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Failure: Mission to kill Olivia.

Upon hearing the report from Hunter, Crown Prince Harrison cackled bitterly.

"Mission failed……"?"

I feel like I'm in the middle of an irritating prank that's not even amusing.

Failure? I could never have even imagined the possibility even in the first place.

Two people were enough to handle the Duke's escort.

It should have been the case.

His judgment was never wrong.

I asked you to kill one ordinary human—who isn't even a knight nor a wizard.

You can't even handle such an easy task. How useless are my servants?

"Ha…."

The crown prince, Harrison, sighed low, rubbing his forehead.

After a moment of silence, he grabbed the statue on the table.

There was a dull thud. Blood flowed from Hunter's forehead, which was in front of him.

Blood droplets fell, smearing red on the pure white marble floor.

A voice of contempt cursed above Hunter's head.

"You useless...…."

Without the thought of wiping the blood that ran down his face, Hunter silently took the blame.

Kill Olivia Ashford.

That was an order that Hunter had received.

And as ordered, he had slaughtered the Duke's escorting knights.

The last one had been a little bothersome, but in the end, the knight couldn't be his opponent. [t1v: he is talking about Sir Hans] 

As soon as he had swung the sword straight into the escort's chest, he thought he was hallucinating that the night had disappeared.

Hunter looked up and saw a massive pillar of light breaking through the night sky.

It was the direction of Princess Ashford, who had fled. Following his intuition that something unusual had happened, Hunter headed straight for it.

Then, he witnessed an incredible sight.

—Kyyaahhhhhhh!

An inferno from hell was devouring the wizard.

A fierce blaze that seemed to have burn the whole area was coming from a man.

Princess Ashford's slave.

He was an ordinary human being.

How the hell…….

While Hunter's mind was in chaos, the Imperial knights convened.

While the knights and the silver-haired man were confronting each other, the princess, who thought he was dead, opened her eyes.

Soon after, the silver-haired man suddenly disappeared from there, holding the princess.

"If you are going to make excuses, they should at least make sense."

Harrison suppressed his resentment as he explained.

"Olivia's slave was a wizard? That's ridiculous!"

"You may not believe it, but...… it's true. I saw him burn Gray to death with my own eyes."

"So you mean, that slave has been hiding that he is a mage from Olivia?"

"That's not clear. However, he was indeed overwhelmingly stronger than Gray. In my opinion, the energy he exuded was incomparable."

Hunter's sixth sense was as accurate as his sharp eyes when he judged an opponent's strength.

Harrison was also aware of Hunter's talent.

Harrison tried to think rationally, holding back his boiling anger.

'Stronger than Gray...…. If Hunter's absurd remarks are true.'

He's probably not an ordinary sorcerer.

The existence of such a powerful magician would soon be revealed to the world.

Harrison looked down at Hunter, who was bleeding profusely. He said, kicking his tongue.

"Hide yourself for a while. And don't put reveal your incompetent face in front of me until I call you."

Hunter bowed his head and retreated silently.

Harrison called in his servant to wipe the bloodstained floor.

Since he was a child, Harrison was a perfectionist; he hated it immensely when his plans went wrong.

Life rarely goes as planned, but Harrison was different.

Because he was the Crown Prince of the Empire.

Having power and status that ordinary people did not have, he could easily accomplish everything he planned for.

It was a motto he took pride in—plan excellently and do flawlessly— but lately, nothing went right; it was infuriating.

Not only was the second prince sent to war still alive, but he was awakening as a Sword Master.

He tried to consolidate my position as heir to the throne by bringing the Ducal house of Ashford to his side so that the Second Prince would not dare have intentions that were above his station.

What to do with Olivia Ashford, who didn't act according to his will?

Harrison achieved his purposes by relentlessly cleaning up hindrances. It was a tactic that served him well in the past.

Harrison tapped his finger on the table.

He didn't intend to keep Olivia alive just because the assassination failed.

There's a way not to get his hands dirty.

"You'll get a new end."

A fishy smile hung around Harrison's mouth.

***

I slowly blinked.

Gradually, my vision got used to the light, and the familiar pattern of the ceiling of my room caught my eye.

As soon as I realized where I was, my nerves awoke.

My hand trembled where the wound was.

The terrible wound pierced by the ice was healed.. gone as if the whole thing were a nightmarish fairy tale.

It wouldn't have been weird if I lost my life.….

I couldn't believe it... how was I alive?

I slowly lifted up my heavy body.

Leaning against the bed head, I swallowed my breath.

I didn't know before because he had been so still and quiet, but Kian was asleep lying on his stomach on the bed.

I looked at him carefully.

The trauma from the ice pillar had been wiped clean.

Kian is alive. This is not a fantasy. It's reality.

Relief flooded in like a tidal wave, and I exhaled.

Kian's long, rich eyelashes trembled, perhaps because he was aware of the subtle sound.

His eyelids opened, and clear eyes like the autumn sky were revealed.

"Master…?"

He lifted himself up by calling me in a cracked voice.

Kian's light blue eyes trembled like ripples.

With a tearful smile, he spoke,

"You're awake."

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