Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Reunion and Revelation
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After the situation had wrapped up.
The princesses' knight orders began returning from their respective zones.
The expressions of those who had captured prisoners were triumphant.
Especially Lydia.
With her hands proudly on her hips, she exuded an imposing presence despite her petite stature.
"Heh heh. Veil, do you know what we caught?"
The youngest princess pointed to a middle-aged male sorcerer who was meekly bound.
He had already resigned himself, his head hanging low.
"You caught the enemies I missed."
"I personally commanded the knight order for your sake, you tidy little thing."
Lydia placed a hand on her chest and spoke in an elegant tone.
"You did wonderfully."
I chuckled and praised her.
As I smoothed out the wrinkles in her collar, I quietly expressed my gratitude for her secret efforts.
"Hm...?"
But suddenly, in the light, her white blouse seemed to reveal something faintly underneath.
As if she were wearing something dark and clinging tightly to her body.
I thought it would be rude to peer at the princess's body, so I let it slide for now.
Instead, I turned to look at Rea, who had captured the young elf.
"As expected, Your Highness shows no sign of fatigue whatsoever."
Rea, dressed in her white uniform with a jacket draped over her shoulders.
She elegantly lifted her teacup with refined movements and savored the aroma with her eyes gently closed.
"They came right to us."
After sipping her tea, Rea looked down at the elf boy with a relaxed expression.
"Ugh...."
Rea's disciple, standing there dazed as if in deep shock.
He seemed to have forgotten what had happened to him, merely hanging his head.
'As expected, she interrogated him thoroughly, true to her nature....'
I was chuckling pityingly at the poor boy when.
My eyes caught a headband tucked into Rea's back pocket.
"Rabbit...?"
I muttered unwittingly, and Rea and Lydia approached simultaneously.
The two princesses looked up at me, narrowing their sharp eyes into thin crescents.
Then, they pointed to their lips and said softly.
"Isn't a fox's main prey usually rabbits?"
"...!!"
The princesses left me with those meaningful words and stepped back.
Irina and Margo, who had repelled the southern secret unit infiltrating the Empire, were approaching as well.
"Veil, are you okay...? You didn't get hurt, right?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Irina came over while Rea and Lydia subtly retreated.
She scanned my body up and down, then let out a clear sigh of relief.
"Veil...!!"
Margo was the same.
Dressed in a long dress, she ran to me and threw herself into my arms in an instant.
"Margo, you came yourself too."
"How could I not, when you left with that wistful smile? Do you know how worried I was?!"
The twin-tailed witch buried her face in my chest.
I slowly embraced her.
"Sorry."
Irina stared fixedly at Margo, who had boldly run to me right in front of them.
Then, realizing her emotions stemmed not from wanting to steal me but from deep affection as friends of over ten years, she gently closed her eyes.
After that, like the princesses yielding our time, she stepped back as well.
"I meant to come back soon, but it took a bit longer."
I gently stroked Margo's dainty crown.
The gathered knights and princesses watched the scene warmly.
All except three people.
"Uh...."
Lize, who had bound herself neatly.
Kneeling on the ground, she stared blankly at the Empire's heavyweights gathered around me.
"Those kids are definitely Leonhardt's offspring...?"
The grand sorceress, a half-elf who could instantly discern others' bloodlines.
She blinked at the three princesses who seemed close to me.
And even the great witch of extraordinary talent in my arms.
"Just what is that guy's identity...?"
Having lived over a hundred years, she trembled at the eyelids at this unprecedented type of human.
However, there was nothing Lize could do.
Following my command, she merely squeezed her thighs that seemed ready to burst and waited demurely.
Her disciples sat neatly beside her, awaiting imprisonment.
"Everyone's gathered now."
I waved to Batsch and Allen approaching from afar.
But suddenly, I felt like I had forgotten something.
"Ah...."
One person came to mind.
I hurriedly headed to the collapsed shop to find that person.
"...."
The crown prince, soundly asleep on the ground.
I grabbed the nobly handsome man even in sleep and shook him gently.
