Ch.3635. Rachel Ignite (2)

# 35. Rachel Ignite (2)

The news delivered a shocking announcement to the citizens on Sunday, the day after his investiture ceremony.

Babylon Kingdom had occupied Eden, one of Orion Kingdom’s major cities, and the Kainis Empire had provided military support to Orion Kingdom.

Eden was considered Orion’s second capital, making its fall shocking not only to the Empire but to all other nations as well.

Although Babylon Kingdom had attacked Orion Kingdom numerous times before, until now Orion had managed to defend itself quite well.

But this time was different.

This time, the captain of Babylon’s knights—the order sometimes called the Demon King’s Army—had personally participated in the battle.

‘So it happened after all.’

I was surprised by this fact.

However, what surprised me wasn’t Eden’s occupation.

It was that the future had changed.

In my previous life, the war between Orion and Babylon didn’t progress this quickly.

An event that should have happened three years later had already occurred.

This realization hit me in both good and bad ways.

I was simultaneously consumed by hope that the future could be changed and despair that I could no longer adequately prepare for what was to come.

Still, since I had already anticipated this possibility, the shock wasn’t too severe.

I already knew and was prepared for the fact that my actions would change the future.

I had confidence that I could overcome whatever happened.

But right now, I was far too weak.

While I had become incomparably stronger than in my previous life, I was still woefully inadequate.

I had been aware of this, but the recent incident had made me feel it to my bones.

Though that assassin had been skilled, I was still too lacking.

If I had been at the Princess’s level, I wouldn’t have struggled so much.

The Princess said to me:

“From now on, we’re going hard-core.”

She must have known I was having such concerns.

I smiled and replied:

“I’m counting on you.”

As soon as I finished speaking, she released an aura far stronger than her usual one.

I activated [Mortal’s Last Stand] to counter that aura, which felt like it could freeze my entire body.

***

After the third class ended during break time.

Rachel pressed firmly on my bruised cheek.

“Ow!”

When I deliberately made that strange sound, Rachel chuckled and said:

“Does it hurt?”

“What are you doing?”

As I looked at her with reproachful eyes, Rachel laughed even harder.

Her sadistic behavior gave me chills.

Rachel finally managed to stop laughing and asked:

“But how did you get like this?”

“I had some… things happen.”

Since last week, the intensity of the training I had been doing with her had increased.

I approached sparring with a do-or-die attitude, and we cleared dungeons one or two levels higher than what I used to handle.

At first, it was absolute torture, but now it’s somewhat bearable.

‘Reminds me of the old days.’

Thinking about last week reminded me of training with her in my previous life.

‘It’s not much different from back then.’

I liked this familiar feeling.

While I was lost in memories, Rachel asked in a serious voice:

“You’re not being bullied or anything, are you?”

“Huh…?”

Her sudden question made me laugh involuntarily, and Chris, who was listening, laughed as well.

Chris pointed at me and said:

“Does he look like someone who would get bullied?”

“I was just asking, that’s all.”

Rachel seemed to realize how absurd her question was and looked embarrassed.

‘But why is she so cheerful?’

I found it remarkable that Rachel could maintain such a bright demeanor even though her country was being attacked.

She was a stark contrast to Chris, who had become somewhat depressed since his father was dispatched to Orion Kingdom’s frontlines.

Rachel, with her usual brightness, asked me again:

“So how did you really get hurt?”

“I got injured during training.”

“Training? With whom?”

“That’s a secret.”

Upon hearing about training, Rachel made this proposal:

“Can I join too? I think I could be quite helpful.”

“Well…”

Honestly, I was fine with it.

Someone skilled like Rachel would positively influence my improvement, and we could strengthen our friendship—there was nothing to lose from my perspective.

However, the training wasn’t just mine to decide.

“I’ll ask today and let you know tomorrow.”

As soon as classes ended, I headed to the library as usual.

There she was, diligently organizing books by herself.

When she spotted me while shelving returned books in numerical order, she immediately said:

“You’re early today.”

“We had shortened classes today.”

“Eh? Really?”

It was strange that she didn’t know about the shortened classes, even though she skipped most subjects to work at the library early.

