TSFA l CH 136

Chapter 136

As soon as the awe had begun to fade, the Crown Prince spoke.

“Since we’ve gathered like this, I have a few questions for you.”

Ryan clenched his fist on his knee, swallowing his nerves.

Yes. This was it—this was where it really began.

 

The Crown Prince was the sort of man who always pushed hard.

Ryan had expected it, of course. The title he’d been granted wasn’t charity—it was a move meant to irritate Duke Bassenberg. And the Prince didn’t even hide it. He told Ryan straight to his face.

Unchanging as ever…

He peppered Ryan with questions—about his motives, his loyalties, his ties to Bassenberg. Even Ryan, who had rehearsed this very encounter dozens of times in his head, couldn’t help faltering under the barrage. His expression practically shouted: What the hell? You’re really this blunt?

Yes, that’s exactly who he is.

Even before the regression, the Crown Prince had always danced right along the edge, never letting up in his efforts to keep the Bassenbergs in check.

And he had good reason.

The Prince understood something most people didn’t:

No matter how strong Bassenberg was, no matter how many times his nerves were needled, so long as the Crown Prince didn’t execute him outright, Bassenberg would never rise in open rebellion. He wouldn’t topple the Empire.

Strange, isn’t it?

Ability-users were practically gods—powerful enough to build their own nations. Yet they didn’t.

Why?

Because for Bassenberg, “power” only mattered if there were lesser beings beneath him to acknowledge it. Without inferiors, there was no superiority.

Rule a country by brute force? Boring.
Crown yourself king and make tyranny legal? Also boring.

What he craved was not to sit as Emperor, but to leave the Emperor as a figurehead while he ruled in truth—feeding off the order, hierarchy, and worship that only a society of humans could provide.

That was the twisted logic of the ability-users.

And the Crown Prince saw right through it.

While others trembled before Ryan’s father, the Prince alone dared to challenge him—and had the power to back it.

That was why he had to be won over.
He was target number one in the “Destroy Bassenberg Project.”

Fortunately, today Ryan had done well. He’d earned at least a sliver of the Prince’s favor. Trust couldn’t be built in a single meeting, of course—but thanks to Nike, the Prince was already predisposed to be generous.

Nike’s word was law for him. And Nike had vouched for Ryan.

So much so that, when Nike asked, the Crown Prince himself had personally arranged Alex’s admission to the Academy.

Ryan bowed deeply. “I am sincerely grateful. I swear I will devote myself to the Empire all my life.”

Confidence restored, the lion no longer trembled before the Prince.

The Prince, having visited quietly, now slipped out just as quietly through the back gate. We followed to see him off.

“Thank you, Your Highness. Please return safely.”

Alex and I bent at the waist. The Prince nodded, then—

“…?”

He stared right at me.

What was that look?

After a pause, he seemed to wrestle with himself. Then he drew Ryan aside.

***

In the courtyard behind the Academy, the Crown Prince pointed toward me.

“As I understand it, the girl is your true child, and the boy is her half-brother. Is that correct?”

“Ah!”

Yes—sharp indeed.

Ryan answered smoothly; they’d rehearsed this with Nike.
“That’s correct.”

Ryan’s ultimate goal was to train his power, win the Prince’s sanction, and then legally execute Duke Bassenberg. For that, he would one day have to reveal his terrifying ability—instant death. But not yet. Not until trust was secure.

Nike had been clear:
“Keep Bania’s ability hidden. Let her be known as your powerless daughter. If both of you are revealed as monsters, the Prince will see you as threats, not allies.”

So Ryan played his part. He gazed toward me with fatherly warmth.
“I was reckless in my youth. But I have no regrets. That child is my life. I would die for her.”

Surely, the Prince would be moved.

But instead, his expression grew grave.

“Then… you do like women, don’t you?”

“…Excuse me?”

Ryan froze. What kind of question is that? Of course I like women. What else would I like?

“Y-yes…?”

“…I see.”

The Prince nodded, seemingly relieved. He turned to leave—then stopped. Sighed. Turned back.

“I’d better be direct.”

Ryan blinked. “About what?”

“I heard you told the Third Prince not to see any women.”

“…What?”

“He says he agreed to your request. Is that true?”

Ryan’s mind went blank.

And then he remembered. Weeks ago, during the Farnese hunt—

“Please… don’t see other women.”

Yes. He had said that to Nike.

Somehow, that conversation had reached the Crown Prince.

But the real problem wasn’t how he’d heard it.

It was what he thought it meant.

When he’d asked about Bania, he wasn’t probing for hidden ties to Bassenberg. He was trying to confirm something else entirely:

If Bania was Ryan’s real daughter, then Ryan must have been with a woman.
Which meant—thank God—Ryan liked women.

Oh no.

Ryan’s pupils shook like an earthquake.

The Prince’s blue eyes trembled just as badly.

“Why don’t you say anything?”

“……”

Think. Think. THINK!