Under the clear skies ā there was a group of horsemen riding briskly through the sunlit streets.
A lily on a red background was painted on their banner.
It was the flag of Celia Estrella Elizabeth von Grantz, the sixth imperial princess.
10th February, 1024th year of the Imperial Calendar. In the capital city of the Great Grantz Empire, Cladius, Liz was returning with a small group of guards.
People looked back to see what was happening, but her back was already too far away to see.
The echoing roar of horseshoes left a reverberation everywhere along the way, but it ceased once they reached the imperial palace. Liz jumped off her horse and headed for the entrance of the imperial palace.
However, the door opened first, and a familiar figure stepped out.
āRosa-Aneesama!ā
āMy dear sister. Youāve come back safely!ā
āYou didnāt go back to the east?ā
Liz jumped into Rosaās chest with her arms outstretched and looked up at her sister.
Ā \nĀ
āHmmā¦ Wellā¦ā
As Rosa awkwardly averted her face and scratched her cheek, Liz narrowed her eyes and backed away from her sister.
āI heard about Hiro from the head of the Muzuk family.ā
āI seeā¦ so thereās no need to hide anymore.ā
Rosa let out a tired sigh, looked up at the sky, and began to mutter clerically and indifferently.
āItās all the truth. Iām sorry that we deceived you, but it was all necessary for you to take the throne.ā
āWhyāāā
Liz closed in on Rosa.
āā¦whatās that?ā
She frowned at the envelope that Rosa suddenly presented to her.
āMy lord gave it to Liz.ā
āāā!?ā
Rosa smiled as if she was troubled as Liz took the letter from her.
Then she looked around and opened her mouth.
āWhere is Ghada-dono?ā
She asked Liz, but she seemed to be too busy reading the letter to hear her. Another chuckle escaped Rosaās lips, and Tris came over to see whether he had heard her.
āThe Raven Army is coming with the Fourth Emperorās army. Of course, the Muzuk familyās army is also coming with us.ā
āOhā¦ so youāve succeeded in persuading the Muzuk family to join?ā
āThey will reach the Great Imperial Capital in about a week.ā
āThe soldiers from other regions are gathering in the capital one after another. It looks like we can finally fight back.ā
Rosa patted Lizās head happily, but she was still concentrating on the letter and was left to her own devices. She took her hand away from Lizās head and pulled out a separate letter from the one addressed to Liz.
āI wanted to give it to Ghada-dono as soon as possibleā¦ā
She shook her head as if she had no choice but to hurry.
āThatās right, Liz, are you hungāā!?ā
Rosaās words were cut off in mid-sentence, and her beautiful eyes suddenly widened. This is because there was no sign of Liz in the place where she had just been.
She looked around hurriedly to find her and found that she was just about to jump into the saddle.
āLiz! Where do you think youāre going? Hold on!ā
Rosa shouted unusually loudly, but Liz was turning her horseās head and would not stop.
āTris-dono, you have to stop her too!ā
āYes! Princess! P-please wait!ā
The two of them ran towards Lizās back, but there was no way they could catch up to the horse with their human legs.
As soon as they see it, they are separated from each other. Rosa continued to call out to Liz during that time, but she stubbornly ignored her, not even looking back.
āYouāre not going by yourself, are you? Damn it; if thatās what youāre planning to do, Iāll stop you with all my might.ā
She clicked her tongue and stopped in her tracks. Realizing that she couldnāt catch up, she thought about moving her troops to capture Liz. But there was no need for that.
āā¦Selene-Aniisama?ā
Selene appeared leisurely in front of Liz, who was galloping at high speed.
āIām trying to stop you, you know, Liz? Youāre being too reckless!ā
The blood drained from Rosaās face as she recognized Seleneās figure with his arms outstretched. There was no sign of Liz slowing down her horse. On the other hand, Selene doesnāt seem to have any intention of giving way either.
A horrible scene appears in Rosaās mind, but there is nothing she can do about it.
Even as she ponders, the distance between them is closing.
And then ā they collide.
A violent cloud of dust rolls up. Due to this, she was unable to grasp the situation.
āLiz! Selene-Aniisama!ā
The dust was blown away by the wind in front of Rosa, who hurriedly approached the scene.
The next thing she saw was a surprising sight.
It was not the sight of Selene being hit by a horse, nor was it the scene of Liz falling off her horse and fainting in agony.
Rather, she was being pinned to the ground by Selene. The horse, which had lost its rider, was whinnying anxiously, turning its head around, seemingly unaware of what had happened.
Rosa, too, was filled with confusion, but she stroked her chest and began to walk, relieved that he could stop Liz for the moment.
As she closed the distance between them, she could hear their conversation drifting through the wind.
āI didnāt want to hurt the horse, so I had to take a rough approach.ā
āā¦Selene-Aniisama? Why?ā
āThat should be my line. Right now, we should wait for the nobles to arrive from all over.ā
Liz put all her strength into trying to escape the restraints, but Selene didnāt move an inch.
āW-whatā¦!?ā
Liz was astonished. Her physical abilities have been enhanced by the āblessingsā of the Flame Emperor, one of the Five Emperors of Spirit Swords. An ordinary person should be no better than an infant in this regard. And yet, no matter how much effort she put into it, she could not free herself from Selene.
āStep back! Selene-Aniisama! I have to go!ā
āLiz, I know how you feel, but letās calm down first.ā
Liz glared at Selene, who tried to warn her with a smile.
And Lizās eyes moistened when she saw Hiroās letter shimmering at the edge of her vision.
āThere is no way I can calm down! Get out of my way!ā
Liz tried to hold back her tears and failed. Tears flowed down her cheeks and onto the ground, dampening the soil.
