Chapter 125 - I Will Go Cause a Mess and Come Back (1)

Arwen stood at the vanguard.

Everyone tried to dissuade her. Having recently woven her fourth circuit, the binding between her circuits was not yet solid. It was a time when she needed to avoid emitting energy outward as much as possible.

But Arwen was resolute.

Her response was to ask what the point of mastering a sword was if she couldn't use it when needed.

At her resolve, the Iron Lions sighed and stepped back.

"Arwen."

I called her name, sticking close to her side. She looked back at me.

"Don't overdo it."

Arwen gave a soft smile and lowered her visor.

CLACK.

"Then I shall go on ahead."

Saying that, she gripped her cavalry longsword and stepped far ahead.

WOOOOSH.

A massive amount of energy began to swirl around her.

"It's a Paladin!"

The Imperial Knights who had been closing the distance and charging at us scattered.

But before they could secure enough distance, the authority of a Master descended.

BOOM!

Over ten horses whose legs were severed by the Aura Blade instantly collapsed.

"Hap!"

The agile knights simultaneously leapt from their horses, narrowly avoiding being crushed under them.

But while they might have avoided the falls, they could not evade the subsequent attacks from the Iron Lions that rushed in.

CRASH! CRASH!

Struck by the Iron Lions' swords in midair with nowhere to plant their feet, the Imperial Knights rolled ungracefully across the ground.

However, none of them actually died.

This was partly because Arwen's Aura Blade targeted the horses rather than the riders, and partly because the Iron Lions' attacks were closer to blunt strikes rather than slashing blows.

Though we hadn't spoken about it, everyone knew.

This was strictly a sparring match with the White Hawks who had come out for revenge, and we needed to leave some leeway to avoid the Empire making ridiculous, baseless accusations.

But that was how sparring naturally went.

Someone might unluckily die from a stray blade, or an unforeseen accident could occur where the meridians of the limbs were severed or the source of mana shattered.

If those unlucky knights who suffered such accidents just so happened to be the most highly regarded knights within the White Hawk Knights,

if they just so happened to be the promising young knights whose talents and potential were recognized,

and if they just so happened to all be connected to me,

then it was still nothing more than an unfortunate 'accident.'

Truly.

* * *

Overwhelmed by Arwen's performance and the fierce momentum of the Iron Lions, the White Hawk Knights lost their will to fight early on and retreated.

Thanks to Arwen deliberately cutting down their warhorses, the chances of them chasing after us later were low.

But we couldn't rest easy.

To begin with, the likelihood that the White Hawks charged at us truly believing they could win was slim.

Because they too must have known that there were knights among us who had defeated a Paladin.

I presumed the goal of the White Hawk Knights was merely to buy time until other knightly orders could finish their preparations and appear.

And it had to be said that their goal was somewhat successful.

The actual time spent crossing swords with the White Hawk Knights wasn't long, but a battle was still a battle.

The knights who had to swing their swords in extreme tension, and the horses that exerted more energy than necessary from the excitement of combat, all needed rest. Ultimately, instead of riding through the night, we had to stop and make camp.

"I didn't expect the Emperor to exact revenge in this manner."

While the Iron Lions fell into a quick, deep sleep in preparation for tomorrow, Siorin approached and spoke to me.

He called it a petty and cheap trick.

The method that Siorin described as unbefitting a powerful nation was actually the most imperial way possible.

It was the same in the past.

When enemies pushed in with overwhelming force, the Empire would yield its lands with absurd ease.

It did so in the war against the greenskins, and in the war against the Kingdom 400 years ago as well.

But did those surrendered lands become the enemy's property? No, they did not.

The one who had the last laugh was always the Empire.

Because of this, there was a saying.

It was not hard to win a battle against the Empire's army, but it was exceedingly difficult to win a war against the Empire.

This was because the Empire preferred drawing their enemies deep inside to exhaust them, rather than facing those riding high on momentum head-on.

