Chapter 77: Your wife...
"You should be careful with things you can't control…
…or you'll end up hurting people, miss"
Everyone present could not help but be stunned. That was a Binding collar!? How can one even rip it apart like some kind of toy?
"… This isn't expensive, is it?", added the special prisoner as he looked at the crumpled piece of steel that was on his hand, "…Because I can't pay for it"
All the guards that were in the room quickly unsheathed their weapons and pointed it all at the same time towards the special prisoner.
Albert, who was the nearest guard near the special prisoner, did not know what to do. His hand was already grabbing the hilt of his sword, but for some reason, he was hesitant to unsheathe it.
The special prisoner saved his life, to point his weapon at him, there would be no honor in that, Albert thought.
But still, it was his job to protect the Lord of the Castle. His conflicted thoughts, however, were interrupted as he felt a cold breeze waft in the air.
"This is why I told you cursed children are a problem!", shouted Princess Sofia as she summoned an icicle twice the size of the average human. She was going to summon a fire ball, but she remembered that this boy could be the one responsible for burning the entire forest and for killing almost all of her treants. Fire would most probably be ineffective against him.
Even though the temperature in the room was getting lower because of the Princess' spell, Lord Fynn started to sweat buckets. There were many outcomes that he thought would happen during this meeting, this was definitely not one of them.
The female elf, Ilrina, took this chance to run towards the special prisoner.
"Great Spirit! I will protect you!", said Ilrina as she stood in front of the special prisoner.
It was then that the special prisoner spoke once again,
"I told you, don't use powers you can not control", said the special prisoner as he looked at Princess Sofia. And even though there was not a hint of expression on his face, there was this feeling of being suffocated as you stare at his jet-black eyes, as if he was a gigantic being looking down at you
"Tch", Princess Sofia clicked her tongue. Her? One of the strongest mages of the continent, afraid of some cursed child!? Preposterous!
"I am one of the strongest mages in the world, slave. Don't treat me like some 2nd rate mage you can find anywhere!", said Princess Sofia as the floating icicle that she summoned got bigger in size.
"Oh?", said the special prisoner as he slowly stretched his arms to the side, opening his arms. Once again casually breaking the chain that was wrapped around his wrists, "Try it then".
"Great Spirit!", Ilrina was perplexed, what was the Great Spirit trying to do, she thought. But if this is what he wanted, then Ilrina had no choice but to let it happen. With that thought, she stepped to the side, respectfully bowing to the special prisoner while doing so.
Princess Sofia's eyes started to twitch, she clearly did not like this. She really was being looked down upon.
"If you hit someone else, I will kill you"
As soon as the special prison said that, a heavy pressure filled the entire room. The guards who had their weapons pointed at the special prisoner could not help but kneel down due to the immense pressure that were crawling disgustingly throughout their whole body. Some of them were even fainting, with the cold hard floor as their only comfort.
Princess Sofia, who was about to throw the icicle, could not help but hesitate. The sudden pressure made her take a huge breath.
She was starting to get nervous. She have killed cursed children before, but there was no one like the golden-haired boy in front of him.
Could it be he has a power to release a powerful and disgusting aura?
Or is he really this strong?
Which is it!?
Princess Sofia was conflicted. But if she backs out now, it would make the Royal family look weak.
They remained like this, in silence, for a full minute. The other people present in the room could not even make a move, how would they?
And then, after a few more seconds of only breathing, the princess finally released the icicle.
"The Royal family will not be challenged by a single cursed child!", shouted Princess Sofia as the icicle flew towards the special prisoner.
But despite the Princess' seemingly angered shout, the icicle she released was precise. It was spinning rapidly, as if it wanted to pierce mountains, but its course was steady.
In fact, if one were to look at the Princess, one would see that she was sweating. She was currently trying her best to control the icicle. Despite appearing not to be intimidated by the special prisoner, she was, in fact, very nervous.
And as soon as the icicle hit the prisoner, it blew in pieces. With shards flying all over the place.
