Chapter 303

“…Something feels off, Captain.”

Justino said, his face grim.

“I feel it too.”

Vinchel’s gaze was fixed on Fillmore Barony in the distance.

Even from this distance, they should have been able to sense it.

The commotion of a territory under attack.

But there was an eerie silence.

As if the territory was shrouded in stillness.

Vinchel raised his hand, halting their advance.

He immediately dispatched a scouting party.

“Go and investigate. Don’t miss a single detail.”

“Yes, sir!”

The scouts swiftly rode towards Fillmore Barony.

The five thousand soldiers waited in silence.

After a while,

The scouts returned, their horses galloping at full speed.

“C-Captain!”

“Report. What’s the situation?”

“T-There’s no one there!”

“No one there?”

Vinchel’s eyes narrowed.

“Y-Yes, sir! Not a single soul in sight!”

The five thousand soldiers murmured amongst themselves, shocked by the report.

Justino’s expression wavered.

“C-Could it be…?”

Had they already captured Fillmore Castle and left?

It was unbelievable.

No, even if that was possible, it didn’t make sense for the territory to be completely deserted.

Had they massacred the soldiers and the civilians?

Even a former delinquent wouldn’t commit such an atrocity.

Vinchel’s eyes widened in realization, and he clenched his fists.

“…Our allies who went to Celtrine are in danger.”

“Huh?”

“Where do you think the enemy’s main force went?”

“Ah?!”

Justino gasped, realizing the implications.

“We have to follow them. Now!”

Vinchel shouted.

It was then that,

“Urgent report! Urgent report!”

A soldier, presumably a messenger, rode towards them at breakneck speed.

An urgent report at a time like this?

Vinchel’s face darkened.

“What is it?”

He asked the messenger as soon as he arrived.

“Baron Spazz’s territory is under attack!”

The messenger replied urgently.

At that moment,

Vinchel realized.

That this was a diversionary tactic by the princess faction.

The Celtrine family’s preemptive strike was probably part of this plan.

A cunning and elaborate plan to disrupt them on multiple fronts.

“C-Captain! This is a diversion…”

Justino also realized it, his eyes widening in shock.

“I know.”

Vinchel remained calm, despite his anger.

As the commander, he had to make the final decision.

Baron Spazz’s territory.

He was a lord who had sided with the Crown Prince, so they had to send reinforcements. But it wasn’t worth diverting their five thousand soldiers for a minor lord like him.

The Imperial Capital could handle it.

It was closer anyway.

But why had they sent a messenger all the way here from the Imperial Capital?

“Marius must have already mobilized. Am I right?”

“Y-Yes, sir. But Vice-Captain Marius ordered me to inform you of this as soon as possible…”

“Marius? Why?”

Vinchel’s face was filled with questions.

The messenger replied hurriedly, “I-It’s not just any enemy, sir. It’s the traitorous princess herself! She’s leading the attack!”

“The princess?!”

Vinchel’s eyes widened in shock, his face turning grim.

Justino also looked startled.

“C-Captain, this is…”

Everyone had assumed that the princess was hiding in the Sapia Duchy in the west, where her supporters were.

But she had suddenly appeared in the central region, not far from the Imperial Capital?

And she was even attacking a minor lord in the central region?

Vinchel’s mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation.

It was giving him a headache.

‘She’s not running away, she’s actually attacking? And in the central region?’

It was impossible for the princess to do this alone, no matter how strong she was.

She had someone backing her.

Someone in the central region.

And that someone was…

‘It has to be the Celtrine family. Unbelievable. Was this all part of their plan from the beginning?’

Vinchel saw the Celtrine family and the princess in a new light.

They had been secretly preparing a counterattack, to prevent the Crown Prince from taking control of the central region.

But the root of the problem was the Celtrine family.

If they didn’t deal with them, they would be a constant thorn in the Crown Prince’s side.

“Captain…?”

Justino’s voice snapped Vinchel out of his thoughts.

But he had already made his decision.

“I’ll take two thousand soldiers and head to Baron Spazz’s territory immediately.”

He had to go himself.

If they captured the princess, the civil war would be over.

He couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Justino understood.

“Understood, Captain. I’ll lead the remaining troops and protect our allies.”

Three thousand and two thousand.

Their forces were divided once again.

It was an outcome that even Max hadn’t anticipated.

He would have been delighted if he had known, as it only benefited him.

* * *

“Achoo.”

“Princess?”

“I think someone’s talking about me…”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding.”

Princess Oscar smiled sweetly, but the bodies of soldiers lay scattered before her.

Each corpse had a single sword wound.

They had all been killed with a single strike.

Everyone would be shocked if they knew that the princess had killed them all by herself.

Even the members of Blue Moon, the Sapia family’s secret organization, had been stunned.

Only the Sapia twins, her loyal followers and childhood friends, were unfazed.

“Bring him here.”

Ethan Sapia said.

“Yes, sir.”

The Blue Moon members dragged a middle-aged man before them.

It was Baron Spazz.

