The Trembling Princess
The princess was trembling so violently it looked like she might wet herself at any moment. Her eyes shook as if they were about to lose focus entirely. In other words… wasn’t this exactly how I’d looked when I first met Master?
But my aura isn’t anywhere near as strong as Master’s. No, come to think of it, I did get angry.
It seemed the aura produced by this curse was heavily influenced by my emotions. After living in this body for several months, I had come to understand that clearly.
Since I got so furious because of Erich.
My aura must have been far stronger than usual. So her reaction was only natural.
“Wh-who the hell are youuu?!”
She pointed her sword at me. Her voice shook with a vibrato from how badly she was trembling.
She doesn’t look that old.
A student? Judging by her clothes, she seemed like the daughter of a rather well-off family.
“A human.”
My answer, which contained nothing but the truth, made her eyes bulge.
“Lies! You’re a demon! What is a demon doing in this academy?! What kind of evil scheme are you plotting?!”
It was common for people to mistake me for a demon, but what surprised me was that she was actually approaching me. Even though my aura had grown stronger from anger, the fact that she was still this terrified and suppressed suggested her strength didn’t even reach the level of an average knight.
Nevertheless, it was impressive that she kept pouring hostility toward me and advancing anyway.
Not bad?
A swordsman must possess the mindset to act without being bound by the outcome. I hated being mistaken for a demon more than anything, yet I wasn’t particularly angry. It was all thanks to the resolve she was displaying.
“It’s true, though? Do you have any proof I’m a demon? Keep this up and I’ll sue you for defamation.”
“S-sue?”
She blinked rapidly.
“Yeah. Every citizen of Solentia has the right to file a complaint.”
Of course I was stateless, but whatever. I wasn’t even sure if that right actually existed in this country.
“Y-you’re really human?”
“Yep.”
“Th-then why are you in a place like this?”
“I work here?”
“H-here? The academy?”
She stared at me as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
“I started this semester.”
“S-surely you’re not a pr… professor?”
“Not a professor. An instructor.”
I pulled a business card from my pocket and flicked it toward her.
I knew this would happen, so I brought plenty.
There were fifty just in my pocket, and nearly a thousand in the drawer over there. They were made from a special order of material that was much harder to tear than ordinary cards, so they wouldn’t rip easily.
“Altair Auvergne… Delphiana Academy Swordsmanship Instructor…”
She kept glancing back and forth between the card and me, disbelief written all over her face.
“Well? Believe me now?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry!”
She bowed deeply in apology.
“Good.”
I turned around, intending to go back inside my quarters. But instead of leaving, she came even closer.
“C-can I come in?”
I wanted to tell the grown woman that she shouldn’t casually enter a stranger’s house, but.
I’m not a man.
It was a regrettable reality. Besides, she looked so pitiful trembling like that that it felt wrong to refuse.
“Sorry, but I don’t have anything to serve.”
Altair filled a cup with water and held it out to Ditrua.
“Thank you.”
Ditrua accepted the cup and took small, careful sips. She had stopped shaking like she had earlier.
With the anger caused by Erich almost completely gone, Altair’s aura had grown much weaker than before.
“…So why did you come here?”
“I suddenly sensed something like demonic energy. I thought there might be a monster.”
“A common misunderstanding. Now that it’s cleared up, why did you insist on entering my quarters?”
“I had something I was curious about. Um… what should I call you?”
“You can call me Instructor or Teacher.”
“Then I’ll call you Teacher. Teacher, that aura of yours—what exactly is it?”
“A curse.”
“A curse?”
“…A curse left behind by a demon.”
“Could you explain in more detail?”
Altair began reciting the story she had prepared beforehand. It had more flesh on it than when she had told Lopez.
I live alone, so I get bored.
After listening to the entire tale, Ditrua stared at Altair carefully.
It doesn’t seem like it’s from a simple curse.
In the aura she sensed from Altair, the unmistakable presence unique to the truly strong was flowing alongside it. It was mixed with the ominous energy, making it difficult to notice, but it was definitely there.
“Why are you only an instructor?”
Ditrua asked bluntly.
“This might be rude, but no matter how I look at it, your skill doesn’t seem to be at that level.”
At those words, Altair gave a bitter smile.
“I don’t have the qualifications.”
“Pardon?”
The unexpected answer left Ditrua genuinely flustered.
“I wasn’t part of the hero’s party, I’m not a knight. Being an instructor is already more than I deserve.”
