Green energy that shot up from Diblin’s sword enveloped her entire body.

“It’s aura!”

The Crown Prince, who had been half-slumped in the shade pretending to be annoyed, jumped up with sparkling eyes. Spica was a cute and pleasant older sister and a precious leash to control Alkaid. He couldn’t let her die in a place like this.

However, Diblin was rushing toward Spica with the momentum to pour out all her aura.

“She doesn’t know moderation.”

It was when the Crown Prince clicked his tongue and tried to build a wall between the two.

Red aura also burst from Spica’s body and clashed head-on with Diblin.

Kwaaaaang!

An enormous explosion occurred when aura and aura repelled each other.

Thanks to the escort knights nearby wrapping aura like shields, blood didn’t flow from the Crown Prince’s ears, but they couldn’t prevent the dust from the explosion from spreading like cumulus clouds.

“……What happened?”

Spica burst out of the explosion simultaneously with someone’s murmur.

She seemed to see inside the dust. Without even blinking, she persistently thrust her sword in.

The sword light flashed.

“……!”

The eerie sound of cutting fabric. Then with the sound of something heavy falling, the dust began to gradually clear.

Diblin’s arm was still gripping the sword tightly even after being separated from her body. Spica kicked it backward and said dryly.

“Even if you’re not a beast-human, there are things you can feel if you’re a companion. Don’t look down on ordinary people.”

Alkaid’s scent that she hadn’t noticed at first but gradually grew stronger. Sounds that only Spica herself could hear. Beauty visible instead of fear.

There were such things, but above all, she felt it naturally when she looked into Alkaid’s eyes. Eyes that looked like they were seeing something sweeter and more precious than anything in the world. A heart that found it too precious to touch carelessly.

It would be a lie if she said she didn’t think she had accepted it too easily after hearing Alkaid’s confession about imprinting.

But no matter how much she retraced and mulled over it, she couldn’t doubt him.

‘It wasn’t that I believed because I wanted to believe, but I had no choice but to believe.’

That’s what real love was. Having no hesitation in showing complete sincerity or in accepting it.

Before the hardened Spica, Diblin just let out a bitter laugh.

“That bastard, did he finally become a Sword Master? How cowardly to appear carrying mana that isn’t even yours.”

“You’re the same, showing off with mana that isn’t your own.”

“What, what did you say?”

“I’m also someone who has lived holding a sword. Don’t I know that taboo? Stories of knights who were burned at the stake for taking lives through dark magic remain in history.”

Spica, who had spoken that far, suddenly smiled.

“Well, Senior, you made others take proxy exams for everything except swordsmanship. No wonder you don’t know.”

“……!”

“It must have been really easy to graduate as valedictorian. I had a hard time even with double majoring.”

“……You, do you think you’ll be fine after doing this?”

“Hmm, I found that tormenting others eventually makes you sad. But I’ll live happily until then.”

The more they talked, the more heated she became and the faster she felt her blood draining.

Diblin steadied her dizzy vision. Even if she fainted here, she couldn’t let Spica go like this. It was the moment she was fumblingly grabbing dirt from the ground with her left hand.

“Now! The match has been clearly decided!”

The Crown Prince stepped forward in front of the two.

“Before the glorious golden dragon, ancestor of the imperial family, I, Tuban Draco Rastavan, declare that the victor of this duel is Dame Spica Atrain. I will accept objections as challenging the imperial family’s dignity and immediately erase the family from the map.”

The boy who had skillfully poured out threats like breathing pointed to two escort knights.

“Give Diblin Sobek emergency treatment then send her back to her family. The Royal Guard Commander will handle it.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince finally turned to Spica, who was catching her breath while sheathing her sword. His expression was worlds apart from one second ago.

“Sister Spica! You worked hard.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. For watching until the end.”

She bowed her head politely, but Spica’s expression was complicated.

Sobek, who had silenced Spica and her family, was also an existence that could be simply swept away before the Crown Prince who had greater power.

Having witnessed that scene right before her eyes, it was natural to have subtle emotions.

So was this a hollow revenge?

No way.

Spica, who soon raised her head, smiled brightly.

With this victory, she had finally escaped from the past. The taste of liberation came at the end of thrillingly refreshing revenge.

“Wow wow! My palms got sweaty. My heart went thump thump! and beat like that!”

The Crown Prince acted cute in front of her.

