Chapter 5

An awkward silence filled the air. The man, whom I had just treated like a damsel in distress, blinked in bewilderment as the assassins gaped at me in confusion.

“What a nutcase,” one of them mumbled, looking at me as if I were a madman.

Whatever. It’s not like they know me. I felt a bit embarrassed, but I shrugged it off. It didn’t matter in the least if they thought I was crazy. Let’s get this over with.

Without giving it much thought, I reached for the sword at my waist. I quickly retracted my hand. I don’t want to deal with dead bodies. They seemed like skilled killers, but they were nothing against a Sword Master. If I took out my sword, it was obvious they’d be toast.

What else can I use as a weapon? I searched my subspace sack for something useful. It wasn’t an infinite amount of space, but it was large enough to store all kinds of things.

I felt a long and smooth object and yanked it out of the sack. How did this get in here? I stared blankly at the weapon in my hand, a long iron pipe.

“Hahaha! How’s that gonna help you?” The leader of the assassins burst out laughing. The injured man looked defeated, as if he was disappointed to see that his rescuer was nothing more than a lunatic.

These bastards. I frowned, feeling like I’d been ridiculed.

“Have you gone completely mad? Or maybe you have a death wish. Do you really think I’d let you take us down like...”

I didn’t need to listen to the leader’s excited rambling. I shifted my energy into the pipe. With the sound of a roaring gale, a deep, dark aura—the Dark Disaster’s signature—enveloped my weapon.

A stunned silence fell over the alley.

“Mire, the King of Mercenaries?” the victim muttered in disbelief.

I stretched my stiff neck from side to side, not saying a word.

Sword Masters were warriors who had transcended human limits through their blade. Mana, the energy that makes nature turn, respected humans who pushed their limits like this. In return for their effort, mana granted them powerful auras. Since everyone’s journey was different, the color of the aura varied. Darker hues suggested that the journey to obtain the aura had been arduous.

With a windy roar as loud as a crack of thunder, the fierce black aura whirled around me. I rushed toward the assassins.

“Ahh!” The group scattered, screaming.

It only took me a few minutes to take them out. As expected, it was an easy win.

“Why is the Dark Disaster here?” The last assassin standing quivered, his hands shaking. “I’m third-rate! That means I’m almost qualified to be a Sword Master. I can take you on!” As the man brandished his sword, a light blue aura formed a soft veil over it.

“Hiyaah!” With an excessive scream, he rushed forward, waving the weapon around. It wasn’t difficult to deflect.

“Oh, so you blocked my attack? You’re pretty good, Mire!” he crowed.

Why is he doing this? Everything he said made me cringe so intensely that I was close to dropping the pipe.

I frowned behind my mask. While I wanted to be polite and listen to him, this nonsense was painful to listen to. I’d better put an end to this. I had to protect my precious ears.

With an echoing clang, our weapons collided. I had decreased my aura to a minimum in case people in the vicinity came out to investigate the noise. As the man lurched back, fumbling with his blade, I spun and kicked him hard in the gut. He toppled over.

“Argh!”

I put my foot on the back of the fallen assassin and whacked him in the neck. He groaned for a moment, then lost consciousness. Problem solved.

I shouldn’t make too much of a ruckus in the middle of town. Out of an abundance of caution, I formed my aura into a rope and secured the assassins. Later I could haul them far into the forest. They’ll figure out how to escape their bindings later. I only hit them hard enough to knock them out, not to kill them.

I put the pipe back into my sack and dusted off my hands.

“Why are you here?” The injured man, who had been blankly staring at me, finally opened his mouth.

I turned to get a better look at him. He had well-kept, curly light brown hair and charming eyes that were elegantly raised at the corners. His features were overall beautiful, although his squared jawline prevented them from being overwhelming. His vivid blue eyes seemed to have taken their color from the sea, like something out of a fantasy.

What the— I was used to gazing upon beauty because of Aria, but he was so captivating that I momentarily doubted my own eyes. How could he pretend to be a commoner with a face like that? Some beauty really was too great to be hidden.

Dumbstruck, I suddenly sensed a different energy. I narrowed my eyes. He’s using a magic device. Is it a spell that hides your appearance? Maybe his ring? Even the cheapest devices that could change one’s appearance cost a pretty penny, and if a Sword Master like myself hadn’t managed to sense it right away, the device had to be quite expensive indeed. He’s hiding something, and he’s wealthy too.