"Your Highness.... Are you alright?"
"Father...."
Surprisingly, not his mother Rozanna but murmuring about his father.
I woke him and slowly helped him into a chair.
"Hm.... You are...."
"Yes, Your Highness. Veil Mikhail."
The crown prince looked at me unpleasantly for a moment, the one who had brought him down.
But soon, as if enlightened, he sighed deeply with a relieved expression.
"Can you explain what this is all about...?"
"That's what I'd like to ask...."
I stepped back, showing Leon the scene unfolding before him.
His eyes widened hugely, identical to the emperor and Rozanna.
Instead of the southern front where he should be, a bustling capital city stretched out.
"This is...."
"Yes, Cornell. A new city in the northwest of the capital."
The princesses stared piercingly at the eldest son.
A murderous glare demanding a quick explanation for this mess.
He let out a shallow sigh and hung his head.
"According to that elf sorceress, Your Highness came here with her to brew an immortality elixir for His Majesty."
"Eek...!"
Lize bowed her head at my chilling glare.
"Yes.... Seeing you, Lize, it's starting to come back to me bit by bit."
I echoed his words and looked at the half-elf.
Then, in a cold voice, I commanded.
"Speak. What happened."
"Hnng...."
Lize tightly sealed her lips, trying desperately not to speak.
But the more she did, the rougher her breathing grew, and her face flushed red.
"Haa...."
Finally, she opened her mouth.
She slowly recounted what had happened with the crown prince.
"In truth, the cold war between the Southern Alliance and the Leon Empire was evenly matched.... Even if we struck first, we thought we'd take damage...."
No matter how well Grand Duke Rosetta defended, it was hard for one person to block a massive allied nation of sorcerers and talents.
Knowing that well, the emperor must have sent Leon while he was at it.
"But right then, Crown Prince Leon came down, and that's when the tide turned."
Lize was ashamed of herself for spilling the truth so obediently.
However, her sorcery was far too effective.
"The one who came down personally inspected and fixed every flaw in the garrison, properly distributing troops to reinforce defenses...."
The princesses all frowned at the words that Leon had worked diligently.
So, I forced a smile and defended him instead.
"He probably can't lie. She cast a submission spell, but it backfired on her because of me."
Lize swallowed deeply.
And, as if submitting to the tightening sensation in her throat, she continued.
"The Southern Alliance saw him as a thorn in their side. So they sent me to lure him away from the front lines."
The crown prince glared coldly at Lize.
With the hypnosis lifted, his sharp eyes turned fierce like a lion pack leader again.
"We heard he was working hard to regain his father's recognition.... So we used the immortality elixir as bait to meet...."
"After that, you hypnotized him and came to the capital together. But that's odd? If it was hypnosis, you could've just kidnapped him south."
Midway through listening, Rea tilted her head and asked.
True to her strategist nature, she coldly cited an example involving her brother's life.
"It's because.... He's strong in mana, so overt hypnosis doesn't work well.... And the immortality elixir is a real thing."
An elixir that extends lifespan exists.
At those words, the crown prince's eyes flashed again.
"That's real, right?"
"That's why we came all the way here for the ingredients, isn't it?"
Lize's tone was indignant.
When I looked down at her coldly, she quickly averted her gaze.
"Then, with His Highness absent now, the southern front is in danger."
I muttered gravely.
Lize hurriedly shook her head.
"That's not true.... Once I deliver the lifespan elixir to the Southern king and he recovers his health, they'll start provocations again."
War provocations.
Was the hard-won era of peace about to shatter with bloodshed again?
"Why go to war with the Empire on purpose?"
"We had no intention of full war. The Southern king just wanted to solidify his position through localized provocations. There's been a lot of internal strife in the alliance lately...."
Lize wanted to bite her lips that were spilling even internal secrets.
"But provoking the front where the crown prince is could spark full war, so we tried to pull him away."
Having grasped the full truth, the princesses and I all looked at Leon.
He hung his head with a bitter gaze.
