing you only saw during an obsessive RPG completionist playthrough. In other words, there were simply no scenes where the Emperor and Serena appeared together. I knew from the setting that he cherished his youngest daughter, but I never imagined a dignified old ruler could switch to baby talk in the blink of an eye.
Yet that very fact was now my crisis. I had slammed his beloved youngest daughter onto the street with a shoulder tackle from behind? It was a guaranteed death sentence. And not just any execution—definitely at least drawing and quartering.
I have to survive.
The survival instincts I had forged over a decade on Mount Ksir kicked in. My mind spun at terrifying speed.
That was when Serena pointed at me, scowling.
“Father! Who is that man? No—why is he even here? Before he came, on the street—”
Oh no!
I instantly cut Serena off and barged into the conversation.
“Ah! So you’re the person I saw on the street earlier! Oh my goodness, to think you were the princess! If I had only known sooner, I would have shown the utmost respect. Having lived my entire life deep in the mountains, I didn’t realize you were the princess and ended up committing such a terrible rudeness!”
The Emperor tilted his head.
“Hmm? Sally, do you know this man?”
Serena’s face filled with utter bewilderment.
“I don’t know him! Father, earlier on the street—”
“Ahhh! Whether we know each other or not is beside the point! We happened to meet while I was walking around the city! Goodness, you were dressed so plainly that I didn’t realize you were the princess! I simply thought you were a beautiful citizen passing by and acted a bit too casually. Now that I think about it, I have committed a grave offense! Your Majesty! Princess! Please, I beg for your forgiveness!”
“Ha?”
Before Serena could say anything else, I bowed deeply to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty! By the way, isn’t this quite the coincidence? Right after I’ve been appointed as the princess’s bodyguard, here she is visiting like this! There is a great deal I need to coordinate with the princess in my new role. If you would permit it, may I step outside with Her Highness to discuss our future plans?”
“Haaaa? Bodyguard? What are you suddenly—”
Serena’s frown grew even deeper, but the Emperor had already been won over.
“Hmm. It is true that this is your first time serving as a guard, so there must be much to learn and many things to coordinate. Very well, I permit it.”
Having regained his majestic tone, the Emperor granted my request. The moment he finished speaking to me, however, he instantly reverted to baby talk.
“My pretty Sally! Daddy picked out a guard to protect you! He’s incredibly skilled—the direct disciple of none other than the Crimson Crow himself! Now you can rest easy, my Sally!”
“What? Sir Luke took on a disciple? This guy is his disciple? Isn’t there some kind of mistake? I mean, this person—”
“Ahhhhh! Princess, there is so much I do not yet know that I fear I may cause you inconvenience while I adapt to my duties—even if it means risking my very life to protect you! Please, would you come with me so you can teach this unworthy one and help me learn my role as quickly as possible! Your Majesty! Please allow me to leave this place with the princess!”
“Hmm! A very commendable attitude. I allow it. If there is anything you do not know, ask the princess or the existing guards as much as you like.”
Man, his attitude shifts are impossible to keep up with.
“Since His Majesty has given permission, Princess! Won’t you please bestow your teachings upon this inadequate one? Let’s begin right away!”
I practically dragged Serena out of the audience chamber.
Having somehow managed to haul Serena outside, leaving the baby-talking Emperor behind, I let out a long, deep sigh of relief at having survived the threat of death.
“Huuuuuu…”
At the same time, Serena spun around fiercely and glared at me with murderous eyes.
“You…! How are you inside the palace? I thought something was suspicious, but this is ridiculous! You were accusing others of being foreign agents, yet it turns out you were the real spy?!”
“Ahem, Princess. You seem to be under a great misunderstanding. My identity can be vouched for by the old m… by Sir Luke. I have lived my entire life on Mount Ksir from the age of three until now.”
“You were speaking casually to me earlier without a care, and now you’re pretending to be polite?”
That really hits where it hurts.
“Hmm. Earlier I didn’t know you were the princess, but now that I know you truly are, shouldn’t I adjust my behavior accordingly?”
“You already called me princess on the street!”
“I thought that was obviously a lie. What kind of princess would wander around the middle of her own capital in broad daylight with that kind of disguise?”
Of course, the moment I saw her face I knew she was the real princess. Serena herself seemed slightly bothered by that point, because she subtly avoided my gaze. But she still hadn’t gotten over the physical attack from earlier. She quickly glared at me again, fuming.
