Chapter 102

But before I could even deny it, Esadien unhesitatingly handed over his sword to the Emperor and bowed to me.

“W-What? Why?”

We had just been embracing moments ago, but now that Esadien’s face was suddenly so close, I swallowed hard. Even though he wasn’t showing any of the usual seductive behavior he often did.

“May I borrow the sword of the pendant?”

“…Huh?”

Didn’t the Emperor ask for a spare sword? But Esadien handed his over without a second thought.

“It’s better for me to wield it than for His Majesty to hold a Karnian blade.”

“Ah.”

Right—no matter how much he favored a subordinate, it was a bit much for the Emperor to wield a symbol of a noble house.

As I removed my pendant and enlarged it into a proper sword, Esadien, who had been silent until then, suddenly whispered in a low voice, catching me off guard.

“I wish I could wield Karnian’s sword officially.”

Normally, one would think of the house’s knights when talking about Karnian’s sword, but a weapon like this could only be used by those who bear the Karnian name—or by a few high-ranking knights to whom my mother, the Grand Duchess, had personally granted it.

In other words, Esadien was saying he wanted to become our knight commander—or marry me and become a member of House Karnian.

“Th-that…!”

I had heard him say things like ‘Forgive me,’ and ‘Let me stay by your side’ many times before, but I never imagined he would actually propose in a moment like this.

My strength gave out, and the sword slipped from my hand. But as if expecting it, Esadien caught the hilt smoothly and whispered even softer, smiling.

“I hope that day comes soon.”

And before I could even respond, he turned and began leading the way in front of the Emperor.

All I could do was silently glare at the back of his head as I followed.

Don’t tell me he’s actually trying to join the knights or something?

Even if this was a proposal, I wasn’t going to count it as one.

…Or so I thought, but then I surprised myself even more.

This isn’t right. I haven’t even fully forgiven him yet, and I’m falling for him again so easily?

That’s when I finally realized: when Esadien seriously tried to seduce me, he was downright terrifying.

Well, I had fallen for him even when he didn’t show the slightest interest in me back then—so it wasn’t so strange for my heart to flutter like a fool in this situation.

Still, I shouldn’t give in too easily…

While I was grumbling to myself internally, we ran into a group of soldiers.

It must have been time for the guard shift at the abandoned palace.

I quickly shoved all my thoughts aside and tensed up, but Esadien and Clidane dealt with them swiftly and quietly—without needing me to lift a finger.

Watching it happen, I felt strangely hollow. The guilt I had felt earlier when I’d had to act myself suddenly seemed… pointless.

But…

“Knights go through it too,”

Esadien had said.

Now that I thought about it, knights were the ones who lived closest to death.

My mother, Elga, and Esadien—each of them had their own reasons for taking the lives of others.

“Whether the enemy is a monster or a human, both sides risk their lives. Even if defeat comes, they accept it. Responsibility is something naturally borne by those who wield the power to take countless lives…”

Right.

Those words from my mother were not just meant for Elga—they were for me too.

Whether I liked it or not, from the moment I accepted Gabbie’s power, I had taken on that responsibility.

I would risk my life to fight, and risk my life to protect.

Once I made that resolve, I felt my head clear, even as a weight settled in my chest.

I pressed my hands tightly against the center of my chest, swallowing hard—and the Emperor laughed heartily, mistaking my expression for fear at the bloodied scene.

“What do you think of my skills, child? Not rusty yet, are they?”

…Was he trying to prove he didn’t need Esadien to carry him?

But really, his skills were just as clean and efficient as Esadien’s or Clidane’s. Even though he’d been tied up just moments ago.

I raised both thumbs high and gave a wide grin.

“Your Majesty, that was a nice shot!”

It was already reassuring enough that the Emperor was mobile, but now that he was proving to be a major asset, it seemed like we just had to get out safely.

…And maybe because I let my guard down thinking that, a big problem arose.

“I’m stopping here for a moment.”

Esadien, who had been sprinting, suddenly stopped and ducked behind a nearby building.

Judging by the expressions on the Emperor and Clidane’s faces, it wasn’t just me who was surprised.

We were so close… what now?!

I strained to listen, trying to brush off the ominous feeling—and faintly, I heard the clash of weapons.

Who else would be fighting soldiers…?

It had to be the Crown Princess’s group, who had tried to escape earlier.

But that group had Duke Lambert, who was on par with Elga, as well as Theodore and the Crown Princess herself—who was rumored to be formidable even without a weapon.

We didn’t need to worry about them losing. What we did need to do was get the Emperor to safety.

I locked eyes with Esadien, and he nodded in agreement.

But before we could even stand, the Emperor’s deep voice rang out.

