"The princess's fingers twitched slightly, as if they were restless without a weapon in her folded arms.
Despite the tense atmosphere, there were no weapons present, making the situation uncomfortably awkward.
'Spill everything you know.'
'There are still parts I’m investigating. So let’s fill in the gaps step by step.'
'The beginning?'
'Yes. Let’s meticulously retrace the memories. I’ll fill in the parts I can for you.'
'...'
Rohan began unwrapping a hamburger wrapper with a rustle.
Of the two hamburgers he had bought earlier, he handed one to the princess, who shook her head, refusing it, as expected.
It was wise not to eat anything offered by someone else in such a situation.
'Princess Testarossa, this isn’t a difficult problem.'
'?!'
'Just recall your memories and confirm the suspicious parts. Starting from the day Tigrova’s ruler changed.'
Rohan used a title he had never addressed her with before.
The words from his lips made the princess's eyes widen in shock.
'...Have you dug that deeply into my background? I’m impressed. Oddly, it makes you seem more trustworthy.'
'If you’re displeased, I’ll change the way I address you. Give me an alias, and I’ll follow it.'
'No need. It’s an empty name anyway. There’s no reason to demand respect for it.'
'Is that so.'
'No need to strain yourself using formal speech, either. Address me however you like.'
With a single word of permission, Rohan immediately discarded any pretense of formality.
'Testarossa is a mouthful... How about Shion instead?'
Shion Testarossa.
How long had it been since someone called her by her name rather than 'princess'?
The sound of her name, spoken so casually, felt like a spark in the darkness, and the princess couldn’t suppress a faint, bitter laugh.
'How amusing. My name was so easily sold off.'
'No one but me knows it, though. It’s an exclusive bit of information, so don’t worry.'
'Have you ever thought that saying something like that might put you in danger?'
Rohan barely held back a laugh at Shion's veiled threat.
The thought of someone with an innately kind nature uttering such words was almost absurd.
Perhaps she would be useful to the elder council, but to Rohan, she was simply a naive and inexperienced young woman.
'Since I’ve proven my ability to gather information, I don’t think I’ll end up dead.'
Shion shrugged, as if she couldn’t argue with his logic.
'I wouldn’t mind if you gave me a name to call you by. Even an alias would do.'
'Rohan.'
Shion repeated his name a few times, then nodded.
'Very well. Let’s revisit the day Tigrova’s ruler changed.'
'Okay.'
Rohan listened attentively while munching on fries.
'To be honest, I don’t have much to remember. Back then, I was just a clueless child. I was in my room when the elders broke the news of my parents’ death and told me to run.'
It was from that moment that Noah Frozenheart’s father, the Great Emperor Seolho, became the new ruler of Tigrova.
Rohan, signaling that he was paying attention, encouraged Shion to dwell on the critical points.
'So you never saw your parents yourself? You only heard about it from the elders?'
'...That’s right.'
That must have been the part that troubled her the most.
The fact that he had reminded her of it satisfied Rohan for now.
'Let’s start by correcting the most important misunderstanding.'
'I’m listening. Go on.'
After a brief pause, Rohan, pleased with the focus Shion was giving him, spoke.
'First of all, the Great Emperor Seolho never killed the Testarossa royalty.'
'...'
'But he did win in a fight. Tigrova is a nation where personal strength equals ultimate authority.'
The Great Emperor Seolho had demonstrated overwhelming power and became the rightful ruler of Tigrova.
However, he was not needlessly cruel. With his significant public support and moral authority, he chose to let Shion’s parents live.
Even in his later actions, the Great Emperor Seolho differed greatly from the image Shion seemed to hold in her mind.
He integrated a small group of elves residing in the coniferous forests and even placed members of the Testarossa lineage in important positions within Tigrova.
'Let’s leave it at that for now.'
Rohan finished his explanation, while Shion’s face contorted into an indescribable expression.
Her tightly clenched lips began to bleed, red drops spilling out, as she struggled to suppress her emotions.
'Let’s assume for a moment that what you’re saying is true. Then my parents...'
The question of who could have harmed her parents lingered incomplete in the air.
Shion’s mind had already begun considering potential suspects, based on the premise of Rohan’s truth.
The elders and Rohan.
One of the two had undoubtedly lied to her.
'Shall we continue, to make it easier to reach an answer?'
'...'
'What do you think the elders want?'
Shion’s mind was in disarray.
The air grew oppressively heavy.
'Answer me. You know what the elders expect from you, don’t you?'
When Rohan pressed her with a low voice, Shion answered in a subdued tone.
'...To reclaim Tigrova from the Great Emperor Seolho.'
The fact that she revealed this so easily, without doubt, was proof of her confusion.
