The Crown Prince In Hiding

In the night district of the city of Artheris,

two young figures stood together beneath the glittering city lights — a pair so different in height they might have been mistaken for mother and child.

A date meant spending private time together in comfort, away from prying eyes.

It was admittedly difficult for Dan, who had to avoid the school grounds — but not so for Casca, who possessed an invisibility spell and could whisk him away wherever she pleased.

Prince Fury disliked it, of course. It made him feel like a child. But Casca adored it, and in this body of his, she found him endlessly precious.

In her eyes, he would always be her tiny little lizard...

Each of them held a stick of cotton candy, bought earlier from the summer festival stalls.

Dan and Casca had made their way up to the public tower of the city of Aetheris.

From here, the entire city sprawled below in breathtaking beauty — the night market glowing at the base, the great Artheris Institution looming behind it, and the distant valley beyond the city walls stretching far into the dark.

The young man leaned back against the railing, and Casca settled into the same posture beside him.

"This is the first time I've ever come up here."

"I would have thought Nora brought you already."

"Nora only took me to the theater."

"She never brought you here?"

"I never came on my own either. Whenever I had free time, I'd just go back and do housework."

"My, what a diligent little father."

"If you helped out even a little, I wouldn't have to be."

"I do help."

Casca pinched his cheek until it squished. Dan pulled her hand away, then shifted closer, tilting his head to rest against her shoulder.

He closed his eyes.

"...Did you know — I dreamed of you when I came here too."

"Really?"

"I understand now what dreaming means."

"You've felt it for yourself then."

"I tried to dream of you again after that, but it never came."

"Poor thing."

"I'm being serious."

"It doesn't work quite so easily, you know."

"I know."

Casca pinched his cheek with affectionate annoyance, then leaned down and gave it a little bite.

"You're so adorable."

"You're just put off by my real body. That's all."

"Are you sulking?"

"No."

"So then — how did it go? With Rafinya?"

Dan straightened up.

"More effective than I expected."

"I told you he wouldn't disappoint. But next time, could you ease up a little on the darkness? Please?"

Casca's voice turned serious.

"This time I'll allow it, because your reasoning made sense... but I don't want it like this again."

"It has to be like that to be effective. Otherwise she'll just keep being pampered and coddled forever."

"Or she'll snap and stress herself to death."

"If she's too weak to handle it, then she might as well go be dragon food."

"I'm not saying she can't handle it. You just need to let her absorb things gradually — not grab her and throw her straight into the deep end like that."

"I don't have all the time in the world."

"Why not?"

"My method is the most efficient. That's all."

"Fury... a person's heart isn't only a matter of efficiency."

And as Casca said those words,

at the Artheris girls' dormitory,

Rafinya sat in a tank top, knees drawn to her chest, staring at the swords and medals of honor displayed inside her wardrobe — every trophy she had ever been proud of.

The Most Excellent Knight award, received since childhood. Gold medals earned from countless duels she had won.

Handwritten letters from the General. Words of praise in correspondence from the royal palace. Keepsakes from King Luminus himself. These were more than enough to make any person feel fulfilled.

But her eyes... were empty now, as though all of it had lost its meaning.

These things were nothing more than prizes from a practice ring.

In the end,

she was just a child who had never faced anything real.

Once that thought settled in... she could no longer feel pride in herself.

This was the collapse of every last trace of arrogance within her.

And it left her feeling... hollow... and shaken.

Back to the two betrothed, at the Artheris tower.

"Everything comes down to efficiency. This world doesn't wait for the weak."

Dan replied, still convinced that his thinking was correct.

But then,

Casca said something that stopped him cold.

"We're not forging a general. We're refining a human being."

"Too bad I'm not human then."

"Who said?"

Casca leaned her face closer.

"Humanity has nothing to do with race."

"I've never heard anyone say that."

"You may not be human, but that doesn't mean you have no humanity."

"Don't go forcing humanity onto me."

"...Fair enough."

Casca nodded slowly, lifting her gaze to the night sky.

"But if there were no humanity in us at all — this world wouldn't be worth living in. Don't you think?"

The young man fell still for a long moment.

When he found himself again, he let out a quiet "hmph" and replied,

"I brought them face to face with reality."

He said,

"That is my way of refining people. I have no intention of changing it."

"I'm not asking you to change. I'm asking you to dial it back. Things lose their value if you encounter them too soon."

"I don't understand what you're saying. What exactly are you trying to tell me, Casca?"

"Never mind."

Casca smiled softly.

"You'll figure it out on your own eventually."

Tossing one way.

Then the other.

Rafinya Saint Pauli found that she had been unable to leave this restless state for two full hours since she first tried to sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes,

images of the killing and the bodies behind those walls played back without fail.

She opened her eyes to the darkness of her room — she lived alone now, since her roommate had gone home for the break.

The distant cry of crickets drifted in from somewhere far away.

Rafinya walked slowly to the window.

She breathed in the cool night air.

Closed her eyes.

And when she came back to herself, she was already walking outside on the grounds below.

Not a soul around.

Everything was quiet. Barely alive.

The holiday had sent nearly all the students home.

So the place was almost deserted.

But that silence suited a girl in need of reflection perfectly.

She sat hunched over, face buried in her hands, on a bench beside the Maximin garden.

Nothing but a gentle breeze and the pale light of the moon to keep her company.

Or at least, that was how it had been — until a young woman appeared and found Rafinya there, just as Rafinya raised her head.

She froze.

A tall, willowy figure. Hair the color of white-gold, catching the light of the sky.

"...Nora?"

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