**Stalker Duchess Episode 26**
**Stalker Duchess Episode 26**
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"I'll teach you magic."
Two days later, summoned back to the Imperial Palace, I grumbled as I entered, and the Crown Prince—perhaps struck by some sudden whim—said that.
I had mountains of questions: why he kept calling me to the palace during my vacation, and why he was glaring at me murderously while offering to teach me magic. But first, I asked the most pressing one.
"Why?"
Had I ever asked the Crown Prince to teach me magic?
After pondering my question for a long while, he snapped at me with an angry expression.
"You're too weak! You have zero combat ability, so you're a hindrance to your comrades—now shut up and learn!"
Thud-.
Something inside me had just taken massive damage.
It felt like a rock had dropped right on my head.
Staggering, I clutched my aching head from the shock.
I was weak, sure, but did he have to call me a hindrance...? I'd been trying my best to live diligently.
I shot the Crown Prince a sidelong glare laced with resentment.
Meeting my hurt gaze, he flinched in surprise, a flicker of apology in his eyes.
"......"
"I, I misspoke...... Anyway! Come to the palace every day starting today!"
He reflexively started to apologize, then seemed to remember something and switched back to an angry tone.
After mulling it over deeply, I opened my mouth.
"......Can I refuse?"
I planned to quit in about half a month anyway.
I was interested in magic, but not in learning it from the Crown Prince.
His skills were top-tier, of course, but studying under someone as prickly as him would surely drive me insane.
And his nagging...
From experience so far, the Crown Prince's lectures never ended after just one round.
Sweet words were fine once or twice.
He seemed the type to hurl insults even while teaching, Spartan-style.
Case in point: he'd just called me a hindrance... No, don't think about it again.
Anyway, I didn't want to learn magic while enduring verbal abuse like that every day.
Over a moody kid whose temper swung dozens of times a day, I'd prefer someone gentler.
"......Why?"
His pupils shook as if hurt by my response.
As I scrambled for a plausible excuse, he watched my reaction, then said coldly,
"Fine. Don't say it. I get it."
"......"
I hadn't even voiced my refusal yet—what did he think he got?
He was probably misunderstanding again, but I had no energy to correct him.
The Crown Prince's emotions shifted more than a dozen times a day.
His direct subordinates must have it rough with a boss like that.
"Um, then may I head back now?"
After agonizing with me right there, he spoke in a suddenly cold voice.
"......No, the team still needs balance. Physical combat's impossible for you, so basic magic is necessary. If danger arises, you should at least protect yourself. Especially since you don't seem the type to ask for help."
His words made my eyes widen slightly.
The Crown Prince had unexpectedly grasped my personality well.
Details someone wouldn't know without thinking deeply about me.
His serious tone, stripped of personal feelings, was far more persuasive than before.
Hmm, was he worrying about me in his own way? I'd quit in half a month anyway, but he didn't know that.
Just half a month—learning a spell or two would be a gain...
Still, I didn't want to learn under the Crown Prince.
Even if it was right.
I just instinctively disliked it.
Our personalities didn't mesh.
He hated me.
No deep thought needed. Reasons to refuse abounded.
The issue was they weren't things I could say outright to imperial royalty.
Make a vague excuse about being busy. Lie about an overseas trip starting tomorrow.
As I thought that and opened my mouth,
Before I could refuse again, he yelled irritably,
"Why? What exactly do you hate so much? What's so displeasing?"
"I haven't said anything yet."
"Yet?"
"Yeah."
He was quite angry, ditching his usual speech for a whiny child's tone.
How did he read my mind like a ghost?
Had he truly reached mind-reading mastery?
As I thought that, he pointed at my face and said,
"It's all over your face. You look like you'd rather die than do it."
"This is my happy face too, though......"
"......"
He pondered my words with a serious expression. As if.
Why take a single joke so seriously?
Anyway, cornered by his invocation of imperial command, I had no choice but to accept, figuring I'd humor him.
Was he perhaps teaching me magic to vent his grudge against me?
His lessons felt like torture to me.
No matter what I thought, he seemed to enjoy it, wearing a pleased expression.
Probably found my floundering amusing.
Or, having always been dragged around by me before, he was relishing his first time in the superior position as 'teacher'—maybe getting petty revenge.
......Nah, he's the Crown Prince; no way he'd stoop to that.
With Distian duties, he could only spare about an hour in the mornings.
But to me, that hour felt like twelve.
No matter what I thought, he always grumbled about lacking time.
What he taught me now was mostly theory—mathematical formulas.
He seemed puzzled why I couldn't grasp math.
"Why can't you understand this? I've been explaining it over and over."
"......"
Did he seriously think solving it himself like showing off, then saying, 'See? Easy, right? You try,' counted as explaining?
His superhuman abilities aside, he was the absolute worst as a teacher.
He'd probably never taught anyone before.
Even so, he should remember being taught—how could it be this bad?
"Ca... Can I take a break?"
"......"
He looked down at me with unconcealed pity, but I was at my limit.
Regardless of his answer, I needed a break.
I gulped down the cold tea. With a sigh, he sat before me.
"......By the way, how's the research on controlling Dragon Magic Power progressing?"
I'd changed the subject to buy a long break, but he didn't notice.
It was just to rest longer, but surprisingly, he stiffened, then answered seriously.
"......Too little data. Most existing records are lies. Hardly any progress on Dragon Magic Power."
Hmm. Whether possible or not aside, even if he learned, he couldn't use it—but he was trying hard.
The novel's Crown Prince, hardened by trials, never controlled it by story's end. A mere 14-year-old couldn't achieve it just by wanting to.
My thoughts must have shown, as his face twisted increasingly.
"You always make that weird face when I bring it up. Like pitying a fool on a wild goose chase. Got a reason to think I can't do it?"
"I think it's impossible."
I said, popping a snack seemingly prepared for Duchess Serabi's tastes into my mouth.
I was growing accustomed to the disgustingly sweet taste.
He seemed offended by my answer, frowning slightly as he asked,
"Tell me why."
"It's not the kind humans can control. If you weren't at your level, it would've torn you apart already."
"......"
I felt his gaping stare.
Hmm, definitely not snack-time talk.
If I weren't his childhood friend, mentioning his death would've landed me in prison.
But he didn't anger—instead, he gazed deeply, probing my true meaning.
"You've always given off vibes like you know something about Dragon Magic Power. You know a lot about dragons?"
Not enough to boast, but more than the current Crown Prince.
Still, I couldn't spill everything straightforwardly.
A noble lady who'd never left the capital would seem suspicious knowing more than him.
But letting him chase delusions while knowing all pricked my conscience.
The Crown Prince, who could go months without sleep or food unscathed, lately looked utterly exhausted—likely agonizing over his Dragon Magic Power.
