Ch.311311. Caught You, You Bastard!

“No, this is…”

I stared intently at my palm.

Could such an enormous flame really have come from these small hands?

The firepower was truly comparable to a dragon’s breath.

Madeline Belcatri hadn’t become one of the worst villains for nothing after obtaining a hidden magic book.

Moreover.

The flames burned intensely but then disappeared calmly like evaporation without spreading.

It was a situation that could only elicit an incredulous laugh.

But before I could laugh, the voices of the Imperial Knights reached my ears.

“As expected of the one who stopped the Eastern Continent monster wave!”

“To think you were a mage… You just wiped out about a third of those traitors in one go!”

“Everyone, stay sharp! We have Lord Selden Alphonse with us!”

“Lord Selden Alphonse! Please give us your orders!”

Hiding my bewildered expression at the fireball’s power, I cleared my throat nonchalantly as if this level of magical firepower was an everyday occurrence.

“Everyone, there’s no need to be so surprised. If you fight calmly, you’ll all survive.”

War is fundamentally a battle of momentum.

My voice now was hope for the elite Imperial Knights.

For the traitors, it would plunge them into despair.

And to put the perfect punctuation mark on this atmosphere:

“Flame Explosion!”

Before the robed rebel mages could react, I quickly spread my palm and then curled it back.

The remnants of the flames that had seemingly evaporated earlier reappeared as the air twisted.

This time in a much more intense and massive form.

And then.

KWAAANG-!

The burning remnants reformed into a large fireball and exploded.

It engulfed the rebels in front of it, and some were launched into the air by the explosion before falling back to the ground.

Absolute chaos.

The rebels trembled, and the surging flames mocked them as they dissipated into remnants once again.

“Q-quickly, protect the prince!”

Some rebels who regained their senses, unlike their initially triumphant expressions, turned pale as they hastily retreated while protecting Prince Leonis.

Still dumbfounded by the now-powerful magic, I tried to put strength into my legs to follow them.

Stagger-!

At that moment, my legs gave out and dizziness washed over me.

This was the acute mana depletion symptom I’d experienced during the monster wave.

It was a physical reaction that occurred when drawing and using too much mana in a short time.

Only cast two skills and this happens?

No, considering the destructive power, it made sense.

I’d need to practice mana partitioning again when I returned to Leike territory.

“L-Lord Selden Alphonse! We must pursue Prince Leonis immediately!!”

The Imperial Knights shouted, watching the fleeing rebels.

Normally, they would prioritize protecting Princess Joanna Lumiere, but now they saw this as an opportunity to capture Prince Leonis and were blinded by it.

I understood.

If they captured Prince Leonis, they could sleep soundly without worrying about a succession war.

However.

The rebels we’d just seen couldn’t be all of them.

They might have brought about a hundred people to counter the Imperial Knights, but they certainly hadn’t brought everyone.

Plus, my sudden acute mana depletion.

It was a variable, so there was no need to deliberately chase after them.

“No!”

As I stopped the Imperial Knights from pursuing the rebels, the man who appeared to be their leader wore an urgent expression.

“L-Lord Selden Alphonse! The rebels’ numbers are now almost the same as ours. There’s absolutely no need to fear.”

“Are you certain those are all of them?”

“…Huh? Th-that can’t be. During the succession war, the number of retreating rebels was much greater.”

“Exactly. If they had brought all their forces, they would have risked exposure, so they likely brought only a select few.”

“But…”

“I understand your disappointment, but if the remaining rebels are waiting nearby, we could face a counterattack.”

Then, one of the Imperial Knights raised his sword and raised his voice.

“Why should we listen to someone from the Eastern Continent?! Let’s pursue them now!”

“Princess Joanna’s safety comes first!”

“If we miss this chance, when will we ever capture Prince Leonis? Easterner, stay out of this!”

Even the leader seemed regretful, licking his lips as he watched the rebels disappear into the distance.

I sighed briefly before speaking.

“…Very well. Imperial Knights, pursue the rebels. I will safely evacuate Princess Joanna to the Imperial Palace.”

The knight who had objected earlier stepped forward with an incredulous expression.

