Chapter 122 - 2-4: Isaac's Perspective
"Prince Isaac, are you alright?"
"No, I'm not... Honestly, swinging a sword in the knights' order is much easier."
Leaving behind the Crown Prince and the Saint who were stunned by the magic I had shown them, we made a swift exit from the palace. While they were speechless and caught off guard by my words, Adolfo had smoothed things over, announcing our immediate departure. He had already arranged a carriage to get me back as quickly as possible, despite my efforts to appear composed while feeling like I might collapse.
"I'm glad you had the carriage ready."
"I thought it might come to this."
"I figured as much, but this was the best way, wasn't it?"
I leaned back against the seat, breathing heavily as I tried to steady my ragged breath, and offered Adolfo a smile. He adjusted his glasses with his index finger and let out a long sigh.
"Yes, I suppose so. Regardless of the Crown Prince, we've certainly succeeded in capturing the interest of the daughter of the Marquis of Marcel."
I felt a wave of relief. From the Saint's reaction, I could tell she had some grasp of what the power of darkness was, but she had no idea what kind of magic could be used. I realized immediately that she had no way to learn. That was why our objective had gone more smoothly than expected. The goal was to show her the power of dark magic directly and pique her interest in the Kingdom of Orta. It would have been pointless to push myself this hard for no gain.
"Still, you were quite determined."
"To use dark magic?"
"Yes. Your Highness, your..."
I laughed as Adolfo trailed off, his eyes downcast with concern. I knew exactly what he wanted to say.
"Yeah, my dark power is weak. Only my brother could master such advanced healing magic, even among the royalty."
Still, it was worth the effort.
"That Saint's face..."
The expression she made when I cut my arm with the dagger was truly a sight to behold. Her dignified, noble aura vanished in an instant as she turned pale.
"That's only natural. No one would expect the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Orta to self-harm right in front of them."
"I suppose. But unlike the Saint, that Crown Prince seemed more suspicious of my motives than worried about me."
"That Crown Prince will likely be a difficult opponent for us."
I sighed at Adolfo's words, which dampened my high spirits from seeing the Saint lose her composure. "Honestly, don't ruin my mood."
"My deepest apologies," Adolfo replied, though his tone suggested he wasn't sorry at all. I frowned at him, but he just gave a perfunctory apology.
The Crown Prince, huh? I'll need to adjust the plan depending on how much he involves himself.
"Well, whatever. It went well for now. I've left a little something behind, so now we just have to wait for them to contact us."
"Ah, the invitation. You certainly moved fast, considering you only learned of the Saint's existence right before the ball. As expected of the 'Warrior General' and 'Wise General'."
"...That didn't sound like a compliment at all."
Honestly, a wise general? I have sharp instincts and a good nose for things, but I know Adolfo is always better at using his head to craft tactics. Even today, he likely predicted I would do this and timed the conversation perfectly. One could even say the entire flow of events had been meticulously prepared by him.
I looked up to see Adolfo narrowing his eyes in amusement. "You really are irritating."
"Thank you for the praise."
"That's exactly what I mean!"
"I am truly impressed by your 'stamina monster' nature, Your Highness, how you've already recovered after being so unsteady you looked ready to collapse."
That definitely wasn't a compliment.
Oh well. I've known for a long time that nothing good comes from picking a fight with him. Not entirely satisfied, I rested my face on my left hand with an elbow on my knee and turned my gaze out the window with a heavy sigh. I watched the city pass by in the darkness, the small lights here and there giving the streets a warm, safe feel.
"Warmth in the darkness, huh?"
Just like that Saint.
With her pitch-black hair that let no light through and her constant, beautiful smile. The way the color of her eyes sparkled and changed was a testament to her beauty.
She looked like the paintings of the Saint from long ago.
The previous Dark Saint, the wife of the founding king. She, too, had jet-black hair and a warm smile. I thought of such things as I watched the city scenery slowly drift by.