The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 82. I Still Wish to Be Free
“…….”
A spell of quiet silence hung in the spacious room.
Then.
“Puhaha! You were right after all, Roanna.”
“I did warn you it wouldn’t be easy.”
With the laughter of the royal couple, a sudden warmth began to settle over the hall.
‘What is this? Why is it like this?’
My eyes rolled in bewilderment.
“What if…… well, of course it won’t come to that, but even if I were to lose the Succession War, I could guarantee your house would face no repercussions afterward, couldn’t I?”
“……I beg your pardon?”
“I mean it literally. In fact, you could say my guarantee is hardly necessary—the outcome is already certain.”
“How could that be…….”
“Neither my brothers nor I are fool enough to cast aside a talent who might become a future Sevenstar. Your timidity comes from undervaluing yourself far too much.”
Ah…….
Now that he mentioned it, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
My father, stuck away in some northern corner, had no way of knowing the princes’ true nature, so of course he’d warned me like that.
And then Roanna added her own voice with a smile.
“Brother, let’s be honest with each other. Could Drasen, a vassal house under Trian, ever wield true influence over Airen’s politics?”
“No……I suppose not.”
“My brothers have no real reason to touch Drasen either. Of course, I’ll be the one to win the Succession War.”
As the couple pressed their case with rapid back-and-forth, my thoughts began to cloud.
‘Is that so? Does it not matter? Was I just worrying for nothing?’
If that were true, there was no need to refuse this offer.
“So then, Munno. Or rather—brother-in-law. Won’t you truly become my man? I’ll stake everything to nurture you.”
Besides, Trian would back the Third Prince anyway, and it would help us deal with those Demon Cult vermin.
‘And there’s her too…….’
Following the current of my thoughts, my gaze drifted to Karina, standing at Roanna’s side, and in that instant I saw her mouth shape words without sound.
– Freedom.
The moment I saw that, my mind snapped clear.
‘What foolishness is this……!’
I’d almost let myself be swept away by the mood, nearly surrendering the thing most precious to me.
“Ah……. I apologize, Your Highness, but I do not yet wish to belong to anyone. I ask that you understand my desire to see the wider world.”
I wanted to live like a human being.
True, I harbored dreams of advancement and walking about with pride, but I could not let myself have my future decided like this, swept along by circumstance.
“Hmm…….”
The prince sighed, and the couple exchanged glances again.
“It seems I’m not enough to become someone’s entire world, am I, Roanna?”
The prince affected a look of mock sorrow and playfully wrapped his arms around the duchess.
Roanna pouted at him in response.
“Your Highness, that’s not it at all. Munno is simply unusual. I suspected something like this might happen, but I’m still a little disappointed.”
The royal couple treated my refusal with a bantering air.
In the face of their levity, I too felt the burden lift from my shoulders.
“Then you won’t help me find my enemies? And you won’t tell me why they’re chasing me either?”
I seized on Roanna’s half-joking, half-threatening words, turning them into banter.
She laughed softly, shook her head, and sighed.
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s just a gift I prepared for you. I was just trying to push the mood a bit earlier, but you really don’t cooperate, do you?”
As expected.
Roanna was a woman of great ambition, and her character was equally grand.
“Of course, had you simply said you would follow His Highness, I could have offered something even more spectacular…….”
As the duchess spoke with a sidelong glance, Karina’s eyes sharpened and her expression hardened.
“Your. High. Ness.”
“……I was only joking, Karina. Joking. Please, don’t look at me like that…….”
She still couldn’t resist a bit of pointless teasing.
‘Karina is far more thoughtful than I realized…….’
I sent a subtle nod of gratitude to Karina, who had pulled me back from the brink.
And in doing so, a fresh pang of regret washed over me.
For now, I had to choose a path that diverged from hers, whatever the cost.
“If you keep looking at her like that, you’ll bore holes in Karina’s face, Munno. If you’re going to pine for her, why reject the offer…….”
“Your Highness!!”
“No, wait—it’s not that I’m being stubborn. You saw it too, didn’t you, Karina? Honestly! Neither of you is being straightforward about this……!”
Watching the princess and her knight bicker like sisters again, I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Well, who knows what the future holds…….’
One way or another, there would come a day to repay today’s kindness.
“Anyway, since I said it’s a gift, I’ll tell you right away. If this turns out to be useful, at least we gain some points, right?”
“There’s no need to say such things to me, Princess.”
“Come on, I told you to call me sister. You’re so cold!”
This woman doesn’t give up easily.
When Munno maintained an unflinching expression even as the princess rebuked him playfully, Roanna pouted again.
“Tch. Did you forget what His Highness said? You underestimate yourself far too much. That’s something I agree with him on, so I’d just appreciate it if you’d accept my goodwill.”
“……Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”
“Good. Now, as for what I’ve found out……. Ah, I hope you don’t mind Orlando being here. He’s the same to His Highness as Karina is to me.”
Honestly, it made me uneasy that one more person would learn about my abilities.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
In this situation, there was nothing to do but nod.
The princess’s very act of seeking my understanding was already considerate enough.
“First, I actually learned about your origins by pure accident.”
“Really?”
“When you caught that witch in Ruble, I traced some suspicious money flows connected to that incident. I lost the main body, but that trail led back to someone who was in that laboratory ten years ago.”
What?
“That man’s name was…….”
“Rockford, or something like that. Do you know him? Our technicians found the name, so there’s no reason to doubt it.”
Rockford.
The moment I heard that name, my head throbbed.
