Chapter: A Smile Sharper Than a Blade
The training hall of King's Palace had not changed.
Stone floors polished by generations of sweat. Massive pillars carved with runes of endurance. Sunlight pouring through high crystal windows, refracted into soft gold by hovering solar shards above.
What had changed was the atmosphere.
Daniel ran.
His breathing was steady. His footsteps were light. Each stride measured, controlled, efficient.
Around him, others trained—knights swinging weighted blades, cadets sparring barehanded, mages stretching their mana channels.
Yet none of them spoke to him.
None mocked him.
None challenged him.
They simply… kept their distance.
Whispers traveled, low and cautious.
"—That's him." "—The bastard prince." "—No magic, but…" "—Did you see the duel?"
Eyes followed Daniel as he passed, uncertain, calculating. No one knew what he truly was anymore—not after watching a trained mage collapse without landing a single hit.
Sensei: "Social behavior shift detected. Fear mixed with uncertainty. You are now classified as an unknown variable."
Daniel: "Better than being prey."
He increased his pace slightly, not out of strain, but rhythm.
Then another presence matched his stride.
Boots struck stone beside him—louder, heavier.
Daniel glanced sideways.
Prince Cedric Evercrest. Tall with broad shoulders ..Red hair King enough to civer his brown eyes ...
The First Prince wore a fitted training uniform embroidered with gold thread. His posture was perfect, his stride powerful, his breathing deliberately controlled to look effortless.
Cedric smiled.
Cedric: "Good morning, brother."
The word brother was smooth. Polished. Sharp underneath.
Daniel inclined his head politely.
Daniel: "Good morning, Your Highness."
Cedric chuckled.
Cedric: "You don't have to be so formal. We share blood, after all."
Sensei: "Provocation probability: high. Intent: dominance display."
Cedric lengthened his stride, accelerating.
Cedric: "How's your exercise going?"
Daniel maintained his pace.
Daniel: "Productive."
Cedric's smile twitched.
Cedric sped up again, muscles flexing, boots pounding harder against the floor.
Cedric: "You know, physical training is important. Especially for those who lack… other talents."
A few trainees glanced over, pretending not to listen.
Sensei: "He is baiting you into competition. Outcome desired: public humiliation."
Daniel kept running.
Unchanged.
Cedric frowned slightly and surged forward, overtaking Daniel by several strides. He ran ahead, then slowed deliberately, glancing back.
Cedric: "Come on. Try to keep up."
Daniel didn't respond.
He didn't speed up.
He didn't slow down.
He ran as if Cedric wasn't there at all.
The silence hit harder than any insult.
Cedric looked back again.
Daniel's gaze was forward. Focused. Calm.
Cedric slowed further, then stopped entirely.
Daniel ran past him.
Didn't look.
Didn't acknowledge.
Didn't even see him.
Sensei: "Psychological impact: severe. You have invalidated his presence."
Cedric stood frozen.
Around them, murmurs rippled.
"—Did you see that?" "—He ignored the First Prince…" "—Like he didn't matter…"
Cedric's face flushed—not with exertion, but fury.
He clenched his fists.
Cedric: "…Tch."
He turned sharply and walked out of the hall, cape snapping behind him.
Daniel continued his run.
Unbothered.
---
Queen Althea's private chamber was filled with tension.
Cedric paced like a caged beast.
Cedric: "That cockroach—"
Althea: "Cedric."
Cedric stopped, breathing hard.
Cedric: "Mother, he ignored me."
Althea raised an eyebrow.
Althea: "Ignored you?"
Cedric: "Like I wasn't worth noticing. People saw it."
He turned to her, eyes burning.
Cedric: "They're starting to think he's capable."
Althea's fingers tightened around her fan.
Althea: "He is dangerous only because he is undefined."
Cedric: "Then define him."
She fell silent.
Magic? No—he had none.
Bloodline? Yes—but not acknowledged publicly.
Status? Bastard, but protected.
Althea's mind worked like a blade sliding into a sheath.
Then she smiled.
Slowly.
Althea: "You're right."
Cedric looked up.
Althea: "It's time to remind everyone exactly what he is."
Cedric: "How?"
Althea turned toward the window overlooking the city.
Althea: "With celebration."
---
The announcement spread through Helioscrest like wildfire.
A Homecoming Ceremony.
For Prince Daniel Evercrest and Queen Leslie.
Hosted by the Crown.
All major council members invited.
All nobles summoned.
Foreign envoys welcome.
It was unprecedented.
Public.
Grand.
Sensei: "Event classification: high-risk political exposure."
Daniel read the notice calmly.
Daniel: "She's making a stage."
Sensei: "Correct. Probability of hidden agenda: 92%."
Daniel: "Let me guess."
Sensei: "Affinity Crystal."
Daniel exhaled.
Daniel: "She wants to test me in front of everyone."
Sensei: "And when you show no elemental response—"
Daniel: "I become a joke."
Sensei: "Yes."
Daniel stared at the sunlit city beyond the window—floating platforms drifting, phoenix banners snapping in the wind, soldiers marching in perfect formation.
Daniel: "Then that's what she wants the world to see."
Sensei: "You are not concerned?"
Daniel: "I know what I am."
He clenched his fist slowly.
Daniel: "And so do you."
Sensei: "Then what is your plan?"
Daniel smiled faintly.
Daniel: "To remain exactly what she thinks I am."
---
The palace buzzed with anticipation.
Nobles whispered.
Council members speculated.
"He'll be exposed." "He'll crumble." "A prince with no magic? Absurd."
Queen Althea watched from her balcony, expression serene.
Althea (to herself): "Rise if you can, little rat."
She turned away, already imagining the crystal dim and unresponsive in Daniel's hand.
The laughter.
The humiliation.
The end.
Far below, Daniel trained again—alone, steady, silent.
Unaware to them all—
The blade they were trying to dull was already sharp enough to cut kingdoms.
And the stage they were building for his downfall…
Would soon become the place where fear was born.