The afternoon training grounds, baking under the hot sun, were peaceful beyond words.

No matter how much the air was filled with the rough shouts of men, the roars of drills, and the clashing of weapons, it was peaceful. Even with wooden swords whizzing back and forth right in front of his nose, making menacing whoosh sounds, it was peaceful.

Feeling sluggish and languid, like an old man basking in the spring sun, Isaac casually parried the wooden swords flying incessantly at his head, torso, and limbs. If he felt too lazy to dodge, he just obediently took a hit or two on his thigh or forearm.

How incredibly peaceful this was. These weren’t real blades that would severe his neck with a mere graze, nor were they moving at the inescapable speed of a lightning flash. Even if he took a hit wrong, his life wasn’t in any danger; at worst, he’d get a cracked bone.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you today?”

Olsen, who had been swinging his wooden sword while tilting his head in confusion for a while now, finally asked.

“Hm? What about me?” 

“I mean, you’ve got this profound, serene smile on your face like you’ve achieved Nirvana in sparring. Did you spend your suspension at home cultivating the Dao?”

Even looking at his sparring partner staring at him with a thoroughly creeped-out expression, Isaac just smiled warmly.

“Hmm…… You could say I’ve realized just how beautiful it is to live in a reality where you don’t have to worry about your life every single moment……”

“??? Seriously, what is his deal?”

Olsen turned to look at the squad next to them with a face that clearly read, He’s getting creepier by the second. Rauder, who was swinging his wooden sword viciously, looking ready to eat his sparring partner alive, replied without even glancing over.

“Leave him be. The guy survived a brush with death; you think he didn’t gain some grand realization about life? He probably had plenty of time to reflect on his existence while suspended.” 

“True, true. If it were me, and I survived being trapped with a murderous wizard, a magical beast, and Prince Kyan all at once, I’d live every moment of my life in deep gratitude too.”

Rauder’s sparring partner, Brick, nodded in agreement. Is that it…..? Olsen tilted his head skeptically, but seemingly satisfied enough, he smoothed out his scowling expression.

“But did you just stay locked up at home exercising by yourself during your suspension? How come your physical skills haven’t rusted at all?”

It was Brick who spoke up next, having somehow found the time to watch Isaac, who had been effortlessly slipping past attacks with hair’s-breadth margins.

“Yeah, for a guy who was stuck at home for over two weeks, you’re flying around pretty lightly. …… Were you sneaking out to play?” Rauder chimed in.

“…… I was busy trying to keep my head attached to my neck.”

Isaac felt a brief pang of depression as he replied, but quickly smoothed out his expression. The past was the past, and there was no need to dwell on the future right now. ‘I should just enjoy this peaceful moment.’ 

Just then, Squad Leader Simon shouted from a distance, “TAKE A BREAK!” The sparring soldiers halted their drills, wiping away sweat as they scattered toward the water pump or the shade of the trees. Isaac took a drink from his canteen and sat down under the shade of a large, nearby tree. Though, with several other hot, sweaty men piling in to sit next to him, it wasn’t exactly cool.

“Anyway, I’m glad. I was a bit worried you were going to quit.”

Brick plopped down next to Isaac and said.

“You think I’d quit over something like that?” “A lot of guys were worried, not

just me. These guys here, my brother too.”

Seeing Brick gesture with his chin toward the surrounding soldiers, and his squadmates nodding along with “Yeah, yeah,” Isaac let out a soft chuckle.

Though the incident from the Hunting Competition had mostly blown over by now, Isaac’s future was hardly going to be smooth sailing. For one, he had gotten firmly on the bad side of the Wizard Guild, a faction boasting considerable power, and neither the Magistrate nor the Grand Duke’s side looked upon him favorably either. As a Royal Guard, Isaac’s chances of promotion were completely shot…… Even if no one said it out loud, it was glaringly obvious that his working environment wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“Anyway, if you ever need help, just say the word. I’ll help you as much as I can.” 

“Yeah, me too.”

When Brick spoke, Olsen joined in. The guys around them nodded as well. “Thanks, you warm-hearted bastards,” Isaac said, patting their shoulders. He said it like a joke, but his heart genuinely felt full.

