Chapter 9
An Unexpected Visitor
“So there were visitor restrictions until now?”
While tearing apart a piece of freshly baked breakfast bread, Seongjin asked Edith.
“Since when?”
“I don’t know the exact period. I’ve worked here for two years, so I can at least say the restrictions have existed since before I arrived.”
Edith poured water into his cup as she answered.
According to her, aside from a handful of servants and the knights permanently stationed at Pearl Palace, everyone else was forbidden from entering. Anyone who wished to visit had to submit a request to the Imperial Palace first. Even members of the imperial family were no exception.
And most of those requests were rejected.
In reality, it was practically a complete ban on visitors.
“Don’t tell me… I wasn’t even allowed to leave?”
Edith shrugged.
“I don’t believe Your Highness was ever forbidden from going out. It’s just that you disliked leaving Pearl Palace so much that you rarely did.”
Fortunately, it seemed Mores hadn’t actually been imprisoned inside the palace.
Well, he’d even skipped his weekly audience with the Holy Emperor because he couldn’t be bothered going to the main palace.
Is this really how an imperial prince is supposed to live?
“Still, about once every two months, you would visit your friend at his townhouse.”
“A friend?”
“Yes. As far as I know, it was usually an appointment with Young Lord Scarpino.”
So Mores wasn’t completely friendless after all.
“Hmm…”
Chewing on his salad, Seongjin fell into thought.
The other princes’ and princesses’ palaces—the Blue Rose Palace and the Silver Rose Palace—had no such restrictions.
That meant these rules had been aimed specifically at Mores.
Maybe that was also why Pearl Palace had so few servants.
But even if Mores had been a notorious troublemaker, was it really right to isolate him by preventing even family and friends from visiting?
Sure, he had an awful personality, but he wasn’t some violent criminal.
Wouldn’t locking him away only make his personality and reputation even worse?
“Then why only partially lift the restrictions?”
“High-ranking priests and Holy Knights are still prohibited from entering.”
“That means…”
So people with powerful holy power were still forbidden from entering Pearl Palace?
The Demon King whispered,
[Suspicious.]
Yeah… extremely suspicious.
Just what is the Holy Emperor planning?
If he’d known it would turn out like this, he should’ve had the Demon King use his soul detection more aggressively while it still worked.
Feeling uneasy, Seongjin let out a sigh after finishing breakfast.
Well, worrying about it now wouldn’t reveal the Holy Emperor’s intentions.
Whatever the reason, the restrictions had been lifted immediately after their meeting yesterday.
That probably meant the Holy Emperor hadn’t formed a particularly bad impression of him during the audience.
Maybe he had simply decided Mores wouldn’t cause as much trouble anymore.
Forget it. I’ll just focus on what I can do.
With that, Seongjin cleared away all distracting thoughts and immediately headed for the training grounds.
“One, two! One, two!”
As usual, Seongjin began his workout by jogging laps around the training field.
Now he could maintain a steady pace without putting too much strain on himself.
Compared to the first day, when he’d practically been crawling around the field, it was remarkable progress.
He had also started adding light strength training.
His weight was dropping much faster than expected, and he didn’t want to lose muscle.
The Pearl Palace knights had gradually gotten used to seeing him around.
They simply trained while staying out of his way.
Their looks were still far from friendly, but at least they no longer treated him with open hostility.
Well, this is my training ground. How dare they act like they own it?
He snorted inwardly as he caught his breath.
Just then, an unfamiliar man appeared at the entrance.
He was broad-shouldered, with excellent posture.
The man looked around before spotting Seongjin.
His face immediately brightened as he walked over.
Huh? That gentle golden-retriever-looking face… I’ve seen him somewhere.
“Your Highness!”
His brilliant blond hair swayed as he strode forward.
Placing his right hand over his chest, he gave a crisp salute.
“It is an honor to see you again, Prince Mores.”
“…”
Now where have I seen him…?
The man’s eyebrows drooped.
“…I am Masain Clanos, Commander of the Second Division of the Imperial Royal Guard, Your Highness.”
Ah.
The kind commander who had escorted him through the main palace yesterday.
Feeling guilty, Seongjin greeted him with an overly enthusiastic smile.
“Sir Masain! I never expected to see you at Pearl Palace. What brings you here? Are you off duty today?”
Indeed, he wasn’t wearing his knight commander uniform today.
Instead, he wore simple casual clothes with only a single sword at his waist.
Masain scratched his head with a faint smile.
