Karls Silion.
They said he was a handsome knight who would make anyone who saw him admire him…
‘Well, he is handsome.’
Let’s admit what needs to be admitted honestly.
[Character] Also known as ‘Knight of Dawn’. Once one of the high knights of the Imperial Royal Knights, after the empire split, he defected to the Five Northern Kingdoms and became the commander of the Sky Knights.
‘So it’s Reith, not Silion.’
It’s a long time from now, but Karls’s name changes when he finds out about his birth secret and returns as Duke Reith.
And that cringeworthy reputation as the ‘Knight of Dawn’ is also something he obtains much later, as the original scenario progresses.
For now, Karls Silion at this point in time is merely a 6-star knight treated as a promising talent.
A young knight of only twenty years old couldn’t help but be relatively low-level.
‘Then what am I, with level 0 and an F-rank card?’
Thinking about it makes me mad, doesn’t it?
Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Karls was almost whimpering at me.
“Why did you do that! If you had left it alone, our Special Task Force would have blocked them from front and back and attacked together!”
Hmm, yes. That would have been the case.
And I, dragged helplessly to the imperial palace, would meet assassins sent by the Minister of Palace Affairs or the Eolem Church again, and then I would probably have my head chopped off without a fight.
Even a binding preference would be useless; I might be buried alive.
‘That’s entirely possible.’
Even if not Varmilo Dimarque, the higher-ups of the revolutionary army wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Karls Silion was a rare example of a knight who showed true loyalty to the prodigal Third Prince.
But he had no way of knowing these internal circumstances.
“You scoundrels! Release His Highness the Prince right now and retreat! Otherwise, I will cut down everyone!”
Sss-reung.
Finally, a hot-blooded sword was drawn, scattering dangerous light.
But the priests did not budge.
To them, Karls was already a rather easy opponent, whom they had even fought and shaken off once.
And most of all…
‘Hey, we didn’t bring him!’
‘He followed us himself!’
‘We went to cut off a lump and came back with another lump.’
‘He’s a pervert who likes getting beaten by old men!’
…Roughly these kinds of gazes.
It was evident that they felt extremely wronged.
This also kind of pisses me off.
And Varmilo and Irgal were also quietly keeping their mouths shut.
However, their gazes were directed at a slightly different place, specifically at Tirvaen Sui, who was known as my magic teacher.
A middle-aged witch with neatly tied red hair.
The two were warier of her than Karls.
[Character] Also known as ‘Red Shadow’. A witch produced by the Five-Colored Spire, the pride of the Wald Magic Empire. According to one theory, she is an old witch over 200 years old, who maintains her youth by bathing in the blood of virgins.
‘200 years old, what are you talking about? Bathe in virgin’s blood? That’s ridiculous.’
As someone who knew all of Tirvaen’s secrets, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh every time I saw the setting book.
It’s a bit complicated, but she’s 19.
Is it okay to spread such rumors in the official setting book?
God Soft’s strange sense is beyond comprehension.
Anyway, Tirvaen at this time is experiencing a demotion-like demotion as the magic teacher of the prodigal Third Prince, and is completely bothered by everything.
Look at that expression.
That distorted face, filled with irritation, anger, and the exasperation typical of a salaried worker, was speaking of her inner state.
‘Well, it’s only natural, after all, she’s been guarding a prince with no magical talent whatsoever and even got caught up in troublesome affairs.’
She just wanted to pass the time, but suddenly a kidnapping occurred, and she walked for three days and nights, wandering through mountain paths…
If she wasn’t pissed off, she’d be a saint, not a witch.
On the contrary, the fact that she chased after the priestly order instead of directly attacking them was something to praise her hasty temper for.
‘Though that’s probably thanks to Karls’s good persuasion.’
Fortunately or not, Tirvaen was weak to handsome men.
So, the past three days she spent chasing me with Karls were probably a time of chasing hell with heaven tucked under her arm.
“…Still, at least there’s heaven under your arm. You should be grateful.”
“What?”
The eccentric witch’s head tilted sideways.
Come to think of it, the Third Prince’s noble status did not apply at all in the relationship between master and disciple.
“No, I mean, at least it’s a good thing I’m alive, isn’t it…?”
As if to immediately prove her relationship with me.
“Hey, you damned bastard!”
A storm of rough shouts and curses erupted.
