Walking through the corridor with Keyrin, I was already growing tired of catching the endless glances directed at her.
I had understood in advance that after becoming my servant, she would most likely try to get back at me somehow, so I had been preparing myself for any tricks she might pull.
However, the moment I saw her in a maid outfit, I felt my confidence in my own self-control rapidly slipping away.
Maintaining outward composure, we went to the storage office, received the key to a private house on the academy grounds, and headed there.
Some light elves who noticed Keyrin were clearly about to approach and speak with her, but the moment she cast even the briefest glance in their direction, they instantly froze and changed their minds.
I understood perfectly well that having one of the most famous princesses in this world as my servant would very soon create quite a few problems for me.
Most likely, a real hunt for me would begin in the near future.
Which meant I needed to become stronger.
And as quickly as possible.
The tournament would only slow my growth and force me to reveal some of my techniques, making it much easier for potential enemies to search for weaknesses in both my offense and defense.
As we approached the house, I noticed that it was multi-story and built from white stone.
Some of the rooms had glass balconies.
After entering, Keyrin and I began looking around.
What I saw pleasantly surprised me, while Keyrin seemed to involuntarily sink into old memories.
Just like in the dormitory where I had lived before, the first floor was furnished with tables and chairs.
A large mirror hung on one of the walls, and at that moment, two elf girls were standing in front of it.
The moment they noticed us, they immediately turned around.
At first, their gazes stopped on me, but almost instantly shifted to Keyrin.
"You're popular, Keyrin. Hiding your location won't be easy with you around," I said cheerfully as I headed toward the elevator.
Unlike my previous dormitory, I was now supposed to live on the ninth floor.
Hearing an irritated click of her tongue behind me, I couldn't hold back a smile.
A princess turned servant.
I didn't even want to imagine the thoughts that would run through people's minds once this news spread.
After reaching the correct floor, we found ourselves in a spacious white corridor decorated with various frescoes and paintings.
Compared to my previous dormitory, the difference was immediately noticeable.
This place practically radiated wealth and luxury.
The door to the house assigned to me was decorated with the academy's crest.
Below it was an elegant knocker guests could use when visiting.
Opening the door, I stepped inside.
A spacious living room unfolded before us.
To the right stood a coat rack and a designated area for shoes.
After taking ours off, we walked farther inside.
In the center of the room stood two white sofas that paired well with the floor, whose surface shimmered with metallic and white hues.
The walls also carried more of a metallic tint than pure white.
In the middle of the room stood a transparent table, large enough to hold dishes of various sizes for several people.
I couldn't help but feel surprised by what I saw.
Turning toward Keyrin, I noticed she had already comfortably settled onto one of the sofas, crossing one leg over the other while carefully observing me.
"How does the room suit my young master?" Keyrin asked in a mocking tone.
I merely let out a heavy sigh.
This kind of attitude was exactly what I should have expected from the start.
Sitting down opposite her, I studied the elf girl carefully.
She was truly beautiful, but her personality easily shattered the first impression of her as an obedient princess who unquestioningly carried out any order from the king or queen.
For many, this side of her personality would likely come as a surprise.
"Keyrin, I'd like to discuss our situation," I said, trying to keep my voice calm as I held her gaze.
"And what exactly do you want to discuss? My behavior in public will already match my position as a servant toward my master. If you're worried about your secrets, don't be. As a servant, I cannot harm my master," Keyrin said irritably.
Rising from her seat, she walked toward the window.
"I don't want to treat you as a servant. Our situation may indeed be far from simple, but we can find a way out that benefits both of us," I said, watching as she approached the window.
At the same time, I was already trying to think of what I could possibly offer her.
Keyrin turned sharply.
"A difficult situation?!" she nearly shouted.
There was so much irritation in her voice that the air in the room seemed to grow heavier.
"You're the one who made me your servant without even asking whether I wanted it or not!"
She glared at me furiously.
Her hands were visibly trembling with anger—Keyrin kept clenching her fingers into fists, only to immediately loosen them again.
"A difficult situation is when you refuse the tournament for reasons known only to yourself. That can be called a difficult situation. But this..." Her voice grew even colder. "This is a terrible situation that I ended up in solely because of you."
Letting out a heavy sigh, I rose from the sofa and walked over to the window where Keyrin was standing.
The moment she noticed me approaching, she immediately stepped back several times, clearly worried I was about to do something unpredictable.
"Do you know what we have in common?" I asked thoughtfully while looking out the window.
Outside, I could see stufons—some leaving the dormitory, others returning inside.
Keyrin was already about to sharply declare that we had nothing in common, but she stopped herself, deciding to think over my words first.
Like her, I was someone who had been cast aside.
But our reasons were different.
I had no magical talent, which was why I had been abandoned and stripped of my right to the throne.
She, on the other hand, was being used as a political tool precisely because of her magical talent, forced into a marriage with an old elf.