They might bicker and fight every day, but they were comrades bonded by a lot of shared history and affection. Even without making a big show of it, they were genuinely welcoming Isaac back from his suspension.

Truthfully, he had briefly considered quitting, but he figured it would be hard to find colleagues as good as these anywhere else. Plus, having gone through so many consecutive, life-threatening hardships lately, getting on some guild’s bad side felt like absolutely nothing in comparison. Besides, if I’m going to earn a merit and get a reward from the King, I need to stay attached to the Palace……

“…….”

…… Forget it. The Roberni plan is a bust anyway. I’ve decided I’m not even going to look in that direction.

‘Damn it, just what kind of merit am I supposed to earn then……’

“Still, you know, the people who viewed the wizards as a thorn in their side might actually look at you favorably now. In a way, you earned a merit by knocking those wizards down a peg.”

It’s completely useless since those people aren’t the ones who can hand me a flint from the royal vault……

Isaac shook his head inwardly, but what his colleague Rauder said wasn’t entirely wrong. While the wizard faction looked at Isaac with disdain, the people who normally hated wizards had actually started initiating greetings with Isaac, despite being total strangers.

The Prince wasn’t the only one who hated wizards. The Wizard Guild was so powerful that people didn’t dare show it openly, but there were many who loathed that arrogant, prideful breed. Especially the high-ranking wizards who possessed contracts with the royal family; they routinely walked around with their noses in the air even in front of nobles and generals, which naturally generated a lot of spiteful gossip behind their backs.

“Come to think of it…… they say he’s a half-blood with a witch.”

The words from the people chatting near by suddenly pierced Isaac’s ear as he sat there zoning out. Reacting reflexively, Isaac flinched, shrinking his neck as he turned toward them. 

“Huhhhh?”

“Huh? What? What is?” 

Isaac blinked his eyes as he asked, and Olsen, who had been sitting next to him joining in the gossip, spoke up. 

“The Wizard Guild Master. Haven’t you heard the rumor? That the Guild Master is actually a half-blood between a wizard and a witch.”

Hearing those hushed, whispering words, Isaac calmed his startled heart and mumbled evasively, “Uhm, y-yeah, I think I might have heard something like that.”

There were many rumors surrounding the head of the Wizard Guild, who held a direct contract with the King. He was a wizard of unprecedented, overwhelming magical power, capable of controlling all manner of phantom beasts and magical creatures, and allegedly even capable of influencing the weather. Seeing how the temperamentally difficult and highly suspicious wizards served him as their leader without a single word of complaint, it seemed the stories weren’t entirely baseless. Moreover, he almost never showed himself in public; unless there was a massive national event, ordinary people had almost zero chance of seeing him. Even Isaac, who commuted to the Royal Palace every day, had only caught a brief, distant glimpse of him during the King’s 30th Ascension Anniversary ceremony last year. He was an individual far harder to lay eyes on than most royalty.

Because of this, the rumors surrounding him were colorful and varied: that he was a half-blood between a wizard and a witch, that he had forged a secret pact with a witch, or even that he himself was a witch. Countless rumors circulated.

“They say he’s the strongest wizard to appear in the last few centuries.” “The fact that he’s held the Guild Master position for over thirty years among those greedy, insanely jealous wizards tells you everything you need to know.” 

“Right, and so everyone’s been saying for ages, ‘Of course he’s that strong, he’s got

witch blood mixed in him.’”

Without bothering to jump into his colleagues’ gossip, Isaac just stared off into the distant sky, muttering to himself where no one could hear, “Well…… I don’t think that has anything to do with it……”

When Isaac was young, his mother rarely used magic even when they were alone, but very occasionally, she would cast a spell. Times like when she was getting a frightened kitten down from a high, unreachable place, or when she gathered with her witch friends and gave a light demonstration while debating magical theory.

The young Isaac found it incredibly cool and envied her, throwing tantrums because he wanted to use magic too. But his mother had told him:

‘Magic power has to be innate. You weren’t born with it, so you can’t.’

