I Was an Emperor, But I Became a Princess

The ground shook with a tremendous roar as the monster’s body toppled backward.

A brilliant flash of light accompanied the swing of the sword, cleaving the monster’s body in two. With a crisp slicing sound followed by a solid thud, the man landed gracefully on the ground. He flicked his sword to the side, scattering bright red blood across the floor before it could even run down the silver blade.

Sever gazed calmly at the monster’s remains before him. His golden eyes, tinged with the glow of sunset, were partially shadowed by his eyelashes. His gaze held neither mercy nor hesitation, like a haughty god looking down upon an insignificant creature—cold and captivating as a statue.

Only his slightly askew cravat and the blood-stained white gloves indicated he had been engaged in combat with the monster.

“This is unbelievable,” Tower Master Viole gaped, taking in the entire scene.

The monster before them shouldn’t have been defeated with just two strikes. Yet this noble duke, who had appeared immediately after receiving word, had dispatched it with merely two swings of his sword, treating it like child’s play.

Throughout the entire process, he showed no fear or the typical human disgust toward monsters. His complete lack of emotion while dealing with something that needed to be eliminated inspired both terror and awe in any human observer.

‘As expected of the Dragon Slayer,’ Viole recalled the communication she had received a few days ago.

Shortly after finishing her conversation with Estria, she had nearly torn her hair out when told that Duke Kelliard was contacting her.

“Do these damned Arsis people think the Magic Tower is their personal staff?”

Despite her frustration, Viole couldn’t refuse. Being from Arsis herself, she knew the Kelliard ducal family was frightening in a different way than Estria.

“My goodness, Duke Kelliard. What brings you here on such a rare visit…”

“I heard a monster has appeared.”

“What? Oh, yes…”

“I’ll lend you the Kelliard family’s strength. But I have one condition.”

“And that is?”

“When you find the monster, call for me.”

Viole was startled once more as she watched Sever cleanly slice through the last monster with a swift motion.

“Tower Master, was that monster weaker than expected?” asked one of her subordinates.

“Are you joking? I could barely handle it alone.”

“Then how did he—”

“He’s the Dragon Slayer. For him, killing monsters like these is probably like squashing cockroaches.”

Even so, it was difficult to accept. While Viole wasn’t the strongest mage in history, nor had she become Tower Master solely based on exceptional skill, she was still among the top mages within the Tower.

‘Ugh, I’m starting to feel bad again,’ she thought, frowning as she felt the familiar pang of what people commonly called jealousy—that sickness of stomach pain when seeing self-proclaimed geniuses or elites.

If her memory served correctly, the last time she felt this emotion was when witnessing Estria’s magic.

‘At least hers was the product of innate learning ability and effort, but this is pure genius. Even more annoying. Annoying even for a knight.’

Regardless of her inner thoughts, Viole approached Sever with a radiant expression.

“That was truly remarkable! How did you defeat it so quickly? As expected of the Dragon Slayer, the hope of Arsis!”

The mages behind her wore incredulous expressions watching their superior’s desperate social maneuvering, but Viole paid them no mind. Although the Magic Tower was an independent and neutral institution, magical tools didn’t simply emerge from the ground—they needed resources.

Despite Viole’s attitude, Sever’s gaze remained fixed on the monster he had defeated. After studying the grotesque form split in two, he seemed to notice something and spoke.

“What kind of monster is this?”

A slight smirk crossed Viole’s face at Sever’s question. Just as she thought—even a genius couldn’t identify all types of monsters.

“It’s a monster called a Trolpf, Your Grace. From the northern borders, it feeds on smaller monsters—”

“I don’t think so.”

“Terrify—what?”

Sever removed his blood-stained gloves and handed them to his aide. After putting on fresh ones, he spoke coldly.

“Isn’t Trolpf blood reddish-gold?”

“Huh?”

“This is just ordinary red.”

Viole finally examined the monster’s remains carefully. Indeed, it differed somewhat from the Trolpf remains she knew. Moreover, its attack pattern had been unusually agile for a Trolpf.

