Ice-Cold Fury
When anger surges in a person, their head burns like hell. But when rage reaches its absolute peak, the mind instead grows ice-cold. With eyes that had settled into a chilling calm, I exhaled a small breath and stared at Leonhardt, who was blankly gazing back at me.
"……You crazy bastard."
Using magic on a person? This was my fault. If I followed the original clichés, I should never have ruled out the possibility that Silvia had overheard my conversation with Beren. My original plan had been to find Leonhardt first, provoke him, and force a confrontation. Anyone else might not have fallen for it so easily, but because it was that Leonhardt, the plan had seemed feasible.
Yet I never imagined that Silvia, after hearing my talk with Beren, would catch on to my intentions and seek out Leonhardt ahead of me. I had also racked my brain for information from the original novel and searched every likely place he might be. The one thing I overlooked was that wherever Leonhardt went, Silvia would be there too.
……If it hadn't been for Achillea, this could have gone very badly.
I still couldn't understand what Silvia had been thinking when she met Leonhardt, but without Achillea, she might truly have been in danger. Because of that encounter, Achillea and Leonhardt had crossed paths…… and Leonhardt had lost his reason after hearing what Achillea said.
I ground my teeth and took a step forward. No matter how things had unfolded or what anyone had been thinking, none of it mattered now. The perfect plan I had once envisioned—letting Leonhardt land a few hits first, then striking back in self-defense—had lost all meaning.
Gripping my sword in my right hand and clenching my left into a fist, I took another step. Achillea and Silvia were non-combatants. Achillea was the top student in the staff officer track, and Silvia was a healing-type cadet. Casting magic at people like them was no different from telling them to die.
"You threw magic at a person? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Respect and courtesy were now off the table. Anyone who hurled lethal magic at another human being was worse than an animal.
Crime of insulting the imperial family? Screw that. Whether they were royalty or not, only those who acted like human beings deserved respect.
One word. One step. Leonhardt, who had been staring at me in a daze, finally snapped out of it and scowled.
"You really have gone mad. No, I already knew you were insane…… but do you honestly think you'll get away with this?!"
A hollow laugh escaped me at the sight of Leonhardt spewing his fury. I had known for a long time that he was an idiot, but I never expected him to act this arrogant even in a situation like this.
"I already told you."
"……"
"Insulting the imperial family or whatever—go ahead and try, you lunatic."
I wasn't usually one to curse, but watching Leonhardt's behavior made it impossible to hold back.
"……You filthy insect!!"
Leonhardt spat the insult and began gathering mana. Normally invisible, the mana was now visible to me. Ever since I had cut through his magic, a strange sensation had wrapped around my body. I could see mana, and because of that, I could slice through spells. But that wasn't important right now.
In an instant, I focused strength into my legs and dropped low. Whether or not he had truly learned magic from the Tower Master, black flames once again flickered in Leonhardt's hands. Yet my instincts told me clearly:
I can cut it.
Leonhardt seemed to think my previous feat had been a fluke, but I was certain. I could cut through his magic as many times as needed. The moment that conviction took hold, I kicked off the ground.
Whoosh……!
Leonhardt hurled flames at me as I charged, but I sliced through them effortlessly with my sword and closed the distance in an instant. The most basic rule for a mage fighting a swordsman: maintain distance. Watching his eyes widen at his own failure to follow even that simple principle, I drove my fist forward.
Thud……!
I buried my fist deep into Leonhardt's face, watching every contortion of his expression up close. Hurts, doesn't it?
"Instead……"
If you tried to kill someone……
"……you should take a few hits first."
That price had to be paid in full. And it had to hurt like hell.
@
"Stop……! Felice……!"
"Haa…… haa……."
At the touch of Silvia's hands pulling me back, I stepped away, breathing heavily. Blood dripped from my hand. My knuckles were torn from scraping against him, but most of the blood belonged to Leonhardt.
"Kuh…… kkgh……."
