I Became the Abandoned Prince Whom the Saintess Is Obsessed With

2 – I’m going to meet you now.

Glentino trembled incessantly.

“T-Thank you for saving me, Your Highness…!”

His teary, trembling eyes

were filled with gratitude.

Right now, he was

like a servant stepping back cautiously after witnessing the emperor’s coronation.

He desperately tried to hide even his back.

His face was a delicate blend of a trace of joy and an abundance of despair.

It was a complexion as heavy and gloomy as a drop of black coffee falling on pristine white cream.

As of today, he had become a discarded prince, a desperate reality.

The overwhelming sense of relief that he had survived

easily overshadowed everything else.

“With this life, I will dedicate myself to Your Highness in the future!”

Perhaps he was anxious that I might change my mind.

Even as he hurriedly searched behind him, his hand barely managed to open the door.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he continued to mutter similar words without pause.

Until the door, hiding his forced smile, was completely closed, he devoted himself to closing it gently.

He felt like a completely different person.

Yet, his appearance remained unscathed.

His head, once flowing with blood, and his soaked shirt.

Even his pants, drenched in blood, and the deadly wounds.

It was because of using the spirits that everything was made clean as if it were new.

There was hardly any difference compared to when I entered.

That’s why the change in attitude felt even more dramatic.

Of course, the inner thoughts would be different.

They probably want to kill me.

They would probably want to rush to the empress and confess their sins.

The Crown Prince succeeded in finding the antidote.

The beggar who had been locked up for years, only drinking alcohol, effortlessly surpassed a significant difference in physique and subdued himself with a single blow.

Even at this moment, sharpening the blades of revenge.

I must eliminate the Crown Prince immediately, I wanted to rant in front of the empress.

But no matter how desperate that feeling may be.

I wouldn’t actually be able to do it.

Because I placed an earth spirit in Glentino’s heart.

Without lifting a finger, when I simply thought of squeezing his heart.

The expression he made, clutching his left chest and gasping for breath, was quite interesting.

A spirit in his heart.

And in his mind.

An indescribable terror that could never be surpassed was engraved.

Of course, it was the lowest-ranking spirit, so if he knew even a little bit of mana, it would have been impossible from the beginning.

But I already knew.

The man named Grentino had no talent for swordsmanship or magic.

He was nothing more than a noisy empty vessel of a human being.

Regardless of how it happened.

Now, his life is in my hands.

No matter how far away he is. No matter when.

As long as the spirit embedded in his heart moves.

I will be able to kill him much more easily than killing a fly.

Until he leaves the bedroom, I calmly stared into his trembling eyes and explained in detail about that point.

If he ever reveals this fact to someone else or tries to seek help.

I firmly stated that his heart would explode immediately.

For a considerable amount of time, I added a considerable exaggeration to the cold voice that was uttered.

To ensure that he never harbors any other thoughts, to the point where he cannot even have any hope, I even provided proof to completely crush his spirit.

Grentino, who was contemplating the inevitable death, had a bewildered expression and didn’t know what to do.

After pondering over despair for a long time, he begged, “Please, spare my life.”

He confessed to a crime that would lead him to an unforgivable death and swore that he would live for me from now on and dedicate his life.

Although it was nothing more than a cheap oath from a trash who had already betrayed me.

Well, it was up to me to decide.

From now on, he would pretend to watch over me and deceive the eyes and ears of the Empress.

“……”

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at my right hand.

A small droplet floated up on the palm of my hand and quickly transformed into the shape of a tiny turtle.

It was the water spirit I had contracted with right after the Earth Spirit. I had found it in the palace pond.

In no time, it had changed into the form of a fish.

Then, with its fins swaying, it began to swim gracefully around me in the air.

Its mouth popped out and moved rhythmically.

Its adorable way of gently touching my face was quite cute.

This little one was also a low-level spirit.

I named it ‘Aku’.

Since I was naming the Earth Spirit, I named it together. By the way, I named the Earth Spirit ‘Rak’.

Aku and Rak.

Both of them were low-level spirits, so it was difficult for them to use high-level magic.

However, when they materialized, not only could ordinary humans not see them, but in terms of magic, they were beings that far surpassed even a skilled magician in terms of speed and adaptability.

If used appropriately, these capable beings could turn even unfavorable situations around like flipping a palm.

I transferred my knowledge from before the possession to Aku.

The connection of consciousness created by the contract. It was through that.

Any information.

No matter how much quantity.

I could easily convey it as if sending telepathy, in the way I understood.

The knowledge I conveyed to Aku was a method of becoming transparent by utilizing the refraction of light.

In truth, I don’t know the details very well.

I’ve only provided ideas based on information I’ve picked up here and there.

My goal was clear.

To envelop my entire body in water and manipulate the refractive index to become invisible.

If I were to look at it from Aqua’s perspective, it would definitely not be an easy task.

To make my entire body transparent.

For a low-level spirit like me who had never even tried a contract before, it was clearly an extremely difficult challenge.

But I distinctly remember reading it in a novel.