“I went through hell to save you and came all the way here! Instead of cooperating, you’re messing things up? Is your head for hanging hats?! Or is it just for decoration because your shoulders feel empty?!”
“If you’ve thrown magic into the toilet and eaten up the concept of mana, you should at least have common sense and decency! Why are you ruining things and causing trouble, causing trouble! You piece of trash!”
I was completely dumbfounded.
I knew well that there was no courtesy between master and disciple, even for a crown prince or prince.
‘This is just a thug, isn’t it?’
Is she really a witch?
No, is she good at cursing because she’s a witch?
Well, a saint wouldn’t be able to curse, would she?
Just then, my mind was temporarily lost in the crude curses.
“Third Prince!”
Varmilo Dimarque’s low shout hit my ears.
“By the way, I’ll tell you this. Our priestly order cannot deal with a 9-star knight and his knight order right now.”
Thud.
I feel the priests all grasping their sword hilts at once.
A surprisingly unified movement, as if they were one body.
“…But with a 6-star knight and a 7-star witch, the story is a bit different.”
It meant they could clear Karls and Tirvaen and move on, even if it meant shedding some blood.
“So if you have any plan in your head, hurry and reveal it. It seems neither side has exceptional patience.”
I slowly nodded my head.
No blood should be shed here.
The more meaningless blood flows, the more serious the situation becomes, and someone has to take responsibility.
It’s hard to survive while bearing such a burden.
‘Even without any grudges, it’s a dangerous life.’
If possible, I need to make as many people as possible my allies.
Even that cursing 19-year-old old hag.
I slowly moved forward, stepping to the front of those who were confronting each other.
And I opened my mouth.
“Karls, I am going to Aurax.”
Then I saw Karls’s blue eyes shake greatly.
“Yes? What are you saying? Aurax is enemy territory! Don’t you know that it’s the stronghold of the revolutionary army that rebelled against the empire…?”
“I know. I know everything, and I’m doing it by my own will. You may not understand, but right now, this is the only path I must take, and it is the destiny I have chosen. So don’t stop me. This is an order from your lord.”
“Ah, that, I, I!”
He seemed about to say something again, but before that, I quickly turned my gaze.
“And Master, please forgive your incompetent disciple.”
Tirvaen’s expression remained unchanged.
Still, I said what I needed to say to her.
“But it’s not true that I threw magic into the toilet. The teachings you bestowed will one day take on the light of five colors. I will surely grasp the love of mana again.”
I don’t know what teachings Tirvaen gave.
But judging from her personality, I know she wouldn’t have treated Gilloshian merely as baggage.
So I said with emphasis.
“I can’t tell you when. But it will definitely happen. I know well that I can’t give you assurance, but please believe in your disciple anyway. Just this once.”
As I fell silent, a heavy silence descended.
The two looked at me in the stillness.
‘To be precise, they’re looking at Gilloshian’s face.’
What I chose was a head-on breakthrough.
Not deception or fraud, but using the voice of the prodigal Third Prince, who had lived with them, as a weapon.
The Third Prince, who, despite their loyalty, would have been an inadequate and worrying lord.
The Third Prince, who, despite being mere troublesome baggage, would still have been a beloved disciple.
I borrowed the voice of that Third Prince and threw out the ‘story they most wanted to hear’ to the two of them.
To Karls, ‘the will for a new life’…
To Tirvaen, ‘the fighting spirit for learning’…
I used those as weapons and stabbed them.
Of course, I wasn’t Gilloshian.
But I was also Gilloshian.
That’s why I could pick out these weapons.
What would the result be?
‘Not that he threw magic into the toilet?’
Though she tried to appear calm, Tirvaen Sui was completely bewildered.
The Third Prince before her was unlike any version of him she had ever seen.
In fact, he looked almost like a different person.
His clothes were ragged from three days and nights of traversing mountains and forests. His once presentable white face was stained with sweat, dust, and blood, a complete mess…
‘Did he have eyes like that? That kid?’
His eyes seemed to glow brightly, as if they could radiate light even when thrown into the darkest forest.
They were strange eyes she had never once seen in the Third Prince’s palace where they resided together.
‘Is it because he’s lost some weight?’
But even if that were the case, the person himself had changed too much.
His momentum was distinctly different, and every single one of his words was as well.