Leonhardt, who had never been struck even once in his life, seemed to have lost all sense of reason the moment my fist connected. I looked down at him writhing on the floor with cold eyes and let out a long breath.
"You're hurt……!"
Silvia stared at my hand with a tearful face, then began healing it with her own power. When the pure white light from her hands touched my knuckles, I felt the wounds close rapidly.
"Who was the one who almost got seriously hurt here……"
If Leonhardt's magic had landed, it wouldn't have been a mere injury—it could have been fatal. Yet here she was, worrying about my barely damaged hand. I sighed and let out a wry laugh.
"What on earth were you thinking, coming to meet Leonhardt?!"
Tearing my gaze away from the now-unconscious Leonhardt, I asked Silvia in a sharp voice. She flinched under my stare and trembled slightly. The sight reminded me of a wounded herbivore—almost endearing—but I forced myself to keep a cold expression.
"……If it hadn't been me, you would have gone to meet Leonhardt yourself."
Silvia muttered in a subdued voice, clearly aware that what she had done wasn't right. A sigh escaped me.
"Even so, what if something had gone wrong while you were alone with him?"
I suppressed the urge to crack open her head and lecture her properly, instead scolding her in a stern tone. Meeting Leonhardt alone, unarmed, when he was clearly unhinged was absolute madness. I could handle him even by myself, but she couldn't.
"……I'm sorry."
At her quick apology, I frowned. It had been dangerous, but she didn't owe me an apology.
"You don't need to apologize. I was only worried something might happen to you."
Wanting to handle her own problems wasn't a bad mindset. This had simply happened because she hadn't fully understood how deranged Leonhardt truly was.
"Hehe……"
While I was patting Silvia's head as she watched me nervously, a small laugh from beside me made me turn.
"I greet Your Imperial Highness the Princess."
"Your greetings seem rather short today……?"
"Your Imperial Highness."
Achillea's calm, as-if-nothing-had-happened tone made the headache I thought had subsided flare up again.
"You may speak freely."
……I won't refuse.
"Your Imperial Highness has a problem as well. Why would you provoke that madman? If I hadn't arrived in time, you could have been in real danger."
"……So I must be scolded as well?"
A small crack appeared in Achillea's serene expression. Finding it oddly satisfying, I straightened my face and continued.
"What if Your Imperial Highness had been even slightly injured? Aren't you the one who will one day shoulder the entire empire?"
"Hmm…… Hearing it that way, it does sound plausible."
"It is not merely plausible, Your Highness."
Watching Achillea mutter so nonchalantly, I couldn't help but clutch my head.
I really couldn't understand why both the crown princess and the protagonist had such a complete lack of danger awareness. While I was sighing heavily at the thought, Achillea spoke in a suggestive tone.
"By the way, it is true that I helped you, isn't it?"
"……That is correct."
Strictly speaking, Achillea had helped Silvia, but since I had been trying to help Silvia as well, it wasn't wrong to say she had helped me. When I readily acknowledged it, Achillea nodded with a pleased smile.
"Then I suppose it would be acceptable for me to receive repayment from you as well."
"……As long as it is something I can do, I will do it."
"It is not a difficult request."
The smile on Achillea's face as she said this filled me with an inexplicable sense of unease. It didn't sound difficult, but it didn't sound easy either. She continued calmly, still smiling.
"In a few days, my inauguration ceremony as crown princess will be held. I would like you to serve as my escort for the occasion."
"……"
Escorting the crown princess at her inauguration ceremony? It didn't sound simple at all. But refusing would be awkward. One wrong move and I might offend Achillea. I was carefully choosing my words, about to decline, when—
"The repayment should come from me, Your Imperial Highness."
A cold voice I had never heard before rang out. Silvia's icy blue eyes and Achillea's relaxed crimson ones met in the air. Achillea smiled at the sight of Silvia meeting her gaze without backing down and spoke in an equally chilly tone.
"I don't recall ever speaking to you, though."