And then.
– Kid, first we’re going to cut into your arm muscles and extract some blood vessels. Keke-kek.
– Actually……. There’s no anesthetic. You’re okay with that, right? Kehehe-hehe!
Crack.
Thud.
“Where the hell is that bastard right now?”
My teeth clenched involuntarily, and a hollow voice spilled from my mouth.
Only when I noticed the shock in the eyes watching me did I become aware of where I was.
Overcome with rage, I’d stepped forward with my voice lowered, and in doing so, I’d inadvertently put pressure on both the princess and the prince.
“I’m—I’m sorry, Your Highness, Princess.”
I apologized immediately, but the agitation didn’t ease quickly.
“……No, it’s fine. Ha, so that impossible information was actually true. Then you really are…….”
“Your Highness.”
“Ah. Sorry, Roanna. Go on.”
“Mm. Well, I’m sorry to say this, but that man no longer exists in this world.”
“Pardon?”
“When we tried to extract important information from him, his head exploded.”
In that instant, Munno recalled the final moments of Moeno Connell, and the flames burning in his chest could only extinguish rapidly.
“Haa……. Yes, I understand what you’re saying.”
“In any case, his existence confirmed that your grandfather’s subjugation ten years ago was actually only half a success……. But we’ve kept that hidden. You understand why, don’t you?”
“Yes. It doesn’t matter.”
Trian had no reason to diminish his own accomplishments by his own hand.
The reason the terrorist incidents occurring throughout the kingdom are now being classified as the work of “a mage who developed new techniques” or “remnants of a cult” was likely due to that very concern.
Of course, such things were of no real concern to Munno.
What mattered more was this.
“What did he say about me?”
Whether these bastards truly knew the extent of my abilities.
But then.
“The reason they hunted you so intensely was…….”
Gulp.
Tension rose as the princess paused.
“Because you were an experimental subject who survived being sacrificed to a Demon……. That’s what he said.”
“Huh?”
At those words, all the tension that had been building up dissipated with a faint sound.
And whether my feelings showed plainly on my face,
the princess offered an awkward, forced laugh.
“……What? You already knew?”
Geez. You scared me half to death.
Munno could only feel relief that his secret hadn’t spread to the wider world.
‘Though that witch knew all along, of course.’
After what he’d endured, it would’ve been strange if she didn’t.
But at least now he understood—through Roanna’s own words—that the fact hadn’t reached the lower ranks of the organization.
Still, a different question had taken root in his mind.
‘Why? Why didn’t she reveal it?’
He wished it was simply because the Cult’s claims hadn’t taken hold in the world, in the empire.
His thoughts were growing tangled when Roanna drew his attention back.
“I’ve never heard of anyone who survived being offered as a sacrifice to a Demon, Munno. Is that really what happened?”
That Demon had lived in my head, only to be devoured by me not long ago.
Would anyone believe him if he told the truth like that?
“……I lack clear memories of the event itself, but I do recall there was quite an uproar when Count Rockford’s forces attacked. Perhaps the Demon’s servants, caught off guard, made some mistake in the ritual.”
“Hmm……. Well, that’s certainly plausible. But to pursue you so relentlessly for that reason alone?”
There was something in Roanna’s tone suggesting she knew more and wanted him to come clean.
“I’ve killed every one of them that came looking, and hunted down the ones hiding besides. I imagine they’ve grown rather frustrated.”
Munno kept his expression blank.
It wasn’t entirely untrue, at least.
Still.
“That’s all……?”
Roanna’s barely concealed disappointment made him want to offer her at least some hint.
“It seems that my dim memories of that experience have given me a keen sense for those who possess Demonic Energy. I suspect that ability has irritated them far more than anything else.”
“I see—so distinguishing hidden Mages behind a ‘veil’ isn’t solely the domain of anti-Mage Artifacts after all.”
“……Yes, precisely.”
“Hmm.”
Roanna smiled subtly as she studied him, then turned her gaze to meet her companion’s eyes.
Seeing the Third Prince smile back with equal significance made Munno nervous and oddly guilty.
He had the sense that Roanna might become a trustworthy ally, but should he have simply told her the truth?
The thought troubled him that much.
But Munno quickly shook his head inwardly.
‘No. Not yet. Not until I’m far stronger.’
To continue my life, to simply survive.
The longer his secrets remained hidden, the better.
With that thought, he composed himself.
And yet.
“Well, I suppose this will do for now.”
The couple who had been exchanging meaningful looks was the first to yield ground.
And then.
“I hear the Verification begins tomorrow. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then you ought to rest now. We’ll continue this conversation after your abilities have been proven—at the Foundation Anniversary Party in four days. How does that sound?”
The Third Prince had subtly locked in Munno’s attendance at his Foundation Anniversary Party.
But there was no way to refuse in this situation.
He could always attend the other princes’ parties later.
“……Understood. And thank you for the gift.”
“Oh, and my gift isn’t finished yet.”
“I beg your pardon?”
There was more?
Roanna’s gaze shifted toward the warrior in crimson armor standing beside her.
“You promised a duel, didn’t you? But the circumstances aren’t right for one now, so before you retire to your quarters, have Karina show you around the Royal Palace. That’s my real gift.”
“…….”
What was he supposed to say to that?
He couldn’t quite find the words, yet somehow a smile was already forming—so he forced his expression back under control.
And in that moment, Munno felt his heart and Karina’s align in perfect synchrony.
He could see it written plainly across her face—she wore the same look he did.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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