Aine’s Fiery Hugs and the Prince’s Surprise Return
Under the lamp, the light was dim.
I always thought it must have been right around the time I had just gotten over my middle-school phase.
I had finally mastered Wind Cutter, but in doing so I had created a dark chapter in my life and dragged my sweet little sister into the mess along with me.
Overwhelmed by the guilt, I put magic aside and decided to learn swordsmanship from my father.
When I told him, he was thrilled and took me straight to the training ground where we had our first meeting.
“Master, who is this child?”
“Th-this… c-cough! Yes, this is my son. From today onward, you will study the sword together.”
She was a girl with long golden hair tied neatly behind her back, dressed in simple training clothes.
Aine Guine Palajinia, the Second Princess of the Palajinia Kingdom.
At the time she was training secretly under my father’s roof under the false name of “Nea,” hiding her true identity.
Unaware of her royal blood, I treated her as my big sister in the same way I would any elder sibling sharing the same master.
“What are you thinking, throwing away your composure like that?! Can you even stop it properly?!”
“N-No, wait, sis. It’s not just about composure—this is moving way too fast…”
She was rough around the edges, but that only made her more endearing.
With my father’s passionate guidance, my own hard work, and countless sparring matches with her, I slowly but surely honed my sword skills—getting beaten black and blue in the process.
Several years later, my “big sister” Nea graduated from the training ground, left the Wentos County, and exactly one year after that she returned with a group of soldiers.
This time she had come as the princess.
I was stunned to learn that the elder sibling I had trained with was actually the major antagonist from the original novel, and then again when she showed up leading soldiers.
In the original story she had been portrayed as a merciless villain, so I had kept my guard up.
Yet here she stood before me, the princess visiting the territory, still exactly the same as the “big sister” Nea who had trained beside me.
“I believe the monster activity in the north will be helpful for knight training.”
Her mission was clear: to hunt monsters and train the knights in the region so they could gain practical experience.
She had come back to the northern lands where monsters were active twice or three times a year, and she had taken me along each time.
…Why me?
Whatever. At least it was a chance to spend more time with her.
Before me now stood the princess, still in light armor, a faint smile on her lips after her training session.
I could see other knights arriving at the manor garden beyond the open doors, catching their breath. Yet she hadn’t even broken a sweat.
She was still a monster.
After all, in the later chapters of the original story she had been one of the final bosses—powerful enough to stand as the kingdom’s greatest threat.
“Your Highness!”
A red-haired man strode in behind her.
His hair was neatly combed, matching the deep crimson tone of his armor. Sweat still gleamed on his brow as he straightened.
“If you run off alone like that, what are we supposed to do?!”
“The cute priestess has returned. We have to go see her quickly.”
“It has been a long time, Captain Garrett Bellman.”
His name was Garrett Bellman.
A former mercenary who had led a small band of soldiers before meeting Princess Aine during her secret training journey.
He had been captured by her—literally—yet rose to become the commander of her personal knights.
The original novel had described it exactly that way, and the story aligned with what I had heard.
Incidentally, every soldier who had served under him had been absorbed into her direct knight corps.
“It has been a while, Young Master Kyou.”
“Haha, please, call me by name. Soon I’ll be your brother-in-law…”
“Haha…”
Garrett let out an awkward laugh and bowed his head.
He was set to marry the princess in the near future.
The king had originally opposed it, but when Aine had said, “He is a man who will accomplish great deeds,” the king had laughed and given his blessing.
By the end of that year a minor border conflict had erupted between the Palajinia Kingdom and the Brankia Empire over disputed territory.
Princess Aine had led a force of dozens of knights and two thousand soldiers, while Garrett rushed to help with remnants from the Palajinian army and other nobles’ troops.
In the end the Palajinian forces had achieved a decisive victory.
Not only had they reclaimed the kingdom’s lost lands but they had also seized enemy territory that had not yet been occupied.
Among the prisoners they had captured was the imperial crown prince himself—sent to earn glory by underestimating the Palajinian forces.
He had indeed distinguished himself in battle, only to be caught in Garrett’s counterattack.
The empire had paid a bitter price: the crown prince returned in exchange for enormous ransoms and the ceded territories.
Overjoyed by the victory, the king had promised Garrett a hereditary count title and reward.
Garrett had simply replied, “I want the princess.”
The king had laughed heartily and granted permission.
So now Garrett was about to become a noble, yet he still addressed me with the same respectful tone he had always used—because I was technically still a commoner in his eyes.
“A commoner who is about to become a noble is still so embarrassed he can barely speak? Tsk!”
Thud!
“Gah…!”
Princess Aine delivered a light punch to Garrett’s side.
From Garrett’s perspective it was only a light tap, but I knew exactly how much force it carried.
“S-sister…”
Next to enter was a boy with the same black hair as mine—Astar Wentos, my younger brother.
He shuffled in like a zombie, every step heavy with exhaustion.
Princess Aine’s training regimen was brutal. I knew it all too well.
“Astar… are you alright?”
“O-older brother… just a little longer…”
He looked up at me with eyes full of resentment.
…If I had returned a day earlier, it would have been Astar who got dragged away instead of me.
But today was a holiday, so there was no rush.
“Good work.”
“Ghh…”
I sent a maid to escort the barely conscious Astar to his room, then turned back to face the princess.
