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chapter 46
“Should I help you?”
It wasn’t just an empty offer.
Surviving here isn’t a matter of skill alone.
I had a rough idea of his situation.
The only illegitimate child among the emperor’s direct descendants.
Or more precisely—
the only illegitimate child still alive.
All the others, including his half-siblings, had died young from unexplained causes.
At least, that’s how it stands for now.
Which meant one thing—
without someone’s help, he was bound to die soon.
In the original story, no one helped him,
so that “someone” could only be me.
“…Help me, you say?”
“Yeah.”
In the night’s dim glow, his green eyes fixed on me.
I met his gaze, expressionless.
“With what?”
“With staying alive.”
I tossed a log onto the fading fire.
From inside the tent came the sound of Felix turning in his sleep.
You can’t fake breathing sounds like that—he was definitely out cold.
As I silently watched Aiden, he suddenly let out a soft, bitter laugh.
“Hah. You want to help me survive?”
“Mm-hm.”
“You know I’m a Sword Master, right? That wasn’t just some fluke of aura control.”
He stroked his sword once and went on.
“I can protect myself. Worst case, I can leave this country through a political marriage.”
…Political marriage?
How typical of a romance-fantasy second male lead—
what a cliché thought.
Although, those are usually reserved for the male leads, aren’t they?
I stared at Aiden.
His green eyes, dyed with night’s darkness, flickered slightly.
Maybe it was just the firelight, but he seemed almost… afraid.
Well, pride only lasts so long.
It’s unreasonable to expect someone constantly living under threat to be completely sane.
I smirked.
“What if a whole bunch of guys like the one we met today come after you at once?”
He didn’t have a comeback this time.
He just clamped his mouth shut and stared straight ahead—
at the place where Kelbero’s corpse lay.
“Well… it wouldn’t be easy,” he admitted. “But I don’t plan to go down quietly.”
“Are you planning to become emperor?”
“No.”
The answer came like a blade.
“My brother fits that seat better than I ever could. I was never meant to rule anyone.”
“Then what?”
“I just…”
He hesitated.
After a moment of silent deliberation, he finally said what was on his mind.
“I just want that damn empress to stop what she’s doing.”
That line actually surprised me.
For a prince—an illegitimate one at that—to speak like that about the empress…
it was dangerous.
Especially in front of someone he barely knew.
“Can you really say things like that so carelessly?”
“Why not?”
He smirked at my worried tone.
“She’s going to try to kill me no matter what I do, anyway.”
“…Hmm.”
Fair point.
Considering how Kanis ended up executed despite craving her father’s affection,
it was obvious.
And when I first met Aiden, didn’t he already complain about how terrible his relationship with his siblings was?
Maybe I should’ve been more careful with my words too.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“So, you think the black magic from earlier was that same person’s doing?”
“…Yeah. The same traces always remain afterward.”
His affirmation made me ask again.
“But I heard black magic disappeared ages ago. Isn’t it strange that you’ve encountered it several times?”
“It did disappear. Officially.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s fine as long as they don’t get caught.”
Aiden frowned, clearly irritated by the thought.
“To track a black magician, you need a high-ranking priest capable of analyzing residual mana. But those traces evaporate within a day. Unless you happen to drag a priest to the scene right away, preserving evidence is meaningless.”
He brushed some ash off his cloak and added quietly:
“Unless time itself could be stopped.”
…Oh.
That was an unexpected solution.
“I can do that.”
“What?”
At first, Aiden didn’t believe me.
But once he stepped inside my subspace inventory and came back out, he was utterly speechless.
“How is this even possible?”
“No one else can do it?”
“Does it look like anyone could?”
Well… maybe the higher mages of the Magic Tower could manage it.
After all, time-stopping is technically a kind of dark-element magic.
[Inventory]
What a god-tier skill.
Inventory.
The size varies by rank,
but for any hunter on modern Earth, it’s the most basic of basics—
a standard-issue tutorial perk.
Who would’ve thought that a feature so mundane would end up solving one of the biggest problems here?
“Ah, no. That won’t work,” Aiden said flatly, cutting into my admiration.
“Why not?”
“The way black magicians are tracked usually relies on individual mana wavelengths, and there are plenty of people with similar patterns. Besides…”
He trailed off.
I could easily guess the rest.
“They could’ve hired another spellcaster to do it?”
“Exactly.”
He nodded.
A classic case of cutting off the tail—
a favorite tactic of the powerful, but an effective one nonetheless.
Cliché, sure—but classics exist for a reason.
I clicked my tongue again.
“Shame.”
It’s always best when problems can be solved in one go.
“Still, being able to preserve the evidence is huge. A black magician always submits to stronger power—so whoever ordered this is definitely involved.”
Aiden offered that as a kind of consolation.
Then, adjusting the pile of firewood, he spoke with quiet conviction.
“If they can’t kill me through scapegoats, they’ll have no choice but to reveal themselves.”
“Or they might give up before that.”
He paused before answering.
“…That wouldn’t be a loss for me either.”
Meaning—it wouldn’t help him much, but he’d accept it.
He must be holding a lot of resentment.
And who could blame him?
His brother and mother’s suspicious deaths were an open secret the entire empire ignored.
No wonder his anger simmered so deep.
I looked at him.
“You ever think about revenge?”
“Hmm.”
His lips twitched faintly.
He turned his head away, lost in thought.
After a long moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“Without solid proof, it won’t be easy. But with your help, I could at least strike a blow.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I narrowed my eyes and leaned closer.
“I’m asking what you want to do.”
“…”
Pressed again, Aiden let out a weary sigh.
Then he finally said what he’d been holding back all along—
and in doing so, revealed something I hadn’t expected at all.
I listened quietly, then a thought struck me.
“Then how about this?”
“The what? You want to stop by the Imperial Capital?”
The next morning, when Felix woke up and heard our plan,
his face went blank with shock.
Aiden, however, just said it like it was nothing.
“Yeah. Tomorrow’s Sunday anyway.”
“I mean… I guess I don’t really have plans, so that’s fine, but—”
Felix scratched his head awkwardly.
What’s gotten into them?
After all the times they refused to go anywhere, now they were announcing a trip?
He could’ve been offended.
But then again, Felix’s greatest strength was not overthinking things.
He didn’t ponder long.
With a grin, he nodded.
“Sure! I’ve got some shopping to do anyway. Let’s go together!”
But Aiden’s response was strange.
“What do you mean?”
“What?”
Felix blinked at Aiden’s confused expression—
only for Aiden to drive the nail in.
“The Imperial Capital trip is just for me and Escleef.”
“?”
“You’re going home alone.”