And then she had sighed, adding, ‘To think that you’re my child, yet you weren’t even born with as much magic power as a human wizard……’

Having realized early on that there were some things effort simply couldn’t overcome, Isaac had spent the rest of his life working hard at the things he could do, living his life as a human.

…… Anyway, since they say even a witch can have ridiculously weak magic, it wouldn’t be strange at all for a human to be born with unimaginably immense magic. Isaac stared up at the sky, lost in thought.

“Regardless, I’m not a fan of wizards. Don’t they just look kind of sinister? Like it wouldn’t be weird if they secretly murdered someone and buried them all in the name of ‘magical research’, right?” 

“I doubt they’d go that far, but it does seem like a lot of them are temperamentally prone to obsessively digging into one specific thing.”

“I hear in some countries they even have a specific word for people like that, like an otaku or whatever……”

Beside Isaac, his colleagues were still deeply engrossed in their gossip. Then, Olsen patted Isaac on the shoulder.

“I mean, look at this guy. He almost died to a wizard just a little while ago. If Prince Kyan hadn’t been there, he’d be dead.” “Exactly. Thank the gods our Prince hates wizards.” 

“So in a way, Prince Kyan is Isaac’s savior.”

“…….”

‘No…… Prince Kyan didn’t kill that wizard because he hates wizards, and he definitely didn’t do it to save me……’ Isaac was burning with the urge to retort, but he let it go. He was too exhausted to even talk about that incident anymore. Rumors were just going to spread on their own, completely detached from whatever truth he tried to explain anyway, so they could say whatever they wanted.

“Speaking of which, I heard Prince Kyan’s escort got fired.”

Someone suddenly tossed out a new topic. Neither the talk of witches nor wizards was particularly pleasant for Isaac, so, thinking this was a welcome change of pace, he quickly jumped into the conversation to fan the flames.

“Really? While I was suspended? By ‘escort,’ you mean his boy toy, right? Fired…… wait, you don’t mean he was fired from his life, do you?”

Saying it out loud, he realized this wasn’t exactly a cheerful topic either, but Isaac asked with a grimace.

The Prince’s “escorts” – which was just a polite title for his favorites – had been replaced many times before. Whether their bodies broke down, or they stepped down begging and crying, or they died. Given the amount of time this recent escort had held the position, it was about time he was swapped out. But as far as Isaac knew, this particular toy was quite ambitious, so he wouldn’t have quit on his own. Which meant “fired” probably meant his neck……

“No, no. Literally fired. Dismissed from his post.”

Hearing Rauder’s answer as he waved his hand dismissively, Isaac felt a wave of

relief, but also asked in confusion,

“Why?” 

“He got caught playing around with a woman.”

Isaac blinked, staring at Rauder. So what he meant was, this toy was offering his body to satisfy Prince Kyan’s lust, while simultaneously sharing a bed with some random woman on the side. In that case, it was only natural he got fired, but……

“…… Wait, it’s not anyone else, it’s Prince Kyan. He’s the type who wouldn’t care in the slightest what his toy did elsewhere as long as it didn’t interfere with satisfying his own urges, right? A man who doesn’t even view them as human beings, but purely as tools—he really fired his toy over that?”

Isaac looked at them with eyes that clearly said he couldn’t believe the man possessed such a fundamentally human trait. The others, including Rauder, replied with faces that completely understood his skepticism.

“The woman got pregnant.” 

“What? Ah…… well, it would be a bit awkward to keep him around as a boy toy then. A man about to become a father…… Still, I figured he’d be the type to not even care about that, but I guess he does have a shred of morality left in him……”

As Isaac nodded and muttered in surprise, Olsen spoke up.

“Well, I don’t know about that. When that greedy bastard was clinging to him begging to stay his favorite, Prince Kyan fired him by saying, ‘There are plenty of holes besides yours anyway, there’s no reason I have to use yours.’ Can you really call that morality……?”

“…….”

A heavy silence fell over the group.

‘Yeah, I figured. That’s our Prince, alright.’ Isaac asked with a sour taste in his mouth.

“So, who’s the new favorite?” 

