"Uh… hahaha, good morning, Fifth Brother."
Hiness shuddered under the newcomer's fierce gaze. But after glancing at Hel, who was holding her sword, she still stepped forward and greeted him somewhat awkwardly.
"Good? I'm not very well at all," the Fifth Prince replied loudly, as if afraid no one would hear him.
"To think that at the venue of the Continental Plague Summit, I would see my own sister disgracing the Savant royal family so thoroughly on such an important occasion. That really opens my eyes."
He spoke at great volume, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, showing not the slightest concern for the royal family's dignity.
His poor relationship with Hiness wasn't simply due to the matter of succession. With his eldest brother suppressing him from above, the throne would never fall to him anyway. The real reason lay in the academic factions backing them.
Hiness was supported by the Skoll School, while the Fifth Prince—and the First Prince as well—were backed by the Magina School, the faction that founded the Mechanical Academy. The two schools were fundamentally opposed in ideology. Decades ago, the Skoll School had been suppressed by a previous king who favored the Magina School, causing vast resources once controlled by Skoll to be divided up by the Mechanical Academy.
This was precisely why Savant's magitech alchemy factories were so prosperous today.
Fearing retaliation from the Skoll School, they would never allow a royal supported by Skoll to take power. More than ten years ago, they had secretly eliminated Hiness's elder brother—the kingdom's Third Prince. To avoid overly provoking the Savant king, they chose not to act further against Hiness, who posed little threat.
But not acting didn't mean they wouldn't suppress her.
Thus, what appeared to be ordinary campus bullying actually concealed deeper schemes.
The Fifth Prince's lackey—the blond noble—gained a sense of superiority by humiliating a commoner, while the Fifth Prince himself could use the incident to maneuver against Hiness.
Everyone benefited. A beautiful future for all.
What he hadn't expected was that the first to step out wasn't his dear little sister, but that fallen noble.
You're just a minor noble whose entire family was wiped out—what right do you have to jump out and play the hero?Do you really think this is still Caramel City, where you can do whatever you want?
The Fifth Prince sneered inwardly. Still, it wasn't a problem. He could simply dump all the blame onto Hiness. That destitute noble surely wouldn't dare cause trouble in front of a prince like him.
As for the last one—the nouveau riche from the borderlands of the Knight Empire—she wasn't worth worrying about at all.
If Hel truly were just the runaway young lady of the Caramel family she claimed to be, things might have unfolded exactly as the Fifth Prince wished.
But who was she?
She was Hel.
She had killed kings before—what was a mere prince to her?
A layer of emerald-green battle aura surged around Hel. With a light flick of her sword, the magic sealing the blade shattered instantly into dust.
"So," Hel said with a smile, "are you here to stop our honorable duel, or would you like to join in?"
"You're welcome either way," she continued calmly."After all… I don't mind if my opponents are more than one."
Her aura continued to rise. The blond noble—only a third-rank—collapsed to his knees under the pressure. Even the Fifth Prince stared at Hel in shock.
"Fourth rank? And life-attribute… Are you with the Church?"
If Hel truly belonged to the Church, then they had kicked an iron plate. And even if she didn't, he still didn't want to make an enemy of a fourth-rank life knight—especially one who might someday join the Church.
So the Fifth Prince spoke again, softening his tone:
"Miss, I apologize for interrupting your fair duel, but this is a public place. I hope you'll give me some face—allow me to invite you for a cup of coffee so we can sit down and discuss this properly. After all, this is merely a small conflict between you and Baron Greiro…"
Before he could finish, Hel's aura snapped inward. She stomped the ground—and in the next instant, she appeared directly in front of him.
The sharp blade was already pressed against his neck.
The sword's momentum left a thin cut across his throat. Blood seeped out, soaking into his expensive lace cravat.
At that moment, the Fifth Prince couldn't spare a thought for the cravat. He collapsed onto the ground, staring at the sword trembling at his neck, his voice shaking.
"Y-you… what are you doing?"
"Nothing much."
Hel withdrew her sword. Unnoticed by anyone, a tiny insect clinging to the blade slipped into the Fifth Prince's body through the small wound.
"Since Your Highness doesn't intend to participate in our duel," Hel said gently,"then please observe the basic etiquette of a spectator, and refrain from interfering."
She smiled.
To the Fifth Prince, that smile looked like a demon wearing human skin.
"Y-yes… of course. Please, go ahead."
Scrambling backward, he retreated several steps. Only after putting distance between himself and Hel did he straighten his clothes and stand up, turning to the royal guards behind him as if nothing had happened.
"We're leaving."
With trembling legs, he walked away expressionlessly in the direction he had come from.
In an instant, the Fifth Prince's entourage vanished—leaving only the blond noble collapsed on the ground. The other young men and women had already fled with the prince.
Only then did Hel turn her gaze back to the blond noble. She smiled sweetly and spoke in her signature gentle voice—cold as ice:
"Baron Greiro, is it? Then it's time for us to settle accounts… for you suddenly jumping out and insulting my friend."
"W-what do you want to do?"
The blond noble blustered weakly. Even the Fifth Prince had been driven off—how could a mere baron dare provoke this monster further?
But Hel did not strike him.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward Leflina.