I slept deeply. I had been worried about not adjusting well to the time difference, but it was an unnecessary concern.
‘Looks like going back and forth from the Demon Realm helped me develop a tolerance to jet lag.’
I was drying my hair with a towel when—
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking on the door bounced off the wall and echoed through the emptiness.
“Hmm?”
Who could it be?
It couldn’t be the staff. I had made it a condition that no one was to attend to me in my room while I stayed at the imperial palace.
Not because I feared assassination. I just wanted to avoid awkward situations with women entering my room while I was away from home.
My conscience still weighs heavy after what happened with Media that time at the Antarctic base.
I opened the door cautiously. It might have been a butler.
But the person on the other side of the door was completely unexpected. It was a woman—and not one from the staff.
It was someone the staff served.
“Heavenly Sword…”
It was Princess Victoria. She was carefully holding my freshly ironed clothes.
“What brings you here, Your Highness…?”
I stopped mid-sentence when I noticed where Victoria’s eyes were looking.
‘Ah.’
The fact that she had my clothes meant I… was naked. I only had a towel wrapped around my lower half, walking through the room.
It seemed the knot in the towel had loosened. Right at that moment, the towel slipped with a soft sound.
“Kya!”
Kya…?
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
A loud morning scream awakened the day. The owl stretching on a tall tree flew off instantly.
***
“…I’m sorry for coming unannounced.”
Victoria apologized in a barely audible voice. She was looking at the wall.
“I’m fine… but you, Princess…”
While I dressed quickly, I watched her carefully. All my senses were on high alert.
If word of this got out, it would be a scandal. If someone had seen this scene, I’m afraid I wouldn’t escape from making threats.
I have to survive no matter what.
‘Wow, I’m drenched in cold sweat. So much for having taken a bath.’
Victoria explained she came because of a condition I mentioned to the emperor.
They had to deliver my clean clothes, but since they couldn’t approach me, the servants were waiting nervously in the hallway.
Victoria took the opportunity to also act as my breakfast guide. I set that condition to avoid contact with women, but it backfired.
I’m constantly being tested. Damn suppression.
“I’m also… okay. I feel like my earlobes are about to explode.”
“…I had my birthday last week, I’m an adult now. So it’s fine.”
Ah, so that was why. Looks like I underestimated Her Highness.
“You may turn around now.”
“Yes…”
As I dressed, Victoria watched me intently and then asked:
“Seems like you like that black coat. Didn’t you used to wear a white one?”
“It was a gift from Abel. I really like the design and color, so I wear it almost every time I go out.”
“Actually, black suits you better than white, Heavenly Sword. It gives you a more… intense air. It matches your wild nature…”
Victoria left the sentence hanging, and her face flushed red.
Huh? Did she say something embarrassing…?
‘Ah.’
“Beastly.”
“Forget it, Princess.”
“Yes, I’ve already forgotten. Completely forgotten. Besides, lucky sukebe are the ones that trigger flags…”
Flags? More importantly…
“Do you know what a lucky sukebe is?”
“Ah, ahh! No, no I don’t…!”
Of course she knows. She used the term perfectly, at just the right moment.
“But… how do you know, Heavenly Sword…?”
Damn, she cornered me. Fell into my own trap. But come on, who am I? Even as the most famous swordsman in the country, none of my secrets have ever been discovered.
“Ryozo is Japanese.”
I answered shamelessly.
“I learned it from her.”
Sorry, Ryozo.
“I don’t think the principal teaches things like that…”
“That’s her public image. In reality, she’s very well-informed in that area.”
“Ah… I see.”
When I get home, I’ll make it up to you. I love you.
‘Even so, how odd that the princess didn’t know what a lucky sukebe was.’
Despite all the incidents we’ve experienced together, I always felt a certain distance between us.
But now, even if just a little, I feel a closer connection.
‘An internal connection forged by a lucky sukebe…’
How depressing. Let’s change the subject.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
Guided by Victoria, I headed toward the banquet hall. Two sets of footsteps echoed at steady intervals.
The hallway was long and wide, large enough to host many people.
As we walked, some aligned faces began to stand out.
The maids greeted us with bows. Then the royal guards raised their swords in salute.
I returned a slight nod and kept walking. I felt their gazes piercing my back. They were hostile.
‘How uncomfortable.’
After a long walk, the hallway grew darker. There were fewer windows. Instead of the morning sunlight, oil lamps were hung on the walls.
More than a banquet hall, it looked like a dungeon. So of course, there should be a gatekeeper.
And right in front of the enormous door, a woman was standing.
Her appearance was so peculiar it stood out even from a distance. She had ash-gray hair and an eyepatch with a red eye drawn in the center.
“She’s one of the closest to His Majesty.”
Victoria, noticing my gaze, cleared the doubt.
“From the Ryoo family of Pungsan.”
She added the detail.
“The Pungsan family? The ones who train every sense but sight from childhood?”
