Chapter 82: 21st Floor: The Ambush
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: 21st Floor: The Ambush
A man of the Swordmaster's caliber might notice, so I didn't eavesdrop on their conversation.
But the Emperor's face was wreathed in smiles as he left the room, and Irene, too, seemed fine considering what she'd been through yesterday.
“Pichina, look at this! He said this will protect me!”
It was a necklace with a built-in shield spell. It seemed the Emperor had given it to her as a final gift.
‘I guess he does care for his daughter, after all.’
And from that day on, Irene began to follow my words very obediently.
"Lady Irene. Let's rest at home today. If there's anyone you want to see, we can invite them over."
Words she would have normally refused.
"Okay! Let's do that!"
She listened very well.
'What's this? Is she up to something?'
She followed my instructions without any questions or arguments, to the point where I started to wonder. Perhaps the incident at the gambling den was a much bigger shock than I'd thought, because she would call for me at night, saying she couldn't sleep alone.
'This isn't so bad.'
Best of all, I could feel Irene's curvaceous body without any guilt.
Whether it was because we were both women, or because my chest reminded her of her mother, Irene would always touch my breasts or bury her face in them while sleep-talking.
Since she was touching me, I naturally touched her back. Irene's body, unused to exercise, was very soft and supple.
I found out later during my investigation that Irene's mother had passed away early.
On top of that, Irene's mother had no other children besides Irene and was said to have been very lonely...
While Irene stayed quietly cooped up in the palace, I began my investigation in earnest.
I gathered information on various topics: the political situation between the continent's nations, the history of the imperial family, the line of succession, and more.
I looked up books in the library and bribed handmaidens and fellow knights to hear about the current state of the empire.
'This is much better than when I just searched the office on the first day.'
The clues I gathered piece by piece started to connect like a puzzle.
The result was astonishing.
The Arcadia Empire.
It didn't seem like it, but they were preparing for war.
The current emperor, Hellaion, known as the "Iron-Blooded," had been slowly preparing for war for decades.
At first, I was skeptical, but looking at the various conditions, no other conclusion made sense.
It had been 30 years since peace came to the continent.
It was an old story, mostly forgotten now, of how the current emperor had lost his mother, wife, and comrades to the soldiers of the kingdom alliance.
According to a handmaiden whose younger brother was a knight, the number of knights had been increasing over the past few years, and he constantly complained about how the training was as grueling and intense as real combat, wondering why it was necessary in such peaceful times.
In times of peace, military spending should decrease, so the fact that the number of knights recruited each year was slowly increasing couldn't be taken lightly.
There was also a story I learned while drinking with a knight who worked in the palace, the son of a high-ranking military officer.
I boosted his ego, praising the greatness of the imperial military, and he immediately spilled the beans.
‘I never thought I'd resort to using my charms.’
I didn't sleep with him, to be clear, but I did give him a few smiling glances.
But the information I got from him was well worth it.
The current troop deployment chart showed that a massive number of soldiers were stationed where the rear warp gates were installed.
[Our empire's defense system is so stable, you know? All our standby troops can be deployed to the front lines in a single day! Hehe…]
The ability to deploy all troops for defense also meant they could be deployed for an attack.
‘For a nation with active warp gates to make such a move... this is definitely an all-out war. A short, decisive one, launched in an instant.’
I could feel their determination to crush at least one nation with just their knights and regular army before a mobilization order was even issued to conscript the vassals' knights and common peasants. In my past life, I had seen invasions using warp gates like this a few times in other trials.
And crucially...
'There's no way a trial would be this peaceful.'
The thugs in the market and illegal gamblers couldn't possibly be the end of it.
With the Continental Unification Academy and international marriages, the surrounding nations had lowered their guard, while our military had grown much stronger.
‘This is going to happen. 100 percent.’
A chill ran down my spine at the emperor's meticulous plan.
The problem was the timing.
‘Does he really need to marry Irene off?’
If he's going to attack anyway, why not just attack? Why go through all this…?
The emperor had a total of seven children, five of whom were already in international marriages with neighboring countries. Of course, they were all sons, so Irene was the first to be sent to another country.
‘Is he so filled with rage that he'd sacrifice his own children?’
Nothing was certain yet.
*
After my preliminary investigation was done, there was a week left.
“Lady Irene. Why don't you try learning swordsmanship?”
It was a bit out of the blue, but it was something I'd wanted to have her try ever since I arrived here.
“Me…?”
She seemed a little doubtful, but she didn't defy me. Like a good child, she followed me, changed into training clothes, and picked up a wooden sword.
