Ch.647Episode 23 – The Spy Who Returned from the Cold Country

A thunderous explosion shakes the ground as a red flash illuminates the sky.

Black smoke rises from a building in the city center, which doesn’t seem particularly far away. The clock already shows 11 PM, and the news updates that had been providing helpful information on television and radio had stopped long ago.

The civilian communication network that had somehow maintained sporadic functionality despite the broadcasting system’s failure now seemed completely collapsed.

It appeared that both sides’ armies were conducting electronic warfare operations throughout Petrograd. Either that, or the bombardment had finally destroyed the base stations carrying phone calls and text messages.

Kamila tapped her now-useless mobile phone and turned it off with a sigh.

“Even phones don’t work anymore.”

“Of course they don’t.” Alexandra Petrova ended her brief mutter by pointing somewhere with outstretched fingers.

“Look over there. With the city in such ruins, how could communications possibly survive?”

The battle between the suppression forces and the rebels had been ongoing for hours and showed no signs of stopping.

Roads hit by howitzers were pockmarked with craters of various sizes, and buildings swept by magic and direct-fire weapons had long since been reduced to grotesque objects.

Her gaze grew somber as she stared at the burning ruins. The disciple, looking at the city her master had pointed to, pushed aside her bitterness and refocused on reality.

“Elizaveta must be somewhere out there too, Professor?”

“Probably. Hasn’t the entire city been blockaded on Valery’s orders? She must be trapped here, unable to escape the capital.”

The thought crossed Kamila’s mind that if they could just capture the princess leading the rebels, they might be able to end this civil war.

Apparently, Alexandra had been thinking along similar lines. The archmage pointed her thumb toward where Elizaveta might be hiding and muttered:

“I wonder what confidence Liza had to carry out such an outrageous plot, but if anyone manages to capture her, the rebels will collapse helplessly.”

“That’s obvious.”

Zeinab Eskander, who had been looking around with her hands behind her back, crossed her arms and smiled.

“The fight ends when Elizaveta is captured. But the fact is we have no good solution, right, Sasha? We have neither the means to find her in this vast city nor the strength to capture her even if we did find her.”

“…”

“Of course, if you and I decided to fight with everything we have, the story would be completely different. Like when we spared no means to catch those Inquisitors operating behind the scenes.”

The priestess mentioned fragments of the past when the war between mages and the church was fierce.

The Inquisitors who infiltrated villages far from the battlefield and tormented mages. To catch them, they had covered entire suspicious villages with veils and set fire to granaries and houses, waiting for the Inquisitors to flee.

She was implying that they could easily capture Elizaveta by covering the city with a veil and sweeping the streets with magic and sorcery, just like back then.

Of course, deploying a veil across the entire massive city of Petrograd wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

But Zeinab was a legendary sorceress who had imprisoned thousands of inquisitors and holy knights, and Alexandra was a legendary mage who had personally burned enemies trapped within the veil. So they both knew clearly.

That with their current abilities, they could easily envelop Petrograd in a veil.

And the moment the veil was deployed over a city where suppression forces, rebels, and civilians were all mixed together, this place would instantly transform into a slaughterhouse.

“…”

Could she bear thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of resentments just to capture Elizaveta?

Alexandra didn’t have the courage to do that.

At least for her, it wasn’t an option she could choose, and Zeinab, knowing her friend’s nature, didn’t particularly want to recommend it either.

As the two mages’ concerns deepened.

“Ah-“

The young mage who had been quietly listening to their conversation exclaimed with a small gasp, raising her index finger.

With a look suggesting she’d had a good inspiration.

“If that’s the problem, just wait a moment!”

She left with a loud voice telling them not to go anywhere, then disappeared in a cloud of ash.

Alexandra and Zeinab instinctively recognized the magic they had just witnessed as teleportation, but since she vanished without giving them a chance to stop her, they had no idea where Kamila had gone.

Fortunately, Kamila soon returned to the hospital, but the Grand Duchess and the priestess were still bewildered.

It was a perfectly natural reaction.

The young girl who had disappeared in the blink of an eye had returned with a man.

Moreover, since she appeared with him tucked under her arm like a bundle, they couldn’t help but be surprised.

Regardless, the young mage proudly raised her voice toward the Grand Duchess and the priestess.

“I found him! Someone who can figure out where Elizaveta is!”