There was a story about an elf using a water spirit to become transparent and infiltrating enemy territory alone.

So it shouldn’t be entirely impossible.

First, I needed practice.

I decided to start by making one hand transparent.

Just as I had that thought.

Like tea pouring into thin air, Aqua flowed down in an instant and wrapped around my hand like a glove.

But as expected, a spirit was still a spirit.

The mana efficiency was abysmal.

A significant amount of mana was drained just by enveloping one hand.

Even more mana was consumed when manipulating the refractive index. Yet, I still couldn’t succeed in one go.

At first, I could only make the tip of my index finger blurry.

But even so, I saw hope.

Then, I made only the middle part of the little finger transparent.

I was slightly disappointed, but it was an improvement compared to before.

I waited patiently, with perseverance.

Until lunchtime passed and the sunset outside the window.

I used up my mana several times, repeatedly fainting and waking up.

But every time.

I walked through the palace garden like a zombie.

Absorbing a small amount of mana from various plants to replenish my insufficient mana.

And then, before I knew it.

Night fell upon the world.

The fat moon, close to full, hung proudly above the flowing stars like a river.

And finally, at that moment.

Aku was able to make his palm completely transparent.

Although it took a considerable amount of mana and a long time.

Still, it was amazing.

Even as a low-level spirit, he adjusted the refractive index of countless water droplets to different values, accurately realizing what I desired.

Certainly.

The intelligence of the spirit seemed much higher than I had expected.

Perhaps because he could read my thoughts in real time.

He suddenly transformed into a small mermaid, crossed his arms, and pouted. It seemed like he was saying, “I’m such a spirit.”

Anyway.

The game is over now.

Since I’ve already made one hand transparent, all that’s left is to expand the range.

So, it’ll take about an hour from now.

It should be enough to make my whole body transparent.

***

A week has passed since then.

My expectations didn’t turn out so well.

Maybe I overestimated my abilities. As expected, I was just the lowest of the low.

Going through all sorts of trial and error.

It took a whole week to make my entire body completely transparent.

I thought it would be enough to just expand the range of transparency, but I really didn’t expect it to take so much time.

Perhaps it was because I sensed the unspeakable dissatisfaction mingled with disappointment.

Before I knew it, Aqua had turned into a small otter and was nibbling on my fingers.

It didn’t hurt, but no matter how much I tried to shake my hand, it just kept clinging and wouldn’t let go.

Still, thanks to using up my mana to the limit every day for the past week.

The total amount of mana has increased a little. It was an unexpected harvest, but it wasn’t anything remarkable.

After all, this body.

It inherited noble blood from my mother, who was a princess of the Elven Kingdom.

Not only did it have excellent physical abilities, but it also possessed a considerable amount of mana.

However, the more mana I used, the more it grew, and it was the most explosive during my growth period.

But after my mother’s suicide at the age of fifteen.

Prince Eos did not use mana for a full four years.

He had missed the easiest time to increase mana.

As a result.

Compared to his innate potential, his current total mana was at a pitiful level.

And that was precisely the biggest obstacle I faced now.

Originally, spirits were beings that were like fragments of gods embedded in natural materials such as trees, rocks, rivers, and wind.

As befitting of gods, they excelled in magic.

While magicians calculated and implemented magic through various complex rituals.

Spirits were able to use magic naturally, as if breathing.

Magicians, at a speed that could never be caught up to, could manifest magic as soon as the contracted elf willed it.

So if the spirit’s rank was higher.

They could even elevate the scale and effects of magic to the point where magicians could never follow, almost reaching the level of miracles or disasters.

But of course.

As always in the world.

Although everyone could not be equal, there was always a sense of fairness.

When one side becomes full, naturally it tilts and eventually the other side becomes empty.

According to this principle, there was a very fatal flaw in commanding spirits.

He was precisely.

The mana efficiency was incredibly low.

Although it slightly improved as the spirit’s rank increased, the mana efficiency was still dismal.

That’s just how spirits were.

Even for a simple spell, they had to consume much more mana than what wizards used for the same spell.

Naturally.

To cast higher-level magic, even more mana had to be dedicated to the spirits.

Most wizards considered this to be the distribution of the gods.

By requiring an immense amount of mana, it severely limited their abilities, even for transcendent magic that bordered on calamity.

If such order did not exist,

the majority of wizards believed that countless beings would have perished by the hands of the elves.

Of course, when mana was lacking, there was also the method of summoning spirits by sacrificing life force.

But such an act was, quite literally, a perilous gamble.

Of course, considering the cruelty of the world within this novel, where all sorts of disasters run rampant.

As someone already lacking in mana.

I may eventually find myself making such an extreme choice.

No.

Perhaps I will inevitably come to that point someday.

That’s why I made up my mind.

From the novel, I plan to make the heroine, Saint Elaine, on my side.

As long as she, the saint, is by my side.

As long as she can heal me.

I will be able to survive any crisis.

That’s why today,

Saint Elaine,

I plan to meet her.