The Empire's enemies had to be most wary when it was time to retreat.

"Easy to enter, but hard to leave. That is the Empire."

Just like us right now.

"Riding a winning streak all the way to the imperial capital was nice. But the real challenge starts now."

I told him tomorrow would be harder than today, and the day after tomorrow would be harder than tomorrow.

At my warning that wasn't quite a warning, Siorin's expression darkened.

"If we hadn't defeated the Imperial Knights, could we have avoided this current situation?"

At his question, I shook my head.

"It would have been much the same."

Letting out a sigh, Siorin returned to his spot.

Looking at his expression, he seemed to have many regrets about what we had done in the Empire.

He might have been wondering if hiding my abilities in front of the Emperor had brought about his suspicion.

It was a reasonable thought, but it wasn't the truth.

I knew the temperament of Bourgogne well.

Thus, I had no doubt that the act I put on in front of the Emperor was the best move.

Because I did nothing and showed nothing, it simply ended as suspicion.

If I had shown off some petty ability or tried to mask myself with a shallow trick, I would never have avoided disaster.

I guarantee that the Emperor knew of my existence long before.

And he must have been agonizing over it.

Weighing Marquis Montpellier's reports against the circulating rumors.

The bloodline of Bourgogne that I knew was a breed that constantly agonized and searched for answers when faced with a problem, but they were not the type to hesitate once an answer was found.

That is why I revealed my existence to the Emperor, and then hid my true colors once again.

So that the Emperor wouldn't reach a conclusion about me before I even realized it.

So that the highly suspicious Emperor would be plagued by even more thoughts.

Only then could I buy time.

But it seemed the Emperor didn't want to agonize over it for that long.

Seeing as he sent people even at this late hour of the night.

I looked around.

And couldn't help but laugh.

Mumble.

SNORE.

It was because the hands of the knights, who were sleep-talking and tossing in their sleep as if by some prior agreement, were all tightly gripping their swords.

"Stop worrying and just sleep."

When I tossed out those words like a soliloquy, the knights stealthily let go of their swords.

I gave a look to Yorden and the Rangers who were standing watch.

'Kill them?'

I nodded at Yorden's mouthed words.

Unlike the White Hawk Knights who came under the pretext of sparring, these guys were unofficial guests.

So it was only right that we treated them unofficially as well.

"Mmph."

I covered the mouth of an uninvited guest who was hiding in the darkness surveying the camp, and cleanly slit his throat.

GURGLE.

Letting out a stifled groan, the uninvited guest went limp.

I roamed the darkness looking for the next uninvited guest. And every time I found one, I quietly severed their neck.

The number of uninvited guests wasn't that large.

Fifteen were loitering around the camp. And five were observing the situation from further away.

The fifteen nearby were handled by me and the Sword Maidens, and the five further out were handled by Yorden and the Rangers.

When I returned to the camp, everyone was fast asleep.

I told them to stop worrying and sleep, but I didn't expect them to actually sleep this soundly.

Then again, they were thick-skinned bastards who would snore in their sleep even with orcs swarming beneath the castle walls, so what was there to say.

* * *

As soon as day broke, I split the group.

"The enemies' targets are me and the knights, not the infantry."

There was no reason for the kingdom's infantry to suffer by following me and the knights.

I entrusted their leadership to Yorden.

"Ensure they all return to the Kingdom without a single straggler."

"Yessir. It will be done without fail."

I had no doubt that Yorden would successfully guide the kingdom's infantry safely back to the Kingdom.

Frivolous temper aside, Yorden's pathfinding abilities were the best in the North, no, the best in the Kingdom.

Even so, when I warned him to be careful just in case, he told me to worry about my own future instead.

"If it weren't for Your Highness, there'd be no reason for the sharp-eyed Ranger Yorden to willingly walk a thorny path."

I chuckled at his playful words, asking rhetorically if he would really be fine, and then set off on the road with the knights.

