Reincarnated Mob Villain Prince – Chapter 26

“Don’t be ridiculous! A mere Mazoku’s child, receiving the Princess…!”

As the crouching Astoria raised his hand, armed men appeared in droves.

“How dare you be so disrespectful to Lord Astoria!”
“Don’t think you’ll get out of here alive, brat!”

The number of men illuminated by the moonlight… seriously, there are nearly fifteen of them.
Judging from the crests engraved on their armor, are these guys the Orleans Knights, belonging to the Duke of Orleans, Astoria’s maternal family?

“Hahaha! I suspected you were the one having a secret rendezvous with the Princess, so I prepared my forces!”

Astoria, emboldened by the arrival of his subordinates, puffed out his chest.
I was utterly dumbfounded.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a one-on-one Duel? So this is the famed Orleans Knights…”

It seems they don’t possess anything like a chivalrous spirit.

“Silence! If you die here, Princess Olivia will be mine!”
“Dieee!”

The knights, brandishing their swords, attacked all at once.

“Prince Luke, I’ll lend a hand!”

Master Gaine charged in with the speed of lightning.
In the blink of an eye, Master Gaine cut down several knights.

“T-That’s the S-Rank adventurer, Gaine!?”
“This Gaine is the opponent for anyone who dares to point a sword at my lord, His Highness Prince Luke! …Is that how you do a knight’s declaration?”

Master Gaine taunted the remaining enemies, brandishing his sword.

“W-What!? Bringing your retainers… that’s a dirty trick!?”

Astoria screamed.

“Look who’s talking…”

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“Damn it! Even if you’re an S-Rank adventurer, you’re just a man skilled in swordsmanship! Surround him and take him down with magic!”
“Yes, sir!”

The remaining knights created distance and began chanting spells. Being first-rate in both swordsmanship and magic is their specialty.
But…

“Unique Magic: Black Moon Swallowing the Heavens (Ginnungagap)!”
“Our magic…!?”

The flames and lightning they unleashed were all sucked into the black hole that Diana created in mid-air.
Absorbing all magic from those who oppose her is Diana’s Unique Magic.

“Dia won’t forgive anyone who bullies Brother Luke! I’ll crush them!”

Diana, revealing herself, pointed her finger at the knights in anger.

“Diana!? …But, the Magic-Sealing Collar?”
“I slashed that thing to pieces.”

Master Gaine casually announced, carrying his sword on his shoulder.

“Without Father’s permission, doing such a selfish thing!? Do you even realize what you’ve done!? That girl is an incredible monster…!”

“Easy for you to say, Prince. In this case, it’s self-defense, right? You guys started this killing match.”
“Guh, y-you’re being unfair!”

Astoria trembled, intimidated by Master Gaine.

“Everyone, get down on your knees and apologize to Brother right now! If you do, I’ll forgive you with just a taste of hellish suffering!”

Diana declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

“T-This is the monster princess that His Majesty the Emperor is raising as a weapon!?”
“Magic doesn’t work on her at all…!”
“Don’t falter! In the end, she’s just a child, isn’t she!? Beat her down with your swords!”

Several knights bravely charged at Diana.
I hurriedly warned Diana.

“Dia, don’t kill them!”
“Yes, Brother. Hellfire Barrage!”

Countless black fireballs were released from Diana. It was a cursed flame that corroded life.

“Gyaaaa!?”
“My hand, my hand is gone!?”
“I-It hurts!”

They struck the knights, instantly obliterating their hands and feet. Some guarded with shields, but their arms disappeared along with the shields.

“This is the punishment for trying to kill Brother!”

Well, the knights certainly aren’t dead, but…
This is gruesome.

The Imperial Court mage division can restore lost limbs, so it should be fine, right?

“So, what will you do, Astoria? Are you still going to continue!?”
“I-I understand, I admit defeat! So, don’t attack meee!”

When I roared at him, he prostrated himself in a great hurry.

“Alright, first is prostration! Next is hellish suffering…!”
“Gyaaaa! I’m apologizing, aren’t I!? S-Stop!”

Astoria was terrified of Diana, who was still trying to unleash her magic.

“Stop it, Diana. If the opponent has surrendered, the battle is over.”

I grabbed Diana’s raised hand and stopped her attack.
This is also part of Diana’s education.

