｢Huh? How did we end up in a full-scale war with the Military State? I was just trying to recruit them…?｣
The hastily decided full-scale war threw everyone into confusion.
The Regressor, who had provided crucial information to the Resistance, was just as confused. It was the sa with the Princess, who had issued the decisive order to prepare for an attack.
Nevertheless, soone had to take action.
There was no other choice. The Princess turned to her Guardian Knight and issued her command.
“Sir. This is an order. We need soone to convey this news to the Resistance and prepare them for action.”
“Understood, Your Highness… but why are you telling this?”
Of course, it ant that he was the one who had to do it.
The Guardian Knight's expression shifted rapidly as he grasped the significance behind her words.
Sir Landeyer, the youngest and strongest knight in the Resistance, was the right person to mobilize their forces.
There was no question about it.
However, he held dual responsibilities as both a commander and the Princess's guardian knight.
Even the strongest knight in the Resistance could only be in one place at a ti, and focusing on one duty ant neglecting the other.
“I’m telling you to do it.”
The Princess commanded her guardian knight to abandon his duty of protecting her and return to lead the Resistance.
The Guardian Knight vehently objected.
“No, Your Highness!”
“No matter how I think about it, this is the only way.”
“We have one of the Six Star Generals here!”
“She’s the last graduate of Halin who voluntarily got captured. Look. Even she can’t do anything to Shiati. As long as Shiati is safe, so am I.”
“Shiati isn’t safe alone on a vast plain! If she has nothing to burn, she’ll set herself on fire! Let stay instead. Please lead the Resistance yourself! You are their leader!”
The Princess offered a wry smile.
That wasn’t the case at all.
She didn't perceive herself as their leader or ruler.
Her role was rely symbolic, a figurehead to rally those who still held hope in her bloodline.
The Princess was a scapegoat.
She was chosen by the remnants as a symbol of defiance against a bygone era.
She spoke with self-deprecation.
“I’m just a figurehead. A symbol of the kingdom, an expensive scapegoat. Negotiating with other forces is my only role, so I have to be where I can fulfill that role.”
“A scapegoat?! Who uttered such nonsense? Just tell . I’ll execute them on the spot!”
“It was . Would you like to execute ?”
“I take back what I just said! Your Highness, please reconsider!”
The Guardian Knight remained resolute.
It was only natural.
Leaving the last heir of the royal family, the Princess whom he had sworn to protect, among the worst criminals?
His loyalty to the royal family was unwavering, despite the weariness of other Resistance mbers.
It was absolutely unacceptable to him.
“No matter what, I cannot leave you alone! Especially on the front line where a battle is imminent!”
Even though recent intelligence of the temporary alliance suggested the group was less threatening than initially believed, that was before they planned to attack Command.
Their plan to assault the Command with just five people was extraordinarily risky.
It wasn't their moral character but their exceptional power and readiness to make irrational decisions that made them dangerous.
Despite the Guardian Knight's persistent objections, the Princess sighed deeply.
“Hoo. It seems I have to use harsh words.”
“I’m sorry, but even harsh words won’t change my decision.”
The Guardian Knight steeled himself against any tantrum or anger from the Princess.
Until she uttered one word.
“Oppa. Are you playing around right now?”
Hearing that title for the first ti in years, the Guardian Knight was more filled with fear than joy.
Seeing him flinch, the Princess recalled their past, when they had lived in disguise, and shouted.
“Or what? There has to be at least one person here, right? We are not the Military State. We don’t have signallers. If we leave the base and can’t use the Great White Wall, who will communicate and negotiate?”
“T-That’s. Shiati is here, so you don’t need to.”
“That would be great! If we leave negotiations to Shiati, we’ll find ourselves leading the entire force in a charge against Command at so point!”
“That’s probably true, but…”
“Should I go back to the base alone? Do you think people will listen to a clueless figurehead like ?”
“Wait, please wait a mont.”
“It’s urgent! Aren’t you going?!”
Startled by the Princess's sudden intensity, the Guardian Knight stepped back.
As steadfast as he was in his loyalty as a guardian knight, he couldn’t win against the Princess when she was in her little sister mode.
Overwheld by the Princess's resolve, the Guardian Knight found himself at the entrance of the container.
The ta Conveyor Belt continued to move steadily. If he was to act, he had to act swiftly.
Just before opening the container door, he hesitated and emphasized to the Princess.
“…I’ll leave Selphy here. So, if anything happens, ride Selphy to escape. She's a white horse that can run a thousand Li; no one will catch up. Get Shiati to prepare you, and the extra clothing packets are here…”
“Just go!”
The Guardian Knight, his worry evident in his eyes, reluctantly turned and left the container.
