Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Close the Windows Properly
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After heading out to the training grounds and washing my body clean, I sat down on the chair in my room.
Lily, now quite accustomed to the routine, was carefully drying my hair.
I entrusted my head to her with a gloomy expression.
'Wasn't this supposed to be the reincarnation perk of a full-talent body...? The boss crown prince definitely showed up wielding a sword.'
Unable to accept that I was hopeless with my body, I muttered to myself. Lily noticed the dark cloud hanging over my head and asked,
"Oh? Why the long face, Your Highness? Did something happen?"
"Hmm... Lily, I'm realizing that the world isn't as easygoing as I expected."
Lily pondered for a moment, then seemed to catch on and smiled as she shared her own story.
"Your Highness, do you know? I was originally supposed to join the knight order."
"Right, now that you mention it, you were set to join the knight order too, weren't you, Lily?"
"Yes, exactly. I was so shocked when I heard my assignment had been changed...
I barely had time to compose myself before the imperial etiquette training nearly gave me a headache."
I felt sorry for Lily, who had gotten swept up into the imperial palace.
"...Sorry."
"Oh? You can't apologize so easily like that, Your Highness. You're the one who's going to lead the empire someday, hehe."
With that, Lily gently brushed my hair, her face full of affection, and said,
"I was flustered at first, but I like it here now. It's not taxing on the body, and they say palace politics are cutthroat, but it doesn't seem that bad. Above all, I get to serve such a cute prince."
Embarrassed by Lily's kindness, I stayed quiet, and she continued,
"Oh, right, that's not what I meant to say. Your Highness, actually, I wasn't particularly talented with the sword when I was young either."
"But you were the youngest to join the imperial knight order? How?"
"Hmm... I first picked up a sword at eight years old. I had two older sisters in the family line, but my second sister married into another noble house at twelve."
It was a common scene in medieval times.
Sending young daughters off for family gain still happens somewhere in the world even now.
"The day before my sister left for the noble house, she held me and wept so bitterly... I can still clearly see her boarding the carriage with those empty eyes."
"..."
"That's when it started. I swung the sword like a madwoman, trying to scar my body and build calluses. It felt like my last lifeline, so whenever I saw one, I'd grab it and swing wildly.
It was tough at first... My mother took up the rod, and my father looked at me with pity."
"Wasn't it hard?"
"It was... But I didn't let go of the sword. And you know what? Before I knew it, it got fun. No stray thoughts.
There was a family knight commander who secretly taught me, and he said I had no talent.
But I kept swinging. Soon, the reason didn't matter anymore.
And just like that, I joined the imperial knight order and ended up meeting Your Highness, hehe."
"..."
"Your Highness, talent matters, but if you set your mind to it, there's nothing you can't do.
Even someone like me made it into the imperial knight order—the youngest ever, no less.
So no matter what anyone says, believe in yourself. I guarantee you can do it, Your Highness."
Lily whispered warmly and hugged me gently.
Our relationship had gone beyond mere employer and servant; Lily had become family to me before I knew it.
To love me this much, even without blood ties.
"Lily, if I become emperor, I'll make you the epitome of a successful woman! Look forward to it—I'll let you live lavishly!"
"Oh? Hehe... Then I guess I need to impress our prince even more~ I'll have them prepare Your Highness's favorite meal for dinner today."
I could feel more and more things piling up in my hands, but so what?
The heavier the load you carry forward, the more strength you build.
I had no intention of letting anything go; I'd hold it all close and live healthily, for a long time.
At that moment, inside the imperial palace office, the imperial knight commander and the emperor sat facing each other, sipping tea.
His posture was insolent for a knight granted an audience with the emperor, but the emperor across from him sipped his tea as if unconcerned.
"If you didn't look exactly like him, I'd think you picked the kid up from somewhere."
Words that would make his retainers clutch their necks and faint, ranting about 'insult to the imperial family' or 'dignity of the imperial bloodline,' spilled out casually.
The emperor merely raised one eyebrow in his usual way and replied,
"...That much?"
"Yeah, a magic genius, right? Just have him learn basic swordsmanship and go all-in on magic.
The kid handles his own body like it's unfamiliar—like a patient bedridden for life.
Anyway, I'll make sure his body's sturdy, so tell him to focus on magic.
That should be plenty."
"Well... that much is sufficient. This isn't an era where martial prowess is everything anymore."
"Right? I never thought I'd find my own kid cuter holding a pen than a sword. The problem is he goes crazy at the sight of one...
Why did we go through all that hell? So our kids wouldn't drop dead left and right."
Maxim smiled bitterly, reminiscing about the past.
"That's right... Back then, seeing our subjects suffer made my blood boil."
The emperor's expression darkened as he recalled the past too.
Dissatisfied, Maxim made a face.
