Chapter 92

The shockwave that surpassed the speed of sound shattered the princess’s body into pieces—

—or so it seemed, but thankfully, such a tragedy didn’t occur. Phew, what a relief.

I wiped off the cold sweat dripping down my face.

Even though I deliberately aimed only at her sword, the sheer power of it was insane.

I almost became a real royal assassin there.

The sprawled-out princess was still breathing fine. From the looks of it, there wasn’t any major bleeding either.

“Ughhh…”

She couldn’t get up, lying face down while letting out strange groans.

“Uh, are you okay?”

“Gyaaaah…”

Uh… doesn’t seem like she’s okay?

I approached Leonor and checked her complexion.

Half-conscious, her pupils had rolled upward.

Transparent drool dripped from her weakly open mouth.

Her expression looked oddly blissful, but it definitely wasn’t a normal face.

“Nigel, come here for a sec!”

“Ah, right away.”

Nigel, who had been standing there dazed, snapped out of it and hurried over.

She also seemed shocked by the attack I had unleashed.

“Princess Leonor’s condition looks really off. Did something go wrong? If it did, this could be a disaster.”

“Hmm… It’s just a simple faint. The shockwave probably shook her brain and organs a bit. Aside from her hand, there doesn’t seem to be any major issues.”

Her hand?

Only then did I notice Leonor’s fingers.

Her wooden sword was nowhere to be seen, and all her pale fingers were twisted grotesquely.

The skin on her palm had peeled off, oozing blood.

“Looking at this, we’ll need to pour some potion on her. Can I carry her for now?”

“Given Her Highness’s temperament, I don’t think she’d mind.”

Supporting her back and thighs, I carefully lifted Leonor’s body.

Her limp arm dangled loosely.

Hmm… she’s surprisingly soft. Must be because all her strength is gone.

“We can ask that guy, Fell, or the other maids to treat her, right? Surely the knight training hall has some recovery potions.”

“Probably.”

With injuries like these… a potion and some priests should fix her up in no time.

Carrying the princess, I climbed the stairs of the underground training hall.

Nigel followed behind, carrying my gear.

As soon as we stepped out of the training room, we ran into Fell, who was waiting by the door.

Fell let out a light sigh upon seeing Leonor’s blissful expression and guided us to a side room.

He said we couldn’t bring guests into her room without the princess’s permission, so we’d have to wait here while he fetched the recovery potion.

After carefully laying Leonor down on the bed in the side room, we waited for him to return.

A short while later, Fell returned with a few glass bottles and slowly dripped the liquid into the princess’s mouth.

The remaining liquid was poured onto her injured hand.

He seemed quite accustomed to this, as if it happened often.

Not long after, Leonor woke up.

—

“Wow, that was amazing! My sword just vanished before I could even do anything!”

Leonor laughed cheerfully, propping herself up against the pillows.

Thanks to the recovery potions she downed right after waking up, she looked pretty much fine now.

“Your body seems okay now? I was a bit worried when you couldn’t get up earlier.”

“Well, I’ll need to rest until tomorrow to fully recover, but this much is fine! It was fun, thanks to you.”

Leonor’s eyes were filled with joy.

Was it really that fun? She practically just got beaten up.

“I’m glad to hear that. I had fun too. It’s been a while since I swung a sword.”

I’d been itching to do something like this for a while.

I’d been too focused on recovering my stamina to do much else.

“I’d love to ask you for another round later… but I guess that’s impossible, huh? Too bad.”

“…Yeah.”

Once the succession dispute is over, depending on the outcome, one of us will likely end up on the execution block.

…Or worse.

I wonder if there’s a way to save her from execution.

Maybe I should talk to Leopold about it.

We spent some time discussing the details of our sparring session.

Her weaknesses, countermeasures, and things like that.

“So, what do I need to do to figure out how to use ‘Up’? I’m completely clueless.”

“Hmm, well… maybe experience extreme combat situations often? The Empire’s knights would know more about the theoretical side than me.”

“Everyone just gives vague answers. Things like ‘reflect on your life,’ ‘burn your convictions,’ or ‘melt your soul into your sword.’”

That *is* pretty vague. Though it’s technically correct.

Then again, if it could be explained in a single sentence, it wouldn’t be called enlightenment, would it?

—

“Well, I should head back now. The injured one needs to rest properly.”

After chatting for a bit, I stood up.

She looked a bit disappointed, but Leonor needs to rest for a while.

She can’t attend a banquet with bandages all over, right?

“Tch, you’re right. Too bad, but what can you do? Tell Fell, and he’ll take you to the academy.”

Fell? You mean that guy you called ‘Pel’ earlier?

“Thanks for the consideration. Take care, Princess Leonor.”

“Yeah. I’ll rest here for a bit and head back tomorrow. See you at the banquet.”

The banquet, huh…

“Things probably won’t be so friendly by then.”

“Yeah, probably not.”

Leonor forced a bitter smile.

—

“That was incredible.”

“Huh?”

On the way back in the carriage, Nigel suddenly spoke up.

