TIRS 17

CHAPTER 17. 

“Do You… Like Me?”

[SYSTEM] You have defeated <Lv.49 Bald Kraken>!

[SYSTEM] Completion rewards for defeating <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> have arrived in your mailbox.

[SYSTEM] You have gained 20,000 EXP.

[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.12)
[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.13)
[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.14)
[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.15)
[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.16)
[SYSTEM] Your level has increased! (Lv.17)

Fsshhhh—

With a burst of black smoke, the <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> shriveled and collapsed.

As if proving that the horn flute was indeed an item designed to defeat boss-level monsters and earn rewards, my level soared rapidly.

I stared blankly at the rapidly appearing system messages before looking down and flexing my right hand. I could still feel the lingering sensation of slicing through a monster. Not exactly pleasant.

“Gasp! Look at that!”

“D-Did Her Highness manifest sword aura?”

“Princess Luivel has awakened sword aura!”

“What?! Then—could it be? Her Highness the Princess is a S-S-Swordmaster?!”

I heard murmurs spreading among the knights. As their gazes converged on me, I felt a twinge of awkwardness.

And amid the commotion, I heard hurried hoofbeats—Mother had arrived.

“Your Majesty…!”

The murmuring knights immediately fell silent and bowed deeply.

Mother looked uncharacteristically rushed—her hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed, her breath uneven from galloping in haste.

As I quietly observed her, our eyes met.

I quickly lowered my head.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling of her gaze lingering on me.

“It’s just my imagination, right?”

I knew better than anyone that Mother wouldn’t spare a glance for me. So why did I feel this way?

“A monster appeared, I hear. What’s the situation?”
Mother’s voice was short, yet powerful.

Since the Royal Guard Commander Hezen had died, the deputy commander, Ervain, stepped forward to report.

“A Bald Kraken emerged from the lake!”

“A Bald Kraken?”

Mother frowned, her tone skeptical.

“There shouldn’t be monsters in the Imperial Lake. And Bald Krakens are marine creatures to begin with.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! That’s correct!”

“It’s troubling. Perhaps a force seeking to undermine the Empire has infiltrated. Conduct a thorough investigation.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Ervain responded crisply and continued his report.

“During the subjugation, Sir Hezen, the commander of the Royal Guard, was killed in action.”

“…”

A brief silence followed. Mother said nothing for a moment.

Sensing her mood, Ervain quickly continued.

“Fortunately, Her Highness Princess Luivel manifested sword aura during the battle—”

“Sword aura?”

For the first time, Mother cut him off and turned her eyes to me.

Her gaze was sharp. Was she displeased?

“Yes, she did, Your Majesty.”

Ervain’s voice grew tense.

“Luivel manifested sword aura…” Mother murmured, then turned to issue post-battle orders to the knights with flawless precision.

I watched in awe at how perfect and composed her orders were.

Then she turned to me.

“Luivel. Come with me.”

The player had changed.

The man known as the [System Administrator] for the Azester Imperial Palace and the Brillanta Capital Branch was stunned.

This had never happened before—a change of player mid-game.

Luckily, the main scenario hadn’t started yet, and he hadn’t filed his report about to the higher-ups.

If the change had occurred after he submitted the report, he’d surely be held accountable for the unexpected switch.

“Luivel Azester…”

He recalled the name.

The third princess of the Azester Empire, a character so insignificant she was meant to be a mere sacrifice for the player’s awakening.

But due to a bug, the [Herald]—previously affected and incapacitated—mistook her for the new player after the original one died.

And of all things, the [Death of a Lover] condition had just been fulfilled. No wonder the [Herald] got confused.

“She might actually be better than that idiot.”

He clicked his tongue thinking of Hezen.

Even after receiving the horn flute, he failed to use it properly. Clearly unfit to be a player.

Good riddance.

Even if Hezen had awakened, he would’ve never defeated the Flame Dragon or progressed the scenario properly.

“But still… where exactly did the bug interfere this time?”

He frowned slightly.

Could it be that Princess Luivel had contact with the bug?

Unlikely. She had been an ordinary background character with no anomalies until now.

“Well, as long as the scenario proceeds… But still, I’d better keep an eye on her.”