Poke! She jabbed her finger into the cheek of the very disgruntled-looking man tucked under her arm, who was glaring at her, and then looked at the two women with a bright smile.

“We’ll use Frederik here!”

“…”

“…”

The expressions of Alexandra and Zeinab changed curiously as they observed Kamila’s beaming smile and Frederik gnashing his teeth, trying to bite the finger poking his cheek.

“…Good heavens.”

The meaningless empty sigh was just a bonus.

Episode 23 – The Spy Who Returned from a Cold Country

The dreaded civil war had broken out.

Naval infantry commanders who had contacted the princess staged a rebellion against the crown prince.

Elizaveta, caught preparing “Succeeding You Brother” underground, fled and is now hiding somewhere in the territory after evading arrest.

The Imperial Guard and the Imperial Army counterintelligence units are searching everywhere for her under Valery’s orders, but everything has gone awry due to the jamming signals and magic waves sent by the naval infantry’s specialized electronic warfare units.

In a way, this was inevitable.

Communication is the lubricant that moves every army. Without effective communication, problems were bound to arise, whether in offense or defense.

So both the suppression forces and the rebels were racking their brains.

The moment a transmission area was identified, shells would rain down on the command post within 15 minutes.

If engineers’ reports about completed obstacle installations were intercepted, enemy mobile units would identify the mined locations and bypass them in another direction.

If the defense unit requested evacuation for several wounded, the enemy forces would concentrate their offensive on the vulnerable point after intercepting the communication. And if an attack unit holed up in a building reported ammunition depletion, the defense unit waiting for an opportunity would launch a counterattack with a grid search formation.

It was a situation where neither side could gain the upper hand, endlessly exchanging ineffective attacks. In a word, it was a living hell where blood was being painted over blood.

And in the midst of this suffocating civil war,

I could only stand there with an expression more disgruntled than ever.

“…So, you’re asking me to locate Princess Elizaveta right now?”

“Exactly.”

“And you teleported into the embassy and kidnapped me for that?”

When I gave her a cold look, Kamila giggled “hehe” and twisted her body as if embarrassed.

They say the master is the disciple’s mirror. How true that seems. How is it that both master and disciple have raided the embassy and kidnapped me in pairs?

I rubbed my forehead and sighed in dismay.

“This is unbearable…”

“It’s an urgent situation, please understand.”

“There are limits to this. What were you thinking, flying through a combat zone near the diplomatic compound? It’s dangerous!”

Who told you to do such a thing?

I could only scold Kamila with a sulky face. And without the slightest hesitation, she raised her finger to point out the culprit.

“The professor told me to.”

“…What?”

The archmage, who had unconsciously pointed at herself, muttered in a bewildered voice.

“What are you saying, child? When did I ever…”

“Was it you again?”

“No, no, that’s a lie! I really didn’t…”

Though her hurried hand-waving conveyed genuine indignation, to my eyes it looked like nothing more than a thief’s desperate excuse.

Not only denying her mistake but shifting blame to a young child. Have you no shame?

Leaving the Grand Duchess raging and flailing behind me, I clicked my tongue and turned my gaze. I suddenly heard the priestess’s affected laughter—”Pahaha!”—but saw no reason to look in that direction.

That wasn’t what was important right now.

“Cutting off the rebel command’s head to end the battle. A textbook approach. Very good thinking.”

I crossed my arms and stood with one leg forward, pondering Kamila’s plan for a while.

“To make your plan succeed, you first need to find out where Elizaveta is. But you said you don’t know, so you’ve asked for my help.”

“That’s right. Can you help us?”

“Well…”

The Abas government is also actively seeking information on Elizaveta’s location.

More specifically, the Abas intelligence agency and the embassy are making inquiries. I was in a position where the Prime Minister had reprimanded me to quickly figure out what was going on.

For reference, I had returned to the embassy immediately after the Imperial Guard’s investigation ended and was looking for Elizaveta when…

I never dreamed I’d be kidnapped like this. Truly.

“We haven’t been able to pinpoint her specific location either. We’ve received information that Elizaveta hasn’t left Petrograd, but the security police and naval infantry are hiding her whereabouts.”

Kamila asked how they were hiding the princess, and I answered with my hands in my pockets.

“Currently, Elizaveta’s closest aides are attempting to recruit key figures through wired and wireless communications. From political circles, civil society, and bureaucracy to even the military.”

