The Lady is a Stalker

When she closed the book and checked the time until the last chapter, two hours had already passed. As she was stretching to relieve her sore body from sitting for a long time, something caught her hand. As she moved her gaze to the spot, she saw the crown prince sitting next to her, still lost in thought.

 

Wasn’t he gone yet…? What a leisurely guy.

 

Now she saw that the crown prince was holding various kinds of books in his hands. The title of the book at the top is <How to Train Your Dragon>. When she looked closely at the title, which felt somewhat familiar, he hurriedly covered the book cover with a bright red face. Then he spoke as if making an excuse.

 

“…I don’t know where to start looking.”

 

“…”

 

‘At least I don’t think it’s that book.’ The words welled up in her throat, but it was clear that if she said that in front of the embarrassed prince, he would get angry again, so she just kept her mouth shut. Because dragons were legendary beings, information about them was extremely rare. The only human who could actually encounter a dragon and come back alive was the crown prince. Therefore, there was no way that correct information could have remained in books. Even if there was, there was a high probability that it was a lie. Moreover, there was no way in this world that there was a book written about the method the crown prince was looking for, ‘how humans can control the magical power of dragons.’ Even if there were a book with such a method, it would not be the kind of thing a 14-year-old crown prince could accomplish. However, the crown prince seemed so desperate to go that at best he clung to the book he had opened with the delusions in his brain. It seemed that the crown prince in the original didn’t even feel the need to control the dragon’s magical power until he was 18 years old. Since then, he has only run away once.

 

She didn’t know why she suddenly had a change of heart, but it probably had nothing to do with her. She looked around and saw that it was quieter than before. She looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting. Feeling hungry, she got up from her seat.

 

“…”

 

She waited for two hours, but the crown prince looked at her with a puzzled expression as she left without saying anything. However, the crown prince soon came to his senses and hurriedly put his books away and got up.

 

“Why do you keep following me?”

 

At her question, the crown prince, who had been following her from behind, flinched greatly. He snapped, his face red as if he was angry.

 

“Following you? I have business here too. Do I look like such a leisurely person? Do-don’t be mistaken.”

 

If it’s not, he could just say no. Why was he overreacting like that? She turned away from the crown prince again and started walking towards the Duchy. The crown prince was still walking two or three steps behind her as if he was following her. He had his hood pulled down so low that she couldn’t even see his face. Anyone who saw them would think that a stalker was following her to harm her.

 

The crown prince, who had been silent for a while and was moving his steps in the same direction as her, suddenly spoke up.

 

“You were looking at a magic book earlier. Are you interested in magic?”

 

“Yes. Well…”

 

She wanted to come to the fantasy world and try it out. Actually, after reading a lot of magic books, those thoughts completely disappeared. Magic was a subject made up of mana and mathematical operations. In other words, you must have both natural talent and a genius brain to use it.

 

She thought she could understand the magic calculations of the lowest circle with her head, but it was impossible. So now she was practically giving up. After hearing her answer, the crown prince spoke with interest in his voice.

 

“Okay?”

 

“Yes.”

 

After her answer, the crown prince said nothing for a while, as if he was deep in thought. Wasn’t there too much overlap for the same path? The crown prince was still following her two steps behind. Then he opened his mouth as if he had gathered his thoughts.

 

“No matter how talented a person is, it is difficult to learn magic on one’s own. You definitely need a good teacher. But a good teacher is hard to find. Usually, high-level magicians devote themselves to research in the magic tower or practice alone in the deep forests…”

 

As she quietly listened to the prince, she frowned slightly. The crown prince didn’t seem to have a gift for speaking in turns. He seemed to have something he wanted to talk about, but it felt like he was just wandering around for a while. She looked at the crown prince with eyes asking what his purpose was in telling her such a story.

 

“Besides, you said I was the strongest.”

 

He, who called himself the strongest man on earth, seemed a little embarrassed.

 

‘No matter how true it may be, he thought shamelessly, but the he still seemed embarrassed enough, so he didn’t bother to say it out loud.’

 

“Did I do that?”

 

At her question, the crown prince’s eyes became sharp and he glared at her. Come to think of it, she thought she said something like that in the elf forest. Since she said it without much thought, she quickly forgot about it. She still remembered those words. Did it feel that good to be called the strongest on earth? He looked at her with a somewhat nervous expression and said.

 

“Anyway… I think I am the one who can best manage mana in this world.”

 

Why was he suddenly bragging about himself? She glanced at the crown prince. His eyes, peeking out from under the hood, somehow sparkled like a child expecting a gift. 

 

How far did this person plan to go back? The more he spoke, the more difficult it became to understand his intentions. It was truly a great way to speak.

 

“I guess so.”

 

She was not sure what he wanted to say, but the crown prince was right when he said that he was the one who could best use mana in this world. So she listened to his words with one ear and passed them on with the other, and responded as if she was roughly agreeing with him. He would rather just say what he wanted to say to make himself feel better. She felt like she knew something, but she had no sense of it, and it was an itching feeling in her stomach.

 

After hearing her answer, the Crown Prince thought about something for a while, then clenched his fists and said, as if he had made up his mind.

 

“I’ve been using magic since I was three, so it’s natural now. So… teaching others is a piece of cake for me.”

 

Right. Did he want to brag about himself? She felt like her brain would break just from reading a book, but he had been using it naturally since he was three years old.

 

What a great person.

 

She spoke purely in admiration for the crown prince’s talent.

 

“That’s amazing.”

 

“Yes?”

 

After that question, they said nothing for a while. What on earth did he want to talk about? She stopped when a familiar building appeared. Although he said he wasn’t following her, when she stopped walking, the crown prince followed her and stopped reflexively.

 

She glanced at him and said.

 

“Well… then I’m over here. Goodbye.”

 

In the end, they ended up walking together to the front of the Duke’s mansion. The surroundings were already dark. It may not have been his intention, but it seemed as if the crown prince had taken her home at night. The crown prince also said he had business to do here, so it’s not like he came along. He said he was going back, but the crown prince looked at her hesitantly, as if he still had something to say.

 

‘I want to go home quickly and rest…’

 

It seemed like the crown prince had something he really wanted to say to her. He seemed to be trying to wrap up the story he had told so many times on the way here. However, judging from the prince’s hesitation, it did not look like he would be able to speak within today. She seriously considered leaving him alone and going back to the mansion, but it was awkward to just go in like this, so she tried to say goodbye out of courtesy.

 

“For escorting me here…”

 

“I didn’t specifically accompany you there!”

 

“…”

 

The crown prince said, interrupting her. She was just trying to say thank you. Was that something worth denying so strongly? This guy was truly unpredictable.

 

She said, frowning slightly.

 

“Anyway, I’m going to get up now. Have a good rest, Raven.”

 

“…Uh, okay. Go in.”

 

Prince Raven looked a little dissatisfied for some reason, but he still allowed her to enter the house. Before entering the mansion, she glanced back and saw the crown prince still standing as if he were stuck in place. He was looking this way with his eyes dripping with regret.

 

‘If you have something to say, just say it.’

 

He was truly a complex human being.

 

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Translator Note: