The Invincible Aloof Yandere Princess Falls in Love with Her Younger Court Mage's Fatherly Warmth! ~She Clung to Him So Much That the King Fired Him. When He Made Marriage His Official Reason for Resigning Under Royal Order, the Light Vanished from the Princess's Eyes~ - Volume 1 - Chapter 14-15

Chapter 14: Prodigy

From a third-person perspective close to Karen.

—

The surrounding air was crushed under the pressure of an enormous surge of magical power.

Karen, precisely excluded from that overwhelming force by an infuriatingly accurate spell, watched her master cross blades with Albert and murmured quietly.

“If only I had even a fraction of that man’s strength…”

At the end of her gaze, a battle that had already gone beyond reason unfolded.

“Well observed, Princess. You’re much better at it than before. In real combat, plenty of mages won’t be so kind as to leak their magic or call out the names of their spells.”

“I’ve only ever seen Albert do anything like this… Hiding his magic and casting without a chant? Then why is it still so…!”

What even is that?

Mages were supposed to stay behind knights and warriors, protected while they offered support from the rear.

Yet here was Albert.

He raced across the ground—and sometimes through the air—at speeds no mage should possess. How was he finding footing? Probably managing it with magic somehow. That kind of mobility was something only top-tier knights or shadows could achieve.

And of course, that wasn’t all. Above everything else, Albert was a mage.

With a flick of his finger he scattered raging flames. He summoned massive tornadoes. He called lightning down from empty sky.

He claimed he had no unique magic, yet flames that filled the space from floor to ceiling… Those were far stronger than most people’s unique spells.

But her master facing him—Killriera—wasn’t falling behind either.

“Body Sublimation—Eclose…! Double!”

Clothed in glittering silver light, Killriera unleashed attacks at speeds far beyond normal physical enhancement, so fast the eye couldn’t follow.

She hadn’t drawn her usual dagger, but when a master struck at that velocity, bare fists became deadly weapons. If Karen took a hit, she’d be helpless. Even high-ranking shadows would fare the same.

Yet somehow the mage Albert handled those realm-transcending blows with ease.

“Albert, please…! Just stand there quietly and watch what I do…!”

“Watch you defeat His Majesty? I can’t allow that. Even if you succeeded, danger would follow the princess forever after. Right now nothing irreversible has happened yet.”

“Ugh! You’re such a stubborn blockhead, Albert!”

Karen listened to their exchange and trembled slightly, her face expressionless.

“It’s practically lovers’ quarrel at this point. So jealous. Want to trade masters. My master is cuter…”

She didn’t like that man. He received Killriera’s favor yet always kept his distance from Karen.

The fact that he was far stronger than Karen, a shadow whose duty was to protect Killriera… that grated on her too.

She knew he was a decent person despite being a bit odd, and that he had more than enough strength to protect her master. She knew it, yet it still pissed her off.

She was the one who had watched over Killriera since long ago.

“Still, as long as my master is happy, that’s enough for me. Though it’d be even better if I got plenty of perks along the way.”

That man’s plan would probably work—precisely because he hadn’t accounted for the depth of her master’s feelings.

And if it did work, Karen would claim some credit for helping it along. If it failed, she could always say she’d been threatened.

As those calculations ran through her head, she gazed dreamily at Killriera’s gallant figure.

Then someone spoke to her from the side.

“Lady Karen. Should we… lend him a hand?”

The two shadows who had been working with her to aid Killriera now asked the question.

“No need. That man doesn’t require it.”

The pair had only recently agreed with Karen’s way of thinking. Their experience on missions close to Killriera was still shallow.

That was why they couldn’t yet grasp the extent of that man’s strength who always stayed near Killriera. And the same went for the heavy feelings Killriera harbored toward Albert.

“Just watch. See what kind of infuriating power that lecher has. And how deeply he’s already burrowed into our master’s heart…”

He really was unfair. But she set personal feelings aside for now.

Above all, Killriera’s safety came first. Even if it went against Killriera’s own wishes, sometimes Karen had to speak up in remonstrance—all for the sake of her master’s happiness.

That was the one iron rule of this sole Karen sympathizer.

—

Chapter 15: At Her Limit

Ever since I arrived here, countless intense stares have been fixed on me.

Right now there are Karen’s usual resentful glare, the two shadows who helped her, the knight who is still somehow enduring my magic, and more.

