How long had it been since the gathering had begun? A servant suddenly announced somebody’s entrance.
His appearance stood out so much that he could be recognized from a glance in the distance.
“I apologize for being late. I was having swordsmanship practice.”
It was Rosian, who had originally escorted Jayna.
Rosian’s breathing sound was a little rougher than before, and he was wearing a simple shirt, not a formal suit. But that didn’t really matter to him.
Everyone was looking at his sudden appearance and couldn’t hide their excitement.
“Don’t mind me.”
“I brought the lady here all this way, how could I not?”
Lady Newin knew Rosian had escorted her here, but the others didn’t. They looked at the scene with shocked eyes at such a surprise.
“What do you mean you brought Lady Jayna here?”
“Are you saying you escorted her?”
A girl seemingly close with Rosian asked.
‘Apart from not revealing her last name, is there something else hidden as well?’
People exchanged glances. Whoever that child was, Elia’s expression remained determined. It was clear it was useless to ask.
“After the party is over, I’ll take you back.”
Ladies, who looked at her curiously, asked.
“Where does Lady Jayna live?”
Jayna thought about how she should reply. Finally, Jayna decided it would be okay to reveal that piece of information. Therefore, she replied back with a smile.
“I live in the Wizard’s Tower.”
“What? The wizard’s tower….”
A lady suddenly raised her voice, remembering something.
“Ah, come to think of it, didn’t you recently attend a concert with the Tower Lord?”
“That’s true, we did go to a concert together.”
A commotion began to stir again. Before which, Jayna could see Rosian’s, who stood next to her, creasing his forehead.
‘Your Highness had said what he said on purpose.’
“It’s amazing that you went to a concert with the Tower Lord.”
“You used magic earlier, it means you’re a wizard of the Tower!”
“Tell me about the Tower Lord, is he as strong as they say?”
“Do monsters truly live in the Tower?”
Jayna felt perplexed at the sudden barrage of questions, however she did not answer them hurriedly.
‘I shouldn’t reveal my true relationship with the Tower Lord, therefore I won’t talk about it in detail and simply say we’re close due to me being a wizard of the Tower.’
Jayna slowly mentally sorted out what she could and could not mention.
As she paused, people at the tea party began to fret.
One young lady, who was licking her lips, could not contain her curiosity and tried to ask Jayna again. But at that moment, Jayna opened her mouth.
“First of all, I’ll answer whether monsters truly live in the wizard’s tower…”
Everyone began to listen to her.
Contrary to everyone’s concerns, Jayna’s debut was a success.
* * *
After the party, Rosian rode the carriage along with Jayna, saying he would take her back.
“Aren’t you busy? You don’t have to do this.”
“I’m not just seeing you off, I’m happy to be able to see you after so long.”
Riding in the carriage, the gap between the two decreased, even if they originally sat far apart.
Jayna looked at Rosian, who seemed to be in a refreshed mood.
By the time she was 13 years old, Rosian, who was two years older, was 15.
‘We’re only two years apart, aren’t girls supposed to be taller in their childhood?’
However, Rosian’s shoulders were already as broad as an adult’s, and he seemed to be twice as tall as Jayna.
As Jayna stared at him, Rosian awkwardly scratched his head.
“Do I smell like sweat?”
The tips of his hair were wet, he muttered to himself, “I’m sure I took a shower…”
There were also a couple of buttons on his shirt left unbuttoned, as if he was in a hurry. Between the two, stood only a wooden pole. Jayna’s face reddened and she bowed her head.
‘You’re almost no longer a boy now.’
“Your Highness, you’ve grown a lot.”
“Is that what my little lady is going to say to me?”
Rosian smiled innocently as he looked at her.
It was completely different from the expressive face that she’d previously seen.
‘You looked like an adult for a second. You’ve grown taller, and your voice has gotten deeper as well…’
She wondered whether he had finished growing, but Rosian said he was far from being done growing.
