Chapter 10

Even though there was no real reason for her to be afraid, she kept treating him like something dangerous—always on guard, always ready to flee.

As if approaching a small, skittish animal, Kaiel raised both hands, palms open, showing he meant no harm.

“Isebellah.”

“Yes—y-yes?!”

So the rumor was true. The ducal house was trying to stop the broken engagement at all costs, while Isebellah herself was determined to see it through.

He couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

A flicker of something sharp—almost calculating—flashed across Kaiel’s eyes. It was a slightly underhanded idea, but it gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to keep her close.

“You snuck into the palace under a false identity for a reason, didn’t you?”

That reason—a mission to see her favorite—was something Isebellah could never admit.

So she nodded quickly, trying not to arouse suspicion.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then—”

His eyes, framed by elegantly curved lashes, suddenly ignited with a vivid, burning red.

“If I help you break off your engagement… will you help me in return?”

Isebellah genuinely wondered if she had misheard.

The Crown Prince of this nation… offering to help her end her engagement?

A royal decree was equivalent to the will of the Empire itself. If Kaiel supported her, even the arrogant young duke of Lascelles would have no choice but to step back.

This… actually isn’t a bad offer.

As Kaiel had intended, she was visibly tempted.

But that was all it was—temptation.

Suspicion immediately followed.

Why would someone of his status, the Crown Prince himself, take interest in something as trivial as her broken engagement?

“Are you truly saying you’ll help me end it, Your Highness?”

“Yes. But there’s a condition.”

Of course there was.

Nothing came without a price.

She needed to be careful. Extremely careful. This was a man she had just met—no matter how benevolent he appeared.

And yet…

For some reason she couldn’t explain, her gaze kept drifting back to him.

The warm, almost gentle aura beneath those same orange eyes that had once coldly extinguished assassins now flickered softly like embers.

Her instincts had never been wrong before.

And right now, they were telling her—

He isn’t a bad person.

“…What is the condition you want from me?”

Kaiel smiled softly.

Then he extended one hand toward her.

Palm up.

An invitation.

Is he asking me to take his hand?

Hesitating, Isebellah watched as he moved his fingers slightly—slowly, like a fox teasing its prey.

Before she realized it, she reached out.

Her small hand hovered just above his.

Warmth brushed between them.

And then—

She almost pulled away.

But Kaiel lifted his gaze and smiled at her.

It wasn’t the smile of a stranger.

It was the smile of someone meeting an old friend.

“I don’t bite.”

“…But—”

“Just hold my hand. That’s all. Easy, right?”

His voice was smooth, coaxing.

Almost dangerously gentle.

And so, despite herself, her hand finally settled into his palm.

The moment their skin touched—

“Aah… just as I thought.”

A quiet exhale slipped from Kaiel’s lips.

He could feel it immediately.

The clean, refreshing energy flowing from her was suppressing the violent surge of magic within him, like a storm suddenly forced into still water.

At last.

He had found it.

The key to stopping his cursed overabundance of mana had walked right into his hands.

For now, this alone was enough.

“…I can’t possibly hold the Crown Prince’s hand every day,” Isebellah said, quickly withdrawing hers.

No matter how beneficial it might be, she couldn’t casually touch royalty.

If she accepted this proposal, it would interfere with her plan to quietly break off the engagement and return to her world. That alone made it dangerous.

Kaiel, however, had already expected her refusal.

And he had no intention of letting her go.

“You can.”

“Pardon?”

His eyes softened, almost pitifully.

For a moment, it was enough to shake her resolve.

“Your hand… helps me a great deal, Isebellah.”

What did that even mean?

Confused, she glanced down at her palm.

And then she noticed it.

The magic.

It was growing again.

Kaiel raised his hand.

“Look at this.”

A spark ignited.

Crimson-orange mana bloomed across his palm like a miniature sunset.

“Wah… is that Your Highness’s magic?”

The flames expanded, curling and swirling until his entire hand was wrapped in unstable energy.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked.

“It looks like… the sky at sunset.”

Her honest admiration made his lips curve slightly.

Perhaps it was best to be honest with her.

“This is my problem.”

“Problem?”

“Have you heard of mana overabundance?”

Isebellah searched her memory.

A basic lecture from her academy days resurfaced.

A condition caused by instability in one’s mana core, resulting in uncontrolled magical output and physical strain.

She nodded.

“Yes. I studied it at the academy.”

“And do you know its symptoms?”

“That mana activates without the user’s will… and puts strain on the body…”

Her voice faltered.

Because she saw it.

His magic was growing again.

And his expression—no longer calm, no longer composed—had darkened with self-directed frustration.

“You’re right. I’ve had it for three months. And nothing has worked.”

“…That…”

There was no simple cure.

Even in modern magical research, successful treatments were extremely rare.

Kaiel gave a bitter smile.

“So the Crown Prince, supposedly a genius, can’t even control something as basic as this.”

“Then… those attempts earlier… the medicines the Lascelles duke mentioned—”

“Yes. Assassination attempts are becoming more frequent now. It seems they’ve decided this is the perfect time to eliminate me.”

Isebellah inhaled sharply.

“Your Highness… are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

He spoke lightly, as if assassination attempts were nothing more than minor inconveniences.

Even with his condition, he was still an exceptional swordsman capable of wielding aura.

But even he couldn’t hide this forever.

Secrets always surfaced.

“Isebellah,” he said quietly, “I must have no flaws.”

Not in the past.

Not in the present.

Not ever.

“To prove I am the rightful heir to lead this Empire.”

A small sun of the Empire must never fall.

Isebellah suddenly remembered her own past—how she had once tried just as desperately to become someone worthy of her engagement.

Her struggles were nothing compared to his burden.

And yet…

She understood the feeling.

The helplessness of fighting something you cannot change.

“…Your condition will be cured,” she said softly.

At that moment—

His mana surged violently again.

Startled, she instinctively grabbed his hand.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?”

The warmth of her touch spread through him.

And Kaiel—who had been on the verge of losing control—let out a breathless laugh.

“…Yes. If you stay like this, I think I’ll be fine.”

The roaring mana settled once more.

Isebellah hesitated.

If this really works just by holding his hand… should I help him?

But this was clearly reckless.

She was already drowning in her own problems.

And yet…

She couldn’t ignore someone who needed help.

That was simply who she was.

“…I want my engagement broken off,” she said carefully.

“Yes.”

“And you really can help me?”

“Of course.”

Kaiel placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly, as if making a vow.

His crimson-orange eyes met hers again.

“If you become my special aide… I will grant every wish you have.”