“Still, with the current situation being so grim, shouldn't you have at least one move to protect yourself?”
“Grim…? When has it ever been more peaceful than now~”
As expected, Irene hadn't heard anything from the emperor.
“Anyway, let's try this.”
A very basic sword technique.
No, it was barely a technique, just a simple downward slash.
Swish!
Swish!
“…?”
‘Did I see that wrong?’
Swish!
Swish!
I had her repeat it, and she copied it perfectly.
There was not a hint of hesitation or wasted movement in her swing. It was a straight, precise downward slash, like that of a battle-hardened veteran who had swung their sword tens of thousands of times.
It was so perfect and beautiful that a single slash was enough to grasp everything.
“Um… Lady Irene? Have you ever learned swordsmanship before?”
“Huh? No? This is the first time I've even swung a sword up close like this!”
She was trampling on decades of effort by every swordsman in existence with her bright smile.
‘A prodigy… She's a woman with truly unbelievable talent.’
She hadn't become a transcendent being simply by gaining stats through sex.
From the very beginning, she was a person born with the potential to reach such heights.
“Ahem… For the next week, let's learn the basic sword forms… no, let's learn some cool sword forms!”
“Yay~! I want to learn something cool too!”
Her eyes sparkled as she answered energetically at the mention of "cool sword forms."
As expected, even though she still slept with me after what happened, she was still a naive young noble lady.
*
And so, a week passed.
Due to various events and parties, Irene had actually trained for less than three days.
And even then, she could barely do anything because of muscle soreness.
But despite that, she had changed. She might not be a knight, but she could probably take down a regular soldier without much trouble.
‘We're finally leaving.’
We began our journey, receiving the blessings of countless imperial citizens.
Including handmaidens, guards, and other personnel, the total count was about 200 people.
They were all people who worked or assisted in Irene's palace.
Dozens of carriages began to move.
These carriages would pass through two warp gates to reach the Luxendark Kingdom, located in the southeast of the empire.
'It's starting now.'
The only problem was that I still hadn't found the mastermind behind the plot to kill Irene.
‘The most likely scenario is that she gets caught up in the war when it breaks out…’
On top of that, the biggest problem was not knowing when or how the war would start.
Was what I did for the past two weeks really the best I could do?
No matter how much I thought about it, a clear answer didn't come.
Once we started moving, it would be difficult to prepare for anything, no matter what I did.
Should I tell them about the war and delay the march?
I doubt it... Wouldn't the emperor's royal guard try to arrest me for leaking state secrets?
As one of the viewers said, I could have easily cleared the mission if I had just kidnapped Irene and lived with her.
Of course, that would come with its own set of problems, but at least I could have cleared the mission.
Nevertheless, I chose this path.
I was curious about what Irene had experienced in the past, but I also chose this path because I was confident in my own strength if we were to get caught in a war. I trusted myself.
*
After being hosted by Marquis Howard, whose domain was near the border, we left his castle.
There was still no sign of war. The soldiers and handmaidens were laughing and chatting, and Irene couldn't hide her excitement, chattering nonstop just like on the first day.
But still, I had to take some minimum precautions.
Karon, the old knight in command of this march. I approached him.
"Sir Karon. We've received intelligence that state subversives will attack us during this journey."
I fed him false information. Although the intel itself was fake, I was 100 percent certain something was going to happen.
"What are you talking about? How is it that you know of this, but I haven't been informed?"
"This is something I heard personally from a friend in the Imperial Intelligence Bureau. It seems the higher-ups didn't want to cause confusion over something uncertain on such a fine day, but my friend said it's almost a certainty."
"Hmm... It's not that I don't trust you, but the Intelligence Bureau wouldn't hide such a warning without a good reason. Don't worry, and just focus on your duties."
"......"
I considered trying to persuade him further, but... I doubted it would change much.
The combat force here consisted of about 10 knights and 50 regular soldiers.
They were elite troops, to be sure, but if a force this small got caught in a war, they couldn't do anything but run.
Worse, the surroundings were all flat plains and grasslands, making it difficult to prepare for anything.
"Ah, wait."
"Yes?"
"If, by some chance, a battle does break out, your top priority is to evacuate Her Highness the Princess. Don't even think about fighting alongside us."
The old knight, Karon.
He was a knight on the verge of retirement after this one last job.
Having known the princess since her birth, he and Irene had a relationship almost like a grandfather and granddaughter in the palace.
"Ah... I understand. I'll do that."
*
On the night of the second day outside the castle.
On the first night we made camp after crossing the border, the thing I had feared happened.
'Something's coming...'
My eyes snapped open instinctively.