“How can we trust you? Princess Joanna should be—”

“Got you, traitor!”

Swoosh.

Slash.

The babbling Imperial Knight’s head soared high into the sky with a single strike.

I had already identified the traitor with “Insight.”

However, the Imperial Knights, who had no way of knowing this, drew their swords and pointed them at me.

They didn’t seem to care that Princess Joanna was behind me.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

Shouting “traitor” wouldn’t allow for a proper explanation anyway.

In situations like this, being forceful was best, regardless of whether they were Imperial Knights or not.

“Did any of you… even see my movement?”

No answer returned.

Of course not.

I had used Insight to check if there were more “traitors” while simultaneously examining all their stats.

Though they were Imperial Knights, none matched Rio Sergang’s skill level.

At best, the leader might be around Jawill Wilson’s level.

“Anyone who tries to stop me will die.”

“What on earth…”

“I’m taking Princess Joanna back to the Imperial Palace right now. If you interfere, I’ll consider you traitors and remove your heads.”

The leader gestured for the other knights to lower their swords and sighed briefly.

“…His Majesty the Emperor would also want Prince Leonard captured as soon as possible.”

“That’s only permissible when Princess Joanna isn’t present.”

At that moment, Princess Joanna stepped out from behind me.

Despite the tension from the recent confrontation with the rebels, her composed demeanor seemed somewhat pitiful.

“Everyone…”

Princess Joanna bit her lip slightly to steady her trembling voice before continuing.

“We’re returning to the Imperial Palace immediately.”

*

“How were you so certain there was a traitor among the Imperial Knights?”

Emperor Callian sat on the throne in the audience chamber.

Still kneeling on one knee before him, I spoke.

“The rebels pinpointed our exact location, so I had to suspect there was definitely an informant.”

Emperor Callian pointed at the corpse in front of me with an expressionless face and continued.

“Then how did you know he was the traitor?”

A letter revealing communication with the rebels was found in the corpse’s clothes.

Thanks to that, I could clear myself of the crime of killing an Imperial Knight, though I hadn’t expected evidence to emerge so easily.

Since I couldn’t admit to using “Insight,” I decided to add a bit of sincerity to my excuse.

“I didn’t know.”

“…You killed an Imperial Knight without knowing?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Emperor Callian’s eyebrow twitched, seemingly slightly displeased by my answer.

“Are you saying you were confident enough to handle the consequences of killing an Imperial Knight without reason?”

“I acted believing that Your Majesty would forgive me even if the person I killed wasn’t a traitor.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“The rebels who confronted us numbered only a hundred. Despite our initial victory, would Your Majesty, in my position, have pursued the retreating rebels?”

Emperor Callian showed a faint smile and tilted his head.

“Explain so everyone can understand.”

“Your Majesty came to Leike territory immediately after the succession war ended. That was because you were worried about Princess Joanna.”

“Yes, I admit that.”

“Therefore, in a situation where victory wasn’t certain, Your Majesty wouldn’t have gambled with the lives of the Imperial Knights and Princess Joanna.”

“…That’s plausible.”

I pointed at the corpse with my finger and raised my voice again.

“This man didn’t care about the Princess’s life. Since I had no authority to command the Imperial Knights, I couldn’t dissuade them from pursuing the rebels. I proposed to at least evacuate Princess Joanna, but he refused even that and tried to incite the atmosphere.”

“So that’s why you killed him?”

“Yes, I believed that an Imperial Knight who didn’t prioritize Princess Joanna’s safety must be a traitor in league with the rebels.”

Emperor Callian spoke loudly, as if wanting the Imperial Knights kneeling behind me to hear.

“Well done. I too believe that Princess Joanna takes priority, even if there was an opportunity to capture Prince Leonis. An Imperial Knight who can’t distinguish such a basic principle would have died by my hand even if he wasn’t a collaborator.”

At the Emperor’s words, some Imperial Knights flinched noticeably.

These guys whose lives I saved…

Should I take some credit?

Thud-! Thud-!

Having finished speaking, Emperor Callian descended from the throne, approached me, and bent down.

He gently gripped both my shoulders and smiled softly.

“…Indeed, like me, you know how to cherish Princess Joanna.”