The Third Prince's Revelation
The Third Prince let out a long sigh. "...Hoo."
In the training grounds on the kingdom's outskirts, where moonlight filtered through the air, Hwian stood amid rising clouds of dust and exhaled deeply, wooden sword gripped in one hand.
His mind was crowded with thoughts of Serena. The way she treated him left him full of questions.
It's clearly our first meeting.
She faced him with unwavering goodwill. Despite their initial encounter being close to the worst possible, the way Serena approached him filled Hwian with a strange, stifling frustration.
It felt like the way one would treat a benefactor, or perhaps a close friend. Since Hwian himself could think of no reason to deserve such treatment, his doubts only deepened.
It's not as if she's a regressor like me.
Dismissing the fleeting possibility that had crossed his mind, he shook his head.
The eyes of someone who had endured hell inevitably carried a matching depth of ruin. Yet her eyes held no such devastation.
They were the eyes of an ordinary young girl who knew nothing of war or chaos.
They were simply stained with sorrow.
....
Not knowing what to make of it, he swung his sword. The training dummy had long since been destroyed, so he simply carved arcs through empty air.
From top to bottom. From right to left.
His physical strength was lower than he remembered, but the techniques he had mastered while crossing the line of death remained perfectly intact within his body.
With a heavy whoosh, he sliced through the air. He delivered the final strike cleanly and sheathed the sword with an exhale.
"Wow~. Not bad at all?"
"...!"
Suddenly, the sound of applause rang out from behind him.
Startled, he spun around to find a golden-haired young man standing there. He resembled the Second Prince, yet was slightly shorter with a more solid, compact build.
Hwian recognized him at once.
Seeing the young man's dignified bearing, a fresh wave of nostalgia washed over him as he spoke.
"Is that you, Serion?"
"Hmm? You know me? Did Serena tell you...?"
The young man tilted his head with a cheerful, almost playful expression. For once, Hwian bowed his head deeply in a show of respect.
Serion Adonia. The sword of the Adonia Kingdom, the Third Prince.
Commander of the Royal Knights, a true knightly order unlike the corrupt rabble of the Royal Guard.
The man who had been Hwian's swordsmanship mentor before the regression.
"I heard you left to subdue bandits in the outskirts. You've returned earlier than expected. Weren't you scheduled to come back the day after tomorrow?"
"...You really do know everything. Do all otherworlders have information networks this good?"
Hwian shrugged at Serion's dumbfounded reply.
Once again, he chose not to mention exactly where he had heard it. Speaking of the distant past before the regression, of hearing it directly from the man himself, would only breed confusion.
"Well, it's nothing special."
When Hwian offered no answer, Serion gave a small nod and continued.
"Just. I'm worried about my cute little sister. There's no one here to look after her except me."
A spark of tension. Though his words were playful, his eyes glared at Hwian with sharp intensity. At this rare wary look from his former mentor, Hwian could only offer a bitter smile.
It seemed the earlier commotion had reached him somehow, whether by telegram or other means. That must be why he had hurried back today instead of taking his time.
All for the sake of his youngest sister.
It was a move very much in character for someone with such fierce family devotion.
"You say there's no one to look after her, but aren't there other siblings? There are three other royals living in the palace besides you."
"Who? My sister and brothers? Those people wouldn't care even if Serena died."
It had been a casual remark, offered in the pleasure of their reunion, meant to spark light conversation. The cold tone that answered instead made him freeze.
Serion snorted. He roughly tousled his neatly arranged golden hair in irritation and went on.
"It's not just you. I came back early because of the nobles, too. Word is you destroyed the Royal Guard?"
"...They picked the fight first."
"Forget it. I'm not blaming you. I hate those bastards anyway. ...The real problem is that they hate Serena."
The exchange continued, laced with irritation. More accurately, it was less a conversation and more a stream of complaints.
Hwian had never seen Serion display such open contempt before.
The Serion he remembered from before the regression was a refined sword master who embodied elegance. A skilled knight full of dignity and wit, who occasionally boasted about his family.
