Chapter 6: Ice Princess

“Eek!”

The one who collided with me and fell was a frail-looking girl.

“S-Sorry! I was in a hurry and running!”

Her hair was so bright it could be mistaken for gold, with reddish-brown eyes.

She quickly stood, bowing repeatedly in apology, reminding me of a small animal.

The moment I realized who she was, my body froze.

“I-I’m fine, so…”

I had to get her away quickly.

To keep her from getting involved with Reyna.

I needed to brush this off like it was nothing.

“Even if you were in a hurry, even if it was a mistake, there are things that should never happen.”

But Reyna wouldn’t let it slide.

As someone who acted more nobly than anyone, she couldn’t overlook this.

Why did this have to happen?

No one here realized it.

Except for me, no one knew.

Just now, Reyna Roselia took a step toward her own downfall.

“For a commoner to harm a noble’s body…”

“I’m so sorry! Really, I’m so sorry!”

The girl kept bowing to Reyna, whose aura was twice as cold as usual.

This girl would later enroll as a special student at the empire’s educational institute, Arcana Academy.

She would become the center of events at Arcana.

She would steal the Crown Prince’s heart.

And she would become the saint who saves the world.

She was the heroine of She Heals the Wounded World.

“For a commoner to harm a noble’s body, even by mistake, is a clear offense.”

I had to find a way to let this pass.

I needed to ensure we left as little impression on the heroine as possible.

But no matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible.

Reyna, the epitome of nobility.

Strict with herself, and thus strict with others—the Ice Princess.

Reyna Roselia would never let this incident go lightly, no matter what.

“You should know what it means to be a noble. If you did, you wouldn’t have made such a mistake, no matter how rushed. Even if it meant injuring yourself, you should’ve twisted your body to avoid it.”

Her logic might seem unreasonably harsh.

But everything she said was irrefutable.

In the Astrayia Empire, nobles were a privileged class.

And that privilege stemmed entirely from their talents.

For example, the heirs of the Axus Duchy were born with the talent of knighthood.

The heirs of the Roselia Duchy possessed brilliant intellects.

Some families excelled in magic.

Nobles were the class that used their talents to protect the empire.

“Even a minor injury to this person could lead to immense loss for the empire.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m…”

The heroine kept bowing, apologizing repeatedly.

If it had just been me or another ordinary noble, this wouldn’t have been a big deal.

It was clearly a mistake, and she immediately stood and apologized.

But the timing was terrible.

Of all times, this had to happen while she was with Reyna.

Was there any way to stop this?

I had to avoid the heroine forming a negative impression of us as much as possible.

“So, even if it was a mistake, at the very least—”

“S-Sorry! Please!”

“Enough.”

As the heroine’s face turned pale under Reyna’s words, I instinctively interrupted.

It was a thoughtless remark, blurted out without consideration.

“Lord Ike?”

“It’s fine. I’m not hurt at all.”

“That’s good, but that’s a separate matter.”

Faced with Reyna’s stern insistence that this couldn’t be overlooked, I scrambled for words.

“We’re short on time, aren’t we? We still have to visit the lake.”

“Ugh!”

Oh.

Thankfully, that seemed to work.

Reyna’s immediate frown told me so.

After all, she was the one who suggested visiting the lake today.

With time already tight, she must’ve realized that lingering here might mean missing everything.

True to her strict nature, she didn’t treat even small promises lightly.

“…Fine.”

Biting her lip, Reyna reluctantly agreed.

“You, be more careful in the future. Other nobles might not have let this slide so easily.”

With that final piece of advice, Reyna turned away.

I wanted to say she was the one who made this situation escalate, but I held back.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The heroine bowed deeply as we left the market.

“What? Punish her? What are you talking about? I was just trying to teach her what it means to be a noble.”

“…Really?”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

I could never say she was strict, cold, and scary.

While eating lunch by the lake, I brought up the earlier incident.

I asked if, since I wasn’t hurt and it was a mistake, her reaction wasn’t a bit excessive.

That was Reyna’s response.

“She was apologizing so earnestly—obviously it was a mistake. If she’d been defiant, I might’ve punished her at my discretion, but still.”

“But didn’t you speak too harshly? She looked terrified.”

