章 4: Threat

Arisa thought coming here would be worth it. Leaving aside the imperial struggles, she knew people here would be entertaining enough.

Arias was perhaps the most genuine princess of this empire. Both to herself and her desires.

Her siblings would play around, trying to up each other to no avail. Their real duties were neglected, and the empire barely benefited from their efforts.

That was when Arisa noticed Alastor's rumors.

The Daredevil who was wriggling beneath the shadow of the Imperial Family's influence, his sneaky ways of escaping all of his terrible crimes…

As long as there was no evidence, he was innocent. And so, using him later as her errand boy for her own good and the Empire would be acceptable.

Arisa thought her plan was flawless. Alas, she did not know that the previous Alastor who may actually care about her position was nowhere to be seen.

'One miscalculation would be your demise.'

Alastor's smile did not match the venomous thought he had as he sat face to face with the princess. He thought about it for a moment, and then decided to exploit her as much as possible.

His pinky finger moved quickly, drawing a small magic circle in the air and activating a simple spell that was hard to detect.

His eyes glowed under the sun as he asked, "Princess Arisa, may I call you Arisa just as I've done earlier?"

"...You may do so, I see no point in asking permission now."

"That is great. You see, it is just not my style to make a lady uncomfortable. Not intentionally, at least."

"Is that so? The rumors did not seem to agree, Daredevil Alastor," Arisa stated dryly.

"Rumors are not meant to be trusted, Arisa."

The atmosphere changed once the princess felt him stressing on her name, Alastor made sure her attention was all focused on him and secretly made another magic circle.

Using his fingers to draw invisible magic circles on the particles of air was his own invented technique. Oh how useful it was in such situations.

Although Arisa could see his finger moving, she could only assume that it was some erratic habit of his rather than some trick.

Instead, she wanted to watch his face more. His expression was not tense, his muscles relaxed as if her presence did not even bother him.

'Were the rumors false, or is this a confirmation for them?'

The princess settled with the latter choice.

They stayed in a seemingly harmonious silence. The other students eventually ignored their existence, which Arisa assumed to be due to their silence and no drama happening.

The night was approaching them, making her a bit itchy to speak. She had not noticed, but something was already running deep inside her along with the tea she drank.

Her eyes dimmed slightly, indicating that now was the right time. Alastor smirked and broke the silence by then.

"Arisa, what are my crimes that made you from afar just to check me up?"

A question that would get him in trouble, more doubts would arisa around him, too. However, Alastor was not a rookie. He had not asked this question before making sure that Arisa was now under his thumb.

"Various arson cases, theft, fraud, illegal commercial transactions, and lastly, treading the line of treason…"

The list continued. But hearing that, Alastor openly snorted.

"Just that? People here have treated me as if I was some kind of dirt. I assumed I may have done some kind of slavery or something."

"As someone who was born from a slave, you wouldn't fall that low."

Alastor's eyes shone at that, so he was now a slave's son? With his current rank as a Baron, it was obvious who was the slave between his mother and father.

That was another information he got, he would have wanted to thank Arisa. But she was merely a tool. The real reason behind his inquiries being answered was the magic circles he used alongside the special effect of this garden.

Those flowers were usually used in medical treatment, to allow the patient to relax their nerves and answer the doctors more comfortably.

'And, with the right dose, they could work as an amazing hypnotic material.'

Just like now.

"I actually approached you to speak with you about something," Alastor tried to take advantage again of her weakened mental barrier.

His magical spell was now slowly being engraved on her neck.

"You may want to work together with me? I do believe that those crimes are not my fault. So, I would appreciate your generosity in helping me to find out who the culprit is."

'And if worse came to worst, I'd be sure to treat you very nicely, princess.'

Arisa's mind cleared a bit at that moment, and the request immediately alarmed her. She was here to investigate Alastor, not to help him find the so-called 'culprit'.

'Shit, this man baited me into here. Why did I never hesitate to answer him? It was like I was under the influence of something!'

If Arisa was not a princess, she would surely have flipped the table and called the guards to arrest Alastor just due to her suspicion.

But she was a bit uptight, making it easier for Alastor to take advantage of her.

She pondered on his suggestion, the pros and cons were not many. But one had ultimately upped the other.

She gave a deep, long sigh.

"Fine, from now on, I will be helping you to clear your name."

'Heh, got-'

"But if it was truly you who have done this all,... Holiness come out from the darkness of the night,"

The chant was barely audible but Alastor still heard it clearly.

The Princess spread her palm in front of her and a white holy book appeared, opening in the middle as a pointy cross appeared on top of it.

"I, Arisa De Marjin, am going to erase you from this world."

Pretending to be scared, Alastor skillfully masked his laughter while lowering his head and shaking. It was hard to hold it in, and not just because he thought this situation was ridiculous. But more about-

'How exciting is this world to me, I do not think I would have chosen my previous world over this if I had a choice.'

Between a world where everyone feared him, and a world that was willing to give him challenges, the choice for Alastor was simple.