episode_0051

“I have come to save you, my princess.”

The sight of the child, whom she had only thought of as a cute deity, smiling at her, was more reassuring to Cladia than any influence she had built up until now.

Cluck cluck.

Cladia felt her lower abdomen tremble.

“W-why are you…”

Yet still, or rather because of that, she found herself unable to speak properly.

She had been told to leave deliberately! Why did you come here!

Directly invading the royal palace!

What about the knights guarding this place?

Kwoong.

The overwhelming presence of the Spirit King that captivated the surroundings.

In an instant, Cladia could tell that the spirit summoned by Vessus was indeed powerful.

“I-I’m hurt?”

Vessus stood beside Cladia with a smile.

“T-that’s…”

Hurt.

She had thought he would be hurt when she pushed him away.

It was a dismissal accompanied by unilateral notification.

But it was all to protect him…

“I know. At least I understand that you did it to protect me. But even so, I am the princess’s guardian knight, so I felt a little offended, you know?”

“Vessus…”

“But without the princess, I am just a useless half-baked spirit.”

“The royal knights! Seize that intruder! Where is the royal mage!”

The Emperor, his patience worn thin, rose from his seat and shouted.

The knights tried to rise at the Emperor’s command, but the pressure they could withstand was beyond their limits.

“Just wait a moment, my princess.”

“…Ugh!”

At that sweet voice, Cladia’s face turned red.

Vessus, enveloped in a light breeze, leaped forward.

“H-hi, hiik!”

And then landed right in front of the Emperor.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Vessus Granquil, the guardian knight of Princess Cladia.”

“A g-guardian knight?”

“I apologize for disrupting the trial, Your Majesty. It’s just that crucial evidence necessary for the trial was discovered. In trying to bring it, things ended up like this.”

Woong.

A ragged royal mage was spat out from the torn portal by the sylph.

“Hiiieek!”

Seeing this, the Emperor grew even more fearful.

“I…I didn’t mean for this to happen, but the mage got caught up by mistake as well. Could you kindly overlook this?”

The trusted royal mage and knights were all rendered unable to fight.

Having breached all the defenses of the palace in an instant.

The man in front of the Emperor seemed too terrifying.

“…I-I will allow it.”

Behind that bright smile, who knows what thoughts the man harbored.

Unknowingly, the Emperor nodded his head.

“May the glory of the empire flourish, Your Majesty.”

Vessus bowed respectfully.

“In that case, before we resume the trial, I would appreciate it if you could look at the evidence I have brought.”

From within his pocket, Vessus took out a small bead containing the essence of wind.

“Evidence?”

The Emperor received the bead from Vessus.

“If you infuse it with magic, the stored scene will play back.”

With Vessus’s manipulation, the Emperor was finally able to replay the scene stored within the bead.

Unlike what Vessus had previously checked, a large image filled the entire courtroom upon playback.

In the holographic image hovering in the air, the Crown Prince was conversing with his deities.

“It’s almost over now! Just a little more, and I can completely eliminate her from the competition for the throne!”

“Congratulations, Your Highness!”

“Hahaha. Soon, it won’t be ‘Your Highness’ anymore but ‘Your Majesty.’ Can you believe she fell for it so easily like that? She got lucky.”

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“What is this about?”

The nobles and knights inside the courtroom began to murmur as they read the contents.

“At first, it was just to release the Twin-Headed Ogre at the academy to kill her. I didn’t expect her to be that strong. But things worked out well. I could properly frame her for releasing the ogre!”

“As expected of His Highness, the Crown Prince!”

“Hahaha. Without your help, we couldn’t have manipulated the evidence so effectively, right? You should have seen her face! The look of despair when she, who always thought highly of herself, was properly deceived! Haha!”

“Manipulation?”

“The attack on the academy by the Ogre… was done by His Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“This is a fabricated video!”

As they watched the video, murmurs started among them, and the Crown Prince stood up loudly.

“How dare you create such fake videos to deceive yourself! Truly the incompetent guard of the Princess who has tarnished the honor of the royal family!”

His booming voice and demeanor were evidence that he stood above the royal bloodline.

However, his legs were trembling.

“No way. A secure mansion with multiple layers of barriers set up with the help of magicians! How did they manage to film it?”

He never thought that a spirit deviating from the usual laws of magic might have sneaked in and eavesdropped on their conversations.

“This is the evidence to prove the innocence of Her Highness, the Princess.”

“…Evidence, you say.”

The Emperor fell into thought.

Moments ago, overwhelmed by the Spirit King who threatened their lives, he was somewhat relieved to see Viscountess following the rules of the royal court without posing further threats.

Moreover, he had heard the shocking news that his son, the Crown Prince, had been carrying out terror incidents and framing his sister.

“Knight Viscountess, can you prove the authenticity of this evidence?”

“It is entirely possible.”

As Viscountess reached out her hand, a bead floating in the air flew into her grasp.

“As you can see, I am a Spirit Mage. Pure spirits derived from the forces of nature cannot coexist with falsehood. I swear by my spirit and my mana core. The footage contained in this bead is all true and was filmed within the Crown Prince’s secure mansion.”

Kwoong

A circular ring of mana erupted around Viscountess.

“The oath of mana…”

Known as a vow typically taken by wizards, for Spirit Mages requiring communion with pure spirits, breaking this oath not only severs communication with the spirit but also invites retaliation from nature, giving the oath even greater significance.

“So… did the Crown Prince really…!”

“Was the Princess unjustly accused!”

Murmurs filled the courtroom once again.

“No, no… It’s not true…!”

Desperate to turn public opinion somehow, the Crown Prince was already too late.

The opinions of the nobles and knights had completely shifted.

The Emperor himself saw everything as the Crown Prince’s misdeeds, and Princess Claudia appeared innocent in his eyes.

However, it was not a simple matter to overturn the trial’s outcome by accepting the relevant evidence.

Above all, the evidence submitted by a knight who intruded into the imperial court’s trial at will.

No matter the intention to save his lord, this was a challenge to the authority of the imperial court.

If this were lightly overlooked, it would lead to the collapse of the imperial authority, even the Emperor’s own authority.

Yet, questioning Vyrus’s guilt or disregarding the evidence was too daunting with the Spirit King guarding Vyrus from behind.

“How should I proceed…?”

As the Emperor pondered, Claudia approached him.

“The girl has a proposal for Your Majesty.”

—

“As expected of the Princess! Did you really think you could resolve the situation so neatly like that!”

Vyrus, who had been solely focused on proving the Princess’s innocence, hadn’t considered the Emperor’s perspective or future actions at all.

Because of this, he was impressed by Claudia’s charisma and ability to swiftly handle the chaotic situation.

Glancing briefly at Vyrus’s face, Claudia suddenly grabbed his cheek.

“Eek! P-Princess!”

“Who said you could act on your own?”

Even if there was someone willing to sacrifice themselves for her, she was determined to protect them.

Never did he expect someone to directly confront the imperial court to save him.

“I-I am the Princess’s knight!”

…A knight.

Truly, he was.

Releasing Vyrus’s cheek, Claudia expressed her gratitude.

“…Thank you.”

Turning away to hide her flushed face, she added, “For saving my lady.”

“Hehe.”

For the first time in a while, the two could smile brightly.