Chapter 169

That day, the nobles visiting the Imperial Palace were reminded of the memories from the banquet.

The fear of being exposed, bare and defenseless, to the murderous intent of something not human.

The shame of forgetting all dignity, trembling and screaming in terror.

A whirlwind of killing intent was strolling through the Imperial Palace.

People held their breaths, shrinking in fear as they walked, trying to avoid the terror.

—

“Today… the aura feels unusually intense. Did something unpleasant happen?”

Leopold glanced at me, his voice trembling as he asked.

His expression was filled with discomfort. The back of his royal uniform was soaked in cold sweat.

“It’s nothing.”

“Then please, loosen up your expression a bit… Everyone might collapse at this rate.”

…I’m already restraining myself as much as I can.

I even put on this stuffy uniform, held back my craving for a cigarette, and even wore the ring Lacey gave me properly.

But I can’t exactly ignore the earnest request of a prince…

“Isn’t it their fault for being as timid and weak as mice? After all, Your Highness seems perfectly fine.”

“…Do I look perfectly fine to you?”

Leopold stretched out his hand, which was trembling slightly, as if to prove his point.

The inside of his pristine white glove was damp.

“Hmm…”

“Please, at least try to smile. If someone sees you, they might think you’re here to assassinate the royal family, not guard them.”

Smile?

I forced the corners of my mouth up into a grin.

Leopold’s face instantly turned pale.

His eyes, meeting mine, trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

“That… I misspoke. Please stop with that creepy smile.”

“My apologies.”

I chose to simply close my eyes.

This way, at least no one would faint from meeting my gaze.

“No… if you close your eyes, you won’t be able to see anything.”

“Don’t worry. I can distinguish most things with my other senses.”

The sounds around me, various scents, the shifts in the air against my skin.

With my heightened instincts added to the mix, it was enough to grasp my surroundings even without sight.

Leopold seemed a bit skeptical, but after seeing me move around just fine with my eyes closed, he let out a sigh of understanding.

“Truly remarkable… Is that something a master can do?”

“Well…? Nigel couldn’t do it.”

I tried it once for fun, and he ended up smashing his forehead into a wall.

I’m not sure about other masters, though.

“Hmm. That makes sense. It’s impossible for a normal person to do something like that…”

Leopold muttered in a tiny voice, nodding to himself.

So, does that mean I’m not a normal person?

Another smooth day of building reasons for my disqualification, huh?

I stared at the back of his head, itching to smack it, and silently followed Leopold.

“That’s the true form of the Beastman Devourer…! Truly a terrifying presence…”

“Hmm… is it accurate to call it a ‘Beastman’ Devourer…? It doesn’t seem to only devour beastmen…”

I decided to ignore the idiotic chatter coming from behind.

I could feel them trembling just from their voices… With such weak resolve, how could they possibly manage their own territories?

Thanks to their fear, no one dared to bring up the dark rumors I had initially worried about.

Lucky me, lucky me.

If it had reached my ears, I would’ve ripped off one of their limbs.

—

Aside from having to move around a lot, being the prince’s guard knight was a pretty laid-back job.

Then again, it’s rare to find anyone crazy enough to openly attack a prince within the Imperial Palace.

Thanks to that, I had plenty of time to rest in between.

This moment was no different.

Leopold was chatting with Lady Adelaide of Bien at a table in the garden.

I was standing a little distance away, keeping an eye on them while smoking a cigarette.

As I leisurely inhaled the smoke, the irritation from the morning had already subsided quite a bit.

“How dare the prince’s guard knight abandon his duty to smoke…!”

A knight suddenly appeared, panting and picking a fight.

Does he have like ten lives or something?

“What’s your deal?”

With the cigarette still in my mouth, I turned only my eyes to look at him.

The flashy armor unique to the Royal Guard.

His bare face, without a helmet, was twisted with anger and contempt.

Judging by his smooth, wrinkle-free face… he couldn’t be older than his early twenties.

He must’ve only recently joined the Royal Guard. Not a single scratch on his armor.

These types are always the problem…

Inexperienced but high-ranking, inflexible, and stubborn as hell.

Trying to reason with them only tires me out.

