The emperor, Agares, who stirred up quite a calm storm with the announcement of the heir to the throne, continued speaking.
“I have to bring up a topic that gives me a headache just thinking about it.”
“…So, the demon army is coming?”
Marquis Kairos had shared everything that God Incrinew had mentioned.
Princess Brigitte nodded slowly.
“Yes, Incrinew mentioned something about a [Revelation] and said so.”
A chapter about seeing the future.
If we make inferences from what Incrinew said, the [Revelation] is like a prophecy.
“Is it really true that the [Blue-Haired Sword Master] and the [Witch’s Daughter Who Fell into the Dark Hell] possess talents that could influence the fate of this empire?”
The two had gathered, partly for Incrinew’s entertainment.
It was due to some merriment, but without a doubt, their talents were outstanding beyond measure.
As indicated in the [Revelation] itself.
“I can assure you of that.”
Duke Yuma spoke while looking straight into Agares’s eyes.
“The talents of those two are indeed heavenly gifts. The Blue Sword Master has already reached the level of Sword Master at just twenty years old. The magician side is also growing rapidly.”
Agares decided to trust Yuma’s words.
After all, he was the one who had saved the empire from crisis several times in just two months.
“Let’s trust in the eyes of the God of War. So, that means the likelihood of the continent invasion by the demon army mentioned in the Revelation being true is high…”
As Agares said this, his eyes slowly closed.
Marquis Kairos, Schwarze, and Brigitte rushed to Agares simultaneously.
“Are you alright─! Your Majesty!!”
Kairos, with his thinning brown hair mixed with gray, fussed over the emperor’s shoulders.
“Let go… I think it might be better to close my eyes again.”
The emperor, who had opened his eyes after a long eight months, concluded that it was better to close them again…!
Whoo.
The emperor let out a deep sigh as if the world were ending, then opened his eyes once more.
“The demon army.”
At the end of his line of sight was the first princess, Brigitte, who had been decided as the next emperor.
“Will you be able to stop them?”
Brigitte firmly held her elderly father’s trembling hand.
“I will stop them, no matter what. That’s my responsibility.”
Good thing she isn’t speaking weakly.
Yuma thought so as he rose. There must be something left to discuss among blood relatives.
He raised it. There must be something to finish even among blood relatives.
Duke Yuma opened the door and stepped outside.
“I should have come to inspect Emperor Agares myself.”
[Search Eye].
If he had seen Emperor Agares with [Search Eye], he might have been able to sense the existence of ‘God Incrinew’ beforehand.
However, he soon shook his head.
“That’s an irrelevant assumption.”
In the first place, when he met Princess Brigitte for the first time, he didn’t even know what [Search Eye] could see.
And Brigitte had also mentioned something.
When the Emperor lost consciousness, only those who had taken the [Blood Oath] could guard his residence. Those bound by the oath would die if the Emperor was murdered.
The rest were in a state where they couldn’t even access the residence.
In other words, even if he clearly knew what [Search Eye] could see, it meant it was impossible to meet the Emperor.
Creak—
After about 30 minutes of waiting, the door opened.
Thud—
“Hey.”
Yuma looked at the person who lightly tapped his shoulder.
Princess Brigitte stared intently at Yuma’s face.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, it seems I’ve managed to persuade my father quite easily.”
“So, the coronation is as planned?”
“Yes, it’s in 20 days. Father has approved it.”
Night began to settle in.
The sunset was visible over there.
Yuma and Brigitte descended from the imperial palace. Below, Michael, Brigitte’s personal guard knight, moved with precision as he awaited them.
Countless nobles were gathered on the Emperor’s land. And servants sent by high-ranking nobles had also assembled.
Most of the high-ranking nobles were now aware that the Emperor had awakened.
However, since the nobles who could meet the Emperor were still limited, everyone was fidgeting below.
A week.
It would take about a week before the nobles could face the Emperor.
When they reached an empty area after leaving the imperial palace.
“Ugh—!”
Yuma could no longer suppress the urge to cough up blood.
Red blood flowed out.
Brigitte’s steps abruptly halted.
“Y…Yuma?”
Her blue eyes widened.
Her face turned pale in an instant.
Her heart raced, just like when she heard the news of her father’s awakening.
Michael knew exactly what actions to take.
He spread his red cloak wide, covering Yuma from the front and sides, shielding him from view.
“Please, steady yourself.”
“Get yourself together.”
