DMHS 45

As expected, the man grabbed hold of the bait Kian offered.

“How did you know? The transformation spell through the magic book is so uncomfortable… no, that’s not what I meant.”

The man rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“You caught me.”

He pulled a magic book from inside his robe and threw it on the ground.

When he also released the spell, his face and build began to change. His body shrank, and his face grew plump with baby fat, his skin smooth and tight.

At last the man returned to his real form. Seeing it, Daisy and Frederick were shocked.

“A woman…?”

“More than that, isn’t she a child?”

They were not the only ones surprised. Even Kian felt his head throb at her true identity.

He put his hand on his forehead and sighed.

“Why did you follow us, Princess?”

Daisy and Frederick went past shock and were close to fainting.

“Princess?”

“Could she truly be Princess Elizabeth?”

Because her body had shrunk, the robe trailed long on the ground. She lifted its hem and gave a greeting.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Elizabeth Edward Celestia.”

Her freckled face was full of mischief.

But Daisy, realizing her true identity, returned to the face of a knight.

“We must send a letter to the capital at once.”

Frederick agreed.

“Let us summon an escort to take the princess back.”

“I cannot understand what His Majesty was thinking to send the princess. But this is not right. Even if I must stop His Majesty, we must send her back.”

Kian, with his arms crossed, added a word.

“She probably left without permission.”

“Is that true, Princess?”

Now Daisy looked ready to spit fire.

She called the bird she had trained. Crouching down, she took out paper and pen from her inner pocket and began writing a letter.

Looking down at her with the same innocent smile, the princess spoke.

“Lord Lucien, I will use my wish now.”

Lucien raised his head and looked at her.

“I want to join your coming-of-age journey.”

Lucien agreed at once.

“Alright.”

Kian lifted his gaze to the far sky. From the moment he realized her identity, he had felt it would come to this. The price of that skewer of fruit he had foolishly accepted had come back heavy.

Daisy, not understanding the situation, interrupted.

“Take the princess all the way to the Hero’s Tomb? That makes no sense. Princess Elizabeth is the only heir to the throne. With only Frederick and me, we cannot guarantee her safety.”

But Lucien’s will could not be broken.

“What are you talking about. Watch your own body.”

Lucien looked back and forth between Kian and the princess.

“My mate and the princess, I will handle both.”

Daisy, unable to contain her anger, seethed. She could not bring herself to argue with Lucien, so she blamed Frederick instead.

“Why are you saying nothing? Should you not stop Lord Lucien and the princess?”

Caught in the middle, Frederick glanced between both sides.

“But Lord Lucien is a dragon. He is incomparably stronger than us.”

Daisy’s eyes turned fierce. Frederick quickly changed his words.

“But we cannot decide the princess’s safety so easily either.”

Lucien and the princess stared at Frederick with expressionless faces.

He started sweating.

Like a drowning man grabbing a rope, Frederick looked desperately at Kian.

“So it would be best to follow Sir Kian’s opinion.”

It was a decision that showed fine tact.

With all eyes on him, Kian brushed back his bangs and answered.

“I keep my promises. From now on we will travel together with the princess.”

He spoke to the princess, who was grinning brightly.

“But you must obey my words unconditionally. Disobedience means expulsion.”

“What is this, a knight order?”

“You did not come here to be treated like royalty. From now on, you are under my command. I do not take subordinates who disobey orders.”

Even at the strict words, the princess only smiled.

“Playing knights sounds fun too. Fine. I will do as you say, Sir Kian.”

In the end, Daisy wrote her letter with a dissatisfied face. It said that they had discovered the princess following them and that she would accompany them on their journey.

Lucien added a few words at the end. Since he began with “Eddie,” it seemed he used their personal relationship to leave a request.

They tied the letter to the bird’s leg and sent it flying, then set off again. A warm wind from the southeast blew at their backs.

The princess’s joining brought a new atmosphere.

Until now, the group’s mood had been far from lively. Lucien rarely spoke. Kian was no better at small talk. Daisy and Frederick usually compromised by not speaking at all, for whenever they opened their mouths it was only to bite at each other.

On the other hand, the princess was like a curious wild monkey.

“Look! I ate this earlier and it was so delicious!”

She kept trying to pick more mangoes.

“There’s something in the mud! Could it be hidden treasure?”

She tried to pull an alligator’s tail.

“I feel it! I want to go to that field over there!”

She pointed out the exact habitat of wild snakes.

Kian realized the danger of a bond tied by blood.

‘This is just like Hero Eddie.’

His eyes went to Lucien on their own.

‘That one is very different though.’

Without meaning to, Kian compared Lucien and Hellenos, then shook his head.

‘If he knew I married his descendant, he would laugh until his stomach split.’

When he imagined Hellenos smashing buildings with his bulging arms while roaring with laughter, his mood soured.

‘Annoying reptile bastard.’

Hellenos had to stay in the Dragon Realm until death. He must never return to the kingdom, not even for a day.

The party crossed the grassland for more than half a day. When the sun showed signs of setting, they picked a spot and prepared to camp.

“What should I do? Should I find a stream and fetch water?”

“Sit still where you are.”

Kian pressed down on the princess’s shoulder. But the princess pointed confidently in one direction.

“I think a stream is flowing that way!”

Kian gestured in the opposite direction she pointed.

“Sir Daisy, fetch water from over there.”

“Understood.”

Daisy left with a pot and soon returned. The once empty pot was full of water.

“It is easier with the princess around.”

It meant all they had to do was do the opposite of what she said.

The princess understood and pouted.

“I told you I heard water from this side.”

“Somehow it feels like there would be a stream below a cliff.”

“I think so too.”

The princess rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

“Fine. I’ll go to Frederick instead.”

Frederick was simmering a large pot of soup filled with various vegetables. The princess sniffed the smell rising from it and sat down beside him.

“Uncle, the knights are teasing me.”

“As I said earlier, I am still too young and bright to be called uncle…”

“Uncle Frederick! I said the knights are teasing me!”

In the end, Frederick gave up on correcting the title.

“Knights are always like that. They think they are the greatest in the world, so they look down on others.”

The princess tilted her head.

“No, that’s not right. The one who looks down on others is you, uncle.”

“……”

“But your magic was really cool. The way the thieves who stepped on the magic circles all went flying into the sky.”

Frederick’s stiff face softened immediately.

“Ahem. You have sharp eyes, Princess. In truth, I am quite skilled at drawing magic circles. In our tower, no one can draw them as well as I can…”

The princess cut him off again.

“But magic circles are mostly drawn on magical tools, right? And the Second Tower specializes in magical tools. You’re a battle mage, so what use is being good at drawing circles?”

She was correct. The five towers each had clear fields they focused on.

The First Tower studied the four elements. The Second Tower studied magical tools. The Third Tower studied battle magic.

Frederick admitted it in a lower voice.

“That’s right. It is a skill useless in battle magic. I only got good at it because I liked it and studied it on my own.”

“You learned that much by yourself? Then why don’t you go to the Second Tower?”

“I once thought about that too.”

Frederick stirred the soup with a ladle.

“Originally, I did not want to become a battle mage.”

“Why? I thought you loved being a battle mage the most.”

Only then did Frederick realize his slip.

In front of others, he always declared boldly,

–The thrill of overpowering knights armed with aura! Among magicians, battle mages are without doubt the best!

Now, the childhood past of running away because he hated training duels, of crying and whining that hitting people was terrible, had become a memory remembered only by a few close confidants.

Frederick recalled that past self smiled bitterly.

“Of course battle mages are the best. Haha. Talking about this is no fun. Shall I tell you some old stories about this region instead?”

“Okay!”