Chapter 31
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Lea reached the cave she had scouted in advance in one swift ride. Having once ridden hard across battlefields, she arrived without issue—rendering Zion’s worries baseless—secured her horse tightly, and entered the cave.
This area was rarely visited by animals, making it unlikely that any nobles would come this way.
Returning to her fox form, Lea hurriedly got to work. Sniffing the air, she searched for Calix.
He had a distinct body scent. Heavy, yet refreshing like a forest—it was a scent she had always loved, one she’d never forget, even in death.
From afar, she caught his familiar scent.
Lea climbed a tree and darted toward him.
She spotted his brilliant blond hair first. It shimmered as it moved, fluttering in the wind with every motion.
She remembered the past, when—after being beaten senseless by her mother with a whip—she ran to Calix in a daze and, using a flimsy excuse, cut his hair.
Since then, he had never grown it long again. So now, seeing it flowing in the wind stirred an ache behind her eyes.
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t overuse your power. You know that.”
Calix, who had been freely manipulating the wind to hunt, shot a glance at Ilion as he nagged at him.
He knew why he was saying it, of course—but Calix felt better than ever.
He was eating well, sleeping well, and had recently started feeling as if he had been guided. Not that he’d ever experienced real guiding, so he didn’t know exactly what it felt like.
But this must be what people meant by feeling at their peak.
He was itching to cut loose. The urge to push his power to its limits was overwhelming.
Ilion watched him with worried eyes.
Drawing a large bow, Ilion aimed at a distant, large deer. The arrow shot out like lightning and pierced the deer’s neck instantly.
“You’re unusually motivated today too.”
“Well, I can’t lose to that woman or the other nobles, can I?”
“Ha. She’s participated in this hunting tournament so persistently every year, but has she ever once caught decent prey? All she’s ever done is get in my way.”
At Calix’s comment, Ilion nodded.
“That’s true. But why is she alone this time? Normally, she’d be strutting around with nobles from the Empress’s faction.”
“…That’s true.”
“Or maybe she’s planning some other ridiculous trick, like last time.”
He was well aware that the Empress didn’t particularly cherish Lea.
Whether the nobles realized this was uncertain, but anyone in the palace must have noticed.
From the start, the way she looked at her daughter was frigid—her gaze cold, like she was evaluating an object.
Calix remembered well the way his own mother, now deceased, had once looked at him. As a child, it had stirred pity in him.
Now, though, she was just another person he needed to be wary of, just like the Empress.
“She really got me good at that last banquet.”
“Exactly. To think she dumped grape juice on herself to leave like that. Has she no pride?”
Even recalling the whispers of the nobles made Calix laugh. Who were they to judge him?
Though he didn’t show it due to his status, Calix had an inherently arrogant nature.
Understandable, considering he had been born the Crown Prince.
The one and only heir.
And not only that—he was a rare triple-type Esper.
Elemental Espers were rare enough, but one who could wield fire, wind, and water? That was unheard of.
Of course, the only person who knew the truth about his abilities was Ilion.
Not even the Emperor, his own father, knew.
Publicly, his power was the same as the Emperor’s: wind.
The reason he hid his full abilities from his father was simple.
Because he couldn’t trust him.
Was it because his father, enthralled by his Guide, had neglected his own son?
No—it was because he was also an Esper. And because he was the Emperor. Calix had long since seen him as a rival in the struggle for power.
As he was recalling these frustrating memories, Calix noticed a pack of wolves creeping down, drawn by the scent of deer blood.
With a snap of his fingers, he lifted the entire pack into the air and spun them in place. The wolves, howling as they twisted inside the swirling wind, fell unconscious and dropped to the ground with dull thuds.
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