8. I stand in the wilderness.(2)

Even within the academy, it was not that there was no private space for students to use personally.

Besides, he’s a high-ranking aristocrat, and when it comes to the imperial family.

In fact, it is not particularly difficult to be assigned a space comparable in size to a classroom.

Above the intelligent space where convenience furniture and supplies are luxuriously lined up.

He spews his anger into the air with a reddened face as if covered in a fire.

red haired boy

He suddenly turned his dark eyes and approached a girl and asked.

“Seras. Please answer once. Why? What are you lingering on all this time?”

A boy who came right in front of me.

He was trembling, as if suppressing his anger like a beast.

Prince Alexius.

A noble lineage that even noble blue blood can’t match.

Golden veins, for example.

The current Hero Emperor is the emperor of the Berg Empire and the head of the Enzul family.

However, even the great Enzul family had a very precarious foundation in the prewar period.

Conflict and discord between blood relatives.

the resulting dissonance.

Even the large and small civil wars that followed.

The authority of the imperial family was on the verge of slipping down the cliff.

It was the current heroic emperor who stabilized the power structure.

However, there are few faults with him.

If there is an intellectual distance, it is that Melineos Mado did not accept any concubines other than the Empress.

The church praised it as being very sound and faithful to marital duties.

Thanks to that, the only bloodlines are the princess, Elhermina, and the prince, Alesius.

It may not seem like a big deal to the uninitiated, but it means that a power vacuum can occur at any time.

Even so, the reason why the imperial family is praised as being blessed by the religious order, that is, by God.

This is because both the princess and the prince were born with the quality of being unappreciated.

But.

If you dig into the details, the difference in quality and the size of the bowl becomes more noticeable.

Seras, who had captured his bold yet beautiful appearance, stared fiercely into his eyes, which were darker than her own, and replied.

“I have no way of knowing what you are asking.”

“It’s no fun doing it like that! It’s not funny!”

“His Highness Alexius.”

Seras spoke with a serious attitude.

“At the time Her Highness expressed her intention to keep him by her side, wishing for an engagement, all of our intentions came to naught. Please accept that lightly.”

“Because my sister wished for it! Am I supposed to tolerate it! this is me! I am Alexius!”

“The decision has come from the mouth of His Majesty the Emperor. As long as Kariel is not dead, there is no going back.”

“… … .”

Although he was speaking coldly, even Alessius in front of him was not unaware that Seras was more uncomfortable than anyone else.

Just because there was a fire burning in my heart.

I just burst out annoyed because I couldn’t handle this.

“… Damn it.”

“Are you calm?”

he said, waving his hands.

“I’m sorry. I took my anger out for nothing.”

“… Was it a day or two?”

“A little bit… ha. done.”

Even if you are angry like fire.

It quickly calms down and cools down.

On the contrary, because they don’t pile up, they don’t have a back end, and because they’re honest, they don’t mind being treated like superiors.

Being soft-tempered means, in another sense, that the ruler’s dignity cannot be properly displayed.

All rulers and leaders, those who lead need to be bold, and they need the courage to move forward the most.

In that respect, you can see that Alexius has enough qualities to match, even though he still has an impatient and clumsy side.

… the problem is.

he’s still young

Although the princess, whose age gap with him wasn’t too great, was already on the way to becoming a complete monarch.

As a monarch, she can be perfect.

But it just doesn’t stick.

Above all, there is no humanity.

He is silent even when he should be angry, and indifferent even when he should be happy.

rather.

It’s better to have rich emotional expressions like the prince in front of you.

… But that doesn’t mean that he flirts with his temper all over the place.

When he expresses his feelings, it’s usually one of two things.

enemy or ally.

If it’s an enemy, there’s nothing to notice anyway, so it’s huge.

If you are an ally, you will end up with him anyway, so give him moderate favoritism.

“The fact that I warned you directly, Seras, can be interpreted as a warning to me, right?”

“I will.”

Do that nonsense.

As long as I’ve decided to embrace it, I won’t stand by or tolerate any more unreasonable tricks.

“It is undeniable that it is a political trick.”

“I know. me too!”

It must be to faithfully secure the lineage of the imperial family before handing over the throne.

Perhaps, because the emperor lived a long life, the turn to the current princess or herself as the prince might come back very late.

Also, the bond between Rueld and the Hero Emperor.

Even the ties with the officially recognized denominations led by the saint.

I will forge a bond that cannot be broken.

“If I’m not careful, you and I might end up bonding.”

“I hope you wake up.”

“Of course, I do not break my promise.”

Seras replied with a sigh.

“… Erath is still trying to be a child worthy of Your Highness.”

“… … .”

This is the reason why the relationship between the two can never be completely cut off, no matter how it gets messed up.

“I’ll have to visit it sometime.”

It was a car that I was trying to soothe the emotions that went up and down like that.

jump!

“majesty.”

“what?”

A boy approached him and whispered in his ear.

“Right now—what does that sound like nonsense?!”

“What is it?”

Let’s look at the boy as if asking permission from the prince.

“Did you see a day or two?! It’s nothing to hide, so why are you looking at me?!”

“then… .”

Getting along with the prince means always confronting and confronting his adversity.

The boy calmly told Seras what he had just heard.

“Rumors are spreading among the students that Lambert’s swordsmanship instructor was made fun of by Kariel.”

“… Does that make sense?”

Seras crossed his arms with an expression as absurd as the prince’s.

“What do the kids who saw it say?”

“… Rather than swordsmanship, what tricks? They said it might be something like witchcraft.”

“The witch?”

The prince intervened.

“Anything like the Empire’s swordsmanship teacher, is it to the point of being fooled by nonsense? From the sloppy country boy who always gets beaten up somewhere?”

