Moonlit Ambush and Starlit Doubts
The only light piercing the darkness of Hesenia was the moonlight. Leo strained his eyes and steered the horse. Though the black horse couldn't see ahead, it loyally galloped in the direction he indicated. They called it an expensive steed for a reason. Even in pitch blackness like this, it ran steadily. How long had they ridden? A chilling sensation crept over his back. Incoming killing intent. He yanked the reins immediately. The black horse halted, rearing up on its forelegs. Thud! At that instant, bullets erupted from the roadside bushes. The shots whizzed past the horse's front by a hair's breadth. Whoosh! The bushes parted as thugs burst out. Their ambush foiled, they'd discarded their muskets and charged. Leo roughly drew his sword.
"You fucking bastards."
He didn't even dismount. He just kicked free of the stirrups and leaped forward. Slash! As the blade cleaved the air, blood sprayed. Their outfits. Their stances. Their movements. Leo recognized them. The ones from the debutante ball that day. The king's men. The same tactics. The same failure. But this time, he was angrier. His vision went red. He was on an urgent errand, and now these assholes were blocking his path again. Without reason or explanation, they just shoved their power in his face. So he cut them down without a word. Silence was better, he thought. He took no prisoners. If they moved, he slashed; if they breathed, he stabbed. He hurled fire and summoned lightning. Anything alive became a target.
*
'This isn't what I expected...!' The squad leader broke into a cold sweat as he watched Leo mercilessly slaughter his men. Today's order had been simple: kill Leo Valentine. The command was absolute, refusal impossible. It came straight from the king himself—essentially the kingdom's will. The squad leader recalled the incident at the academy. Thinking back still made his neck prickle. He still had nightmares about it. That guy wasn't a normal man. Even he, a Sword Master, had been terrified—something operating on a completely different level. But when he saw the reinforcements the king had provided, he thought it might work. Fifty Shadows. Shadows usually operated solo or in small teams. Deploying them en masse like this was exceedingly rare. They were child orphans raised by instructors into killing machines. Masters of swordsmanship, assassination, and marksmanship. Bred solely to kill. With this force, nothing seemed impossible. Human weapons forged like machines by the kingdom. He thought it would be enough.
Or so he'd thought.
'Is that thing even human?'
Whoosh!Thud. A head flew. One of the Shadows'. It rolled right into his line of sight, their eyes locking. A face frozen in shock, eyes devoid of life. With fifty heads, this wasn't a battle—it was a massacre. Leo wove sword and magic in perfect harmony, carving through the charging Shadows. Corpses piled where his blade passed. Fire and lightning mercilessly blasted them apart. Twang! The outer Shadows fired crossbows. Less powerful than muskets but silent and invisible in the dark, they were a favored weapon. Ting! A stealthy bolt sliced through the shadows. Leo deflected it with a casual sword swing, without even looking. He didn't just fight the front line. He targeted the encirclement too—snatching swords to hurl back or blasting magic to disrupt their formation.
'M-Magic too? No one said anything about that.' The squad leader sweated profusely. Fifty couldn't fight at once, so ten handled close combat while the rest encircled, waiting for openings to loose bolts. They'd rotate fresh troops when the vanguard tired. "...That mad bastard." Rotations meant nothing. The first ten were annihilated before relief arrived. Another ten charged in, and another ten died. No plan held. Expectations shattered. The exception had become reality, and he stood at the heart of the disaster like a calamity incarnate. Stunned by the scene, the squad leader finally grasped the gravity. Clop clop! He bolted outright. This foe was never winnable from the start!
Whoom! Thunk! "Aaaagh!!" A sword impaled his spine. His lower body went numb, and he collapsed. The nerves along his spine severed. Footsteps approached steadily from behind. Harsh breathing echoed overhead. Then, weight on his back, the sword yanked free. "Urk!!" "Did you send these to Elizabeth too?" "Pardon?" Crunch! An arm severed. "-!!" "Did you send these to Elizabeth?" "No! I swear!" Leo tapped the squad leader's body with his sword, rolling him over. He gazed down at the man's tear-streaked, expressionless face. No lie there. "But you wouldn't have stopped there. After me, you'd go for Ellie, right?" "That's...!" The hesitant squad leader. Leo crushed his throat underfoot. Crack. A gruesome snap. Leo sheathed his sword and turned. That's when he saw the dead horse. The black horse, fallen silently. He stared for a moment. The horse was innocent. "......" He looked up at the night sky. Stars densely packed the heavens. Then he dashed into the darkness ahead.