“I heard the visitor restrictions were lifted today, so I came immediately. Until now, I was never granted permission to enter. I regret not being able to visit while Your Highness was ill.”
Seongjin blinked.
So he’d applied to visit before?
And came the very moment the restrictions were lifted?
Wait… was this knight actually much closer to Mores than I thought?
The Demon King scolded him.
[You’re terrible! You forgot someone you met just yesterday? How many people ever treated that brat kindly?]
Urgh… Sorry, Sir Masain.
Overwhelmed by guilt, Seongjin silently apologized.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of what Seongjin was thinking, Masain continued cheerfully.
“I heard you’ve been working hard on your physical training. Do you always come here at this hour?”
“Yes. Unless something comes up, I spend most of the day here.”
“Excellent!”
Masain smiled warmly and nodded.
“In that case, unless something urgent happens, I’ll come here at this time from now on as well.”
“You? Why?”
“It is His Holiness’s order. From now on, I am to oversee Your Highness’s swordsmanship training whenever possible.”
So when the Holy Emperor said he’d send someone suitable…
He’d actually sent a knight commander?
That request had only been made yesterday.
The Holy Emperor certainly worked fast.
“My own abilities are nothing special, but I’m quite experienced at teaching the basics of aura cultivation. I’m confident I’ll be of help.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. I’m usually the one responsible for training newly recruited squires.”
Though he looked young, he was still a knight commander.
His skills were surely excellent.
Considering how humble he sounded despite speaking so confidently, he probably really was good at teaching beginners.
Seeing the expectation in Seongjin’s eyes, Masain scratched his head shyly.
“It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I myself awakened to aura rather late. Since I spent much longer than most people mastering the fundamentals, my foundation naturally became very solid.”
So he was one of those people who started late but improved quickly.
Outstanding ability backed by rock-solid fundamentals.
He couldn’t ask for a better instructor.
Seongjin grinned.
“You sound completely reliable. I’ll be in your care, Sir Masain.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Masain bowed respectfully.
“By the way…”
Something felt strangely empty.
Seongjin looked around the training grounds.
As expected…
Every single Pearl Palace knight who had been training just moments ago had completely disappeared.
Where had they all gone?
They’d all been here before Masain arrived…
Masain asked,
“Your Highness, I mainly teach swordsmanship, but do you happen to have another weapon you prefer?”
“A weapon?”
Seongjin thought for a moment.
Back when he fought monsters on Earth, civilization had mostly collapsed.
Supplies were scarce.
Weapons were even scarcer.
Firearms barely scratched the thick hides of monsters.
The few melee weapons that remained became chipped or snapped after only a few swings.
Eventually, hunters had no choice but to fight barehanded with their enhanced bodies.
Occasionally they’d sharpen monster claws, pincers, or fangs into makeshift weapons.
But could those really be called weapons?
“I don’t think I have any preference.”
“Then… do you remember any of the swordsmanship you learned as a child?”
“Nope. Completely gone.”
Seongjin answered with a refreshingly bright smile.
Masain sighed.
“I see. Then we’ll begin with the Imperial Knights’ standard swordsmanship and the Banahas Aura Cultivation Method.”
“There are other options?”
“The Imperial Knights normally learn both swordsmanship and spearmanship. However, regarding aura cultivation, it’s standard practice to master one cultivation method before beginning another. Most people start with Banahas because it’s more straightforward than Wiroz, which was designed for spear users.”
“Of course, you’ll eventually have to master both.”
Seongjin tilted his head.
“Wouldn’t focusing on one until the end be more efficient? I heard that once you reach a certain level, the differences between cultivation methods become meaningless.”
“Huh?”
Masain made a strange face.
“Who told you that?”
“My father said aura naturally flows wherever your heart leads it…”
“Absolutely not!”
Masain’s expression suddenly hardened as he practically shouted.
Seongjin instinctively shrank back.
Wow.
A normally gentle person suddenly getting angry was surprisingly scary.
“A certain level? Do you have any idea what level that actually is? Even if someone devoted their entire life to training, how many people do you think could ever reach even the edge of that realm?”
“Uh…”
“’Aura goes wherever the heart leads’…? You think that’s something you tell a complete beginner?”
“Why are you yelling at me…?”
Cold sweat trickled down Seongjin’s back.
Masain suddenly leaned right into his face and spoke firmly.
“Forget any idea of learning directly from him! If you’ve heard anything from him, forget every word of it immediately! Absolutely every word!”
