Chapter 104

I was so surprised that I stumbled backward. Esadien, who held my shoulder firmly to keep me from falling, conspicuously changed the subject.

“You would have been seriously hurt if I hadn’t come.”

“I’m fine. As long as I’m breathing, Ramande will save me.”

I was about to tell him not to worry about me and to go to the temple right now, but Esadien’s eyes turned fierce again, and he growled.

“Are you saying that now as if it’s nothing?”

“No, why are you getting angry? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“Would you say the same if I were hurt?”

“Is my body the same as yours, Your Highness?!”

“Of course not! You’re much more…!”

Cutting through our rising voices, a fireball of the exact same size as the one I had just shot out came flying back at us.

“Watch out!”

It was as good as a sign that Austin was nearby, so I quickly tensed up. And sure enough, I absorbed the fireball that was heading towards Esadien, not me.

Or at least, I tried to.

*Bang!*

With a sharp sound that tore through the air, Esadien’s sword split the fire. It passed so dangerously close to my fingertips that I thought the tip of my glove might be torn!

‘Ugh, ah…’

Why did almost getting my hand cut feel more terrifying than dropping out of the air? As I gathered my trembling fingertips, Esadien rushed to me.

“Why do you keep trying to shield me? I can protect myself.”

As he lectured me and pulled my hand over to examine it as if it were his own, I didn’t know where to look.

I fidgeted, leaving my rolling eyes to their own devices, and offered a sincere apology. I had tried to shield such an excellent knight, so it was understandable that his pride might be hurt.

“Y-you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“…”

Esadien looked at me with a subtle expression, as if my apology was unexpected. Then, with that same expression, he said:

“In that case, may I kiss you when we get back?”

Poof!

My face felt so hot that I could have sworn I heard a sound like that. I pushed Esadien away with an almost spinal reflex and shouted.

“Be quiet! Are you crazy, really!”

He has no problem saying things like that in front of people!

Behind Esadien, flames were now flying in like a whip. I pushed him away, sucked the flames in, and clicked my tongue.

‘Finally, he shows up.’

Sure enough, as the flames cleared, Austin was walking leisurely with his hands in his pockets. It was a late entrance considering how loudly he had called me.

When our eyes met, he tilted his head slightly and said lazily.

“Yeah. Shut up, little brother.”

His pretty green eyes, which didn’t suit Austin’s temper, scanned the surroundings. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“What a mess. Fighting and having a lovers’ quarrel during a battle. You’ve got a lot of free time, huh?”

“It’s not like that…!”

Esadien also agreed with my outburst.

“That’s right. I love this person too much to dare to fight.”

Huh?

I opened my mouth and turned to look at him, but Esadien just gave me his usual fresh smile.

“Haha…”

I let out a dry laugh and decided to just focus on Austin.

I shouldn’t talk.

I! Just! Shouldn’t talk!

It seemed Austin was just as agitated. He clicked his tongue, looking down at the soldiers as if they were bugs.

“There’s no hope for the foolish. Did you just watch them and not stab them to death?”

“The…”

“Were you so distracted by their disgusting display that you didn’t notice the enemies disappearing like the tide?”

As Austin was scolding the knights, I subtly looked around and held back my laughter.

While Esadien and I were yelling and drawing attention, most of the Karnian family knights had retreated and were now positioned to encircle the enemies from the other side.

‘It seems Esadien intended this.’

Feeling a bit guilty for being annoyed when I hadn’t known, I looked at Esadien with a softer expression. He smiled faintly again and tapped his lower lip with his index finger.

Was he a ghost who died without getting a kiss?

‘Did he really intend that? Or is he just a weirdo?’

As my eyes hardened, Esadien seemed a little disheartened and slowly moved his finger to tap his cheek.

It was not an action a broad-shouldered adult man would make, and just as I was about to cringe, I had the strange illusion of a slender tail, which shouldn’t have been there, wagging behind him.

It was definitely my imagination. But once I imagined it, I started to see pointy ears with tufts of fur on his golden hair.

And then, heavens. Even that act of begging for a kiss started to look cute, and…

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“You’re laughing?”

The laughter vanished as soon as my eyes met Austin’s, which were wide like a goblin’s.

‘What if he gets angry and sets fire to everyone, friend and foe alike?’

Even though my power was superior now because I had consumed the Yoshicho, I wasn’t confident I could protect everyone.

I pressed my lips together, wary of Austin, and then, in the next moment, I decided to think about it in reverse.

‘This… might actually be an opportunity.’

A chance to end all of this simply!

After a quick calculation, I held my head high and replied.

“Yes, I laughed. A person can laugh when something is funny!”

When I took a more defiant stance, Austin seemed a little flustered and asked back, scrunching one eyebrow.

“What?”