Moreover, ‘Master’?
‘That kid called me Master!’
The original Gilloshian had never called Tirvaen ‘Master’ or ‘Teacher’. It wasn’t that Tirvaen had forbidden it.
On the contrary.
‘That kid just trembled and feared me on his own.’
Everyone in the imperial family knew that the Third Prince had no talent for magic.
And the one who knew it best was none other than the Third Prince himself.
That’s why Gilloshian could never raise his head to Tirvaen, often mumbling to avoid classes, or at best, burying his head on the desk even when he managed to sit down.
‘But now, all of a sudden, he’s using the proper title?’
It was an incredibly strange occurrence.
And even more so…
‘That kid, he clearly said my teachings would take on the light of five colors, didn’t he?’
That he actually said that was truly unbelievable.
The phrase ‘light of five colors’ that he quoted wasn’t just a flowery embellishment. It was a very special phrase.
‘Great magic shall purely and brilliantly take on the light of five colors and radiate it again.’
Those words were considered the highest praise and blessing at the Five-Colored Spire, where Tirvaen had learned and practiced magic since childhood.
It was a phrase whose meaning could only be understood if one was well-versed in the magic, culture, and etiquette of that place.
Yet, those words had just popped out of Gilloshian’s mouth.
And so naturally, too.
Honestly, from Tirvaen’s perspective, this was the most heartwarming thing.
‘I thought he had no interest in magic!’
The truth was, that wasn’t the case at all.
Since he had no talent, he pretended to dislike it in front of her, but in reality, he persistently craved magic and longed for the Five-Colored Spire behind her back.
‘And he hid those radiant eyes so well.’
Why did he do that? They say an awl cannot stay hidden in a bag; it will inevitably poke through.
‘He played the perfect fool within the imperial palace.’
He was so thorough that he managed to deceive everyone.
For what reason? Was he afraid of imperial politics and infighting? Was he afraid of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince’s scrutiny?
I don’t know. It’s too late to be curious, and there’s no way to find out right now. But what came next was important.
‘Yes, he said there would only be a way to live if he went to Aurax?’
Tirvaen had already made up her mind.
No matter what happened, she would support her disciple’s will.
It had been over five years since she took charge of him, but now, for the first time, she was truly beginning to take an interest.
Magic? He could learn that slowly. Even without talent, there were countless things one could do.
‘It’s just the difference between acknowledging that fact and diving in, or getting frustrated without doing so.’
Gilloshian seemed to know the path he had to take now.
In that case, his master had no other choice. She could only push him forward to do as he wished.
The problem lay elsewhere.
‘…Sir Karls Silion. This man is a complete stickler for principles.’
A fact she had learned for sure over the past three days of experiencing him directly.
This man, Karls Silion, the eldest son of the Silion noble family and one of the second-ranked knights of the Imperial Royal Knights, truly knew no compromise.
He had come this far, rigorously upholding chivalry as sharp as the bridge of his nose.
He had chased the assassins solely out of concern for the Third Prince’s safety and well-being, with the sole focus of returning his lord to the imperial palace above all else.
But what if such a lord suddenly insisted on following the assassins into the heart of enemy territory?
‘Even if he commanded in the name of the Prince, Sir Silion would never obey.’
He would straighten his shoulders dutifully and probably shout, ‘Forgive my disloyalty! I must take my lord back, even if I have to beat him!’
“Hmm.”
Her head was already aching.
What measures could she take to safely dissuade this beautiful man of principles? Tirvaen repeatedly turned over complex thoughts as she turned her head towards Karls.
But it was meaningless.
“Oh-h-h-h-h!”
“…Huh?”
“Our Highness said such words! Kuh-h-h-h-h!”
…Who is this person?
“I always believed that one day, His Highness would establish a great cause! This Karls Silion, I will certainly! As His Highness’s sword, I will follow His Highness’s will! Kuh-h-h-h-h!”
Crying? He’s crying, snot and tears streaming down that handsome face?
“His Highness’s path! His Highness’s destiny! His Highness’s will!”
Oh, really?
“If there is anyone who obstructs that, they will have to break the sword of this Karls Silion! Oh-h-h-h! Kuh-hok, kuk…”
Uh-oh?
The 6-star knight was already overwhelmed with emotion, crying profusely and gasping for breath.