"For once, I cannot help but agree with that foul-mouthed Ranger. To think I would meet Your Highness in my old age and suffer like this."

It was the grumbling of old man Nicolo, whose high likelihood of being detained stemmed from him having many enemies and knowing too much.

However, contrary to his words, Nicolo looked somewhat excited.

He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his twilight adventure.

Then again, this was the same eccentric who, right before Winter Castle fell, stubbornly insisted on staying behind to record events until the very end despite having had multiple chances to flee.

He was probably planning to scribble down some unknown record this time as well.

I glanced at old man Nicolo and promptly took my place at the front of the formation.

"Let's go!"

* * *

A considerable amount of time passed since the First Prince departed the Kingdom.

The prince, who promised to return before his eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, hadn't sent a single letter, and all the rumors that trickled in were ominous.

Rumors that the Imperial Knights had declared revenge on the prince and the delegation for offending them, or that numerous knights were targeting the delegation to restore their honor.

There was not a single piece of welcome news regarding the delegation.

But up until then, none of the people at Winter Castle were truly worried about the First Prince.

"Do you know who His Highness is? He's someone who survived a war with a Warlord."

"Exactly. If he was going to meet a bad end, it would have happened long ago. I guarantee His Highness the First Prince will live to enjoy his natural lifespan until he sees his great-great-grandchildren. Assuming he gets married, that is."

The veteran Rangers and knights who had fought alongside the prince in the previous Northern war had no doubt about the First Prince's return.

Some were even looking forward to hearing about the adventures in the Empire he would share upon his return.

Who was targeting the delegation and what they were up to—none of that was ever a concern to them in the first place.

However, even those people at Winter Castle slowly began to waver as the date of the coming-of-age ceremony, when the prince had promised to return, drew near.

Word was coming in that the provinces down south were already gossiping that the First Prince had met with an accident.

That the prince couldn't fix his old habits and picked a fight with the Imperial Knights, causing only the innocent delegation to suffer the consequences. That the delegation had already become wandering ghosts in some unnamed wild mountain.

Even after those grim rumors reached the North, another month passed.

The prince still had not returned, and the occasionally heard rumors regarding the movements of the Imperial Knights ceased as well.

Still, up until then, they were merely anxious and worried.

Then, a particular piece of news arrived.

It was the news that the Rangers of Ballorhard and the soldiers who had followed the prince to the Empire had passed through the southern border and finally arrived in The Capital.

Vincent Ballorhard, the lord of Winter Castle, immediately contacted The Capital through a communication crystal ball.

But the voice that came from the other side of the crystal ball was not the prince's, as he had expected.

『His Highness did not return.』

The imperial ambassador stated that the prince had split off from the soldiers to take a different path, and that contact had been lost since then.

It was news like a bolt from the blue.

"He is surely delayed because he is shaking off the Imperial Knights."

Vincent Ballorhard forced himself to feign nonchalance and focused on his work while waiting for the prince's return.

Time passed once again.

It had already been several weeks since the promised date of the coming-of-age ceremony.

Despite this, there was no news of the prince's return.

"I suppose I must go to The Capital myself."

Vincent Ballorhard thought he could no longer just sit and wait.

However, contrary to his thoughts, he could not leave Winter Castle.

He had to handle the affairs of the dwarves who had just begun their migration, and he needed to oversee the construction of the Magic Tower by the dwarves who had already settled in. With winter imminent, he also had to stop the monsters of the mountain range that would soon begin their southern migration.

And above all else, he had to soothe the Northern lords who were beginning to waver.

The unity of the Northern lords had been solidified through the First Prince in the first place, so it wasn't strange that cracks were forming during the prince's prolonged absence.

The Silver Fox Mercenaries, who had remained at Winter Castle after making a certain deal with the prince during the last war, also showed signs of departing.

When the prince was around, it seemed like he was just lazing about, but once he disappeared, the void he left was immediately felt.

Half a year after contact with the prince was lost, the entire North began to falter.