Robert and Annabelle left the capital in a riot. The whole empire became aware of their acts against black magic.

Even in the South, prisoners involved in black magic were being escorted. Even a place that was not familiar with the affairs of the capital was now noisy with things related to black magic.

The problem was that public opinion toward Robert was too favorable.

There was hardly any mention of Prince Carlon, and all the people of the Empire praised only Robert.

Of course, the ordeal that Carlon faced wasn't just 'not mentioned'.

The empress was forbidden to have any influence in the social circles.

Meanwhile, due to an audit of the administration, Richard was severely disciplined while he was unconscious.

Needless to say, the documents were all related to Carlon.

"No matter how incompetent you are, how could you falsify documents?!"

The Emperor summoned Carlon and became very angry.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I was impatient because I was being pushed back by Robert."

"What? You..."

"All the people of the Empire praise only Robert, and His Majesty also has great trust in Robert..."

"..."

"Your Majesty has always been cold to me. So I felt like I was being chased. I am very ashamed."

Carlon knew how to arouse the Emperor's guilt. He secretly drove him away as a discriminatory parent.

The Emperor seemed to think that Carlon had tampered with the documents because of Robert.

Carlon also hurriedly dealt with urgent matters after the banquet, so he didn't get to the point where it was very serious.

But Robert also strongly demanded an audit of the Treasury.

The money problem could not be resolved unless it was directly addressed.

"I feel uncomfortable, Your Majesty."

After Robert left, Carlon cautiously appealed to the Emperor.

"In a case as important as black magic, everything is being left to Robert while I'm hiding."

The Emperor sighed and looked at Carlon, the Crown Prince.

Without special events, the Crown Prince could not be changed simply because of Robert's great merit and popularity with the people of the Empire.

In any case, if it was the throne that would go to Carlon, he had to establish the authority as the crown prince.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I want to follow Robert. This time, I want to be Robert's strength too."

"But Robert has both Ian Wade and Annabelle Rainfield..."

"My escort is also very talented. Did you not see him in person on the day of the banquet?"

The Emperor hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head.

"Okay, go ahead. Robert didn't say where he was going, but it's a big move, so it'll be easy to follow."

He took Carlon's words lightly. It was for the sake of the justification that 'this time, Carlon and Robert would defeat black magic together'.

Of course, Carlon's intentions were not at all like that.

He had no choice.

He had originally postponed Aaron's abduction on the day of a swordsmanship competition to somehow obtain the origins of a third black magic because there was no way that Ian and Annabelle would give up on the last swordsmanship contest of their lives.

However, Bellinock could not figure out the origin of black magic. He instead found out that Annabelle could determine the origins of black magic.

It was not worth the delay until the swordsmanship contest, but in the end, he had only one option.

'I'll have to wait until Annabelle finds out the origins of the third black magic and then I'll have Lagian kill her.'

In the Smaho forest. Even with the royal family, only one person could enter.

Annabelle would go with Robert, and he would go with Lagian. It meant that there would be no other people like at the banquet, just the four of them.

Didn't the Empress even get illegal drugs?

However, Annabelle and Robert departed quite late for some reason, to overlap on the day of the swordsmanship competition.

The reason was unknown, but Carlon had no choice but to pursue them.

He too was at a dead end to give up the origin of the third black magic.

"Then I will go."

Pls read only at pink muffin tl.

Carlon left the capital quite with Lagian and some of the Imperial Knights.

It was a good opportunity to kill Annabelle and possibly even Robert.

No one knew what would happen in the unwitnessed forest. It was enough to say that they lost their lives fighting the origins of black magic.

It was okay not to have to follow Robert's footsteps. It was because they would meet in the forest anyways.

~*~

We arrived at Banafarim Coast just in time for the morning of the day of the swordsmanship competition.

Ian hadn't left the Banafarim coast until then.

'Like an idiot.'

I thought as I looked at the back of Ian, who was sitting on the beach in the distance.