“Don’t know. He just got fired a couple of days ago, so I’m sure a new one will pop up soon.”

“Whoever that unlucky bastard turns out to be, I just hope he survives a long time,” someone added.

“I don’t care who it is, I just hope it means we don’t have to dig any new graves in the front courtyard……”

“Digging in the dirt is serious manual labor,” Isaac muttered, to which Brick spoke up as if he just remembered something.

“Now that you mention it, I heard Prince Kyan has been in a really good mood lately.” 

“What? Really? ……There are times when that man is actually in a good

mood?” 

“It doesn’t show on his face, but they say nothing bad has happened in the Blue Shadow Palace recently. Apparently, no one has died over there in days.”

“Seriously? What’s the occasion?” 

“Who knows. Even the servants working at the Blue Shadow Palace are just tilting their heads in confusion. More than anything, that place is usually a total minefield right around the time of the new moon. But neither last month nor the month before that…… nobody died during the new moon.”

What’s the occasion? Is His Highness really feeling that good? Did he find some secret remedy, or maybe forge a secret pact with a mage? All sorts of theories bloomed in the air. And amidst the chattering voices, Isaac remained entirely silent.

Looking at it now, it seemed this newfound peace was built upon someone’s grand, unsung sacrifice. He suddenly felt like he was going to cry.

“Let’s just get back to training……”

Feeling like he would only get more depressed if he sat there listening any longer, Isaac brushed off his pants and stood up. The people around him grumbled about how hot and annoying it was, but began picking themselves up as well.

It was right as they stepped out of the shade of the trees and back onto the training grounds. In the distance, a light cloud of dust rose as someone on horseback approached. Another horse trailed closely behind.

Because the Royal Guard training grounds were located in a remote corner of the sprawling palace, it wasn’t a place anyone would just pass by on their way somewhere else. Who’s coming all the way out here, and what for? The Squad Leader, who had been squinting toward the approaching riders, suddenly hardened his face. As the horses drew closer, the distance was still too great to recognize the faces, but it was close enough to recognize the steed.

“——FALL IN!”

The other soldiers recognized the horse at almost the exact same time as the Squad Leader. Their faces draining of color, they moved in perfect unison, forming a pristine line. Isaac, mixed in the center of them, did the same.

It was the Prince’s horse.

There was no way they wouldn’t recognize that sturdy, white stallion that had charged through countless battlefields on the borders, and there was absolutely no way anyone else would dare sit upon the Prince’s steed.

“What brings him here so suddenly?” 

“I guess the rumor about him being in a good mood lately must be true……”

The anxious whispers died down instantly the moment the figure atop the horse, which was approaching at breakneck speed with seemingly light steps, became clearly visible. And soon, the horse stopped in front of the lined-up soldiers.

“3rd Division Squad Leader of the Royal Guard, Simon! Saluting Prince Kyan!”

Standing in front of his lined-up men, Simon saluted and shouted at the top of his lungs. The horse halted, and the Prince dismounted. From the horse that had followed closely behind, a rider also dismounted. It was the Prince’s attendant.

The Prince looked around indifferently, seemingly not even registering the soldiers in his line of sight. Simon, whose eyes were nervously tracking the Prince’s back, shot a questioning glance at the attendant, asking silently what was going on. The attendant, who was usually on friendly terms with Simon, wiped his sweat and tilted his head, signaling that he had no idea either.

“He suddenly said he needed to bring a hound……”

As the attendant whispered, Simon blinked his eyes with a completely baffled expression. Huh??

“A hound? What hound? Aren’t there several over at the Blue Shadow Palace?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s planning a massive hunt, or maybe he just needs more hounds……”

“But why here…? The hunting dog kennels aren’t in this direction.”

“Well, he asked me where the 3rd Division was.” 

“Huh? But our division doesn’t raise any hounds?”

As Simon blinked in ever-deepening confusion, the Prince, who had been looking around the area, turned back toward them. Instantly, both Simon and the attendant clamped their mouths shut and stood at rigid attention.

Isaac pulled his cap down low and ducked his head. I have a bad feeling about this. A terrible feeling. He had no memory of anything good ever happening recently when he crossed paths with this man.

