Chapter 36
Kaiden was aware of the various rumors circulating among the public.
The rumor that he and Marion had been in love for a long time and finally bore fruit was deliberately inflated by the Baltstein side.
But on the other side, there were rumors that Marion was pregnant with another man’s child and lying about it being the Archduke’s.
The basis for this was Marion’s history of meeting numerous men.
But Kaiden knew. He knew that Marion had never even kissed any of the men she met in the name of romance.
Some were intimidated by her, and Marion herself wasn’t particularly adept at physical intimacy between men and women. At least, that’s what Kaiden believed.
Moreover, Marion wasn’t even pregnant in the first place.
No matter how much Caroline ranted, Kaiden found it laughable.
Caroline glared at Kaiden with sharp eyes.
“You’ll regret this.”
“If that’s all you have to say, I’ll take my leave.”
Kaiden ignored Caroline and brushed past her. He could feel her glaring at his back, but he didn’t care.
At that moment, someone came rushing down the end of the palace corridor. It was Krenky, the former Archduke Leopold’s secretary.
“Krenky?”
Reaching Kaiden, Krenky gasped for breath and said.
“His Grace, the former Archduke, urgently requests your presence at the archducal residence!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Sir Marion is in critical condition!”
Upon hearing those words, Kaiden immediately bolted. Princess Caroline was clearly the last thing on his mind.
Caroline glared at him with burning eyes. She muttered in a venomous voice.
“Kaiden. You dare ignore me? I’ll make you regret it.”
This kind of humiliation was a first for her. She had never failed to get what she wanted in her entire life. Food, clothing, even people.
Everything came into her grasp. But because of that lowborn wench, Marion, the man she desired wouldn’t even glance her way.
He was treating a filthy commoner carrying his child like a human being and keeping her by his side. For someone born noble, who viewed commoners as less than dirt, it was an unimaginable act.
It was all because of the child. If it weren’t for the child, Kaiden would come to his senses.
With a sinister scheme in mind, Caroline muttered with a smile.
“If you’re pregnant, you should be careful. Very careful.”
* * *
[Get a grip, Marion!]
Bled shouted.
But Marion, overwhelmed by the echoing “I love the Crown Prince” in her mind, collapsed limply.
Marion was shedding tears and muttering about her love for the Crown Prince like a madwoman.
Madam March, startled, cried out for her to snap out of it, while the physician Vito had brought suggested it might be magic and that they should fetch a mage.
“I love His Highness the Crown Prince… I love him.”
Bled was frustrated by Marion’s nonsense. He didn’t know what had happened, but all he could do was shout at her as best he could.
[Love the Crown Prince, my foot! Didn’t you say he treated you worse than a bug?!]
Watching Marion writhe in pain, Bled’s heart churned.
He was a dragon who had never fully become a dragon.
Having failed to receive the power he was supposed to during a certain period, he grew weaker over time, and eventually, no one could see him. He had been wandering the continent alone.
That’s when he met Marion.
By staying near Marion, Bled had gained a lot of energy. He still didn’t understand how he drew energy from a human, but it was like a ray of light to him, who had been languishing.
But now, Marion was losing her strength.
Bled’s heart sank. It wasn’t just about losing the source of his energy.
Marion was the only one who could see him and talk to him. If something happened to her, he’d be cast out into the world alone again.
[…I enjoy the time I spend with you.]
With tears welling in his red eyes, he slapped Marion’s cheeks with his tiny hands.
[Please, snap out of it! A guy like the Crown Prince deserves to die!]
A faint light flickered from Bled’s hands.
At that moment, Marion froze.
Madam March, holding Marion’s face, sobbed, “Oh, please, Sir Marion, come to your senses!”
But a different thought surfaced in Marion’s mind.
*Kill… the Crown Prince…?*
Bled hurriedly replied.
[Yes! He doesn’t even deserve to die!]
Marion stared blankly into space with vacant eyes.
Then, suddenly, her eyes widened wildly.
“The Crown Prince… I’ll kill him!”
* * *
“The Crown Prince, I’ll kill him! Kill him!”
“Sir Marion, you can’t do this! Snap out of it!”
“Ugh!”
“Stop Sir Marion!”
“How are we supposed to stop a Swordmaster?!”
“Hey, you idiots! If we don’t stop her now, we’ll all be executed for treason!”
By the time Kaiden arrived at the entrance of the archducal residence, Marion, having lost all reason, was already rampaging.
Marion had rushed out of the mansion shouting that she’d kill the Crown Prince, and the knights of the residence were doing their utmost to stop her.
But a Swordmaster was too much for ordinary knights to handle. Even without using a sword, Marion was sending knights flying left and right. It was like a fight between an adult and children.
“Two at a time, attack from both sides! Hit her simultaneously to confuse her!”
Following former Archduke Leopold’s orders, the knights were barely managing to keep Marion from leaving the mansion.
But over ten knights were already sprawled across the garden and entrance. Their limits were clear.
One knight cried out in desperation.
“Please! When is His Grace arriving?!”
“I’m here.”
Kaiden sped past the knight in an instant. He charged toward Marion like a bolt of lightning. Once Kaiden arrived, no more knights went flying.
The knights could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Oh, thank the gods!”
“His Grace is our savior!”
The knights were moved. But their awe soon turned to reverence as they witnessed the battle between two Swordmasters.
Kaiden and Marion fought in the air, rolled on the ground, and clashed across the grass and fountain, unrestricted by location.
Their speed far surpassed human limits, leaving the knights watching with their mouths agape.
“We could never have stopped Sir Marion…”
As one knight came to this realization, the others slowly nodded. It was truly the realm of those at the pinnacle.
Kaiden was bewildered.
He had been told Marion was in critical condition. But when he arrived, she was not only sending the residence’s knights flying but also shouting like a madwoman.
“I’ll kill the Crown Prince! I’ll kill him! Get out of my way! I have to kill the Crown Prince!”
“Marion, snap out of it!”
“Kill him! The Crown Prince! Kill him!”
Kaiden knew Marion no longer liked the Crown Prince. But for her feelings to turn into hatred, her murderous intent was abnormal.
As if she had been brainwashed.
*Brainwashing!*
Kaiden finally realized. He clicked his tongue once.
“Sorry, Marion.”
*Thwack!*
“Ugh!”
Kaiden struck the back of Marion’s neck. Hit in a vital spot, Marion let out a short groan and collapsed. Kaiden caught her in his arms. Marion went limp in his embrace.
“Is she alright?!”
The former Archduke came running. Holding Marion securely, Kaiden asked.
“What in the world happened? Why is Marion acting like this all of a sudden?”
The former Archduke gritted his teeth and said.
“This morning, a gift arrived for Marion. It was a jewel, and when she touched it, she suddenly collapsed and started muttering strange things.”
“That she’d kill the Crown Prince?”
“No. At first, she said she loved the Crown Prince.”
Kaiden ground his teeth. He immediately realized who was behind it. Few could cast magic capable of brainwashing a Swordmaster. Perhaps only a grand mage.
“Marion was writhing in pain. Then, an hour later, she suddenly started rampaging, saying she’d kill the Crown Prince, as you just saw.”
“…Brainwashing magic?”
“Yes, the physician said it seemed like magic! Speaking of which, we called for a mage ages ago—why haven’t they arrived?!”
The former Archduke shouted at the servants. Kaiden looked down at Marion. Her cheeks were streaked with tears from the pain she’d endured.
Kaiden stroked her cheek and thought.
‘I want to kill those bastards’
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By Anna 💓
