As the leader of the Dawn Revolutionary Army, Cassiela was experiencing everything in the First Princess’s palace for the first time.
And what surprised her the most was that whenever the name ‘Yuma’ came up, everyone suddenly became friendly.
It was practically a magic spell…!
With the combination of the identity guarantee stamped with the seal of Marquis Tornel, the protector of the southern front of the Empire, and the command from Yuma, all doors to the princess’s palace opened wide.
Every knight treated her with respect, despite her not looking remotely like a noble or knight.
“Please, enter.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Cassiela nodded ambiguously and walked into the depths of the First Princess’s palace, donning her black armor.
Step, step—
She came to a sudden halt in front of the office of the First Princess.
Michael, the princess’s personal guard knight, clad in delicate white armor, opened the door.
Even at a glance, he emanated an extraordinary presence.
The bloodline of the Emperor.
He exuded the unique aura characteristic of those who had been noble since the dawn of time.
Cassiela quickly bent her right knee.
“I pay my respects to Her Highness, Princess Brigitte.”
Thud—
“I am Cassiela, the leader of the Dawn Revolutionary Army.”
First Princess Brigitte gazed at Cassiela, the red-haired leader of the revolutionary army, who was showing her respect.
“Rise, Cassiela. I have heard tales from Marquis Tornel.”
Cassiela had arrived at the capital’s princess palace to support First Princess Brigitte under Yuma’s orders as the leader of the Dawn Revolutionary Army.
“You came to help me at Yuma’s request?”
Cassiela felt a sense of superiority in Brigitte’s words. It was a kind of highness similar to Yuma’s.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Welcome. Since my knight called for you, you must be a capable knight.”
Brigitte trusted her judgment about Yuma and, by extension, didn’t doubt Cassiela.
“A pledge of loyalty…”
At Cassiela’s words, Brigitte tilted her head.
“Revolutionary leader, Cassiela. Isn’t your loyalty directed toward Yuma?”
At the blunt words of Princess Brigitte, Cassiela’s eyes widened.
As Cassiela fell silent, unable to respond, Brigitte smirked and continued.
“Then you should pledge loyalty to Yuma. Why would you do it to me? You only need to act as commanded by Yuma.”
Brigitte had no intention of extracting false loyalty from anyone.
She knew all too well how futile that would be.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Cassiela felt that Brigitte bore an uncanny resemblance to Yuma. Perhaps it was due to their oddly similar deep blue eyes.
“We’ll postpone the knight’s pledge for now. When Yuma returns, he will bestow upon you the rank of Duke. It would be better to receive it directly. Oh, and of course, I will inform the entire imperial household. Treat the Dawn Revolutionary Army on par with the First Knights. Just receive your formal rank later.”
“Treat the Revolutionary Party the same as the First Knights. They can get their official ranks later.”
The knights belonging to the imperial First Knights did not even deign to look down on nobles of the count rank.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
As the formal discussion ended, Brigitte’s expression relaxed a bit.
“More than that, I’d like to hear about the time Yuma fought on the southern front.”
The solemnity that had existed just moments ago slowly faded. Brigitte’s face looked like that of a child just before hearing a fairy tale.
Thus, Cassiela was able to comfortably recount Yuma’s heroic tales.
With each word spoken, Brigitte gasped in admiration.
*
Leaving the land of white nights and quickly exiting Gelpiel Forest, Yuma’s group was heading towards none other than the royal palace of Pineon.
It was somewhat strange for the person who killed the greatest conqueror king, Kament of Pineon, to voluntarily enter the royal palace, but it was necessary to give clear notice about the existence of the [White Night Clan].
Having acquired the subordinates known as the White Night Clan,
it was his duty and responsibility as their leader to ensure that they did not get caught up in unnecessary disputes.
The royal palace was not far away.
It was not the official royal palace located in the capital, but rather this ‘temporary royal palace’ that was born right near the front lines.
Why a temporary kingdom was established just in front of the front lines, was due to Martes.
He had taken on the role of negotiator and subsequently ascended to the new king of the barbarian nation, Pineon.
When Yuma stopped by the Information Guild to ask about Martes’s current whereabouts, he was quite surprised. Now he was being called a king rather than a great warrior.
“That guy has really made it big.”
A third of the ten great warriors had died, taking down the legions underneath them along the way, but the barbarian nation of Pineon was still a formidable power.
A tiger without teeth remains a tiger, after all.
That tiger has just turned into a very docile cat when it comes to Yuma and the Astes Empire.
Growl…!
Somewhere, an extremely primal sound emerged.
The culprit, having pulled her robe low to avoid attention, was none other than Hestia, the Cat-Folk Swordswoman.
“Hi, heeek…!”
Whether she realized it was embarrassing or not, Hestia’s face turned bright red.
It was a bit past lunchtime.
The temporary royal palace was two blocks away.
Anyway, today he planned to meet Martes and spend a day here in Rangerus, so there was plenty of time.
“Do you smell anything this time?”
It was a question thrown at Hestia, who had previously caught a whiff of risotto near this place.
