< 148. My Knight >
“Get rid of it.”
“Yes, sir.”
The elves hauled the fainted Roger away.
“...You brought the princess along too. Is she the last of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“You said you hated the Dark Knight.”
“I still don't like it. But...”
He couldn't forget Ernan's earnest, pleading expression when she'd begged him to assemble the Four Heavenly Kings in her stead.
“But?”
“It's nothing. But you kidnapped a rather dangerous princess.”
“Do you know Luize Berft?”
“I know she's one of the top troublemakers in the Berft Kingdom. I heard she was grounded over the Tartus incident.”
“I'll tell you this, and only you. Luize Berft personally split open Prince Ormus's skull in Tartus.”
“...Pardon?”
A crack formed on Kaede's face.
“...I heard it was a demon king who did it.”
“That's the story they spread.”
“How did you, Your Majesty...?”
“I had a front-row seat. Well, it was self-defense, more or less. Ormus's second prince tried to kidnap Luize Berft first.”
“So they used the demon king as an excuse to detain her and bargain with the Berft Kingdom?”
“Probably?”
Kaede finally nodded in understanding.
“Still, how did she get away with it?”
“There were no survivors from Ormus. The dwarf handled them all herself.”
“Then why is Roger reacting so hysterically?”
“Before Roger was kidnapped by me, he was working on a weapon for Luize Berft.”
“I understand.”
“Want to give it a try yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“As the first imperial princess captured by the tower, don't you want to lay down the law for your junior? Types like her are easier to handle if you put your foot down firmly right away. You're the senior who arrived first, after all.”
Luize wasn't the type to settle down that easily, but since he'd kidnapped her, he had to make her behave somehow.
Assigning a handler was a good method too.
“Couldn't we just keep freezing her?”
“Only frost demons can pull that off. I have a talent for melting or burning things, but freezing? Not so much.”
And that was hardly something one princess should say to another.
“It's not like the statue can hear us, right?”
“True enough.”
Berge chuckled. Kaede had changed a lot from her initial arrival. Probably thanks to Ernan.
“So, what's your answer?”
“...Discipline, seniority—I'm not really interested in any of that.”
Clink—
Kaede's expression hardened as she gripped her sword hilt.
“I am a knight. I simply follow orders.”
Berge silently gestured to the elves who'd returned after depositing Roger on the second floor.
Moments later, all the artisan statues were cleared away. Berge conjured a small flame.
He tossed it onto what had been Luize, and it devoured her. Steam billowed as cold met heat.
And from within it...
“Wh-what...?!”
Luize Berft came to.
Her mind had frozen in the separate palace garden, in the midst of battling the demon who'd deceived her.
The sudden change in surroundings left her disoriented.
But she grasped reality. The demon who'd kidnapped her stood in the distance.
“This is your doing!”
Illusion? Kidnapping?
Didn't matter. She'd just kill him.
Her short legs pounded the ground. Her massive axe plummeted vertically, as if to cleave the world.
────!
The powerful rebound sent her staggering back two steps. Aura shards raked her body.
But the demon didn't budge. A woman stood in his path.
A knight in finely forged armor, her sharp presence unwavering.
“And who the hell are you?”
“Pleased to meet you, Luize Berft. First time seeing you up close.”
“Who asked? Doesn't matter—you're guarding a demon, so you're just another damn demon...”
“Kaede Jespain. Ninth imperial princess of the Jespain Empire.”
“...An imperial princess?”
Luize's brow twitched.
“...The imperial princess kidnapped by the Flame Demon King?”
“Correct.”
“Then this is...?”
“The Flame Demon Tower.”
“And that bastard?”
“Not 'bastard'—His Majesty the Flame Demon King. Mind your words.”
So she'd been kidnapped by a demon king.
She hadn't expected anyone to dare kidnap her, so it was novel. But in the current situation, the fact of her kidnapping didn't weigh heavily.
“Why?”
“I don't follow.”
“Why's an imperial princess like you protecting that demon bastard?”
Kidnapping? She could grudgingly accept a deranged demon king going all-in on a whim.
The Lust Demon King had done just that, after all.
But an imperial princess serving a demon king? She couldn't picture it, no matter how hard she tried.
Maybe she was dreaming. Trapped in a succubus's illusion by the Lust Demon King.
Yeah, that made more sense. That bitch would hold a grudge after Luize cut off her tail.