He quickly surveyed the surroundings and leaped outside the belt.
He would probably gather the forces and follow soon.
｢…He’s gone? Phew, what a relief.｣
The Princess, who had been maintaining an angry expression until his presence faded, sighed and relaxed her face.
At that mont, the Regressor approached her from behind.
“Wait a minute. Princess. Are you going to follow us?”
Startled by the sudden proximity, the Princess straightened her back in tension.
“Huh, yes!”
“We’re not going on a picnic.”
The Regressor's cold reminder caught the Princess off guard, making her visibly flustered.
She stamred nervously,
“You said you needed a spy, right? It’s better if I stay. I’ve handled various negotiations that knights would find trivial.”
“You could die.”
“I’m part of the Resistance too. I’m prepared. And… I have my own reasons.”
“What do you want?”
The Princess hesitated briefly. With the attack on Command imminent, the only one who could help her was the Regressor.
｢Sir Knight provided us with crucial information. Concealing my true intentions now would be ungrateful. I hadn’t planned to be a burden, but it’s better to be honest…!｣
“I want… to et Command. I want to talk to them.”
The Princess clasped her hands before her chest and confessed calmly.
“Let be clear. I don’t see the Military State as evil. Extre luck runs through the blood Grandiomor royal lineage. Despite this blessing, the Kingdom crumbled due to internal strife… it failed as a nation.”
As a mber of the Resistance and the Princess of a fallen Kingdom, blessed with extre luck, she confessed her true sentints that she couldn’t express within the Resistance.
The fact that the Regressor was the chosen audience was unexpected, but a wise choice.
Perhaps there was a connection from a previous tiline, but it allowed the Regressor to fully empathize with the Princess's hidden thoughts.
The Regressor even had similar thoughts.
The Regressor chuckled softly.
“That’s not sothing a princess should say.”
“I’m the only one who can do it. Isn’t that the duty of the royal family?”
“So, what now? Do you plan to surrender to Command?”
“I can’t do that. They wouldn’t accept it. As long as I’m alive, I’m a threat to the Military State… regardless of my thoughts, I can’t be on the sa side as them.”
the Princess murmured self-deprecatingly, suppressing her loneliness, and continued.
“However, even if not , the Military State has the potential to beco a better nation. Instead of repression, persecution, and exploitation, it can evolve into an ideal country where everyone can prosper together. I want to ask whether they are deliberately ignoring this potential or simply unaware of it.”
“If you et them, you will most likely die.”
“Hehe. I have been marked for death from the mont of my birth as a princess.”
The Princess chuckled awkwardly before settling into a resigned smile.
“You can consider it a reward for cooperating. Or just think of it as using to infiltrate as a spy first. Before attacking Command…Can I speak with them?”
The Princess clasped her hands and earnestly requested.
Her pitiful and desolate look would have swayed any romantic to agree without hesitation.
But the Regressor had long lost her romantic notions and wasn’t a man either. Even in the face of the Princess's heartfelt plea, the Regressor remained composed.
“I don’t know where Command is.”
｢Even when I destroyed the Military State in the past, I couldn’t pinpoint Command or the Generalissimo issuing orders from within. Not until that tiline ended. When the Military State fell, they just vanished without a trace.｣
Huh? She doesn’t know?
This is unexpected, even for .
I thought she knew the location and was planning to attack, but after thirteen tilines, she still hadn’t found it? How are we going to find it if she doesn’t know?
Thankfully, the Regressor wasn’t that reckless.
“But I know where their orders co from. If we go there… you might be able to have the conversation you want. Whether they respond is another matter entirely.”
“Where is it?”
“The command and control center.”
The Regressor recalled fragnts from previous tilines.
From the recesses of her mory, a faint image began to form.
In one corner of Command, there was a restricted area publicly known as the Signalers' Quarters, though their identities remained unknown.
A structure similar to the Windowless Rooms seen during the Tantalus collapse.
Recalling this, the Regressor overlaid the image of the Princess in front of her with that of a slightly older Princess from the past.
It seed to be the Princess she had t before.
｢In the previous tiline, you were more desperate. You wanted to talk… but didn’t pursue it at the expense of your comrades or yourself. This ti…｣
“Within a corner of Command, there is a small base housing twenty-six signallers who relay commands from the core. It’s the only direct link to Command. It’s a strategic target anyway… if we take over that base, you can have the conversation you want.”
The Regressor, always generous to her comrades from the previous tilines, spoke kindly and softly.
The Princess bowed her head and clenched her fists.
“Yes…! Thank you!”
｢As expected, he’s a good /genesisforsaken
Reviews
All reviews (0)