It wasn’t just me either. I’d learned that the human Wolfvartian nobles like Lady Natalie were quick to start distancing themselves from Princess Ileze. The same went for beastfolk nobility like Lady Kate, of course. They were merely staying quiet, not wanting to make enemies of the Maldion Empire, refusing to go anywhere near the princess, like she was some sort of poisonous snake.
Perhaps they could have swallowed their pride and joined hands with someone they disliked if it was of benefit to them. But Princess Ileze didn’t seem like she’d be able to provide the slightest political value.
The fourth-born princess of the Maldion Empire. It was a title that carried weight, but she’d lost her power within the country due to political conflicts, while her personality and behavior made it clear that there was no hope of climbing back to the top of that ladder.
Princess Ileze herself seemed to think that she would regain favor within her homeland if she managed to ruin the influence I held in Wolfvarte. But I certainly had no intention of letting her get the best of me.
“Let me speak…!”
Criiiick!
Princess Ileze squeezed her folding fan hard enough to break bones. She seemed to be desperately searching for a mistake or flaw in my argument that she could grab hold of.
“You’ve been just as careless as I have!” she exclaimed. “It’s your first time seeing the Flute Bees in real life, isn’t it?! You could have been wrong about all that knowledge of yours and ended up getting stung anyway! You were stupid to still approach the bees without using magic or any kind of plan in mind!!”
“I wasn’t stupid. I knew how Flute Bees behaved, and even in the incredibly slim chance that they still tried to sting me, I determined that I would be safe so long as Lady Fillia had that flute in her hands. I placed my trust in her.” I glanced at Lady Fillia as I refuted the princess’ attack.
“Must you always get the last word…?!” Princess Ileze closed her mouth, unable to come up with a retort. She seemed to figure out that if she objected any further, it would be the same as saying that Lady Fillia wasn’t trustworthy in her mind.
Her lips squeezed together tighter and tighter. Still, she refused to give up. Her Highness hurled even more abuse my way.
“Hmph! Sure, you trusted Lady Fillia. That certainly sounds nice, doesn’t it? But really, you weren’t confident that you could make a wall of wind safely if you were in danger. That’s why you didn’t even attempt to cast a spell at all, isn’t it? I heard you were a skilled sorcerer, yet you can’t even make a simple wall!”
“Shall I prove it to you, in that case?”
“…Prove it?”
She scowled at me suspiciously. But I turned to look at Lady Fillia.
She smiled and nodded at me like she’d already guessed my intentions. “By all means, feel free to use magic in this courtyard, so long as you don’t break anything.”
“Thank you very much.”
With that, I wasted no time chanting my spell.
I would be using a fifth level spell—a western wind shield.
The breeze started to pick up, growing stronger until a defensive wall of wind stood between Princess Ileze and me.
She stuck her hands out, but the fierce wind kept her from touching me. “What’s that supposed to show? So you can cast a mid-tier spell, but that’s…all…”
Her Highness’ voice got quieter and quieter. She took a look around the courtyard, disbelief written all over her face.
“It can’t be… The spell reaches this far…?” She’d noticed that the wall of wind I constructed spanned the entire perimeter of the courtyard. “That’s impossible. A simple mid-tier wind spell can’t produce such a large wall…”
“Are you satisfied now?” I asked. The spell wore off and the wall dissolved, so I used the opportunity to amp up the pressure by smiling at her.
Princess Ileze flinched. Then, in desperation, she unleashed another attack at me. “Y-You just managed to cast that spell because you were so calm! If the bees had attacked you, you never would have managed something like that!”
“You might be right about that.”
“So you admit it?! Then that means—”
“But you weren’t able to cast a spell earlier, when you were afraid of being stung by the bees too, were you?”
“…!”
This time, she was silent. Perhaps I’d struck a nerve.
It seemed Princess Ileze had some sort of inferiority complex about her own sorcery skills, causing her to attack me for not using magic when I initially approached the bees.
The Maldion Empire tended to place a lot of value on the amount of magical energy people possessed. Most members of the imperial family boasted of strong magical energy, but I’d heard Princess Ileze’s energy was much weaker than the rest.
Her lack of magical energy was one reason for her political defeat. It made sense that she would see me, a particularly skilled sorcerer, as someone she just had to challenge.
Her Highness cast me a glare before turning and leaving the courtyard at a brisk pace, without so much as a farewell to Lady Fillia.
“That was splendid.” Lady Fillia returned after hastily chasing down Princess Ileze to see her off. “After all that, I don’t think Princess Ileze will be interested in bothering you anymore, at least for some time.”
“I pray that you’re right about that. I’m sorry for causing such a disturbance at your villa,” I apologized.
“Please don’t mind any of that. I’m the one who was unable to refuse Her Highness’ visit in the first place.” She answered me smoothly, a gentle smile appearing on her lips. As always, it was impossible to read the true emotions behind that expression.
I still wasn’t sure if Lady Fillia had anything to do with Princess Ileze showing up at the villa. However, even if she was planning to use Princess Ileze’s support to become the next queen, that disgraceful scene probably would have made her reconsider.
Regardless of who married King Glenreed next, I only hoped to stop anyone being supported by Princess Ileze.
That was in part because I didn’t want the Maldion Empire, a country hostile to my homeland, to gain even more influence. But on a more honest level, I simply hated the idea of Princess Ileze creeping her way into the heart of this country.
The gradually improving relationship between humans and beastfolk would have its progress crushed by that spoiled princess—someone who made no attempt to hide her contempt for beastfolk.