“…I understand. If Brother says so. Astoria, be grateful for Brother’s generous heart!”

Diana, releasing her attack stance, embraced me.
The Black Moon Swallowing the Heavens (Ginnungagap) in mid-air disappeared after fulfilling its role.

“Good, good. You’re a good girl, Dia.”
“B-Brother! Headpats feel good. Please do more.”

When I patted her head as a reward, Diana narrowed her eyes in bliss.

“Fool, Star Arrow!”

It was at that moment.
Astoria unleashed his deadly Unique Magic towards us.

“Brother!?”

Diana, caught off guard, screamed.
I expected something like this, so I wasn’t careless.

I momentarily manifested Dark Edge in my left hand and deflected the Star Arrow’s light arrow.
The stray arrow pierced the ground and caused a massive explosion.

“Heh…? M-My invincible Star Arrow is?”

I charged at the stunned Astoria and pointed the tip of my sword at him.

“W-What did you just do…!”
“It’s a sword technique called magic parry. I deflected the Star Arrow and diverted its trajectory.”

I could have defended more easily using the Dispel Sword, but to protect Mother, I wanted to maintain the facade of being an incompetent who can only use Dark Edge.

“There’s no way you can do that with Dark Edge!? The power of my Unique Magic is enough to destroy a tower!”

Astoria screamed, foaming at the mouth.

“In the first place, to match a sword against the ultra-fast Star Arrow, that’s not humanly possible…!”
“That doesn’t matter. Just now, you tried to kill not only me but also Dia, right?”
“Haguu…!”

When I lightly poked his forehead with the tip of my sword, Astoria visibly panicked.

“I-I’ll apologize! I’ll really apologize this time, so please spare my life…!”

Seriously, what a despicable guy.
Does he really think such a lie will work now?

“Brother, what should we do? Should I kill him right away? Or should I burn his limbs off before killing him? It would also be nice to slowly inflict pain on him over the course of a night before killing him. Please let Dia kill him.”

Diana, radiating murderous intent, approached. She seemed completely enraged.

“Killing him is no good. Mother would be sad.”

More than anything, doing such a thing might trigger Diana to fall into darkness and become the Demon Lord.

“Astoria, as promised, give up on your engagement with Princess Olivia. I’m going to make her my fiancée.”
“A-Ah… I-I understand.”

Astoria nodded with a strained expression.

“Then, as proof that I won the Duel, I’ll take your sword. If you don’t keep your promise to me, know that your defeat will be known to everyone.”
“What…!”

I snatched Astoria’s sword. It was a famous sword with the crest of the Duke of Orleans engraved on the hilt.

If it becomes known that he lost the Duel and had his sword, the knight’s life, taken from him, Astoria’s honor will fall to the ground no matter how he tries to justify it.

“If you keep your promise, I’ll keep tonight’s events a secret. You wouldn’t want to smear the face of the Duke of Orleans, would you? Attacking a failed Mazoku’s child with overwhelming numbers, only to be defeated.”
“Y-You…!”

Not only Astoria but also the remaining knights stiffened.
This time, I only showed Astoria a little of my true power, but this guy, who is a mass of vanity and pride, should want to hide the fact that he lost the Duel.

If the scandal of the Orleans Knights losing to me spreads, it will greatly damage their reputation.
But, just in case, I should add some more pressure here.

“You? What’s with that tone? Do you want to be killed here and now, Astoria?”
“Hii!”

When I grabbed his collar, Astoria let out a small scream.

“Did you misunderstand because I didn’t let Dia kill you? I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if necessary.”
Of course, I have no intention of actually killing him, as assassinating the legitimate prince of the Empire would lead to serious consequences.
However, to prevent him from obstructing me any further, I needed to instill some fear in him.

I’ve experienced it in my previous life, but men of this type tend to become arrogant and take advantage of you if you show them kindness.

“I, I understand… I’ll keep the promise. No, I will. S-so, please let go.”

Astoria pleaded with teary eyes.
When I released him, he coughed repeatedly, his throat having been constricted.

“Well done, Prince Luke. This is a big step forward in your quest for the throne!”
“As expected of you, Onii-sama! B-but, making Princess Olivia your fiancée… what about your promise to marry Dia?!”
“No, siblings can’t marry in the first place…!”

Diana started hitting my chest lightly, so I quickly ran away.
Anyway, that settles that.

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