“Why don’t you know?”

“I just sleep when I’m at school.”

“Even during homeroom?”

“Yes. I thought time was passing quickly today—so it was shortened classes.”

Certainly, the academy’s curriculum wasn’t particularly necessary for her.

She probably already knew all the content, and decisively, she didn’t really need it.

What an emperor needs isn’t exceptional intelligence or useful knowledge.

An emperor needs unparalleled leadership and overwhelming power.

Everything else can be delegated to capable subordinates.

Others might disagree, but that’s what I believe.

“You’re still so princess-like.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“How you take it is up to you, Your Highness.”

I continued with a serious expression:

“But I have something to tell you.”

“What… is it?”

“Rachel…”

When Rachel’s name left my lips, her face crumpled.

But I continued regardless:

“She wants to join our training sessions. What do you think—”

Before I could finish, she cut me off with a firm voice:

“No.”

“Why not?”

After hearing my playful tone, she strongly denied:

“It’s not like that!”

“Like what?”

“Do I have to say it out loud?”

When I nodded, she said bashfully:

“Jealousy… it’s not that…”

Her voice was tiny, like an ant’s, but it clearly reached my ears.

I barely managed to suppress my rising smile and said:

“Let’s say that’s true, but why not? We have nothing to lose.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Training together would be beneficial. Especially after what happened recently. Someday, something similar might happen in our era too. The more reliable allies we have, the better.”

After contemplating for a while, she said:

“I’ll think about it. Let’s go for now.”

As always, we went straight to the training ground.

It always seemed empty, but today it felt particularly deserted.

Not particularly concerned, I activated my two unique skills.

Thanks to consistent training, both skills had risen in rank considerably.

[Mortal’s Last Stand] had reached rank B, and [Pitch-Black Sword] had reached B-.

However, from now on, they wouldn’t improve so easily.

In fact, [Mortal’s Last Stand] took a whole month to go from B- to B.

Of course, it would only get harder from here.

“What rank are Your Highness’s skills?”

“My two unique skills are A- and D-, and [Ice Magic] is A+.”

“Wow…”

Those ranks left me speechless.

While [Cruel Cold] was one thing, the fact that [Absolute Zero], which she’d acquired less than a month ago, was already D- was quite shocking.

And the rank of [Ice Magic], which she’d had for a long time, was also incredibly high.

“I’m at a loss for words.”

“Still, apart from [Absolute Zero] which I got recently, the others aren’t improving much.”

Yet she trained consistently.

Even when her efforts didn’t yield results, she maintained her mental fortitude and worked harder.

That was the biggest reason she was able to ascend to the emperor’s throne.

“By the way, is it okay to reveal that information so easily?”

“It’s only natural to let the person who will be my bodyguard know how strong I am.”

I was surprised by her much more composed reaction than I expected and touched that she trusted me more than I thought.

“That’s quite moving.”

“What is?”

“Nothing. Let’s begin.”

I pointed my already activated sword at her.

“Today, you can beat me to death if you want. That skill has been activated.”

“It’s a bit sad that I have to beat you severely once every three days.”

***

While he and she were sparring.

Someone was watching the scene.

The red-haired girl observing thought:

‘That’s Albert, but who’s that person?’

Rachel recalled her conversation with Albert from the morning.

-Training? With whom?-

-That’s a secret.-

Rachel observed the woman who was relentlessly casting [Ice Magic].

‘Is that the Princess?’

Rachel looked at the woman who, despite looking different, shared many similarities with the princess she knew.

And she thought this might be the princess she was familiar with.

‘The voice, the magic she uses, and how close she is with Albert…’

Rachel became convinced that she was indeed Elizabeth Michael, the princess she knew.

‘Why is she disguising herself as a commoner? And why isn’t anyone noticing? Anyone can see she’s the Princess…’

Unable to contain her questions, Rachel immediately entered the training ground.

-Click!-

As the entrance to the training ground opened, Albert and the woman looked at Rachel with surprised eyes.

And then, something happened that shocked them even more.

“Hello, Albert. And hello, Your Highness.”