Not knowing what the identity of the monster was, Hadel, and even more surprisingly, the knights, were directing the monsters towards Hadel, as if they were familiar with such a situation.

‘Are they all in their right minds?’

From my perspective, it was an utterly incomprehensible scene. Wasn’t Hadel the one who should be protecting his life the most in this castle?

‘But why endanger Hadel?’

However, as I watched their fight, I gradually understood the reason. Even if the monsters were pierced with a sword, it caused the cold to rise, freezing the sword with ice, and inflicted frostbite on the hand holding the sword. No matter how tightly one gripped a weapon, it was useless against the ice monsters.

‘The only way to completely eliminate the monsters is to use fire, and that’s why they’re driving them towards Hadel! So Hadel can spew flames and burn the monsters.’

In the end, the only thing that could confront these monsters was the fire created by Hadel.

‘But what if Hadel gets injured? Who will help him then?’

Among them, I, who was the most precious to Hadel, shuddered.

‘Last time, it almost caused a mana explosion and made us return to the castle.’

Facing several ice monsters alone, Hadel swung his sword. In front of the flames flickering like a snake on the sword, the ice monsters easily shattered into pieces. It seemed like a situation where it was clear why they relied only on Hadel.

‘But Hadel is currently overproducing mana.’

The more haphazardly he used mana, the more his heart would be stimulated, undoubtedly causing more pain.

However, that didn’t mean Hadel could fully exert his strength.

“Your Highness! It’s dangerous!”

“Back off if you drive the monsters!”

Because there were too many people around, he couldn’t spew flames freely.

Still, the ice monsters weren’t that strong, so even by brushing them with Hadel’s mana-filled sword, they shattered as if breaking ice.

That seemed to be the situation when things were somewhat getting under control.

“Oh! Your Highness! There are also monsters over there……”

The voice that was loudly trying to inform Hadel about the appearance of ice monsters suddenly dwindled, becoming quieter and quieter.

The number of ice monsters that appeared inside the castle walls, cutting through the thicket, was countless. I opened my mouth wide.

‘Tremendously many. Where on earth were so many monsters hiding?’

Freezing just by touching a person. Turning into a statue just by brushing past them?

Then it didn’t make sense that so many monsters were hiding somewhere. Because they couldn’t hide what they couldn’t hide.

‘If someone didn’t intentionally hide them……’

My speculation couldn’t progress any further at that moment. It was because Hadel gave this command.

“Knights, return to the castle and evacuate the people.”

“Your Highness!”

In the face of the sudden change in the situation, despair showed on the faces of the others. Nonetheless, not a single person clung to Hadel.

The only person who could stop those countless monsters was Hadel.

As a reminder of that fact, Hadel shouted loudly once again.
“While I’m holding them back, hurry!”

Hadel’s command prompted the hesitant subordinates to rush to evacuate the people inside the castle. It was unsettling to think of them as my subordinates, but the situation wasn’t entirely bad.

“Now that there are no people, I can spew flames freely!”

Objectively, the cold of the ice monsters might be intense, but their durability was poor, and Hadel’s firepower was substantial. Without obstacles, it was possible to sweep away any number of monsters, no matter how many.

“Yeah. No more hindrances! I can rampage as I please!”

I clenched my fists and cheered. However, the strength drained from my sparkling eyes didn’t take long. I pursed my lips in disbelief.

“Why is he moving so timidly?”

If they were cautious until now because they were worried about people getting involved, they could now spew flames recklessly.

Nevertheless, Hadel continued to personally engage with the monsters, wielding flames on his sword. It was bewildering why he, with the opposite attribute of fire against the ice monsters, was so passive in response.

In my bewildered thoughts, a certain idea crossed my mind.

“Could he possibly not know how to handle fire?”

It felt like being hit on the head with a hammer. I couldn’t have imagined that Hadel, the prince, wouldn’t know how to handle fire, given that I learned the art of controlling flames under a good mentor.

“But just because he’s a fire attribute doesn’t mean he would be shunned by the kingdom, right? There’s a possibility!”

If they expelled Hadel, the prince, to the North just because of his fire attribute, it would mean they didn’t treat other fire attribute ability users properly.

In the end, Hadel was driven out, misunderstood as someone who didn’t learn how to handle fire and recklessly harmed others.

“Darn it, what happened to everyone.”