After carefully examining the communication contents, the Abas Foreign Ministry concluded that “Elizaveta is employing tactics to gain political support.”

However,

“We’ve determined that Elizaveta is giving instructions to her closest aides by phone. But the origin point changes with each call, so we can’t figure out exactly where she’s making the calls from.”

“You mean she’s changing locations for each call?”

“No. She seems to be using communication relays installed within Petrograd. You know what that means?”

One of the most effective methods to conceal communications from counterintelligence agencies is to use relays in different regions.

If you open a direct line from Seoul, everyone would know the communication originated from South Korea, but if the communication passes through relays in Tokyo-Beijing-Moscow-New Delhi-Amsterdam, you can effectively hide the point of origin.

Of course, this method has been largely blocked since the 2010s due to advances in information technology. But its ability to make tracking difficult remains unchanged, and I remember using it quite often during my active service days.

Kamila seemed to have figured out how Elizaveta was evading surveillance without any further explanation.

She kept nodding while slowly stroking her chin and cheeks.

“If we’re talking about relays installed within Petrograd, we could attempt physical removal.”

“According to information from my country, the external relays have been mostly cleared out. The Imperial Guard probably eliminated them. Conversely, not a single relay within Petrograd has been touched, even by the Imperial Guard.”

Logically, how could anyone destroy relays in the heart of the city where intense fighting is taking place?

Even the Imperial Guard, skilled as they are, would find it physically impossible. They don’t want to die from stray bullets, and since the external communication relays have been destroyed, the rebels are likely protecting the equipment.

At minimum, it would take a special operations unit from the suppression forces to subdue the defensive troops and guide artillery to destroy the relays. The problem is that they’re also preoccupied with stopping rebel infiltration units.

So I had to ask directly:

“Kamila. Can you destroy the relays?”

The answer came surprisingly quickly.

“Of course!”

Kamila didn’t hesitate at all and even urged me to tell her the relay locations.

Her boldness was so startling that her response left others bewildered. And the first to be surprised was none other than Alexandra Petrova.

“Wait… You’re saying you’ll go there when the city is so dangerous?”

“If we just destroy the relays, we can find Elizaveta, right? Isn’t that right, Frederik?”

“Yes. If the nuisance is removed, either the Imperial Guard or counterintelligence will quickly locate her. With luck, Kamila might find her location first and go after Elizaveta herself.”

“That sounds reasonable in theory. But if my disciple is mistaken for an enemy—”

“Then couldn’t the Grand Duchess go with her to protect Kamila and arrest Elizaveta?”

At my sudden question, the Grand Duchess’s complexion visibly darkened.

As all eyes turned to the speechless archmage.

“Enough.”

Her close friend, the Grand Sorceress, gently embraced her shoulders and stepped forward.

“Sasha can’t move freely right now. Her physical condition isn’t good, and she has obligations.”

“…”

“Of course, the same applies to me, but I can help this child destroy a few objects.

Zeinab looked alternately toward where Alexandra and Kamila stood with a wistful gaze.

“Just understand the feelings of a master worried about her disciple.”

There was nothing to understand—it was a well-known fact that the Grand Duchess treasured Kamila like a precious gem.

Anyway.

I turned my gaze toward Kamila without further comment.

“Tell me what you need quickly. We have to leave within 20 minutes.”

*

Like all intelligence officers operating in civil war zones, Frederik possessed quite a lot of useful information.

And now that the Kiyen Imperial Army was pointing guns at each other.

Based on his experience as a military intelligence officer who once handled Imperial affairs, he shared several key pieces of information.

– Let me briefly outline the battle situation first.

– There are a total of 5 units operating in Petrograd.

On the suppression side, there’s one reinforced brigade and headquarters’ direct air defense, engineering, logistics, and magic units.

On the rebel side, four naval infantry regiments have been deployed to the battlefield.

– The rebels’ offensive is concentrated from the south and west.

The 157th Guards Landing Regiment is in the south, and the 118th Assault Regiment is in the west. The main attack force is analyzed to be the 157th Regiment, which attacked the Rostoy Bridge in the southern city.

– Next, the defense lines and major engagement areas.

The suppression forces have formed a three-stage defense line.

They established the first defense line at the Rostoy Bridge, which is located on the fastest road from the south and west to the Imperial Diet, but the 157th Regiment’s tank battalion and raid battalion captured it and opened a bridgehead.