So, will you have a more profound voice? Jayna was very curious about how Rosian would look when he became an adult.
“I wanted to show you how much my sword skills have improved… but I don’t know how. I can’t show you while I train, or even ask you to watch a duel.”
Rosian’s eyes sparkled.
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen His Highness Rosian speak confidently.’
The novel “Sword of Revenge” started with Elia’s murder, and it wasn’t discribed in detail on how he looked before that.
‘Wasn’t he described to have smooth hands which had only held a sword a few times?’
Jayna looked at the sword hung by Rosian’s waist.
‘Come to think of it, hasn’t he been carrying around a sword for a few years now to practice swordsmanship…?
Anyhow, it was clear to Jayna that the flow of the story had been altered.
“Ah, Jayna, didn’t you mention that you liked cotton candy the other day?”
When she previously talked about cotton candy, Rosian teased her, saying she liked something similar to herself.
When Jayna nodded with a smile, Rosian also smiled and called to the horseman, telling him to pull over the carriage. Rosian, who opened the door and got off first, held his hand out to Jayna.
“Come on.”
Jayna held this hand while she exited the carriage. It must’ve looked like Rosian was her escort who rode in the carriage with her.
The two headed to a cotton candy store.
“Jayna, what does it taste like?”
“Actually, I haven’t tried a lot of foods before, so if you ask me that…”
Jayna had a rare look of embarrassment.
Rosian laughed at the sight and apologized, saying it was his fault for asking the wrong question.
“Just one more question then, is it true that even if their colors are different, they taste identical?”
“It tasted a little different to me.”
She couldn’t see the description on the menu well, perhaps because it was in the background.
When Rosian frowned, Jayna, who had previously visited the cotton candy store, explained it for him.
“We have blue, pink, and yellow cotton candy.”
“I think pink cotton candy tastes like strawberry and that the yellow one would taste like a banana.”
“All right then, what would the blue cotton candy taste like?”
“I’m not sure.”
It was at that time when Jane and Rosian were engrossed in choosing cotton candy.
Several tough-looking mercenaries entered the store.
“Why are there so many people in the store?”
“Where is she?”
They seemed to be looking for someone.
“There are mercenaries at a cotton candy store. What happened?”
“I don’t think they’re here for cotton candy.”
Suddenly, the flashback of Jayna and Hilvenzia coming in to buy cotton candy and coming into a quarrel passed through her mind.
“Nya.”
Izren, who was also following the two, warned her to be careful, as if he felt something was wrong.
Jayna lowered her voice and whispered to Izren, telling him not to worry.
“Maybe they’re here to buy cotton candy. Just because you’re ugly doesn’t mean you can’t eat cotton candy.”
However, Jayna’s predictions were completely off the mark.
It was because the big mercenaries stopped walking exactly in front of Jayna.
“Are you Jayna? The person who touched Count Newin’s young lady and master?
‘The princess even leaked the story of me belonging to the Tower to avoid unnecessary friction, but since Young Master Newin went out before that… he probably thinks of me as a lucky commoner. That’s why he looked for a time when it seemed like I was unguarded.’
Jayna let out a big sigh. It seemed that the mercenaries were deeply resentful of her because she touched the two children of the Newin family.
‘You sent out mercenaries even when you know I’m protected by Princess Elia… you really must be confident they can handle it quietly, aren’t you?’
Come to think of it, they had more numbers compared to the last time, and each of them seemed extraordinary. These men were sent with determination.
Jayna anxiously looked down at Izren.
She was looking at when his transformation would finish so she could run out at any moment.
“Last time, Izren beat a mercenary named Deitan, but this time, there are too many…”
Jayna glanced down at her hand, thinking that she should use magic.
The wind quickly responded to her as she increased her mana usage.
However, the issue was that it was too quick.
‘The wind listens to me too well. If I condense it and explode it, there will be a big explosion.’
Jayna glanced at the people around her.