“Forbidding laughter! In the name of love and beauty, I will not forgive Your Highness! So let’s have a one-on-one fight.”

Austin wasn’t the only one who was flustered.

“Mi-Minuelle? What are you suddenly doing!”

Esadien called my name in a strange voice, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I just waved my hand behind me and whispered softly.

“This place is going to be a mess. When the first explosion happens, lead everyone out immediately.”

It was almost a mumble between my teeth, but I trusted that Esadien had heard me. I walked towards Austin slowly but confidently.

“Come at me. Surely, a Prince wouldn’t back down from a young lady who looks like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, would he?”

I sneered, and a flame burst from my outstretched hand, forming into a shape that was somewhere between a club and a sword.

Seeing that, Austin chuckled. He licked his lips, and his eyes began to gleam again.

“You’re serious, then.”

Austin’s body seemed to sway from side to side, then he vanished from the spot as if he had been extinguished.

– Above!

I followed Gabbie’s shout and stretched both hands above my head.

Kwang!

Power collided with power, creating a tremendous noise and wind.

Austin had a murderous smile on his lips. Because I looked directly into his eyes up close, I could clearly see my own face wearing a similar expression.

“Still a waste. Why don’t you just marry me?”

“Haha. Just die.”

If a thread gets tangled, you cut it.

If a group causes trouble, you cut off the head.

It was simple when you thought about it.

But why was it so hard to carry out such a simple task?

When I attacked with fire, Austin covered it with sand. When Austin swung his sword, I aimed for his internal organs.

Even if I wanted to boil his blood in an instant, it was difficult because Austin also wielded the power of fire. I was absorbing the power he released and filling the void left by the fading effect of the Yoshicho, but I was starting to feel a physical overload.

‘I need… one big attack.’

From then on, I held back on large-scale attacks and carefully gathered my power. But just when I thought the time was right, I pushed him away and pulled out the power I had saved, but a sharp energy came flying towards my left temple.

“Urgh!”

I barely managed to dodge it by twisting my body, but the power that was blocked in the middle instead wreaked havoc inside me. I barely managed to suppress the blood that was rising, and Austin continued to attack, snorting.

“This is what mages are usually like. They’re so focused on preparing a big spell that they don’t notice their neck getting sliced off.”

What about mages! Why!

The thought of Palos made me bitter, and I twisted my lips while barely dodging the tip of Austin’s sword.

Austin flinched when he saw my face, but the dagger in my left hand had already been plunged into his side. My efforts to stay close to him and wait for an opening, even in my precarious state, had paid off.

“Is that what knights are usually like? They get so careless in front of a seemingly weak opponent that they don’t notice their neck getting sliced off?”

“Maybe?”

I twisted his words back at him, but he just smirked. Even with a pretty deep wound. Even after I pulled the dagger out on purpose!

It was when I felt my heartbeat skipping a beat unevenly. The tips of Austin’s hair began to scatter like dust.

“No way…”

But as ‘no way’ often leads to disaster, Austin, who had turned into a sandstorm, disappeared as if he had sunk into the ground.

“Gabbie, do you know where he is?”

– The tower! The tower!

The tower Gabbie was talking about was the twin clock towers in front of the north gate of the castle where we were fighting.

The problem was that unlike Austin’s soldiers, who had run away like startled spiders when Austin and I started to clash, our knights were getting into formation, preparing for any rebels who might rush back in.

Right under that clock tower.

‘Can the amulets our knights have withstand the collapse of that tall tower?’

After a long battle, at least half of them must have been used up.

A tragic scene was painted in my mind. I screamed almost like a banshee.

“No! Gabbie, stop it!”

– And you? You look like you’re struggling with your power right now!

It was easy to burn things with the natural power of fire, but difficult to exert physical force, like preventing something from collapsing.

Gabbie, being a spirit, could at least try, but it would require an immense amount of power, incomparable to creating a sea of fire.

But there wasn’t even a moment to hesitate.

“That side is more urgent!”

The bottom of one side of the clock tower was already wavering.

Gabbie clicked his tongue and disappeared. I also started running towards it with my tired legs. I could feel my power being sucked out as Gabbie began to support the shaking tower.

“Huk.”

My vision flickered for a moment, and my body staggered as if my legs had no bones.

But to make matters worse, just then, I heard a sound like sand colliding behind me.

Psshh…

The smell of dust brushing past my nose sent a chill down my spine.

‘In this state, getting attacked would be a pointless death.’

Without a second thought, I poured another pouch of Yoshicho into my mouth.

My eyes snapped open immediately, as if I had eaten a lot of candy on a Wednesday afternoon.

The power surged up to the point of dizziness, then drained away to Gabbie, making me feel lightheaded again, but I grit my teeth and roused my will.

Whoosh!

The fire, responding to my will, formed a wall and protected my back.