On top of that, I had become the chosen of the Goddess of Chaos, which meant that sooner or later, all races truly might begin hunting me.
"What we have in common is that we're both outcasts. You're the chosen of the Goddess of Chaos and a prince disowned by the emperor. I'm a runaway princess who refused to marry the one chosen for me," Keyrin said thoughtfully, looking at Trey intently.
Their fates were different, but there was still a certain similarity between them.
"That's right. Which is why I'm proposing not a servant-master relationship, but a partnership. Your enemies become my enemies. And vice versa," I said seriously.
Keyrin frowned slightly and nervously bit her lower lip.
"Partners? Even if all the light elves in this world become your enemies?" she asked, sounding conflicted.
Judging by her expression, she already expected what my answer would be.
"Yes. It doesn't matter who it is—orks, light elves, dark elves, humans, or even gods. Anyone who stands in our way will be destroyed," I said seriously as I slowly stepped toward her.
Hearing my words, Keyrin couldn't deny the obvious.
She had long grown tired of hiding like a rat in the shop where she had worked these past years.
She looked directly into my eyes, as if trying to peer deeper, to reach my true thoughts.
I decided to meet her halfway.
Opening my mind, I allowed her to see everything I had been thinking all this time.
Her gaze became clouded.
A few seconds later, Keyrin returned to reality.
Now there was no longer anger in her eyes directed at me.
Only fury.
But aimed somewhere far beyond me.
"If we're partners, then you need to become stronger. Much stronger and far more powerful," Keyrin said in a serious voice filled with rage.
"You want to destroy the light elves?" I asked in surprise, slightly raising an eyebrow.
"If they make the first move, then we need to show them that provoking us was their mistake," Keyrin explained calmly with a nod.
I extended my hand to her.
"Partners?" I asked, trying to keep my expression calm and my tone steady.
Looking first at me, then at my outstretched hand, Keyrin froze for a brief moment.
Then she finally reached out and took it.
"Partners," Keyrin said in her melodic voice.
It seemed that at that moment, she had finally accepted her new fate.
Returning to the table, we began discussing our future plans.
First, I needed to obtain a good swordsmanship technique and acquire a worthy sword.
After that, I had to continue accumulating dark magic techniques and regularly hunt monsters to accelerate my growth.
Keyrin, who possessed a large number of useful connections, was supposed to focus on gathering and processing information.
In addition, as an experienced mage, she could help me better understand my own magic and learn how to use it more effectively in battle.
However, at one point, Keyrin suddenly looked at her ritual stone.
One of the names engraved on its surface had begun glowing.
She was about to ignore the call and answer later, but the unknown contact clearly had no intention of giving up.
A few seconds later, Keyrin looked at the stone again.
Now nearly all the names engraved on it were glowing.
Judging by her expression, she was already anticipating an incoming headache.
"We have a problem, Trey," Keyrin said as she approached me and showed me the ritual stone.
All the names on it shimmered with different streams of mana.
"The problem is that people are trying to contact you?" I asked in confusion, shifting my gaze from her to the stone and back.
"No. The problem is who isn't trying to contact me," Keyrin replied irritably, pointing at one gray name that showed no signs of activity. "That's my younger sister, Samantha."
I looked at her in confusion.
"The problem is that the Third Princess isn't trying to contact you? And why is that supposed to be a bad sign?"
"Because we have a good relationship," Keyrin began explaining, trying to remain calm. "She knows perfectly well that I've been in this city all this time. More than that, Samantha studies at this academy."
I merely shrugged.
"Maybe she's in class right now. Don't forget, I also start studying here tomorrow," I replied indifferently.
Keyrin looked at me as if I had just failed to understand something obvious.
"Or she's already on her way here to personally get answers from both of us," she said quietly.
"Is she dangerous? Or do you just not want to explain everything to her?" I asked, already mentally sorting through possible ways out of the situation.
"She isn't dangerous to you," Keyrin replied, growing increasingly nervous as she kept staring at the ritual stone. "I'm worried about something else. I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid. We don't know how the Seven Tormentors will react if they sense any threat from her toward you."
"Then we should prepare a story she'll be willing to believe in advance," I said, already thinking through a believable explanation for how a half-elf managed to make a light elf princess his servant.
"Yes, but that story needs to sound as convincing as possible," Keyrin said as she sat down on the sofa, motioning for me to sit beside her.
I sat down next to her.
A pleasant scent came from her, reminiscent of a forest after rain.
While Keyrin laid out her versions of the story, I suggested changes here and there, trying to make our fabricated tale more logical.
After some time, we heard a knock at the door.
Keyrin nervously bit her lip.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I placed a hand on her shoulder and quietly said,
"I'm with you. And remember—we're partners, not servant and master."
Trying to encourage her a little, I lightly pinched her cheek.
"Idiot," Keyrin muttered with a pout.
After that, she stood up and headed toward the door.