Meanwhile...
After confronting a dragon at the hunting contest hosted by the royal family as plotted by his grandfather, Liedis had yet to return to the Royal College and was recuperating from his injuries in his Aquarius Palace.
His ribs were broken and his internal organs had been injured, but for someone who’d been on the receiving end of a dragon’s strike, this was trivial. His telekinetic barrier had probably softened the blow somewhat.
Also, being a member of royalty, Liedis was sturdy and had an exceptionally high capacity for regeneration. Even his doctor was surprised at how quickly he was recovering.
However, in order to protect his ribs, the prince had to wear a corset. His days were now thoroughly boring as he kept rolling around in bed.
While he was spacing out, the sight of his half brother’s fiancée facing off against a dragon flashed through his mind.
When the dragon had charged her in its berserk state, Estelle Flozeth had frozen up with fear at first, but after Liedis had protected her with his power, she’d immediately recovered from her daze. The brave look of a soldier had appeared on her face. It had been the same face she’d shown that time when curiosity had driven Liedis to sneak into the Libra Palace and cause some trouble for his brother’s talented subordinates.
It was said that women with ample mana living near dragon habitats—the Dragonbone Mountains and Avalon—learned to use Dragon Slayers. Did all of them have another face, just like her?
Her pedigree and capabilities were both average, and her looks were plain. She did, however, fulfill the minimum requirements for marrying into royalty, and upon closer inspection, her face wasn’t all that bad. Shooting wasn’t a skill that a princess would need, but Liedis had impulsively been drawn to the sight of her as she’d faced danger.
Arriving at that thought, the prince clicked his tongue. It was undesirable that a rather outstanding woman like her was to become the wife of his biggest rival.
Trying to shake off the hazy feeling he felt, Liedis traced his eyes over the lines of a book he used to kill time. That was when his chief officer entered his bedroom.
“Your Highness, His Grace Duke Marwick and Lord Silvio have come to check up on you.”
“My grandfather and uncle are here?” Liedis’s eyes widened slightly as he lifted his face.
They’ve come to give me a warning, the prince thought on reflex.
Anyone who’d seen the corpse of that stray dragon could tell at a glance that its attack had been intentional. After all, it had clearly had what looked like a component of an artifact embedded into the spot between its eyebrows.
The public rumor was that it had been the work of some insurrectionist organization, seeking to overthrow the state. By making a stray dragon go on a rampage at a hunting contest hosted by the royal family, this unknown group had aimed to kill both the royal family and whatever nobleman had hired said organization.
In order to calm the citizens down, Sachis had named both Estelle and Liedis “Dragon Exterminators.”
He’d particularly exalted Estelle, who’d fired at the dragon’s heart despite the injury the gun would cause her, and given her the most recognition. Sachis was also intent on curbing the second prince’s faction’s activities.
It was possible that the nickname of “Princess Dragon Exterminator” for Estelle was already taking hold despite the fact she hadn’t married into the family yet because Sachis was doing something behind the scenes. The same went for the awfully strong emphasis that reporters put on her and Liedis—political enemies—joining hands to slay the dragon.
Sachis had been in favor of Arcrayne from the beginning; he stood by the idea that the law should be upheld. He probably wanted to make the investiture of Liedis’s half brother as crown prince more favorable by extolling the virtues of Estelle, his future wife.
Liedis’s grandfather was certain to be furious—not only had his original plan gone wrong, but it had actually put Arcrayne at an advantage as a result.
Just as Liedis had expected, his grandfather Mircea Marwick, who’d brought the prince’s uncle Silvio with him, looked displeased as he flumped into a chair by Liedis’s bed.
Mircea was the younger brother of the previous king. This old man had features similar to those of Sachis and Liedis, and had a sharp look in his eye.
“How do you feel, Your Highness?” he asked.
“Much better than before. I apologize for not meeting your expectations, grandfather.”
Mircea closed his eyes and shook his head. “I should be the one apologizing. The truth is that the artifact broke when I brought the dragon to the forest.”
“It broke?”
What a poor excuse. Liedis had expected more as he’d wondered how his grandfather would explain the fact that the dragon hadn’t been controlled and the whole incident had caused a wild uproar as a result.
“I did say it was a reckless plan and tried to stop him...” timidly uttered his grandfather’s accessory... Or rather, the prince’s uncle, Silvio. He was Truteliese’s brother, who was younger than her by ten years.
Truteliese and Silvio both strongly resembled Mircea’s late wife.
Silvio’s fainthearted personality showed in his looks too, however. His stooped shoulders and hung head put his shapely features to waste despite his resemblance to the queen. This unreliable, unambitious man was to be the next head of House Marwick after Mircea.
“You be quiet,” said Mircea with a click of his tongue, glaring at Silvio, which prompted the latter to freeze up.
Liedis wasn’t very fond of his uncle, who was always daunted and timid before his grandfather—but this time, he was of completely the same opinion as him.
The prince had been told that the artifact had been studied since its discovery two years ago. Evidently, it hadn’t been enough time to properly examine the unknown artifact.
Held responsible for the incident, Lucius, the chief officer who’d served Liedis for a long time, had been replaced. Some other employees had also disappeared from the Aquarius Palace—a fact that angered Liedis.
“Why did you make such a dangerous plan?” asked the prince. “I and everyone else in that place might have died, had we been less lucky.”
“Much to my vexation, everything I try against the first prince ends in failure,” replied Mircea. “So I wanted you to distinguish yourself in a way that left a vivid impression, Your Highness.”