“Those five consecutive strikes at the end. I could barely follow them with my eyes, let alone counter them.”

“Even I was amazed while doing it. It felt like the world had slowed down.”

Time slowed, my body felt heavy, and even sounds became muffled.

It was like I was alone in a different world.

Nigel’s eyes were filled with admiration.

“I’ve heard that even among masters, only the most renowned experience such phenomena… It’s truly astonishing.”

“Still, I’m far from perfect…”

“After swinging five times, I was completely exhausted.”

In a way, it was a technique that failed at controlling strength.

It was like giving up on a long-term battle and pouring all my energy into a single strike.

If the opponent blocked or dodged, I wouldn’t be able to resist the counterattack that followed.

Though, if I accumulated deeper karma, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Originally, the power of karma is meant to be maintained throughout the battle. The more you use it, the more skilled you’ll become.”

“That makes sense, right?”

I’ll probably get used to it soon since I’ll be using it endlessly anyway.

—

I arrived at the dorm around two o’clock.

It was an awkward time, too late for lunch and too early for lectures.

With no other choice, I filled my stomach with snacks and headed to the training room.

Since my body had recovered, I planned to train moderately and get used to using karma.

“Such an excellent mindset!”

Nigel was practically moved to tears.

…Honestly, I had been a bit neglectful of physical training. I did work hard on mastering techniques, though.

It’s understandable, considering my body doesn’t even lose muscle even after resting for nearly a month.

“Huh? Isn’t that Princess Ha-shal-leur! It’s so good to see you fully recovered.”

“Yeah. You’re working hard today too, Calix.”

Calix, who was lifting weights, greeted me.

His scaly biceps kept flexing.

“A healthy body houses a sound mind.”

Nigel nodded vigorously, agreeing wholeheartedly with Calix’s words.

“Is that so?”

Then does Hersela have sick muscles?

No matter how I think about it, her mind doesn’t seem like a sound one.

After exchanging greetings, I started my workout.

I gradually controlled the activation of karma, checking the level of strength I could maintain throughout a battle.

The results were astonishing.

No matter how much I increased the weight, there was no limit.

The equipment was about to break under the weight before my body reached its limit.

“Are you even human?”

Even Calix asked that.

To the eyes of a muscular dragon-man, my strength was abnormal.

After putting down the barbell with its bent support, I chatted with Calix, who was resting.

Watching Nigel passionately focus on training.

Maybe he got inspired by me, as his usual determination seemed even stronger.

“I’ll be dispatched again starting tomorrow.”

During the chat, Calix brought that up.

Didn’t this guy just come back from a dispatch? If he had been here earlier, he could’ve been a big help.

He’s subtly not very helpful.

Though, this matter is an internal power struggle within the Empire, so a dragon-man wouldn’t be involved anyway.

“Really? You’re quite diligent. You haven’t been back for long. Who’s the enemy this time?”

“Monsters again. Half a year ago, monster appearances weren’t that frequent, but lately, they’ve been popping up quite often.”

Well, it’s bound to happen.

It’s a kind of omen. A sign that the world is about to change drastically.

It’s still a bit early, but… it means the moment of change is approaching.

After all, monsters are the main enemies of this world.

In a way, they’re also prey for growth.

“Hmm… tough times ahead.”

Unlike humans, they probably don’t accumulate karma.

But at least they’ll gain combat experience.

“All of this is about accumulating merit.”

Calix clasped his hands together and laughed.

—

Finally, the day of the banquet arrived.

Dressed in the academy uniform, I boarded the carriage.

I didn’t bother with any extra decorations. Who would I be dressing up for anyway?

I was glad Nigel was the knight guarding me.

If it were an ordinary maid, they’d probably make a fuss about dressing up, right?

Then I’d have to deal with hair, makeup, and dresses being shoved at me.

Like the woman sitting next to me.

“Huh? Do you have something to say to me?”

Freide tilted her head, looking completely different from usual.

Her neatly combed silver hair was half pinned up with jeweled accessories, and her cheeks and eyes had a light touch of makeup, making her look more radiant than usual.

Even her usual uniform was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a flowing dress.

A red dress that revealed her pale shoulders and ample chest, with a sparkling jewel necklace around her neck.

“You look… quite… dazzling.”

Where did our Freide go?

The lonely Freide with no friends is gone, replaced by a beauty who could have hundreds of suitors.

When she asked to go together since we were heading to the same place, I was utterly shocked.

“Well, of course, I had to dress up. Did you forget? I’m a member of Duke Pailoon’s family. If I showed up at the Imperial Palace banquet looking like usual, I’d be the subject of all sorts of gossip. That would bring dishonor to the Pailoon name.”

Freide smiled arrogantly.

Her outfit surprisingly suited her.

Well, she is a real noble lady, after all.

Her actions and personality just never made it seem that way.

“Since that’s the case, take good care of me, knight?”

“Ugh.”

“How rude.”

Freide smirked.

Honestly, it was hard to get used to this side of her.