He sat quietly on a rock about to be swallowed up by the waves.

'He's afraid I'll be burdened, so he hasn't contacted the capital even once, and is just waiting for my call.'

That too, until the day of the swordsmanship competition.

Just by looking at it, Orians haven't woken up yet, and Ian seems to have gone out fishing in the morning.

I could tell by looking at the fishing rod lying in front of him, who was sitting on a simple chair.

'Why are you even in such a dangerous place?'

It was a steep rock with waves crashing around it. He seemed to have chosen the most dangerous place to calm his mind.

"Prince."

I said looking at Robert and the knights behind him.

"Hey, wait... I will go. Can I go alone?"

Robert sighed in response.

"Go, Miss Annabelle."

Robert knew I would send Ian to the capital right after I confessed to him.

And he had a face ready to comfort me.

"Get your mind right."

It was not an expression of cheering for the confession, but an expression of anticipating that it would be fiercely rejected.

"Yes, then wait a minute."

I bowed briefly to Robert and then jumped off the horse.

Then I ran to Ian, who was casting a fishing rod in the distance.

As soon as I entered the range where he could feel my presence to some extent, Ian looked back like a ghost.

As I ran to him, I caught a glimpse of his startled face.

The fine blonde hair fluttering in the sea breeze, the red eyes that have turned big because of something unexpected happened, and the lips that are slightly parted.

Would it be the last time I saw his happy face?

The next time we meet, he might look at me indifferently with contemptuous eyes again.

"...Annabelle?"

Originally, we should have been registering for the swordsmanship contest now.

The reality facing us on the coast of Banafarim, quite far from the capital, seemed like a dream.

"What's going on here..."

Ian got up hastily.

Then his fishing rod shook violently.

Seeing the swaying fishing rod, I instinctively shouted.

"Hey there! Fish! Grab the fishing rod!"

Ian's body seemed to collide with two commands for a moment.

The first was that he had to come to me, and the second was that he had to catch the fishing rod as I said.

The result of the conflict between the instinct to welcome me and the reason to listen to me unconditionally...

"Ian!"

He stumbled on an already slippery rock. For a moment, his body swayed.

'He can't be injured anywhere!'

Ian wasn't used to the injury because he has never been injured.

I shouted with a shrill voice.

"No!"

There was even a bigger wave crashing behind him. It was because he was casting the fishing rod in the most dangerous place in the first place.

'He has to go to a swordsmanship competition soon, but I can't let his condition deteriorate!'

I was thinking of sending him to the swordsmanship contest right now.

It was impossible to let him, who was sure to win the swordsmanship competition, be soaked in the sea water.

"It's dangerous!"

So I jumped, hugged him tightly, and rolled to a safe place where the waves wouldn't hit us.

'This guy...'

I momentarily thought inwardly, conscious of him rolling over the rock as he gently embraced me.

'I can get up enough to avoid it, but look at it still...'

Anyway, it happened so quickly that I couldn't say anything.

It was because I instinctively hugged him and rolled with him. I thought I shouldn't have scratched his body in the slightest.

But anyway, I was right.

The waves crashed on the high rock we were on.

"Annabelle."

As we stopped rolling, Ian was lying on his back on the ground.

I grabbed his shoulder and got on top.

'There was a similar situation before...'

It was the time when I recklessly knocked him onto his bed to take the bookmark away. At that time, Ian must have been so startled that he was helplessly held by me.

The present Ian looked like he had received a present.

Below me, he said with a smirk.

"Did you prepare for an event like this instead of winning the swordsmanship competition?"

I was puzzled and asked.

"...In the meantime, isn't it a fact that you will win?"

"No?"

Those words had quite a few meanings.

One thing I didn't know was what would happen if I got rid of the origin of the third black magic.

It meant that he was waiting for my call here, and that meeting with me was as good as winning.

Then was I able to suppress myself now, yet remain calm in this posture?

"..."

I stared intently into his eyes.