Kiaros’s instincts screamed that something was wrong.
‘Wait… what is this?’
Suddenly, his mind went blank.
His body still moved just fine, but the flow of aura—so natural it was like breathing—was gone.
“Wil.”
Startled, Kiaros called out to the knight behind him.
“I think my Dark Period just started.”
The two knights accompanying him to the library were among the most elite in the Order.
“I’m sure of it. This stifling sensation—this is definitely it. We need to call for backup.”
“They’re already standing by outside the library. I’ll fetch them quickly. Please stay here with Sir Fron for a moment.”
Wil, the faster of the two and the less skilled, dashed off, leaving the larger knight Fron behind.
As Fron kept a tense watch of the surroundings, Kiaros swung his sword a few times.
‘It’s nothing like before.’
So this was the Dark Period. He couldn’t summon even one-twentieth of his usual strength.
Just as he was lowering his blade with a grimace—
“Your Highness!”
With a piercing swish, daggers flew toward them. Fron, maintaining her guard, immediately stepped in front of Kiaros.
“Behind me, now!”
Startled, Kiaros stumbled back.
What shocked him even more than the attack was that he hadn’t sensed the incoming daggers at all.
Normally, he’d have sensed the assassin long before the blades ever flew!
Fron batted away several daggers with incredible reflexes.
“These sewer-stained bastards—how dare you try this filth on me—!”
She cursed fiercely as she fought, but one of the daggers struck her straight on.
“Fron!”
With a heavy thud, she collapsed. The blade had to be coated in poison—her body went rigid in seconds.
Then Kiaros remembered the Emperor’s warning:
[Never let the outside world know how weak you’ve become.]
A cold sweat ran down his spine.
He’d foolishly blurted out his condition aloud in the courtyard behind the library. An open area.
The assassin must have heard him—and launched the attack.
Had he just kept his mouth shut, none of this would’ve happened!
“Fron…”
Because of his carelessness, Fron was down.
Even worse, more daggers flew toward him.
Normally—even in a Dark Period—he could have dodged. But drowning in guilt, the ever-confident prince was frozen in place.
‘Ah.’
Clutching Fron’s stiff body, Kiaros blankly thought:
‘Is this how I die?’
Born stronger than anyone, he had always thought death was a distant thing.
But here it was—so close, so absurdly sudden.
The first dagger he dodged on instinct. The second came straight for his chest as he stumbled.
And then—
“Activate!”
A shrill voice rang out.
Two scrolls soared into the air before him, forming glowing magic circles midair that knocked the second dagger off course.
“Ah…”
The scrolls hadn’t been quite close enough. The redirected blade grazed Kiaros’s arm instead.
If it had hit directly, he’d have ended up like Fron—completely paralyzed.
Clutching his wounded arm, Kiaros turned sharply.
In the window of the library stood the girl from earlier.
“Haah, haah…”
She was leaning out, breath ragged behind a face mask.
Her expression was hidden beneath the brim of her hat.
But she looked just as shaken as he was. She muttered under her breath:
“It… it worked?”
What?
Was that her first time activating a scroll?
That was somehow more terrifying.
“Seize them!”
Just then, Wil arrived with a squad of knights from outside.
They stormed in and dragged the hidden assassin from behind a tree.
“Grrraaagh! Kekeke! Kuaaargh!”
What they pulled out was a small, green-skinned creature with pointed ears—a goblin.
Wil murmured in disbelief.
“A goblin…?”
“I thought they were all wiped out. Some must’ve survived.”
“But could a goblin have this level of intelligence?”
Unbelievable.
Goblins were low-tier monsters.
Yet one had tailed the Crown Prince, eavesdropped, and attempted an assassination?
No one had even considered such a possibility.
“We can’t afford a scene.”
Kiaros gave a low command, trying to maintain his composure despite his stiffening arm.
The goblin had been captured. They’d need to investigate it later.
Wil whispered urgently.
“Yes, Your Highness. Let’s get you back at once.”
“Agreed.”
All the knights silently nodded. They would withdraw without revealing the Prince’s identity.
Surrounded by his guard, Kiaros glanced back.
The girl was still standing at the window, watching them.
She likely hadn’t heard their conversation—she was too far away.
But she had to know she saved his life.
“You there!”
Kiaros shouted loud enough for his voice to carry to the window.
“You saved me! Come to Count Kalto’s estate later!”
It was the nearest noble’s manor.
He couldn’t reveal his own residence publicly, so he named a close landmark.
‘I’ll send someone ahead to Kalto’s. Have her brought to me with the best treatment possible.’
He recalled the silhouette he’d barely noticed earlier.
‘She covered herself up so thoroughly… does she have social anxiety?’
He remembered her clutching the quill, focused like she was the only one in the world.
‘She seemed… really shy.’
At the window, the girl tilted her head—and then cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled back:
“Who do you think you are, ordering around your lifesaver like that?!”
She clearly didn’t know he was the Crown Prince.
Still, Kiaros was stunned.
No one had ever spoken to him like that before.
“You should thank me in person before ordering me around!”
He flinched.
Was that… right?
Was a face-to-face thank-you more important than a grand reward?
He had never considered it.
No one had ever saved him before.
“You should at least know what you’re thankful for!”
The girl puffed up proudly. Shy, she was not.
Just then—
“Your Highness, Fron’s breathing is shallow. If that dagger was coated in strong poison, your wound could be dangerous too.”
Wil now carried Fron on his back, her tongue stiff and unmoving.
Kiaros’s arm was starting to go numb too.
“You must both see a physician immediately.”
There was no more time to talk.
To make matters worse, the goblin was putting up a serious fight.
If they lingered, they’d draw too much attention.
Kiaros turned once more to the girl, still faceless at the window, and shouted:
“Come to Count Kalto’s manor! I’ll give you whatever you want! I swear it on my honor!”
“Anything?!”
“Yes! Anything!”
“Hmmm…”
As he and his knights departed in haste, the girl called out thoughtfully behind him.
“I want to marry a man with tons and tons and tons of money!”
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