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~

Chapter 26: Love Is Blind

Killriera’s POV.
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Killriera gritted her teeth hard while she fired a silver light bullet toward Albert.

Right next to her, that annoying white-haired kid—Mel—followed right after, and sparkly silver particles scattered everywhere around them.

But despite how graceful and pretty they looked, the energy hidden inside those light bullets was massive. The moment they stabbed into where Albert was, they burst with a loud explosion, sending tons of rubble flying.

But.

“Something like this isn’t gonna work on Papa at all—”

Right after she muttered that, Albert burst out from the cloud of rubble and dust, wrapped in a golden aura.

She already knew. Dodging or blocking Killriera and Mel’s attacks was way too easy for Albert.

That’s why Killriera and Mel kept pouring out star trial bombardments, while Leo kept swinging slashing attacks fueled by his ki and 【Transfer】.

But still.

“—Heh. So Onii-san can actually do close combat too, huh! Leo, you seriously trying over there?”

“I’m trying, and this is what happens…!”

“Hmm. If you’re Mel’s knight, I’d want you to do a bit better than that. Well, since the opponent’s Onii-san, guess it can’t be helped~”

It didn’t feel like any of their hits were landing properly. He could even read and dodge their no-time-lag 【Transfer】 moves. Of course he could.

“Damn it… Guess the only thing left is the hostage play, huh?!”

“Ah— No no no, Leo. We already talked about that with Killriera. Onii-san’s super kind, y’know? He gets strongest whenever it looks like one of his friends is about to get hurt.”

“Yeah, I’ve experienced that firsthand… But wait. So the princess siding with us was also part of that discussion?!”

“Pretty much~. Killriera said as a princess she can’t let herself get caught by Mel and the others. The real target’s always been Onii-san anyway, so in exchange for letting Killriera escape, she’s helping us catch him.”

She said it so casually it was infuriating. It made Killriera want to puke. Even though she was basically selling Albert out herself, it still made her feel sick to her stomach.

—and even now. Even though she knew it wouldn’t work, just pointing magic at Papa was stressing her out so much she felt like screaming…!

…And it looked like she wasn’t the only one.

“…Al…kun…!”

The one carrying a huge mental burden wasn’t just Killriera.

Scarlet was staring at Albert as he freely crossed blades with Leo back and forth, and her face looked like she might start crying tears of blood any second. The feeling in her eyes was probably pretty much the same as Killriera’s.

The intense guilt from knowing she was becoming a burden to the person she loved most. No matter how much she tried to justify her actions, that sharp pain squeezing her chest wouldn’t go away.

But even so.

—for Papa’s sake. Just thinking about that one thing and doing what had to be done. Because everyone had been way too… careless.

“—Everyone around Papa… has been way too thoughtless…!”

The emotions that slipped out of her mouth made the star trial’s power surge even stronger.

…She really had underestimated the situation. Albert’s position was way more unstable than it looked on the surface.

At first Killriera had just thought, “If we can get away from that stupid king’s control, that’ll be enough.” After that, she figured she could protect Albert with her own abilities and build a life together.

But as she started getting involved in the political core, she realized that wasn’t nearly enough.

——The Atlas Kingdom was no longer the rock-solid great power it used to be.

National strength, internal unity—problems were scattered everywhere. Especially the arrogance of the powerful nobles; they were basically one spark away from exploding, and she’d learned that the hard way while preparing for the founding anniversary.

In a situation like that, if someone like Albert Toll—who’d never been in the spotlight before—suddenly started rising up, what would happen?

If people just thought of him as “the devilish guy seducing the princess,” that would still be better. …Well, not really better, but still.

But the absolute worst case was if his talent got half-known. Once people realized he was the princess’s capable aide who could actually fight, the anti-royal faction would make eliminating him their top priority.

And in reality. During the coup attempt against the king, a few people learned about Albert’s real strength—and that fear was starting to become very real.

It wasn’t the time to turn red-faced and go searching for whoever started the rumors calling him “a useless guy who can’t even use unique magic” or “a con artist who controls the princess with sex”—

The more she learned about the reality he’d been kept away from, the more panicked she got. Her own carelessness, and the carelessness around her, could decide the life-or-death fate of the most important person—Albert. And now with a new threat like the Church of the Supreme Star showing up, it was even worse.

All those chains and obligations tying everything down—she wanted to smash them all to pieces. That destructive urge pushed her forward. Her star trial, which had already been shrinking for certain reasons, suddenly roared to life with a loud whoosh.

—The star trial cannon shells she fired started changing shape.

They sharpened into points like arrows shot from a giant crossbow, then split into so many that they could flatten the whole area. Each one traced a different path and accelerated straight toward Albert.

“Kyaa! W-why!? No no no no—!!”

——―

Whenever it comes to Albert, Killriera gets kinda clumsy… or more like, her unconscious spoiled side comes out.

The star trial itself is a total wild horse that doesn’t listen at all.

Albert’s getting arrows pointed at him from all directions, so no matter how hard he struggles, he’s gonna have a rough time. Feels like the most straightforward ones are coming from the guys, though…