Chapter 127: The Turmoil of Hwangdo Part 4

With the arrival of the Imperial Capital Army, Atlerina was liberated.

Without a summoner, the shadow monsters would inevitably be riddled with holes once a barrage of magical bullets rained down on them from a distance.

The Imperial military is moving.

Of course, they are.

Look at that.

The Imperial Capital Army is entering Atlerina, carrying the moon crest banner. Hm?

“Hmm?”

What the hell. Shit.

“Take down all those ominous shadow creatures! Those who specialize in summoning or sealing magic, check Atlerina’s barrier!”

Princess Amelia rode in on horseback, leading the Imperial Capital Army.

“Princess, I will help as well.”

Levia, the princess of the kingdom, appeared, drenched in blood.

“It would be best if Your Highness rested. The fact that the delegation from our allied nation got caught up in this is already a worst-case scenario for the Empire. We should at least minimize their casualties.”

“Understood.”

Both the Empire’s princess and the kingdom’s princess have shown up.

‘Was the kingdom’s delegation caught up in this while on their way here?’

Wow. A princess from each country.

The noble ladies of two nations have graced us with their presence.

“Why do you look like that?”

Syria cautiously asked me.

“No, it’s just… seeing two princesses in one place makes for quite the picture.”

On top of that, I was well acquainted with the princess back when I was Noah.

And the imperial princess—she was practically the first generation’s close friend.

“If you think about it, Lady Olivia is quite the big shot herself. You could easily be called a princess too.”

Hearing that doesn’t make me happy at all.

“Shit. I was a guy, at least. I don’t need to be a princess.”

“A saintess, though? Well, you kind of brought that on yourself.”

“Wanna die?”

“By the way, that princess is coming toward you, Lady Olivia.”

‘Huh? Me?’

The princess approached with a sly grin, her eyes the spitting image of the Emperor’s.

“Ah, shit. I had a bad feeling about this. Should I hide?”

“If you make eye contact with a princess and then hide, you’ll just look ridiculous.”

“Sigh.”

Having no other choice, Syria and I stepped forward and showed proper courtesy to the royal.

“It is an honor to greet Your Highness.”

“Enough of that, Princess.”

Seriously.

This is honestly uncomfortable.

“Or should I call you Saintess?”

The way she slightly arched her brow made it clear—she was definitely teasing me.

“Why not just call me what you always did?”

“Then, Olivia?”

‘Why does she act exactly like the Emperor?’

“Yes, that would be preferable. But how did you manage to get here amidst all this chaos?”

“I simply wished to see my dear friend. Are you really going to pretend you didn’t know?”

“I truly had no idea.”

‘She came all the way back from her post because of me?’

“In any case, it’s been a long time. I never expected us to meet again under these circumstances.”

“Yes.”

For now, I have no choice but to act like I remember.

I’ll have to dig through the first generation’s memories.

With the princess’s arrival, the morale of the Imperial Capital Army soared even higher.

The gunners took their positions before the summoning circles, clearing away the remaining shadows until their magic ran dry.

The military deployed the Imperial Capital Army early to ensure no imperial citizens left their buildings, while the remaining insurgents were completely wiped out.

***

I found myself stuck in my dorm room with the princess, forced into a one-sided social interaction.

“To think we’d meet like this.”

“Here we are again.”

“Of all days, trouble had to break out the moment I arrived.”

No kidding.

It happened at the perfect time.

But still…

“Wouldn’t someone like Your Highness actually enjoy this kind of thing?”

The princess is just like the Emperor.

At least when it comes to personality.

Yet she acts as though she despises him.

A rather peculiar mother and daughter.

“I considered it an experiment of sorts. Not bad at all. Blowing off rebel scum’s heads with a gun was quite the thrill.”

She mimicked firing a gun with her fingers.

Yeah, she’s definitely obsessed with magic firearms.

‘She really tries to keep up with every new trend, doesn’t she?’

“You mean magic guns?”

“That’s right. I plan to use them as my primary weapon from now on.”

“That’s what you’re going with?”

‘I get that guns are useful, but making them her main weapon?’

That’s a bit odd.

No matter what, she’s a swordswoman.

‘How does she plan to explain this to Natalia if she gets mad?’