“Were you in the middle of training?”

When the Prince asked, Simon straightened his posture even further and replied, “Yes, we were conducting sparring drills.”

“Hmm.”

The Prince picked up one of the wooden swords resting against the side of the training ground and swung it twice. *Swoosh, swoosh.* The sound of it cutting through the air was indistinguishable from a real blade.

He cast his gaze over the soldiers, who were watching him with anxious eyes, wondering what on earth he was doing. They all flinched and hurriedly averted their eyes. Naturally, Isaac was one of them……

“You.”

The sound of the Prince singling someone out pierced his ears. In that instant, his heart plummeted. An ominous premonition washed over his entire body.

Not me. It can’t be me. It absolutely cannot be me. While all the soldiers desperately kept their heads bowed, Simon, as the man in charge, forced himself to look at the Prince. Visibly relieved that it wasn’t him, he then shifted his gaze.

“Isaac.”

When Simon called his name, accompanied by a hand full of pity patting his shoulder, Isaac almost collapsed right then and there.

“……Me?”

Muttering as if he wanted to sink into the earth, Isaac forced himself to look up; the Prince was staring right at him. He tapped the tip of his wooden sword, gesturing for him to come forward. Leaving behind the sympathetic gazes of his colleagues—who were only now breathing sighs of relief and lifting their heads, including Simon—Isaac stumbled forward with an instantly jaundiced complexion.

“Cheer up, Isaac. His Highness is personally acting as your sparring partner, what an incredible honor this is.”

Simon’s hypocritical words died in his throat the moment he caught Isaac’s lethal glare. Feeling guilty, Simon mouthed silently, Dinner’s on me, dinner. Dinner or no dinner, Isaac didn’t even know if his throat would be attached to swallow it.

Dragging his feet like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, Isaac sneaked a glance at the Prince, picked up a wooden sword, and stood before him. Then, he glanced at the Prince again.

He was wearing a face that revealed absolutely nothing of what he was thinking. That utterly, perfectly expressionless face he always wore was staring back at Isaac.

He was like this last night too. With exactly that thoughtless, empty face, he raised his sword. And even if Isaac died on the end of that blade right now, there would be nothing strange about it at all.

“…….”

Whenever he strikes. Whether it was yesterday, right now in this very spot, or sometime in the unknown future.

This man is someone who could kill me at any second.

The fact he thought he already knew suddenly hammered into his brain as a stark, undeniable reality. And at the same time, the moment Isaac stood gloomily facing the Prince with his wooden sword raised, the Prince did not wait, but simply stepped forward.

They were more than a dozen paces apart, and the Prince showed no sign of rushing or running, yet the distance closed in a flash. Faced with the immediate, visceral threat of being struck down in a split second, Isaac met him, every single cell in his body screaming in tension.

*Thwack——* The wooden swords clashed.

It was a strike devoid of any intent to kill, nor any intent to fight seriously; it was purely a blow meant to gauge his opponent. This was an assessment. To see exactly how far he could push this man, and at what point he could break him. And the moment their swords connected, feeling the vibration ring not just through his shoulder but his entire torso, Isaac knew. ‘This is an opponent I cannot beat. Dodging or running away is my only option.…… Though I doubt even that is possible.’

Isaac stole a glance at the Prince. He thought he saw the corner of his eye twitch slightly, though he couldn’t guess what the man was thinking. The Prince glanced back at Isaac. A flicker of slight surprise seemed to cross his features.

After that, the relentless attacks began. This wasn’t sparring. Isaac had no idea if the Prince considered it sparring, but from Isaac’s perspective, even a single miscalculated block was an attack that could effortlessly shatter a bone and then some. With his hair standing on end from sheer tension, Isaac focused every nerve entirely on the tip of the Prince’s sword.

This bastard shouldn’t have been born into royalty, he should have been born into a martial arts clan. If he had, he would have easily risen to the very top as a military official…… No, what a pointless thought about a man who was already born at the absolute pinnacle of success. But still, if you’re going to be born a Prince, pass that talent onto someone else! Why hoard it all for yourself……?!

