The Crown Prince In Hiding

The following day—

The grand final examinations marking the end of Year 1 began.

Professor McClaff’s magic examination.

The students gathered according to their scheduled times. At a glance, it was hard to find any pair who thought the way Dan did—about deliberately losing and the like.

It seemed everyone desperately wanted to enter the magic track. Their eagerness was especially intense. Some students even strained themselves, forcing out layers of magic unnecessarily, as if overusing it just to show off.

“Nora… tell me if I’m wrong… but that kid’s stacking multiple layers of spells and even using advanced forms like that—are you sure they’ll pass him? It looks more like he’s trying to show off than actually use it properly…”

“You’re right, Mr.Fury. If even you can see it, Mr.Fury, then I’m certain Professor McClaff won’t let him pass.”

Then it was Dan’s turn.

At first, he was worried—Rafinya had disappeared somewhere… but about ten seconds before the start—

Rafinya appeared.

“Begin.”

At Professor McClaff’s command—flanked by TA Palmer and two or three others—Dan and Rafinya began their duel using the sequence they had practiced.

And it ended with Dan’s scripted defeat.

“…”

Professor McClaff sat cross-legged, eyes narrowed.

With the gaze of experience, he could tell the fight had been choreographed far too carefully to be spontaneous.

Even so, he let out a short sigh and lowered his head to mark their scores. That was enough.

Dan slowly crawled to his feet, putting on a faintly disappointed expression at his loss—just enough for appearance’s sake—before walking past Professor McClaff. As they crossed, he heard the professor murmur to him:

“You’d make a good politician someday. But whatever. Neither of you are continuing down this path anyway.”

Heh… heh…

Dan could only laugh dryly in his heart.

Sorry, Professor.

Nora was up two turns later. The princess from Snowhaven seemed to have read the atmosphere as well—that Professor McClaff had seen through it.

She gave Dan a thumbs-up, silently asking if he was okay. Dan nodded lightly and returned the gesture. If it looked like this, they would probably pass by a narrow margin.

But suddenly, Dan noticed Nora’s expression change. She was looking behind him.

He turned—

And found Rafinya, who should have gone her separate way, standing very close behind him. She stared at him with seriousness, as if she had something to say.

But in the end, she cut it off. She turned her face away and walked off without a word.

“…”

“What the hell.”

The rest of the week passed smoothly as examinations continued until completion.

“Yay!”

When the evening bell rang to signal the end of the final exam session, the very next sound was the liberated cry of Zeedee Lamb, long crushed beneath workload.

She leapt into the air, arms wide, her face freed of its burdens. Nora and Dan followed behind at a distance, while students of Artheris Academy filled the corridors with chatter about the brutal Year 1 exams—saying it wasn’t an exaggeration to claim the entire faculty had joined forces to stomp the students into the ground.

“Thank you, Nora. I’m incredibly lucky to have you.”

“I know.”

“Not very modest anymore, are you?”

“It’s simply the truth, isn’t it?”

“You must’ve caught Freya’s infection. Or maybe you were always like this.”

“That hurts, you know.”

“Good.”

Late that night; Anfield.

A bonfire burned. Spring had arrived. The air was cool, the sky open and clear, and the residents, after finishing their celebration, settled into simple, quiet activities—cooking together.

“Are you sure it was a good idea to come here? Won’t your people be searching everywhere for you, Nora?”

“I told them I was taking a quiet walk alone. No one will come disturb me.”

“Suit yourself. Casca taught me about herbs. I think I can handle this.”

“Where did Miss Casca go?”

“She’ll probably be back soon. Who knows where she wandered off to.”

Nora sat stirring a pot of soup over the fire while Dan grilled meat in a pan beside her.

Zeedee sat off to the back, gnawing enthusiastically on a T-bone steak.

“This might fall a bit below princess standards.”

“It’s fine, Mr.Fury. I know this is already very high by your standards.”