But even if you added all those stares together, they still wouldn’t match the weight of the emotions pouring from—

“Why won’t you get hit…! Come on!”

The princess charges at me faster than I can move, trailing silver afterimages through the air.

She’s certainly fast, but…

“The princess’s weakness is her lack of real combat experience. That speed is a threat, but it’s too fast and too straight-line, so anyone with trained eyes can dodge it.”

“There’s no way it’s that easy to read…! Albert, you’re a mage!”

“It’s the same as physical enhancement, right? If I focus magic in my eyes like this, see?”

With a sharp crack of displaced air, her small fist shoots toward my chest. Even at that speed, as long as I can see it clearly…

“Right?”

Just shifting my body sideways like this… I can evade it with our robes brushing past each other.

A moment later, the onlookers draw in their breath.

“Then! More! I’ll add changes…!”

The princess who just passed me flips back around like a gymnast. And this time… at the moment of contact, she unnaturally bends her trajectory!

“Whoa! That one was close…!”

“Again…! Nooo!!”

Ah, the princess is regressing a little. There are still people watching. She should act a bit more grown-up…

But contrary to her attitude, her continuous attacks keep getting smarter. No longer the straight lines from before, she abruptly changes direction even while moving at high speed—or in midair.

This… is from releasing magic, isn’t it?

“That magic has that property too. It can generate physical force just from raw magic…”

“Nooo…!”

“Whoa, dangerous. As expected of the princess, she learns fast…”

The princess’s movements keep getting more refined.

On top of that, she still can’t use proper spells, but this special magic of hers is so versatile there’s no opening at all even without spells.

This magic probably isn’t just high output; it likely has the property of freely changing into whatever shape the user desires. Earlier I silently made the air around her oxygen-free, but it didn’t affect her at all—probably because of that.

But I can’t go all out and seriously injure the princess, so…

“I have no choice but to raise my gears little by little and test her.”

And so our clashes grow more and more intense.

By the time this hall is starting to crumble from our magic…

“Uuuuuuuuugh! At this rate… Albert will disappear…!”

Tears spill down her cheeks as she wipes them roughly with her sleeve. Her eyes are wide open in desperation, her face flushed bright red, yet she still doesn’t stop coming at me.

…Th-this makes me look like the bad guy. I can feel really accusing stares from Karen and the knight too.

Disappear? Does the princess still think I’m going to slip away quietly?

…Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever explained properly.

I’ve already learned that I’ve been distorting the princess’s life. Someone half-baked like me has only been causing trouble.

So even if His Majesty ordered it—I absolutely won’t leave irresponsibly.

I was just about to say that when—

A fist clearly faster than anything today closes in right before my eyes.

“Th-that’s fast— Princess, this exceeds the output we promised…!?”

“If Albert disappears, who will pat my head!? Who will look at the real me and praise me!? No one else will! Right!?”

“Wait, Princess… that’s danger—”

“Please don’t go… P… please, please please please!!!”

“Listen, Princess! I no longer plan to leave your side—”

I try somehow to tell her that, to the princess who is clearly not herself and completely at her limit.

That was the moment.

The princess, who had finally gone past every limit… ended up saying it.

“I’ll never let go even if I die!! Albert is mine… my very own Papa…!!”

Papa!?

That’s the absolute worst thing to say here… I mean, even in our usual pretend play she never went as far as calling me Papa…!

Look, everyone’s stunned… Karen’s cheeks are bright red and her nostrils are flared.

What do I do. For now, ignoring the stares around us, first I have to clear up the princess’s misunderstanding—

“Did you hear that, Court Mage Commander? It seems my daughter has acquired a younger father behind my back.”

“Brainwashing… or something close to it. I apologize on behalf of my subordinate. I will take responsibility myself.”

At the end of the path leading to the area where the king is, a human figure—

…!

Before I can even register when he got there, the spell is released—

“[Black Flame], Purgatorio’s Cauldron”

Black, boiling, ominous hellfire.

And on a scale that would engulf even the princess—!? At least the princess alone…!

Layers of compressed air, a marble shield. Even if it’s just a drop in the bucket, I float every bit of water I can muster in time.

By the time I’ve prepared that much, the band of black flame envelops us with tremendous pressure, and then…

Because my defense was thinner than the princess’s in that split-second decision, my entire body was instantly scorched by the blaze… my eyes lose light as moisture evaporates and the eyeballs are damaged.

Then the pressure of the oncoming flames blows me away—