“…That can’t be.”
But Altair had no desire to go into further detail. It was too much hassle.
Just then, the sound of someone running reached them. From how quickly it was growing louder, it seemed they were heading straight here.
The moment Altair turned toward the door, it flew open, revealing the newcomers.
Upon seeing who they were, Ditrua’s eyes widened.
Ethan and Nathan. The two royal knights who had come with her.
“Princess! You’re safe!”
The two men relaxed when they saw she appeared unharmed. But they immediately drew their swords.
“Please step back, Princess!”
Both men leveled their blades at Altair. Ditrua jumped in alarm.
“Ethan! Nathan! This person is—”
“I said step back!”
Nathan’s voice rose to a rare pitch. He wasn’t the type to raise his voice so rudely in front of the princess, but right now his senses were under the curse’s influence.
To them, the princess they were sworn to protect appeared to be held captive by this seductive woman radiating an evil aura.
Who the hell is she?
She had to be a demon—and a considerably powerful one. In that case, she was undoubtedly a major figure whose name they would recognize.
How long has it been since the truce, and they’re already pulling something like this?
Or was the truce itself part of a deception? Had they lulled the alliance into complacency only to stab them in the back?
The two knights’ faces grew even paler as their thoughts reached that point.
Altair was just as bewildered.
“Princess? You were a princess? Of this country, by any chance?”
She stared at Ditrua in disbelief. She had guessed from the clothes that the girl came from a noble house, but a princess?
“Ahaha… Well, yes, for the moment.”
This just got annoying.
Altair twitched her lips and reached into her coat. The two knights tensed instantly.
She might throw a hidden weapon.
Altair pulled out a business card and tossed it toward them. Approaching to hand it over would have been an invitation to get attacked.
It’s coming!
It really is a hidden weapon!
The two knights swung their swords fiercely at the flying cards. Both were sliced cleanly in half and fluttered to the floor.
What? It’s not hard at all.
Seems like ordinary paper?
But there was no way someone would attack by throwing plain paper. It had to look like paper on the outside while hiding some scheme.
It must be an evil trick.
Having dealt with it safely, the two men looked at Altair with confident expressions.
“Did you really think such a cheap trick would work on the royal knights?!”
“Not a chance!”
Having confirmed what the cards actually were, Ditrua couldn’t decide whether to feel embarrassed or laugh.
Altair glared at them with the same fury she had shown when reading the newspaper article earlier.
I specifically chose durable material so they wouldn’t tear, and these bastards slice them with swords?
What kind of lunatic swings a sword at a business card?!
The two knights flinched under her gaze. Suddenly the aura the woman before them emitted grew much stronger. Though they were high-ranking knights, they had little experience facing such pressure.
Sigh.
A moment later, Altair let out a long breath. She was angry, but if the girl beside her really was a princess, their behavior made sense. She decided not to let her rage get out of hand.
Even though they broke in without permission, pointed swords at me, and tore up my business cards.
She had plenty of spares anyway. The situation was different from when Marius had destroyed her only means of proving her identity.
“Ethan, Nathan. Stop it right now. This person is…”
Ditrua spoke with an expression that mixed laughter and embarrassment at roughly a sixty-forty ratio.
“Leave it. Doesn’t look like they’ll back down anyway.”
Altair scratched her head and stepped forward.
The smile vanished completely from Ditrua’s face.
“Teacher, are you really going to fight them?”
“Yeah.”
Ditrua bit her lip lightly.
You just don’t know any better.
Ethan and Nathan were among the top tier of the royal knight order. They operated on an entirely different level from ordinary knights. And she was going to take both of them on at once?
“Teacher.”
The worry in her voice was clear. Ignoring her, Altair drew her Holy Light Sword. The star blade sparkled as it caught the sunlight streaming through the window.
“Please be careful.”
Normally she would have tried harder to stop it, but Ditrua’s curiosity to see Altair’s true skill was simply too strong.
“Don’t worry. I’ll subdue them without hurting them too badly.”
The two knights twitched their eyebrows, clearly displeased by Altair’s answer.
“Come at me.”
The moment the words left her mouth, the two knights charged with blinding speed. As Altair blocked their attacks, her face filled with bewilderment.
I should have told them to fight outside.
Damage from the fight was already appearing all over the house that had only recently been repaired.
So she really is struggling against those two.
Watching Altair’s expression, Ditrua drew her own mistaken conclusion.