Chapter 103

Already, the Emperor and the others were running towards the secret passage.

I was careful to make sure as few people were left behind as possible, but there’s nothing more frustrating or foolish than getting caught right in front of your escape route.

Fortunately, no more troops were coming, so everyone was able to step outside the castle in turn.

The small anecdote, if you can call it that, was that everyone turned their heads and looked elsewhere as the Emperor crawled out.

“The carriage is ready here.”

After Esadien neatly fitted the block-like pieces of a wall he had set aside, Clidane gave a signal and a carriage that had been waiting nearby rushed over.

Now all they had to do was get in and go to the Plendena Temple.

‘The Apostle must have heard about this chaos by now.’

The reason we sought the temple’s help instead of the Grand Duke Karnian’s residence was the risk that it might be seen as our family detaining the Emperor under the pretext of a rescue.

For an Emperor to seek refuge somewhere other than the Imperial Castle when it’s not even wartime—this was an unprecedented situation, and we had to be as careful as walking on thin ice.

‘Now that the royalty has escaped, I should tell our knights to retreat.’

It was then, as I watched Duke Lambert’s back as he followed the Crown Princess into the carriage, that I thought this.

Thump!

Before I could even call another knight to give the order to retreat, a pain as if the essence of fire was squeezing my heart almost made me lose my breath.

“Huk…!”

– Minuelle!

At the same time, Gabbie’s urgent voice rang in my head.

– Your friend the priest is in danger…!

Without listening to the rest of Gabbie’s words, I grabbed Theodore and a knight.

“Theodore, and Sir. Please take good care of His Majesty and the royal family. Just a little more effort until you reach the Plendena Temple.”

“Minuelle? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“The castle gate is dangerous. I’m going there with Sir Olce to support our knights’ retreat.”

“How can you go alone…!”

“Theodore Tregosnan!”

When I called out his name so clearly, almost yelling, Theodore, who was about to say he would follow, stopped.

“You know, don’t you? You have to protect the royal family. I… have to protect our knights and my friend.”

“…”

I left the biting-his-lip Theodore and tightly gripped the knight’s arm, saying.

“Please take care. And never die.”

“As you command.”

As expected, our knights follow orders well. To my smile, he added.

“Please come back safely as well, My Lady.”

Ah, that was what I, more than anyone, wanted most.

“Of course!”

Smiling even brighter, I flew, no, literally ‘shot away like an arrow’ since my feet were slightly off the ground, and landed behind Clidane, who was on a horse.

“Let’s go, Sir Olce!”

“No, My Lady! What are you suddenly…!”

“To save our comrades! Giddy-up!”

I didn’t explain in detail and hit the horse’s flank. Despite his surprise, Clidane, like a true knight, skillfully handled the horse, which had started abruptly.

As the horse picked up speed, Esadien only looked in our direction but didn’t approach or try to stop me by asking where I was going.

‘That’s a relief.’

I let out a soft sigh that even Clidane couldn’t hear.

If Esadien had questioned me meticulously, I would have been completely swayed and taken him with me. But what if he got hurt or died? Our family would be struck by the lightning of the Emperor’s wrath.

Of course, it would be somewhat mitigated since we rescued him, but didn’t he say directly that he didn’t want to lose another child?

I truly didn’t want to bring harm to my family because of me.

…Just as much as I didn’t want Esadien to get hurt because of me.

‘He left with the Emperor. Let’s stop thinking about it.’

I shook my head once and fixed my gaze on the pillar of fire that was getting closer by the minute. The flames were so high that their tips seemed to touch the sky.

I got closer to the castle gate just before my lips, which I was unconsciously biting, bled. My heart was racing at the pillar of fire I had seen from a distance, and I jumped off the horse before it had even come to a complete stop.

“Ramande!”

Fortunately, thanks to a magic item, I flew smoothly without tumbling on the ground. Clidane, sighing in relief, followed close behind me.

“Gabbie!”

I called out to the spirit, whose form wasn’t visible, and a warm sensation immediately gathered next to my shoulder. But that was all; Gabbie, without fully appearing, said.

– The priest was almost in danger, surrounded a moment ago. Of course, I helped right away, but…

“But?”

The sentence ended with a weird feeling. A flash of the pillar of fire came to mind, and I had a ‘no way’ moment.

“You… got caught by the Second Prince?”

– …

There was no answer, but the warm sensation pulsed and wiggled. At this response, which was as good as a confirmation, I rubbed my tired eyes.

“I thought it was too quiet on this side.”

– I tried my best!

“Yeah, I know. I’m not saying it’s your fault.”

After all, Ramande was safe, and because of what Gabbie did, the Emperor was able to escape safely.

“So where is Ramande now?”

– …Over there.

“Over there? Where, exactly?”

There were so many people entangled, and the wiggling pillar of fire had dyed everyone a reddish-orange hue, so I couldn’t distinguish Ramande’s hair color.

Gabbie said with a voice that was a mix of annoyance and embarrassment.

– Inside that pillar of fire!

“What?”