“But there are no other monsters that look like this besides Trolpf.”

“Is there a possibility it was modified?”

At that moment, the smile vanished from Viole’s face. She spoke with rare seriousness.

“Your Grace, there is no magic in this world capable of modifying monsters. If there were, it would be…”

“Have you never considered the possibility of black magic?”

“…What are you saying?”

Viole was already overcome with the desire to clutch her head and howl.

‘How can these people mention black magic so casually? Why aren’t they surprised? Why doesn’t anyone find this strange?’

“Your Grace, while I don’t understand what you’re suggesting, monsters sometimes appear differently depending on their growth region… Are you listening?”

Just then, Sever, who had been quietly examining the monster, suddenly looked up. Viole closed her mouth and turned her head as well.

In that moment, seeing the figure that entered her field of vision, she couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

‘Who is that?’

The man slowly emerging from the dense forest was extraordinarily tall. His coat draped over his shoulders fluttered in the breeze, and even his shadow, elongated in the sunset light, seemed capable of devouring everyone present.

His face was like a sculpture, showing nothing but indifference. His slightly disheveled silver hair gleamed softly in the sunset light. Beneath it, strangely golden-mixed blue eyes regarded them languidly.

“You were quick, Kelliard.”

“You were late.”

Sever responded to Lerrhagen’s comment calmly. Surprisingly, the coldness dripping from his voice intensified, unintentionally causing discomfort to those around them.

Viole quickly shifted her gaze between the two men.

The great Duke Kelliard was speaking respectfully to someone. Who could it be? As the thought crossed her mind, Viole’s eyes widened.

In the beginning there was chaos, and Divine Gela was born. Ruling above all, the first life was created under her touch, a divine being covered in silver armor with blue eyes tinged with the color of chaos.

‘Chapter 1, Paragraph 1 of the Academy history book!’

“D-Dragon Lord?”

Viole took a step back while screaming internally.

At her exclamation, the other mages seemed to realize who he was, their faces showing surprise.

However, the two individuals in question, Sever and Lerrhagen, appeared completely unconcerned.

Sever sheathed his sword without the slightest disturbance.

Lerrhagen’s gaze, as he walked slowly, fell upon the bisected monster on the ground.

“A Trolpf.”

“It’s been modified.”

“I know that.”

“Knowing this, you left it alone?”

“And you, knowing this, didn’t report to Estria?”

Strictly speaking, Lerrhagen hadn’t informed her either.

Sever, who had heard from Rigan how Esht had found out, responded coldly.

“The same applies to you.”

“Well, am I obligated to report to Estria?”

“She trusts you.”

“I’m not obligated to live up to that trust unconditionally.”

After all, my task was to protect my daughter.

Of course, Lerrhagen swallowed those words.

“Her Majesty would be pleased to hear that.”

Viole glanced around nervously at the increasingly chilly atmosphere that anyone could sense.

Not just her, but the mages behind her also stood awkwardly.

This was understandable—regardless of how elite the Magic Tower’s mages were, one of the men before them was a Dragon Lord and the other was the Dragon Slayer, hailed as the genius of the century.

Everyone knew these two beings didn’t think highly of each other, but Viole wished to decline being a spectator to their confrontation.

‘Still, that duke isn’t backing down at all in front of Lerrhagen.’

Naturally, Lerrhagen’s presence was overwhelming, having lived an immortal life.

Yet surprisingly, Sever remained perfectly composed before him. While they matched each other in both physical presence and aura, only Viole and the mages felt uncomfortable.

Finally, Viole stepped forward to assert some dignity as the Tower Master in this situation.

However, at that moment, Lerrhagen spoke.

“Someone is creating monsters and releasing them.”

“I know. The question is who.”

“A black mage, I presume. One targeting Arsis.”

“Do you have any clues?”

“None. Not yet.”

“Then—”

“But I do know one thing.”

“…”

“I am no match for him.”

“…!”