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In the Craven Holy Kingdom, royalty held a particularly special meaning.  

Of course, being a royal of one of the continent’s most powerful nations was inherently remarkable, but even beyond that, they were unique in another way.  

“Lester. Go keep watch.”

How special? So special that they could order around a paladin—one of the kingdom’s top forces—for trivial errands without raising much objection.

Being assigned as a royal’s guard was usually considered a prestigious duty, but anyone would think twice if the royal in question was an idiot like this.

Prince Daniel Craven, the seventh prince.

Known as the biggest troublemaker among the royals of the Holy Kingdom.

‘He’s been saying for a while now how much he wants the Lionheart…’

The Lionheart’s husband was likely a position coveted by influential figures across the continent.  

Yet here was Daniel, someone who had clearly shown his disgraceful desire for the empire’s greatest treasure, despite it being well beyond his reach.

It was obvious that, seeing this weak-looking fiancé Lady Noel had brought, he was simply looking to take out his frustration.

“Your Highness, no matter how upset you are—”

Lady Noel’s fiancé was a VIP. 

Causing trouble for someone like that could easily escalate into an international incident between the two nations.  

But clearly, Daniel wasn’t someone who cared much about such real-world concerns.

“The divinity you wield, who did you swear it to?”  

Daniel snapped sharply, causing Lester’s mouth to shut.

Right. That was the problem.

Each nation’s warriors wielded different powers, and those powers had completely different natures.

And the source of all these powers ultimately came from one thing:  

The divine blessings granted by each nation’s patron deity. 

All powers stemmed from the divine authority the gods of the pantheon had bestowed upon the mortal world. 

The issue was that, in the Holy Kingdom, much of this divine power was concentrated within the royal family.

Even Lester’s current abilities were borrowed from this reckless prince.

‘And yet here he is, exiled all the way to the Empire.’

It was clear that having someone like Lester, who carried the kingdom’s divine power, stranded in a foreign land spoke volumes about the situation.

It was essentially an exile—a demand for him to go and “get his act together.”

This only further highlighted what an irredeemable troublemaker Daniel was.

“What are you standing around for? I told you to go keep watch!”  

Despite all this, Daniel seemed determined to cause trouble, and Lester internally screamed in frustration.

After all, he had no right to refuse. Even if the prince was a scoundrel, he was still royalty.

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

In other words, the royal family’s divine power was so overwhelming that even a paladin, one of the kingdom’s most powerful warriors, had to yield to it. 

‘Poor guy.’

With a silent prayer for Aiden’s soul, Lester turned and left. 

Daniel strode toward Aiden, and as he did, the divine energy within him began to swell ominously.

If the god of war, Karva, had bestowed upon the Empire’s warriors the ability to wield internal energy, then the blessing Seor, the god of purification, had given to his followers was fire that could burn anything.  

Of course, in Daniel’s case, he had no idea how to properly wield such power, like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.  

Yet, even a pearl necklace had value on its own.

Properly honed divine energy was a shield and sword in one. Just touching it could easily melt the flesh of an ordinary person.

Aiden’s expression tightened.  

One of the universally known facts:  

When a royal of the Holy Kingdom unleashed their divine power, it was essentially a declaration of intent to actively harm the other party.

In fact, it could be considered an even greater threat than when Gael had drawn his sword against him.

“I just don’t understand.”

Daniel, arms crossed, circled Aiden like a predator, his steps dripping with mockery and arrogance.

“Why would a woman of the Lionheart’s caliber settle for such a weak man as her husband, huh?”  

“Tell me, commoner. Did you seduce her? Did you, with that pretty face of yours, play the role of a gold-digging snake?”

Lester ran a hand over his burning face, embarrassed by the sheer audacity of the insult. 

The surprising part was that, instead of immediately resorting to violence using his divine powers, Daniel was still content to just run his mouth.

“…Ah, I see.”

This was a deliberate provocation. 

The prince was trying to make Aiden lose his temper and strike first, so he could claim self-defense and justify whatever came next. 

It seems the prince wasn’t entirely ignorant of the consequences—he still feared the repercussions from the Holy Kingdom itself. 

Even though Aiden was the one being provoked, a royal from the Holy Kingdom held enough power to cover up such minor faults. 

No matter how reckless a prince Daniel was, if he could claim that he was struck first, burying his opponent would be a simple matter.

“I wish that were the case.” 

“…”

“Then at least introduce me to someone else who can run for me in my place.”

This guy isn’t ordinary. 

Both Lester and Daniel had the same thought when they heard Aiden’s blunt reply, delivered without a single flinch. 

Of course, for Aiden, who had been dragged into this fake marriage against his will, this position as the groom held no greater meaning than that.

