Chapter 14. Bullied Princess

After the swordsmanship lesson Mordred was in a good mood. It felt nice to display your strength and win fights. He also felt excited to finally begin learning the sword, which he supposedly had the most talent for!

Feeling satisfied, Mordred said afterwards, "Julius, before lunch, let's explore some of the palace."

"As you wish, Your Highness," Julius said with a smile. He had shockingly witnessed everything that happened back on the training square.

Julius no longer had an idea of what levels the 16th Prince would reach in the future, but he felt he would become a legendary figure one day akin to the First Sword God or the great warriors that sealed the Demon God Laplace. To that end, he'll support him wholeheartedly!

During Mordred's escapade, being escorted by his Guardian Knight Julius, Mordred explored parts of the royal palace that he didn't have a chance to see before. In recent years, he was mostly holed up in the Court Magician's tower and even most of his lessons were held inside the tower as the tutors came to him; the only outside place he sometimes visited was the royal library.

At one point, Mordred came into the royal garden. According to Julius, this was where other royal children often came to play.

It was a beautiful garden, something that Mordred surprisingly found himself fond of.

But that's when in the central area he witnessed the scene of three boys seeming to bully a little girl with aquamarine-blue hair.

The boys were all around the ages of 4-7 and wore expensive silk clothing, while the girl was petite and looked no older than 3 or 4 years old.

The oldest of the boys was pulling the girl's hair, saying, "Look, she's really got the hair of a demon! It's not fake!"

"She's a demon's spawn!" The youngest said with a shocked face.

Their leader continued, "Yeah, she's a child of a slave! Since she's the child of a slave, we can do whatever we want with her, so don't worry. Let's play demons and heroes again!"

The remaining one said, "Cool! I'll be the Armored Dragon King this time!"

"I'll be the Dragon God! Eugen, you can be the North God! We finally have a full squad!" The leader looked excited.

While the three talked, the younger girl had an apathetic look on her face as if she was used to this kind of treatment.

In the meantime, several beautiful women, who were likely the mothers of the boys, sat at the side and didn't intervene, even smiling as if it was a cute scene.

Julius slightly frowned.

Mordred was also frowning.

A girl with beautiful ocean-blue hair, like Roxy but far lighter. And this situation... Wasn't this the shunned Princess of Kingdragon that at one point of the novel fell in love with Pax Shirone? Benedict Kingdragon?

The leader commanded, "Slave girl, you're the Demon God, remember to act like it! Pretend to cast spells and stuff!"

The girl was silent, but her eyes still filled with tears. 

Pretend to cast spells... while they hit her with sticks. Even though it didn't hurt her physically, it was an agonizing experience. Why did this have to happen to her? Just because she had blue hair? Because her mom was 'a slave'?

She loved how beautiful it was here, but she didn't want to come to the garden anymore.

As the situation was escalating and after witnessing the girl's tears, Mordred couldn't stay idle any longer; he felt the protagonist's call to action. He stepped forward, calling out, "Hey, you jerks! Just what are you doing?"

The boys turned and glared at him. "Eh? Who the hell are you?"

Mordred's attire was a pair of simple short red pants and a red linen shirt. He put this on to be comfortable during the swordsmanship practice, but at the current time it made him look very ordinary in comparison to the other kids in expensive silk clothing.

This made the kids look down on him, even though Julius stood behind him.

Mordred replied clearly, "Mordred Kingdragon, remember it well!"

"Heh." The oldest of the kids sneered. "You're defending a child of a slave? Are you also one?"

"... I am! My mother was captured as a slave. So what?"

Seeing Mordred speak back to the much older kids without fear, the young blue-haired girl gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide open out of shock. She stared at this scene in amazement. It was the most courageous thing she had seen in her life!

"Heh, so you are a slave's child! ~The demon found herself a lover!~" The oldest boy said in a teasing voice.

"Hahaha!" The youngest laughed.

"Do you think you're cool, acting as a hero or something? Get lost before we teach you a lesson!" another said.

"No! Let him stay! He can be the Demon God! A boy fits better than a girl! It's the Demon God defending his demon lover!"

"Oh, that's cool! Then let's beat up the demon!"

Being in a group of three, the boys were courageous and in their excitement even ignored Julius. Furthermore, their mothers were there, so just who would dare to touch them – the true royal Princes?

Mordred heard this and sneered. He stepped forward, saying, "Hee. You want to beat me up, huh?"

"Your Highness…" Julius also took a step forward with a worried expression. He knew that Mordred was far stronger than the other kids and even most trained adults. If things escalated into a fight he might accidentally use too much force and it would cause a disaster! He had to prevent this from happening.

"Heh, you want to fight us three against one? Do you think you're the First Sword God or something?" The 7-year-old boy sneered arrogantly.

"So what if I want to?... Water Splash!"

As Mordred recited a truncated chant of an Intermediate ranked spell 'Water Splash', seven large water spheres materialized to float above his head in a formation ready to strike.

"What?!"

"You… You used Magic?!"

The three kids were shocked. This Magic spell came out of nowhere and looked too powerful!