“She should be terrified. That’s what being a noble means. If I let it slide quietly, she might think, ‘Oh, an apology is enough to get away with it.’ Who knows what could happen then?”

“…I don’t think that’s likely. Most other nobles would’ve let it go.”

“It’s unlikely, but not impossible. And it does happen sometimes—people who abuse the power of their noble status.”

…Maybe I’d been misunderstanding something.

Reyna might be cold and strict, but that didn’t mean she was heartless.

While hoping for her happiness, had I been the one trapped by her Ice Princess image?

But then, Reyna continued.

“Well, honestly, I did overreact a bit.”

Her tone was casual.

“It hit your right chest, so I got startled for a moment.”

But her expression was troubled, her lips bitten.

“Was that it? I didn’t even notice.”

I could only pretend ignorance and look away.

“…Good.”

After that, we chatted, finished lunch, and parted ways.

Making a good first impression on the future heroine probably failed.

Speaking of which, why did we meet the heroine today?

Reyna and the heroine were supposed to meet for the first time at Arcana.

I couldn’t understand why the story had changed.

And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall the heroine’s name.

Sure, I enjoyed the original story, but Reyna was the only character who stuck with me.

I should’ve asked before we parted.

We probably won’t meet again for a while.

“Hah!”

I swung my sword with all my strength.

To an ordinary person, it would’ve been a critical strike they wouldn’t even see coming.

But Father blocked it effortlessly with a slight twist of his sword.

A critical strike is a desperate move to turn the tide when cornered.

If it misses, you’re the one in danger.

“Too soft!”

Father’s cherished sword drew five lines in an instant.

“Ugh!”

One. Two. Three. Four.

I managed to block up to the fourth, but the fifth broke through my defense.

“Argh!”

Blood flowed from my left side.

I quickly channeled mana to stop the bleeding.

“Focus, Ike!”

Father rarely held back in sparring.

There were no life-threatening wounds, but he didn’t hesitate to cut either.

Even after sparring, I wasn’t allowed to see a healer right away.

I had to manage with first aid until evening.

“Haa, haa, haa, haa.”

Even considering that, today was too much.

My body was already covered in cuts, bleeding heavily.

All I could do in sparring was first aid.

It didn’t heal the wounds, so even slight movements caused more bleeding.

“The enemy won’t go easy just because you’re injured!”

“Ugh!”

If I hadn’t dodged at the last moment, that strike would’ve been fatal.

No matter how I thought about it, Father was off today.

Normally, he’d let minor wounds slide, but now he was relentlessly aiming for maximum impact.

If this weren’t Ike’s body, I’d have died a hundred times over.

No, I probably wouldn’t even have noticed I was dead.

I couldn’t have kept up with his speed or reflexes.

“Ike, how long will you stay still?!”

“Hoo, here I come!”

Questions kept arising, but there was no time to focus on them.

My goal to get stronger never wavered.

I felt like I’d only replicated about 10% of that movement from the ball.

It was tough, but sparring with Father was undeniably helpful.

It would’ve been easier if I could’ve gotten direct help from that voice I heard, but I hadn’t heard it since that day.

Was it a one-time perk of being transmigrated?

It sounded too emotional for that.

“Pathetic! Aiming only for vital points isn’t a good attack!”

I’d sparred with Father countless times by now.

I’d landed a few solid hits before.

But today was different.

Today, Father allowed no attacks.

It was an utterly one-sided spar, unlike before.

He deflected a deep thrust I thought was perfectly timed by dropping his sword.

“Damn it!”

I hadn’t expected him to abandon his sword!

Father slipped into my guard and struck my chest with his elbow, mercilessly.

With an utterly calm expression.

“…!”

The moment I was hit, I couldn’t breathe.

No sound escaped me.

My thoughts froze as I flew back about 10 meters.

“Urgh.”

Barely holding back nausea, I struggled to stand.

I burned with determination to keep going, but Father declared the spar over.

“Good work, Ike.”

“Thank you, Father.”

I picked up my dropped sword, sheathed it, and caught my breath.

As I prepared to treat my wounds and rest in my room, Father stopped me.

“Ike.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Your first mission.”

“…What?”

“Next Thursday, we’re going to Heros, the Roselia Duchy’s domain. Prepare thoroughly.”

With that, Father left the training ground.

But I couldn’t move a single step.