Michael’s words were polite.
Unlike the time shortly after Duke Yuma defeated the seventh of the Ten Lords, he had no choice but to treat Yuma differently.
He was the battlefield Grand Marshal who led the war against the Barbarian Nation Pineon to victory.
And with Princess Brigitte confirmed as the heir to the throne, Yuma also secured his position as a Grand Duke.
Swish…
Yuma wiped the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief. Then, he gently caressed Brigitte’s cheek, which looked like it could burst into tears at any moment.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a temporary backlash from that incident. You’ll be alright in a month.”
That incident.
Brigitte immediately understood what Yuma was talking about.
It referred to facing God Incrinew.
The corners of Brigitte’s lips trembled. It was a reaction born out of fear.
The fear of losing something precious.
“…A month?”
“Yeah.”
Brigitte’s voice continued to tremble.
Yuma.
The man who had become her sword. The man who had been with her through thick and thin.
A being she couldn’t just consider a subordinate.
So, she had started treating him as a friend. Brigitte always felt a little anxiety.
This person, blessed as he was, could someday vanish like a ghost.
As if he would simply fade away, dismissing all the illusions and vain hopes she had nurtured.
Yet, that worry dissipated after their conversation in front of the Oracle.
– You have a question, Brigitte. What do you want to do?
Yuma asked like that.
– I don’t want to let the two who came for me die. If someone has to die, it should be me.
She answered like this.
The warmth in Yuma’s gaze revealed itself after that exchange.
Even in his cool azure eyes, that warmth was discernible.
Brigitte found reassurance in that glance.
Finally, she could affirm, I have been acknowledged by Yuma.
A soft voice whispered in Brigitte’s ear.
“Trust me; I haven’t lied to you yet.”
Brigitte forced her head to nod, which wouldn’t easily bow down.
“That’s right; you haven’t lied… Yuma.”
She couldn’t entirely erase the anxiety.
Yuma’s words alone weren’t enough to wipe away the significant amount of blood shed, and its murky color didn’t help.
Could it be that Yuma was just trying to comfort her?
In that fleeting moment, she doubted many times over.
But still, Brigitte decided to trust Yuma as much as she could.
She didn’t want to make him feel awkward.
“I didn’t want to.”
“I’ll trust you on that, Yuma.”
Yuma gently stroked Brigitte’s right cheek again.
The trembling of Brigitte’s shoulders gradually ceased. Yuma noticed that she was unaware of the changes in her own body.
Yuma slowly nodded.
“…Right, trust me. It’s okay to start again, Michael.”
“Understood, Lord Yuma.”
Swoosh…
Michael neatly folded back the cloak he had spread out.
Step by step,
The party began to walk again.
*
“Ugh!”
In the vast clearing behind the First Princess’s palace,
the Cat-Folk Swordsman perked up her crimson ears, senses on high alert.
Because Cloney’s magic was flying towards her.
It was an ice arrow made of high-density ice.
As Hestia let out a scream that took her breath away, Cloney couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Stop being such a drama queen while dodging, Sis.”
Hestia puffed out her cheeks and pouted her lips.
“You can’t say it’s not scary! Look how fast your magic is.”
Cloney found her sister’s reaction quite adorable.
Hestia firmly planted her right foot on the ground and began to move her legs in slow circles around her knee.
It was a process to loosen up her legs.
‘…If it were Bell, she would have dodged much easier.’
Talent.
Somehow, she moved her body more efficiently than herself, a Cat-Folk.
No, it was beyond efficiency.
In her life, she had never once been dissatisfied with her own movements.
Considering her physical attributes, her own Cat-Folk body was indeed superior. Flexibility. Resilience.
But Bell’s talent wasn’t just in physical prowess.
Extreme efficiency.
Bell moved far less while evading far more.
Hestia understood her limitations.
‘I can never win with a sword.’
She couldn’t beat Bell in swordsmanship.
So she had to prove her worth to Yuma in other ways.
Just like she had done in the previous battle with Pineon, she needed to perform the role of reconnaissance, infiltrating the enemy lines.
‘Whatever it takes, I have to do it.’
For now, she didn’t want to give up standing by Yuma’s side.
Hestia placed both hands on her hips and spoke.
In a confident stance.
“Let’s do it one more time! This time, make it a little faster!!”
“Sure, Sis.”
Cloney smiled brightly.
The two continued their training until the sun set.
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