…The Petrograd Defense Command’s tank battalion, which was deployed for defense, appears to have been almost completely wiped out. One tank company survived, but we don’t know how much help they’ll be.

– Currently, the suppression forces are concentrating all their troops on the second defense line centered on the Leyevsky River, and they’ve scraped together the remaining forces to create a third and final defense line around the Imperial Diet.

The centers of engagement are St. Andrew Street and Bukhov Street around the Leyevsky River.

By the way, that area is complete chaos right now.

Since you majored in conflict studies, you’ve probably heard of the Sarajevo siege? And why “Sniper Alley” was created?

You should absolutely never approach that area, even by mistake. Never.

– If the Leyevsky Bridge falls to the rebels, only the guards protecting the Crown Prince will be able to stop them.

They seem to know that without armored forces, if the second defense line collapses, it’s only a matter of time before the third defense line is breached. The Imperial Guard is looking for the shortest escape route out of Petrograd.

…I haven’t been able to determine if the rebels have obtained this plan yet.

– The good news is that the rebel three regiments have only committed infantry to the Leyevsky defense line and have diverted most of their tanks and mechanized units to the outskirts.

That’s because suppression force units stationed on the outskirts of Petrograd and troops dispatched by the Central Command are currently attempting to enter the city.

The bad news is that the suppression forces are completely stuck, blocked by tank units and minefields.

Mages who attempted short-range teleportation and air infiltration are out of contact, and if there’s any sign of attempting long-range teleportation, the rebels fire artillery magic, making it impossible to deploy magic circles.

For now, the suppression forces are trying to outflank the rebel containment line in the suburbs to encircle them, but…

Honestly, I don’t know if the suppression force units operating inside the city can hold out until then.

– Elizaveta’s top priority is the lives of the Crown Prince and other royal family members.

I hear she’s put out wanted notices throughout the city. Offering rewards to anyone who captures or kills Valery, Margarita, or Anastasia.

For now, Valery and Anastasia are safe. The Imperial Guard isn’t the kind of group to fall for such sweet talk.

…The problem would be Margarita.

– By the way, don’t put too much faith in the hospital defense unit sent by the Crown Prince. The fighting is so intense that they couldn’t dispatch many troops to begin with. In other words, they’re significantly outnumbered and outgunned compared to the enemy.

And while I also heard the radio message that the Petrograd Defense Command sent defensive troops here, I’m not the only one who heard it.

By now, the naval infantry bastards have probably prepared ambushes along the route to intercept the forces sent by the Crown Prince.

Or they might be preparing to enter the hospital wearing uniforms stripped from their corpses.

…Yes, that’s exactly what you’re thinking.

The disguise frequently used by Russian and Ukrainian special operations units near the front lines.

So even if you encounter suppression forces outside the hospital, don’t let your guard down.

No one knows if they’re really suppression forces or rebels.

– Finally, some helpful information and precautions.

Kamila knows that the broadcast system throughout Petrograd has been down for several hours, right? That’s because of electronic warfare and magic warfare.

The diplomatic compound is relatively fine, so I was watching broadcasts before I came out. If you find shadow areas in the city where jamming signals and magic waves don’t reach, you might be able to watch a few channels that are still alive.

…Though I can’t tell if those broadcasts are controlled by rebels who’ve occupied the stations or suppression forces who’ve defended them.

But listen anyway.

Even if it’s propaganda, you might be able to extract some useful information.

– You should immediately abandon any soft thinking that you can find Elizaveta by avoiding a few combat zones and moving through the rear areas.

Why do you think the suppression force units that chose short-range teleportation and air infiltration to the rear were wiped out?

Of course, they probably won’t deliberately target civilians like you, but at least for today, don’t expect help from the police here. If you see internal troops patrolling the roads or armored vehicles, hide immediately.

They’re not out there catching criminals right now.

– And just in case I should mention this…

Frederik and Kamila were talking in close proximity, almost pressed against each other. The two had spread a map on an abandoned bed serving as a table and wore serious expressions.

Alexandra watched them from a distance. Since her disciple had blocked the sound with magic, she had no way of knowing what they were discussing, but judging by their expressions, she thought it probably wasn’t good news.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…Nothing.”

Zeinab, sitting beside her, turned her head as if following her gaze. Even though she was blind, having reached the pinnacle of sorcery, reading others’ gazes was no problem for her.

