TIRS 23

CHAPTER 23: “Because I Want to See It Alone—That Pretty Face.”

Meanwhile, Ancelot was walking quietly down a corridor after stepping away.

Unlike the noisy ballroom, this corridor was dim and silent, with only the occasional servant passing by.

Whooosh—

A gust of wind blew through an open window.

Ancelot immediately turned toward it.

“Prince Ancelot, die!”

An assassin wearing a black mask charged at him.

“Tch, how annoying.”

He had sensed a murderous intent for some time. Now the nuisance revealed itself.

With an annoyed lift of one eyebrow, Ancelot conjured a long spear in midair.

He then impaled the charging assassin straight through the body.

Stab!

Without even a scream, the assassin collapsed to the ground.

Those persistently aiming for his life weren’t system-sent cleaners but assassins from his homeland.

Ancelot looked down coldly at the cooling corpse.

Well, there’d been no need to come all the way out to the hallway to greet this unwelcome guest. He could’ve dealt with it right in the ballroom.

But…

“Then our princess might get scared.”

He pictured the way Luyvel’s eyes would widen like a frightened rabbit.

Then, with a grin, he added,

“Because I want to see it alone. That pretty face.”

Just as his murmur faded into the air, another attack came from the opposite side.

Ancelot swiftly turned to block the blow and eliminated the second assassin.

Though his body hadn’t fully recovered yet, his movements were flawless.

He pressed his temples with a tired expression.

Then, footsteps echoed down the blood-scented corridor.

The long white spear Ancelot held vanished into the air with a shimmer.

“Oh my, Prince Ancelot.”

A man arrived, looking surprised to find two corpses on the floor.

“Another assassination attempt in the palace?”

It was Cedric, the aide to Orent.

Recently, an attendant of Orent had died in Ancelot’s room.

When Orent went into a rage, Ancelot calmly informed him that the attendant had been an assassin sent by their homeland.

Though Orent initially didn’t believe him, he quieted down when a paralytic poison was found in the teapot the attendant had brought.

Since then, Ancelot had occasionally interacted with Cedric.

“Got a handkerchief?”

Ancelot asked bluntly, skipping any formal greeting and simply holding out his hand.

“I have one here, but… why…?”

Cedric blinked and handed it over.

Ancelot replied indifferently, without a word of thanks.

“Can’t show up to my partner with blood on me, can I?”

Indeed, though it wasn’t obvious in the dim light, there was a splash of blood on his left cheek.

Cedric looked up at him quietly, a bit surprised by his seemingly normal response.

“You like Princess Luyvel, don’t you?”

“…?”

Ancelot raised an eyebrow even more sharply than he had when the assassins first attacked.

“Her Highness the Third Princess Luyvel is admired across the empire for her beauty and kind heart.”

“What nonsense are you babbling?”

Ancelot scowled outright, clearly annoyed.

“Worry about palace security instead.”

He gestured at the corpses with a nod of his chin and turned back toward the ballroom.

He had wasted more time than expected.

Thinking Luyvel might be waiting, his steps quickened involuntarily.

But the ballroom he returned to was far from what he expected.

“Do you not know how long our Prince Orent has waited to inherit His Majesty’s sword? And yet, you bestow it upon Princess Luyvel?!”

Duke Hamilton, Orent’s biological father, was shouting at the emperor.

The atmosphere had grown cold. Though no one dared stare directly, they kept glancing at Luyvel.

Luyvel herself remained composed, unbothered.

Ancelot, who had been striding toward her, stopped in his tracks.

‘Why…’

His fist clenched tightly.

The image of Luyvel calmly sipping champagne seared into his vision.

Something felt wrong.

She looked unaffected.

So why was he… this angry?

After the third dance, guests came one by one to present their congratulatory gifts to the Empress.

There was an order to these greetings—royals were to approach first.

Following palace hierarchy, it was Gloria, then Orent, then Elizabeth, and then finally Luyvel’s turn.

After the royals, noble families of the empire and foreign envoys presented their gifts.

The problem arose when it was Duke Hamilton’s turn—Orent’s father.

“His Highness Orent has worked tirelessly fighting monsters at the borders. You know this well, Your Majesty.”

His voice, initially expressing mild discontent, grew more agitated.

“And yet, you gave the imperial sword to Princess Luyvel instead?!”

When her name finally came out of his mouth, Luyvel could feel everyone glance at her.