āUgh, hey, please let me go to the westā¦ā
Liz pleaded with Selene, letting out a sob.
Seleneās eyes twisted sadly as he recognized his sisterās painful appearance.
āI canāt do that. If I did that, his resolve would be wasted.ā
āI donāt need his resolveā¦ Let it go to waste!ā
āYouāre probably confused, so Iām going to pretend I didnāt hear that gibberish. We have to wait until we have the strength to do it. Itās the only thing we can do.ā
āIf we wait, Hiro will die! I canāt let that happen!ā
The murderous intent of Lizās body is increasing in pressure to an uncommon degree.
Seleneās face was tense as he restrained her, perhaps because her power was getting stronger and stronger. But even so, Selene pushed her to the ground with all the strength he could muster.
āIs that what the letter said?ā
When Liz nodded hesitantly in response to Seleneās question, a shadow fell over their heads.
āLizā¦ please respect my lordās decision.ā
Rosa bent forward and gently stroked her sisterās cheek.
āYou too, Anee-sama! Why didnāt you stop Hiro?ā
āEven if I could have stopped my lord, the Great Imperial Capital would have been besieged by a 200,000-strong army by now.ā
Considering the speed of the invasion of the Six Kingdoms, the prediction was not wrong. If the Great Imperial Capital were to be surrounded, its authority would be destroyed.
The reinforcements gathering from all over the world would have no place to go, and the Grantz Empire would have collapsed.
There would also be a betrayal by the nobles in search of their own interests, and some would even turn to other countries.
In fact, an investigation has shown that many of the central nobility are linked to the Six Kingdoms. It seems that they were originally linked to the Krone family, but the First Prince Stobel solidified it.
āMy lord, he went into battle to expose those people. If they stay hidden, thereās nothing we can do. He said that if we show them an opening, the traitors will bite us.ā
āā¦But that doesnāt mean why should Hiro have to sacrifice himself?ā
Liz, who had lost the will to resist, was released from Selene and sat on the ground.
āHe was the best person for the job. For the enemy, the descendant of the God of War is a great way to increase their prestige, and for the traitors, he is a nuisance. However, there was no way that they would easily turn tail on him in a straightforward attack. Thatās why my lord bought himself as a decoy.ā
āā¦..isnāt that too much to go on. Hiro didnāt have to use himself as bait.ā
āI know. But we have to trust him now.ā
Rosa put her arm around Lizās shoulders, her eyes red and swollen, and held her close.
āItās okay. Iām sure my lord will come back alive. He would return with his usual aloofness. We canāt trust a letter written by a naughty young man.ā
Rosaās voice trembled as if she were saying to herself.
Behind her, Selene stands idly, looking at his sisters.
āā¦..is this a prank?ā
Selene frowned and tilted his head at Rosaās words and actions.
However, he quickly smiled to mend the situation.
āGo back to your room and get some rest. Liz is probably tired from running in so early.ā
āRightā¦ get some rest first. Then weāll talk again.ā
āā¦..ā
With Rosa pushing her back, Liz turns her feet towards the imperial palace.
The gait is heavy and unsteady, so weak that it looks as if she might collapse at any moment.
The old soldier, Tris, bowed to Selene and followed the girls.
Selene responded by raising his hand and looking after the girls.
āHmmā¦ I wonder what it is. I canāt get it off my chest.ā
He tilted his head and wracked his brain, but no answer came out.
Sighing in resignation, Selene approached the horse that Liz had left behind.
āDriks, are you there?ā
āYes, Iām here.ā
Driks, who had been hiding in the blind spot, appeared as if in the shadow of the horse.
But the sudden appearance of Driks didnāt seem to surprise him, and Selene stroked the horseās neck and mumbled a few words to himself.
āHave you received anything from Hiro?ā
āāI have a letter for you, sir.ā
The brown envelope slid across the ground and stopped under Seleneās feet. He pretended to pick up the reins and the envelope at the same time.
āDo you think my uncle knows about this?ā
The brown envelope contained a single letter with a brief message.
āI reported it to him, so he knows.ā
āHmmā¦ he would have checked the contents. My uncle loves to snoop, you know. Did he say anything to you?ā
There was a pause ā a moment of hesitation for Driks, but the meaning behind it was profound.
āā¦Heās notified everyone that heās going to start the plan.ā
āIt is just typical of him, butā¦ there is something wrong with this.ā
Selene tilted his head, eyeing Hiroās letter with suspicion.
āIāve been able to verify the content, but I havenāt tampered with it in any way. Whatās so strange about it?ā
āWell, I canāt say for sure. At the moment, it just feels strange.ā
Selene shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile and headed towards the imperial palace, pulling the horse.
āIām going to see my uncle first. He might be plotting to undermine the stability of the north.ā
āI donāt believe Gils-sama would do such a thingā¦ā
Driks complained, but Selene did not listen to him and turned his fierce eyes on him.
His right eye ā the one with the golden color ā made Driks stand still there, forgetting to hide himself. And then he sat down as if his back was shattered.
And then ā Driks held his throat and began to suffer.
āA-aghā¦ W-what are youā¦ doing?ā
As if he had run out of oxygen, Driks face turned red as he watched.
āIām just venting my anger to you. But if you get too carried away, Iāll kill you next time.ā
Selene tapped Driks on the shoulder happily, and Driks began to breathe frantically as if he had been relieved of his suffering. A large amount of sweat poured down from his face and was sucked into the ground.
āItās all one ā if this is true, then my uncle isā¦ā
Selene begins to walk with a grim expression on his face as he rereads Hiroās letter.
The sun is setting. Along with the deep, piercing wind.