“Alright! It's just a few gold coins, isn't it?”
Looking at Furni sprawled on the floor, Karl reached out and hoisted her up.
But after being picked up, Furni's state became even more terrifying.
She hung her head.
Her long blue hair draped down, concealing half of her face.
A pitch-black aura even began to emanate from her body.
“A few gold coins?”
Furni's voice rang out in a low murmur.
“You call that a few gold coins?”
She slowly raised her head.
Those eyes of hers, which already looked somewhat gloomy due to the dark circles, now made her look like a vengeful spirit demanding a debt.
“Karl, do you have any idea?”
“That was practically a dragon's life!”
Karl: “...”
Furni's body trembled slightly.
She continued to mutter under her breath.
“Hehe, hehe.”
“Gold... gold coins.”
“Shiny...”
“Hehe, hehe.”
Her voice grew softer and softer.
Yet, the black mist around her only grew denser.
Karl watched Furni in this state and fell silent for a moment.
Then, he decided to employ some unconventional methods to deal with this incredibly greedy, degenerate guardian dragon.
Thwack!
A staff condensed from Holy Light materialized in Karl's hand.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he brought it down onto Furni's head.
Furni: “Oof.”
Her body went limp.
The dragon fell silent once more.
And so, the sisters of the Holy See watched as Karl dragged Furni back to his office.
Furni's bishop robes left a long trail along the floor.
She looked rather pitiful.
As he entered the office, Karl did not forget to poke his head out and say to everyone in the corridor:
“Regarding this matter...”
“Act as if none of you saw a thing.”
The sisters: “...”
They lowered their heads naturally and resumed their work.
They seemed to have long since grown accustomed to this sort of thing.
After all, this was hardly the first time Bishop Karl had dragged Bishop Furni back to his office.
Upon returning to the office, Karl tossed Furni back onto the sofa.
After being smacked with the staff, she had simply used the opportunity to drift off to sleep.
Karl glanced at her, and after confirming that the dragon would remain quiet for the time being, he sat back down at his desk.
He picked up a letter.
However, as his eyes fell upon the paper, the words spoken by the Second Prince before his departure echoed in his mind.
“If possible, please do not help the war.”
“Hmph.”
Karl let out a cold snort.
“I hope he is being sincere.”
With that, he glanced at the guardian dragon sleeping on the sofa.
In the end, he could only pick up the letter again and resume processing the mountain of documents that seemed to never end.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Inside an extremely ornate carriage—
Zona looked at the prince in front of her, who was visibly delighted simply because she had allowed him to farm, and felt a headache coming on.
“Your Highness.”
“You should be studying royal etiquette and governance so you can secure at least some support from the nobles.”
“Instead, you are here learning how to farm.”
Zona was about to continue lecturing the prince.
However, the moment she looked into Kainster's eyes, she found the prince staring back at her with his deep blue eyes.
A dangerous, eerie light gleamed within them.
The air inside the carriage seemed to freeze in that instant.
“Zona.”
Kainster watched her.
“Tell me, what exactly is royalty?”
His voice was not loud.
In fact, it still carried his usual gentle tone.
Yet, as those eyes locked onto her, Zona felt an inexplicable shiver run down her spine.
In that moment, she suddenly realized.
No matter how clumsy or awkward this prince usually appeared...
He was still royalty.
A prince with the blood of the Camillaya royal family flowing through his veins.
Zona immediately lowered her head.
“Forgive my insolence.”
Kainster looked at her.
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Then, the oppressive aura on his face vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.
“Alright, Zona.”
“Let us discuss what we should plant in that cleared field.”
Kainster's mood shifted on a dime.
Just like now, he was once again looking at Zona with a bright smile.
It was as if the person who had just stared at her with such dangerous eyes was not him at all.
Zona: “...”
For a moment, she did not even know if she should continue speaking.
Meanwhile, Kainster had already pulled a pile of seeds from his spatial gem.
There were even some rare crop seeds he had gathered from god-knows-where.
He began to carefully sort through them.
Rather than a prince, he looked more like a child who had finally received a new toy.
“Zona,”
Kainster said as he sorted the seeds,
“if you believe that royalty must be like my brother—using the lives of the people to build a staircase to the throne...”
“...then I would rather not be part of this royal family at all.”
His voice was very calm.
Yet, his words caused Zona's expression to shift slightly.
Kainster did not look up.
He simply continued sorting the seeds in his hands.
“This identity is nothing but a nuisance. It restricts me at every turn, leaves me watched by a bunch of dark-minded nobles, and reduces my worth to that of a mere commodity.”
“I want no part of such a title.”
Zona stared at Kainster, stunned by his shocking words.
After a long silence, she closed her eyes.
She decided to pretend she had not heard a single word of what the prince had just said.
“I understand.”
“Yes.”
Kainster picked up a small pouch of seeds, his eyes lighting up slightly.
“Then let us plant this in the field first.”
“I want to see what it will grow into.”
Zona watched him.
In the end, she could only let out a soft sigh.
This prince truly did not resemble royalty in the slightest.
But perhaps that was precisely why.
Why she continued to stand by his side.
Zona brushed back her long hair and began discussing the precautions for planting the seeds with the prince.
But if Phelan had been here, he would have noticed that the Second Prince's aide possessed elf ears just like his own.
And while the Second Prince was sorting his seeds—
Lin Ling's side had just finished a rather rowdy lunch.
Having eaten her fill, Lin Ling had finally recovered her energy.
She sat on the rocking horse, her hands gripping the front handles.
She appeared perfectly behaved, but her eyes were secretly observing Ivelia, who was diligently working nearby.
Ivelia kept her head down, reviewing her documents.
It seemed all of her attention was focused on her work.
Perfect.
The Demon King isn't looking at me right now.
This is my chance.
Lin Ling's gaze grew increasingly determined.
Miss Saintess's freedom must not remain sealed by this rocking horse forever.
“Now!”
Seeing that Ivelia's mind was seemingly elsewhere, Lin Ling immediately mobilized her mana.
With the activation of teleportation magic, Lin Ling vanished from the rocking horse.
Only the wooden horse remained, gently swaying in place.
Ivelia raised her eyes and glanced at the empty rocking horse.
If anyone else had been in the room at that moment, they would have seen a smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Miss Saintess believed she had seized the perfect opportunity.
Little did she know, everything was entirely within Ivelia's control.
Ivelia gently raised her hand.
A light screen materialized before her.
Displayed upon the light screen was Lin Ling's current situation.
She had teleported into the open air above the Demon King's Castle.
At this moment, she was floating away with a look of pure bliss.
From the projection, her smug expression practically screamed, “Miss Saintess is finally free!”
Ivelia watched Lin Ling on the light screen.
She simply propped her cheek up with her hand, a soft smile dancing in her eyes.
“I suppose I will treat this as today's entertainment,”
Ivelia murmured softly.
Then, she continued to watch the white figure on the screen as it drifted further and further into the distance.
Rate on N.U.
