Chapter 10

"Phew. I can't believe adventurers can drink in such a dirty bar. I envy their incredibly dull senses."

The golden-haired knight ran his fingers along the edge of the table and flicked away the dust that clung to his fingertips. The customers, who had been glancing at him cautiously, began to sharpen their gazes at his ostentatious gesture and sarcastic words.

What is this guy, really? I remember he said something to Wolf earlier. "My father's lowly slave," or something like that.

...Wait a minute... The one who kept Wolf as a pet was the king, right? So this guy... could it be!?

"You... What are you doing here! Third Prince, Vincent!"

"It's 'Prince Vincent' to you, you mad dog. You still don't know how to show respect, I see."

"What did you say, you!?"

Wolf, radiating a killing intent that made me shudder. But the man called Vincent didn't waver, maintaining his mocking smile.

So... this sarcastic golden-haired guy is one of the princes...!

I remember hearing about this in my previous life. Prince Vincent, the third prince, is known for his martial prowess and serves as the ace of the knight corps despite his royal status.

Well... why is someone like that here...?

"Hmph... I heard you've been performing well without causing any trouble, but you're still a dog, aren't you?"

Vincent let out a theatrical sigh and pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket, handing it to Wolf.

"...What's this?"

"Hah, I forgot you can't read. ...Father asked me to deliver this to you directly. Miss, would you read it for this stupid dog?"

"Ah, sure...!"

Confused by the sudden request, I took the letter from Wolf and read it.

And there it was—

"What... What is this!? 'Wolf, I'm giving you a deadline. One year. If you can't earn five hundred million gold within a year, I'll bring you back to the castle'—!?"

"Wh-What!?"

Wolf and I both exclaimed in shock at the absurd demand. To earn five hundred million gold in a year is ridiculous. The average citizen's annual income is barely four million gold!

"That bastard... What a jokeeeeee!!!"

Enraged, Wolf snatched the parchment from me and tore it to shreds, scattering the pieces violently.

As the paper fragments fell like snow, Vincent, with a mocking smile, said,

"Hahaha! Father loves entertainment. He prefers a spectacular and dramatic death over decades of hard work! So, slave prince, work your ass off and earn the money! Fight your enemies until you spit blood! Or you won't earn five hundred million in a year!?"

"You... Vincentnnnnnnnnn!!!"

Ah, Wolf finally snapped! He stood up abruptly and lunged at Vincent!

This is bad, bad, bad, bad!?! While it's true that Vincent is infuriating, attacking a prince is a death sentence! Wolf, wait—!!!

In a panic, I stood up and tried to stop Wolf by splashing the juice from a glass at him.

But I was so flustered that I accidentally missed—

Splash!

"Whoa!?"

"Ah..."

The juice, slightly off course, hit Prince Vincent, who was standing close to Wolf, splattering his perfectly white and handsome face.

O-Oh no... My second life is over...!

I froze, panicking inside. This is even worse than grabbing him! Making a neurotic prince's face drenched in half-drunk juice... it's over unless he develops some weird fetish!

"Y-You...!"

Ahhh!?! Vincent's face is red with anger! His right hand is on the hilt of his sword! What happened to the chivalric code that says 'do not harm women'?!

Hey, adventurers, help me! We help each other in the dungeons, right?

"Ugh... Well done, Sophia! I don't know what's going on, but that prince has been insulting Wolf all this time, and it was getting really annoying!"

"Good job, miss! It's not easy to stand up to a royal for a friend! I respect you, Sophia!"

What are you guys cheering for?! This isn't your problem! Hey, Wolf, say something!

"S-Sophia... You did this for me...!"

...Wolf, are you crying?! No, no, no, no, no, stop that face! If I deny it, my conscience will shatter!?

Aaaaaaah... At this point, there's only one way to survive!

I became resigned and plastered a mocking smile on my face, which I had been forcing into a smile.

I drew my sword from my waist and pointed it at Vincent's face.

"W-What are you doing!?"

"Hey— let's have a duel, Prince. After insulting my friend so much... do you really think you can walk away alive?"

I approached Vincent, who was breaking into a cold sweat, with a voice colder than I thought possible.

Yes, now it's a duel. There's no other way but to fight and kill him! Violence is a crime, but a formal duel is probably safe! And since he's a knight, he won't complain if I win! Or rather, I won't let him complain by killing him!

"W-Wait! A duel out of the blue... I can't...!"

"Shut up, pig."

"Pig!?"

Don't be confused, Vincent! I need you to accept this! Even if you get away with it now, you'll probably say something like "I'll have you executed" later because of your bad personality!

So I'll kill you. I'll definitely kill you here! Because I don't want to die!!!

I became half-crying inside and made my gaze even colder.

...

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