Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 34.1
In order for me to use mana, I need to take Nexium.
In other words, that order wasn’t directed at me.
Acteon looked at me. Even after receiving the command, he did not immediately use his mana.
“Am I supposed to operate it as is?”
For some reason, his words sounded like a warning.
It took me a moment to realize why he was asking that.
Since entering the palace, Acteon had felt stifled due to the lack of surrounding mana.
It wouldn’t be impossible for him, but the less mana you have to work with, the harder it is to control.
With a small amount, you have to operate it more efficiently, so your nerves and senses become even more sensitive.
‘There’s no way these people don’t know this.’
Didn’t they just basically say it themselves, not treating us as fellow humans who feel the same things, but as useful tools?
They were forcing Acteon to use his mana and demanding I stabilize him, making a spectacle of us solely for their curiosity and amusement, without considering our wishes at all.
It was all too obvious how they usually commanded and exploited the army.
Once I started feeling disgusted, I couldn’t easily calm back down.
Seeing Acteon’s reluctance to obey, the crown prince tilted his cigar.
“Do you feel displeased?”
“…No, Your Highness.”
Acteon gave a faint, twisted smile. I was starting to fear how he was speaking less and less.
I learned something from this incident.
Usually, I was the one to coax him into taking the first step in these schemes, but when it came to truly major incidents, it was always Acteon who handled them.
And just how much patience he had in dealing with those around him.
Right now, Acteon was hiding his murderous intent toward the crown prince.
“What is Estra even doing? Isn’t their training still incomplete?”
“Your Highness.”
“Or is it Brondearn’s problem? Tsk. I was pleased that a new S-Class appeared in addition to the duke, but that child broke down and died so quickly… Looks like it was a problem with the family’s education all along.”
At last, the crown prince brought up a subject he should never have touched.
I caught a dangerous look flash across Acteon’s face.
“What are you waiting for! His Highness is waiting, is he not?”
A man named Oregon hurried Acteon along.
Strictly speaking, there was no absolute need to refuse the crown prince’s proposal.
If I accepted his sponsorship and acted by his side, there would surely come a day to stab him in the back.
It might even be easier to find such an opportunity.
But I didn’t want to do that.
It was a purely emotional decision. I just couldn’t bear to let myself be used for his power, not even for a moment.
Instead of being nervous, my head went cold.
I looked at Acteon.
‘No… this can’t happen.’
If this goes wrong, it’ll be a real disaster.
I came all this way to mess with that bastard, but if I couldn’t even endure this one insult, the loss would only be mine.
And there would be no one to clean up the mess.
Even so, I didn’t want to just grovel and let it pass as if I’d submitted.
The crown prince, having detected the defiance in Acteon’s silence, put out his cigar.
“I can’t just blame the duke. Looks like Estra’s discipline has also fallen apart.”
As an indescribable sense of pressure welled up, Acteon spoke.
“My apologies. I was flustered and committed a discourtesy.”
I clearly saw his expression change, but he was smiling once again.
“There can be a big difference between what’s written in a report and what you see with your own eyes, so I was concerned I might not meet your expectations.”
“…Hoh. So it seems a cadet is even harder to please than me, this nation’s crown prince? But I think you made a wise decision.”
Though the crown prince continued to insult him to the end, Acteon willingly displayed his abilities.
For the second time today.
Sssssssss.
Compared to earlier in the day, the sound of his manifestation was thinner.
Because there was so little mana, the crystal he produced looked different from what I knew.
Instead of palm-sized, it was just the size of a finger… but for that very reason, it appeared even sharper and more chilling.
And with the mana hardened, Acteon said,
“It’s smaller than what must have been reported. But even so, if you were to deploy me alone in a defensive battlefront…”
Even as they were already discussing throwing him straight into enemy lines, he began to pretend to struggle.
“Ah… maybe it’s because the air here is so bad, but it’s hard to control.”
Baring his teeth, he swung his claws.
Crash!
Like a gust of wind out of control, the crystal tore through the room.
Thick glass, which shouldn’t have broken easily, shattered.
“Wh, What do you think you’re doing!”
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