Chapter 55

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Regent's Nephew
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Claude narrowed his eyes.

Then, realizing the White Tiger Princess was heading toward the Stella Palace training grounds, he grinned and followed her.

He had managed to get this far by swiping his mother's access pass, but actually entering the Stella Palace wasn't easy.

Security against outside intruders had been heightened to the maximum level.

Just as Claude was wondering what to do, luck found him.

He spotted his maternal uncle entering the Stella Palace, presumably to deliver a gift to the White Tiger Princess.

Claude pretended to be part of the group and discreetly tagged along at the very back.

The guards, assuming Claude, the nephew of Regent Jetar, was with him, naturally let him pass. Claude then broke off from the group and made his way here.

And that was how he met the White Tiger Princess.

"Krrrrr, rrrrng."
(And I'll be the one to teach you a lesson, you brat!)

"Too scary for you? Well, can't be helped."

"Kraaaang."
(What a load of nonsense.)

"As of today, your wickedness will be purified. You should be thanking me."

"Grrrrrrr!"
(Your audacity is so astounding it could choke all the mana and supernatural abilities in the universe!)

Jussie and Claude growled at each other incessantly as they headed for the training grounds.

Claude, of course, couldn't understand a word Jussie was saying, but he got the general gist and continued to provoke her.

The White Tiger Princess didn't seem as wicked or malicious as he had thought.

On the contrary, her reactions to his teasing were quite amusing.

He even found it enjoyable, thinking this must be what it's like to have a younger sister.

She was smaller than he'd imagined, and the way she glared and yapped at him was comical.

And so, having discovered the joy of tormenting Jussie, Claude did his best to annoy her all the way to the training grounds.

*This is so much fun. Ah...*

Arriving near the training grounds, Claude, who had come to avenge his uncle, was taken aback to find himself having the time of his life. He quickly composed his expression.

"Ahem. I won't go easy on you, little kitten princess."

"Kyaak! Grrrrrrr!"
(He called me a kitten again! I'll make you see the afterlife today!)

Jussie growled and stormed into the training grounds first. Claude smirked and quickly followed.

"Huh? Isn't that Her Highness?"

"It is. Why is she at the training grounds...?"

Uni and Xaviet, who had thought Jussie was just out for a walk by herself, were horrified to see her enter the training grounds.

"And who is that boy with her?"

"What? Good heavens! They're fighting?!"

"Gah!"

They thought the two had just gone to the training grounds to play, but now the princess was facing off against some young boy, and they had suddenly started trading blows!

A horrified Xaviet rushed to stop them, while Uni ran to get Sophie.

Meanwhile, as they entered the center of the training grounds together, Jussie carefully studied the smirking Claude.

He drew his sword in an instant, gathering magical energy in his left hand.

The energy gathering in his hand was a silver light, quite different from Ekiel's.

*Oh, so he's planning to use both a sword and magic?*

Jussie grinned with interest as she saw the blade of Claude's sword glow with silver energy.

*You're dead, punk.*

Jussie raised her tail high and bared her teeth.

"Grrr!"
(You're so dead!)

"I'm going to pluck out all your fur!"

The tiger and the boy, both of whom would rather die than lose, charged fiercely at each other.

*CRASH—!*

A deafening roar echoed as Jussie's fist, wreathed in the blue flames she had already summoned to her paw, collided with Claude's sword.

"Grrr!"
(Tch!)

Unfortunately, Jussie's blue flames failed to damage Claude.

He had already cast a spell on his sword to enhance its power.

However, Claude's sword couldn't push through either, as Jussie's blue flames were too powerful.

After a moment of glaring at each other up close in a stalemate, they both took a step back.

Claude laughed lightly.

"Not bad. Blue flames, huh? Is that a Beastman's supernatural ability? How interesting."

"Grrr!"
(How about I sear a burn mark onto that pretty face of yours with these blue flames?)

But contrary to her words, Jussie dismissed the blue flames and focused on using her blizzard ability to bind Claude's legs.

