Who Could Have Loved the Monster Princess? - Chapter 39
Among the people, there were also royal knights accompanied by priests. They seemed to have been trapped by the wraith’s barrier as well. They cautiously surveyed the situation, reassuring the others.
Everyone looked around in bewilderment, but only Canillian seemed unfazed and answered where this place was.
“Did His Highness come here before being trapped by the wraith’s barrier?”
“Yes. This is where the Staedt family’s flag was.”
This was the place where my flag was? Only now did I realize that the thing that the “treasure” that the Crown Prince had wanted to take was the Staedt family’s flag. I stared at Carnelian in disbelief.
‘Wait, he was so bold as to try at getting a wish from the Staedt family through cheating?’
I had once claimed the Emperor’s flag through the Crown Prince’s privilege, but it was because Carnelian himself suggested we use it to free Ken from his wrongful imprisonment.
But this time, he didn’t even ask for my consent.
“You cheater.”
At my comment, the Crown Prince shrugged and quickly shifted the conversation.
“The High Priest has disappeared.”
Since Sean had achieved his goal and taken care of everything, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.
But there was something more pressing. Sean and the Crown Prince weren’t after the emperor’s flag — they had actually been targeting our Staedt family’s flag.
“What were you hoping to get from Staedt that you resorted to cheating for it?”
“That…”
Carnelian hesitated, starting to speak but then trailing off.
“I… A relationship with… I was going to ask…”
He stumbled over his words, trying to rephrase them repeatedly.
‘What is he trying to say?’
No matter how sharp my hearing is, if the words aren’t clear, I can’t make sense of them.
After a long pause, Carnelian finally spoke in a way I could understand.
“This isn’t something I should say here. We’ll talk later.”
He muttered quietly to himself.
“Now that I think about it, it’s hard to find a chance to speak with you privately.”
Was he talking to another person now? What is he trying to say? Did the royal family run out of money? Is he asking to borrow some? No, that can’t be it.
It seems like he really wants to talk just the two of us, avoiding others’ eyes. I get it – there’s never been a chance to have a calm conversation. Of course, that makes sense.
‘Because I’ve been avoiding him.’
The Crown Prince isn’t a bad guy, but he has a way with words that makes things awkward.
Carnelian had a conversation with the priest and the knight who approached him. He told them how the spirit had been dealt with by Sean Onra.
‘It seems like the spirit wasn’t there until yesterday but suddenly appeared…’
The imperial palace had requested that a priest be dispatched from the temple because of the strange energy.
‘They must have known there were strange signs even before the tournament started…’
Originally, this tournament wasn’t exactly safe. When they accepted participants, they made sure to inform everyone to be prepared for monsters and wild animal attacks. Yet, despite the chaos, it looks like they’re planning to continue the tournament.
‘I need to head back. But first, I’ll stop by the Bittern Manor for a bit.’
As I was about to take a step, I noticed something shimmering on the ground. With my keen eyesight, I could tell it shouldn’t be here. I approached and picked it up, and as expected, I wasn’t mistaken.
It was a piece of red mana stone woven into black ash tree fibers. Ken’s mana stone.
‘Why is this here?’
It was exactly where Sean had dealt with the spirit.