“Yes.”
The Pungsan family doesn’t appear in the pregame guide for Miracle Blessing M.
I discovered them by chance about ten years ago. It’s a lineage shrouded in mystery.
Similar in activity to the Auditore, who move between light and shadow, but with a different nature.
The Pungsan family never sets foot in the light.
‘Despite being heroes, they’re never admitted to the academy.’
They only operate in the dark. Perhaps giving up sight is part of that.
Victoria murmured:
“The Pungsan family chooses the most promising member and sends them to the imperial palace. It’s always been that way.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen one… and she’s already the most talented of her family? What’s her role?”
“She’s a palace official.”
“She’s that capable?”
“In terms of energy perception, they say she’s among the best in her family’s history.”
Victoria replied with an uneasy expression. Seems she doesn’t get along with that blind official.
‘If she’s a palace official, she must serve directly under the current emperor. And if the princess doesn’t get along with the emperor, it makes sense she wouldn’t get along with her either.’
Deduction complete, I nodded. Just then, we reached the door of the hall.
The palace official gestured with her chin as a greeting and pushed the door open without a word.
With a deep sound, the door opened. Victoria entered without even glancing at the official.
I was about to enter the banquet hall when…
“…Thank you.”
The palace official, who had been silent like a rock, finally spoke.
I turned to look at her. She bowed her head as if to say she had nothing more to add.
Was it something like “Thank you for visiting us”? It didn’t seem to have that kind of tone.
I let that small knot in my head slide and headed to my assigned seat.
Then, the palace official rushed over and pulled out my chair. Victoria slightly parted her lips.
“Palace official, that’s not something you usually do.”
A sharp tone, tinged with distrust.
“Because he is a special guest, His Majesty ordered special attention.”
“I don’t believe that order means the palace official should perform staff duties. Am I wrong?”
“A palace official of the Imperial Palace has sufficient discretion to make decisions like this.”
The atmosphere tensed immediately. The official didn’t yield a single word.
It felt like a direct challenge to the authority of the imperial family. A scene that clearly showed the kind of treatment royal family members receive within the palace itself.
More precisely, the treatment received by blood royals who are not the Emperor.
“Don’t you think a palace official serving at the table like a common maid diminishes the dignity of the Imperial Palace?”
Even so, Victoria was first in line to the throne. Her words carried much more weight than most other royals.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t offer further explanations.”
She replied naturally, and gave me a slight nod.
It seemed like some kind of signal.
‘Do we know each other…? Why is she acting like this out of nowhere?’
In any case, just then, the servants began to bring in the food, which helped ease the tension.
Amid the awkward atmosphere, I reached out for the cutlery.
“Allow me to cut it for you.”
The palace official quickly began slicing the steak. She was so fast that by the time I tried to reach for the knife, the meat was already perfectly cut into portions.
I was left speechless.
Victoria, stunned, couldn’t even get a word out. When I looked at her, the official silently retreated into the shadows.
Unsure of what to do, I put a piece of meat into my mouth. It tasted as good as it looked.
‘If it weren’t for the atmosphere, it would be delicious.’
When only the bones were left on the plate, they immediately brought out a fish dish.
As expected, the palace official rushed over and skillfully removed the bones.
Even I, known as the best swordsman in the country, was surprised by her dexterity. But wait, wasn’t she blind?
“Palace official!”
The cutlery clattered loudly on the table. Victoria stood up abruptly, slamming her fist on the table.
“What kind of disgraceful behavior is this?!”
“…”
The palace official looked at her while holding the fork. More precisely, she just turned her head in that direction, since she wore an eye patch.
“I, too, love the Imperial Palace as much as Your Highness.”
She clung to me like a shadow as she firmly delivered her declaration.
“And all my actions are part of my fight to protect it. I would appreciate it if you could keep that in mind.”
“Ha…”
Victoria let out a sigh of exasperation.
“Is cutting meat part of that fight?”
“Yes.”
“Removing fish bones too?”
“Of course.”
“What’s next then, giving yourself completely?”
“If necessary, I could even help him bathe. I’m blind anyway, so it’s not a problem, right?”
‘Please, why are you doing this to me…?’
“Palace official!”
A verbal fight without physical violence broke out over the wide table. I sat there, pale, completely out of place.
I didn’t know what to do. Intervening would be meddling, and I didn’t have the ability to mediate between them.
But what intrigued me most was why the palace official was being so excessively attentive.
She seemed to have mistaken me for someone else. Did I save her once without knowing it?
‘…Maybe I should just go home…?’
At that moment, whether it was coins, EX-grade enhancement materials, or anything else, I didn’t care.
I just felt an overwhelming urge to go home, rising up my throat like a primal instinct.
While I sat in that state, the palace official gave me a slight smile, tugging at the corner of her lips.
After the meal, there was already a scheduled agenda.
I had to talk to this woman. No matter what.
____
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