CH 49

The ring was partially split. It still maintained its shape, but it was partially cracked.

Thunk―!

I leaped up with all my strength and struck the ring hard with my sword, shattering it. A few seconds later, a massive explosion occurred, but I had already distanced myself and taken cover.

“Uuugh-!”

As the ring broke, the pigling twisted from side to side. It let out a loud groan as if its eardrums were about to burst and toppled over to the side.

Kwoong―! 

The pigling was so heavy that when it hit the ground, the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

“Haa―haa―”

My heart rate skyrocketed, and I struggled to catch my breath. I had jumped in, expecting the explosion and remained on high alert.

“May, are you okay?!”

Iris held onto me tightly and carefully checked if there were any injuries. I had taken cover immediately using the explosion interval, so I wasn’t hurt.

Cassius, who followed behind, scolded me.

“Why did you jump into the ring again? What would we have done if you got hurt?!”

It was the first time Cassius scolded me like that, so I was a bit surprised. Of course, scolding was warranted. How reckless of a person with no magic power to charge into a ring with an explosive spell.

Normally, I would have apologized and reflected, but today, such words didn’t come out of my mouth.

“This is what a guardian knight must do…”

That’s the only way I can leave Flotina.

I’m desperate, you see. I want to leave this place as soon as possible.

When I weakly lowered my head, Cassius stopped scolding me. Instead, he seemed apologetic.

“I’m sorry for getting angry, May. I was just worried you might get hurt.”

I also apologized to him.

“No, it’s my fault for recklessly jumping in. I’m sorry…”

Then it happened. The people who had been watching me defeat the pigling from the terrace or outside started clapping.

Clap, clap, clap, clap―

“To knock down a pigling with an explosive spell, that’s impressive.”

“Where did such courage come from? It could have been a serious injury.”

“Yeah, incredible for such a young age.”

Everyone seemed to be applauding, but the Nine Members didn’t move their hands.

Virta and Gallay, who had been observing me defeat the pigling, seemed displeased and wore grim expressions.

“A presumptuous young boy…”

“He must have secretly used his family’s power. It’s impossible for him to face an explosive spell without magic power.”

Whether they thought so or not, the applause continued.

Floa asked me.

“Why did you jump in again?”

“I thought there was an interval before the next explosion, so I thought it was safe to do it.”

“Don’t ever do something dangerous like that again. May must not get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt, so don’t worry.”

Floa sighed as he looked at me answering cheerfully.

“You can’t be stopped, can you?”

* * *

May, who defeated the pigling, entered the banquet hall amidst applause. When Virta saw May like that, he grumbled.

“With the number of positions predetermined for the Knights, isn’t it disadvantageous for us if we choose minors?”

All the Nine Members were adults, all around eighteen to twenty years old.

“That’s right. It’s becoming very unfavorable.”

When Gallay replied, Virta frowned.

“It seems like they want to select May Flotina as the new recruit, using underage candidates. Since they’ve decided to choose underage candidates, they could consider others besides Plotina. In that case, we…”

“The competition rate will increase, and the chances of entering the knight order will decrease.”

Gallay responded again. They were a combative pair, always arguing and disliking each other, but they were a great team.

“Damn it!”

Virta couldn’t contain his anger and kicked the ground in frustration. Clovin, who was standing next to them, ruffled his hair in annoyance.

“Just how much does they like May Flotina? Why would they consider bringing in an underage candidate, which has never happened before, to the knight order?”

For them, May Flotina was not a pleasant presence.

The Guardian Knights select only a few individuals every few years. May has already secured one of those positions

.

To select May, they expanded the selection range and increased the competition rate.

However, that didn’t matter to Diego. After all, he was a member of the royal family, so he was scheduled to become a Guardian Knight anyway.

Diego’s green eyes turned toward May.

Even though he witnessed the explosion with his own eyes and almost got seriously injured, May jumped in again and successfully defeated the Pigling.

And then he said to the people who were concerned about him.

“This is something a Guardian Knight should do.”

Diego let out a faint laugh.

“Interesting.”

Curiosity arose. What would happen if he stepped on that boy? His curiosity grew even more because it didn’t seem like it would be easy.

Diego handed his champagne glass to the waiter and walked away alone.

“Your Highness?”

“Where are you going, Your Highness?”