She ignored the stares and continued sipping her champagne.

“How could you do this?!”

Then, for the first time, the Empress spoke in a cold, calm voice.

“Are you done, Duke?”

The Duke flinched, realizing he had lost his temper.

Still, he persisted.

“It is a clear mistake for Your Majesty, who should be impartial, to show favoritism!”

“So you have a problem with my decision?”

“…”

Unable to say it outright, he bit his lower lip.

The Empress, frowning slightly, pressed her forehead with her fingers.

“This doesn’t seem like a suitable conversation for a festive day. We’ll discuss it later.”

In the end, the Duke had no choice but to retreat in disgrace.

Luyvel sensed the Empress glance at her for a moment.

Thinking the Empress’s anger might now be directed at her, Luyvel looked away.

[SYSTEM] is worried about you.

Huh…?

She blinked, unable to believe the system message.

The Empress was now back to accepting greetings from others, no longer looking her way.

‘Did I misread it?’

She checked again.

But no—it was real.

The words “ is worried about you” floated right before her eyes.

This entire mess had been caused by Duke Hamilton, but it happened because she had received the imperial sword.

If it had been Gloria or Elizabeth, no one would’ve protested this much.

So she assumed the Empress would also be upset with her…

“Are you really okay with this, Princess?”

Ancelot, now returned, glared coldly in Duke Hamilton’s direction and asked.

“Well…”

Luyvel trailed off.

She’d been scorned by nobles since she was young. Even receiving unexpected concern from the Empress felt strange.

“I guess?”

“…I’m not okay with it.”

Ancelot muttered under his breath.

‘That’s odd. Why does he seem mad?’

As she tilted her head in confusion, the system chimed in energetically.

[How dare they look down on our player! This won’t do! Player, let’s strike back at those jerks!!! ★o(･д´･+)９]

“No thanks. I’m not starting a scenario just for that.”

[It’s not about starting a scenario! All your player features can still be used outside of one! ୧༼◔益◔୧༽]

It felt like she could hear the system yelling.

[Now’s the time to use your special privileges and get revenge! (｀д´)ゝ]

“Hmm? I wasn’t really thinking about revenge…”

“Oho, I like that idea.”

Ancelot, stroking his chin with interest, looked at the system window.

[Right?! Right?! (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) Such refined taste in humans—EEK! Wait, how can a regular human see me?! Aah! Save me, Player! ε=ε=(っ´□`)っ]*

The system window started trembling in fear.

“My eyes hurt…”

With her blunt comment, the window disappeared—sullen and shrunken.

‘But seriously, the way the letters were shaking did hurt my eyes.’

Regardless, Ancelot asked her casually,

“Princess, got any good items? Like from that octopus boss?”

She opened her inventory.

From the <Lv.49 Bald Kraken>, she’d received EXP, gold, and some attack-boosting earrings…

“Ooh, there’s a good one.”

Ancelot’s eyes lit up.

“Princess. Let me borrow your inventory.”

“W-Why?”

“For revenge. You’re not up for it, so I’ll do it for you.”

“Wait, Ancelot… you’re not going to kill him, right?”

She lowered her voice and checked to make sure no one was listening.

“I’m not the kind of psycho who kills people at random.”

He chuckled.

“But… you’re not going to use the Kraken Earrings to boost your attack and then attack Duke Hamilton, are you?”

“No violence. Promise. Okay now?”

He linked his pinky with hers and smiled sweetly.

“So how do I lend you my inventory?”

“Did the messenger not tell you about ‘materialization’?”

“Materialization?”

She tilted her head and checked the inventory window. In the upper right corner was a small [Materialize] button.

When she clicked it, the inventory transformed into a small amber-colored gem and landed in her hand.

“It turned into a gem.”

She stared at it curiously before handing it to him.

“Here you go.”

“I’ll make good use of it and return it.”

Ancelot smiled slyly, eyes narrowed in amusement.

His wicked grin and the way he hummed said he definitely wasn’t planning to use it for anything “good.”

‘But he did say he doesn’t just kill anyone…’

She didn’t stop him—not because she didn’t care, but because… she didn’t mind.

She had no intention of taking revenge herself.

But if Ancelot was offering to do it on her behalf, well…

Looking at his mischievous face, she thought:

‘Let’s just pretend I don’t know anything.’

Because sometimes, playing dumb is the wisest move.