"Your Highness the Crown Prince... to think you would personally welcome us like this. I did not expect it at all."
It was truly unexpected.
Herman nearly trailed off in his words for a moment, letting out a faint chuckle as he looked at Crown Prince Zeraitz.
This war was directly orchestrated by the Crown Prince and the 4th Inspection Bureau, which supported him. The war had started when they pointed to the Red Lion as the power behind the remnants of the demons they had been tracking.
Given this, Herman had expected that the Crown Prince would, in one way or another, be involved in this war.
And since he had responded to the Imperial summons, he had also prepared himself for an inevitable meeting with the Crown Prince at some point.
He knew it would be awkward, but he had resolved to keep personal and official matters separate, planning not to let the encounter bother him too much.
But to meet him right from the start, and for Zeraitz to personally appear like this, was beyond anything he had imagined.
The expressions of the Blue Ram knights, along with the other knights, stiffened. While the Blue Hawks openly showed their disbelief, none of them were foolish enough to openly oppose the Crown Prince to his face.
No matter how much they might despise him, the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince.
He was, after all, the second-highest-ranking person in the Empire.
There was no need to provoke him like they would the Red Lion.
The gazes of the Imperial Guard standing behind Zeraitz were also quite sharp.
'Don't like the look in their eyes, do you, brother?'
'Indeed. Too bad we can't just gouge them out.'
'If only no one was watching, I'd flip this entire situation upside down.'
'Just wait. I'll gouge those eyes out even worse for making our niece cry.'
The Blue Hawks, having spent many years together, exchanged their thoughts quickly and silently, without needing to speak.
"Previously, the Blue Lion saved my life, did he not? So, I have come personally to repay that debt, at least a little. There's no need to feel burdened. In fact, I've also heard some things about what happened within the Weyl family, so I wanted to offer my encouragement as well."
"Thank you for your considerate words."
Whether or not Zeraitz noticed their discomfort, or simply didn't care, he quickly scanned the faces of those standing at the front and tilted his head.
"But I don't see Isabelle anywhere. Given the place, I assume you didn't bring your daughter with you this time. A wise choice. After all, a woman has no need to be in such a dangerous place, wouldn't you agree?"
The expressions of Lasalle, Haman, and the others grew cold.
The Crown Prince's tone was one that should have only been used when addressing someone of much lower status.
The Blue Lion symbolized the military might of the Empire. No matter how high the Crown Prince's rank, speaking like that was completely inappropriate.
There was no way the Crown Prince didn't know this, so his choice of words had to be intentional.
A power struggle, here and now.
Herman could feel the eyes of many people gradually turning toward them.
However,
Herman remained calm.
To him, this was nothing more than a childish provocation.
"My daughter is here, Your Highness."
"...What did you say?"
"My daughter is also a member of the Weyl family. And as the heir to my noble title, she is also a servant of the Empire. Noblesse oblige. As a noble born of blue blood, it's only natural that she fulfills her duties, wouldn't you agree?"
As Herman continued to speak, his eyes remained calm.
"And in my view, gender distinctions are completely meaningless in this regard, Your Highness."
"..."
Zeraitz's eyes briefly flashed, and he clenched his teeth. However, he somehow managed to maintain a strained smile.
"...Is that so? It seems I was rather shortsighted. Where, then, might the young lady be? I would like to greet her, as it's been a while."
"Indeed. It would have been proper for her to greet Your Highness personally, but that's my fault for not raising her well. I saw her with the head of the Melvinger family not too long ago."
"...With the head of the Melvinger family...?"
The Crown Prince's eyes now seemed ready to burst into flames.
'Pfft!'
'Our big brother is becoming more cunning by the day, isn't he?'
'Look at the Crown Prince's face. It's turning red, like a well-cooked tomato. Hahaha!'
'Why is he still hung up on a woman he rejected long ago? How pathetic.'
The Blue Hawks were barely able to suppress their laughter.
Especially Haman, who had to quickly turn his head away to avoid breaking into a grin. His ears had turned bright red from holding it in.
Watching their usually composed eldest brother deliver such a massive blow to the Crown Prince was more entertaining than anything else.
"Why are you all just standing around? Go find Isabelle and the head of the Melvinger family, now!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"A-As you command!"
Pretending to scold his brothers for a mistake, Herman sent them off elsewhere.
At that moment.
The door to a carriage at the back of the vanguard suddenly swung open, and Elric and Isabelle hurriedly stepped out, bowing toward Zeraitz.
Whatever had been happening inside, both Elric and Isabelle looked as though they had hastily adjusted their clothing.
In particular, Isabelle's hair, though tied up, was slightly disheveled.
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
The Imperial entourage, as well as the knights of the Weyl family, were utterly speechless at the unexpected scene.