The adults were alarmed at this scene and quickly stood up.

"Hey, what are you going to do?!"

"Stop it!"

Mordred ignored them and continued staring at the three boys. "Do you still want to fight?"

The kids hesitated. Being aimed at by a Magic spell directly, they all felt fear.

But the oldest one was indignant, he also knew Magic!

"Hmph! Let the great protection of fire- Auu!!!" The boy suddenly interrupted his chant as one of Mordred's water balls hit him squarely in the face.

"Your Highness…" Julius muttered in worry, but then was relieved when he saw that the kid was perfectly fine and was only splashed with some water.

"Aah, my son!!! You brat, just what are you doing?!" Mordred only used enough force to just douse her kid in some cold water, but one of the mothers went mad. She glared at him. "Who do you think you are?! You're merely a child of a slave! Stop your spell at once!"

Mordred looked at her calmly while maintaining his spell and said, "I might be a child of a slave. But I'm also a son of the king, the 16th Prince and a direct disciple of the Court Magician."

"You're the… 16th Prince?" The woman was momentarily shocked when she heard this. Although she did not know his name, she had long heard of the 16th Prince, a Miko with monstrous Magic Power. She didn't quite understand Magic herself, but one thing she knew was that this kid, in truth, had no background to speak of. Thinking of this, she snorted. "So what if you're the Court Magician's disciple? Do you think you can freely attack others with Magic in the palace?"

"... I don't think so. But I saw these guys bullying one of my sisters and couldn't ignore it," Mordred replied without fear.

"What bullying? It was merely playing!"

Mordred sneered. Playing? It might seem like playing, but this constant bullying and indifference from adults would cause serious emotional damage to Benedicte and turn her into an apathetic recluse, which is what happened in the novel.

Physical wounds are temporary and tangible, but emotional wounds can be deeply felt and may never heal; he knew this from experience. In this sense bullying is worse than directly beating someone up; physical wounds were nothing.

At this moment, Julius stepped in. "How about we all take a step back? Your Highness, can you cancel your spell first?"

Being looked at by Julius, Mordred canceled his Water Magic after a while.

The mother asked, "Who are you?"

"Madam, my name is Julius Frostguard. I'm an Advanced rank swordsman and an Advanced rank Magician. I'm the 16th Prince's Guardian Knight," Julius replied courtly with a bow.

Julius was technically supposed to be a Guardian Magician originally, but he felt that it was too inappropriate.

It's because a Guardian Magician is a Magician that protects their liege using Magic and also advises them in Magic related topics. But he knew that Mordred was already more powerful than him at Magic and there also wasn't anything that he could advise him there. So he called himself a Guardian Knight instead.

Even though now it seemed that he might be beaten up by Mordred in a sword fight as well…

"Eh…" The woman heard this and was stunned.

The position of a Guardian Knight or a Guardian Magician is only given to the children of upper nobility, and the Frostguard family was certainly a top Noble family not inferior to her own.

Additionally, only those most outstanding and influential Princes and Princesses would have the privilege of receiving a Magician bodyguard. How could this child of a slave with no background have such a powerful Guardian Knight?! Advanced rank swordsmen are rare, and Advanced rank Magicians even rarer! But this guy was both!

Julius continued, "Prince Mordred had only splashed some water on your son. No one got hurt in the end, so how about we end it here?"

"..." The woman went silent. It seemed this 16th Prince was more valued and influential than she thought; she did not know that Julius willingly offered to be Mordred's Guardian Knight himself.

...

After Julius stepped in, the conflict was soon resolved.

The three boys glared at Mordred as their mothers took them away.

Mordred and Julius were left alone with the blue-haired girl, save for a woman who seemed to be her caretaker yet did not quite care about her.

"Hi. My name is Mordred. What is yours?" Mordred asked the girl.

The 4-year-old girl looked up at him with a dazed and shy look and then stuttered a quiet response, "B… Benedi… ct."

'As I thought.'

Mordred only felt confused at who would name a girl 'Benedict', it was clearly a male's name; so perhaps the spelling was different.

Mordred said, "I see. Are you also a child of the king?"

The girl spoke quietly: "Y-yes… But… My mother is a slave… So I'm not very liked."

"..."

"And my hair is like this… Sob… It's because my mom is a demon… Everyone avoids me because I look like a demon. ~Uwaaaa!…" Benedicte spoke amidst sobs and at the end of her sentence began to cry as her emotions poured out.

Mordred watched silently and let the girl cry out her worries. She was merely a 4-year-old girl. What young girl could take well being treated as a plague from the time she was born?

He reached into his pouch and rummaged through it, taking out a white handkerchief among other items. Because she was preoccupied crying, Benedicte didn't notice how Mordred's bag opened wide and he reached into it elbow-deep.

Mordred then wiped off Benedicte's tears and gave her the handkerchief to blow her nose.

After Benedicte cried for a while and eventually slightly quietened down, she handed the handkerchief back to Mordred. "Th… Thank you."

Mordred looked at the white handkerchief which was now wet and covered in snoot. He told her, "You can return it to me after washing it. That's noble etiquette."

