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CHAPTER 43………
#43. Each One’s Survival (2)
I ran up to the second floor with the Epikus sisters—and lost my words.
The lounge, which should have looked elegantly old-fashioned, was a wreck.
Furniture was overturned, scorch marks dotted the room, and Ares and Calion were fighting with swords.
Those brats! I told them so many times not to cause trouble!
How could both of them completely ignore me?
They were fighting like they were out to kill each other, and I didn’t even know what to say.
“Ha! Is that all you’ve got, you blue-eyed freak?!”
“You…! All talk, no skill!”
White flashes of flame sparked through the air.
Alarmed, I looked urgently to Minte.
“Minte! Stop those two!”
“…No, I think it would be best if you stopped them yourself, Princess.”
“What?! Why?”
“I’ll explain later, Your Highness. Right now, just scold them!”
“Uh…?”
Just scold them? In the middle of a life-or-death atmosphere like this?
But if I hesitated even a moment, it really did feel like they’d burn the entire salon to the ground.
I hurriedly shouted their names.
“Ares! Calion!”
Both of them turned their heads toward me at the same time.
“Lady Sion.”
“Ah…!”
“What on earth are you two doing here?!”
Just like that, the fight stopped as if it had never happened.
I’d expected them to start a heated shouting match again, like they did at the Phaersen Palace.
If they start here too, I’m going to have to really give them an earful!
But before I could say anything, Ares immediately dropped to one knee.
“…I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“Huh?”
What the—why is he acting so meek? It’s kind of scary.
Wait, could it be… did Calion hit him really hard?
Flustered, I almost reached out toward Ares’s face.
Oh no! Our youngest, our dragon, might actually be hurt!
“Ares, does your head hurt a lot? Oh, no—”
But under Minte’s gaze, I quickly switched to my stern act.
“Ares. Did you start a fight in a place where everyone was gathered? Who started it?”
“…I was rude to His Highness Alcyone.”
“…Huh?”
Now I was just getting more confused.
Why is he acting like this?
Ares turned to Calion and gave a deep, respectful bow.
“I apologize, Your Highness Alcyone. Please forgive me.”
I was shocked to see Ares showing manners to anyone other than his father.
And I realized something.
So he actually does know how to be polite…
Calion looked at him with a deep frown—his expression full of bitterness.
“…It was just a light fight, so it’s fine, Lord Ismenios.”
A light fight.
And yet this disaster of a room was the result.
I covered my face with both hands.
I guess the repairs will have to come out of the Princess’s palace budget… sigh.
Looking up at them, I let out a weary sigh.
“You both need to apologize to Madame as well. I’ll apologize too…”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Yes, Lady Sion.”
“…But I doubt Ares was the only one who started it.”
That made them both flinch.
Before either of them could make excuses, I pointed to the bruise forming on Calion’s cheek.
“Ares doesn’t have a single mark on his fist, but Calion’s cheek is clearly bruised.”
The room went utterly silent at my words.
Everyone swallowed hard and looked only at me.
I turned my gaze toward the demon boys trembling in a corner.
“…Which one of you dared to lay hands on a guest of the Princess?”
They were all taller than me, but my icy tone made them shrink back.
They hurriedly dropped to their knees, just as Ares had earlier.
“Princess, p-please forgive us. But!”
“But?”
“The… the Queen herself died because of a Halcyon human!”
At that, the room froze.
My heart sank too.
The boy’s face was twisted with resentment.
“Why would you protect the prince of such people?! That’s not fair!”
“…”
“And here, even Madame—!”
When I said nothing, the boy turned to shout toward the Madame, who was watching nervously from the doorway.
To be exact, toward the human standing beside her—“Andvari.”
“In times like this, how can you disgustingly let a human run a dress shop—”
“The matter concerning Her Majesty is not something you have the right to speak of!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back my voice.
I was the biggest hypocrite in this room.
But this was a moment where I had to speak first.
“You want to claim a one-against-many fight is fair? You think it’s fine to lump everyone together just because they look alike?!”
“Your Highness…!”
“If you have complaints, take them to the royal family. Or challenge them in a proper duel!”
The boys bowed their heads.
After seeing Ares and Calion fight, I doubted they had the courage to pick a fight themselves.
I looked up at Calion and whispered.
“Calion. Is your face okay? We’ll call a physician as soon as we get back to the palace.”
“I’m fine. I can just…”
“Ah!”
Calion took out the lapis lazuli necklace I’d given him before.
It still held some of my divine power, and it shimmered faintly blue.
“With this, small wounds disappear quickly.”
The two of us turned toward Ares.
At some point, Lady Sinope had grabbed him fiercely by the ear.
“You damn youngest! You rotten brat!”
“Ow, Sis, wait—!”
“Do you even remember why you were punished before? I thought you’d gotten better, but look at you now!”
“My ear’s coming off! Aaagh!”
The cheerful smile he’d had earlier was gone, and I could sense the dragon’s aura from behind her.
Seeing that, Calion muttered with a sulky face.
“That pest… that guy.”
“Ares?”
“…It’s probably thanks to him stepping in that it ended like this.”
“…”
I pouted as I looked at Ares.
Honestly… he’s strangely quick-witted in moments like this.
Did he kneel to me first because he knew how the other kids would react?
Luckily, Ares survived Lady Sinope’s wrath, though he kept rubbing his ear and muttering complaints.
“Ugh, Sis’s hands are ridiculously strong.”
“Ares, come here.”
“What, why. If you’re going to yell, do it back at the palace.”
“I’m not going to yell. Just come here and lower your head.”
“…”
Reluctantly, Ares lowered his head a little toward me.
Since he was still short, I had to get on tiptoe to pat his head.
“There, our Ares is very kind.”
“Wh—… Stop that!”
“Why? I’m complimenting you.”
I ruffled his hair with both hands, smiling.
Honestly, this brat—he makes a fuss whether I praise him or ignore him.
It was ridiculous, and yet… the fact that this prideful kid had used his head to bow down like that was also strangely endearing.
I couldn’t hold back a laugh as I kept patting his head.
“Our Ares is cute. So cute.”
“Ugh, stop…!”
Ares flinched and stepped back.
Unlike earlier when he’d been grumbling, his cheeks were now bright red.
“I’m not cute!”
“Yes, you are.”
“Forget it. You can keep that for yourself.”
He turned his head away and muttered.
His red cheeks gradually faded, but the tips of his ears were still flushed.
“I don’t want to be cute to you.”
“Huh? Ares—?”
“Your Highness Princess…!”
Oh—behind me, the voices of the girls rang out.
They were packed tightly into the narrow hallway, watching the scene while holding their breath.
The atmosphere was completely different from the tea party earlier.
“You’re so cool…”
“You made a duke’s son kneel!”
“And you stopped the fight instantly!”
But Theia, the one who had picked a fight with me, and the older girls still looked displeased.
It was obvious—they were unhappy I had once again defended a human from the Holy Kingdom.
Disappointment was written all over their faces.
So being a princess doesn’t mean life is easy. This is a world of survival of the fittest, just with pretty clothes.
For now, I firmly took both Ares’s and Calion’s hands and whispered.
“Let’s go home. Both of you.”
After offering repeated apologies to Madame and Andvari, we left the wrecked salon.
That evening, at the Hades Palace.
“I see. So the Nestor girl said such things.”
“…Yes.”
If Father wasn’t busy, we would dine together.
And somehow, it ended up turning into a reporting session.
But I had no choice.
When he asked how the salon was, I had to answer truthfully.
Still…
Suddenly it felt colder in here. Was it just my imagination?