“Royal Guard? Oh, right, they said they’d assign another guard. As my replacement.”

“Replacement…?! How utterly disrespectful! Guarding the royal family has always been the duty of the Royal Guard!”

Sigh…

This guy’s hopeless.

I reached out with my left hand and grabbed his right shoulder.

The knight flinched in surprise.

As he tried to draw his sword, I grabbed his wrist with my right hand.

“Your rudeness is what you’re spouting at me right now. Do you even know who I am? A knight who hasn’t even mastered his craft, where do you get off…?”

“L-Let go! What kind of strength is this…?”

The knight, seemingly flustered, tried to pull his right arm back, but the wrist caught in my grip didn’t budge an inch.

As I added a bit more strength to my left hand, his armor began to dent.

I turned my body, as if dancing a waltz, and moved toward his back.

Swinging with my movement, his right arm stretched out to the side.

In an instant, the knight, with his shoulder and wrist subdued, groaned and twisted his arm, but his fully extended right arm didn’t move at all.

I brought my head close to his ear and whispered a warning.

“Shut up and listen carefully. Tearing your arm off like this is no big deal, you know?”

Seeing the armor in my grasp warp under sheer strength, the knight broke into a cold sweat.

“It’s good to talk about manners and principles, but you have to consider who you’re dealing with. Did you mistake me for being on the same level as you just because we’re both guards? I am Ai-shan Gi-or. Do you understand what that means?”

Even if he’s a Royal Guard, he’s just a knight.

He might have some skill, but his status is barely that of a noble’s child at best.

He’s in no position to criticize a princess from another country.

The reason I let Ophelia and others treat me casually is because they don’t bother me with their attitudes, not because I’m on the same level as them.

Unless it was early in my exile when I wasn’t fully recognized, there are probably fewer than seven people in the Empire with a higher status than me now.

Where does this lowly knight get off being so rude?

“First of all, I’m doing this with the permission of ‘His Highness the Prince.’ It’s not something for the likes of you to comment on. Got it?”

The trembling knight nodded with difficulty.

“Good, as long as you understand. Just behave from now on.”

After lightly releasing the knight, I crossed my arms and tilted my head.

“You should know who I am by now… So, what’s your name? We’ll be working together for a while, so I should at least know your name.”

“Ugh… Yugh, Yugh Persval. My apologies.”

The knight reluctantly bowed his head and introduced himself.

Once again, I grabbed his shoulder and pressed down.

Persval gritted his teeth, holding back a groan.

“Oh? So? You’re not quite there yet. Did they teach you to speak to royalty like that?”

“…Yugh Persval. My apologies…!”

Finally coming to his senses, Persval bowed deeply and showed proper respect.

That’s more like it.

Consider this a lesson in etiquette.

If you go around acting like that, you’re as good as dead.

My attitude might seem a bit harsh, but it’s all about asserting dominance.

This guy could be the Empress’s pawn, or even if he’s not, he might betray us at any moment under her temptation.

I need to give him a hint that if that happens, his limbs will be torn off, so he’ll hesitate if he ever finds himself in that situation.

—

“Ah, Sir Persval. You look pale. Did something happen with Princess Ai-shan Gi-or?”

Leopold, having finished his conversation, returned and asked curiously.

It was a natural question. One side of his armor was crumpled like it had been squeezed by fingers, and his pale face was dripping with cold sweat.

“It’s nothing. Just a bit of advice from a senior. Right, Sir Persval?”

I lightly patted Persval’s shoulder and gave him a subtle glare, implying he shouldn’t spill anything unnecessary.

If he’s the type to blab everything to the Prince here… then he’s beyond saving.

“Yes…! There’s no problem at all!”

Persval, standing at attention, shouted in a disciplined voice.

Even though it looked like there was clearly a problem, Leopold nodded lightly.

He knows my personality well, so he probably won’t mind this much.

“If there’s no problem, then that’s good. Since introductions are done, I guess there’s nothing more to say… Let’s work well together from now on.”

“It’s an honor!”

I subtly lowered my hand from Persval’s shoulder.

At least he seems to have the minimum level of awareness. That’s a relief.

Just keep it that way. I don’t expect much from his skills anyway.