***
Delight felt slightly disheartened seeing Violyana getting along so well with Serdin.
However, this feeling was only momentary.
Feeling upset or sulking toward Violyana was a luxury he couldn’t afford.
What if Violyana ends up liking Serdin more than me?
Before that could happen, Delight needed to make a stronger impression on Violyana.
“What is Ollia doing right now?”
“The Princess was napping until a little while ago. Now she is having lunch alone,”
Zaire immediately replied.
He was glad to have received constant reports to answer without delay whenever Delight asked.
“Perfect timing.”
Responding to the report, Delight abruptly stood up.
Of course, he hadn’t given up on being recognized as her father.
Although it had only been a few days since he last saw her, he assumed that by now, Violyana must have started missing him, too.
He purposely waited until she wanted to see him.
The problem was that he missed her so much it was almost making him sick.
He wanted to see Violyana as soon as possible, and he was about to rush out to her when suddenly…
“…What?”
His head throbbed out of nowhere.
Delight held onto the desk and tilted his head back.
He felt nauseous and uneasy, which was strange.
It wasn’t uncommon for him to have bad days health-wise, but it was rare for it to show outwardly.
As his face contorted in pain, his upper body collapsed forward.
“Your Majesty?”
Zaire called out cautiously, but there was no response.
“Are you alright?”
Zaire, sensing the seriousness of the situation, tried to approach him.
But as soon as he took a step, Delight raised a hand to stop him.
“…Stay back. Immediately!”
The command, delivered in a voice that sounded like boiling iron, made Zaire reflexively step back.
However, he neither fully retreated nor dared to step forward again.
“Your Majesty… surely not…”
“Damn it… Why now… Gah!”
Delight struggled in pain, barely holding himself up by the floor.
Seeing this, fear swept across Zaire’s face. His instinct told him that his worst prediction might be true.
The Emperor’s loyal aide was terrified, faced with a problem he couldn’t solve on his own.
***
Delight couldn’t possibly have said that he didn’t want to see me.
Whenever I visited, whether during work or meetings, he always came to greet me directly.
But now, not only did he not come out to see me, someone was even blocking the way?
It was suspicious to just pass it off as him being busy.
Let’s see.
In front of me, Zaire was blocking the way, and right behind me, Monia was holding onto me.
And as if that weren’t enough, there were knights and mages guarding the surroundings.
Finding a way to get through all of them… It wouldn’t be easy, but I had to try.
First, I shook off Monia’s hand, which was lightly holding me.
Let me go!
Next was Zaire.
I quickly dodged his hand as he tried to grab me in surprise and dashed towards the door.
If I had been an intruder, I wouldn’t have made it even a single step, but everyone was being cautious not to hurt me, so I managed to reach the door.
Then, I pressed hard to open it.
Damn it. The door is too heavy!
It was impossible to open the tightly shut door in one go. I tried to push harder, but…
“Princess, it’s dangerous!”
In the end, Zaire caught hold of me.
Damn it. I can’t give up like this.
“Ouch!”
Move aside! I struggled desperately to free myself from Zaire’s grip.
Boom-!
A massive destructive sound erupted from inside the room, and the door shattered from within.
There was no need to open the door anymore.
“Why did the door…?”
“Ugh!”
I didn’t know what was happening, but this was my chance!
Taking advantage of Zaire’s moment of shock, I quickly broke free and stumbled forward.
The door’s destruction caused a cloud of dust to rise, making my vision a bit hazy, but I clearly saw it.
Inside was Delight, just as I had expected, though in a way I had never imagined.
…What is this?
Delight turned at the sound of my presence, but his eyes were unfocused. He was in agony, completely out of his mind.
Mana was uncontrollably bursting out in all directions.
Now I understand.
The reason why there were so many defensive spells placed around the Emperor’s bedchamber.
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
I assumed it was a natural security measure since the Emperor could always be under threat.
‘But it was the opposite.’
The barriers weren’t just to protect the Emperor from external dangers; they were to protect others from the Emperor.
Given that the Emperor’s condition was a potential crisis for the entire empire, Delight’s mana rampage had to be hidden.
No one else could see this.
Now I fully understood why Delight had been avoiding me.
***
It has been ten years since the Emperor first lost his sanity and began attacking everything in sight during a mana rampage.
During that first outburst, many were injured, and Zaire barely recovered after sustaining critical injuries.
It took a long time to figure out the cause of the mana rampage.
But in those ten years, there had been no progress in finding a cure.
Despite trying every possible method, no clues were found.
The only fortunate thing was that Delight’s mana was so vast that he could suppress and control it to some extent, preventing it from rampaging too often.
As a result, his mana outbursts had become extremely rare. There hadn’t been an incident for an entire year.
Perhaps because of this, they had let their guard down.
Even though they knew the symptoms, Delight and Zaire were caught off guard and confused by the sudden return of the mana rampage.
For a moment, Zaire’s mind went blank.
As the Emperor’s aide, responsible for handling everything, both big and small, he felt completely helpless.
But it was Delight who moved first.
“…Guh. Everyone, step back!”
Even saying that one sentence took immense effort, as he gritted his teeth.
Despite stumbling, he managed to walk on his own.
The safest place during the Emperor’s rampage was his bedchamber, which was not easily accessible to others.
He had to get there, no matter what, before he completely lost his mind.
Delight walked alone to his bedchamber, keeping everyone at a distance.
“Haa… Ha… Ugh!”
He finally reached the room, leaning against the wall, panting heavily.
There were several dangerous moments, but he managed to hold on until the bedroom door closed.
Now, all Zaire could do was guard the door and ensure that no one approached until the rampage was over.
It could take anywhere from a single day to three days for Delight to exhaust himself and collapse entirely.
But he never expected the princess to arrive in just half a day.
Because the number of people who knew about the Emperor’s condition had to be kept to a minimum, not even Monia had been informed.
As a result, there was no one to stop the princess from reaching this place, which was now a problem.
If anything were to happen to the princess here, Delight, upon regaining his senses, would be unable to bear it.
That was something Zaire absolutely had to prevent.
“Damn it. The princess is in danger. Escort her away, even if by force!”
This was a disaster.
The Emperor would never want his daughter to see him in this state.
Understanding the Emperor’s feelings, Zaire was determined to keep this truth hidden from the princess at all costs.
But now, not only was the secret in jeopardy, but the princess herself was at risk of being caught up in the rampage. There was no choice but to quickly escort her out.
Zaire and the knights hurriedly tried to protect and pull the princess back, but…
Violyana had already approached Delight without hesitation, stepping into the range of his mana’s attacks.
If things continued like this, something truly disastrous could happen, yet no one dared to approach recklessly.
Gritting his teeth, Zaire forced himself to take a step forward. He was determined to save her, even if it meant suffering a fatal injury.
Sssss—
But with just one step, Delight’s indiscriminate attack grazed Zaire’s arm.
“Ugh…!”
The smell of burning filled the air as Zaire’s sleeve shriveled and his skin burned.
The pain from this minor graze felt as if his entire body had been slashed. The searing pain snapped him back to full alertness.
For a young princess, even a wound like this could be life-threatening.
“Even if I die, I must protect the princess…!”
There was no time for careful, slow movements. Zaire was about to rush in and shield the princess with his body when…
“…What?”
Zaire froze in place, unable to take another step.
Violyana was already very close to Delight. But something strange was happening.
She had gotten that close, yet her clothes and hair were completely unscathed.
Not a single thread of his mana had touched her.
“This… How is this possible?”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Zaire couldn’t believe it.
