206. Princess Lessons (3)
“What are you talking about now!”
Cain and Serena’s heads turned.
Julia, who appeared in front of the stairs, was holding her breath.
‘what. Were you hiding and listening to everything?’
Since when have you been listening?
Did you hear everyone gossip?
Serena was momentarily confused.
But he soon turned around with a smile on his face.
“Oh, my lord. Weren’t you going to take a shower? Time is running out until the reading meeting.”
When Julia’s piercing gaze touched Serena, she flinched.
Julia looked at Cain and said.
“What did you just say? Did I hear it wrong?”
“I don’t think you heard it wrong. If you have regular check-ups with your doctor, you will not have any problems with your hearing.”
“Compete with Serena in front of His Majesty? Is that also magic?”
“Yes. Opinions were divided. Serena-sama said that the princess is not good at magic.”
Serena caught Cain’s attention and hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Right. It is true that the princess has failed to learn magic for many years.”
“But I have a different opinion.”
Cain’s gaze turned to Julia again.
“I would be lying if I said that I had the most talented student I ever taught. But you have enough talent to make a name for yourself with magic. That’s why I thought it would be nice if the two of them competed in a contest.”
Magical contests were held periodically within the Imperial Palace.
Participation was limited to ‘nobles’ or ‘members of aristocratic families’, and it was common for young talents to participate in order to catch the eyes of the emperor.
“Aren’t you confident?”
Julia didn’t answer anything.
‘It is of course grateful to be praised for being talented. It even moved me a little.’
However, when asked if she could compete with Serena through magic and win, the answer was no.
A ‘skilled man’ who has learned magic since childhood.
A ‘beginner’ who is just starting out.
Conceived a hundred times, as John said, ‘talent’ itself can be considered superior to this one.
However, since the learning period itself was different, there was no way that he could be a competitor in terms of ability.
There was also less than a month left until the contest.
“… No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.”
Serena was slightly disappointed with Julia’s lack of confidence.
It was because he was expecting Julia to accept the bet.
I was momentarily taken aback by the extreme proposal, but if I think about it carefully, it was a bet that had nothing to lose on this side.
The emperor was famous for his thorough work and history, and there was no such thing as ‘retaliation’ for winning the princess in a contest.
Rather, it was a golden opportunity to show off his superior magic skills in front of the emperor and other nobles.
“Look at me and beat Serena. I can not.”
“The princess can have more confidence in herself.”
“still… .”
Cain approached Julia.
He bowed his head and grabbed her wrist and said.
“Try moving your mana. along India. Just as I was taught.”
Julia raised her head.
Under the colorful lights of the chandelier.
The shadow of Johann wrapped around this side somehow felt cozy.
After taking a deep breath, he raised his mana.
Soon, a bright white flame rose on Julia’s palm.
“It was true that I was able to use magic.”
For a beginner, the level of perfection was considerable, and at this moment, Serena could not help but be surprised.
Still, with the help of John, it made sense to some extent.
Cain whispered to Julia, who still had a bewildered face.
“It is a flame made by the princess.”
“You got help. I didn’t do it alone.”
“no. The subject who moved the mana is the princess. You can also have confidence. If you are still not sure—”
After taking a short breath, Cain continued.
“Trust me, who believes in the princess.”
“… … .”
After staring at the flame and Cain alternately, Yulia nodded her head as if she had made up her mind.
So the bet was made.
The loser will grant one of the demands of the winner.
The two girls looked at each other with determined faces and left with different emotions.
Julia went up the stairs with worries and fears.
Serena crossed the hallway with excitement and anticipation.
Cain looked down at his palm.
The hand that grabbed Julia’s wrist.
It seemed that the heat of the white flame was still there.
“… The talent is clear.”
“You got help. I didn’t do it alone.”
Cain shook his head, remembering Julia’s words.
This time, mana was not injected into Julia’s circuit.
Of course, she didn’t even help with mana management, so it could be said that the flame was made entirely by the princess herself.
Julia too. Serena too.
You wouldn’t know that though.
Cain, who looked at the place where the two girls had disappeared, turned and headed towards the door of the mansion.
I had to change places for my next scheduled visit to Prince Asimov.
***
“… … !”
Asimov opened his eyes and raised his upper body at the same time.
I quickly looked around.
He confirmed that it was his bedroom and sighed in relief.
‘Obviously, I was taking care of plants in the garden. You fell asleep again.’
The escort driver, Schellingford, must have moved him to the bedroom.
From the fact that his clothes were neat, he seemed to have brushed away all the dirt and plant leaves in the garden.
‘Shellingford.’
I always felt grateful.
I have been with him for 3 years already.
The first meeting was during a tour of the Knights School.
He was a senior at the time and was receiving attention and scouting offers from various fields for his outstanding skills.
“You said that you are the best knight in the current jockey.”
“It’s not enough, but it’s appreciated.”
The conversation was brief, but the two boys fully recognized each other’s ambitions and abilities.
It could be said that it was a moment when they were attracted to each other.
“I will allow you to serve me.”
“I will be Asimov-sama’s sword for the rest of my life.”
immediately after graduation.
Schellingford was selected as Asimov’s escort knight and entered the Imperial Palace.