“Yep, I smell it! Sniff sniff!”
It was just a casual question, yet it seemed Hestia was already on food radar mode.
It seems that the food radar was already spinning.
“Wow, curry smells…! Oooh!”
Hestia turned her feet to the right without hesitation and strode forward.
“This is it!”
With a bright smile, she pointed to a shop with a sign that had a rather modern name: [Cube Curry].
Through the window, a mercenary was seen with his nose buried in a bowl, eagerly inhaling curry and rice.
Bell stared blankly at the scene and said, “Look at him covered in food, it must be really good.”
“Let’s go in.”
Yuma gave the go-ahead. Hestia and Bell rushed into Cube Curry, while Yuma and Cloney entered at a leisurely pace.
Yuma and Cloney ordered cube steaks.
Hestia and Bell ordered curry.
The three women had already grown quite close, having talked all the way to Rengers.
Bell spoke softly, “So, that means Cloney and I are the chosen ones by the divine, right?”
Cloney slowly savored her cube steak.
“Yes.”
“It’s Yuma’s job to take Cloney and me to the Empire’s princess.”
Yuma nodded.
“That’s right.”
Yuma intentionally didn’t stop Cloney from explaining the prophecy to Bell in detail. It would be quicker to cooperate if Bell was well aware.
With a swift motion, Bell finished a bowl of curry, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and opened her mouth.
“Honestly, I don’t care about the Empire or the princess. I’ll just listen to Yuma, and that should be enough, right?”
Bell’s pink eyes locked onto Yuma.
Yuma chuckled.
“Yeah, that works.”
Cloney, sitting next to Bell, stared blankly at her.
‘…That was a good line.’
Cloney thought that what Bell had just said was nice.
But it was something she couldn’t say herself. Cloney considered both Yuma and Princess Brigitte as her benefactors.
‘I’ll think of something even better later… and say it to Yuma.’
Cloney resolutely stabbed her last remaining cube steak with her fork.
“Yuma!”
This time it was Hestia sitting next to Yuma.
Hestia pointed at something in front of Yuma!
It was none other than the five remaining pieces of cube steak on Yuma’s plate!
“If you’re not going to eat that, can I have it?”
“Sure, eat it all.”
Yuma slid the plate towards Hestia.
Cloney assessed the line again, in her mind.
‘…I’ll never say something like that. Ever.’
Another resolution built up.
After finishing their meal, Yuma and his group stepped out of Cube Curry and quickened their pace again. Yuma turned to Bell and asked a question he had to confirm at some point.
“Bell, have you ever killed anyone?”
This was about whether Bell, who had been with the White Night Clan for 20 years, had ever killed a person.
Even if you were a genius swordsman blessed by the gods, there could be times when you couldn’t use your power when it was actually needed if you hadn’t killed someone.
“Five.”
Bell replied without hesitation.
“I’ve killed five. Not all of them were people who came fleeing from Pineon. Some had the gall to invade just for plunder. I killed my first at 15… and there were a few more intruders after that.”
Bell, who calmly recounted her story, paused for a moment and gazed at Yuma.
“Don’t worry, my Lord, I can kill anyone you command. I am your sword.”
Yuma’s endlessly blue eyes met Bell’s pink ones.
There wasn’t the slightest tremor in her pink eyes.
“I believe that.”
Yuma said, then walked ahead.
“That seems about right, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Cloney replied to Hestia’s words.
Amidst the buildings made of straw and leather, a rather modern edifice stood tall.
It looked like a high-class inn had been converted into a temporary royal palace.
Thud-thud—
As they entered, a dozen guards rushed toward Yuma’s party. A man brandished a spear at Yuma with a fierce face.
Huff—!
“This is the temporary residence of the king. Prove your identity…!”
The spear was rather chilling. The trajectory of the spearhead aimed at Yuma felt a bit threatening.
A ray of light dashed from Yuma’s side.
Swish—!
The spear made of iron split cleanly in two, scattering shards into the air.
The person who had drawn the sword and cut the steel spear in half was Bell.
And Bell’s right hand rested on the shoulder of the warrior standing beside Yuma.
Crack!
It was a joint lock that felt like an earthquake.
“Ugh!”
The warrior with the dislocated shoulder dropped the spear and rolled on the ground.
“That’s a bit too sharp for a threat, old man.”
Bell’s eyes turned icy in an instant.
And a dominating aura flowed from her body.
An ominous pressure that could weigh down the space.
“Don’t move.”
The warriors, clearly aware of the discrepancy in skill, froze in place.
Yuma tossed the lion-shaped medallion he had tucked away onto the ground.
“Tell them that Yuma, Grand Marshal of the Astes Empire, has arrived.”
He then patted Bell’s shoulder.
“Well done. Next time, wait until I give the word before you move.”
Yuma was quite pleased with the power that the sharp sword named Bell possessed.
His earlier worries were nothing but a misconception.
Bell smiled brightly.
“Yes, my Lord.”
The ferocious aura that Bell was emitting toward the warriors evaporated in an instant.