Spica’s expression became ambiguous. Should she call this cute or absurd?

Regardless, the Crown Prince grabbed Spica’s hand and pulled her around. He could feel the person who had promised to handle Diblin’s aftermath approaching. He couldn’t let Spica see him appear.

“So let’s go drink potions! I know a place that’s good with potions.”

“Ahaha. Is there such a thing as a potion restaurant?”

“Sister too. Where would such a thing exist.”

“……”

Spica, who had been staring at the back of the Crown Prince’s head for a moment, extended her arm to him.

Even though he was extraordinary with dragon blood, the Crown Prince was a ten-year-old kid. It was pitiful to see him struggling to drag an adult with his small body.

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince’s body was lifted up simultaneously with asking for understanding.

‘Huh?’

Held in Spica’s embrace, the Crown Prince blinked his eyes in bewilderment. All the escort knights who had been following behind her were making similar expressions in shock.

The Crown Prince extremely hated anyone touching him. While he made exceptions for his own touching, his subordinate knights considered avoiding physical contact the best way to get along.

But right now, he didn’t want to scold or push Spica away.

‘Ooh, he’s jealous. Commander Alky is jealous.’

Someone with silver hair was approaching from far away with the momentum to overturn the imperial family.

The Crown Prince folded his eyes into crescent shapes and stuck out his tongue toward him, showing a teasing expression. The line to provoke Alkaid was a bonus.

“Sister is the first woman to hug me.”

“Haha. I’ll put you down right away.”

“No, no! I was wrong. Let’s go to the potion restaurant. Okay? Quickly.”

For the words “I was wrong” to come from the Crown Prince’s mouth. The escort knights all covered their ears or grabbed their solar plexus in unison, but he paid them no mind. While teasing Alkaid was fun, once caught, it was obvious that plans, loyalty, and everything else would crumble.

“Yes, yes.”

Spica adjusted her hold on the whining Crown Prince and walked leisurely. She was gradually realizing that there wasn’t much difference in how to handle this kid and Heze, though this one was a bit more demanding.

* * *

Alkaid only let go of his twisted mood after Spica’s figure had completely disappeared.

The knights who had been carrying Diblin turned pale like they might faint. Even though they too handled aura, standing was all they could manage before Alkaid’s overwhelming presence.

“I don’t want to involve you gentlemen, so turn around and block your sight and hearing.”

“Yes, yes?”

“You heard me. If I have to say it twice, there’s no compensation.”

Their gazes touched Diblin then quickly fell away.

An arrogant racist beyond compare. In the knight order where rumors spread fast, who hadn’t heard a story about her? They, being fellow Royal Guards, had been ignored to their faces many times.

“……”

When they stepped back a few paces and stood with their backs turned, Alkaid took out a small stone from his chest.

A stone with green spells carved on every surface, terrifyingly crafted with care. What had come from Spica’s arm was glowing again after receiving someone’s magical power.

Alkaid tore open Diblin’s arm and inserted the curse stone.

“This is needed for the same revenge, Spica.”

It was a soft whisper like Spica was right beside him.

However, his touch was extremely rough. After roughly fitting the severed arm to the wound, he poured low-grade potions all over it.

No matter how much of a beast-human she was, human limbs begin to deteriorate the moment they separate from the torso. Even with a priest and doctor working together in surgery it wouldn’t be enough, but crudely piecing an arm together like this meant it would never move like before even after recovery was complete.

Even if they discovered the curse stone and tried to remove it, well.

The imperial family’s sacred relic could only be used once every ten years. Whether Commander Sobek would endure ten years of waiting and negotiation for Diblin remained to be seen.

“This side is finished.”

Alkaid left without lingering. Megrez, who had handed the escort knights gold for silence, followed behind him.

Without looking back at him, Alkaid asked.

“The rabbit.”

“He’s running away diligently. I wonder if herbivores really do have that kind of instinct.”

Contrary to Diblin’s expectation, Lepus was alive.

Of course, the moment Alkaid heard the report from the maid at Viscount Atrain’s residence, he released hunting dogs and found Lepus not long after.

Even at this moment, his whereabouts were being reported moment by moment, but Alkaid didn’t capture him.

It was to dry up his blood.

“Put up wanted posters with bounties on every path he takes.”

His face would be posted in villages Lepus entered, and trackers would follow one step behind.

“Occasionally plant people to show him kindness.”