Chapter 74
Chapter 74: The Princess Awakens a Special Fetish
About 2 minutes passed, and Auréliane stood frozen in the pool of blood.
She stared wide-eyed at her own trembling hands, unable to believe it.
The monster that had been able to crush her over and over again—it was dead just like that?
It was the first time she had ever seen so much blood, the first time she had killed a monster by such brutal means.
And yet she felt not even a trace of discomfort.
If anything, there was a kind of novelty she had never experienced before.
The mind that had been stretched to the absolute limit of tension gradually relaxed, and her whole body trembled—unable to conceal the elation surging inside her.
Exhilarating!
Because she had defeated, with her own hands, a powerful enemy she had believed to be completely unbeatable.
Through failure after failure, through "death" after "death," a single thought had remained in Auréliane's mind.
She had to defeat it! And then—kill it!
It seemed as though only that could release the emotions that had built up from dying again and again. It seemed as though only that could prove she was absolutely not some fragile Decorative Vase.
Auréliane let herself go completely. With no regard for her appearance, she sat down on the grass and let the foul-smelling blood soak into every part of her.
This was her trophy. Proof of her victory.
The members of the Royal Knight Company stood far back, their weapons lowered, every Knight's eyes filled with shock.
What had they just witnessed?
"Her Highness the Princess, only 15 years of age, personally killed a Wild Ogre!?"
The Knights knew this magical beast well.
Knights were assigned every week to sweep the area around the Royal Capital and cull the surrounding monsters, preventing them from multiplying too quickly and accumulating into a disaster.
And the Wild Ogre before them was the very existence that gave Knights the most headaches—each sweep required at least a dozen Knights to bring one firmly under control.
To think that the Princess, who had never even made a name for herself, actually possessed such outrageous combat strength?
And most importantly—she was only 15 years old!
The personal guard also rushed forward through the crowd's shock and hurried to help the Princess to her feet.
"Your Highness the Princess! Are you all right!?"
In truth, the moment she had burst in and seen the monster lunging at the Princess, she had been scared nearly witless.
She had even started mentally deciding which patch of ground she wanted her future grave to occupy.
And then she witnessed a sight that pulled her up from the very depths of despair and hurled her straight to the mountaintop.
Her Highness Auréliane had turned the tables and killed the monster!?
Having guarded and accompanied the Princess for so long, she naturally knew exactly what Auréliane was and wasn't capable of.
Her magical talent was certainly peerless—she could master spells taught by her teachers with just a single glance.
But talent was not the same as combat strength.
Who in the Imperial Palace didn't know that a Princess with no real combat experience, even if she had learned magic, would be nothing more than a Decorative Vase Princess in the end?
But now, Auréliane had given them all a hard slap across the face.
What kind of Decorative Vase could solo a Wild Ogre and win at the age of 15?
Even Erika, who was reputed to be the most brilliant young talent in the Royal Capital right now, would probably struggle to manage that.
After being helped to her feet by the guard, Auréliane shook her head and said:
"I'm fine."
She hadn't expected that her guards would find her together with the Knight Company.
A flame ignited out of thin air, and Viktor gradually emerged from within it into the sight of everyone present.
The personal guard's eyes burned with fury the moment they landed on Viktor.
If not for Viktor taking the Princess away without so much as an explanation, she wouldn't have nearly had to prepare herself for the moment her head left her shoulders.
How could she not be furious?
Viktor had nearly gotten everyone killed!
"Viktor! Abducting the Princess is already an unforgivable crime! And you still had the nerve to bring her to such a dangerous place! You……"
Viktor remained unmoved. It was the Princess who first furrowed her brow and cut off whatever came next.
"Cilia."
"You are being far too discourteous to my Teacher."
Upon hearing the Princess's words, the guard addressed as Cilia began to stammer and stutter:
"But, Your Highness, he……"
Before she could finish, something like a repulsive force came crashing down and forced her back, completely beyond her control.
Cilia looked up and saw a faint light glowing at Viktor's fingertip.
【1st-Tier Magic: Repulsion】
Having done all of this, Viktor gave the Princess a nod and offered his praise:
"The Repulsion Magic at the end—well used."
Receiving Viktor's praise, Auréliane was overjoyed.
It meant her efforts had not been in vain.
A beam of light fell and swept over the Princess's clothes, cleaning away the bloodstains.
The drop materials from the body on the ground were also collected by Viktor.
The body itself, however, Viktor left in place. That was Auréliane's trophy, after all.
He looked at the【Ogre's Heart】he had just picked up, then glanced back at Auréliane.
It was his student's trophy, but……
Viktor put the 【Ogre's Heart】into his Player-exclusive Inventory and looked back at Auréliane.
"Well then, today's lesson is over. Tomorrow, you may rest for a day."
As he spoke, he gave a nod to Gwen, who had arrived from the distance. A blue Formation rose beneath his feet, dissolving into scattered points of light and fading away.
Gwen watched Viktor depart, then turned and called out to the Knight Company.
"Seal off the Mirute Trail temporarily! No one in or out!"
***
The Princess was ultimately escorted safely back to the Imperial Palace by her guards, bringing with her her trophy—1 "Wild Ogre."
Emperor Aubrey was greatly pleased and declared in front of everyone that he would reward Auréliane.
Before long, news of Auréliane's solo kill of the Wild Ogre spread through every noble circle in the Royal Capital.