Virta and Gallay’s voices calling him went unheard. He was solely focused on May Flotina.

***

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, a man with reddish-brown hair appeared in front of me. He was as strikingly handsome as the protagonist, but exuded an air of disdain.

As our eyes met, I noticed that his gaze was not friendly, so I averted my eyes slightly and caught a glimpse of his upturned lips.

Even that seemed to show contempt and belittle others.

I felt uncomfortable and fearful of his appearance. I didn’t want to greet him or engage in conversation, so I tried to move away.

“Nice to meet you, Young Master.”

He extended his hand to me. Without realizing it, my body stiffened.

Who could be bold enough to greet me in such a casual tone?

Without needing to speculate, one person crossed my mind.

“I am Diego Stacia.”

The notorious Second Prince. The chairman of Club Nine. A person I didn’t want to get involved with because I knew his personality well.

‘”Shake hands.’

‘

It was an oppressive presence I hadn’t felt in a long time. He commanded me without hesitation.

‘I have to hold your hand.’

As I stood there, unable to shake his hand due to my stiffened body, he raised his eyebrow arrogantly.

‘It would be embarrassing if I don’t hold it.’

I had already anticipated that I might end up having a conversation with the Second Prince at Iris’s birthday party. But now that I was face to face with him, my body froze under his gaze.

I forced myself to move my stiffened body and took his offered hand. Even though I didn’t want to shake hands, I couldn’t refuse his greeting as he had a higher status than me.

“I’m honored to meet you, Your Highness. I am May Flotina.”

“Young Master, how old are you right now?”

“Fifteen.”

“Fifteen… so you have about three more years until you reach adulthood.”

It’s true that people consider me to have about three more years until I become a man. In the Starcia Empire, males become adults at the age of eighteen, while females become adults at the age of sixteen.

As a female, I have less than three months until I reach adulthood, but since I’m disguised as a male, I nodded at the statement that there are approximately three years left.

“That’s correct.”

“In that case, the power of your family will manifest within the next three years. Right now, you’re probably becoming a Guardian Knight because there is no power within your family.”

“…”

“Or is it that even within the next three years, the power of your family won’t manifest?”

There was truth in his words. I pretended to be ignorant.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean. Becoming a Guardian Knight has been my long-standing dream, separate from gaining power within my family.”

Upon hearing that, Diego openly sneered.

“Oh really? I’ve heard that Flotina’s descendants start manifesting their family’s power around the age of five or six. So, Young Master, you haven’t manifested any power yet, and that’s why you started dreaming of becoming a Guardian Knight, isn’t it?”

He was incredibly rude from the start, but I smiled and acted ignorant.

“No, that’s not it. My dream was always to hunt demons alongside my fellow knights. The power of my family has no relevance whatsoever.”

I emphasized that I had no connection to the power of the family, despite feeling a bit uncomfortable. Diego stopped his mocking laughter.

“Alright then, if that’s how you feel. By the way, I didn’t know you could defeat a Pigling. Thanks to you, I’ve become interested in young Master. How about coming to Nine and spending some time together this weekend? We could have a chat.”

His confident invitation was so absurd that I nearly burst into laughter.

Come to Nine? Have a chat?

Have I gone mad? Who knows what kind of mischief awaits me there.

Despite my true feelings of disgust, I politely declined.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I have no intention of joining Nine.”

Diego briefly paused and then smiled casually. It was a momentary exchange, but I saw his change in expression clearly.

“Hahaha, joining? Young master, you’re jumping to conclusions. I just wanted to get to know you better. I’m not trying to force you to join.”

“Before officially joining the knight order, I want to focus on training my body. So, going to Nine would be too much for me. I apologize.”

I declined politely once again. With such a tactful refusal, it would be difficult for him to insist again, or so I thought. But Diego was unpredictable.

“Anyway, if you join the knight order, we’ll inevitably meet, won’t we?”

“What?”

“As a prince, it’s already confirmed that I’ll be joining the knight order. So if you become a Guardian Knight, you’ll have no choice but to meet me.”

“…That may be true.”

So what? What’s the point?

“It would be beneficial for you to get along with me, wouldn’t it? I’m the type who gets deeply hurt by rejection, so keep that in mind.”

It’s an absurd statement. The person who used to speak as if I were the beloved child of Persis is now assuming that I’m the type who easily gets hurt by rejection.