‘Can I stop the rush of these mercenaries without hurting others?’
To be honest, she wasn’t confident.
Jayna worked hard to decide whether it would be better to run away and cover their eyes with dark magic.
“Hey kid, if you don’t want to be crippled, why don’t you follow me?”
“Hahaha, I’ll at least protect that pretty face.”
Jayna didn’t frown at all at the harsh words of the mercenaries.
Then the mercenaries snorted as they thought they had been ignored by such a small child.
“Hey. I don’t think you understand what’s going on… you could disappear without anyone even realizing it. Did you know that?”
“How could I touch Count Newin’s family when I’m a commoner? Touch him, I don’t even know the subject.”
At that time, Rosian, who was standing next to Jayna, stepped in with a soft smile.
“You don’t even know the subject?”
“Handsome young master, I won’t touch you. Are you on your way out?”
“Yeah. Our goal is this girl, so don’t be so formal and just leave. You look like you’ll cry if I hit you.”
The mercenaries gave Rosian a nonchalant answer. However, little did they know.
Rosian was never a person who would cry if hit, his graceful eyes were cold.
“Why don’t you talk with your sword instead of being so noisy?”
Rosian said, grabbing his sword and pointing it at them. His posture was perfect.
“I know Jayna is strong, but I think you’d better leave it to me.”
Jayna opened her eyes widely at the sight of Rosian protecting her.
‘However if something goes even a bit wrong, a bigger issue will occur…’
Rosian spoke to Jayna lightly, as if telling her not to worry.
“It’s due time I show off my sword skills to Jayna, isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about, kid?”
“I was just going to let you off the hook, but now you’re acting like we’re nothing?”
He was just a kid.
The mercenaries, thinking it would be an effortless task, jabbed at the youngest amongst them.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, just knock out this guy and take the girl out.”
“I’m the only one who’s getting bothered. Hey kid, it’s not too late to back out”.
“No, it is late. I won’t forgive you if you kneel and beg now. I’m upset right now.”
“That mouth, I won’t let you talk anymore…!”
The angry mercenary swung his sword at Rosian as if it was a club.
The mercenaries hired by Count Newin were much larger than ordinary men.
Boom!
However Rosian easily avoided his attack by taking a few steps back.
“Isn’t it too slow?”
“You son of a bitch!”
The mercenary then swung at Rosian several times, however Rosian simply avoided the attack with minimal movement every time.
Whoosh!
Rosian whistled as if he was having fun, provoking mercenaries.
“This is really fun, but you can’t end the duel simply like this, can you?”
“For the sake of!”
Despite the narrowness of the store, Rosian avoided attacks by making good use of the space.
The mercenaries who were quietly watching Rosian began to get a little irritated.
“What are you doing!? Do you still think I’m just a kid?”
“Get it over with!”
“Damn it, this kid is nimbler than I thought he’d be!”
Thrash!
The mercenary, after being reprimanded by his partners, changed his posture to a proper swordsman’s. He was furious.
“Well, I tried to forgive you, but now you’re forcing me to see blood.”
Rosian still had a grin on his face.
“If you can’t even touch my collar, what difference would properly using a sword make?”
Looking at the sword shining in the sun, Jayna muttered to herself.
“I think it’d be better if I jumped in now…”
“Nya-!”
However Izren, who was next to Jayna, grabbed her.
Jayna glanced down at him when he did so.
“Are you trying to stop me? However…”
“Nyaa-!”
“I knew that His Highness would do well, I didn’t even know he could move in such a manner. However, being struck by a blade hurts. I don’t even have the power to heal others either.”
“Nyaa.”
“…You know that?”
The expression in Jayna’s eyes changed. She looked at the violet eyes staring back on her.
As realization struck her, Jayna spoke out.
“You believe in His Highness, don’t you?”
As soon as Jayna finished her sentence, the thump of something hitting the ground could be heard.
A mercenary has tripped over himself.
“My goodness, why are you taking out your sword? It’s so very scary.”