Expecting things to get more complicated, I clicked my tongue as I approached the man.

“Why are you—” he started to speak.

“Where is your guard?” There was no way a noble with the money to buy such a magic device would be walking around without protection.

He chewed his lip. “I had to investigate something on my own, so I left him behind.”

“And that’s how you ended up in this mess. Seems you learned your lesson,” I scolded. He was obviously some young lord who had run off from his duties on a whim.

The man remained calm in the face of my sarcasm. I ignored his lack of response and examined the wound on his side. It’s quite deep... Luckily, the sword had missed his vital organs. He would survive if he was treated.

“Brace yourself,” I ordered, ripping a strip of fabric from the edge of my cloak and coating it in mana. Since I didn’t have clean gauze or disinfectant on hand, it was all I could do to prevent infection.

“Don’t— Ouch! Don’t touch me. First, tell me what you want.” He clutched my hand while groaning in pain. He looked like a cat with its fur bristling. Despite having the pallid face of a dying man, he never took his upturned eyes off of me.

I clicked my tongue and answered, “Didn’t you hear me before? I’m Prince Charming. It’s my job to save damsels in distress.”

He winced as I shoved the cloth into his wound. “Ugh...”

He had to have grown up spoiled, but he’s handling the pain surprisingly well. His level of endurance suggested he was used to it. The bleeding finally stopped when I had finished shoving the cloth deep into the wound.

“Can you stand?” I asked, dusting off my hands.

He shook his head weakly.

I sighed. “More work for me, I suppose.” I lifted him to his feet, supporting him against my shoulder. He flinched, but chose not to resist—or rather, he didn’t have the energy to resist. “You’re coming with me. If you try to drag your feet, I’ll carry you instead.”

He faked a laugh. “You wouldn’t leave me here if I asked nicely?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I were you. Not unless you want to bleed to death.”

“You might do something even worse to me once we reach our destination.”

I smiled gently and looked at the wary man. “Considering the circumstances, I think you have a higher chance of survival if you trust me.” It was natural for him to be on guard, but his life would really be in danger if he didn’t get immediate treatment. I’d only used temporary first aid to help him.

The man sighed and started walking at my side, sparing any further protest. It seemed he understood his position.

Luckily, it was too late at night for us to run into anyone. I helped him walk along the overgrown trail that led to the forest on the outskirts of town, pushing branches out of the way.

“I didn’t know Mire came to backwater towns like this one.”

“I had a job.”

“What was it, saving me? I wonder who hired you. I’ll give you twice whatever they’re paying.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He had stopped resisting, but now he was trying to weasel information out of me. Avoiding his questions, I nervously glanced around. Should I really be revealing this location? But I knew nowhere else to go. If I was Cassmire I could take him to a hospital, but as Mire, that wasn’t possible.

He seems pretty quick on the uptake, too. I sighed as I observed his sharp-witted blue eyes. Most noblemen were smart, but this man was something else entirely. I’m sure he’s already figured out I live around here.

With that thought, I quickly became uneasy. Does this mean I’ll have to move? This was exactly the reason I didn’t like butting into other people’s business, but it was too late now. Even if I went back in time, I would have done the same thing. This part of my character was a real pain in the ass.

“So you weren’t hired to save me? You just did this because you’re... Prince Charming, you said?”

“That’s right.”

“And I suppose that makes me the princess?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve always been Prince Charming.”

“Well, now you get the chance to play a different role.”

“Ha... Haha!” The man burst out into laughter at my annoyed reply. He took a deep breath and looked at me. “I’d like to know the name of my prince, at least.”

“You know it already. It’s Mire.”

“Not that name. Your real name.”

I frowned. His blue eyes didn’t give me a good read on his intentions. Is he trying to figure out my weaknesses?

Of course I couldn’t tell him my real name. It would defeat the purpose of having hidden my identity for so long. I decided I’d mess with him instead.

“It’s Cass.” It was a nickname that people really called me, so I was basically telling him the truth, though it was a bit too short to be a real full name.

The man blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Really? If you didn’t want to tell me, you could have just said so.”

“What’s yours?” I asked him. I ignored the tone in his voice that was telling me to stop lying.