As the Agility stat increases, detection-type senses develop automatically.
'What is it...?'
I sensed it right above us, in the sky.
"Shit!"
I shot up, grabbed the soundly sleeping Irene by the waist, and ran out of the tent.
The moment I got out, a huge fireball crashed into the tent we had just been in.
BOOOOOM!!!
It wasn't just our tent.
Huge fireballs were raining down from all directions.
The surroundings lit up as if it were day, and people who ran out, startled by the explosions, screamed in panic.
Tents went up in flames, and people on fire ran around screaming.
"P-Pichina... what in the world is..."
It didn't end there.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud...
The sound of warhorses' hooves began to echo.
'This is a total mess...'
I had expected assassins at most, but my prediction was spectacularly wrong. It wasn't assassins; it was an army.
"Sir Pichina, what are you doing! Evacuate Her Highness immediately!!"
"Sir Karon?"
"Everyone, rally! We'll buy time for the princess to escape!!!"
As Karon's mana-infused voice boomed, the survivors began to gather one by one.
And the sound of the cavalry's hooves grew louder.
'Fuck...'
"Pichina!! Hurry and get the princess out of here!!"
"N-No... I can't just abandon everyone here...!"
Commander Karon and Irene's opinions clashed.
Under the moonlight, the cavalry charged, kicking up clouds of dust.
A cavalry force of at least several hundred was charging toward us.
They were right on top of us. There was no time to hesitate.
I pulled Irene into an embrace.
It was obvious that Irene was the target.
Even for me, it was impossible to fight while protecting Irene from cavalry rampaging from all sides.
On top of that, I had no idea about the enemy's full strength.
I quickly slung Irene over my shoulder and ran to where the horses were tied.
"Can you ride...?"
"N-No, I can't!"
I found the sturdiest-looking horse, pulled Irene into my arms so she was facing me, and mounted.
The entrance to the campsite was already being overrun by the cavalry.
"Ah... no! Pichina, let me down!"
The people traveling with Irene were all her people.
The handmaidens she grew up with, her wet nurse, her guards... they were all familiar faces.
"It's too late..."
I heard Karon's voice from behind.
"Everyone, hold this position!! Don't let them pass!!! We must protect the princess!"
The surviving handmaidens and soldiers risked their lives to create a barricade on the path.
But there wasn't enough time.
They tried to build the barricade even as their hands bled and their bodies burned, but before it was finished, the cavalry descended upon them.
"Hold them back! Protect the princess..."
Slice!
Commander Karon's head flew into the air.
"Aah... Mister Karon!! Nooo..."
The soldiers and handmaidens charged the cavalry with their bare hands.
They willingly threw their bodies in the way to slow the cavalry's advance, even for a moment.
They fought against the ferocious cavalry with pieces of wood.
"Stay away from Lady Irene!!"
Her personal handmaiden, Renia.
The strawberry cake chef, Handel.
The guards, Ren and Hans.
Her wet nurse who raised her, Delia.
Slice, Thud!!!
"Ah... ah, ah, ah... But why!!"
The people who held Irene's precious memories were trampled and killed by the cavalry.
They were run over by horses, cut down by swords, and blood splattered everywhere.
They died to buy Irene even a single extra second to escape.
The black-hooded cavalrymen, as if their only goal was annihilation, even stabbed those who surrendered or had fallen to confirm the kill.
"H-How did this happen so suddenly... My... my friends..."
Friends.
To others, they might have been servants. But to the kind and naive Irene, they were all her friends.
That was why she had brought every single one of them, and why every single one of them was dying today.
"Lady Irene. This is no time to worry about others!"
Whoooosh...! KRAAANG!!!
I barely avoided a fireball flying overhead by yanking the horse's reins.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
Neeeeigh!!!
The horse and Irene screamed.
Right, it would have been a relief if it were only mages.
[Haste]
[Iron Body]
[Strength]
There must have been a priest among them, as they were chasing us with area-of-effect buffs.
'Are they crazy, buffing the horses too?'
I wanted to buff our horse too, but unfortunately, my buffs could only be applied through sexual intercourse.
I felt truly sorry, but the people at the campsite hadn't even bought us any time.
The cavalry was right on our tail. Behind our horse, which was already struggling to run with two people on its back, black horses were closing in fast.
"Hand over the princess quietly!!"
I parried a spear thrust at my waist, and my own spear pierced the rider's neck.
'Pathetic...'
If Irene weren't here, I could wipe out these weaklings all by myself.
'First, escape. I need to get Irene to a safe place and find a location where I can fight with my back to a wall.'
I galloped on, dealing with the pursuers as they closed in.