0% As I focused on the paperwork in front of , the bright morning sunlight began streaming through the window.
“...It’s morning already.”
I was so absorbed in my work that I hadn’t even noticed the sunrise.
Today, of all days, I need to make sure I don’t look exhausted, but I hadn’t slept a wink last night.
How unfortunate.
“Princess Clana, it’s ti to start preparing.”
“Alright.”
I had thought of lying down to catch a few minutes of rest, but a young maid entered, urging to get ready, forcing to abandon any chance of sleep.
On a normal day, I might have made so excuse to get a little more rest, but today, I couldn’t afford to.
Today, I, Clana, would be crowned as the Empress of this empire.
A ruler who arrives late to a coronation watched by the entire world?
I don’t even want to imagine it.
- Drip...
“Ah.”
So, as I rubbed my tired eyes and organized the scattered docunts on the desk, I noticed a few drops of blood falling onto the pristine paper.
I must have pushed myself too hard; now I had a nosebleed.
“Y-Your Highness! A-are you alright?!?”
Holding my nose absentmindedly, I looked up to see the maid running towards in a panic.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry so much.”
“B-but... the blood!”
“It’s just a nosebleed, not a cut or stab wound.”
“I-I’ll call a doctor imdiately!”
“No, really, there’s no need.”
The way she nervously tried to run out of the room was sowhat endearing, but I was used to nosebleeds like these—this was nothing to .
Back in the day, I only slept two hours a night while studying and training for battle, and I used to get nosebleeds at least twice a day.
“Just bring a coagulant.”
“A-are you sure that will be enough...?”
“Yes, the doctor would just prescribe the sa thing.”
“Then I’ll bring the highest-grade coagulant right away!”
Accepting my response with a 90-degree bow, the maid darted out of the room.
Despite the culling of royal maids, she had sohow managed to secure her position here.
I’d heard she had co from Frey’s estate—maybe that explained her resilience.
- Yawn
“Alright... ti to get up.”
After finishing the paperwork and holding my nose with one hand, I attempted to stand, stretching my stiffened body.
- Crack!
“Ugh.”
But as I stretched my back, I suddenly collapsed onto the desk.
“...I’m still so tired.”
Within seconds, I was already starting to drift off.
Maybe I’d developed a habit of dozing off at my desk to catch up on sleep whenever I had a chance.
If I force myself to get up now, I’ll be in poor shape all day.
“Just five minutes... five minutes of sleep...”
There was nothing I could do. It was better to get so rest, even just a bit.
“Only five minutes...”
The maid would return with the coagulant soon and wake up, so I figured it’d be fine.
“...”
With that thought, I closed my eyes on the desk.
...Oh, the nosebleed.
I rembered that I had been holding my nose for the bleeding, but by that point, I was already drifting off.
.
.
.
.
.
“...Princess Clana.”
“Mmm?”
I opened my eyes to a familiar voice, and as expected, a tired face ca into view.
“I ca to deliver so urgent news.”
It was Serena Luna Moonlight.
Frey’s fiancée and the woman who loves him most in the world.
What could bring her here? I was sure we were supposed to et at the coronation.
“The Demon King’s army is right outside the capital.”
“What?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Serena said sothing absolutely absurd.
Why would the Demon King’s army co to the capital?
Could it be a rebellion targeting the coronation?
But that didn’t make sense.
The Demon King’s army had been disbanded by Ruby and Lulu.
It wasn’t so much disbandnt as a purge.
After that, only the benign demons and a few pardoned individuals were left in the army.
Even Dmir Khan, the army’s de facto leader, was wholly loyal to Frey and Ruby, so there was no chance they were here with ill intentions.
Given the disparity in power, coming to the capital would practically be a death wish.
No matter how I looked at it, there was no reason for them to invade the capital on such an important day.
“Prepare for the final battle.”
“...?”
I was trying to make sense of her words when Serena, kneeling before , spoke in a somber tone.
“What are you talking about...?”
“Your Highness...”
Only then did I realize that sothing was off.
Firstly, I wasn’t in my room.
I’d fallen asleep at my desk, so why was I sitting on the imperial throne?
The coronation hadn’t even started yet.
- Clank, clank...
And now I noticed that I was dressed in armor.
“What’s going on?”
And my body was covered in unknown injuries.
What was happening here?
“If it weren’t for that bastard Frey...”
“What did you just say?”
Desperately trying to understand the situation, I caught the hatred in Serena’s voice and asked her.
“Why did you protect that scum, Your Highness?”
But all I received in response was Serena’s sorrowful tone.
“If only you had given permission to kill him sooner... everything could have been different.”
I looked at her, utterly bewildered, as tears stread down her cheeks.
“But now... it’s too late.”
Then, at that mont—
- Bwooooooo!
A chilling trumpet sound shook the air.
“...Even so, I’ll stay by your side to the end, Your Highness.”
“This is...”
Drawn by the sound, I looked out the window.
“No way.”
In shock, I muttered, staring with wide eyes.
“I thought everything was over... How did this happen...?”
The blood-soaked ground, a dying sun like the one I’d seen recently, and the Demon King’s army, armored and ard, marching toward the palace.
“Then, let the final stand begin.”
As I stood there, dumbfounded, Serena’s solemn voice reached .
“Your Highness, you must escape the palace imdiately...”
“Wha...?”
Suddenly, my body gave out.
“...What on earth is happening?”
My last cry was the last thing I could manage before everything faded into darkness.
.
.
.
.
.
“Y-Your Highness!!!”
“Mmph.”
When Clana opened her eyes again, the maid who had gone to fetch the coagulant was looking down at her.
“D-don’t die!!!”
“...Ack.”
With the maid stuffing the coagulant into her mouth, Clana struggled as she shot up from her seat.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“T-The doctor!! Call a doctor! Her Highness is...!”
Ignoring her pleas, the maid bolted out of the room, yelling for help.
“...”
As Clana watched her go with a bemused expression, she noticed her desk was covered in blood and murmured quietly.
“...I guess I understand her reaction.”
Seeing the scene, it did look like she’d been attacked, so she scratched her head, sat down, and muttered to herself.
“But what was all that just now?”
She began to reflect on the experience she’d just had.
“It must’ve been a dream.”
She concluded that it had been a dream.
“It was oddly realistic, but I’ve had nightmares like that before.”
Having had similar visions during Frey’s Second Ordeal, Clana decided it was just another nightmare due to her overwhelming workload.
“It still feels unsettling, though...”
Even so, the uneasy feeling lingered as she grimaced.
“Your Highness!!”
“Princess Clana!!!”
“Ah.”
As the door burst open, dozens of doctors rushed to her.
“M-My goodness... the blood!”
“We must halt the coronation imdiately and treat you at once! Quickly, to the cathedral...!”
“It’s just a nosebleed; could everyone please calm down?”
Trying to downplay the situation, Clana quickly began explaining.
“Where were the guards?! How could they let Her Highness co to this state?!”
“No, please calm down.”
Amid this commotion, her recent strange experience began to fade from her mind.
.
.
.
.
.
anwhile, at that very mont—
- Crackle...!
“Perfect. Everything’s in place.”
The Magic Tower Master, who had sohow slipped past the heavy security for the coronation, looked at the barrier she had infiltrated and smiled.
“To those who thought it was all over...”
Her eyes glead like a pitch-black void.
“...But your Ordeals are far from over.”
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