"Aah?…" When Benedicte was told this, she felt at a loss. That's what's expected of her to do, but how was she supposed to wash it? She had no idea how to go about it. She won't be able to do it!

Mordred noticed Benedicte's troubled expression and explained, "Just leave it for the servants to wash it. You're still a Princess."

"Ah…" The girl seemed enlightened.

Mordred said, "Anyway, if you knew Magic, those guys wouldn't dare to mess with you. Do you want me to teach you?"

Their meeting was Fate.

He had to grasp it.

He'd attempt to teach Benedicte just one spell to set her on the right path of not wasting her childhood. If she could begin learning Magic at a young age and have some accomplishments in it, then it would be something good for her future.

But hearing Mordred's words, Benedicte looked troubled again. Learn to do Magic? She didn't know if she could do something so amazing…

"I… I don't know…"

Benedicte stuttered, but Mordred took it as a confirmation, saying, "Okay, then I'll teach you! Let's go!"

Mordred grabbed Benedicte's hand and brought her to another corner of the garden. 

The garden was huge. The spot they were originally at had bad aura remaining and unpleasant memories attached to it, so he brought her to another place.

It was a grassy glade amidst small decorated trees which had red leaves and brown-reddish bark.

In the meantime, Julius observed the scene from a distance with a soft smile. 'His Highness finally made a friend his age! It's a good thing!'

In the glade, Mordred said first, "Having talent for it is essential when learning Magic. So even if I'm going to teach you, there's a good chance you might just not be able to do it."

Magicians in this world are rare.

It's estimated that only about 5% of the population has the capabilities to take up combat; that's 5 people in 100. This meant becoming an Elementary ranked Magician or a legitimate Intermediate rank warrior.

But among those 5%, only 1 out of 20 people would have enough talent for handling Magic Power to cast at least Elementary ranked spells. That was 5% out of 5%...

It meant that only about 2-3 people out of 1000 could be Magicians, or 1 in 400.

As for those who attend a Magic school and graduate having mastered at least one Advanced rank spell, that's 1 out of 100 students. This roughly meant that an Advanced rank Magician was a 1 in 40.000 existence!

Julius himself had only reached Advanced rank in a single school of attack Magic by the time he was 20, but that was still an amazing accomplishment, especially considering his additional attainments with the sword.

Statistically speaking, the chance that Benedicte had any talent for Magic was very low, but Mordred knew that the king himself had a small amount of talent for Magic, like many nobles, and Benedicte's mother was also of an unknown Demon race, so she might still be able to learn some Magic. She was not as hopeless.

However, the chance that she would become a powerful Magic user was small.

Mordred could only give it a try and see what happens. Even if Benedicte had poor talent, it would give him a chance to see how good someone with mediocre talent who had practiced from a very young age could become.

After hearing Mordred's warning, Benedicte lowered her head in defeat, losing all confidence.

Mordred said, "At any rate, I'll still try to teach you. To cast a spell the first thing you need to do is learn the Incantation."

"In~can~ta~tion?" Benedicte repeated slowly as if it was the first time hearing this complicated word.

"Yes. It's a string of words that makes the spell take effect. For example…" Mordred stretched out his hand. "Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."

As expected, a blob of water appeared in front of Mordred's hand out of nowhere.

"Woah. It's just like before…" Benedicte was amazed.

Mordred sent the blob of water flying at a low speed and splash somewhere at the side. Following that he began to teach Benedicte the Incantation for Waterball, making her memorize the entire chant bit by bit.

Benedicte was only about 4 years old, so repeating a two-verse Incantation with no mistakes and no stuttering was a bit difficult for her, but she wasn't stupid and was diligent, so she eventually managed to say the entire thing after Mordred guided her through the Incantation enough times.

"... Water Ball."

As Benedicte finished the chant, a little bit of gushing water gathered in front of her palm. In the next moment, it dispersed and fell down.

Benedicte looked shocked by what she did.

Meanwhile Mordred stared at her.

What 'only 0.25% of the population can learn Magic'?! Benedicte managed it on her first try! It's as if every other named character could do it!

Mordred observed Benedicte and asked, "Are you tired?"

"Nnn." Benedicte shook her head.

"Okay, then do it again, but this time concentrate better."

Benedict attempted to cast Water Ball several more times and eventually managed to conjure a small roughly shaped sphere of water, but when she did so, she seemed exhausted. Mordred knew that it was Mana Exhaustion, something that he experienced many times as a baby.

The Princess didn't manage to cast a true Water Ball like he did, but she only had a 4-year-old's mind, so it was only natural that she would struggle with concentrating. Then there was still the aspect of her Mana Pool and talent…

Eventually, Mordred smiled at her and said, "I think you have a good talent for Magic. You should definitely get a tutor to learn it… Julius, what do you think?"

Julius, who previously watched the scene with amazement and a content smile, was a little startled, then replied, "Ah… Yes, certainly. Princess Benedicte had shown talent for Magic at just 4 years of age. She should naturally receive a tutor to nurture her talents."

Benedict was at a loss for words for a while, then she shyly told Mordred before they parted, "Th-thank you. For everything."