Rohan, feeling a pang of guilt, continued steering the conversation with deliberate force."
***
"‘How do they plan to take it back?’
‘By defeating him in a fair fight. As the last descendant of Testarossa, I will win.’
‘Fair and square?’
Rohan stroked his chin as he watched Shion nod.
‘If you add the condition of “someday,” it’s not entirely impossible.’
The Great Emperor Seolho would age, while Shion’s strength would reach its peak.
But under the assumption that it would happen within a few years, it was nothing more than a naive and unrealistic dream.
Unless the elders were planning something extraordinary.
‘Then let me ask you this. What do you think the elders are doing by summoning all these seemingly broken people?’
‘...’
‘They’re not capable of helping with your training, so what are they even doing?’
The small room fell silent.
With a creak, Rohan leaned back in his chair, waiting.
He wasn’t waiting for an answer.
He was simply giving Shion time to think.
‘Shion.’
‘...’
At Rohan’s call, the girl raised her head.
Her eyes, which had once been sharp and bright, now looked sticky, clouded with dreadful assumptions.
‘What are humans and beastfolk to you?’
‘Humans and beastfolk...’
In her muddled thoughts, a reflexive answer came to mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
The way Rohan’s gaze bore into her, coupled with the oppressive tension, felt like a warning not to speak the words aloud.
Shion forcibly pulled herself out of the mental quagmire threatening to consume her.
─ Princess, humans and beastfolk are nothing but filthy bloodlines, akin to devils.
─ Do not mingle with races other than elves. They are deceitful creatures whose mouths constantly spew lies.
The words of the elders, repeated endlessly during her formative years, echoed like an unshakable curse.
Words she had heard so often that they haunted her dreams and lingered as hallucinations.
Shion winced, clutching her temples against the piercing headache that surged with those memories.
‘Don’t tell me what you were taught. Tell me what you’ve seen and felt. What were the people you passed on the streets like?’
‘...’
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
She had no particular impression of them.
They neither struck her as good nor as evil.
And yet...
Could she really call the blind girl she encountered at the store, who had greeted her warmly with a serene smile, someone with filthy blood?
‘...’
Once again, Rohan gave her the space to think. Watching her was enough.
‘It must be difficult to process this kind of information from the start.’
He thought he had softened the delivery of the information as much as possible, but perhaps it had been too harsh.
Still, as long as she didn’t completely break down, it was fine.
After all, unravelling this first doubt was at the core of the Broken Crown storyline.
The elf girl leaned against the wall, remaining silent for what felt like an eternity.
Beep, beep, beep!
The clock shattered the stillness, announcing that it was time to move.
‘I suppose I should head back for now...’
Shion muttered weakly as she shuffled to her boots, pulling them on with slow, mechanical movements.
She retrieved her goggles from her pocket, slipping them on as she prepared to leave.
‘I hope the information was helpful. I’ll gather more as I go.’
Rohan opened the window as if to see her off, letting in the cool breeze, and spoke quietly.
‘Shion.’
‘...’
The girl paused, one foot already on the windowsill, and turned to look at him.
‘Don’t let this shake you too much. You don’t have to believe everything I’ve said right away.’
Shion muttered something under her breath, as if asking what she was supposed to do with everything she’d just heard.
Rohan, sensing her distress, added one more comment.
‘You’ll think of ways to confirm the truth.’
‘...’
There were, of course, many things she doubted.
After all, she had spent so much time isolated from the outside world.
With a soft thud, Shion stepped down from the windowsill, back into the room.
Facing Rohan directly, she asked hesitantly,
‘Just... hypothetically speaking... what if everything you’ve said is true? What should I do then?’
Shion looked as though she was on the verge of breaking, her composure hanging by a thread.
‘Even if you’re so angry that you feel like your head might explode, don’t act rashly.’
‘...Are you telling me to wait? Or to stay calm?’
‘Both.’
‘...’
Shion pressed her lips together tightly, her uncertainty plain to see.
‘Wait.’
Rohan grabbed the last remaining hamburger from his desk, scribbled his number on the wrapper once more, and forced it into Shion’s hand.
‘You remember what I said, right?’
‘...’
The words from their first meeting in the ruins resurfaced in Shion’s memory.
─ I’ve written down approximate times when I’m available. Feel free to call, even if it’s not urgent.
─ Whether it’s because you’re troubled, or just craving something sweet—any reason is fine.
Shion nodded faintly, her expression slightly less burdened.
Rohan told her to be careful as he watched her leave once more.
‘We’ll meet again anyway.’
A cryptic remark that made no sense from Shion’s perspective.
Even so, she couldn’t refute it.
She left Academy City, carrying Rohan’s words with her."