McHart Paris Valtoria, the Fourth Prince.

He was the only one among Seraphine's blood relatives to have connections with demons, making him a kind of spy for the Demon King's army.

In the original storyline, he wasn’t supposed to engage in his first battle until around the fourth part, which meant he was strong enough to showcase his combat abilities only in the latter half of the story.

...And although I don’t want to admit this before the battle even begins, Lillis, as just a maid, couldn’t possibly win against him alone.

It wasn’t just that she couldn’t win "at this point." From the start, McHart was someone who would require the stats of a hero at the end of part four to defeat.

For Lillis to reach that level, it would have to be near the end of part five. In terms of levels, she was barely at one-fourth of what was needed, around levels 6 to 70, compared to her current state.

‘I've been so focused on Agnes and Prince Antonio’s situation that I didn’t notice the beehive I was poking...’

Distracted by the unfolding relationship between those two, which was deviating from the original storyline, I failed to prepare for the imminent danger approaching me.

If I had known he would approach like this, I might have swallowed my pride and asked Ethan to escort me to the magic department building for a while, at least until McHart lost interest in me.

McHart’s unique ability, "Inner Darkness," was a mental prison that could only trap one person at a time. It was essentially an assassination-specialized power.

‘He probably used this ability to kill Philipson and the First Empress.’

Considering his assassination-specialized power and his free access to roam the royal palace, it would have been easy for McHart to commit regicide.

Even if he had a sudden change of heart, and let me go safely from this space, it was unlikely for someone who was involved in the deaths of his foster mother and half-brother to show mercy to a lower noble like me.

Another option would be to escape by slicing through or destroying the space itself with master-level swordsmanship or magic. Of course, I was neither a master swordsman nor a skilled magician, so escaping on my own was impossible.

If nothing else worked, the last resort would be to kill the caster of this mental magic.

"Hmm, interesting. Most young ladies who first arrive here usually tremble in fear or scream."

"...So what?"

"Unlike them, you’re neither scared nor noisy."

I mentally ran through a simulation of how I would sever McHart's head, who was grinning at me.

Taking the dagger from my inner pocket and aiming it at his neck would be too big a movement, and he’d easily counter it.

If I took out the dagger from under my skirt, I could reduce the time needed to strike, but to actually kill him with a blade, I’d need the speed of someone like the Hero or Natalie. Either that or make him completely drop his guard.

Using magic was also out of the question since I lacked the firepower, and trying to cast a large spell like Mana Blast would undoubtedly be stopped before I could even finish the incantation.

Adding to that, trying to obtain a skill with the few remaining skill points I had left didn’t seem promising either.

As I kept my guard up, unable to hide my tension, McHart’s previously smiling eyes started to quietly focus on me, and the unnerving gaze made me curse involuntarily.

"What are you staring at, you bastard?"

"I thought about this before, but it seems like you’re not the most polite young lady. Didn’t your etiquette teacher instruct you properly?"

"Did your mother teach you to go around ripping through the virginity of stupid, brainless sluts?"

"Ha, ha...”

"What’s so funny, bastard? Your face is hideous."

"Pffft, ahahaha...! That’s quite a fresh reaction. It’s been a while since I’ve heard something like this. Truly refreshing, hahaha...”

...Look at this jerk, laughing as if he’s all cool.

To him, being called ugly must be a joke. The reason he was involved in the murders of the First Empress and the Crown Prince was to conceal his hideous face.

I knew the real reason behind his fake handsome face and why he acted so arrogantly.

He had always had low self-esteem about his appearance, so once he learned a "handsome spell" overnight, he began to use it as he pleased. To be exact, it wasn’t a spell that made him handsome, but rather a wide-range perception-distortion spell that made his face appear handsome to others.

Annoyed by my insult, he leaned his face even closer to mine.

"Say that again? What did you say about my face...?"

“Get your ugly mug out of my face, you bastard!”

"......"

“Did your mother eat seaweed soup after giving birth to you? The Third Empress must have had a strong stomach to put up with you.”

"I’m not sure what seaweed soup is, but I can tell that you’re insulting me and my mother."

"Even a goblin would understand that much. Or is your mother a goblin, and that’s why you’re proud of your goblin-level intelligence? What a stupid thing to brag about."

"......"

Deliberately poking at his insecurities about his appearance, I could see a dark gaze slowly focusing on me from McHart.