"When I realized Father had actually been devoted for Mother's sake, I wandered lost."
His golden hair took on a greenish hue in the moonlight.
The crown prince wore an expression with no lingering attachment to life.
"With no one left to hate or resent, only the misdeeds born from Mother and my misunderstandings remained."
Leon clutched the rosario around his neck.
And murmured in penitence.
"I was merely trying to atone, even a little...."
"...."
The princesses fell silent at Leon's sincere demeanor.
Me as well.
We looked upon the crown prince, who had in a way lived a tragic life, with pity.
"...."
A quiet silence descended on Cornell for a moment.
Only the distant hoot of an owl echoed.
Then, the hoofbeats of the imperial army approaching from afar grew nearer.
Soon, Mosian and the imperial guards arrived.
They dismounted and approached the wrecked shop.
"I heard the report, but.... It seems the scale was bigger than expected...!!"
Mosian, whom I had contacted ahead before arriving here.
His eyes widened at seeing the crown prince, who should be at the southern front, really here.
"Did... Did His Highness Leon really betray us...?"
The prime minister, who believed the crown prince had at least some conscience, looked betrayed.
The crown prince, with nothing to say, merely hung his head and muttered.
"Yes.... A traitor...."
But.
He lifted his face when I answered for him.
"No, Prime Minister."
Because I said something unexpected.
"His Highness the crown prince captured this nefarious elf group alongside me."
At my words, the prime minister and princesses were all startled.
"Is that true, Marquis...?"
"Yes, His Highness performed the southern front defense admirably, so the enemy sent sorcerers out of concern."
I told the prime minister the story as it was.
The old man's expression gradually softened.
There was no reason for me to downplay achievements and lie.
"The elf sorcerers lured him here with the excuse of making an immortality elixir to earn His Majesty's forgiveness. Of course, he saw through the lie and helped me capture them alive."
"Such a thing happened...."
The old man looked incredulous at first.
But with many eyes watching, he decided to sort things out.
"For now, we'll move them to Cornell prison. Too many onlookers here."
"Yes. I'll explain more slowly on the way."
I glared coldly at Lize.
She hurriedly stood from her spot.
Her disciples followed and boarded the carriage leisurely.
Thus, the midnight commotion ended with the remaining imperial knights cleaning up.
On the way, Prime Minister Mosian conversed with the crown prince.
Greatly pleased by Leon's sincerity, he declared he'd inform His Majesty tomorrow.
Thanks to that, the crown prince returned to the palace with a somewhat softened expression.
The princesses went back to their palaces, leaving only me and the problematic elves at the prison.
「――――――」
Cornell's prison, Richmond.
The elves entered the cold cell and had their hands chained to the wall.
"Haa.... Why am I in this state...."
Worshipped in the south just yesterday, now kneeling in submission to fresh young humans.
Lize huffed with a flushed face.
"And why is the floor so cold...!"
"Because it's stone."
She flinched at my voice like a conditioned fear.
And blankly looked up at me returning with a blanket.
"Wh-what.... Why are you here again...."
"Why, can't I check on the prisoner I caught?"
They said sorcerers use strange spells.
So I came down to check personally.
"What's that blanket...! Don't tell me...!"
The half-elf stared at me intently with her turbulent green eyes.
Her long ears fluttered like in excitement.
"Don't tell me what."
I opened the iron-barred door without much thought.
And as I reached out with the blanket.
"Not yet!! I'm a first-timer, I said!!"
Unlike when I first saw her, Lize cried out in a pitiful voice.
And curled her body tightly.
But.
"What...? First time at what...."
Contrary to her thoughts, I did nothing to Lize.
I merely laid the blanket on the cold floor and stepped back.
"Huh...?"
Lize clutched her pounding chest with a dazed expression.
Her long ears, thinking who-knows-what, still fluttered bright red.
"Well, usually when you capture an elf, it's that kind of thing...."
"What are you talking about. I came to say I'll return you in exchange for no more provocations."
I looked pityingly at the elf with her accumulated strange knowledge and spoke.