A shard flew directly towards Ilrina's face, but an inch before it could even touch the tip of her skin, it stopped.
The breathing of the Princess could be heard across the room as her hands trembled, she was trying her hardest to control the shards that scattered themselves in the air.
She then clapped her hands together. And as soon as she did so, the icicle and its shards quickly turned to water, until it completely evaporated and vanished into the air.
Once again, the audience were in silence. They could not help but be in awe with the Princess' prowess. To be able to control her magic literally down to the bits, as expected of the one carrying the title of Royal Spectacled Beautiful Mage, she was not to be trifled with.
The special prisoner looked around, checking to see if someone was hurt, but even after a minute of checking, even the surrounding people could not find even a single scratch on anyone present in the room.
So, this is one of the strongest mages in the world, the audience thought.
Princess Sofia breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the special prisoner. But in truth, she almost jumped in shock when a shard flew towards the female elf called Ilrina.
"I told you, slave. I am not like the other mages you have met. I am Princess Sofia, ol-"
"I will come with you, then", the special prisoner interrupted.
"That's what I… What?", Princess Sofia could not help but stutter as she heard the words of the special prisoner.
"I will come with you", the special prisoner once again said. No traces of hesitation on his eyes as he looked at Princess Sofia straight in the eyes.
"O…okay?"
Everyone in the room could not help but look at each other in confusion.
Did they hear that right? Was the issue resolved as easy as that? Most of them were nervous, true. But to see the Princess in action, personally? That was a once in a lifetime opportunity to brag to their friends and family.
The most confused person in the room, however, was Princess Sofia. It was only a few minutes ago that the special prisoner threatened to kill her. But now he was just going to go with her willingly? No, he was going with her voluntarily.
Is he planning something, Princess Sofia thought.
"But first let me visit a place", the special prisoner added.
"Aha! Now your true plans are showing!", Lord Fynn shouted as soon as he heard the special prisoner's words, "Do you think we would allow such a preposterous thin-"
But before he could finish his words, she was interrupted by Princess Sofia.
"Sure", Princess Sofia calmly said as she waved her hand, blocking Lord Fynn's face.
"What!? Is this wise, Princess Sofia?", Lord Fynn bellowed, "He might be planning to escape!"
With Lord Fynn's rambling, Princess Sofia could only sigh. Of course she knew that… but,
"You said so yourself, he could have already escaped at anytime if he wanted to for 5 years", said the Princess, "And if he were to escape, who would stop him, you?"
"Well, you are here. So, maybe-", once again Lord Fynn was interrupted by the Princess's hand.
"So, tell me, where is this place you seem eager to go to?", Sofia furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the special prisoner.
There is something different about this boy. Where would someone like him want to go to? The forest? Or maybe to visit his tribe back in the elven territory? If so, then that request would be next to impossible.
Everyone watched in anticipation as they waited for the special prisoner's answer. They too, were very curious as to where he wanted to go.
And then, after being quiet for a few seconds, the special prisoner's expression turned serious.
Princess Sofia could not help but gulp. This was the first time that the prisoner's expression has changed.
Even when he threatened the Princess' life, there wasn't even a slight change of expression on his face. But now, all of a sudden, his face turned serious!? The audience, as well, could not help but be alarmed with this sudden change.
The guards who have just recovered from the intense pressure from earlier started to once again point their weapons at the special prisoner.
It was then that the special prisoner started to move, glancing at every person that were watching on the side.
They could not help but avoid the special prisoner's gaze, in fear that he wanted something from them.
Luckily, the special prisoner does not seem to be interested in them, instead, the special prisoner's gaze stopped at the guard that was nearest to him- Albert.
He then slowly walked towards him, with his expression still serious. He stopped a few feet away from Albert, staring up at him without breaking eye contact.
Albert could not help but start shaking, could the prisoner be taking revenge on him for confining him in the cellar pit for 5 years!?
"Your wife…", the prisoner started to speak.
"Y-yes?"
"…you said she cooks well?"
"…."
"What!?", the audience's extreme anticipation quickly died down.