The moment Kirkland was certain of victory—a single girl appeared as if tearing through the darkness along with a “voice,” and swung down a black blade.
(What!?)
Where did she appear from? No, if he realized her true identity, he would have no choice but to accept any absurdity.
Kirkland also knew of her. He had even seen her from afar. Her Royal Highness the Princess’s trusted blade. A Rank 5 adventurer. And… anyone in this country with even a little knowledge of the underworld knew of her.
“Ash Covered Princess”—.
The Dragon Slayer girl who had made enemies of the Assassin Guild and the Thieves’ Guild, destroyed many of their branches, and single-handedly rescued the princess from the clutches of the Evil Race.
It was said that opposing her was synonymous with “death,” the strongest assassin…
It was precisely because she had gone missing that the Second Order of Knights had made their move. While many believed the Ash Covered Princess couldn’t possibly die so easily, they were intoxicated by the power of “Immortality” bestowed upon them, and did not consider her a true threat.
Kirkland had been the same. Precisely because she looked like a graceful, beautiful girl, despite knowing her fearsome reputation, he and many knights had misjudged her. And, with Prince Amor’s confident words and actions, Kirkland himself, having obtained a fraction of that power, had come to think that way.
With this power, they couldn’t possibly lose. The number two hundred was too small for a knightly order heading to a battlefield, but it was a good number for launching a surprise attack.
Especially in urban warfare, thousands couldn’t move at once like on a large battlefield. Only a few dozen would cross spears at any given time. In battles of that scale, individual combat prowess was prioritized over the size of the army, and without suffering exhaustion or attrition, they, who could fight eternally with just a little food and spare weapons, were truly an invincible army.
However, Kirkland was also a knight of this country, and prided himself on loving this country more than anyone. Generally speaking, he understood that what they were doing was an act of rebellion against the state. Even if he found the state of the nation frustrating, Kirkland wasn’t so childish as to not understand that correcting it politically was not easy.
But, ever since the Second Order of Knights became involved with Prince Amor, and through him, they saw the “figure” and heard the “voice” of the Saintess who visited the Second Order of Knights for a comfort visit, everything had changed.
By seeing her figure and hearing her voice, Kirkland and the others instinctively developed “affection” for her.
Once they felt affection, they came to believe her words. They no longer doubted her words. And before they knew it, the several hundred knights stationed at the Second Order of Knights’ garrison, who had become involved with Prince Amor, had transformed into devotees of Prince Amor and Saintess Licia.
A “holy war” by a mere two hundred men had begun. If they could suppress the old regime controlling this country… the old royal families of Dandole and Melrose, this country would change greatly.
If those two families didn’t move, the knightly orders in the Royal Capital, other than the Royal Guard, would cease to function properly, and the neutral faction of nobles in the Royal Capital would likely refrain from active intervention.
They, who were doing the “right” thing, couldn’t possibly lose. Even the slight conflict they initially felt, by loving the “Saintess,” they came to believe it was right.
If there were any concerns, it was the intervention of the so-called strongest and worst, the “Thorn Witch” and the “Ash Covered Princess,” but they came to believe without a doubt that as long as they had Prince Amor, who had obtained true power through the Saintess, they would win.
But, that “Ash Covered Princess” had appeared. How did she find out? How did she reach this place? He’d heard the “Ash Covered Princess” had deep connections with the Shadow Unit. Even if she had learned the route the Prime Minister would take this time from the princess’s head lady-in-waiting at the castle, did she realize just how far it was from there to here?
Kirkland once again felt a sense of crisis regarding the “Ash Covered Princess.” This woman was dangerous. She would definitely become an obstacle to His Highness Prince Amor and Saintess-sama.
“—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Even while being cleaved in two from the crown of his head, Kirkland let out a voiceless scream and raised his sword.
If one died too much, their will would disappear. Even without understanding this as the true shift from a living being to a mere Undead, Kirkland stood up through sheer willpower, and unconsciously swung his sword at the “enemy” who could become an obstacle to the “Saintess.”
In response, the “Ash Covered Princess” narrowed her eyes slightly, stepped in and drove a dagger into his heart, and then tore his head clean off sideways.
“—Ga…”
Kirkland’s consciousness faded, and in his last moments, he asked himself what he had truly been trying to do with “his own will,” but he received no answer, and his consciousness vanished forever into the eternal darkness.