As the mercenary fell, Rosian gave him a strong kick in the face.
“U-ugh…”
He pulled out his sword from the sheath that hung around his waist. In the blink of an eye, he lowered his sword toward the mercenary’s neck.
Red blood flowed from it.
Rosian’s sword had actually struck the floor, however, the mercenary had fainted, thinking it was heading for his neck.
“It’s not fun anymore. Won’t you do more?”
Rosian swung his sword around, showing he was bored.
“Another thing, Jayna, do you know what they’re talking about? I heard them say you touched the young master and lady…”
“Ah, that.”
Jayna briefly recounted the incidents regarding the Newin family’s young master and lady.
After hearing the story, Rosian tilted his head with an expressionless face and spoke in a sarcastic voice unfitting of his beautiful face.
“The count and countess are so wrapped around their children’s thumbs, they even sent mercenaries after to do their dirty work…”
“Oh, Your Royal Highness!”
It was then. Rosian was caught off guard when all the mercenaries, who’s pride was hurt, attacked him.
“Crazy bastard!”
All the remaining mercenaries shouted and rushed at Rosian simultaneously.
“Jayna is here.”
Rosian lured them outside, lightly walking towards the door.
In the one-against-many situations, the narrow space wasn’t favourable for him, therefore he moved them to a place which was.
“Where the hell is that kid!”
The mercenaries urgently tried to catch Rosian, but he was never caught.
“Aren’t you all too slow?”
Turning around, Rosian moved his mana to his fist as if it was water and struck the nearest guy’s jaw.
Thuck!
“Hu-uh!”
Bewildered by Rosian’s movements, one opened his mouth. He then bit his tongue, and collapsed without being able to properly scream.
At the same time, Rosian elbowed the man on his left and kicked the man to his right.
“Shit, get him!”
His way of battle wasn’t like that of a knight’s.
The royal family and aristocracy valued one-on-one duels rather than free-for-alls.
However, Rosian’s teacher, Princess Elia, was a practical one.
There was only one area where Elia, the most knowledgeable person in the kingdom, was flexible. And that was when she fought.
She, who risked her life to defeat the Demon King, valued efficiency over honor.
Chaenggang!
Rosian waved his mana-concentrated hand.
He hit the sword with his fists, and it broke into pieces.
The horrified mercenary shouted.
“W-what is this?!”
“Your sword broke. Unless it’s a sword made of mana, if you hit it’s weak spot, it’ll quickly break.”
Rosian kindly explained.
Before he knew it, Rosian had taken care of three mercenaries. Now the only one left was the furthest from him.
“Y-y-your just a kid….”
The very last mercenary pulled out his sword, however it was unusual for him to do so while shaking both his arms and legs.
“I can’t believe a mercenary is shaking against a mere child…”
Relaxed, Rosian picked up his tone and talked to the mercenary.
“I won’t touch you in particular. Only when you can walk will you be able to go to Count Newin. Tell that man that Rosian El Schiphor Delide will visit him soon.”
“What the… don’t tell me, Your Highness, Rosian?”
“Before that, how should you pay for hurting an innocent kid?”
The mercenaries, who stood up while trying to support their fallen comrades, screamed inwardly. It was because they and Count Newin had touched someone they never should have.
“My mother told me not to use a sword without her permission, but…”
Rosian mumbled to himself that his mother would understand, and drew his white, shining sword from his sheath.
The faces of the mercenaries paled.
“I should at least cut off your tendon so that it will never happen again, so that Jayna can be avenged, right?”
Rosian began to take a step closer with a very happy expression.
* * *
After a while, Jayna came out and shook her tongue at the mercenaries who were scattered around.
‘‘What crazy talent, he really is the main lead.’
Rosian had already stripped their coats off and covered all the bloodstains, so Jayna approached him, smiling brightly with an innocent face, unaware that he had used a sword.
Jayna stared blankly at Rosian like a newborn calf.