“That sounded strange.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

Silence settled. Nora continued stirring the soup, then glanced up at Dan. He was focused on grilling the meat.

“Mr.Fury.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“What is the worst thing you ever did in the war?”

If the massacre in Velmount wasn’t the worst thing you’ve done…?

Dan turned to her. His own past words echoed back—

As I said, I don’t expect you to believe a single word. I’m only speaking from my perspective. This isn’t even the worst thing I’ve ever done.

The princess didn’t answer, but her eyes said everything.

“You’re better off not knowing.”

Freya’s voice came from the dark edge of the firelight. Nora saw the glowing green eyes of a monster in the darkness, staring at her.

But Dan raised a hand, signaling Freya to lower her hostility.

“You’re asking the wrong person,”

he told Nora.

“You should ask your fellow humans. Not me.”

To him, everything he had done felt the same—orders carried out. Only the loss of control at Velmount stood apart.

“Then may I change the question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you regret what you’ve done?”

Nora had been firing questions at him all along, as agreed. But this one—

Made Fury pause.

His eyes froze.

“Regret what?”

“Anything you did in the war.”

“…I suppose there are some things.”

“Some? What does that mean?”

Zeedee, who had known him a long time, could tell the question made him hesitate. Perhaps he was thinking… or perhaps he was questioning himself as well.

“…That I should have protected my subordinates’ lives better.”

I won’t say I sympathized with the enemy. Doing that would mean I dishonor my own people. Back then, I did what I could do best… protect my country and my own.

“That makes sense, Mr.Fury…”

If it had been Snowhaven, you would have thought the same. The context back then was completely different from now. Now it’s peace. You can say anything.

But I won’t change my words.

I don’t regret what I did to the enemy. Not even a little.

“We have difficulty having children. A single Diablo soldier is a valuable resource to our army. Just like any general, their lives are determined by my orders… Every mistake doesn’t cost grades or embarrassment—but lives. It’s probably similar for you.”

Nora listened carefully.

“It took us nearly ten years to restore the population destroyed by the Shadow magic. It was incredibly difficult. Even now, we’ve only recovered about half of what we once had.”

“So it will take another ten years to return to normal?”

“Probably.”

Dan nodded.

“Most of the new generation that’s grown back are around your age.”

“Really?”

“You can’t tell from looking at them, though. We grow fast. There’s no such thing as child-sized Diablo—only growth stages according to lifespan.”

“But they haven’t left the island yet, right?”

“No. It’s too soon. We still need to train them.”

“I see…”

Nora nodded softly.

“Mr.Fury, thank you for answering honestly.”

“Of course. What made you ask?”

“It’s just… I feel like you’re something overwhelmingly powerful…”

Nora drew up her knees, holding her bowl of soup in both hands.

“Humans never pity the ants they step on. I wondered if you felt the same way… since you’re not human.”

“Right now, I am.”

Zeedee: “Hey, kid. Aren’t you going to ask me if I regret anything?”

Nora: “…”

Zeedee: “…”

Nora: turns away and continues eating her soup

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Don’t shout, Zeedee. Kids these days are smart. They know who that question should—and shouldn’t—be asked.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?! Hey! I’m not some heartless psycho!”

“Helloooooooooooo~~~~~ So? Exams done and feeling free, huh?”

A husky female voice rang out from the forest.

All three turned at once.

They saw Casca Saint Maximin gradually step out from the shadows beneath the trees, her figure becoming clear as orange firelight reflected against her face.

“So you’re back. Why so late?”

“Had something to handle. Took longer than expected.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Dan turned back, a stick between his teeth.

“I cooked. If you’re late, you starve, Casca.”

“Fine. But there’s something I want to talk to you about first.”

“?”

He turned.

“What is it?”

And slowly, he noticed the shadow of another person who had been following behind Casca, edging forward hesitantly.

When he narrowed his eyes to look closely—

He froze.

Because the one stepping out awkwardly behind Casca—

Was Rafinya Saint Pauli.

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