“Everyone has their own circumstances...”
Kaede shut her mouth.
'To think I'd be the one saying this.'
It was Ernan's exact response when she'd asked why she served the demon king.
Kaede could guess her feelings. Luize Berft was probably just like her back then.
The surest way, based on her own experience?
'Make her fully grasp her situation.'
“Why stop mid-sentence?”
“Do you need more words? Princess or not, I am His Majesty's knight now. If you want to kill the Demon King and leave the tower, beat me first.”
“The Demon King's knight? What the hell is...”
Luize hastily raised her axe. A razor-sharp blade sliced through space, striking the axe's side.
“Do we need to chat with such fine weapons at hand?”
“...An imperial princess resorting to such cowardly tricks?”
“Right now, I'm the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight, I'm blocking you.”
So.
Bring your all.
Berge noted the faint upward curl of Kaede's lips.
'Come to think of it...'
Since arriving at the tower, Kaede hadn't had a proper real fight against an equal.
She looked downright excited.
* * *
Kaede Jespain was often described as the finest swordswoman among the imperial family.
The scope being limited to royals might seem like a frog in a well, but remember—they were imperials of the Jespain Empire.
The continent's greatest, strongest nation.
From childhood, they consumed rare elixirs, trained by the finest talents gathered from across the land.
And what they learned were the imperial secrets. With superior foundations, teachers, and methods, leading among them was no simple feat.
Then she ascended to the Demon King's tower—and took another step forward.
In the mana-scarce extreme environment, her aura control grew even finer, faster.
She'd witnessed a rare high spirit summoning up close, absorbing pure spirit mana that propelled her further.
Thus, Kaede was.
Strong.
────!
Golden aura danced.
The emperor's sword strike pinned the axe down.
Luize retreated. The unresolved shock rattled her body.
'What the...?'
Before she could react, Kaede moved again—like a bullet piercing space.
Speed amplified power into overwhelming violence.
─!
Her feet dug into the ground. Twisting muscles and screaming bones transcended pain, erupting in a roar.
“You bitch!”
Luize gripped her axe tighter, shaking off the shock and swinging wide.
A fierce wind howled. Kaede stepped back. Luize reset her stance.
Then she charged first.
She swung. Green aura severed space itself.
Kaede twisted away from the golden flash targeting her blind spot. The shallow cut grazing her skin was the cost of the axe fully connecting.
─!
But the sword, which should have been elsewhere, had returned to position. The axe clashed with blade instead of flesh and bone.
Raw power collided in a perfect head-on clash. Kaede yielded two steps.
Hoo.
Luize smiled for the first time.
Right—when I get serious, she can't overpower me.
The dwarf's compact, dense muscles bulged. She pressed the advantage, pursuing the retreating Kaede.
Berft royal techniques traced brown arcs, a storm pulverizing all.
Grind her down.
Seeing the twisted grin, Kaede sharpened her senses further.
The axe's whirlwind was death if she slipped. But that was all.
Kagagak—
Her sword moved. Clashed with the axe, then slipped aside.
Once is chance, twice is inevitability, thrice is skill.
And strung together, it becomes a gap.
It didn't take long for Luize's smile to vanish.
The axe's power grew, the shattered ground more wretched—but it never touched Kaede.
And so.
Finally.
──!
The axe flew from its master's grip. Luize's palms tore open, staining red. The heated blade plunged beside the fallen dwarf.
“It's over.”
Kaede calmly declared Luize's defeat.
* * *
Clap clap clap—
“Excellent.”
Berge's applause echoed through the quiet first floor.
'Impressive.'
In truth, Kaede hadn't existed in his previous regression, his future. She'd died in the False Tower without spreading her wings.
He hadn't expected her to perform like this.
'Overwhelming Luize, who ranks among the top fingers even without hero status?'
Not quite overwhelming. But who cared? She held the advantage throughout, and when pushed back on power, she exploited the opening for a swift finish.
'And she's an imperial princess, no less.'
One closely tied to the third prince, with a shot at the throne.
Her value was dazzling.
“Well done.”
“Thank you.”
“So, Luize Berft.”
Berge squatted, meeting the sprawled dwarf's eyes.
“What now?”
“......”
“You've been kidnapped to a Demon King's tower and defeated by my knight. You have two choices.”
“Choices?”
