Chapter 17.4

Selection: Cermiane’s Point of View. (4)

Red Bear’s fur was as fiery red as its name suggested. Standing on its hind legs with its fur bristling, the Red Bear was about three meters tall. And it was brandishing its log-like forelimbs, intimidating its opponent Ralphine, who was standing in front of it.

“Dangerous!”

I couldn’t help but shout, and Red Bear turned and glared at me. Oh no. Red Bear planted its forelimbs and kicked the ground to charge towards me. There was no way to escape. I reluctantly tensed my legs. At the time, I was wearing leather armor and gauntlets, as well as boots, so as not to get in the way in the forest. I had a spear and a sword, but the spear was useless in this situation. I threw away the spear and took a stance.

As the Red Bear charged in at an incredible speed, it swung its forelimb towards my head. Its huge claws flashed as it attacked. If that thing hit me directly, my head would be gone. I thought that as I stepped in a bit and grabbed the bear’s arm, avoiding its claws.

Red Bear looked surprised. While still holding its arm with my left arm, I drew my short sword with my right hand and immediately slammed it into Red Bear’s face. The nose is a bear’s vital point. I jumped into Red Bear’s embrace as it stood up in surprise on its hind legs, lifted its hind legs, and simultaneously pushed its chest with my shoulder.

“Good!”

I had to put some effort into it or it wouldn’t move. Red Bear inevitably turned over backwards. “Move aside!” a voice shouted. As I jumped off the bear, Ralphine came down on it.

“Taahhhh!”

With a burst of energy, Ralphine plunged the short spear she was carrying into the Red Bear’s heart, using her own weight and the momentum of jumping off the tree.

The Red Bear opened its eyes wide and struggled, but Ralphine jumped over it, avoiding its claws as if it were nothing. Red Bear’s movements quickly became sluggish, and eventually it stopped moving altogether.

“You’re the one in danger. Are you okay?”

Ralphine came over to me

“Even I wouldn’t want to wrestle a bear, no matter the cost.”

“I wouldn’t want to either. It was an emergency.”

It was wrong that Ralphine was facing the bear head-on like that, I couldn’t help but think. Well, she would have managed it in some way.

Fellow knights and hunters who came rushing were staring at me. First of all, it was out of the ordinary for two people to defeat a Red Bear in such a short time. When I told them that Ralphine had stabbed it with her spear, one of the hunters was utterly astonished and said, “I knew Ral was insane, but her husband is insane too.”

Until the letter arrived, it was not that there were no signs.

Since around the previous autumn, the appearance of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, who had been attending knight training, was strange. The always cheerful and strong Crown Prince had a slightly dark expression and would finish training quickly. When I asked him if he was okay, he only said, “I’m fine.”

By winter, he seemed to have completely fallen ill and stopped participating in training. The expression of the knight commander became severe, and he occasionally made suggestive gestures while looking at me. By the end of the year, rumors had spread within the knight order that His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince was ill. I was also worried, but the Crown Prince was young and physically robust. He was not the type to easily succumb to illness. In that sense, there was some complacency on my part.

The calligraphy letter and letter of summons delivered by an envoy from His Majesty the Emperor were not just any matter. I hastily opened and read the letter while still standing. I couldn’t avoid my legs shaking. The long letter in my father’s handwriting stated that the Crown Prince was seriously ill and that his life was in danger. I couldn’t stand and fell to my knees.

“Mia!”

Ralphine helped me up. I could only give her a perfunctory reply, as she worried about me.

The letter stated that if the Crown Prince had become like this, I had no choice but to return to the imperial family as promised before. Something terrible had happened. If the Crown Prince were to die, which I didn’t want to imagine, the imperial line would be extinguished. That had to be avoided. I understood that. However, if such a situation were to occur, what would happen to me? I would have to become the Crown Prince, bypassing the position of Imperial Prince.

I never thought about becoming a crown prince until now.

It’s natural. I am a prince, but I am an illegitimate child, and the Crown Prince was healthy, so there should never have been a situation where I would become Crown Prince. I had expected that if I were to return to the imperial family, it would be if the Crown Prince did not have a child. It was a story for decades later. I never dreamed that I would be forced to return to the imperial family so soon.

Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 24 chapters in advance!