Yet now that he reflected on it, Serion had rarely spoken of the Fourth Princess. Probably because the subject wasn't a pleasant one, Hwian thought vaguely as he watched the irritated prince.
"That's how nobles are. They always target the weak."
"...A member of the royal family isn't exactly weak, is she?"
"No, she is. Far weaker than you can imagine."
Serion's voice was quiet.
"Her birth itself is far too weak."
It was a sorrowful whisper.
"...They say she rampaged right after being summoned. Did this world not suit her?"
"Anyone would be furious if dragged here against their will. I had my own life before this."
"Haha. That stings. But yes, you're right. Anyone would be angry if forced to come."
With a self-mocking smile, Serion murmured.
He kicked at the dirt floor and continued.
"I was the one who approved your summoning."
Hwian's fingers twitched at the unexpected revelation.
"His Majesty approved it. My sister and brothers did too. The nobles who wanted their share of the spoils hardly need mentioning. A few opposed it, but the voices in favor were overwhelming."
It was only natural.
Royals sought authority. Nobles sought profit.
Even if their choices caused others to suffer, that suffering belonged to someone else. They had no reason to hesitate over the option of exploiting a person from another world for their own gain.
"Only Serena stayed in opposition until the very end."
At those following words, Hwian's eyes widened to their limit.
"In a way, it's tragic. She opposed it more than anyone, yet she was the only one with the necessary aptitude."
"Th-that...?"
Confusion swirled violently through him.
She had been opposed? She had fought against the hero summoning until the end?
Then what had that apology earlier meant? What had she meant by saying she had summoned him out of her own selfishness?
"She liked watching your life. And because she respected your life, she chose to let go of her own desires. Ironically, it was those very nobles who forced her to pick those desires back up again."
Another word he could not ignore reached Hwian's reeling ears.
...She liked watching his life? She had been watching? Even before the summoning?
"...I don't understand. Please explain from the beginning."
"I can't. Regrettably, that's all I have to say. I talked too much. The rest you should hear from her yourself."
Hwian shot a sharp glance at the cheeky Serion. The prince chuckled at his expression, then turned and began walking toward the palace.
"If it's not too much to ask, become a friend to that child. She must be feeling very lonely right about now."
Even after hearing such an abrupt request, Hwian had no idea how to respond.
In the end, long after Serion had disappeared, he remained standing there in a daze. A full ten minutes passed before he finally set down the wooden sword and started walking.
"...Damn it."
The Fourth Princess, whom he had believed was the driving force behind the summoning, had actually been forced into it? She could see his life? She had opposed the summoning until the very end?
Too much new information was flooding in at once. He couldn't make sense of any of it. He had never heard these things before the regression, either. In fact, he had scarcely heard any information about the Fourth Princess at all. Before the regression, he had almost never crossed paths with her or spoken to her.
He had simply kept the fact that she was the summoner in the back of his mind and treated her like a stranger. She had essentially been a complete outsider. ...It was also undeniable that he had deliberately avoided any conversation precisely because of that relationship.
"Tsk...."
For now, he needed to find her and talk. He had no desire for any more misunderstandings born from these verbal games.
It was already late; she had probably retired to her bedroom by now. He could hardly visit the royal residential quarters covered in dust like this, so he decided to wipe himself down with a cloth in his room before heading over. His empty stomach protested loudly, but he ignored it. Going a day or two without food was nothing to him. This matter was far more urgent.
He left the training grounds, walked down the corridor, and headed for the room assigned to him.
When he reached it and flung the door open...
"Eek. U-um, welcome back, Hero."
"...."
An unexpected figure was waiting inside.
"Ah, ahaha. Um. This might be unnecessary meddling, but... it seemed like you hadn't eaten anything all day...."
Serena stood in his room. She wore a slightly lighter outfit than earlier, offering an awkward smile.
In her hands she carefully held a bowl of soup still steaming, as if she had brought it only moments ago.
"...If it's alright with you, would you like to eat together?"
A cautious invitation. Golden eyes looked up at him. Noticing the lingering redness around those eyes, he remained silent for a moment before nodding.
He found himself wanting to understand a little more about this enigmatic girl.