“… Not even a country boy.”

The prince shouted at Seras’ words.

“That’s what Kkoraksuni is like! What a mess!”

The prince clicked his tongue and gestured at the boy as if telling him to continue.

“It’s true that I overpowered him with a sword, but with a strange posture and movement, I just pushed him, but he got caught up in it and fell down, missing the sword, and so on.”

“What is that? Where else did you learn that… No, no way Lord Rueld… ?”

“Even if it’s not the case, everyone is somewhat wondering if it was because they learned something from Rueld-sama.”

“Unless you see for yourself, it’s hard to say for sure.”

Right now, isn’t the prince himself in the position of having Rueld as his teacher?

There were several teachers of the prince, but if there was one who could be called an exclusive teacher, it was the hero Rueld.

It wasn’t that he favored anyone, or that he taught himself especially diligently with all his heart.

Look at a few moves and improve like this, just practice.

However, for a prince who understands words, it is enough to fill in and scratch the parts that are deeply regrettable.

There was an intention to honor him as a teacher.

“… … .”

If you look closely, it might seem like a bit of a misstep to push the son on such a subject, but… .

At first, he didn’t even mean to reject him like this.

However.

The more I watched, there was a corner that intensified anger beyond irritation.

‘That carelessness makes me even more pissed off.’

You’ve got everything you’ve got, so why pretend you don’t have anything?

At least, Rueld would not have been stubborn or strict like his father, His Majesty the Emperor.

Because of a small fault, until the skin burst and even the muscles were torn and blood flowed down.

Had he ever experienced corporal punishment that did not even allow him to cry?

Didn’t even that sister sometimes have to endure all sorts of corporal punishment because she couldn’t pass His Majesty’s test?

not to mention himself

But what?

‘That bastard is taking your sister away?’

How can you accept that?

Even if that bastard becomes a man worthy of my sister, I’m going to be annoyed.

Such a sloppy loser, how dare you… dare!

“Shall I go and take a look first? if not… Would you like to check it yourself?”

“… … .”

There, the boiling emotions of the prince subsided again.

“Seras. What would you like me to do?”

“You’ll lose your cool just looking at Kariel, so wouldn’t it be better for me to look first?”

“… … It makes sense.”

However.

“That opinion is not grounds for my acceptance.”

Has it ever been so great?

Or was he hiding his power?

“I’ll have to check it myself.”

If incompetence became competent, wouldn’t it be right for the royal family to lead the subjects willingly and welcome it?

“… … .”

But if you were deceiving and forcibly trying to deceive the world.

… If he was trying to wash away the dishonor by spreading ridiculous rumors at his sister’s engagement ceremony.

“Heh.”

It is also to peel off that false fault with this hand.

It was kindness that prevented disgraceful situations that would happen later.

It would be the magnanimity and warmth that the royal family could show.

—-

-There is such a thing as the sword of the heart.

without even realizing they were stabbed.

He’s a very vicious fellow, splitting his soul and shredding his hide.

-Since it is not possible to properly respond, it would be very unfair to the victim, but if being ignorant and weak is also a sin, what should we do? You have to bear it yourself.

that is patience.

There is also a limit after all.

– There is a limit to being patient. When it is said that thinking and thinking also consumes mental strength, why do you think that mental strength is not consumed?

The same goes for enduring physical pain.

The same goes for enduring mental pain.

-The reason why you got sick from the heart, and those morbid symptoms spread to physical abnormal signs and symptoms, is because you were beaten so badly by invisible knives and blunt instruments.

“… … .”

Even so, I endured and endured until the end.

-It may sound absurd, but because you survived without dying, the limit of your mental strength has also increased.

“Is it good?”

-There is a good point.

Let’s say it’s good that the limit of mental strength has been increased.

However.

-Has the patience to endure that much decreased? Why? The barn of mental power has grown and filled up. Why did it become more enduring and difficult to hold on to than before?

Kariel, who had been silent, answered with comparative certainty.

“Is it because the pain is getting bigger?”

-The nuance fits.

The wound given to you has not yet healed.

never been healed

Because you stick your finger over the wound.

‘Cause I’ve been stabbing the blade

there again.

They threw filth, rotten water, hot water, and salt.

There is no way to recover, let alone heal.

-Because I was constantly being beaten and stabbed without even having time to rest. That’s why today is more painful than yesterday, and it’s not enough to agonize over the wounds that will be tomorrow.

“… … .”

That’s why you couldn’t sleep at night

The reason why I welcomed the moon and hated the sun.

– Every time the sun melts the shadow, you must have been agonizing day by day.

Thank you for the falling sun.

resent the rising sun.

“… … .”

In the library, I lie in silence.

staring out the window.

like watching.

like chasing someone.

He alternately inspects the lower entrance and the library entrance that has fallen on the other side.

But with a completely different mindset than before.

Let’s close our eyelids.

from very far

The sound of footsteps rushes in.

It could be hallucinations.

The hallucinations created by fear and anxiety inside me.

However, even if it fits sometimes, the noise that I wish it didn’t fit.

For a moment, let me be captivated by such hallucinations for no reason.

trudge trudge.

The things that hovered between the illusion and reality are finally materialized.

With that, the hallucinations that lingered in my brain were cut off.

The sound of footsteps hitting the ground was dragged into reality.

“… … .”

Let’s turn our attention.

There, the prince and some of his followers.

As if they had just discovered this way, they stood still and stared at me ferociously.

The prey that was being chased.

With his hind leg injured, he buried his face in a small hole.

All I could do was hold on.

soft rabbit.

And it only came face to face with predators today.

half of the chair.

half of the others.