Isaac knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission.
Princess Vera sat at the table near the window, drinking tea and reading a book called [Virtuous Deeds of the First Human King].
She could see the arena from the window, which meant she had watched his duel with Merlin.
Her knight—Strider—stood in the corner of the room.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the heir of the famed Ducal House, and the brightest star of the academy?" Vera asked with a slight smile.
Isaac stared at her instead of answering.
For a moment, he didn’t see a spoiled brat, but the woman who had fought with her life on the line and commanded the last line of defense.
"I’m here to talk to Princess Vera about a business deal," Isaac said after a while, sitting in front of Vera without waiting for her permission.
Strider’s brows twitched, seeing his brash actions. He had neither greeted the princess nor asked for permission to sit.
"Business deal?" Vera raised a brow.
"Yes, I have a Mana Breathing Technique. I want to sell it to you. Profit will be split 60:40 in my favor," Isaac said.
"Mana Breathing Technique...?" Vera put down her cup, her interest piqued.
"You must have seen during the duel that I could use magic. But as you can sense now, I don’t have a Magic Core," Isaac said.
Vera nodded.
She must have been thinking that he was using some artifact to hide his core.
So, he spoke. "You can ask Strider to confirm I don’t have a Magic Core. She is one of the Ten Stars and your bodyguard, so I am willing to be inspected."
Vera looked into his eyes, trying to understand what he was playing at.
When she didn’t get anything, she turned to her knight.
"Strider. Check him."
"Understood, Princess."
The brown-skinned, blue-eyed beautiful woman strode forward.
In his last life, Strider was poisoned by a royal prince because she supported Vera, and her support as a Ten Star allowed Vera to become a thorn in the side of the other royal successors.
The poison damaged her Magic Core, causing her rank to fall. The loss of a Ten Star enraged the king, and he executed the prince who had schemed the assassination attempt.
Vera was also met with the wrath of the king, as she failed to protect a valuable asset like a Ten Star.
She was exiled to a remote barony. Strider, weakened, had followed her. The exile was the reason she survived the attack of the Human King.
"...He has no Magic Core," Strider said, pulling her hand away from his back.
"Can you prove your Mana Breathing works? Where did you get something like this? And why are you selling it to me?" Vera asked.
Isaac used Mana Breathing.
The mana in the air stirred and entered him.
Strider and Vera stiffened, sensing the flow of ambient mana.
"As you saw, the Mana Breathing works. Of course, you might think I’m lying. There have been geniuses born throughout history who could absorb ambient mana through breathing," Isaac said.
He continued, "But those geniuses could do it instinctively and couldn’t teach it to others. It’s like how birds know to fly, but they can’t teach it to other animals. But my method is a systematic method that everyone can use."
"And..." Vera dragged her words.
"I created this Mana Breathing myself, and I’m selling it to you for money and resources," Isaac answered.
Vera rolled her eyes, then asked again. "Where did you get it from?"
"I created it myself. Where else would I get it from? Another human? If they had it, they would’ve sold it themselves. Elves? They don’t even talk to us humans. Beastmen can’t use this Mana Breathing since their bodies are different. If they can’t even use it, how would they create it? I’m the only one who knows this Mana Breathing technique because I created it myself," Isaac explained.
"Ah, yes, the genius who couldn’t even awaken created a Mana Breathing technique," Vera said sarcastically.
"I didn’t awaken because I have been trying to create this Mana Breathing technique for as long as I can remember. I forced myself to learn to control mana without creating a Magic Core, which led to tremendous increase in my mana sensitivity, and thus I was able to create this technique," Isaac lied with a straight face.
To his side, Merlin was giving him strange looks.
The protagonist—being a cautious person—must have been tailing him for a few weeks to plan an assassination method.
He knew Isaac hadn’t been training in secret or trying to create a Mana Breathing technique.
All of those words were a lie.
But what could the protagonist do?
He couldn’t reveal that Isaac was lying.
Saying it would be the same as admitting he had been tailing Isaac. Tailing the son of a Duke, when he himself was a commoner, could lead to execution.
"So, what about the deal?" Isaac asked.
...
Princess Vera POV
’What is he planning?’ Vera thought.
She was sure Isaac had not created this Mana Breathing technique. He was called ’one of the two scums of noble society’ for a reason.
’It’s most likely him who created it,’ she thought, shifting her gaze to Merlin.
Although he had been trying to hide it, Strider had long sensed that Merlin was as strong as the Court Mages.
Clearly, Merlin was a once-in-a-millennium genius. Strider had even called him the second coming of the Hero.