“You talk smoothly. How can I trust you to guard my back when the person claiming to be my bodyguard launches a surprise attack from behind? Even if Sir Luke vouches for you, I don’t want to use you. I’m going to tell Father everything that happened and ask him to revoke the decision!”
That can’t happen! If she did that, it wouldn’t end with me getting fired on my first day—I would actually die.
In the end, I decided to grab hold of Serena’s weakness as well.
“Aren’t you in any position to criticize others, Princess? Earlier, I saw quite a large group of suspicious people gathered in the basement of a building near where you were loitering. The moment I caused a commotion, they all teleported away together. From the looks of it, you were planning to raid the place, weren’t you? It looked extremely dangerous. If His Majesty finds out, he definitely won’t let it slide.”
“......!”
Serena’s eyes shook violently at the realization that I had noticed she was about to do something dangerous.
“He seems to cherish you terribly. If he knew his beloved daughter was about to do something so reckless, he would never allow you to go out again. Even if he did, you could forget about moving freely with dozens of guards attached to you at all times.”
“You… how did you…”
How did I know? Because I had seen the scenario in the game. But I couldn’t exactly tell her I knew the identities of the people in that basement, so I gave a vague explanation.
“I’m quite confident in my mana manipulation. My detection abilities are excellent, too. The reason I had no choice but to suspect you were a foreign agent was because I sensed several rather powerful individuals in the basement of a nearby building, and there you were, using Recognition-Obstruction Magic and looking around suspiciously.”
“......”
Serena still didn’t seem ready to drop her suspicions. In the end, I proposed a deal.
“Then let’s do this, Princess. If you overlook the rudeness I committed against you earlier without saying anything, I’ll also keep quiet about how you were trying to do something so dangerous outside, evading His Majesty’s eyes.”
“You… are you threatening me right now?”
“Oh dear, anyone listening would misunderstand. This isn’t a threat—it’s a fair and square transaction.”
“How is that any different… Tsk… I was so close to succeeding, but because of you the whole plan is ruined, and now you’re supposed to be my guard? What even is this…”
“Ah, if your plan was to attack that place with just those two guards, you definitely wouldn’t have succeeded. In fact, you would have ended up in quite a terrible situation. I basically saved you. Hurry up and say thank you.”
“What? Th-tha… Wait a minute! Who says I’d fall for the same trick twice! You already pulled that vague nonsense earlier!”
“Tch. I guess that doesn’t work anymore.”
Since we had both seen each other’s weaknesses, our attitudes didn’t change drastically now. Serena was treating me not as her guard but as ‘a suspicious guy who knows my weakness.’
“No, I still can’t accept you! Leaving everything else aside, I don’t even know if you have the skill to be my guard!”
“Even after I took down your two guards on the spot?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Araaaaaaan!”
At that moment, a thunderous voice came racing toward us from far across the palace courtyard. When I turned my head, an old man in robes was sprinting frantically this way, shouting my name.
“I’ve finally found you! Aran! A bakery won’t do! For someone with your talent to open a bakery would be a serious crime! Don’t become a criminal! Come to the Red Magic Tower right away! I’ll pour my very soul into turning you into a Supreme Mage!”
“Damn it, that old man has been looking for me this whole time! Princess, let’s run!”
“Huh? That person is the Master of the Red Magic Tower…? What is he doing here… Whoa!”
Serena was forcibly dragged along as I grabbed her wrist and ran. I hid my presence to escape from Heinkel, who was stalking me, and fled to the opposite side of the palace.
After successfully escaping from Heinkel, Serena looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Your name is Aran? And you’re the one the Master of the Red Magic Tower was looking for?”
“It seems so.”
“Why is the Master of the Red Magic Tower… trying to teach you? I did see you use magic earlier, but… wait, that didn’t really seem like magic…”
“Before I met you, Princess, I showed off a little in the palace. I guess that’s why. Of course, I have no intention of going to the Red Magic Tower. My duty is to guard you, Princess—”
That was when another voice cut in.
“Showed off a little? You’re saying that was just showing off? Then what does that make me, someone who can’t even reach that level?”
“......!”
When I slowly turned my head, there was Amari—the evil woman from the sparring match—covered in sweat from how much training she must have done, approaching with a heavily distorted expression.
...
I guess I really am the type who breaks his nose even when falling backwards.