CHAPTER 9

Oath of a Pro Tyrant (1)

Pwoooosh—!

A crystal bottle, which looked expensive at a glance, shattered in an instant.

No one even touched it. It was just sitting on the table. But a burst of water shot out from the palm of a hand, colliding with it and shattering it to pieces.

It was shocking.

'W-What the hell?'

All I did was think about expelling water through my hand. I assumed that if water were discharged using mana, it would just trickle out like tap water.

That's why I had carefully prepared an empty bottle to catch it. But instead of preventing a mess, I ended up detonating a full-fledged water bomb.

'Hah… is this for real?'

Even though I caused it myself, I couldn't believe the result. Stunned, I surveyed the room. My bedroom was a complete disaster. Water was everywhere.

An eight-liter water bomb had exploded, sending the table flying. The floor and bed were soaked, and even the ceiling had water splattered across it.

And it wasn't just the water that had flown.

"Ugh."

As I stepped backward, a sharp pain made me jerk my foot away. A rice-grain-sized shard of crystal glass had lodged itself in my sole.

"Ah, damn it."

The bottle had been utterly destroyed. There were crystal shards everywhere—scattered all over the bedroom floor, gleaming in the dim light. Some of the larger fragments had even embedded themselves into the walls.

A shiver ran down my spine. If any of those shards had hit me, I would've been seriously injured. Just as I was wondering how the hell I was going to clean up this mess—

"Your Highness!"

Bang!

Both doors to the bedroom burst open simultaneously.

One was the door to the small adjacent chamber. Sir Gardin stumbled out, his face still drowsy but alarmed.

The other was the door leading to the hallway.

"Your Highness! Are you safe?!"

More than ten royal guards stormed into the bedroom, their faces tense, hands hovering over their swords, ready to draw at any moment.

Sir Gardin, who had emerged from the small chamber, and the guards who had rushed in from the hallway—both groups froze as they took in the scene.

"…Huh?"

They must have come running after hearing the explosion.

A terrorist attack on the Crown Prince?

An assassination attempt?

They probably imagined some sort of emergency.

But there I was, standing unharmed, while the room was in complete chaos—flooded with water, shards of glass scattered everywhere.

They must have had no idea what to make of the situation.

'How do I explain this?'

A wave of awkwardness hit me. I felt like a kid caught red-handed doing something they weren't supposed to. I didn't exactly want to be honest about what had happened either.

"I just reached out my hand, and the stored water bomb in my circle amplified and exploded. Sorry for startling you guys in the middle of your night shift, hahaha."

…That would just sound insane. They'd think I was a lunatic.

After a moment of hesitation, I decided on an excuse.

"Uh… well… I got a little angry."

"…Pardon?"

The captain of the guards frowned.

I forced an awkward smile.

"I, uh, lost my temper for a second. Grabbed a bottle of water and smashed it against the table."

"…Your Highness?"

"And, well… that's how this happened. My bad."

"..."

The guards.

Sir Gardin.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

I instantly regretted it.

'They're not buying it, huh? Tch. I knew that excuse was too sloppy.'

The idea that the Crown Prince had a random fit of hysteria, smashed a bottle in a rage, and turned his bedroom into a disaster zone? It was an absurd explanation. Even I found it ridiculous.

'Yeah, there's no way they'll believe that. So now what do I—'

That's when it happened.

The guard captain lowered his head.

"It's alright, Your Highness."

"…Huh?"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Oh, uh, aside from a little cut on my foot, not really?"

"Please wait a moment. There's too much broken glass here—I'll carry you to safety."

"Oh… um, okay."

I felt dazed.

The guard captain believed me way too easily.

'Why? How?'

I didn't get it.

Was it just because I was the Crown Prince?

Or was there some other reason?

But I didn't have time to figure it out.

The guard captain stepped forward, glass crunching under his boots, and lifted me up. He carried me to a "safe zone."

"This place is a mess. We'll escort Your Highness to the second bedroom. Sir Gardin, please tend to His Highness's foot before we move."

"A-Ah, yes."

Then, the guards got to work.

They checked for any lingering dangers in the room, while Sir Gardin nervously removed the glass shard from my foot and applied medicine.

And as all this happened, I had to swallow my rising suspicion.

'Tch. No matter how I look at it, my excuse was terrible.'

Yet no one questioned it. They all seemed to accept it without hesitation.

'Is this what it means to be royalty?'

'Whatever. I'll just count myself lucky this time.'

Following the captain's lead, I moved to the second bedroom. Lying in an unfamiliar bed, I stared at the ceiling, replaying the event in my mind.

'That… what was that?'

The sensation of releasing a mana-infused water bomb—the way it surged from my heart's circle, rushed through my veins, amplified, exploded, and burst forth…

It was exhilarating, like a breath of fresh air rushing through me. I wanted to experience it again.

But…

'I need to sleep.'

Otherwise, I'd end up causing another accident.

I forced my eyes shut.

There were bigger things to worry about.

Right now, fixing this damned body of mine was more urgent.

Repeating that thought to myself, I drifted off.