Even with the slightly changed atmosphere, I could tell that the situation was not in my favor.

"Clearly, you weren’t trying to provoke me on purpose to gain my attention. At first, I thought you were a young lady trying a new approach to catch my eye."

"Shut up and keep those delusional thoughts to yourself."

"If you were merely trying to get my attention with low-class insults, I would have ended this already... but I've changed my mind."

"What does it matter to me if you’ve changed your mind...?"

Smack!

"...You, become my woman."

“You son of a...!”

A black hand emerged from the darkness, grabbing one of my wrists, while two more hands rose from the floor, pinning my legs down.

Completely restrained and unable to escape, McHart leaned in close to my face again.

"Let go, you bastard!"

"Perhaps you misunderstood me earlier."

"...What?"

"I’ll rephrase it. You, become my wife."

“……”

"Don’t think it’s such a bad deal. Do you think just anyone gets a chance to become a prince's wife? Especially as the wife of the extremely handsome Prince McHart, the competition is quite fierce."

"That’s nonsense."

"But I like you, so I’ll make you my first wife. I’m not sure if there will be a second one, but at least it’s not such a bad offer for you..."

Spit!

“Screw you, you bastard.”

Who does he think he is, proposing to someone who’s already taken?

Well, not that I’m actually taken, but I would refuse him even if he were the last man on Earth.

The idea of marrying a man is revolting enough, but marrying someone like him, who’s involved with demons?

Just thinking about being tied to him at this time and place, and possibly being destroyed along with him, is enough to make me lose sleep.

Tears streaming down

“Ha! Hahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!!!”

Despite the spit running down between his brows, McHart laughed like a madman, unfazed.

With both my legs and right arm bound, I reached for a hidden dagger tied under my skirt with my free left hand.

“It’s not such a bad offer. If you promise to marry me and prove it, I’ll let you go and overlook the rudeness you’ve shown.”

“You’re the one being rude, you bastard.”

"With your current abilities, you can’t escape from here on your own. I looked into it, and you’re not even at the Expert level, let alone Master level, right?”

“……”

“All you have to do is make one promise. Promise to marry me and become my first wife, and seal it with a kiss on my lips. It’s simple, isn’t it?”

"Is eating through your rear the trend in the palace these days? Because all I hear from your mouth is crap."

“Well, I don’t mind shy young ladies either.”

“Get your face out of mine, you bastard!”

Without another word, McHart leaned in, pressing his lips towards me, his face creeping closer.

...I kept cursing him, playing the helpless maid, all while waiting for the right moment to strike.

As his lips came within reach, I didn’t hesitate. I swung the silver dagger in my left hand at his throat, feeling the blade make contact.

The sensation of the blade slicing through flesh, tearing muscles as it plunged in.

Squelch!

...The only regret was that the blade didn’t hit his neck but somewhere else.

Drip, drip...

“Ha, this is...”

“You bastard...”

“Not only shy but also a dangerous and wild young lady.”

Just before the blade could reach his neck, McHart blocked its path with his right arm, causing the dagger to embed in his forearm instead of his throat.

“I had a hunch when you didn’t drop your guard even at the last moment, but to think you’d still swing a blade in this situation.”

“You’re truly insane...”

"They say beautiful mushrooms are often poisonous. I’m glad I was cautious before eating."

It wasn’t a joke—I had intended to kill him with that strike.

Since I couldn’t escape unless I killed him, it was better to kill 

him and escape. Furthermore, if I killed him here, it would make progressing through the main storyline easier in many ways, and with him dead, the demons’ plans would be disrupted.

Of course, I would be executed for regicide afterward, but if I was going to die anyway, I might as well take him down with me.

As the futile attempt ended and the surge of frustration and sadness began to well up inside me, the darkness surrounding me and McHart suddenly dissipated, and the familiar scenery of the academy began to reappear.

"Unfortunately, we’ll have to end things here for today. I would have liked to play with you a bit longer, but I’ve lost too much blood."

"...What?"

"See you next time, shy and dangerous young lady."

Clang!

"..."

McHart casually pulled out the silver dagger embedded in his forearm and tossed it to the ground. Then, as if nothing had happened, he began walking towards the church.

Watching his shameless back, I was too drained to chase after him and could only collapse to the ground.

Plop.

“Ha, ha-ha, ha...”

...For a while, I think I’ll have to stick close to Ethan or Agnes.