"...What the hell happened back then? You turned into some worldly old sage the moment you became crown prince.
You had that fiery edge back then—hanging out was fun. Now... tsk tsk."
But the response was utterly flat.
"Nothing happened."
The two men's eyes met in the air, but Maxim was the one who backed down first.
"Sigh... Fine. Anyway, the kid seems calm and sharp. I wish my own son would learn from him... I should introduce them sometime."
"Do as you like."
Before I knew it, night had fallen, and I was practicing wind magic by shooting gusts out the window while reading a magic tome.
"Wind incantations... Hmm...? How's it different from Fire? Ah, this part is completely different from ignition. Wait, is this repelling force any different from telekinesis?"
I was diligently following Grandpa's advice: to convey will, you must grasp and understand the concept.
Poking around on my own felt like joyfully unwrapping a gift box.
With so much left to enjoy in the world, even the small miracles I created felt wondrous and fun.
"Oh, mixing purified mana seems a bit stronger than sending raw mana directly.
Wait, is it stronger because it's purified and intense, or because the total mana in the space increases? Confusing."
As I muttered to myself for a while, a parchment flew in from outside the window, unfolded on its own, and the magic circle inside began to glow.
"What the heck is this?"
Feeling uneasy, I picked up the parchment to check it—
When a figure in pitch-black attire climbed up from outside the window.
Left or right, he screamed 'I'm here to assassinate you,' vaulted over the window, and drew a gleaming dagger from his bosom.
-Bang bang bang!
The knights pounded on the door, but only despair awaited.
"Someone's intruded into His Highness's room! Damn it, the door won't open! Call a mage, now!"
That parchment must have sealed the door.
I broke into a cold sweat staring at him, but before I could think, a flash hurtled toward me. I barely twisted away, but—
My shoulder tore with a rip.
The assassin silently drew another dagger, and I started hurling nearby objects at him wildly with telekinesis.
"You crazy bastard! Get lost!"
As if all the peace had been a lie, the assassin closed in, radiating killing intent.
I spun my circle furiously, but he dodged the magic like it was a joke, slashed through the objects, and lunged with a kick.
"Guh!"
My body flew and crashed to the floor.
Ringing filled my ears, breathing was agony, and he mounted me.
As the razor-sharp blade rose high, I cranked my circle to its limit, squeezing out every drop of mana—available or not—to block his dagger hand.
The ringing worsened, and something seemed to grind inside me.
Heat surged through my body, but I couldn't stop.
I knew that blade would plunge into my throat the moment I relaxed.
Amid the crisis, my mind raced wildly.
But the blade was already at my throat, pressing into the thin skin, blood seeping out.
'More... I need more output!'
Overclocking the circle blurred my vision.
But my mana circuits sharpened into view, revealing how the mana from my heart had rooted through my body.
I flung open all circuits, sucking in surrounding mana like mad,
and unleashed the unrefined influx indiscriminately.
Vision went white, sound vanished—and miraculously, another circle formed in my heart.
My eyelids fluttered violently, vision fading back in dimly.
No time to rejoice; I amped the output and flung the blade away.
Startled by the sudden surge, the assassin faltered. Seizing the gap, I blasted wind magic at his eyes and groin.
"Gaaargh!"
As he staggered, I telekinetically shoved him off, mounted him,
grabbed a large glass shard nearby, and jammed it into his throat with my full weight.
-Spurt!
"Gack!"
I screamed and pressed harder.
"Die, you bastard!"
Even with glass in his throat, he glared with burned eyes, thrashing to throw me off.
Squeezing his last strength, his hand smashed my side.
"Kuh."
I locked my legs around his waist, refusing to budge.
His terrified eyes unnerved me; I yanked the glass from his throat and stabbed his eyeball.
I clamped tighter on his bucking body and slashed his throat again.
-Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Just die already! Die! Raaagh!"
My hands shredded on the sharp glass, blood splattering into my eyes.
My nose numbed to the metallic stench, and the bitter tang of blood coated my mouth, wetting my parched throat.
The assassin shuddered finely and breathed his last, but I kept stabbing and pulling out the glass.
By then, the door split in half, and Father and Lily burst in.
"Your Highness!"
Father gripped my hand, prying my fingers one by one to drop the glass.
He glanced between my hands and face, frowning in self-reproach.
Lily hugged my unfocused self, tears streaming.
"..."
"Shh... It's okay now, Your Highness... You're okay..."
Lily repeated it over and over, holding me tight. Feeling her warmth, I passed out.
Father, face twisted in fury, commanded the knights,
"Find them. Uncover the mastermind, by any means. I will personally eradicate their clan, hack off their limbs to feed the beasts, and hang their wretched corpses at the gates."
The knights trembled, bowing their heads, and hurriedly carried out the assassin's body before fleeing the room.
Thus, the long night ended.