It would not be surprising if he created such a technique.
’Isaac probably used the reward of the Sacred Duel to force Merlin to give the ownership of the technique to him,’ she thought.
’What is Isaac’s goal here?’
’No, is Isaac really planning all of this? It’s also weird he was suddenly able to fight like a veteran in the duel.’
Vera’s gaze sharpened.
She quickly came to a conclusion.
’There is someone behind Isaac who is controlling him and giving him orders.’
’This person must’ve ordered him to take the Mana Breathing technique from Merlin. Perhaps, Isaac started this Sacred Duel not because he was angry at Zara and Merlin’s relationship, but because he wanted the Mana Breathing technique.’
’Then, why did he come to me?’
Vera didn’t need to think twice.
Isaac was clearly planning to enter royal family politics through her. The money and resources were a facade that hid his main goal.
He wanted connections by selling the Mana Breathing technique.
It was likely that the mastermind behind Isaac wanted to help Vera become a puppet princess.
Then, they would control the kingdom by controlling her.
’This is interesting.’
Vera smiled.
A puppet princess?
She would become a slave if it meant she could kill her father, the king.
’But I can’t accept his offer easily. What if he throws me away before I can kill the king?’
....
Isaac POV
"So, what about the deal?" Isaac asked.
"I have a condition," Vera said.
"You have a condition? I should be the one saying those words. If you don’t want my offer, I will simply go to another royal family member," Isaac said.
"Then go to them—"
"Wait a moment!" Strider interrupted, hitting the table with her hands. "Princess, how are you so calm? He just showed something that can be said to be the most important invention in the history of the kingdom! Even the discovery of Veins Of the World would be ranked lower than the Mana Breathing Technique!"
"Uh..."
Seeing Vera’s surprised face at her outburst, Strider snapped her gaze to Merlin.
"You tell me! Isn’t this shocking!? How can these two talk about something this big so calmly!?"
"W-Well, yeah? I am also very shocked," Merlin nodded.
"Strider, show some decorum," Vera scolded.
Strider stiffened, realizing she had been acting too casually just now.
A sigh escaped Vera’s lips and she spoke, "I am a royal who has been taught and trained since childhood, Strider. If I can’t keep my composure at a moment where it’s clearly needed, it would mean I have wasted my entire childhood and not learned anything."
"I—I’m sorry," Strider said.
"It’s okay," Vera nodded, then turned to Isaac. "Please do not blame Strider too much. She comes from the Silk Plains and has always had a rowdy personality where she doesn’t know how to control her mouth."
"I don’t mind," Isaac replied.
"Thank you. Also, about my request. It’s not anything big. I just..." Vera revealed a beautiful smile, which, along with her fiery red-golden hair, gave her a stunning presence. "Want to be your fiancée. If you agree to marry me, I will accept your offer. I would even make sure you get much more money and resources."
"...What?"
"I want to marry you."
"Why?"
"Because this way you can’t scam me. Otherwise, I will always have to worry about why you came to me with such a good offer."
"..."
"..."
"Are you crazy?"
"No."
Vera kept smiling.
"I can go to other royal family members," Isaac threatened.
"Then, please do so," she replied.
For a moment, Isaac almost considered giving up the deal with her.
However, Vera was young and naïve. It would be easy to take advantage of her and empty the treasury of the royal family.
With the other royal family members, Isaac would have to constantly engage in a war of wits, and it would waste a lot of time.
"Are you still hung up on Zara? Don’t worry. As you can see, I’m much more beautiful than her. I can promise I will win your heart quickly," Vera said.
Strider almost burst into conversation, but Vera silenced her with a glance.
Isaac stared at Vera, trying to understand her logic.
He had recently been accused of assaulting his own fiancée. He was known to be a scumbag and a weakling. He had a bad reputation in noble society, and even a politically challenged person could see he would soon be kicked out of his ducal house.
She still wanted to marry him?
’She is seriously crazy.’
’I guess she isn’t called one of the two scums of noble society without reason.’
Perhaps only someone as crazy as her could have rallied the citizens and the remaining nobles against the Human King.
Any sane person in her position would have escaped or hidden, knowing the Human King was hunting all people with royal blood, and she was the last royal.
"Let me get this straight. You want to marry me because I am the one who created the Mana Breathing Technique. You are afraid I might scam you and leave you later?" Isaac asked.
Vera smiled and didn’t say anything, but her silence spoke plenty.
"Actually, I’m not the one who created the Mana Breathing Technique. It’s Merlin."
Isaac decided to throw this crazy bomb at someone else.