Isaac gritted his teeth and swung his wooden sword. He deflected the Prince’s sword as it fell toward his head, and using that momentum, he attempted to strike his exposed shoulder.

“——.”

*CRACK.*

At the exact same time the unusually sharp sound echoed out, the weight in his hand vanished. Isaac’s wooden sword was cleanly severed in half and fell to the ground. The cross-section was as smooth as if it had been sliced by a razor-sharp blade. And the attack that flew at him, shattering his wooden sword, stopped right above Isaac’s forehead. Close enough that if Isaac leaned his head forward even slightly, it would touch.

“——…I yielded.”

Isaac spoke, his hand trembling as he held the broken half of his wooden sword.

Right in front of his eyes, those deep azure pupils were staring at him. Unlike when they first began the spar, the Prince observed Isaac methodically with deeply sunken, serious eyes, before finally withdrawing his hand.

“Not entirely useful, but not altogether terrible either.”

The Prince murmured as he handed his wooden sword to the attendant standing nearby. Unable to judge for a second whether that was an insult or a compliment, Isaac cast a quick glance at Simon, who was frantically sending him signals with his eyes. Catching the hint, Isaac hurriedly bowed his head.

“Thank you.” 

“From now on, you are my direct escort.”

Still confused about whether he was supposed to say thank you or apologize, the meaning of the words the Prince had just spoken took several seconds to finally process in Isaac’s brain.

“…………………”

‘Did I mishear him…..?’

Frozen solid for a moment, unable to even twitch, Isaac blinked rapidly and very slowly shifted his eyes. Unable to even look in the Prince’s direction, he rolled his eyes around to scan the area, only to be met with the stunned, petrified faces of his colleagues. The ominous premonition that had been slowly creeping up his spine suddenly seized his heart in a vice grip.

“E-excuse me? An escort? ……What do you mean?”

Isaac, unconscious of his own actions, stiffened completely and stared at the Prince. Seemingly having no more business here, the Prince, who had already started walking toward his horse, looked back at him. Sticking to the thought that if he missed this chance, his life was over, Isaac desperately continued.

“W-well, there are plenty of people here with much better skills than me! Take Brick, or Olsen, for instance—”

Fierce, furious glares from Brick and Olsen pierced the back of his head simultaneously, but Isaac paid them no mind. “They’re much better at it! And sure, their faces might look a bit weathered right now, but if you scrub them down and polish them up, they’re actually quite handsome!” Isaac babbled frantically, unable to finish his sentence because the two of them were viciously yanking him backward from behind.

“I thought you said you’d help me if I needed it! You said you’d do everything in your power! Right now! Right now is the time you need to help me!” 

“Is this helping?! You’re just throwing us under the bus!!”

It was a scene that brutally laid bare the cold reality that when faced with impending death, no matter what you said earlier, everyone prioritizes their own survival first. Perhaps unable to watch the tragic display, or perhaps taking pity on Isaac, who had only just returned from suspension only to face this exhausting ordeal, the Prince’s attendant asked Simon.

“Squad Leader, is there anyone else you would recommend?” 

“…….Well, those three are roughly on the same level…… But Isaac here is easily in the top

five of our entire division. He’s surprisingly resourceful, so he’d actually be quite useful in real combat………….But why Isaac, of all people…..?”

Simon asked in bewilderment, and happened to lock eyes with the Prince, who had turned around. To Simon, who instantly mumbled and trailed off, the Prince gave a concise reply.

“My escort quit a few days ago.”

“…….” 

“…………..”

Simon wasn’t the only one who fell silent. It wasn’t just Isaac, either. Brick and Olsen, who had been throttling Isaac by his collar, the Prince’s attendant, and even the other colleagues who had been watching the fire from across the river—every single one of them clamped their mouths shut.

The escort who quit a few days ago. That meant the young man they had just been gossiping about. That favorite who got fired for knocking up a woman.

Since the escort position was empty, it made perfect sense to say he needed to fill it, but the people remained dead silent. Because there wasn’t a single person here who didn’t know the Prince wasn’t someone who needed an escort for protection.