“If the Lionheart hears about this, you’ll be in trouble. Don’t you even know what honor is? I would have been a better choice than someone like you.”

For Daniel, someone talking about honor felt ironic, and it made Aiden’s eyes gleam with amusement.

“Would you like to take my place?”

Daniel, who had been sneering and provoking, was suddenly left speechless by Aiden’s response. 

‘What’s with this guy?’

It was as if Aiden was genuinely treating the marriage to the Lionheart as nothing more than a burden. 

An opportunity that any man on the continent would envy was nothing to him.

And that stung Daniel’s pride. 

He couldn’t get close to his coveted goal, while this man seemed to view it as something disposable.

The sentence that escaped from his gritted teeth was full of suppressed fury.

“Shut up, you filthy worm. A lowborn like you dares to speak to royalty with such disrespect?”

“And yet, let’s leave my family out of this. Even as royalty, you should at least have some sense of honor.”

Wait.

Hold on.

That stung. 

Hearing Aiden’s cold words, Daniel felt a chill and was momentarily taken aback. 

His reaction was the complete opposite of when his marriage to the Lionheart had been mentioned earlier.

But soon, Daniel’s expression turned into a smug grin.

“Honor? Honor, you say?”

If he was going to get mad like this, all he had to do was steer the conversation in the right direction.

“A lowborn worm who inherited nothing but filth from his scum of a father and mother dares speak of nobility in front of royalty?”

Wow.

Even Lester, momentarily forgetting his duty, sighed at the utter vulgarity of Daniel’s words.

After hearing this, Aiden’s face went completely blank.

“What’s the matter, commoner? Can’t refute the truth, can you?”

This time, instead of replying, Aiden silently looked Daniel up and down, as if calculating something in his head.

It was as though he was organizing his thoughts.

“I think this’ll do.”

He muttered to himself and began carefully measuring the distance between himself and Daniel with his eyes.

“Huh?”

Lester, a trained warrior, immediately recognized the look in Aiden’s eyes and widened his own.

This look…

It was like someone inexperienced in fighting was calculating how best to land a painful blow.

Of course, Aiden was clearly untrained and unlikely to accomplish much, but still…

Something felt off. 

Something strange was going on.

A sinking feeling told Lester that something bad was about to happen and he needed to intervene.

“Wait, sir…!”

But before Lester could step in…

“Your Highness.”

Aiden smiled.

It was a bright, white smile, showing off his perfect teeth, but to Lester, it looked like the unsettling grin of someone who had lost all reason.

“I hope you know a good dentist.”

“Huh?”

Before Daniel could fully comprehend what Aiden meant…

Pure white energy burst into view in front of his eyes.

In hindsight, this was exactly what Daniel had been aiming for. 

He had successfully provoked Aiden into striking first, drawing out the attack he wanted.

The problem was…

‘Wait, what…!’

It worked too well. 

Aiden’s fist, wrapped in a brilliant burst of pure white energy, tore through Daniel’s divine aura as if it were paper and slammed into the prince’s left cheek.

Without a doubt, it was a stunning blow, sending several of Daniel’s teeth flying through the air like dazzling stars.

There were too many questions to answer.

How was this man, seemingly untrained in any martial skill, able to wield the Lionheart’s signature pure white energy? 

Why did he, despite possessing such power, appear to be an untrained civilian with no combat skills?

But more important than anything else right now was focusing on the present situation.

“…Sir.”

Lester called Aiden in a trembling voice.

His head was spinning.

Daniel was lying right beside him, blood pouring from his body as he was plastered against the wall, but that wasn’t the immediate concern. 

The shock of what had just happened took precedence.

“What have you done…?”

Leaving someone in this state of unconsciousness wasn’t just a case of “hitting a royal.” 

At the very least, this could escalate into a diplomatic dispute, and at worst, an all-out war.

The current political landscape of the continent was still reeling from the aftermath of previous wars. 

And now, an imperial guest had turned a royal from the Holy Kingdom into a bloody mess?

No matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t something that could be brushed off lightly.

“First, stop calling me ‘sir.’ I’m no knight.”

How could someone capable of wielding such pure energy not be a knight? 

Lester had the question ready on his lips, but Aiden cut him off before he could ask.

“More importantly, go call someone. He’ll die if you don’t.”

“What?”

“We need to clean this up.”

Aiden’s voice was surprisingly calm, considering what he had just done.

No, rather than calm—it was cold.

When he said ‘clean this up,’ it almost sounded like he was asking Lester to bring something to finish the job and make sure Daniel’s head was fully broken.

“This is a big deal, after all. We need to make sure everything is properly sorted out, don’t we?”

Lester looked into Aiden’s gleaming eyes and realized one thing for certain.

This man…

He must have a completely different personality when he’s angry.

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