Sure enough, her eyes seemed to sense the two people huddled and whispering by the bedside. Zeinab’s lips parted, and her gentle voice began to flow.

“I was wondering what you were looking at. So it was over there.”

“…”

“Are you reassured to have a colleague looking after your disciple in this situation? Or are you worried that someone is staying by your disciple’s side even in this situation?”

Alexandra Petrova’s gaze turned quite annoyed, as if to say “what nonsense is this?”

Regardless, Zeinab just tilted her smiling face as she always did.

Her irritating teasing was the same as ever.

“Why are you getting so angry? Isn’t she your beloved disciple?”

“Tsk… If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, go home. Don’t stay here where it’s dangerous.”

“She’s like a child born from your heart. So from my perspective, she’s my friend’s daughter, isn’t she—ouch.”

Thump. A magic-infused flick landed on her crown. Even as a sorceress, she couldn’t avoid the pain, and Zeinab rubbed her head with a pout.

“Your bad habits haven’t changed, our Sasha… Have you gotten spicier than before?”

“And your bad mouth has gotten worse. I thought your personality would have softened after being cooped up in the Citadel.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen my friend. I was just trying to joke around like the old days.”

The Grand Duchess and the priestess exchanged silly jokes and looked at each other as if the other was ridiculous.

If someone with a name starting with “F” had witnessed this scene, he might have lamented, “Ah! The religious figures in this neighborhood only know how to play pranks and have terrible personalities!”

While she was used to her friend’s jokes after decades of hearing them, she didn’t have the energy to humor them when she was already troubled.

Alexandra rose from her seat and began striding away with the words “don’t follow me,” to which Zeinab promptly responded “let’s go together” and followed with quick steps.

“Where are you going—”

“I’m going to see Margarita. I should check her condition before leaving.”

And make preparations just in case.

With those words, the archmage immediately entered Margarita’s hospital room.

Despite the upheaval throughout the territory, the poor child still hadn’t emerged from her coma. And the medical staff remaining at the hospital were debating whether to evacuate her to a safe place or protect her here.

“Leave her as she is.”

“Grand Duchess! But…”

“Where would you take a princess who can’t even walk on her own? There is no safer place in the territory than here right now.”

“…”

“Those who will defend the hospital have already arrived below, so you can rest assured.”

The effects of the battle had not yet reached Margarita’s room. Moreover, the defensive forces Valery had promised had arrived on time.

Although only 14 people had arrived after encountering enemies on the way, and to make matters worse, some were lightly wounded, but still.

The Grand Duchess and the priestess remained here. It wouldn’t be wrong to say this was the safest place not just in the territory, but in the world.

The medical staff seemed to recognize this and offered no further objections.

The only problem was that the Grand Duchess, who was supposed to be a pillar of defense, would soon be leaving.

“Sasha.”

And one of the few people who knew this fact, Zeinab, opened her mouth with a smile full of concern.

“Have you really made up your mind to leave your niece’s side?”

“What choice do I have? I can’t let my disciple go into danger alone.”

“But you have a duty, don’t you? A duty to protect your family.”

As if sympathizing with her friend’s difficult situation, she lowered her head and tapped the floor with the toe of her shoe.

“To protect your family safely and uphold the peace of Smirnov.”

Alexandra nodded and replied.

“I know. How could I forget the oath I made with my brother?”

“And yet you’ll leave Margarita here? Really?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“…Huh?”

As Zeinab tilted her head slightly, Alexandra scratched her forehead with a pulled corner of her mouth, as if asking what was there to worry about.

“The world’s most powerful sorceress is my friend, so what is there to worry about? If you deploy barriers and veils, no one would dare enter.”

“Are you planning to use me?”

“Of course. As the host who invited you, it’s only right that you start earning your keep. It’s not even a difficult favor, so your response makes me feel disappointed.”

At this rebuke that wasn’t really a rebuke, a smile also appeared on Zeinab’s lips.

She nodded once and willingly decided to grant her friend’s request.

“Fine. You’ve never asked for difficult favors anyway. Alright, I’ll stay and protect Margarita.”

“Thank you, Zeinab.”

“No need for thanks. Ah—but you’ll have to explain well later so Kiyen doesn’t protest. If there are rumors that the Ashtistan priestess interfered in internal affairs, and you don’t say anything… I might feel hurt?”

