Kiaros felt that he couldn’t gather his aura as he usually did.
What’s going on?
For a mont, his mind seed to go blank.
His body moved fine, but the mana flow that he usually controlled instinctively was impossible now.
“Will.”
Kiaros called out to the two knights who had accompanied him to the library.
“I think the blackout period has started.”
The two knights, elite mbers of the guard, were imdiately on alert.
“I’m sure of it. This suffocating feeling can only be the blackout. I’ll go call in the other guards.”
“They’re already waiting outside. I’ll be quick. Please stay here with Sir Fron for now.”
One of the knights, Will, quickly dashed off. Fron, the more skilled knight of the two, stayed behind with Kiaros.
As Fron scanned the surroundings nervously, Kiaros swung his sword a few tis.
It’s not like before.
Is this the blackout? He couldn’t even manage a fifth of his usual strength.
As he reluctantly sheathed his sword—
“Your Highness!”
A sharp sound echoed as a dagger flew toward him. Fron imdiately stepped in front of Kiaros, blocking the attack.
“Step behind !”
Kiaros stumbled backward in shock.
What was strange was that he didn’t even feel the presence of the assassin approaching!
Normally, he would have sensed the danger long before the dagger was thrown!
Fron swiftly knocked away several other daggers.
“How dare these worthless scum try to—!”
She cursed under her breath as she did her best to fend off the attacks. But one of the daggers managed to strike her directly.
“Fron!”
She collapsed with a heavy thud. The dagger seed to be poisoned, as her body stiffened and quickly beca paralyzed.
For a brief mont, Kiaros’s mind flashed with the Emperor’s warning.
You must never let anyone know how much weaker you’ve beco.
His neck tingled with coldness.
In his panic, he had shouted that the blackout had started, right there in the open courtyard of the library.
That was probably when the assassin had launched the attack.
If only he hadn’t said that! The assassin might never have targeted him!
“Fron!”
It was because of him that Fron was now in this condition.
As he regretted it, two more daggers flew toward him in quick succession.
If it had been any other ti, even with the blackout, he would have been able to dodge them. But the usual confident boy was now filled with self-recrimination and was far from focused.
Ah.
Holding the stiffened Fron, Kiaros thought, for a mont:
Am I going to die like this?
Born stronger than anyone, he had always believed that death was sothing distant.
But now, he found himself in such danger so easily. It felt almost absurd.
He instinctively dodged the first dagger, but the second ca flying straight at him, throwing off his balance.
Then, just as the second dagger was about to hit him—
“Activate!”
A thin voice echoed, and suddenly, two scrolls flew into Kiaros’s path.
From the scrolls, a magic circle floated up, deflecting the dagger heading straight toward Kiaros.
“Ah...”
It wasn’t perfect—perhaps because it was too far, the redirected dagger grazed Kiaros’s arm.
Had it struck him directly, like Fron, his body would have imdiately stiffened from the poison.
Clutching his arm, Kiaros quickly turned to look behind him.
Through the library window, he saw the girl from earlier.
“Ha, ha...”
The girl, peeking out from behind the window, was breathing heavily through a mask.
Her face was hidden by the hat she wore, so her expression was hard to read.
But she seed tense, too. She muttered to herself, lost in thought.
“This... this works?”
What?
Does that an she just activated the scroll for the first ti? That was a chilling thought.
“Grab him!”
At the sa ti, Will ca rushing in with more knights, pulling the assassin out from behind a tree.
“Cough! Cough! Kk-kkk!”
The assassin was a goblin, a low-level monster with pointed ears and green skin.
Will muttered in disbelief.
“A goblin...?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“I thought they were all wiped out. Looks like so stragglers survived.”
“Since when did goblins have this kind of intelligence?”
It was shocking.
Goblins were supposed to be low-level monsters.
But this one had followed Kiaros, eavesdropped, and even attempted an assassination? No one had expected that.
“We don’t want to cause any more chaos here.”
Kiaros looked around and gave a low command, trying to stay calm despite the stiffness in his arm.
The goblin was captured, and they would need to investigate further when they returned.
Will, too, whispered quietly.
“Yes, Your Highness. We should leave quickly.”
“Right.”
The knights agreed, silently backing off and blending into the shadows.
Kiaros glanced back at the library window. The girl was still there, staring at them.
She was far enough away that /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ her voice probably hadn’t reached them, but she must have known she saved his life.
“You there!”
Kiaros shouted loud enough for the girl to hear from the window.
“You saved my life! Co to Count Karto’s estate later!”
Count Karto’s estate was the nearest noble house.
He wanted to reward her, but he couldn’t give away his location publicly. So he ntioned sowhere nearby.
I’ll have to send soone to Count Karto’s estate right away.
If the girl ca there, he would make sure she was treated well and told them to send her to him.
The silhouette of the girl, whom he had casually noticed earlier, now seed much clearer.
She’s covering her face so tightly... Could she have social anxiety or sothing?
She had been sitting at the window, holding a pen in her small hand, so focused that it almost looked like a painting.
She seems to be a really shy person...
The girl, whose face was still hidden, tilted her head at the window.
Then, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted without hesitation.
“Go to the one who saved your life!”
She probably didn’t have any idea that he was the crown prince, but still, Kiaros was stunned.
The arrogant ten-year-old boy who had always been surrounded by people groveling at his feet was now being scolded like that for the first ti.
“After saving your life, you should at least face the person and thank them directly!”
Kiaros was taken aback.
Is that how it works? Is thanking soone more important than promising a big reward?
He had never imagined soone would save his life, so this was sothing he’d never considered.
“You should at least know what to thank for, don’t you?”
The girl made a firm remark, clearly not shy at all.
At that mont, Will rushed up, urgently whispering.
“Your Highness, Fron’s condition is worsening. If it’s a poison, you’re in danger as well.”
Will was carrying Fron, who had stiffened so much that she could no longer speak properly. Kiaros’s arm was getting stiffer by the second as well.
“Fron and Your Highness should both see a doctor imdiately.”
There was no ti to talk with the mysterious girl anymore.
To make matters worse, the goblin they had captured was putting up a fierce struggle.
The attention of others could draw unwanted complications.
Kiaros called out one last ti to the girl, who was still visible in the window.
“If you co to Count Karto’s estate, I’ll grant you anything you want! I swear it on my honor!”
“Anything?”
“Yes! Anything! Just say it!”
“Hmmm...”
The girl, still deep in thought, called out as they hurriedly left.
“I want to marry a guy with a ton, a ton, a ton of money!”
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