It was late afternoon in the private training ground of the fourth order. Antar was silently swinging his sword in a secluded corner of the training ground. Sweat trickled down his forehead. The wooden dummy in front of him had long since been broken, but he didn’t stop his training.
I couldn’t protect her… Since the defensive battle, he had been plagued with self-loathing and inferiority.
During the defensive battle, Antar had been so focused on preventing the knights of the first order from approaching that he hadn’t realized Diana was being targeted until people started screaming. That realization had been a huge shock to him. It made him realize that the intuition he had honed in Vitas, surviving every match, was essentially useless.
Even if I had noticed, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it.
Even if he had realized just before Bezet attacked Diana, by the time he withdrew the sand wall and moved his magic to protect her, the flames would have already engulfed her.
Antar was painfully aware of his shortcomings more than anyone else. However, unlike him, Kayden, despite facing two elementalists, was the first to notice Diana’s danger and threw himself to protect her.
That fact only fueled Antar’s self-loathing and inferiority. It was as if someone was constantly whispering that he could never surpass Kayden in either Diana’s heart or his own abilities. Thus, even as his wrist throbbed and ached, he couldn’t stop moving. He gritted his teeth and swung his sword once more.
Whoosh—
“…?”
At that moment, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, Antar noticed a figure in unfamiliar attire entering the training ground and blinked in surprise.
Third princess consort’s maid…?
The one who appeared in the training ground was Belladova, Diana’s personal maid.
Why is she here?
Belladova walked straight across the training ground. She then stopped in front of Kayden, who was observing the stances of several knights.
“Greetings to Your Highness the Third Prince.”
“Ah, Lady Rezeta. What brings you here?”
Belladova bowed politely before Kayden. Kayden then asked her with a slightly surprised expression.
Belladova glanced briefly in Antar’s direction before speaking calmly. “The third princess consort asked me to inquire when Your Highness would return. If it’s not too much trouble, she would like Your Highness to come back early.”
“Diana? Looking for me?”
“Yes.”
Kayden seemed a bit perplexed, but the fact that Diana was looking for him first seemed to please him. He quickly smiled and patted the knights on their shoulders. “I’ll go now. Finish the remaining training on your own. I’ve given you enough attention.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hurry and leave, please.”
The knights, noticing his lifted mood, teased him playfully. Kayden lightly ignored them and walked briskly past Belladova.
Once Kayden had disappeared from the training ground, Belladova looked back at Antar. He, who had been watching her movements closely, subtly began to move towards her.
“Great, we’re free today! Let’s hurry before he comes back.”
“Absolutely.”
As soon as Kayden left, the knights quickly prepared to return to their quarters. Meanwhile, Antar pretended to lean a wooden sword against the wall and subtly positioned himself behind Belladova. She quickly handed him a note.
“Read it and destroy it immediately.” Belladova left after whispering that.
Antar carefully hid the note Belladova had given him in his fist, then unfolded it once he returned to his room.
[Tonight at midnight, let’s meet briefly at the Wings headquarter. But you must evade the surveillance. Since the defensive battle, you’re likely being under watch too. The map of Wings is drawn at the bottom. Memorize it well, as you’ll need to visit frequently in the future.
―D. Obscure]
As he took in the neat handwriting, his heart couldn’t help but race. Antar read the note several times as if engraving it in his mind, memorized the map, and then chewed and swallowed the note.
If D. Obscure is looking for me, it must mean there’s something she needs.
That alone was enough for him. Even if he wasn’t the one in Diana’s heart, as long as he could be someone she needed in some way, that would be enough for Antar.
* * *
Meanwhile, having heard Diana’s summons and returned to the third prince’s palace, Kayden faced a rather surprising situation.
“…Diana, what is all this?”
Kayden, standing in front of Diana’s room, spoke in a bewildered voice. No wonder, on the table inside her room was…
“Ah, you’re here? Come over here.”
There were three bottles of alcohol that looked very strong just at a glance.
In case Kayden tries to find me at night, it would be troublesome.
Diana planned to stay at the Wings headquarter late into the night to discuss matters related to Fiona. However, despite using separate rooms usually, Diana and Kayden had agreed to sleep in the same room every few days to maintain the appearance of sharing a bed. This meant that Kayden could come looking to share the room at any time.
Normally, Belladova would stand guard at the door, but it would be awkward to turn Kayden away if he came with the pretext of spending the night. So Diana planned to safely and surely put Kayden to sleep and then visit the Wings headquarter.
Hiding her true intentions, Diana smiled innocently at Kayden as he sat across from her. “Earlier today, Fleur gave me some good alcohol as a gift. Come to think of it, we’ve never had a drink together, have we?”
It was true that Fleur had given Diana some alcohol earlier in the day. However, the alcohol on the table now wasn’t the same as the one she had received as a gift.
“Diana, take this.”
“This is… alcohol?”
“Yes. My mother got it through someone she knows. It’s supposed to help couples.”
“Cough… Pardon?”
Unable to refuse Fleur’s gift, Diana had taken it. But she didn’t have the confidence to explain to Kayden what kind of alcohol it was, nor did she want to. So she swapped the alcohol and used Fleur’s gift as an excuse to naturally create a situation where she could put Kayden to sleep.
Kayden, staring at the bottles on the table with many questions, asked. “Diana.”
“Yes?”
“You do know this alcohol is quite strong… right?”
“Of course. Don’t worry. I’m quite good with alcohol.”
Diana had confidence in her drinking ability, which was why she had planned this.
Before her regression, Diana had learned to drink from Rebecca, and she had a much higher tolerance than Rebecca.
“Diana… You’re quite good at drinking.”
Even Rebecca, who rarely admitted defeat, had acknowledged this, so putting Kayden to sleep shouldn’t be too difficult. Diana thought so and smiled brightly.
Seeing her innocent face, Kayden chuckled. It’s not a bad feeling. Although it was too sudden, it was the first time Diana had suggested doing something together, so he was a bit happy.
Kayden picked up the glass in front of him with a smiling face. “Hearing you say that makes me curious. I’m known to hold my alcohol well too.”
“Eii, but I bet I can outdrink you.”
“What makes you so confident? Who have you been drinking with?”
“…Just a few people who were friendly to me in the viscounty.”
“Hmm. It took you a while to answer… Were they men?”
“I can’t quite remember… Anyway, shall we toast?”
“I’ll stop pressing since I feel like you’ll take my glass if I continue.” Kayden nodded with a playful smile.
Soon, the two glasses filled with amber-colored alcohol clinked with a clear sound.
* * *
It was an hour later.
Kayden, holding a glass in one hand, stared at Diana with a complex expression that was neither a smile nor a frown. How can she get so drunk after just two glasses…?
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