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 2 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Not-So-Cute Catfight

Oh no, Suu-san even used her ki.

The long sword she drew instantly wrapped itself in a green wave of energy that wavered unsteadily because of the surrounding anti-magic steel. Still, the fact that she could activate the reinforcement at all probably came down to sheer brute force from the output.

Wait, hold on a second.

“Any pest trying to cling to my lord… gets exterminated. Hill Sweep――”

“No, Suu-san! Stop!”

“――…! Yes, I’ll do exactly what Al-kun says…!”

“Ah… You’re really stopping.”

It felt like she had thrown every decision completely into my hands.

Was it really okay for the head of a knight order to follow my word like this? It worked out great for me, though.

“Okay… Mel-chan, Suu-san says sorry.”

“It’s true. Going against Mel like that—if any of the guardian knights were here, you’d be dead in an instant, you know? I’m only letting it slide because you’re with Onii-san~”

“Um… thanks, I guess? But I see, so normally you have guards like that around you.”

“Of course. Mel is super important, after all.”

Ah… Suu-san looked extremely irritated. She had dispersed her ki, but she still held her sword at the ready, radiating murderous intent, and even clicked her tongue.

“This girl… keeps throwing flirty looks at my lord since earlier. Vulgar, shameless, and on top of that, an arrogant little brat—absolutely unforgivable.”

What a choice of words.

For now, I focused on Mel-chan.

“So, Mel-chan. You said earlier that if I stayed behind… that’s a little difficult for me.”

“Huh? Even though Mel said so? …Why?”

“Of course, part of it is that I want to go home. …But if that was the only reason, I wouldn’t mind staying behind.”

From what Mel-chan had said, it didn’t seem like someone who could use star power would face anything terrible. If it meant letting Suu-san and everyone else go back, I would have been okay with staying.

The one and only problem was—

“If I can’t return to the kingdom, I think something bad would happen for you too, Mel-chan. It could even lead to something like the complete eradication of the Church of the Supreme Star inside the kingdom.”

I put it vaguely. …Basically, the princess would go berserk. She had been getting more extreme lately.

“Besides, there’s no way I would ever allow Al-kun to be left behind…! Even if I have to rampage here alone until I die— No, that won’t work. To free Al-kun from that princess, I have to make it back alive…! Ahh, my lord is just too charming—it hurts—”

“…I don’t know who you’re talking about, but Mel wouldn’t be happy at all if you stayed behind alone. There’s no way I’d let you go back alive without Onii-san here.”

“…Oh? For a little girl who doesn’t even know the basics of fighting, you sure talk big… Want to feel this blade that’s been honed in real combat on your own body?”

“Go ahead and try~ Mel is strong even without any guards, you know.”

Suu-san and Mel-chan glared at each other, the air so tense it could snap at any second.

“Onii-san, don’t interfere, okay? If you do, Mel’s hand might slip and hit the people behind you too~”

“…”

So she was using us as hostages. With Mel-chan’s true strength still unknown, that was definitely an effective move against us right now.

“M-Mage sir…”

“Please don’t worry. As a court mage, protecting the kingdom’s citizens comes first. Everyone, just stay close to me and feel safe.”

“Ah, ahh…”

At this point, there was no helping it.

Suu-san was the commander of a knight division, one of the strongest people in the world. No matter how unknown Mel-chan’s power was, I could confidently say she wouldn’t go down easily.

And if things really got dangerous, I would provide support. I could throw my body in to protect both Suu-san and everyone else at the same time.

So.

“Suu-san. Can I ask you to do this?”

“――!! Leave it to me, Al-kun…! I’ll show you the moment when I’m most useful to you!”

“That arrogance—I’ll crush it for you. And then… Onii-san will belong to Mel, okay?”

Both of them said that while looking straight at me.

In Suu-san’s red eyes burned a thick, sticky devotion directed at her master. In Mel-chan’s eyes sparkled mischievous confidence and innocent desire.

Then they turned to face each other again, and an atmosphere settled in as if a fair and honorable duel was about to begin.

――Right after that.

The moment Suu-san’s body and sword were enveloped in high-density ki all at once,

“K-Knight lady disappeared!?”

Where Suu-san had stood just a second ago, only a jade-green afterimage remained.

When I looked toward Mel-chan—there was a massive ki blade closing in on her.

Mel-chan’s eyes opened wide in slight surprise, but she quickly grinned fearlessly.

“Hmm? Not bad, but something like this is no big――”

…I saw it.

The moment Suu-san, overflowing with ki throughout her entire body, unleashed a slashing wave that painted the whole area with light.

She drew her ki inward, keeping the reinforcement active while erasing her presence like an assassin.

And now, she kicked off the corridor wall, leaped into the air, overtook her own slash, and circled around behind Mel-chan.

The dull, slippery gleam of her sword swung straight toward Mel-chan’s neck――.

“――Enemy sighted, certain kill. A thieving cat trying to steal Al-kun… one troublesome pest is more than enough――”

The killing intent was way too intense.