Deciding that the usual methods wouldn’t eliminate this bug, the man opted to observe instead of sending in the Cleaners.

He stared at a blank piece of parchment with a quill in hand.

How much should he report to HQ?

Player Awakened.
Third Princess of Azester.
.

That was all he wrote.

The [Master of the System] hated uncertainty more than anything.

“Until I’m sure, I’ll withhold the report on this situation.”

Having made his decision, he began processing the chaos calmly.

Mother called me into the Emperor’s office.

This was where she handled official duties as the Emperor. Naturally, as a mere princess, it was my first time here.

Feeling awkward, I stepped in. Mother, on the other hand, walked straight past her desk to a table with a sofa.

“Sit here.”

She sat on a deep red, antique leather couch and gestured for me to take the opposite seat.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I sat down, hesitant.

The chamberlain brought warm tea for both of us.

A long silence passed.

Then, Mother suddenly spoke.

“Luivel. You never seem to look me in the eye.”

“S-sorry…!”

Worried that I’d offended her, I quickly raised my head—then froze.

I stared, stunned, above her head.

Seeing this, Mother spoke with a faintly pleased voice.

“Yes. Much better with your head up like that.”

“…”

I checked and rechecked the nameplate floating above her head.

But it wasn’t a mistake.

Emperor of Azester Empire

Affection: 902

“Mother’s affection…?”

That towering number seemed surreal.

There’s no way…

Could some lingering affection for Hezen be skewing the numbers?

But I’d seen her affection for him drop into the negatives…

Maybe something happened to raise it again? An unseen event?

“Did you truly awaken sword aura?”

Mother put her teacup down and asked.

“It just kind of happened…”

“According to Sir Ervain, you didn’t flee the scene, and after Hezen’s death, you manifested sword aura in the heat of battle.”

Gah!

Yes, I was shocked—but not because of Hezen’s death. It was the sudden system message calling me the player.

But apparently, everyone else saw it differently.

Well… the awakening condition was ‘Death of a Lover.’

Still, the story that I awakened from grief over Hezen irritated me. It made it seem like I had some grand, tragic romance with the guy.

“That was a dangerous situation. Why didn’t you run? Was Hezen’s death that devastating?”

“No, Your Majesty. While Sir Hezen’s death is regrettable as a member of the royal family, from the moment I asked for the engagement to be broken, we were no longer lovers.”

“Then why risk your life fighting the monster?”

A sharp question.

“I… just felt like I had to.”

I answered, sneaking a glance at her. It wasn’t a very convincing explanation, but it was the truth.

It wasn’t about some noble sense of duty.

At that moment, I was the only one who could defeat the monster—and if I didn’t, everyone else would die.

Huh…?

[SYSTEM] ’s affection has increased by +9. (Affection: 911)

Her affection stat above her head flickered, then changed.

Her affection toward me had gone up.

That’s not Hezen’s affection… it’s directed at me.

It was so high I wanted to deny it. Maybe the system was glitching again?

But no.

I knew Hezen wasn’t the player anymore. I was.

This was clearly my affection stat.

No way…

Could this mean… Mother likes me…?

A warm tingle spread through my chest.

Until now, my family’s attitude toward me had been one of two extremes:

They either ignored me, like my sister Gloria, or treated me like royal shame, like my brother Orent.

Mother showed no particular affection to any of her children. I assumed she treated me the same—perhaps even less.

To her, I was nothing more than a blemish on the name of a master craftsman who only produced masterpieces.

An unwanted child from an unknown father—a mistake made in a single night.

And yet… she loved me.

That impossibly high affection stat was undeniable proof.

My nose stung. I rubbed it quickly, trying to suppress the surge of emotion.

Mother scolded me.

“Luivel Azester. You protected the people and defeated a monster, fulfilling your duty as royalty. You’ve even awakened sword aura. And yet you cry from fear?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

I’m not crying out of fear, though. I thought, bowing my head quickly to hide my reddened eyes.

“But.”

Her voice called me to look up again.

“You did well, Luivel.”

Mother said, her face stern but her words warm.

“You made me proud.”

She said I did well. That I made her proud…

It was the first time I’d ever been praised by her.

It was strange—but her normally emotionless voice felt like it carried the faintest trace of a smile.