“Resist wildly until your limbs are bound and you're rotting in a dungeon waiting for rescue, or become my subordinate and serve me.”
“You're totally insane, huh?”
Luize snorted.
“I don't know how you brainwashed that ditzy bitch, but you think I'll serve a bastard like you?”
“Otherwise, you'll rot in an underground cell forever.”
“Hilarious. You think the Berft Kingdom will sit still? You're done.”
“Am I?”
Berge silently handed her a sheet of paper.
“Even a troublemaker princess like you can read it, being a dwarf.”
“...You're nuts. Completely lost it?”
Luize burst into laughter. It was a blueprint. For something absurd, impossible.
“I'll use this to escape my old position. Then the heroes who come to save you will claim the credit. Forever. Naturally, you'll still be locked up.”
“You really think this is possible?”
“What's stopping it?”
“Duh, if you weren't an idiot, you wouldn't have kidnapped me. Listen up—this is a golem! Over 20 meters tall!”
“And?”
“Even in Berft, the most advanced in magitech, 10 meters is the limit. And you, a demon who doesn't know the 'ma' in magitech, think you can make one over 20?”
“Of course, as a Demon King, I don't know magitech. But I'm not the one making it. Dwarves like you are.”
“...Dwarves?”
“The designer's name is in the corner of the blueprint.”
'Roger Friedri.'
“...Roger?”
“How do you think I know about Roger?”
“...Roger's here?”
“I kidnapped him. Along with 49 dwarf artisans from the royal workshop. And look around.”
Not far from the fierce battlefield of Kaede and Luize, piles of materials loomed.
“That's just the tip. More will arrive soon—all for the golem.”
“Ah, no way. Making a golem is impossible.”
“The core's the hardest part. That's why they stall at 10 meters.”
“Right. The core is the pinnacle of magitech. The whole kingdom struggles for 10 meters—think 50 dwarves change that?”
The royal artisans and Roger weren't 'just' anyone, but for cores, it rang true. If easy, Berft's golems would already top dozens of meters.
But.
“When did I say we'd make the core? Is one in the blueprint?”
Luize checked again. None. No core details anywhere.
“What the...”
“The tower itself is the core. It'll provide power, so no need to make one.”
“No way that's...”
“Ma-gye's authority is the universe's best. Unlike dwarves puffed up in their one dimension.”
“......”
“At least Roger saw potential. You know his skill best—who begged for weapons like a whiner?”
“......”
Luize didn't reply. But anyone could see her desperately pondering the possibility.
“Locked in a cell forever, you won't swing your beloved axe. Hell, you'd have to swear off exercise entirely.”
“M-muscle atrophy!”
“What's that mean?”
Tsk. Berge clicked his tongue, deciding to dangle a carrot now.
He held up ten fingers.
“Ten years.”
“What?”
“Become my subordinate, and I'll use you for exactly ten years, then release you. Better than rotting in a dungeon forever, right? Short hardship for lifelong freedom.”
“Liar! How can I trust a demon king's bullshit?”
“I swear on the great first Mahwang and the sacred Demon King's Canon, dearer than my life.”
“First Mahwang and Canon...?”
“You know how precious and symbolic they are to us demons?”
“......”
Silence fell. Luize finally spoke after a long pause.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Roger. Let me do whatever to Roger. That insolent bastard...”
“No killing or major injuries. Or anything hindering production.”
“Fine.”
“But there's a price.”
“Price?”
“Listen while you eat. Resist, and the orb shatters—back to the dungeon to rot forever if you want.”
Berge offered Armani's Orb.
“Convince the 49 artisans kidnapped with you—yourself.”
With the princess there, he didn't need to bother.
Especially a brute who'd smash heads if they didn't listen.
“...Fine.”
Luize grimaced at the orb melting into her but nodded.
* * *
“Your Majesty.”
“Hm?”
“Are the first Mahwang and Canon that trivial?”
“What're you talking about?”
“Ernan said something similar, Roger too, and now Luize Berft...”
Kaede's eyes narrowed.
“Surely you didn't promise me without meaning it...?”
“As if. You're my precious knight. I'd never break a promise to my knight.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really, truly?”
“...Want some chocolate?”
“...Thank you.”
The sweet chocolate slid into Kaede's mouth. Her mood lifted.
“...I'll believe you for now.”
“That's my knight!”
< 148. My Knight > End
