chapter 12
“That’s not exactly something to brag about.”
“In our Empire, it’s a skill worth boasting about.”
“What a wonderful country. To be reincarnated into such an imperial family and even gain a position where you have to fight over the succession—you must have been so happy~~.”
“……”
No reply came to my sarcastic remark.
Come to think of it, they say thirty people die every day in the Blake Imperial Family. Maybe I’d gone a little too far.
Feeling a bit nervous, I glanced at him.
Leonard remained silent for a moment, then smirked when our eyes met.
“Well, in my own way?”
What exactly was that smile supposed to mean?
As I was busy trying to interpret it, he spoke again.
“Anyway. Now that I’ve untied you, shall we make a deal?”
“A deal?”
I echoed the unexpected proposal, and he shrugged.
“I just told you. I need the Saintess. But you want me to stop kidnapping her.”
“That’s right. Aurora isn’t just the Saintess who protects Syncaster—she’s also my friend.”
“Then help me instead of the Saintess.”
“What?”
Not even a polite please help me, but a straight-up help me command. The nerve of this guy.
“Why should I help you?”
“Because Syncaster will soon be facing destruction.”
“Listen, I know the entire original story, and I already dealt with the villain. Stop talking nonsense about destruction.”
“There’s still one thing you don’t know.”
Unlike my increasingly heated tone, he remained completely calm. No—indifferent.
“You’re the one who got reincarnated into an extra. You probably know less about our country than I do. And why would someone from Blake deliberately throw Syncaster into chaos in the first place?”
I was furious, but I was still technically his captive. I had to restrain myself.
It wouldn’t be too late to secretly blast him with a Fireball spell after I got home safely.
Naturally unaware of my thoughts, he leaned casually against the wall and crossed his arms.
“I don’t act without reason. Anything without profit is a waste of time. But your country is definitely heading toward a crisis, and I have to stop it. Because—”
That was when it happened.
RUMBLE—!!
With a deafening crash, the bricks beyond the iron bars began shifting one by one.
Soon, the wall opened into a passage large enough for two people to enter, and a man hurried through it.
Broad-chested and absurdly handsome, he was Eric—the man ranked number thirteen in my personal handsome-men encyclopedia.
“Your Highness, the White Owls are searching for the Princess. At this rate, they’ll find this place.”
The problem was that he was holding a massive spear.
White Owls. And weapons.
My face immediately turned pale, and Leonard looked at me.
“Don’t be so frightened. I have no intention of hurting your subordinates.”
“Of course not! They’re all handsome. It would be a tragedy if even a single scar appeared on their faces!”
One of Leonard’s eyes narrowed.
“...You’re not telling me you recruited the White Owls based on their looks?”
“Absolutely not. I chose them for their abilities—it just so happened they were all handsome. Maybe it’s the power of the original story?”
To be precise, it was for Aurora’s benefit.
In the original novel, the White Owls served as the royal family’s shadow knights, but in the end, they all worked for Aurora.
Looking at the ridiculously handsome man before me, a question surfaced again.
Could this guy have reincarnated into a male lead from a side story? Is that why he’s so handsome?
While I was deep in thought, laughter reached my ears.
“Ah, seriously. You’re something else.”
Despite the urgency of the situation, Leonard was laughing leisurely.
Then he suddenly held out his hand.
“Take my hand. I’ll take you back to the Princess Palace.”
“But we haven’t finished talking. And why should I trust you?”
“Then don’t.”
Before I could even ask what he meant—
I was suddenly lifted into the air.
“Eek!?”
“Why are you suddenly pretending to be delicate and screaming?”
“Hey! I am delicate!”
I’d always imagined being carried in a princess carry would be romantic.
Reality, however, was garbage.
Not only was my heart not fluttering, but his next words nearly made me violent.
“If you’re that delicate, exercise more. You’ll need it to survive in this harsh fantasy world.”
“What did you say?”
“Then hold on tight.”
Why did I need to hold on tight?
For what?
A sudden sense of dread washed over me, and instinctively I buried myself against his chest and squeezed my eyes shut.
For a brief moment, I felt Leonard’s body stiffen.
Then he opened the barred door and began walking.
His pace gradually turned into a run, and when I cracked my eyes open, I realized he was carrying me through a dark corridor.
At least we weren’t heading outside.
Come to think of it, wasn’t this guy supposed to have a terrible sense of direction?
“Wait! Do you even know where you’re going?”
“……!”
Screech—
Leonard stopped dead.
The sudden halt nearly sent me tumbling from his arms, so he pulled me closer.
But there was no time to feel flustered.
We were standing on a staircase leading down into what looked like a basement.
This idiot really is directionally challenged.
A divinely cursed level of directionally challenged!
“Put me down!”
As I struggled in his arms, Leonard gently set me on the ground.
However, he kept a tight grip on my wrist.
I glared at his hand.
“Excuse me? I’m not going to run away.”
“That’s not it. You might get eaten.”
“Eaten? By what?”
“The monsters wandering around here.”
“…What?”
“Guess it can’t be helped.”
After that ominous statement, Leonard sighed and glanced at me.
“Charlotte. I’m about to use magic, and you absolutely cannot let go of me.”
Suddenly, sparks burst through the air, forming a gigantic magic circle.
He hadn’t swung a wand or snapped his fingers.
It seemed to be a chantless spell.
The blazing magic circle flashed brilliantly and opened a passage leading somewhere else.
“That’s teleportation magic, isn’t it?”
My lazy mage, Sarah, used teleportation constantly, so I was somewhat familiar with teleportation circles.
But I had never seen one formed so quickly—or on such a massive scale.
Whoever reincarnated us is playing favorites!
As fellow transmigrators, why did he get incredible magical talent while I got absolutely nothing fantasy-related?
In the world of The Saint’s Sacred Breath, supernatural abilities were divided into three categories:
Mana wasn’t inherently evil.
When refined, it became the magic most people used.
But if it couldn’t be properly refined, it manifested as dark magic. Eventually, it could even rob a person of their self-awareness and turn them into a monster.
That was why mages first learned the fundamentals of mana control before anything else.
Naturally, because The Saint’s Sacred Breath was set in the holy kingdom of Syncaster, it mainly focused on Holy Power and largely ignored explanations about Aura and Mana.
But if the story took place in Blake, things would be different.
The people of Blake were descendants of dragons—a type of monster—and were born with Mana.
Therefore, Leonard’s ability to use magic was perfectly natural.
Still, wasn’t it unfair?
I didn’t have Holy Power, but he had Mana!
On top of that, he was also an excellent swordsman and had some embarrassingly dramatic title in Blake.
At this point, maybe he wants to become Emperor because it would be a waste not to use all those abilities.
Just as my irritation was about to boil over, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“It is teleportation magic. But if you let go of me, you could end up falling somewhere.”
“Falling where? Why?”
Overcome by anxiety yet again, I edged a little closer to Leonard.
There was still a fair amount of distance between us, however.
He stepped closer himself, wrapped an arm around my waist, and said,
“Because I’m still not very good at controlling my magic.”
The next thing that happened was exactly what you’d expect.
I was hoisted up like luggage once again as he leapt into the portal.
“AAAAAH! Somebody save me!”