The shriek of iron wheels tore through the darkness on the rails. The train's wail shook the heavens, halting the city's breath. Elizabeth pressed her forehead to the compartment window. Her skin cooled slowly against the chill glass. "..." She glanced at the ring. A ruby-studded band. She'd bought one from a trinket shop as close as possible to the gold ring with the ruby, boxed it up. Surprisingly, similar rings were common. When she asked the shopkeeper why, he said, "It's the only ring the founding emperor wore, right? Pretty, and they say it brings luck and fortune. Folks buy 'em up. Oh, you have one too? Looks just like mine. Wanna sell it to this old lady?" The founding emperor's ring... Elizabeth slipped it onto her index finger. Zing! Electricity surged through her body again. But nothing else happened. The letter said the founder wielded mystical power... Was it not working for her? She raised her eyes. Stars floated quietly in the night sky. High above, impossibly distant. Starlight seeped into her blue eyes like waves. There, she saw him. The memories were vivid. His touch, his embrace, his voice. Reading to her every night. The warmth wrapping her from behind whenever she cried. It wasn't an illusion. The memories were crystal clear. Too real. He was Dad. Undoubtedly. So why did all the evidence deny it? The letter bore unfamiliar words, and the emperor's decree contained mechanical phrases like "entrusted with guardianship." Clear proof that Leo wasn't her father. Her hands trembled slowly on her lap. It made no sense. But she knew. All too well. ...Memories could be manipulated. She remembered it clearly from four years ago. How fragilely human memory could be altered, toyed with. And it could happen to her. Yet she wanted to believe. That Leo was her dad. That he was her real father, and this was all some plot. In those memories, she was held in his arms. With Dad. If those crumbled, her very existence would too. Who was he? Who was she? Her entire identity would collapse like a sandcastle. Something stirred in her mind. Cracks formed, gaps widened, alien winds seeped in. What if, really...? No. Don't. It can't be. But— ...She couldn't flatly deny it. That made it scarier. The premonition that one more step could shatter everything. So she didn't want to believe. Or maybe— she hoped she didn't. Hoped he isn't her father. Then, these feelings she's harbored might make sense. No need to break. Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. Her own thoughts shook her to nausea. She was going mad. Harboring such emotions toward her own father. 'No.' She shook her head. She sorted her thoughts at once. This might not be abnormal desire. Just normal feelings. Lust and love. The world's the mad one, not her.
*
Elizabeth knew returning to the empire was reckless—suicidally dangerous. Her inferences from the letter were clear. The emperor, concerned for her safety, had quietly smuggled her abroad before dying. If the letter was real. And if that emperor was truly her father. Returning to Hesenia was walking straight into the beast's jaws. It wasn't too late. If she wanted safety, she could just turn back. Ordinary days, quiet breakfasts, sunlight through the window, spring scents drifting past curtains. To keep it all, switch trains at this station. Simple. Change paths, return to her cozy home. "Welcome to Hesenia. Please present your identification."
But she didn't turn back. She never could. That choice vanished the night she confessed at the debutante ball. For one who'd brushed death's edge, nothing scared her anymore. Elizabeth handed over a wad of bills instead of ID. "C-Customer, you can't..." Quietly, another bundle. The station attendant swallowed and nodded. Clearing a path wasn't hard. Flash a student ID or lawyer's license, done. By the book. But the moment that name was recorded, trouble started. Anonymity was best now. "Hoo." Elizabeth closed her eyes, exhaling long. Different from Lenz. The air felt different. Cold and dry, yet strangely familiar. The word home surfaced—probably because she wasn't as strong now. Elizabeth left the platform, heading for the Imperial Palace. The streets weren't far. Nor close. As she walked, the city's scenery spoke volumes.
"Please, just a coin, please..."
"My child's starving. Anything, food, I beg..."
"A small kindness for this poor old man..."
Sewage and filth. People kneeling in it. Elizabeth froze for a while. This wasn't familiar. Lenz was ostensibly wealthy. Begging happened indoors or discreetly. No one sprawled in streets. But wasn't this the world's richest city? 'The emperor abandoned governance.' In a centralized system, the emperor was the system. Unlike kingdoms. Here, nobles feared the emperor more than sloth. Eisenwalt had its noble council, Britannia its parliament—minimal checks. But the empire? One emperor ruled all. If the apex falls, everything crumbles. Bureaucrats versed only in dodging blame, work stalls, cities rot. Maybe this scene was inevitable.
"S-Stop, please!"
A woman screamed in broad daylight. Two black-uniformed Imperial Guards gripped her wrists, dragging her. She resisted desperately. But a woman couldn't break free from guards. Silence blanketed the surroundings. Her cries rang out under heavy quiet. People pretended not to see. The emperor's personal troops. Imperial Guard. Speaking to them casually meant death. Elizabeth reeled from the shock. In midday streets, Imperial Guards sexually assaulting a woman? Beyond common sense, she stared blankly. Then, unluckily, locked eyes with a guard. Spotting her beauty, his eyes widened. He released the woman and strode toward Elizabeth. His filthy hand reached out. Reflexively, she twisted her shoulder, dodging. "Hah." She evaded, and he smirked mockingly, drawing his sword. He pointed it at her, declaring boldly. "I'm conducting a random inspection. Come along." "...Is this allowed?" "His Majesty granted me inspection rights. This is the empire's will—no refusal. If you refuse..." The guard grinned. "I'll inform you it means summary execution."
"..."
"Come along."
Elizabeth pondered. Obvious what he'd do if she followed. She planned to verify the truth and leave quickly. Her reputation in the empire didn't matter. Kill the guard or not, cause a scene or not. As she steeled herself, mana stirring—
"Cease this."
An old man intervened.