Chapter 103: Turbulent Encounters in the Royal Garden

At that moment, the Orc Maiden, who had been watching every detail with sharp eyes, let out a piercing cry and charged at Karlahee. For a brief second, she didn’t recognize him due to some image distortion, but then she realized that he was the very same person depicted in the portrait.

In an instant, Karlahee, pinned beneath the enormous body of the Orc Maiden, began to thrash about, screaming in terror.

“Use your sword!”

At Lara’s shout, Karlahee hesitated as he reached for the sword at his belt. Had he swung it and injured the Orc Maiden, he might well have found himself punished instead—judging by past absurd rulings, it was a very real possibility.

‘But if we keep going like this, it seems like we’re all doomed…’

A stench of fatal retribution, strong enough to kill an adult, wafted through the air. The attack—resembling a biochemical weapon—was rapidly closing in on his face.

Desperate to survive, Karlahee cleverly struck the Orc’s throat with a swift slash. As the Orc Maiden let out a gurgling sound and tilted her head back, he launched a rapid whirlwind kick.

“Eeeeek!”

The violent kick sent the Orc Maiden soaring into the air before crashing to the ground. In that moment, as Karlahee struggled to catch his breath and stand up, the attack only triggered further aggression from the Orc, who began to lash out violently.

Dodging the Orc Maiden’s vicious, sweeping punches as fluidly as water, Karlahee kept his distance. Each threatening blow seemed capable of knocking him out with a single hit.

“Hello? Royal Knight Order? We’re under the patronage of a Count’s family here! Things are getting out of hand! Please, come quickly!!”

While one of the maidens onlookers hurriedly reported the situation to the Royal Knight Order, Karlahee managed to subdue the Orc Maiden by landing a solid blow to her philtrum.

Using the Shaolin Justifiable Defense Fist Technique—a self-defense martial art that employs only the minimum necessary strikes to protect oneself in the face of a threat (a technique mastered only by martial artists with over 20 years of training)—he maintained control over the situation.

Had Karlahee not mastered this technique, the outcome could have been disastrous. About 20 minutes later, reinforcements from the Royal Knight Order arrived and arrested the Orc Maiden, bringing the incident to a close.

After providing a full account of the events to the Royal Knight Order, Lara and Karlahee stepped outside.

“You did well.”

Approaching Karlahee, Lara spoke softly. Her words gave him a slight boost, and he smiled shyly in return.

“Earlier, the talk about money was just to make me run away—and all those disparaging remarks, they were for the same reason. Not that you misunderstood me too badly, of course.”

“Thank you for understanding. I thought you’d avoid me if you misunderstood everything.”

“If a misunderstanding like this would drive us apart, we’d never have grown close in the first place.”

Karlahee stopped walking and turned to look at Lara. In response, Lara paused and looked up at him. His gaze was unexpectedly earnest, and it sent a light flutter through her heart.

“Lara, I might have hesitated to tell you all of this from the start.”

“…Rahi?”

He faltered for a moment, then with a steady, profound look in his eyes, he began again.

“I have an antenna in my head.”

“What?”

‘…What nonsense is this?’

Lara nearly contorted her face in disbelief, but she managed to rein it in. His expression was far too sincere for it to be a joke.

“I bet you have many questions about my cosplay antics—like why that night I disguised myself as Lord Robes and tied up Lady Elina III in Reverend Lechal’s bed. I remember you boldly asking if I truly belonged in the robes of Lord Robes.”

“Even with that dramatic expression, it didn’t seem heartfelt. Just speak normally.”

Only then did Karlahee drop the pretense and get to the point.

“As I said earlier, there’s an antenna in my head—a device that relays the Female Lead’s location and situation in urgent circumstances.”

“…Wait, this is all too sudden. Why can’t your dialogue as the Male Lead really control the pace? More importantly, does this antenna actually work……?”

“No, I had it completely removed a week ago. The day after you were held captive by Mikhail, I underwent the operation and was bedridden, so I couldn’t come see you until now. Can you forgive me for revealing the whole truth only today?”

“I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time following this. I need some time to think. Ah, please go on.”

While Lara grappled with whether to treat the antenna remark as a joke or take it seriously, Karlahee continued in a subdued tone.

“When Lady Elina III was sold at the slave market, the buyer was a portly old man known as Lechal. But he wasn’t a pervert. That was the real problem—if he weren’t a pervert, I would have lost my chance to step in as the Male Lead.”