“Yes.”

“But aren’t you a swordswoman?”

“Mhm.”

“Not just any swordswoman—a disciple of the Light Sword.”

“That’s right.”

“And yet, you’re switching to guns?”

She nodded at my words.

‘What kind of crazy woman is this?’

“So what? I can go from wielding a sword to a bow if I want.”

“The Light Sword master is going to have a fit.”

“Well, if my master doesn’t like it, he’ll have to come and stop me himself.”

Come to think of it, the Light Sword is currently in Crad.

‘So… is she messing around with guns just to lure him out of Crad Castle?’

“Sigh. So, is sightseeing really the only reason you came?”

“I wish that were the case.”

“You wish?”

Suddenly, she turned serious.

“It’s not that simple.”

“This isn’t just wordplay, is it?”

Yeah, if she really came all the way from Kagor just for fun, she would have already seen everything she wanted to.

“The anti-imperialists’ activities have been escalating. And lately, the surrounding nations have been acting suspiciously as well.”

She’s definitely onto something.

“What are you suspecting?”

“War.”

“Do you think it’s likely?”

‘If war breaks out, who would it be against?’

From what she’s saying, it doesn’t seem to be the Demon King’s army.

Pector and Bernoa are absent, and the Four Heavenly Kings aren’t a major concern yet.

That means it must be another country.

“Even near Kagor, where I was stationed, anti-imperialists caused an uprising. We had to suppress it. Do you think that’s just a coincidence?”

“Hmm. That’s true, but… Honestly, isn’t the Empire at its largest territorial peak right now, even while fighting the Four Heavenly Kings?”

‘How many countries in history have ever expanded their territory into Demon King territory?’

Even if the Empire is rotting from within, its status in the world is undeniable.

“That’s only because of Ashtar. You can’t say the same for the entire Empire.”

“Well, still… war?”

“Anti-imperialists. The New World Order. The Empire’s nobles growing more corrupt. And the succubus incident in Atlerina.”

Now that she mentions it, anti-imperialists and the New World Order have been acting much more radically lately.

This is the first time they’ve used military force.

If another country is targeting the Empire, it must be one of the smaller neighboring nations.

No, wait. ‘Could it be the nomadic tribes instead?’

“The Empire’s weaknesses are becoming more and more apparent.”

“The small nations surrounding the Empire have been making suspicious moves. I came here because I think this is something the military needs to discuss.”

Well, that makes sense, coming from her.

After all, she’s someone who truly cares about the Empire.

But still, my eyes were drawn to that magic rifle.

This woman hadn’t just changed weapons.

She was truly preparing for war, which is why she had brought out the magic rifle.

“And changing weapons in the middle of all this was just a bonus.”

“Now then, let me ask my lady.”

“What do you mean?”

Honestly, whether it was the emperor or this woman, it was unsettling no matter what they asked.

“You’ve changed quite a lot without me realizing it. You seem to know quite a bit about war now. The battle to reclaim Crad is proof of that, isn’t it?”

So, they had heard about that.

They also knew I was the princess.

It could even be said that I had gained recognition for my subordinates’ achievements from my position as a noblewoman.

“It was just my subordinates’ doing. How much could a mere woman accomplish?”

“So, you’re saying that because you’re a woman, you should stay in your place and not overstep?”

“No, that’s not exactly what I meant—”

Seriously, both the emperor and his daughter were infuriating.

If they both just dropped dead, I wouldn’t have any complaints.

“If a war were to break out, who would it be against?”

Since they were asking, I had to answer.

“Hmm, if a war were to break out… It wouldn’t be with the internal nobility. The central nobles have already been purged, and the emperor has been swinging his sword left and right. With Ashtar aligned with the imperial family, no one would dare rise up against them.”

As long as Ashtar was there, the nobles wouldn’t be able to rebel.

Besides, they had no real grievances.

The imperial family wasn’t putting much pressure on the provincial nobles outside of the directly controlled territories.

And the only real opposition was the assembly, but the assembly members were mostly people from noble territories and those aligned with Ashtar.

“Go on.”

“Because of that, the empire might seem unstable from the outside. If anything, the ones most likely to act would be the barbarian tribes under imperial rule and the small external kingdoms that Your Highness mentioned.”