A spray of blood danced from the momentary fierce attack, and as the girl flipped her cloak as if to brush it away, the light like scorched iron vanished from her hair, and her pink-tinged blonde hair shimmered in the moonlight.
The members of the Melrose Family present—especially those who had served the Melrose Family for a long time—as if captivated by that radiance like the “Moon Rose (Melrose),” reminisced about a nostalgic past.
“…Aria!!”
The voice of Mikhail, who was the first to come to his senses, echoed, and that voice brought the others back to reality, but the girl—Aria—began to move on her own before Mikhail could.
“Mikhail, not yet.”
There were still two Undead in the area. The knights’ human will had already vanished from dying too many times, but they still recognized Aria as their enemy and attacked.
But, too slow—.
Slash! Before the knight’s attack could reach its full speed from its initial movement, Aria’s feet, moving with blurring speed, gouged the ground, and she lopped off its head as if thrusting through the neck vertebrae.
Even if they could use their original skills and were capable of some degree of autonomous action, if their command system, the head, was severed, their ability to act would diminish.
Aria, having neutralized the last one by lopping off its head as well, said, “I’ll leave the rest to you,” to the Melrose Family knights who were dumbfounded by her extraordinary combat power, and turned towards the Margrave of Melrose, who was beside Mikhail.
“Your Excellency the Prime Minister. Are you aware of the situation?”
“Ah, yes…”
Belt, more than Aria’s dashing appearance and her annihilation of the Undead enemies, felt a faint pang of pain that she was speaking to him not as his “granddaughter” but as an “adventurer hired by the royal family.”
But, even so, Belt was a “noble” who protected the people of this country, and he faced Aria without letting that pain show on his face.
“I am aware that His Highness Amor has started a rebellion. His swiftness was unexpected, but it’s likely that not only Melrose but Dandole is also under attack.”
“The castle has been notified, but…”
Aria, as if not noticing Belt’s expression, began her report without a change in her own, strictly as an involved party.
Upon learning that Dandole Knight Commander had led his forces towards his mansion, and that the Rainbow Sword and Karla had headed there, Belt felt a twinge of unease that the “Thorn Witch” had gone, but still showed a relieved expression as Prime Minister.
“If contact has been made from the castle via long-distance communication, then the Rainbow Sword and the local knights should be holding Dandole’s forces at bay.”
“Your Excellency the Prime Minister, I believe returning to the castle would be best, but what will you do?”
“…”
At Aria’s words, it wasn’t Belt, but Mikhail, waiting by his side, who gasped slightly.
Kirkland was the only one who had found Belt and the others, but the raiding party couldn’t possibly consist of only them. If Belt were to return to the castle, Aria would inevitably become his escort.
Acting as Prime Minister, returning to the castle was the best course of action. It would also thwart the plans of Amor and the noble faction instigating them. However, in that case, it would mean abandoning Belt’s wife at the mansion and those who had served the Melrose Family until now, staining his name as a Margrave. Mikhail had refrained from speaking precisely because he understood that such a decision could not be made easily.
Margrave Dandole had also been forced to make a similar choice, and had returned to his mansion to protect his pride and his house. In their case, their position was more aligned with that of knights, and the act of allowing an attack itself would be fatal.
Even if it wasn’t the best decision as the nation’s Knight Commander, it was necessary as a Margrave who led many vassals.
“…We head to the mansion. It should be closer for communicating with the castle from there. We will await the arrival of the knights with His Majesty’s permission. Aria…”
Belt made the same decision as Dandole, choosing to directly defeat Amor’s forces rather than seek a political resolution, hoping to gain a stronger hold over Prince Amor, the Saintess faction, and the noble faction. Even if his true intentions were different, his position as Prime Minister required such a “reason.”
However, there was something necessary for that.
“As Margrave of Melrose, I request this of you, Aria-san. I need your help.”
“Of course.”
Belt, strictly as the “Prime Minister,” made the choice to send his granddaughter towards a place of certain death, and Aria, strictly as an “adventurer,” accepted her grandfather’s request.
“…”
Mikhail didn’t know their relationship. He didn’t know his own relationship with Aria either. He just thought it would be good if he could stay by her side… That’s what he believed.