At that moment.
Zeraitz's face twisted with rage.
On the neck of the man he hated most... was a kiss mark, seemingly left by the woman he loved most.
***
'What... just happened?'
Elric scratched his cheek awkwardly as he noticed the stares directed at him.
『Pffft! Hahahaha! Hahahaha!』
Mephistopheles was laughing so hard, he was rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach.
Eventually, even that wasn't enough, and he had to pound the ground with his fists to calm down.
『So, this is how you end up getting married!』
[How many times do I have to say it? I'm not interested in romance until I rebuild my family.]
『After pulling a stunt like that? The rumors are going to spread like wildfire. And in this era, scandals like this are especially harmful to women. You're quite cold-hearted, aren't you?』
[Damn it.]
When the Crown Prince had first appeared, Isabelle had been discussing the war with Elric, but then she suddenly changed the subject.
–Elric, could I ask you a favor?
–What is it?
–It might be a bit of a burden for you.
–...?
–I don't want to be involved with the Crown Prince anymore.
Elric was well aware that Isabelle wanted to cut ties with Zeraitz and avoid being the subject of gossip.
Though they had once been engaged, Isabelle had never truly felt any deep affection for him. To her, it had been nothing more than a political marriage—a duty expected of nobles—and she had merely hoped her partner would be a good person.
However, the breakup had affected her more deeply than she expected. Not because she was heartbroken by Zeraitz, but because of the pitying, sympathetic glances from others.
People whispered that she was pitiful, tragic, and unfortunate... Those pitying looks were what bothered her the most.
Although the scandal had reached Zeraitz as well, it didn't tarnish his reputation. His status as Crown Prince protected him from such disgrace.
But for Isabelle, it was different. She had to endure the scandal following her everywhere, with people gossiping that she was "beautiful like a flower but lacked any fragrance."
She hated being the subject of society's endless gossip without even knowing how it had all started. And she despised how people kept treating her as if she were some pitiful victim.
But no one would listen to her.
At first, she hoped that if she quietly focused on her work, the rumors would naturally fade away.
Instead, people began saying things like, "She's throwing herself into work to forget the Crown Prince," or, "She's trying to escape her sorrow." These kinds of rumors only fueled her growing frustration.
And yet, despite being the source of all this, Zeraitz never apologized. Instead, he acted as if he still had feelings for her.
Did he really see her as nothing more than a decorative flower or a doll?
If so, she wanted to break free of that image.
Even if it meant being buried in dirty rumors and slander, she wanted to sever all ties with the Crown Prince once and for all.
Isabelle had confided these pent-up frustrations to Elric several times.
And Elric, wanting to support his "friend," had said he would help in any way he could.
After all, he also had no fondness for the Crown Prince.
But Isabelle had remembered those words and brought them up at just the right moment.
Wanting to cheer for his friend and hoping to see Zeraitz's face crumble, Elric had casually agreed to help.
And this... was the result.
'Now that we've come out of the carriage looking like this, the rumors will spread like wildfire.'
No one enjoyed spreading rumors more than nobles. That's why society gossip existed in the first place.
'Still, seeing the Crown Prince's face crumble like that feels pretty satisfying.'
Seeing Zeraitz's twisted expression made Elric feel like a weight had been lifted from his chest.
To be fair, while Elric was a bit flustered, this situation wasn't entirely bad for him either.
After all, it gave him an excuse to reject the constant invitations and formal proposals he'd been receiving lately from the social circles.
『Judging by your expression, you seem to be seeing the silver lining, but did you ever expect to be kissed on the neck like that? You looked like this when it happened, didn't you?』
Mephistopheles exaggerated Elric's reaction, mimicking his stunned expression and teasing him mercilessly.
He looked like someone completely caught off guard.
Could anyone possibly look that dumbstruck?
[…That's not how I looked.]
『Oh, really? It was exactly like that. As if you'd never been that close to a woman before... oh?』
[….]
『I see. That's what it was.』
[…No, it wasn't.]
『So that's how it was! Hahahaha!』
[It wasn't!]
Mephistopheles only laughed harder, ignoring Elric's protests. It was even funnier to him because Elric had mocked him so much during the battle with the Ice Mountain King. But this? This was far worse.
Despite all his talk about being uninterested in love or marriage until he revived his family, the truth was that Elric had never even dared to think about such things in the first place.
[Damn it! I spent all my time studying at the academy! Where would I find time for dating? I barely had time to eat! It was the same back in my hometown! But still, there were plenty of girls who followed me around…]
『Hahahahahaha!』
[Are you even listening, you bald demon king?!]
Even as Elric tried to protest, Mephistopheles's laughter only grew louder.
His laughter echoed, relentless, across the battlefield.
[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]