There was no hesitation, as they were confident in their ambitions.
Ambition to become emperor.
Ambition to become a knight of the emperor.
Indeed, the two boys had the ability to make their ambitions come true, and have been throwing their entire lives for him.
I thought I could definitely achieve my goal.
If it wasn’t for the sudden onset of insomnia two years ago.
Doctors came from all over the continent, but there was no cure for the disease.
It was then that the emperor’s interest cooled and he was completely pushed out of the right of succession.
“Leave me. It’s not like you’ve officially signed a master-slave oath. Don’t give up your future for me.”
“no. won’t leave I have only one lord, Asimov-sama.”
From then on, Schellingford continued to serve Asimov.
without any complaints or complaints.
As if that was his role.
It was all thanks to Schellingford that Asimov was able to endure despair and continue fighting the disease.
Asimov got up from bed and scrambled to the table and sat down.
His whole body was damp with cold sweat.
The lack of strength in the body was a symptom of insomnia, but the cold sweat was due to the nightmare I had just had.
“From now on, the moment you do not answer the question directly, you will die. Why did you instigate Laxen’s death?」
“Mom, I don’t know! Whoops, me, me too, why did I do that to me?
Johann Kirif.
A person who has been making a lot of noise in the capital recently, and a person assigned to be his doctor.
“Didn’t you say I will give you the strength to become an emperor. It also cures insomnia.”
“If you do not accept the oath, you will die on the spot.”
Fear and fear took over her body just by recalling the scene.
‘If there is a joke from God, this is it.’
Lately, incomprehensible things have been happening.
First, there were vague memories.
He went out of the Imperial Palace and ordered the assassination of a boy named ‘Laksen’.
But the important thing was that I couldn’t remember the reason for doing that.
‘Laksen. bama. Ellen. How did I know those names?’
It was as if only that part of the memory had been cut cleanly.
After investigating, it was said that he was a student and professor of Mato, and a tycoon in the dark district.
The question did not end there.
A person named John who appeared recently knew all of that.
The fact that he ordered the assassination of Laxen.
The fact that he tried to poison the third prince.
Ambition to become emperor.
‘You seemed to know all my forgotten memories. And the name you mentioned… .’
Baek Jin-woo.
He was in a state of disrepair due to the threat of his life, but he remembered the name precisely because of his peculiar accent.
‘Baek Jin-woo. Baek Jin-woo.’
Asimov rolled the three-letter name into his mouth.
It felt very unfamiliar yet familiar.
I thought for a while, but nothing came to mind.
I leaned over the back of the chair and looked up at the ceiling.
“… … .”
It felt sad.
Why is he, who had been dreaming of becoming an emperor, in this situation?
“… Baek Jin-woo.”
It was then that Asimov had a lightning pain in his head.
“Aww!”
Asimov grabbed his head and rolled over on the floor.
Hooks heated by fire seemed to go through my mind.
If there was a demon, I wanted to stop this pain immediately by selling my soul.
However, what appeared before my eyes was not a demon, but an unknown hologram.
[Synchronization with ‘Asimov Fnaham’ is in progress.]
[ Current Synchronization Rate – 100.0% ]
‘Hey, what is this?’
The doubt was resolved the next moment.
[ Sync rate will decrease. ]
[ Current Synchronization Rate – 99.5% ]
Because the memories that had been sleeping under the surface began to come back to life.
“Jinwoo. Thank you. The reason this article has been well-received is because of your feedback. Although I haven’t uploaded the first part of it on the site yet.”
A feeling of inferiority towards a friend’s writing.
“Ugh. Ugh. Wait a minute. calm down. Are you going to stab me with that knife? Just for one article?”
windy night.
“Let it go! You f*cking bastard!”
A battle that took place on a cliff over a laptop.
“I thought of you as a friend.”
And the moment we fell down the cliff together.
The thought was there.
Asimov’s lips slowly opened.
“… called a friend. What good is that? it’s my writing It’s my writing.”
The boy’s eyes had turned into a catastrophic one.
His face was crumpled in pain in his head, creating an ugly impression.
“It’s my writing!”
Asimov gasped and opened the task window.
[Task – Path of Ambition]
Objective: Eliminate all princes except yourself and ascend to the throne.
Endowed Traits: Determination. agility. the dignity of the monarch.
Reward: Return to the real world
[ Sync rate will decrease. ]
[ Current synchronization rate – 99.0% ]
More and more memories came back.
‘Laksen’ is the person who ultimately destroys the empire.
He was trying to get rid of it before he became a huge adversary.
widely. widely. widely.
Urgent footsteps ringing in the hallway.
Hearing the shouts, Schellingford is running.
But now there was no time to worry about it.
[ Correct system errors. ]
[ Reset the sync rate. ]
[ Sync rate increases. ]
[ Current Synchronization Rate – 99.2% ]
“Ugh.”
The pain in my head got worse.
Synchronization rates skyrocketed again, and memories faded.
[ Sync rate increases. ]
[ Current synchronization rate – 99.4% ]
[ Sync rate increases. ]
[ Current synchronization rate – 99.6% ]
Asimov’s movements became urgent.