I stared blankly into the air, hearing vulgar insults that would be hard to hear even in a tavern, followed by the rising cheers that seemed to echo them. I sighed and wiped my face.
How did things get like this?
I had returned thinking I would take it easy today! I didn’t expect this kind of crazy situation!
I didn’t want some half-wit fox trying to hunt down Rene with his acting!
I didn’t want Rene, scattering the mist with just his magical release, to show up either!
And the knights cheering around them, caught in the frenzy, I’d love to throw them straight into their graves!
Benedict, who was desperately cheering for that half-wit fox, was making me want to hit him over the head!
<That guy. He’s quite strong.>
<Considering that Lina isn’t at full strength, it seems they’re both holding back, so it’s hard to say who’s better.>
<This generation is full of amazing talents. At this level, we could even compare it to the mythic age, don’t you think, Ruel?>
<Excluding us, this generation might even be better.>
What’s even more frustrating is that these two old men, who led me into this mess, were watching the fight between those two with excitement!
Why are they going along with these idiots when I’m looking for a way out? These muscle-heads!
Should I just smash everything? If I break their skulls with a mace, it might improve things.
I’ll send Benedict into the front lines, then stir up trouble among the knights, create internal chaos, and in the confusion, eliminate Rene first...
"Master, did someone release a drug here?"
Just as I was planning to wreak havoc, I heard Karia’s voice and snapped to attention.
Here it comes! Finally, a sane person arrived! A normal person who could listen to my complaints—both Arthur and Karia showed up!
I feel like crying from how glad I am to see them.
"Lucy Arln’s gathering is a sight I haven’t seen in a while."
"You used to want to slap me around and make me cry, so I guess you had that kind of taste?"
"If you’re going to act like that, I’ll just leave."
No! I need someone to suffer in my place in this situation! Desperately, I grabbed Arthur’s arm and pulled him towards me, speaking carefully.
"If you really want to know, I can tell you."
"...Cough. Fine. Since I want to know, explain it to me."
"Well then, there’s no choice!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, I still felt a headache coming on at the thought of sorting this mess out.
Where do I even start?
I guess I should just begin at the beginning.
"It started when that half-wit fox kicked the gloomy prince away with its stinky feet."
"Wait. What? What did you do to my older brother?"
"He got kicked. It was so cute seeing him roll around like a ball."
The initial disturbance began with the half-wit fox’s sudden attack. Bursting through the mist, the fox delivered a dramatic strike and sent Rene flying, just like a special-effects hero.
The powerful heir to the throne had been ambushed in a foreign territory. If anyone wanted to make a big deal out of it, there would be plenty of justification!
I was considering throwing that excited half-wit fox off a cliff, but then Rene, staggering to his feet, glared at the fox.
"Was your pride hurt? The gloomy prince yelled at you passionately."
When Rene shouted, asking how dare a beast like him defy a prince of a nation, the fox transformed into human form and crossed his arms, then boldly declared.
"I don’t care whether you’re a prince or not! To me, you’re just a perverted bastard trying to monopolize Lucy’s beauty!"
"...Ah, right. I remember now. Arthur said there’s a disgusting pervert near Lucy Arln, someone who should be locked up in prison. That’s you."
"Pervert? Hahaha! You’re saying some funny things! I’m just an admirer of Lucy’s beauty! Unlike you, a male obsessed with lust, clinging to her!"
As the situation escalated, others tried to intervene to mediate, but it failed.
The half-wit fox had been seething since hearing about the engagement, and Rene, who had completely lost his rationality, was determined to crush this woman. Who could stop them?
One was the lord of the forest, and the other was a future king. Unless you had a certain level of power and strength, trying to intervene would only get you crushed.
"Huh? Master, what did Benedict do? He’s supposed to mediate, right?"
As Karia pointed out, if Benedict had been the one to mediate, things might have settled down.
In fact, Benedict had been desperately trying to prevent a clash between them until now.
"Lust!? Ha! Who would be interested in a scrawny body like that? If I put pants on him, you wouldn’t even be able to tell him apart from a boy!"
