ESL Chapter 15

Although Hugo’s skills were excellent, he was no match for Kaid, so the sparring match ended quickly. Hugo smiled bitterly as his sword flew from his hand and clattered to the floor, with Kaid’s sword touching his neck. His face was drenched in sweat.

“I would have died if you hadn’t held back. You seem to be getting stronger and stronger, Your Highness.”

“The same goes for you. It was an enjoyable time.”

“Without shedding a single drop of sweat?”

“I’m the type who doesn’t sweat much.”

Looking at Kaid’s grinning face, Hugo sighed deeply as if he had nothing to say. In truth, while it was called a sparring match, Kaid was essentially training him. Though he was called the Iron Knight and had the skill to beat—or at least not lose to—the Imperial Knights Captain, defeating Duke Kaien and Crown Prince Kaid was impossible. Their swordsmanship was unrivaled by anyone.

“Good work.”

Kaid lightly patted Hugo’s shoulder and walked toward Lea. He had known from the moment she arrived at the training grounds, but he couldn’t move since he was in the middle of a sparring match. He had even ended the sparring a bit faster than usual, worried she might leave, and was pleased to see that she seemed to be waiting for him.

“Did you come to see me?”

At Kaid’s smiling face, Lea grinned and said:

“You remember you said you’d help me, right?”

“…Right.”

Kaid’s response came a bit late, slightly disappointed that she hadn’t come to see him but had business to attend to. However, she didn’t notice and grabbed his arm, pulling him close to whisper in his ear.

“Go and take the captain’s scabbard for me. Tell him Your Highness wants to look at it for a moment. And when you grab it, make sure to hold the bottom part.”

“……”

Kaid felt his heart race at her voice and breath tickling his ear. With his ears turning red, he went to Hugo, who was wiping his sword, as if enchanted, took the scabbard, and returned. And he held the bottom part, just as she had instructed.

“You did well. Give it to me.”

Lea promptly took the scabbard from him, pulled out the bottle Abel had given her from inside her clothes, and poured it evenly over the poisoned parts while rotating the scabbard. Outwardly, there seemed to be no change, but through the glasses she wore, she could see the red aura fading and disappearing completely.

“What are you doing?”

At Kaid’s question, she grabbed his arm again and whispered once more.

“Take this and go feed it to the captain. Don’t tell him I gave it to you—make it seem like Your Highness is giving it to him.”

“…What is this?”

“Something good for men?”

“……”

Kaid’s face turned cold. Why would she give something good for men to Hugo? Along with the thought of whether the two were that close, irritation suddenly surged up. Not knowing his true feelings, Lea sighed at his poor reaction to her joke and spoke honestly.

“He needs to take this to survive.”

“…Is the captain poisoned?”

Only then understanding what she meant, Kaid’s complexion hardened as he asked.

“That’s right. I can’t give you a detailed explanation right now, but… take this scabbard with you when you go.”

The thought briefly crossed her mind about what to do if he didn’t trust her, but Lea held out the bottle. It would be impossible for her to feed it to Hugo since she had almost no connection with him, and building a relationship would take too much time. Fortunately, he seemed to trust her and took the bottle she offered, approaching Hugo.

“Are you done looking at the scabbard?”

Hugo, who had been giving his sword a final wipe, looked at the prince as Kaid approached and held out the scabbard. He took it, sheathed his sword, and looked at the prince. Kaid, who had been quietly staring at him, slowly opened his mouth.

“Hugo. Open your mouth.”

“Pardon?”

“I said open your mouth.”

Not knowing what was happening, Hugo opened his mouth at Kaid’s command, then flinched in surprise as the prince poured liquid into his open mouth.

“Swallow it down. Don’t spill any.”

Thinking it surely couldn’t be poison, Hugo swallowed the liquid as Kaid instructed. As the slightly distinctive-smelling liquid went down his throat and into his stomach, his stomach felt warm and his body felt comfortable. Hugo tilted his head and asked:

“What is this? I feel like my body is getting more comfortable?”

“Something good for men?”

“Pardon?”

Leaving the bewildered Hugo behind, Kaid returned to where Lea was. Then he could see her raising the corners of her mouth slightly in satisfaction. He felt a bit regretful, thinking it would have been nice if he could have seen that smile in her original form rather than as Joseph.

Through her glasses, Lea confirmed that the red color gathered around Hugo’s heart area had turned colorless like the scabbard, and felt satisfied. When she had seen Duke Kaien in the morning, the red energy in his heart had also disappeared, so now there was no danger of being blackmailed with poison.

Now then, the biggest problem is what to do with the Duchess… Lost in thought for a moment, she looked at Kaid at the sound of his voice.

“Aren’t you going to praise me?”

“…You did well?”

“You’re stingy with your praise.”