For now, those were the two most probable threats.

“Hmm. That makes sense.”

“There aren’t many small kingdoms that oppose the empire. Aside from the Merchant Confederation, which is being crushed under the empire’s economic power, and the Kingdom of Pastia. Even Pastia can’t afford to challenge the empire right now because of internal conflicts among its nobility.”

“The Kingdom of Pastia was founded by refugees from the Kingdom of Kart and had a strained relationship with the empire, but the nobles were too busy fighting for power to wage war.”

“Other small nations could rise up as well. Think about it—a nameless small country could rebel, the barbarian tribes outside the empire’s control could declare independence, and if anti-imperial factions and the New World Order stirred up chaos from within?”

“Then the empire would fracture.”

The princess had come up with a fairly plausible scenario.

If things played out as she suggested, it would indeed be dangerous.

“There is a man known as the White King in the Kingdom of Atla.”

“The White King?”

“There are reports that he has been swiftly annexing the surrounding small kingdoms.”

Swiftly annexing surrounding small kingdoms…

“You’re saying he could become a threat to the empire?”

“The empire is powerful, but to be honest, it’s full of incompetents. It’s nothing more than a large, fragile egg.”

The princess shook her head as she spoke.

‘Was it really okay for her to say that out loud?’

“If the White King becomes a small but solid stone, he could break this so-called empire.”

“Well, I doubt it will come to that. But that’s why I’m here.”

Honestly, it’s simple.

If I just go there and drop a meteor in secret, it’s over.

Since I’m the princess of the empire, eliminating potential threats to protect it would be one way to handle things.

But if I did that, people within the empire would start to worry about me instead.

—Demon.

—Mass murderer.

—Do you think you’re some kind of great sage?

Those were the words my own comrades had thrown at me when I single-handedly wiped out enemies to protect the Land of Ruin.

And they had said it to a child, no less.

Not long after, those same people tried to resurrect a god and ended up dead at my hands.

From their perspective, I had always been an obstacle to their plans.

A child with that much power must have been terrifying to them.

But this is the empire, and I am its princess.

‘If I wanted to be recognized as a proper mage, I had to be careful.’

Massacres like that wouldn’t just affect the empire—they would draw the attention of the entire world.

“Understood.”

“What’s with that lukewarm response?”

“Do we really need to have such heavy discussions today? That’s something the military should be handling, not me.”

I had fought in Plant, teleported all the way here, and fought against anti-imperialists again.

Even if I could recover from physical exhaustion with mana circulation, the psychological burden was still there.

“But we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Before being your friend, I’m exhausted. I took an exam in Plant, traveled all the way here, and fought with anti-imperial forces again.”

Not to mention, having the emperor’s second version sitting next to me was mentally draining.

Honestly, I’d rather listen to Aslan spouting nonsense in front of me.

“Ah… That’s my bad, then.”

“Your Highness, a maid from the imperial palace has arrived.”

A soldier standing guard outside entered and reported.

A maid from the imperial palace?

They might look like noble daughters on the outside, but they were really just members of the assassination guild.

Any other time, I wouldn’t think much of it, but right now, it felt suspicious.

“Let her in.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At the princess’s command, the maid entered.

She reeked of blood.

That was proof that something had happened at the imperial palace.

Most likely, assassins had infiltrated the palace overnight, and they had been hunted down.

The maid bowed her head politely.

“Greetings, Your Highness. Grand Scholar. I’m relieved to see that both of you are safe.”

“So, what is it?”

“His Majesty has summoned both of you.”

Crack.

It felt like I could hear my veins bursting.

I had expected the emperor to pull something, ‘but should I just leave now?’

“His Majesty insisted that the Grand Scholar must come. Otherwise, he said something might happen to the library.”

Damn it.

He was using the library to threaten me.

Now, this was actually pissing me off.

“Seems like you have no choice, ‘Grand Scholar.’ Oh, and the princess also said she wants to get along with you.”

The princess was better than the emperor. Barely.

But still, if the imperial princess was requesting to see me, there were definitely political motives behind it.

I glanced outside and saw the princess smiling at me with a glint in her eye.

Sigh.

This is my life.