He responded without hesitation. “It’s Deedee.”

I couldn’t hold my laughter. Was this his way of getting back at me? “Deedee? Your parents must hate you. Are you an illegitimate child or something?”

“Maybe I am.”

“Is your brother’s name Doodoo? Is he in charge of cleaning the mansion’s toilets?”

The man, who had been on high alert until now, snorted. We had both let our guards down for a moment, but our laughter didn’t last long. Deedee’s laughing had reopened his wound, so we had to get going.

***

We arrived at a small cabin. It was only big enough to fit a single cot—too cramped to be a very good living space—but it was the perfect size for a lab.

“Are you some kind of doctor?” Deedee asked, observing the room with wide eyes. It wasn’t an unreasonable guess since the cabin was filled with herbs, medical books, and experimental instruments.

“I studied a little bit of herbal medicine.” I looked around the room nostalgically. This collection of objects was evidence of my efforts to cure Aria’s illness.

Everything about it was challenging. Aria got sick when I was eight. From then on, it became my daily routine to go to work in the morning and study medicine at night. I had spent many sleepless nights in this cabin. Despite that, it had been frustrating to realize that no matter how much the knowledge I gained, I would never find a cure. This cabin, full of both sad and fond memories, was a place that I loved and hated in equal measure.

Thank goodness I now know how to cure her. It was more than a little disappointing that I had put in all that effort only to end up finding the cure by hitting my head. But I didn’t regret the time I’d spent trying. I never regretted anything I did for Aria.

“Make yourself comfortable.” I helped Deedee sit on the cot and started to grind some herbs with a mortar and pestle.

The man, who had finally adjusted to the sight of the cabin, slowly began to speak. “Now that we’ve had a chance to settle down, I think it’s time you tell me the truth.” I looked up from the herbs. His eyes were about as distant as they were blue. “Why did you save me?”

“You want me to call you ‘princess’ again?”

His face stiffened. “I’m not joking. It doesn’t seem like the palace sent you.”

The palace? Does the imperial palace usually send mercenaries to rescue nobles when they’re in danger? Not being familiar with the way noble society operated, I didn’t know what to say. Well, I guess the palace’s knights are tasked with keeping peace among the people. Maybe this man is an official of the imperial court. There could be plenty of reasons why he might mention the “palace,” but something felt off.

Seeing me tilt my head in confusion, he stroked his chin. “If you were a bit taller and your aura wasn’t quite as dark, I would have sworn you were Duke Crisis. His aura is red. Dark red, nearly black. But you have a similar way about you. I’d understand if he had come to my rescue, but I can’t think of any reason why Mire would.”

Duke Crisis. The moment I heard his name, I paused.

I immediately resumed grinding herbs, but Deedee seemed to have noticed my hesitation. He stared at me through narrowed eyes. He had just thrown the name out there, but it seemed to get a reaction out of me.

He’s got keen senses. No matter what, I couldn’t let this man see through me. I felt like he had already noticed a lot of things, but I had no intention of giving him more information.

Caesar Crisis... I licked my dry lips. The empire’s sole duke, Caesar Kallad Kennith Crisis, was the father of Carl Crisis, one of Aria’s love interests in Fairy Night. He was also the father of the novel’s villainess, Cassmire—which meant he was my father in my current life, too.

Duke Crisis was the empire’s most recognized Sword Master, and would soon be joining an impending war where he would meet his death. In the novel he was described as a man with pitch black hair who gazed out into the battlefield with lifeless and haunting blood-red eyes.

Every description of him in the novel was exaggerated, made to sound like he was the strongest man in the universe. Even his backstory was dramatic. He had a brutal temper and had killed his own father to seize his position as the duke. His actions were a source of daily bloodshed in the Crisis manor.

That’s why I didn’t run straight to him when I discovered he was my father. If he was an ordinary man, I might have taken Aria in my arms and sought refuge with him as soon as I found out. I would have fallen to the ground, clutching at his pant legs and pleading for his help. A man as powerful as the duke would certainly have been the key to curing Aria.

But I didn’t seek him out because I was sure he wouldn’t care, regardless if we were flesh and blood or not. He had killed his own father, after all. Duke Crisis was a double-edged sword and a last resort—an option that I would never pursue as long as I had the choice.