And in the dead center of that silence, Isaac alone was turning a ghastly shade of pale. Only when his complexion had turned thoroughly yellow did he finally manage to open his mouth, stuttering.

“A-an escort……. No, I mean…… But I’m not pretty…… and I’m not young either…….” 

“What does that have to do with being an escort?”

As Isaac clung to him appealingly, the Prince cast a baffled look back at him and asked. Isaac was left utterly speechless. Of course, the words themselves were entirely correct. An escort obviously didn’t need to be pretty or young. But look who’s talking! The entire world knows that the direct escort of the Prince of the Blue Shadow Palace isn’t a ‘guard’, it’s a ‘boy toy’, you lunatic!

In his heart, he wanted to scream at him, but unable to voice it, he just suffered internally. Seeing Isaac agonizing silently, the Prince looked down at him, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

“Ah. Were you expecting to play the role of my favorite?”

Absolutely not. He swore to the heavens he didn’t. However,

“You won’t do. You don’t look appetizing enough to embrace.”

“…….”

The Prince looked Isaac up and down from head to toe, then delivered that brutal rejection. The words were definitely something to be immensely grateful for, yet hearing it so bluntly to his face made him feel like he had just been cursed out for being ugly. ‘No, I mean, I might be a bit plain, but I’m not THAT ugly……’

“Report to the Blue Shadow Palace starting tomorrow.”

Before Isaac could even formulate a reply, the Prince – acting as if he had no more business and had said everything he needed to say – kicked his spurs, and his incredibly perceptive steed instantly bolted from the spot.

Leaving only a cloud of dust behind, the Prince quickly distanced himself. The attendant left behind scrambled frantically onto his horse, looked alternately between Simon and Isaac, and hastily chased after his master with only a parting, “Well, consider it done.”

“No, wait a minute, consider what done?!” Isaac wanted to grab the horse by the tail to stop him, but the attendant was already gone before he could even try. All that remained were his colleagues from the Royal Guard. And the desolate

silence they shared.

“…….” 

“…………..”

Rolling their eyes, trying to process this absurd turn of events, the colleagues’ gazes all fell upon Isaac. Upon the pitiful young man standing blankly in the center of it all, whose soul had completely left his body.

“Well…… if it’s the Prince’s personal escort, a promotion is a promotion…….” 

“Congratulations, Isaac.” 

“……Don’t congratulate me……. I’ll kill you and then myself…….” 

“…….”

At Isaac’s gloomy, venomous reply, the colleague who had offered congratulations snapped his mouth shut, and as a bonus, got a smack on the back of the head from another colleague for being tactless. Meanwhile, the others looked at Isaac with profound pity, whispering among themselves.

“What the hell happened so suddenly?” 

“Seriously. Talk about a bolt from the blue. Why come all the way here looking for an escort?” 

“Did Prince Kyan’s tastes change recently? Why this guy?” 

“I mean, Prince Kyan usually seeks out flashy, pretty boys, but this guy is fairly neat and clean-looking, isn’t he?”

“Watch your ass when you go over there, Isaac.”

Once again, the colleague dropping tactless advice received a flurry of smacks to the back of the head, and Isaac grabbed him by the collar. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” the colleague apologized as Isaac viciously shook him by the lapels in utter despair.

The ominous premonition that had lingered since his encounter at the Roberni syndicate’s hideout last night had finally materialized into this. This was surveillance. A gag order. Now, Isaac was doomed to live a life right beside the Prince, under his constant watch, never knowing what might happen to him.

“Farewell, Isaac. Drop by the division when you have time. Let’s see your face occasionally.”

Assuming we can see it…… Simon added under his breath, looking as though he might burst into tears as if he were at a funeral. The faces of the other colleagues weren’t much different.

Is this what it feels like when the sky falls?

Isaac ultimately slumped to the ground, his shoulders sagging in defeat. He couldn’t even feel the comforting hands of his colleagues carefully patting his back as they passed by, trying not to disturb him.

In this moment, there was only one thought occupying Isaac’s mind. His absolute determination that he had to get his hands on that damn flint.

* * *

[Continued in Volume 2]