I groaned and asked:

“What about Lili? Does Lili know my true identity?”

“Who knows? Probably not, right, Your Majesty?”

Kilpus nodded.

“The fewer people who know, the better, even if they are allies. That is why I did not tell Ituka anything. I knew that she would act regardless. And indeed, she did.”

The assassination was thwarted.

Indeed, the moment suspicion fell upon Miku, Lili had cut her scabbard belt, rendering her powerless. If the rapier had remained at her waist, Kilpus’s life might have been taken.

Miku might have killed Kilpus.

Dizziness washed over me.

I pressed my palm against my temple and lowered my head.

“Eremi, the only people in this school who know your true identity are Void, myself, and just now added to that number—Oujin over there. That is why, despite being in the same group as that girl, you were neither killed nor taken hostage. Keeping your identity hidden was the right choice.”

Oujin, who had remained silent until now, murmured weakly:

“Orunkaim… she… I can’t believe it…”

Kilpus nodded.

“Yes. But to be precise, it is different. As I mentioned before, she is not Orunkaim. The real Miku Orunkaim has already been retrieved and safely protected by Mald Orunkaim’s Border Knights.”

Interrupting my thoughts, Kilpus mercilessly continued:

“She—the girl in question—ambushed the carriage carrying the real Miku Orunkaim on her way to take the Lehan Knight Academy entrance exam, along with her comrades. She secretly took Orunkaim’s place, assuming her identity. Since there were no witnesses, it took far too long for anyone to realize the truth.”

An… assassin.

An undetectable presence, unnoticed even by master swordsmen. Silent footfalls like a cat’s. Unnatural movements, an acute sense of awareness. A main-gauche for a weapon. None of these were traits of a knight or a swordsman. They were the tools of an assassin and an infiltrator.

I clenched my teeth and raked my fingers through my hair.

“Ugh…!”

There were so many hints.

Her abilities were far too advanced for a mere student. But surrounded by prodigies like Oujin and Void, it had been easy to dismiss her as one of them. There were always students with exceptional talent.

Cold sweat trickled down my body.

They chose to kidnap the real Miku Orunkaim instead of a safer assassination. Why take such a risk? Perhaps because as a noble daughter of the Orunkaim family, she could be used as a hostage against the formidable General Mald Orunkaim.

I don’t want to believe it. That she…

I don’t want to believe it. But—

The image burned in my mind. The girl, holding her main-gauche, poised to strike at Kilpus.

And at the same time, I finally realized.

Just how deeply I had come to feel connected to her.

Even if it had all been a deception.

The strength drained from my body.

My hands, which had been clutching my head, slipped down. My shoulders slumped.

Kilpus continued quietly.

“The kidnapping was discovered purely by chance. The Border Knights defending the frontier spotted a suspicious group heading toward the Republic. That was the only reason. The kidnappers, realizing they were being pursued, attempted to flee across the border. Mald gave chase.”

There isn’t a single force in existence, whether in the Republic or the Kingdom, that could escape from Mald Orunkaim’s Border Knights in the mountains.

Still lost in a haze of thought, I forced out a question.

“So among them was the girl—the real Miku Orunkaim—who had left for Lehan to take her exam?”

“Correct. If that incident had not come to light by sheer coincidence, that girl would have remained as Miku Orunkaim and caused enormous damage to the Kingdom of Galliant.”

Enormous… damage…

I can’t… my head can’t process this anymore…

“Father, don’t sugarcoat it. I’m not as much of a child as you think.”

“Is that so? Then let me be clear. The goal was either my assassination as King, or the abduction of you, the prince. If not, then sabotage within the Royal Knight Order, which has strong ties to Lehan Knight Academy, or intelligence warfare. At the very least, releasing homunculi into the city was within their capabilities.”

“…”

Void leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“So, she was the one who unleashed that homunculus, huh? What a pain in the ass.”

As if to object, Oujin hesitantly murmured:

“Are you sure? The homunculus was trying to kill Orunkaim—her. She saved my life. I know that because I was there. If her strike hadn’t pierced its eye, I would have died. The killing intent directed at her was real. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“Maybe so. Either way, we can’t afford to take this lightly. We have to assume the worst-case scenario.”

“Yeah… you’re right…”

I know. I feel the same way as Oujin.

But that girl was the only one who had foreknowledge of the Dungeon Curriculum. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to release the homunculus at that precise moment. Inside the academy, only she could have done it.

Did she knowingly put her own life at risk…?

Oujin’s words stirred something in me, bringing my thoughts back into focus.

The homunculus had undeniably tried to kill Miku. Even Void had acknowledged that. That was why he had let his guard down around her.

Trying to figure out “who” was meaningless now. Instead, I needed to consider why the homunculus was unleashed in the Lehan Dungeon in the first place.

“…It wasn’t to assassinate me as a prince, was it? If they wanted to abduct me, that would be a different matter, but there’s no point in killing the third prince. If they wanted to assassinate someone, it would be my father or my eldest brother, Leonel. Then the real reason for releasing the homunculus was likely to prove its viability as a weapon. Or an experiment to test its killing capabilities.”

Void nodded.

“Heh, finally starting to think straight again. Look, that girl had plenty of chances to assassinate or abduct you. I was watching you two from the very beginning, so I know. The fact that she never acted proves she didn’t know you were a prince.”

So that’s why he gave me that vague warning on the first day.

—“Just be careful around Orunkaim.”

Ah… What a fool I was. The biggest fool of all.

I had let myself become lost in the life of a student. I had forgotten how to breathe on the battlefield. My immature ten-year-old body had made even my mind childish. I should have controlled my emotions. I should have cast them aside.

I know. I understand that.

And yet—my childish mind had already begun searching for a way to save that girl.