**Stalker Duchess Episode 22**
**Stalker Duchess Episode 22**
Closing the book I'd read to the very end and checking the time, two hours had already passed.
As I stretched to loosen my stiff body from sitting so long, something caught on my hand.
Shifting my gaze there, I saw the Crown Prince still sitting beside me, lost in thought.
Still not gone...... What an idle guy.
Looking now, the Crown Prince held several kinds of books in his hands.
The top one's title was .
Staring intently at the somehow familiar title, he hurriedly hid the cover, his face flushing bright red.
Then, as if making excuses, he said,
"......I didn't know where to start looking."
"......"
'At least that book doesn't seem right' rose to the tip of my tongue, but saying it in front of the embarrassed Crown Prince would surely make him angry again, so I kept my mouth shut instead.
Dragons were legendary beings, so information on them was extremely rare.
The Crown Prince was the only human to encounter a dragon and return alive.
So there was no way proper information would be left in books. Even if there was, it was probably lies.
Moreover, there was no book in this world detailing the method he sought: 'How a human controls Dragon Magic Power.'
Even if such a book existed, it wouldn't be something a 14-year-old Crown Prince could achieve.
Yet he seemed desperate enough to cling to books born from wild delusions.
In the original story, the Crown Prince hadn't even felt the need to control his Dragon Magic Power until he was 18.
And he'd only rampaged once after that.
I had no idea why he'd suddenly changed, but it had nothing to do with me.
Looking around, the library had grown quieter than before.
Peering out the window, the sun was already setting. Feeling hungry, I stood from my seat.
"......"
After waiting two hours without a word, the Crown Prince stared at me incredulously as I left.
But quickly coming to his senses, he hastily gathered his books and stood.
"Why do you keep following me?"
At my question, the Crown Prince, who'd been trailing persistently behind, flinched dramatically.
Face red—angry or not—he snapped,
"Fo-following you? I, I have business this way too. Do I look that idle to you? D-don't get the wrong idea."
"......"
If it wasn't true, he could just say so—why overreact like that?
I turned my back to him again and started toward the Duke's Mansion.
The Crown Prince still walked two or three steps behind, as if chasing me.
With his hood pulled low, his face was hidden.
Anyone seeing us would think a stalker was tailing me to harm me.
After walking silently in the same direction for a while, the Crown Prince suddenly spoke.
"You were reading magic books earlier—interested in magic, by any chance?"
"Yes. Sort of......"
Having come all the way to a fantasy world, I did want to try using it once.
But after devouring actual magic books, that thought vanished.
Magic was a subject of mana calculations and advanced math.
In other words, it required innate talent and genius-level intellect.
I'd thought I could grasp even the lowest circle's calculations with my brain, but it was impossible.
So now, I'd practically given up.
Hearing my answer, the Crown Prince said in an intrigued voice,
"Really?"
"Yes."
With that, he fell deep into thought, saying nothing for a while.
Isn't this too much overlap for paths just happening to be the same?
The Crown Prince was still following two steps behind.
Soon, as if he'd sorted his thoughts, he spoke.
"Even talented people struggle to master magic alone. A good teacher is essential. But good teachers are hard to find. High-circle mages are usually immersed in research at the Mage Tower or secluded in deep forests training alone......"
"......"
Listening quietly, I furrowed my brow slightly.
The Crown Prince had no talent for beating around the bush.
He seemed to have something to say, but it was circling endlessly.
I looked at him with eyes asking what he was getting at.
"Plus, you called me the, ahem, st-strongest on earth."
Referring to himself as the strongest on earth, he looked a bit embarrassed.
'Even if it's true, how shameless......' crossed my mind, but since he already seemed embarrassed enough, I didn't voice it.
"Did I say that?"
At my question, the Crown Prince glared sharply.
Come to think of it, I had said that in the elf forest.
I'd blurted it out thoughtlessly and forgotten, but he'd remembered.
He still recalled it. Did being called the strongest on earth feel that good?
Looking tense and gauging my reaction, he said,
"Anyway...... I think I'm the one who can wield mana the best in this world."
Why brag all of a sudden?
I glanced at the Crown Prince.
Under his hood, his eyes sparkled like a child expecting a gift.
How far did he plan to beat around the bush?
The more he spoke, the harder his intentions were to grasp.
It was truly an impressive way of talking.
"Probably so."
I didn't fully get what he wanted to say, but the Crown Prince claiming he wielded mana the best in the world was correct.
I half-listened, half-ignored, replying vaguely in agreement.
I wished he'd just say it straightforwardly.
It itched, like I half-grasped it but didn't at all.
Hearing my reply, the Crown Prince pondered a bit longer, then clenched his fist as if resolved and said,
"I've used magic since I was three, so it's natural now. Teaching others would be a piece of cake for me."
I see. He just wanted to brag.
Reading books alone made my head ache, yet he'd used it naturally since age three.
What a talented person.
I sincerely admired his talent and said,
"Impressive."
"Right?"
After that, we fell silent for a while.
What on earth was he trying to say......
Spotting the familiar building, I stopped.
He'd said he wasn't following, yet when I halted, the Crown Prince reflexively stopped too.
Glancing at him, I said,
"Well...... this is my way, so. Goodbye."
In the end, we'd walked together all the way to the Duke's Mansion estate.
The surroundings had already grown dim.
Though unintentional, it looked like the Crown Prince had escorted me home through the night streets.
He said he had business here too, so it wasn't together, but still.
He'd said he was leaving, but the Crown Prince lingered, looking like he had more to say.
I wanted to go inside and rest soon......
The Crown Prince clearly had something he really wanted to tell me. Probably to wrap up all that roundabout talk on the way here.
But given his hesitance, it didn't seem he'd say it tonight.
I seriously considered just leaving him and heading in.
But it felt awkward to enter without a polite farewell, so I offered one.
"Thanks for seeing me......"
"I didn't see you home or anything!"
"......"
The Crown Prince cut me off.
I'd only meant a simple thank you.
Was that worth denying so vehemently?
What an inscrutable guy.
Slightly furrowing my brow, I said,
"Anyway, I'll head in now. Rest well, Raven."
"......Yeah, go in."
Crown Prince Raven looked somewhat dissatisfied for some reason, but he let me enter the mansion.
Glancing back before going in, I saw him still standing there rooted to the spot.
He watched me with eyes dripping reluctance.
......If he had something to say, he should just say it.
What a complicated person.
