〈 Chapter 147 〉 Hostage Situation (4)

*

“I am Princess Ershiarah Rodeleim.”

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

If it hadn’t been Elsie who said that, it wouldn’t have been like this.

She would have been dismissed as a lunatic and promptly captured.

But Elsie was different.

Her presence and voice alone exuded a pressure befitting the princess of the Leim Kingdom.

That intimidation was enough to freeze everyone present.

The Captain of the Knights was no exception.

He too froze for a moment at the sight of Elsie.

But shaking off the daze, he pointed at Elsie and shouted.

“What are you doing?! Hurry, capture her!”

However, the knights could not follow that order.

The pressure emanating from Elsie was decidedly ominous.

Elsie spoke to the flustered Captain.

“Why are you pretending not to know? Even the citizens who hardly ever saw me recognize me, you should know I’m the real princess.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Then how about I tell you the truth? For instance, what you did three years ago.”

With a sinister grin, Elsie began to approach the Captain.

“Shouldn’t recalling that time jog your memory? I doubt you have forgotten me.”

The Captain started to take a step back.

“No, no…”

Just then.

“Captain, maintain your dignity.”

A voice echoed that was similar to Elsie’s but colder than ice.

It came from the fake princess.

And for some reason, her voice carried an unidentifiable pressure as well.

“Princess…”

At those words, the Captain regained his composure and stood straight.

“I’ve shown disgrace.”

“Enough. Since this person has touched upon your trauma, that’s understandable. But from now on, I will personally deal with this fake princess.”

“But…”

“It’s the princess’s order.”

Even though she was a fake princess, she still had to be treated as the real princess in front of the citizens.

Thus, the Captain had no choice but to comply with the fake princess’s command.

“Surely you don’t think you’re the real princess?”

The fake princess responded to Elsie’s provocation.

“I am the real princess.”

Her demeanor as she said that was remarkably composed.

As if to say water is water and fire is fire.

Elsie frowned at her attitude.

“Do you really believe that?”

“I don’t believe it. I am the princess.”

Two different pressures clashed.

There was indeed a subtle difference between them, but the ordinary citizens could never distinguish it.

Both were simply overwhelming forces.

“Fine. If you really think like that, I cannot forgive you.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I originally intended to punish were the knights who overthrew the royal palace and deceived the citizens for three years with false peace. If you were just being used, I would have let it slide.”

The original pressure was now laced with a threat.

For an ordinary person, enduring Elsie’s words would be a challenge.

Yet, the fake princess remained unfazed.

Instead, she retorted.

“That’s the rambling of a delusional person.”

She maintained her expressionless face as she spoke.

“And… Do you honestly think citizens would like you just because you suddenly claim to be the princess?”

She looked at the citizens surrounding them.

“You’re underestimating the citizens. They won’t just like someone because they claim to be a princess. If you suddenly show up and assert you’re the princess, they won’t support you.”

“And do you have anything to present besides being the fake princess?”

“Of course. During the illness of our esteemed father, it was me and the Captain who handled the actual duties for the past three years. But where were you and what were you doing during that time?”

“That… is…”

I fled the kingdom to escape pursuers.

I trained to strengthen my skills with my master.

I entered Hero Academy and became a Hero.

Indeed, Elsie had done many things.

But did any of that matter to the citizens here? No.

On the other hand, the fake princess had at least done meaningful work in the eyes of the citizens.

“Nothing, right? While the kingdom was shaken by threats from Sakh, you didn’t even show up. Only when peaceful times returned did you come crawling back, blinded by the position of the princess.”

There was no trace of acting in her words.

In fact, they felt even more sincere than Elsie’s.

The public opinion had already tilted.

“What’s the Knights doing? Why haven’t they dragged that fake princess out!”

“Claiming to be a princess? Hang her immediately!”

“She even committed crimes with that silly name, Masked Hero!”

There seemed to be no way to turn this public opinion around.

Except for one thing.

“The Royal Sword.”

Elsie mentioned that one thing.

“If you really are a royal with the qualifications for succession, you should be able to activate the Royal Sword.”

Even belatedly showing a hint of remorse, the mention of the ‘Royal Sword’ froze the atmosphere once more.

And rightly so, the Royal Sword carried the significance of the Leim Kingdom’s throne, far beyond just the title of princess.

Once that was brought up, Elsie had already crossed a point of no return.

It was a topic too grave, and the citizens fell silent.

Even the Captain of the Knights was the same.

Only the two princesses could speak in this situation.

And the fake princess had no reason to accept this.

After all, public opinion had completely tilted against her.

It would’ve been easy to dismiss Elsie as a paranoid delusional and put an end to this.

Yet, she spoke up.

“Fine, then let’s prove it.”

An unexpected reply.

Though a condition was added.