“I think today’s the first time I’ve ever fought, like an actual fight not a duel…”
Step, Rosian stood in front of Jayna, gently leaning against her.
He was a lot taller than her, so the scene looked as if Rosian laid his head on Jayan’s shoulders.
Therefore, Jayna felt different than usual.
Her heart started beating quickly and she felt her breathing hastening.
She saw his high cheekbones and long eyelashes.
Jayna thought she’d become indifferent to people’s looks after living in the Tower with a number of unrealistically beautiful people. However, after looking closely at the boy, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
‘It’s not something new, but His Highness Rosian is really handsome…’
Rosian, while leaning against her, whispered.
“You know, today I helped Jayna a bit, didn’t I?”
His voice sounded softer than usual.
Jayna nodded her head.
“Of course you did. If it wasn’t for His Highness, this issue would’ve gotten even bigger. Thank you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then, hold my hand.”
“…Like this?”
As she held Rosian’s hand, his warmth shifted to Jayna.
He pretended to be calm on the outside, however, on the inside, he was nervous.
That’s why he leaned on her and showed a different expression than usual.
Jayna, feeling somewhat sorry for him, raised her hands and patted Rosian on the back.
“….!”
As both of Jayna’s small hands touched his back, Rosian trembled with shock. He immediately then felt a rush of joy.
‘It was worth all the trouble.’
In his training with Elia, Rosian was left lying on the floor many times.
Elia wasn’t a person to go easier on someone because they were a kid, on the contrary, she was harsher.
– You should try as hard as you’ve played so far.
Rosian declared he would master the art of the sword, however Elia told him that would be extremely difficult.
And that statement was correct. However to Rosian, a 12 year old child, it didn’t matter.
All that mattered to him was his desperateness to master the skill.
– No matter how desperate you are, all that matters is the result.
Rosian wanted to give up so many times.
In the first place, his nature gravitated towards playing and eating.
But every time that happened, Rosian thought of Jayna and changed his mind.
‘She risked her life to jump into the fire even though she was younger than me.’
When Rosian recalled himself being unable to do anything, he subconsciously clenched his fist. He was ashamed of himself for being powerless and pathetic.
After a great deal of effort, Rosian finally reached the level where he could duel with proper knights.
‘So it’s okay to be this childish right?’
When he was younger, Rosian used to actively look for Micheal and Elia, however now he was no longer afraid of duels.
‘It feels good to be praised by Jayna.’
Having no idea Rosian was pretending to be dejected, Jayna patted him on the back for a long time before turning to his face and saying,
“I think Your Highness has changed a lot since we first met.”
“Does Jayna think like that, too?”
Rosian smiled brightly, like a flower sprinkled with water.
As Jayna watched him grow more dignified over the eyes, she realised he really was the Crown Prince.
‘I haven’t had the chance to see it so far, but he really is the main character of a novel.’
“In fact, it’s all thanks to Jayna.”
“All thanks to me?”
“I started learning swordsmanship because I was concerned about you,”
In an odd manner, Jayna could see the tips of Rosian’s ears slowly turning red.
“Jayna is a dragon, so you have to be careful not to be noticed by humans, and you have to live longer than them.”
His usual playfulness disappeared and he spoke in a serious manner.
“Do you remember the time you jumped into the burning building? Well, I was so worried yet useless at that time. I felt my heart drop at that moment.”
“…”
“I wondered why Micheal cared so much about you, but I soon became the same. Every moment I think of you, I get so worried, I even put you in front of others… if you see that…”
Rosian scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Before Jayna knew it, his entire face was burning red.
In his eyes, he only saw her.
“I, to Jayna…”
Rosian lowered his head shamefully. When Jayna saw such a scene, she was about to speak out.
“What, are you trying to confess?”
Jayna heard the boy snorting next to them.
“Arnen.”
Rosian raised his head and frowned. His expression was very different to the one he made when facing Jayna.