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nShort brown hair; thick, angled eyebrows; black eyes that shot through her fiercely.

n“…Prince Roman?”

nIt was none other than 9th Prince Roman Dussel.

nHis eyebrows seemed to shoot up; he looked like he didn’t know that she knew him.

nHe must know.

nWhenever she was with a Kraiden, he was the one who sent the most powerful gaze her way. How weird that he couldn’t remember her.

nOf course, I had no choice but to notice his stare because it was intense, in a bad way.

nCoincidentally, the look in his eyes staring down at her now was also not good. His thoughts seemed as deep as the color of his eyes.

n“Wh-who are you?”

nWho am I?

nThat was what Levisia wanted to say. Hadn’t he been chasing her at an ambiguous interval? A while ago he had even made a face like he’d been caught.

n“Prince Roman, have you been following me?”

nAt that moment his eyes, which were shaking with embarrassment, became distorted.

n“What is this nonsense? I was simply walking by.”

nIt sounded like something a weasel or thief would say. Naturally, Levisia did not believe him, but Roman insisted to the end that he was just passing by.

n“What’s that look in your eyes? Do you not believe me?”

n“……..”

n“And you— Why did you stop here and spook me like that? Don’t block my path, get out of the way!”

nThe one who farted got angry first, and Roman was the one.

nIs there really a reason for him to be passing by me standing in this wide hallway?

nLevisia, in a funny way, looked down the empty hallway before moving out of the way. Rather, seeing him angry and yelling, she didn’t think they could communicate.

nHe doesn’t have to pick a fight with me.

nBut Roman, who seemed like he was about to push her right away, stood in place even after she moved out of his way.

n“Then you can go,” she said kindly, even doing a hand gesture telling him “Right this way.”

nWhen she did that, he made a face like he was chewing something as he breezed past her.

nShe wondered what that was all about, but there wasn’t a reason for her to care about it.

nThe situation seemed to have ended like that. At the moment when she thought that she had hurdled over one thing today with a lighter mind, Roman, walking bravely, suddenly stopped to look back at her before saying,

n“Those who come forward and butt in always make me angry.”

n“……?”

n“Where on earth do you get off acting like that?”

nHis clear words flew out of his mouth one syllable at a time, hostilely piercing her like multiple spears. She quickly realized what exactly he was talking about.

nIs it about what happened at the pier?

nBut she didn’t understand.

nWhy?

nHas Levisia done something wrong? Had she done something that day that offended him? What on earth was it?

n“Running away while holding on to someone is the only thing that made you feel like a hero? Do you think you’ve become something just because you saved someone less fortunate than you?”

nThe eyes glaring at her were glossy. What hung at the corners of his eyes was apparent malice and ridicule.

n“If you know your place and stay still, it’s not funny at all. Creatures like you that don’t know what’s going on always come around. Shame on you. It’s disgusting.”

nHe showed no hesitation in trampling on someone weaker than himself. That’s it. Even if you are stepped on, stand up and press back with harsh words.

nLevisia thought back for a moment with her eyes squinted.

nHow was he in front of the other Kraidens?

nShe had never seen Roman talk so ruggedly like this in front of the other five Kraiden successors.

nAll right, he was cautious about what came out of his mouth.

nOnly in front of them.

nHow typical…

nIf you stretch your feet after seeing where you will lie down, you will choose and step on them so that they will not become your opponent.

nFrankly speaking, Levisia was used to this sort of person.

nHadn’t the imperial family advocated the laws of the jungle in the beginning? Those with outstanding abilities took on the royal family’s last name and were treated as successors, but there had to be a class below them.

nThe class was divided among the nameless royal family members while those on the bottom were stomped on with no hesitation.

nAnd since Levisia was among those at the very bottom, she was used to being treated this way.

nI am used to being looked down on.

nActually, what she felt right now was no different from when Merril gave her a test.

nNo matter how much she was called a tiny worm— “Hey you! You little worm!” —all she could think of was, “All right. So what if I’m a worm?”

nHowever, because she had been stuck in the furthest corner of the imperial palace, it was a little refreshing that someone had followed her around like this for the first time.

nJust that much.

nLike the stimulus, you get from throwing a stone across a still lake. She couldn’t tell if it was a scandal, but she just wondered what she was supposed to do with this.

nWhat now?

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