“I got it. I got it.”

Still with the jokes until the end.

“By the way, Sasha.”

Zeinab, still smiling, called Alexandra again while lowering her gaze.

Perhaps finding it annoying, the response was notably curt.

“What.”

“But can you really do it?”

“Do what.”

“What else? I’m talking about breaking the oath you made with your brother, of course.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

The movement of the shoe toe tapping the floor stopped abruptly.

The priestess who had been looking down raised her gaze, took a small breath, and then, as if having made some decision, spoke firmly.

“Elizaveta.”

Your brother’s eldest daughter.

“I’m asking if you’re prepared to take that child’s life with your own hands.”

*

The priestess left alone in the corridor maintained her silence.

The sound of artillery that had been echoing from far away now approached close by. The lights illuminating the ward all went out and then came back on, as if a shell had fallen somewhere inappropriate.

“…”

She captured in her vision the distant figures of the Grand Duchess and Kamila leaving the hospital behind.

And with her eyes slightly closed, she pondered the answer her friend had left.

‘My duty is to protect the Empire and uphold the peace of the Imperial Family, Zeinab.’

‘Is that your answer?’

‘It’s the oath I made with the Grand Duke of the North and the former Grand Emperor.’

‘…I see.’

Her closed eyes open.

A pair of blurred pupils shine with inner light, and the magic flowing like waves around her gently settles in various places.

“…If that’s your answer, then there’s nothing to be done, Sasha.”

The priestess, who had created a protective barrier enveloping the entire ward, looked up at the dark night sky without a single star and muttered.

“I pray as the weapon of the faithful, as a pillar, as the light illuminating heaven and earth.”

Having finished her sorcery, the priestess closed her eyes again. And she prayed.

May the shackles of your oath not weigh you down.

May the division of the Imperial Family stop before it leaves deeper wounds in your heart.

All she could do was hope and pray.

*

If someone were to say that fate exists.

I would declare with certainty that such a person is surely a fraud.

Elizaveta does not believe in fate.

She merely distinguishes between what a person can and cannot do.

For her, the imperial crown is not something given according to predetermined fate, but a fruit to be seized with one’s own strength.

“…Hmm.”

Facing the burning city, Elizaveta rolled two walnuts in her hand. Rather than a mere pastime to alleviate boredom, it was more like an exercise she had to do every day.

Therefore, her gaze was directed not at the walnuts in her hand but toward the territory.

“The Imperial Palace is about to fall, and the Crown Prince’s forces guarding the strategic points are few. Once we cross that bridge, the Imperial Diet will be within range.”

“…”

“What do you think?”

Elizaveta’s smile, which had been directed at Petrograd, suddenly shifted elsewhere.

At the end of that smile was a woman.

People call her the daughter of Countess Lubov, the daughter of the Eastern Governor.

The one behind the assassination attempt on Princess Margarita, or the victim who was framed for Elizaveta’s plot.

Angelika, bound by both hands and seated in a chair, looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you’ve seen a monster.”

“…D-don’t do this.”

“…”

“This isn’t something a princess should—”

Shh.

Elizaveta put her finger to her lips. With very strong and firm pressure.

With her lips blocked, Angelika couldn’t say anything. Though she grabbed Elizaveta’s wrist with trembling hands, she couldn’t even push it away forcefully.

Seeing her like this, Elizaveta couldn’t help but sneer.

“How funny. Shouldn’t a mage be able to remove a normal person’s finger with her eyes closed?”

“Mmph…! Mmph…!”

“Like when you were crawling around as a toddler, crushing my hand with those tiny fingers of yours.”

Her eyes, once praised for resembling rubies, now showed a blood-red color. After staring at the frightened Angelika, Elizaveta soon released her as if having lost interest and began rolling the walnuts again.

“Take her away. Keep her confined until I permit otherwise.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, and since this one is a mage, make sure she can’t escape.”

Though they’ve put on handcuffs that prevent her from using magic, so in her current state she probably couldn’t even climb over a wall.

After Angelika was led away.

Left alone in the room, Elizaveta rested her chin on her hand and stared at the Imperial Diet visible through the window, then put down the two walnuts on the side table and relaxed her entire body, as if releasing tension.

“Your attitude of not losing hope even in difficulty is admirable…”

Her ruby eyes curved gently.

“But I wonder if you’ve mistaken recklessness for courage, Valery.”