“Is Lumière over there?”

“…Your Majesty.”

“You wouldn’t save me and leave Lumière behind.”

He rose without hesitation, and looked down at us like he was delivering an imperial decree.

“Don’t even think of only taking me.”

“Your Majesty!”

“I cannot… lose another child.”

That was as good as saying he no longer considered Austin his son.

Looking back, it made sense.

The Emperor had called Austin back to Preseria to give him one last chance—expecting that he would have matured by now.

The Crown Princess must have told the Emperor about Austin sending assassins after Esadien…

But Austin had thrown away that chance—and shown his true colors.

Unforgivable, both as an Emperor and as a father.

The Emperor gave a bitter smile. He knew this wasn’t a good choice, politically speaking.

But… what could we do?

“We will follow Your Majesty’s orders.”

I answered resolutely, since I didn’t think we had any better options.

Esadien, who had been staring blankly at the Emperor, turned to me with wide eyes.

“It’s not like we can find another way out now, right?

Whether it’s the main gate… or that ‘narrow passage,’ we still have to get out the same way.”

I didn’t want to say “cat hole” in front of the Emperor, so I phrased it vaguely—but Esadien understood immediately.

“Even if we help your sister, we should send His Majesty out through the passage first.”

Obviously, the hidden passage was a better option than the heavily guarded main gate.

But the Emperor didn’t want to use the Crown Princess as bait.

“It’s not far from here, right? If we go back, we’ll just get spotted again.”

“……”

“You felt it too, didn’t you? His Majesty is strong.”

I reached out and grabbed Esadien’s hand, silently conveying another message with my eyes.

If necessary, I’ll use my power.

Esadien definitely got the message—his long, straight eyebrows twitched.

His tightly drawn brows were full of worry—for the Emperor, the Crown Princess, and me.

After clenching his jaw for a moment, he let go of my hand and bowed to the Emperor.

“I will follow your command.”

“Good. Then… let’s go.”

We moved even more cautiously than before.

With three knights in the group, we were well aware of the impact a surprise attack could have.

“Child, don’t come out, no matter what!”

The Emperor warned me. I nodded, and as soon as I did, the three of them disappeared in the blink of an eye—and reappeared farther ahead.

Their surprise attack took down the distracted soldiers instantly.

It couldn’t have gone better.

Thanks to that, we broke the tense stalemate between the Crown Princess’s group and the enemy, instantly gaining the upper hand.

Watching from hiding, I let out a breath of relief.

“Good thing we changed course and came here. If we hadn’t…”

The soldiers surrounding the Crown Princess’s group were too many to count at a glance.

They must’ve encountered us while trying to check the situation at the palace after catching the others.

Even though the Crown Princess’s group was skilled, three people could only do so much—especially when their opponents were trained soldiers, not civilians.

Still, having six capable fighters was much better than just three, and the enemies were being dealt with one by one.

I also secretly cast high-fever curses on the ones slipping away from the battlefield or outside the Emperor and Crown Princess’s line of sight—quietly knocking down one or two.

Of course, Esadien noticed it even amid the chaos, shooting me a subtle glance.

“Heh.”

When I smiled and gave a thumbs-up, he didn’t respond—but drove his sword through another enemy.

Still, the corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly as he turned, fluid as water.

Seeing that made my cheeks tingle for some reason, and I let out a cough.

“Ahem. Geez…”

Was it a bug bite? No, it was winter, and the ground was covered in snow.

I awkwardly rubbed my face and turned my attention back to the others.

The outside knights were important—but the people here were even more so.

However, once the enemy numbers visibly dropped, I couldn’t use my power as sneakily anymore.

Feeling more and more awkward, I watched as the Crown Princess finally seized the last soldier.

“This one… take him. We’ll interrogate him.”

As soon as he said it, Esadien and Clidane ran over.

Clidane’s motives were obvious: “Please don’t tell the Merchant Lord I left your side!”

It was practically written on his face.

Obviously I won’t, you idiot.

I didn’t want to get scolded by Juela either.

And I had been the one to send Clidane away despite his reluctance to leave my side.

But Esadien—why was he running toward me? Wait—hey?!

“Eek!”

Even as he got very close, Esadien didn’t slow down.

I reflexively shut my eyes tight, thinking we were going to crash—but instead, I felt strong arms and large hands scoop me up.

“Uh…?”

When I carefully opened my eyes, Esadien looked sulky, like he couldn’t believe I doubted him.

“Would I ever hurt you, master? Do you know how worried I was?”

“There you go again—why ‘master’ all of a sudden…”

I mumbled, feeling sheepish in Esadien’s arms as he carried me without stopping.