R4STWH - Chapter 134
Chapter 134
“That’s Protia's Lord’s Castle.”
Come to think of it, Elias seemed to know the geography of this place well, as he moved forward without hesitation.
'Did he ever come to meet his mother in a different worldline?'
Though curiosity arose, I didn't bother asking him. That wasn’t what was important now.
As we approached the point where the Lord’s Castle came into view, I was able to somewhat grasp the situation that was impossible to discern from the outskirts.
'That flag is…….'
“It seems that the Royal Knights have occupied the castle.”
Though I hadn’t thought that Yumi would act alone, it seemed that she had drawn the people of this world in as well.
Sure, while the disaster engulfing the continent was terrifying, they couldn't ignore the authority that had their lives and their family's livelihood in its grasp.
I held Elias’s hand again to gather my thoughts.
“Let’s go.”
He didn’t say anything as he watched me walk confidently toward the main gate.
He must have also realized that it would be impossible to sneak in undetected, since the Protia Lord’s Castle was surrounded by an extremely powerful barrier that could not even be compared to the protective magic that covered the inner and outer walls of Tenaclad.
The knights at the main gate were moving busily after noticing us.
Some ran inside to report, and others gripped their swords with tense faces.
“Halt!”
When Elias and I stopped obediently, the knight seemed to have become even more tense.
“I presume you know who I am before giving me such an order?”
Elias casually asked as if trying to assess the situation.
“We know very well that Your Excellency is the head of Tenaclad. And this isn't an order, but a recommendation to…….”
“And?”
“What do you mean?”
“How should I interpret a Royal Knight of the Imperial Family blocking my way, while showing hostility without any explanation, at the territory of another noble, where even the Imperial Palace isn’t located?”
Perhaps it was because he was only acting according to orders, but the knight became flustered as Elias started to pick at his actions.
“It is not our intention to show hostility, but we are acting under the command of Her Majesty…….”
“Her Majesty? Are you saying that Her Imperial Majesty is here?”
The knight became even more flustered.
“Y, yes. Princess Selena, the owner of the Violet Palace, has ascended to the throne yesterday and has become the new sun of the Empire.”
Even while replying like that, the knight's eyes seemed to be full of confusion.
“The new head of the Empire was decided without the three dukes of the Empire even knowing? Then, what has happened to the 1st Imperial Prince?”
“Ah... Prince Leonard has ascended to the Archduke position, and is protecting the Imperial Palace in place of His Majesty.”
“Then why would the new sun of the Empire visit this insignificant territory instead of the major families?”
“That is…….”
For some reason, the knight glanced at me.
I hurriedly looked down at my knees to avoid eye contact, before getting startled at myself and quickly looked away.
“It is to eliminate the source of the disaster that has been declared the enemy of the Empire.”
“The source of the disaster?”
“Yes, that is, the one standing beside Your Excellency……”
“Me?”
When I pointed at myself with my finger and asked back, the knight’s eyes were completely closed.
“I apologize. I can’t answer you any more than this.”
……He can’t answer any more than this, even though he already said everything.
There was nothing more to ask.
“It seems like that’s what happened.”
Elias frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Yeah.”
It seemed that they intended to make it impossible for me to settle in this world by labeling me as the source of all the negative events that were occurring, then pushing me into a corner.
Perhaps they also wanted me to feel such disillusionment that I would turn my back on this world that had made me their enemy.
“Now that we’ve gotten the information, shall we go inside?”
“Sure.”
Even while watching Elias and I approach, as if we hadn’t stopped when they had asked us to, the knight’s face became white with shock.
“H, halt! If you don't stop…….”
Elias warned the knight, who was gripping his sword as if he was about to draw it.
“The moment you draw that sword, you will lose your life. Are you prepared for it?”
At that moment, I seemed to hear the knight's inner cry. ‘No!!!’
With the release of a very slight killing intent, the knight was unable to move even a finger, and we passed through the main gate leisurely.
If they had wanted a hostile depiction, they should have at least improved their ability. They were simply too weak to even do anything at this level.
Well, my comrades weren't the type to be good at that.
While they themselves were extremely skilled, they didn't have any talent for helping others grow.
If anyone who had similar skills to them came to ask for advice, they would usually do one of two things.
‘Why can’t you do it? Why are you unable to do something that’s so simple?’
They would show their incomprehension while staring at the other person with a gaze of bewilderment, or
‘How foolish.’
They would look down at them with contempt, and ignore them.
It was no wonder that the other person would run away in tears when faced with either option.
With such personalities, there was no way they would be able to analyze the abilities of the knights under them to frame me, nor make the required effort to put them into a dungeon.
'They probably didn’t even think that those knights would be this weak.'
From Zero and Yumi’s perspectives, both the Tenaclad knights who I had helped grow and the Royal Knights that we just passed by must be considered equally insignificant.
Just like how it’s meaningless to compare which ant is the strongest. Even though, as we’ve actually experienced, the difference is that stark.
While the Tenaclad, Lakdel, and the knights of the Amern Order were working together this very moment to eliminate monsters and save lives, none of the knights here had even managed to draw their sword toward me and Elias.
Not even one.
They were only able to grit their teeth and widen their eyes while gripping the hilt of their sword.
We had entered the Lord’s Castle without even shedding a single drop of blood. With our own hands, we even opened the doors as we passed.
As we followed the knights and soldiers that were scattered all over while grabbing our own breadcrumbs, we were able to naturally reach where Yumi was.
“I knew it, but they really are useless.”
Yumi, who was holding a golden mantle in one hand and a purple one in the other, sighed while looking at the door that had opened with a bang.
“I think the gold one suits you better.”
After quickly helping Yumi with her choice, I looked around the hall with my eyes.
Naturally, the saintess, Crow, and Clea were not here. They were probably locked up somewhere separately. Along with double or triple magic barriers.
Yumi, who was looking in the mirror after having thrown off the golden mantle, laughed in disbelief.
“Your aesthetic sense really is still bad.”
……I think it looked pretty, though. It was flashy and expensive looking, and it suited Yumi well.
“You’ve become the Emperor, right? Congrats.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Of course. Since it has turned out like this, why not try ruling it properly? You’re extremely smart, so you’ll definitely be able to do it well.”
After staring at me intently, Yumi smiled gently as she took a step closer to me.
“You know, you shouldn’t look at me like that even in this situation, right?”
However, instead of closing the gap any more, she tilted her head toward my side.
“You should at least glare at me with the same gaze as the man beside you. Otherwise, it makes my resolution feel so pathetic.”
Yumi was right.
We weren't in a place to exchange childish banter.
Yumi had stood here after resolving to fight me to regain her precious possessions.
So, I also had to make an equal effort to face her seriously. But...
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to glare at her.
Because… because it was her.
The person I had cherished the most until I had met Elias. In truth, now, that person was still just as precious as ever, even if our emotions and names might have changed.
If there was only one loaf of bread left in the world, I wouldn't regret sharing more than half of it with her, and if I could protect her red hair I'd be glad to sacrifice an arm.
That's who she was to me.
So, I...
“Even without glaring, I won’t have any problems fighting you.”
I had no choice but to set aside the things I couldn’t do, and focus on the things I had to do.
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