“…So you planned to frame him? To deliberately portray him as a pervert? Why would you do that…”

“It was all for Magical Girl☆Lilica.”

“I see.”

Lara sighed softly as she listened to him speak with an unashamed air about having a girlfriend—it was a testament to his nerdy devotion.

“I first met Magical Girl☆Lilica about 10 years ago,” he reminisced.

“That’s why it doesn’t sound desperate at all…”

Undeterred by Lara’s interjection, Karlahee pressed on with his nostalgic recollection—a memory from so long ago it almost felt surreal.

He recalled spending tedious hours in the exclusive seats of a Royal Ball, surrounded by the insincere laughter of nobles.

Even as a reserved boy, he never quite fit in with the bright, festive atmosphere of a Friday night party. Instead, he found solace in nocturnal walks away from the glaring light—a quiet reprieve enjoyed by a child wise beyond his years.

One night, while strolling through the Royal Garden as usual, the young Crown Prince Karlahee heard a plaintive cry.

‘A ghost? Or perhaps the cry of a cat? Whether it’s a spirit or a stray feline, such musings are trivial in the vast ocean of life. What is it that I truly fear?’

“Are you telling me a kid that age had such thoughts?”

At Lara’s abrupt interruption, Karlahee pretended not to hear and continued his recollection.

“Hmph, sniff.”

In the middle of the dark garden, a little girl sat down, sobbing quietly. Her silvery hair danced in the breeze. For a moment, the Crown Prince opened his eyes wide, only to close them again, his face hardening into an expression devoid of emotion.

“Who are you?”

“…?”

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, the girl widened her eyes, soon calming as tears welled along the corners.

“Um, Elina. Sniff.”

“Elina… Weren’t you the daughter of a Duke? What are you doing here?”

“I lost my shoes, so I got lost looking for them…”

Sure enough, as she spoke, the girl’s bare feet were revealed beneath her dress. The Crown Prince gazed down at her for a moment before walking up and sitting behind her, leaning forward so she could climb onto his back with a quiet, almost indifferent instruction.

“What’s your name, brother?”

“Me? Well… consider me the servant working here.”

“Liar.”

Hearing the shy giggle over her shoulder, the young prince raised an eyebrow sharply.

“Why do you say I’m lying?”

“But you’re so handsome—it’s like you’re a prince.”

“Hmph.”

At the girl’s candid remark, for the first time the boy let his guard down, a brief smile transforming into a more mature tone.

“Would you take that as a classist remark? To say that servants are ugly and princes are handsome? Prove me wrong with scientific facts. A long history of royal families shows that in their obsession with power, successive generations often engaged in inbreeding. Many princes ended up with physical deformities. The dashing prince you imagine is a fairy-tale figure, not reality…”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear it!”

With a terrified scream, Elina collapsed under the weight of the shock. The first meeting between these two, now long forgotten by both, ended in a shockingly intense and ultimately futile manner.

The Crown Prince quietly set the girl down at the entrance of the Royal Ballroom before retracing his steps.

‘Pathetic. To be so easily broken by such trivial matters—it’s the epitome of frailty.’

Though he sensed a destined connection with the girl, that was all it amounted to. Karlahee thought nothing more of it.

‘Does a woman who truly fits me even exist? Sigh… No woman can be unbreakable forever.’

He longed for a partner who wouldn’t leave his side in the midst of any storm—a transcendent presence who, though constantly near, would feel as if she belonged to another world. He craved a deep, lasting relationship built on trust rather than fleeting infatuation.

‘How wonderful would it be if, as a solitary ruler admired by all, I found a life partner—a one true love with whom I could share eternity…’

Then, from behind a clump of bushes came a dull thud as something fell to the ground.

“Who’s there!”

Were these aristocratic assassins sent to eliminate him? Karlahee drew a dagger from within his cloak and slowly advanced toward the bushes. He brushed aside a branch to reveal the hidden culprit.

‘This is…’

It wasn’t a person at all, but a book. The title “Magical Girl☆Lilica” was emblazoned in large letters on its cover, with “Volume 1 Domestic Standard Edition” written below.

Intrigued by the unfamiliar volume, Karlahee sat down and thumbed through it as silvery moonlight bathed the comic. It displayed a face with large, expressive eyes occupying a third of its visage, a perfect V-line jaw, and a waist that could almost be held in one hand.