– Inside the pillar of fire… with a few knights…

Ramande is in there? I felt the blood rush to my feet as if I had low blood pressure. I forced myself to clench my fists and said almost with a shout.

“Why didn’t you get rid of it?! Since you were caught anyway!”

– Of course, at first I thought ‘perfect,’ and tried to swallow it! But…

“Can you stop cutting yourself off and just tell me quickly?”

– Ugh! It felt like my power was being sucked in the other direction, so I couldn’t, you human!

As soon as I heard that, I manipulated an item to fly towards the pillar of fire at maximum speed.

“My Lady!”

“Sir Olce, please take care of the other knights!”

At the same time, I took out some Yoshicho powder that I had brought for emergencies and put it in my mouth.

Despite the warning, a grassy smell and a bitter taste filled my mouth, but it melted away almost instantly.

The effect was immediate.

The essence of fire, which had suddenly grown in size like fire with oil poured on it, began to rotate rapidly as if a motor had been attached. The pain was less than before, but it was still a considerable burden on my body.

– Hey, that’s…!

“I have no choice if I want to get rid of that.”

Gabbie tried to warn me, but there really was no other way. The bigger fire consumes the smaller one. That’s why Gabbie gave up on absorbing the pillar of fire.

‘How did he increase his power in such a short time?’

It wasn’t like this when Austin stabbed me in the stomach. Didn’t Gabbie absorb the fire he created then?

Regardless of the questions, the spirit power amplified by the Yoshicho delivered various information even in a short time.

First, Ramande was still alive.

‘That’s a relief.’

Yes, that was a relief. But among the knights with him was my mother’s second-in-command.

“So that’s why the remaining knights couldn’t make a move and were in a standoff.”

And something else, which the spirit power didn’t tell me but felt naturally, was also true.

This pillar of fire was intentionally created by Austin for me to see. Just like the firework he shot into the sky before I entered the castle.

‘It’s not polite to refuse an invitation twice.’

Huff. After a short deep breath, I didn’t slow down and charged straight towards the pillar of fire.

But then.

Pffft! Pft!

Suddenly, I heard an ominous sound like air escaping from my boots, and then my body dropped as if I had lost my footing.

My eyes closed reflexively, but I forced them open and spat out an irritated curse.

“Damn it!”

I couldn’t blame anyone for this. This item was made to move quickly by hovering slightly above the ground, and I was the one who over-adjusted the output. I could only hope that the people below would get out of the way.

As I fell, I reached out my hand to the side and began to absorb the flames. I had a flicker of hope that if Ramande got out, he might be able to fix me, even if my back was broken.

‘This won’t kill me!’

I had survived every time I thought I would die. It would just hurt like hell.

“Minuelle!”

The pillar of fire cleared, and my eyes met Ramande’s. His eyes were wide, with more white showing than the purple irises.

But I was also gritting my teeth and bracing for the impact, so I had no time to smile.

“Minuelle!”

As he called out again, Ramande’s hand reached out towards me, his motion as slow as if on a slow-motion video. The bluish divine power flowing from his fingertips was also slow.

But we both knew it was too late.

‘I’ll leave the healing to you.’

With that thought, I finally closed my eyes.

Thud!

A dull thud and a strong impact hit me at the same time. It hurt enough to make me cry out, but I didn’t feel like any part of me was broken.

“…”

A strange feeling came over me, and my body’s senses began to return quickly. Like it had been waiting, I could hear the pounding of a heartbeat next to my ear.

“Huh?!”

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the face of someone who shouldn’t have been there. His eyes were like they were on fire, and he was breathing heavily.

“Is this why you left me behind? To get hurt by yourself?”

I hoped it wasn’t him.

I couldn’t understand why or how Esadien was here, so I started to scold him.

“Why are you here? Why aren’t you at the temple…!”

“Minuelle Karnian.”

Huk.

His voice was low, and his narrowed eyes were fierce.

Moreover, it was the first time Esadien had called me by my full name, so I instinctively shut my mouth and shot a fireball at the enemy soldiers who were trying to approach.

He let out a sigh and gently put me down, then spoke softly again.

“I told you clearly, didn’t I? That I wouldn’t leave your side.”

“Hah, but His Majesty will be worried.”

His Majesty’s worries are deep, and if something happens to you, our family might be in trouble.

“It’s fine. I asked with the resolve to cut ties if he blocked me.”

“What did you, cough, say? Cough!”

I was so shocked that I choked on my breath, and coughing filled my throat.

I knew he wasn’t particularly attached to his position as a prince, but could he just say he’d cut ties so easily?

But Esadien just calmly rubbed my back.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m here because His Majesty gave his permission.”

“No, what was His Majesty thinking…?”

Why would he let him go here! Is he really the same person who said he didn’t want to lose another child?

“It was only natural for him to give his permission. He saw my mother, so he knows what happens when the object of one’s obsession disappears.”

“O-obsession?”

What did I just hear? I asked back in a daze, unable to believe it.

Obsession was something only I had. It was the emotion that made me, Minuelle, the villain, so why was Esadien suddenly talking about it?