Looking at him grumbling, Lea suddenly decided to ask something she’d been curious about. The prince before her eyes had been continuously showing favor toward her. She thought it was probably because she had helped him in the Krauzen Mountains, but she still needed to confirm this to eliminate any uncertain variables.

“Your Highness is generous with me. Feeding someone medicine just based on my word. Do you trust me?”

“I trust you.”

As soon as she asked, Kaid answered curtly, just as he had done in the Krauzen Mountains.

“Why? Because I’m Duke Kaien’s daughter?”

“That’s one of the reasons, but I trust you because of your eyes. Someone with such clear eyes couldn’t possibly do anything bad. Besides, those beautiful deep red eyes are quite captivating.”

“Hmm… Are you hitting on me?”

“Will you fall for it?”

“I’d rather not.”

What started as a serious question ended in light banter between the two. Having taken care of Hugo’s matter, she turned to leave with a light heart, but stopped at Kaid’s words. His golden eyes had turned serious, as if he had never joked around.

“What I said about helping you wasn’t a lie. So come find me whenever you need my help. I’ll be here whenever I have free time.”

At his voice, quiet but filled with sincerity, Lea looked at him. And after a moment, a faint but gentle smile appeared on her lips.

“…Thank you.”

Watching her walk away after greeting him, Kaid thought he wished she would finish everything and return to her original form soon. Her smile as Joseph felt somehow inadequate.

****

Knock knock knock.

At the sound of knocking, Abel, who had been reading a book, closed it and stood up. As he headed toward the door, his height gradually decreased, and by the time he reached the door, he had transformed into a cute girl who appeared to be about 10 years old with brown hair and brown eyes.

“Who is it?”

When he opened the door slightly and asked, a middle-aged woman standing outside the door spoke with gleaming eyes.

“Oh my, what a cute little one. Little girl, is there an adult home?”

At her words, Abel answered without any change in expression, just as Lea had instructed.

“They’re out on business right now.”

“I see. So you’re alone?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll come back when an adult is home.”

As the middle-aged woman smiled and turned away, Abel closed the door and returned to the sofa. Having already transformed back to his original form, he picked up the book he had set down and began reading comfortably on the sofa.

****

Abram was in a very good mood upon receiving the report that 2nd Prince Lloyd had accepted his gift. It wasn’t that he hadn’t extended his hand to 1st Prince Damon as well. However, the upright Prince Damon had immediately refused his hand. If both princes had taken his hand, it would have been a headache to figure out which one was closer to the crown prince position, but with only Prince Lloyd taking it, he could push him toward the crown prince seat without any hesitation. Reading the report, he leaned back in his chair, tapped his fingers on the armrest, and fell into thought.

‘Now next is Duke Kaien’s house… The remaining connections are only people with deep friendships with Duke Kaien, so it will be difficult to sever them with Michelle’s actions alone… I did feed poison to Duke Kaien and the captain of the knights, but that’s a last resort… I thought I could move the Duke by kidnapping only the Duchess, but his loyalty to the Imperial Family is so firm that there are limits to making him move… I need something more…’

As he continued tapping his fingers, he suddenly recalled the administrative officer mentioned in Michelle’s letter.

‘Joseph, was it?’

He picked up the documents and began reading the section about the administrative officer named Joseph again. According to the shadow he had attached, Joseph lived a very regular life. He only went back and forth between his home and Duke Kaien’s house, and even when he occasionally stopped by the city, he only purchased books at an antiquarian bookshop. It was written that he lived with what appeared to be a younger sister about 10 years old, with the same brown hair and brown eyes. What caught his eye among all this was that his work efficiency was excellent, Duke Kaien valued him, and he was also acquainted with 3rd Prince Kaid.

‘Valued by Duke Kaien and acquainted with the 3rd Prince… He’ll make a good new pawn.’

Having finished his thoughts, Abram opened his mouth.

“Fibien.”

At his call, a man walked over and greeted him respectfully. He was a man with gray hair and murky gray eyes, with a long scar running from his eyebrow to his cheek on one side of his face. It looked like a scar from being cut by something.

“Speak.”

His voice was the same as the voice from the darkness that had previously answered Abram’s words.

“Tomorrow, secure administrative officer Joseph’s younger sister.”

“What should we do with her?”

“Since she’s said to be still a young child, take her to where the Duchess is. When she becomes useless, we can kill them together.”

“You intend to use this administrative officer Joseph as a new pawn? What purpose do you plan to use him for?”

At Fibien’s question, a cruel smile appeared on Abram’s lips as he answered leisurely.

“Well. For now, it seems he can be used in various ways. If we can’t use him at the Duke’s house, we can use him on the 3rd Prince.”

“Understood. As you wish.”

Fibien bowed his head once more in respect and withdrew. Abram stood up from his chair and walked to the window. Looking toward the Imperial Palace, he muttered ominously:

“Before long, this country will fall into my hands. At that time, I’ll make you bow your head before me.”