“P-P-Please spare me, Princess! I-I had no choice! If I didn’t obey, the Crown… I mean, the patricide would have destroyed my territory…!”

Baron Spazz immediately begged for his life.

Unfortunately for him, the princess was far from merciful, contrary to her public image.

And in this situation, she wouldn’t show any mercy, even as a ruler.

“Yes, yes, I understand. It’s understandable.”

The princess smiled, her beautiful face as expressionless as a doll’s.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Baron Spazz’s eyes.

“T-Thank you, Princess! I-If you spare my life, I will serve you like a loyal dog! I will do anything you ask, no matter how lowly or dirty the task!”

“Oh, really? But you have to understand too, Baron.”

“Y-Yes! Of course I understand…!”

“That I have no choice but to kill you.”

“G-Gasp?! Please!”

“Goodbye.”

*Slash.*

The princess’s sword flashed, and Baron Spazz’s head was severed cleanly.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The princess stood calmly amidst the spray of blood.

“…”

It was a chilling sight, surreal and terrifying.

But the Blue Moon members thought it was beautiful, mesmerizingly so.

“Should I display his head on the gate?”

“A-As you command!”

One of the members snapped out of his daze and carried the severed head towards the gate.

Emily, who had been watching, spoke up.

“We’ve achieved our objective, but we can’t stay hidden for long after this.”

“Haha, that’s true. But my dear brother’s mind must be in turmoil right now.”

Confusing the enemy’s thoughts.

The princess was saying the same thing as Max, even though the situation was different.

It was an insight worthy of someone Max found troublesome.

“That’s true, but…”

“That’s enough. A confused mind leads to slow decisions and mistakes. Well, my dear brother isn’t that easy to manipulate, but…”

The princess smiled sweetly and continued, “Then let’s go.”

“Are we going to the Celtrine territory…?”

Emily asked.

She was an intelligent woman.

So she suspected that the princess’s bold move was related to the Celtrine family.

The princess had said that she was doing this to make herself more prominent, but it would also benefit the Celtrine family.

So Emily thought that the princess might have formed an alliance with the Celtrine family to resist the Crown Prince in the central region.

“No.”

But the princess shook her head.

“I’ll leave this to Senior Max. I can’t postpone my own tasks forever. The armies from the east and south will be here soon.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Haha, I wonder how well Senior Max will do.”

The princess also thought that Max’s string of victories wouldn’t last forever.

He would eventually have to fight a difficult battle, a battle where he would suffer losses.

It wasn’t a bad thing.

She needed his skills, but she didn’t want him to become too powerful.

Even a special man was only cute when he knew his place.

“Haha, we shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Don’t slow down! Keep moving!”

Saya urged her troops forward.

If they encountered the reinforcements heading towards Fillmore Barony, the Celtrines would flee without hesitation.

Because they knew they couldn’t win if they were caught between the castle and the reinforcements.

They had to loot their undefended territory before those fleeing bastards arrived.

She could already imagine it.

Their shocked and terrified faces as they witnessed the destruction of their home.

‘I want to see that bastard’s face especially.’

A cruel smile appeared on Saya’s lips.

There was nothing more satisfying than that.

Soon,

The Ataraxia Forest, where she had suffered a bitter defeat, came into view.

But,

This time, there was no need for hesitation.

“Enter the forest!”

She shouted, charging into the forest without slowing down.

As expected, there were no surprises.

They would continue like this…

Huh?

Saya’s face suddenly turned pale, as if she had seen a ghost.

Because it felt like a dream.

The enemy was waiting for them in ambush, in the exact same formation as before.

Even the turtle flag fluttering in the wind was the same.

This couldn’t be happening.

The situation was completely different.

Everything was different.

The same situation couldn’t repeat itself.

This was a nightmare.

Yes, a nightmare.

“I-Is this a dream…?”

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

A volley of arrows rained down on them, proving that this was reality.

No, it still felt like a dream.

Because the same thing had happened last time.

*Thud!*

An arrow grazed her cheek, drawing blood and leaving a long scratch. Saya’s mind snapped back to reality.

“Ugh, don’t go any further! Stop! Everyone, stop!”

It was the right order.

She had learned from her bitter experience that it was almost impossible to break through the turtle flag unit’s defenses in a narrow path.

The Crown Prince’s army hurriedly slowed down.

Unlike last time, they were able to stop before clashing with the enemy in close combat.

“G-Good! Now turn around and retreat from the forest!”

The Crown Prince’s army hurriedly turned their horses around.

And then they started galloping back the way they had come.

Saya finally felt a sense of relief.

They just had to escape this trap.

And then they could reassess the situation and come up with a new plan.

It was then.

“You can enter as you please, but you can’t leave as you please, Lady Sayanoid.”

A voice she didn’t want to hear in this situation.

A voice that sent a chill down her spine.

Her heart sank.

C-Could it be…?

As if mocking her denial, she saw an army blocking the other exit.

Saya’s face turned white.

“N-No… N-Noooooo!”

Her scream echoed through the forest.