“…”
“Understood?”
The Demon King quietly whispered,
[Hey… doesn’t he seem like he’s holding a serious grudge?]
…Yeah.
Somehow, Seongjin had a feeling that training under Masain wouldn’t be nearly as smooth as he’d first imagined.
Although it was their memorable first lesson, they didn’t actually practice sword swings.
Instead, Masain spent the morning jogging around the training grounds with Seongjin and guiding him through light exercises while carefully evaluating his overall physical condition.
During breaks, he explained the origins of the Imperial Knights’ standard swordsmanship and the characteristics of various aura cultivation methods.
Just listening to those explanations made the morning fly by.
Finally, after teaching Seongjin a simple meditation technique, Masain ended the lesson.
“If I can rearrange my schedule at the main palace, I should be able to teach you in the afternoons as well.”
“If that doesn’t work, I’ll even use my vacation days to come teach you.”
Seeing the knight commander enthusiastically volunteer to sacrifice even his own leave, Seongjin hurriedly waved both hands.
Working overtime and giving up your vacation voluntarily?
Compared to his dependable first impression, Sir Masain seemed more and more like an adorably awkward person.
However, Masain wasn’t the only unexpected visitor that day.
After lunch, while Seongjin was doing some stretching in his room, Edith knocked on the door with a troubled expression.
“Your Highness… Lady Amelia has come to see you. I’ve escorted her to the reception room for now.”
Amelia?
Fortunately, even though the Demon King’s soul detection had been reduced to little more than navigation, he still retained the information he’d gathered earlier.
[She’s your older sister. The First Princess.]
The First Princess?
“There was no notice she’d be coming. Why did you let her in?”
Even if Mores was the family’s black sheep, an imperial prince’s palace wasn’t somewhere people could casually walk into.
Even Empress Lizabeth always sent word ahead of time before visiting.
“Well… she insisted that she absolutely had to see Your Highness and forced her way inside…”
Ah.
Being a princess, Edith had probably found it difficult both to admit her and to refuse her.
Still, this was unexpected.
Hadn’t Mores been on terrible terms with the other princes and princesses?
Surely she hadn’t come to visit a sick brother.
The Demon King snorted.
[Especially Amelia. I heard their relationship fell apart ages ago.]
Whose fault was it?
[Whose do you think? Mores constantly bullied her for being born to a low-status mother.]
“…”
Yeah.
This visit definitely wasn’t going to end well.
Seongjin sighed.
“Take me to her.”
With heavy steps, he walked toward the reception room.
Before Edith could even open the door, the screech of a chair being shoved back echoed from inside.
Then came the rapid tapping of high heels.
“Huh?”
Bang!
The door was suddenly flung open with such force that Seongjin nearly fell backward.
Looking up in surprise, he found a tall young woman gripping the doorknob while staring intently at him.
[Whoa…]
Whoa…
Both Seongjin and the Demon King gasped at the same time.
The girl before them looked like an angel who had stepped straight out of a holy painting.
Her beautiful rose-colored hair flowed in elegant waves.
She wore a pure white dress.
Long eyelashes trembled over porcelain-like cheeks.
Like a blooming rose, the breathtakingly beautiful girl gazed at Seongjin with tear-filled eyes.
“…Mores.”
“Uh…”
So this is Amelia?
But why is she looking at Mores with such longing?
This isn’t the relationship I expected at all…
The Demon King unhelpfully added,
[Apparently he used to call her ‘lowborn woman.’ Not that you need to imitate that.]
Shut up!
Sweating nervously, Seongjin spoke.
“U-Um… Sister? What brings you—”
He never finished.
The moment she heard his voice, it was as if a dam burst.
Tears poured down Amelia’s face.
Then—
“Mores!”
She threw herself into his arms.
“W-Wait!”
Unable to keep his balance, Seongjin landed flat on his backside.
“Mores! Mores! Mores!”
Ignoring the fact that he’d fallen over, Amelia clung tightly to him, repeatedly calling his name as she buried herself against his chest like a frightened child running to its mother.
His clothes were soaked with her tears almost instantly.
What in the world is happening?
He opened his mouth to ask—
But seeing her slender shoulders trembling so pitifully, he quietly closed it again.
Instead, he gently patted her back with both hands.
Still sobbing, Amelia murmured words that sounded almost like she was talking to herself.
“Ah… You’re alive… You came back… I’ve come back again… Thank goodness… Thank goodness you’re really alive!”
…Huh?