Before Rene said those words.
"First Prince! No matter who you are, I cannot accept those words! How beautiful my daughter is!"
"Don’t worry about it. The ones who talk like that are always the most interested."
"That’s right!"
"Stop slandering her! Beast!"
The situation worsened as Benedict, excited by pointless details, intervened in the middle.
"Even if Benedict is obsessed with his daughter, that’s—"
"No. It’s highly likely it’s true. I’ve been through something similar before."
"...Crazy."
I would have liked nothing more than for them to destroy each other in their fight, but realistically, it couldn’t happen. I reluctantly stepped into the chaos.
"Are you two going on a date, or what? Just talking trash suits you both."
Following the advice of the two old men, it was good to have them duel it out.
But somehow, their duel had turned into the forest lord and the first prince fighting between the knights. Some who had initially supported the half-wit fox had shifted to supporting the first prince’s purity, and now, before I knew it, this was the outcome.
"Lucy Arln. What happened between you and my older brother to make him so emotional? The usual First Prince would never confuse personal and professional matters."
"I told you, didn’t I? Did you already forget? Or are you intentionally doing this to get insulted by me?"
"Do you really not remember even a little?"
"Isn’t it similar to how the incompetent prince clings to me? They’re both pathetic, virgin fools."
I thought Karia might know something, so I looked at her, but she awkwardly waved her hand.
"I wasn’t in the kingdom at the time. I don’t know anything."
But don’t you think something might come up through the information network?
"If that was the case, I would have told you earlier. It’s strange how there’s almost no information from that time. It seems like the kingdom’s intelligence department intentionally erased it."
Karia’s words, that she only knew a few meetings had happened back then, made me sigh.
It looks like I’ll have to head to the island after all.
Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.
Sigh. Whatever. Forget that. Just tell me how we can solve this situation, Karia. You must have some way.
"Can’t we just wait for the outcome? Neither of them is using their full strength, so it’ll probably end soon."
"...You mean that isn’t their full strength?"
Arthur frowned as he watched the half-wit fox charging in, dodging all the attacks with just his movements. But this time, Karia’s words were right.
Neither of them was using full strength. If they were, the mansion would be in ruins by now. But before that, Benedict would likely have subdued them.
Could I step in between them in this state? Could I handle their power?
Hmm. I’ll have to try, but it’s not as hopeless as when I faced Rasha. I may not be able to handle both the shield and spear alone, but if I just hold the shield, I’ll manage.
"First Prince!"
Since we were waiting for the end anyway, I tried to kill time by imagining myself fighting them when someone raised their voice at the entrance.
A man, seemingly a royal official, shrank back nervously under the knights’ gazes, but he didn’t back down.
"Her Majesty the Queen requests your assistance!"
Rene, who had paid no attention to the official until now, stopped when the words "First Queen" were mentioned.
"That’s enough."
The half-wit fox, who had been preparing to charge, seemed dissatisfied, but didn’t rush at Rene, who had lowered his weapon.
"Are you retreating because you think you can’t win?"
"You called me a pervert, huh? Fine. Think what you will. What difference does it make now? What would change if you added one more nickname to my list?"
The half-wit fox’s words were certainly an insult, but the people around them didn’t take it seriously. Compared to the insults they’d been exchanging, this was nothing.
But I felt differently. I somehow knew that those words shouldn’t have been said to Rene. I saw the cold, direct malice in his eyes and immediately stepped in.
With my body reinforced by divinity, I raised my shield and blocked the path of the half-wit fox.
"First Prince. Didn’t you say this was enough?"
But his sword never reached my shield. Benedict had moved first and grabbed Rene’s wrist to stop him.
"Let’s go back."
Rene, who had been glaring at the half-wit fox, briefly made eye contact with me, then clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword.
"I apologize. Lord Arln. And... Lady."
With that, Rene, now composed, greeted me politely before walking away with the royal official.
As they walked away, Rene seemed no different from usual, but strangely, his shadow appeared much darker to me.