It was the same method she had used on Xaviet before.

*Huh?*

But Claude had already cast a levitation spell, rising into the air.

Instead, it was Jussie who was immobilized. Panicked by the sensation of being tightly bound by something, she looked around, struggling to move her now-stuck legs.

"Kyang?!"
(W-what is this?!)

"Hehe, it's called a binding spell, kitty."

"Kraaaaaaah!"
(This little bastard!)

Even his wicked smile as he floated in the air, looking down on her, resembled Regent Jetar's.

*This is driving me crazy.*

Jussie now had to admit she had a weakness for handsome men like Regent Jetar.

In fact, she knew that the Regent had been secretly visiting, spying on her, and leaving toys and food in her room.

It reminded her of her father when she was young, which made her feel even more fond of him.

Anyway, that was why she liked him even more.

Dammit, he's attacking me with that face? Unforgivable!

Forgetting her legs for a moment, she decided she had to take down the floating Claude before he could cast another spell or swing his sword at her.

*Blue flames and blizzard, both!*

As Jussie focused, blue flames surged around her like massive waves.

Seeing this, Claude smiled leisurely.

"Oh, those flames again."

Thinking he could just block or dodge the flames, Claude prepared a shield while getting ready to fly elsewhere.

Once he dodged this, he figured he could land a final blow and knock the arrogant White Tiger Princess unconscious.

Not too hard, just gently.

He had originally planned to really teach her a lesson, but she was smaller, cuter, and more amusing than he'd expected, so he decided to only hit her a little.

*...Hmm, no. Maybe not knock her out, just make her cry a little? Yeah, let's do that.*

His heart softening, Claude changed his mind.

Besides, he was worried about the aftermath.

*That's right. That's why I'm going easy on her.*

Claude nodded to himself, rationalizing his decision.

He had infiltrated the Stella Palace, where the Penterin princess was staying, at the exact time when both the Emperor and his uncle were away from the Imperial Palace.

His uncle doted on him, so that might be fine, but if he hurt the White Tiger Princess too much, the Emperor might interrogate him and hand down a severe punishment.

The fallout would be a pain, so this was far enough.

*I'll get my uncle's revenge bit by bit by visiting her often. She seems to get really worked up even when I just tease her with words.*

Claude chuckled.

A cute White Tiger who was fun to tease.

Just as his attention wavered, the blue flames churning fiercely around Jussie transformed into arrows and shot violently toward Claude.

The color drained from Claude's face.

"Gasp!"

The incredible speed, not to mention the intense heat he could feel even from a distance, made Claude tense up.

It was a level of heat completely different from that of flame magic.

A cold sweat ran down Claude's spine.

*Incredible.*

According to his professor's theory in his flame magic class at the academy, generating this much heat required an immense amount of mana.

An amount that ordinary mages wouldn't even dare to attempt.

*Is it possible without mana because it's a special ability granted at birth?*

As he pondered this, Claude quickly threw himself to the right side of the training grounds to avoid the vortex of blue flames rushing toward him.

"Ugh!"

But a massive blizzard was already swirling toward him from the right.

"What? Since when?!"

Horrified, Claude glanced to his left, and his face turned deathly pale.

A blizzard vortex was raging on the left as well, leaving Claude with nowhere to escape.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Claude's mind went blank as the blue flames and blizzards closed in on him.

"Khahahahang!"
(Serves you right!)

Hearing the White Tiger Princess's laughter from a distance, Claude thought, *I'm screwed.* He threw up every shield he could and scanned his surroundings.

*Where can I run?*

With the blizzards and blue flames approaching from the front and sides, and the training ground wall behind him, there was no escape route.

Even if he tried to get over the wall, it would just be destroyed and crumble.

According to the rules of the training grounds, leaving the area meant an automatic loss.

*Dammit. I completely underestimated that princess.*

Claude bit his lower lip hard.

It was his own fault for underestimating her, thinking she would be weak just because she was smaller and cuter than he'd expected.