Some nobles believed this was a signal from the Imperial family—that the previously obscure Princess was finally ready to step into the public eye as a "genius," with the Imperial family laying the groundwork beneath her.
A means of reinforcing the Imperial family's grip on power.
The remaining nobles, on the other hand, found themselves intrigued by Viktor's teaching methods.
Under the Imperial family's public announcement, everyone now knew Viktor had become the Princess's Private Magic Instructor.
Yet today's lesson had left them staggered.
Having a student kill a "Wild Ogre"—that was Viktor's lesson.
What on earth was Viktor thinking?
***
Erika had been troubled lately. Ever since the day before, when she had encountered the Professor and suddenly found herself blurting out "take me as your disciple" in a state of mental overload, she had been racking her brain over how to convince her father, Duke Livi.
Just as Viktor had said, she was her father's only heir—there was no way he would agree to let her keep doing something dangerous.
But whenever she thought back to what Auréliane had said at the Banquet, a feeling of unease stirred inside her.
"Are you trying to steal my Teacher?"
"I won't let you."
Erika shook her head quickly, trying to fling those unpleasant thoughts out of her mind.
The sound of a door opening came from outside, followed by a servant's voice.
"My Lord Duke."
Her father was back.
Hearing Duke Livi's voice, Erika pushed open her door and stepped out—only to find Duke Livi's expression somewhat dark.
Erika tucked away the speech she had just been preparing.
Whatever she might say, her father was clearly in a bad mood right now. This really wasn't the moment to bring something else up.
But hadn't her father gone to the Imperial Palace? Could it be that someone had offended him while he was there?
Erika asked in puzzlement:
"Father, what's wrong?"
"This really shouldn't have happened."
Duke Livi glanced at Erika, let out a sigh, and said:
"Viktor has taken the post of the Princess's Teacher, yet he released a large-scale Teleportation Magic inside the Imperial Palace and took the Princess out of the Palace with him."
"When the Royal Knight Company found Her Highness the Princess, she was facing a Wild Ogre."
Erika covered her mouth, utterly astonished.
A Wild Ogre—Erika, well-informed as she was, had naturally heard of them.
This type of monster was apparently a Lord-tier creature that appeared deep in dense forests—savage and ferocious, notoriously difficult to bring down.
As a rule, such monsters were hunted down by Knight Companies, or killed by passing adventurers.
The bodies could even be taken to the Royal Capital for a reward.
Why had the Princess……been facing one of those things alone?
What came next shocked Erika even further, as she heard Duke Livi continue:
"Even though she did defeat that monster—having the Princess take such a risk is simply unacceptable!"
There was a note of anger in Duke Livi's voice, an anger naturally directed at Viktor's "audacious teaching methods."
The Princess was His Majesty's daughter, and His Majesty cherished her dearly.
If something had truly gone wrong because of Viktor, how would Viktor ever be able to stand his ground in the Empire?
Everything he had built up would collapse in an instant.
Did he truly not understand any of this?
The Duke, however, failed to notice that Erika, upon hearing all of this, had staggered back several steps in shock.
What? Her Highness the Princess had actually defeated that kind of monster!?
Alone? By herself?
She suddenly recalled the words the Princess had once spoken.
To surpass her, to become an existence even more gifted than her.
Now, what Auréliane had accomplished left a deep impression carved into Erika's heart.
"……A genius?"
Duke Livi startled slightly and looked toward his daughter.
For some reason, Erika had lowered her head at this moment, making it difficult to see her expression.
"Erika? My dear, what's wrong?"
"No……it's nothing."
Erika let out a quiet sigh.
At this moment, she had suddenly come to understand something.
Staying at Viktor's side seemed to……not actually create any substantial gap between herself and the Princess.
If anything, it would only cause the distance between them to keep shrinking.
And besides……
Since she had long since understood that her father would never agree, why keep making an unreasonable fuss.
'Erika, it's time to grow up.'
She said this to herself.
And so, Erika drew a deep breath and put a request to Duke Livi:
"Father, during the 2-month break at the start of the Academy's enrollment period, I would like to……"
Duke Livi looked at his daughter. He saw the resolve in her eyes, and within her gaze there was now a different kind of confidence.
"I would like to train for a period of time in your Mage Corps."
Duke Livi stared blankly at his daughter.
"Tedious magic study is bound to improve me only so much, so I need an opportunity to train."
"And the Mage Corps belongs to you—I won't cause you any trouble."
Faced with a choice between chasing her heart's desire and growing up, Erika chose the latter.
It wasn't that her admiration for Viktor had diminished in any way.
If anything, the closer she came to Viktor, the more she could feel the force of his character beneath that cold indifference.
She had come to realize that her previous self had been wrong in quite a fundamental way.
To try to catch up with someone by becoming their disciple—that would only ensure the gap between them kept growing larger and larger.
Erika wanted to shine. She wanted everyone to look at her in a new light.
The only trouble was that Viktor's light was far too brilliant—it made everyone else close their eyes, it made everyone else look so utterly dim and unremarkable.
It had nearly made her forget.
The strongest talent in the Royal Capital under the age of 20.
Could only be her.
A glimmer of satisfaction passed through Duke Livi's deep eyes. He said slowly:
"I have an old friend in the Empire's far north—a powerful Mage-soldier."
"If you can endure the cold of the north, then after some time has passed, go train for a while up there together with my Mage Corps."