But, even so, he had felt some kind of connection with her since they first met. Her grandfather probably knew something. Aria had likely noticed it too. Yet, neither of them spoke of it, and Mikhail slightly lowered his gaze at the sight of this unnatural and awkward pair.
After using Greater Heal on the knight who had been receiving Cure magic, Aria instructed everyone to mount their horses, while she herself remained on foot and took the lead.
“”…””
What did they see in that figure? The older knights, who knew of the “old days,” straightened their posture as if before a “member of their lord’s family.”
“I will lead. Follow me.”
As Aria started running at a speed comparable to a horse despite being on foot, the Melrose men hastily spurred their horses.
“…”
Belt, having involved his granddaughter in a fate where she might now die, yet also seeing her rush to Melrose’s aid in its crisis, superimposed the image of his daughter from days past onto Aria. From the small window of his carriage, he continued to watch Aria’s small back and her swaying, pinkish-gold hair as she ran through the darkness, his expression complex.
＊＊＊
“All units, don’t stop! Break through!!”
Around the time Aria joined up with Melrose, the unit led by Dandole Knight Commander, heading towards a mansion in the outskirts of the Royal Capital, unfortunately encountered the Second Order of Knights.
The knights of the First Order, led by Margrave Dandole, numbered just over fifty. If they were to fight properly, they should have had the strength to take on even twice their number, but because their enemies were Undead, the knights of the First Order were gradually being defeated, their numbers dwindling.
In contrast, the Knight Commander, who had already been informed of the enemy’s true nature, chose an immediate retreat not to engage, but to rendezvous with Dandole’s knights stationed at the mansion.
Even if the enemy were Undead, there was a chance of victory if they could force a siege battle. The main force of the First Order of Knights, which they hadn’t been able to move due to the watchful eyes of the noble faction, had already had its preparations for deployment towards Dandole and Melrose completed by the adjutant.
But even that would be futile if the Knight Commander didn’t reach the mansion; even if they grasped evidence of treason, they wouldn’t be able to make contact.
It could only be described as truly bad luck. And what was even more unfortunate was—
“Hahaha! The time has finally come for your end, Dandole!”
Among the attackers was a figure resembling Prince Amor.
Though the information was uncertain, it was said that Amor possessed the power to create Undead. With Amor present, the Undead became even more active, and Dandole was suffering futile losses.
“Why are you doing such a thing!?”
“It is necessary for the rebirth of this country! And I, as I am now, can achieve it!”
When the Knight Commander shouted at the pursuing Second Order of Knights, the cloaked figure at their head retorted.
From the voice, the Knight Commander was convinced that the cloaked figure was Prince Amor, but why was he hiding his “face” at this point?
“Nonsense… Have you lost your mind, Amor!!”
“That’s disrespectful, Dandole! I am the one who shall become the Queen’s (・・) Prince Consort (・・)!”
“Queen!? Prince Consort!? Have you truly gone mad!?”
Dandole Knight Commander understood Amor’s true intentions. His goal was not to make the Crown Prince king, but to use him as a puppet and effectively become one of the “Queen’s” consorts.
He didn’t know if this was due to Amor’s deranged delusions or the true intention of the Crown Prince’s faction. However, the Knight Commander intuitively understood who this Queen would be.
It was probably that suspicious woman—the Saint.
“Now, it’s about time for the finale! Perish, Dandole! You relic of the old generation!”
“Kuh!”
If Amor was serious about what he was saying, this attack wouldn’t be limited to just Dandole and Melrose; it would also harm the royal family.
From Amor, who had succumbed to Madness, an immense magical power overflowed, so potent that even the distant Knight Commander could feel it. Just as something was about to be unleashed—
ROOOAR!!
Flames erupted, swirling around Amor as their center.
Several knights were engulfed in those flames. As the spreading fire scorched the night sky, and even on Dandole’s side, horses whinnied in fear and halted, a “girl’s” voice drifted down from the night sky.
“Oh my, am I the first one here?”
A girl with skin like white wax and rippling jet-black hair spoke from within (・・・) the flames. And from those flames, Amor, his right half transformed into writhing Worms, sneered with only half (・・) a face.
Amor’s objective is finally revealed.
What is the meaning of his half-body infested with Worms?
If this becomes an illustration, I apologize to the illustrator, Hitaki Yuu-sensei!
Typo reports are truly a great help.
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