“Instead, your safety will be secured by the royal family. And during the upcoming Nameless Festival, if I activate the royal sword and inherit the throne… I will execute your brother.”

In effect, the public opinion war had ended in Elsie’s defeat.

Still, she granted a reprieve until the Nameless Festival.

The citizens could only admire the fake princess’s mercy.

And I had to helplessly watch as Elsie was bound by the knights.

Even while being bound, Elsie didn’t cast a glance my way.

After all, that was… the ‘plan.’

*

As I opened the dormitory door, I found Yusera sitting on the bed alone.

Uncharacteristically, she was curled up with her arms wrapped around her legs, appearing quite anxious.

“I’m back.”

She cautiously glanced at me as I walked in.

“Where’s Elsie?”

I replied.

“The mission was a success.”

“I knew it.”

The mission succeeded.

To lose the public opinion war to the fake princess and get captured, gaining access to the royal castle’s inner workings. Making them believe they had completely subdued Masked Hero. This was the primary goal of the operation.

Considering Elsie’s acting skills, failing would have been even more difficult.

Moreover, with the knowledge that neither the fake princess nor the Captain would kill Elsie, thanks to Seong Yoo-rang and Elsie’s insights.

Of course, the odds of being accidentally killed during the operation weren’t entirely zero.

But the crux of this mission lay elsewhere.

‘Losing to an old nemesis once more.’

Even if it was intentional, one could hardly imagine how challenging that would be.

Yet, it was Elsie who first proposed this plan.

I tried to dissuade her multiple times, but she stubbornly pushed for this operation.

So in the end, I had to approve the plan.

Her determination to seek revenge in such a manner was strong, and I couldn’t extinguish her will.

In fact, rationally considering, there was no more effective role than Elsie’s for a siege battle since she couldn’t function as a solid fighting force.

And… the mission ultimately succeeded.

‘It was a success.’

The operation was executed, and up until now, everything was going smoothly as planned.

Yet, I still felt uneasy.

As Elsie always said.

‘Understanding and being mad are two different things.’

The operation must proceed properly.

I still had things that needed to be done.

But I couldn’t help but worry about Elsie.

I felt as though I could still sense her warmth from last night.

Yet, once I faced reality, all I felt was the dry air.

That dissonance troubled me even more.

Elsie.

I wanted to rescue her as soon as possible.

But the operation had no choice but to wait until the Nameless Festival.

I didn’t know.

How anxious it could be without Elsie.

Before I reunited with her, when I traveled alone, it hadn’t bothered me at all.

Have I become weaker?

In the absence of Elsie, do I find myself so anxious now compared to back then?

If that’s the case, is it right to feel nothing in this situation?

As I paced the room devoid of Elsie, something touched my back.

It was a warm presence.

And, as expected, it was Yusera.

“Yusera?”

I quickly turned to see Yusera hugging me tightly.

Her red-tinted ears and the shimmering black hair surrounding them caught my attention.

“What are you doing?”

“Leim Kingdom’s deeply rooted wrestling.”

“I don’t really feel like joking around.”

Yet Yusera didn’t loosen her embrace.

“Last night, Elsie said if she doesn’t return and you look gloomy, I must comfort you.”

“What is she talking about?”

Seems she left some strange words with Yusera until the very end.

But wait a moment…

“Last night…”

“Yeah, I saw everything. Leim Kingdom’s deeply rooted wrestling.”

“Weren’t you sleeping?”

“That was when the chaos beasts attacked while I was asleep. Since then, I’ve hardly been able to sleep deeply.”

I finally realized the reason I hadn’t distinguished her breathing earlier.

At the same time, I felt sorry.

“Sorry, I thought you were asleep…”

“It’s okay. I learned something good.”

“Hmm?”

“Leim Kingdom’s deeply rooted wrestling. If you hug tightly like this, it’s all good, right?”

Silly as it was, I nodded.

“Yeah, that’s it. You learned well from Elsie.”

The warmth started in my back and gradually spread through my entire body.

And there was something else I felt against my back that was different from the warmth.

It was warm and moist.

Thinking back, that made sense.

Yusera, too, was a loyal companion of Elsie.

Like me, she too must be feeling anxious.

So first, I need to shake off this anxiety myself.

The good thing was, as the warmth spread through me, my anxiety seemed to mysteriously dissipate.

If I stayed like this a little longer, I might just return to normal.

“Yusera.”

“Yeah?”

“Regarding Elsie, we can only keep faith in her now. So, we must focus solely on our mission. Only then can we meet her when she successfully completes it.”

“Okay…”

“So let’s stay like this for a bit longer, and when we feel better, we’ll return to our usual selves. From then on, we’ll give it our all.”

For now, I wanted to feel this warmth a little longer.

*