“Mother has prepared a wonderful dinner. Please, come inside and rest first.”
“Lady Sylvia? That sounds wonderful.”
“After dinner, I have something I would like to ask you, Your Highness.”
“Hmm.”
Princess Aine’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
After guiding the royal party to a rest area, I led them toward the room where Riel was waiting.
As we walked down the corridor following the maid, a loud voice suddenly echoed from somewhere ahead.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!”
A scream.
We dashed toward the noise.
“Let me go!! Stop it!!”
“Just a little longer!! Just a little longer!!”
In front of us was Riel tightly holding Kino, rubbing her cheek against his as Kino thrashed and struggled in her arms.
His hat was nowhere in sight, and Phyllis—whom he had dragged along—was nowhere to be seen.
Still dazed by the scene, I was about to turn away when Kino noticed me and shouted.
“Big brother! Help! Help me!!”
Kino had been in such a frenzy that he had fled all the way to Blood Wind’s Alukinon and abandoned it far behind him?
He reached desperately toward me for help.
“Ri… Riel?”
“Ah!”
Riel belatedly spotted me and froze in shock.
Kino seized the moment, wriggled free from her arms, and threw himself into mine.
“Waaaaaaaah!! Big brother!!”
Honestly, I wished he wouldn’t say things like that, but it had been a long time since I had seen him act this way.
Since leaving the palace he had almost always stayed in Blood Wind’s Alukinon, except for the occasional times he was “infected.”
“R… Riel? Why are you doing this…?”
“I-I…”
Embarrassed, Riel’s face turned bright red as she fumbled for words.
“He… he was just too cute… and I have no little brother…”
“That’s true.”
“Big brother?!”
Yes, that was accurate. I acknowledged it.
Kino was indeed adorable.
He had been even cuter when he used to chase after me saying “Big brother~ Big brother~” all the time.
Back then I had tried to play along with a straight face, but now I simply found it endearing.
While Phyllis was out preparing tea, the switch had flipped and Kino had gone back to normal.
I expressed strong sympathy while my mind wandered elsewhere.
I didn’t know whether Riel’s illness or curse had completely vanished or only temporarily improved, but I could be certain that the bright, cheerful girl I saw—laughing with Emilia and treating Kino so tenderly—must be the real her.
I somehow needed to calm Kino down, and once Phyllis returned the four of us sat down for afternoon tea together.
While we were enjoying the moment, a maid announced that dinner was ready.
When we arrived at the dining hall, six people were already seated: my father and mother, my younger brother Astar, Princess Aine, and Captain Garrett, along with Eve Ignis himself.
…Everyone I knew was here.
“Sister!”
“Riel! It’s been so long!”
Eve bounded over the moment he saw Riel, hugging her tightly with a bright smile.
Kino gave a tiny flinch.
…He must have remembered what had just happened to him.
After the siblings’ reunion of only about a month, Riel introduced herself to Princess Aine and Captain Garrett.
The two of them, who already knew about Riel through Eve, smiled warmly and welcomed her.
Once dinner was over, we immediately got down to business.
The topic was, of course, the Ignis Ducal House and its current head, Duke Ignis.
Princess Aine’s expression remained largely unchanged upon hearing the story.
Of course word had reached her ears, since Eve was one of her subordinates.
“The king’s court is already concerned about the Ignis Ducal House.”
That was only natural.
Even if a person were busy, it was unthinkable for both husband and wife to abandon the estate for years on end while also leaving a son behind.
Of course the royal family would be worried.
And most importantly, the duke himself had gone mad in the absence of a proper head.
“I will resolve it personally in the near future under the pretext of visiting an old subordinate.”
…Hopefully, that would not be too much of a worry.
If that person went, the mess at the ducal house would be taken care of one way or another.
“The real problem is that we have no idea where the important ducal family is located.”
Princess Aine finished her thought.
That was exactly the point we had come to discuss.
“Your Highness, I have some information on the matter.”
“Hmm?”
Princess Aine looked up curiously.
Riel spoke first.
“My… father met with Princess Yuril…”
“Yuril?”
“Yes. The detailed report is here.”
I passed the documents to Phyllis, who carried them to the princess.
“…A contact was made with a person believed to be Duke Ignis in the western part of the Reime Baronate…”
“That matches exactly with the timing when Princess Yuril was conducting her inspection with a protective escort.”
Princess Aine nodded after listening to Eve’s report.
Her gaze turned toward us.
“I see. Then I suppose you have something to discuss as well.”
“Yes. I would like to speak with Princess Yuril.”
Princess Yuril stood at the very top of the line of succession.
Even if she were not the direct heir, the movements of royal family members who possessed succession rights were shrouded in secrecy, but the first-in-line princess was an even greater mystery.
Simply knowing that she had met with the Ignis duke was already remarkable.
She was the one who had renounced her succession rights entirely and was now acting openly without any secrets.
“So… you want to talk to Yuril?”
“It would be difficult for us to arrange a meeting directly.”
“Well, I’m hardly a stranger to you. It’s not that difficult.”
Perfect. I could finally obtain the lead my father had left behind.
I bowed deeply to the princess.
“Thank you very much! As quickly as possible…”
“No need to rush. I will arrange it immediately.”
“…Huh?”
That was an unexpected turn of events.
“Yuril is currently in this county.”
“Eh?!”
…What did you just say?