Chapter 88

The night in the system is busy. If anyone dares to take a break, it feels like a disaster is imminent, as most of them are holding important positions. In fact, it was fair to say that if one didn’t maintain that level of pressure, they wouldn’t even make it to a prominent position in the Empire. Princess Chloe, who was also aiming for the Crown Princess title, was no exception.

“Yeah. Caught red-handed.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

With a loud bang as the woman banged her hands on the desk, her head ducked slightly, trembling. Chloe, looking at her with an expressionless gaze, posed a fundamental question.

“…Was it your mistake? Or was it Lady Beon Portus who just has good instincts?”

“Honestly, I think it’s neither.”

“Oh? What’s your reasoning?”

With no hesitation in her denial, Marcia’s response brought a small smile to Chloe’s lips. Seeing that smile, Marcia bit her lip nervously before speaking. Any slip-up here would mean being tossed aside, and that future was more terrifying than death itself.

“That maid named Catherine whom I mentioned earlier was quite exceptional, but the real scary one, frankly, was the head maid. While her strength might not match that of the maid Catherine as you mentioned, she was notably one of the few who treated Lady Beon Portus with respect, and it seems like she had some knowledge of my true identity from the very beginning.”

“From the very beginning?”

“Yes. She seemed trained like an agent from the Empire’s Special Division.”

Though she was trained like an agent from the Empire’s Special Division, she wasn’t part of it but came from the outside. This split the possibilities into two clear groups.

“An infiltrator or one who got kicked out?”

Those who got kicked out. Generally, one can’t just resign from the Special Division; it’s a place where death or burial carries significant meaning. However, it’s not true that no agents have ever left. To be precise, there are those who are alive among the ‘missing’ agents. Princess Chloe was convinced that the head maid of Marquis Portus belonged to the latter group.

“It’s more likely the latter. The Marquis of Portus might have helped her.”

“I think so too.”

Though Marcia was infiltrating with a focus on Catherine rather than Lilian, she regretted that whether it was Lilian or another figure put forward by her was able to figure out Marcia’s identity. This was disappointing because Marcia was the most capable special agent available to her.

“Understood. Wait here until the next order comes down.”

“Yes.”

Chloe glanced outside at the bright moon, then returned her gaze to the documents. However, the words on the paper weren’t registering properly in her mind. It had been a month since Catherine headed to the battlefield. Alongside Catherine, the Demon King extermination army had made rapid advances, and news had arrived that they had already advanced to the capital of the Kingdom of Altain within just a month.

To be honest, even someone as formidable and decisive as her, known as the Iron-Blooded Princess, had her fears. And the thing she feared most right now was the anxious thought of whether Catherine would get hurt. Honestly, she knew Catherine was strong, but wasn’t she just human among humans? Could she really defeat the mighty demons and their king, the Demon King? With those thoughts swirling in her head, Princess Chloe let out a small sigh. The moonlight felt particularly bright today.

#

“This is our current position.”

The commander leading the troops, who is also a Cardinal of the Church, Besalon, pointed at the map. I shifted my eyes quietly toward the map, spotting the capital of the Kingdom of Altain, Arvain. We were poised to attack the capital just in front of Arvain.

“This battle will see a significant increase in casualties. It’s been reported that Hret, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, is stationed there.”

“That Hret? He’ll be nothing for Catherine to handle.”

“…Holy Lady. Calling him that is quite disrespectful.”

“Isn’t it just the truth?”

Ignoring Besalon’s protest, Yulia pushed me toward the mid-boss and pointed to the other side of the map.

“We need to stay as far from Hret as possible. The black flames he emits will dissolve anything just by touching it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a demon or a human. After maintaining distance, Catherine must hold her ground.”

“…Hmm. Understood. I’ll relay that.”

“I’ll do my best too.”

Was she unaware of just how formidable Hret was? Despite my doubts regarding Yulia, who was commanding with familiarity, I nodded for now. Now that I think about it, Yulia had been acting quite experienced in battle throughout this war. She led troops, rescued isolated knights, and without us realizing, she had been cleverly securing advantages by quickly taking down the enemy’s isolated units.

“Then tomorrow. Let’s execute the operation right away.”

“Yes!”

“…It seems the commander has changed.”

At my remark, the two of them laughed as if it was a joke, then walked away. Watching their retreating figures, I sighed and rolled up the map.

#

The next day, we started moving busily from the crack of dawn. Luring Hret out wouldn’t be that difficult. A simple provocation would do. Thus, a separate unit descended below Castle Arvain and began hurling insults at Hret.

“Hret-! You cowardly bastard-!”

“You dumbass!”

“You should be ashamed to be a demon-! You coward-!”

Though the separate unit was made up of demons who had surrendered without a fight, we didn’t find it necessary to kill them, so we were using them like a separate unit.

“…These bastards.”

Did we yell for about ten minutes? Suddenly a gigantic eagle appeared above the fortress. Or rather, it was a demon that looked like an eagle. It seemed like someone could ride it if they needed to.

“I’ll kill you!”

Hret, the black flames, appeared and began to spread his dark flames across the battlefield. I charged towards him, swinging my sword. Caught off-guard by the sudden ambush, Hret retreated from the castle. It was evident he deemed it difficult to unleash his black flames in such close proximity.

Settling in a suitable clearing, my sword clashed with Hret’s. Unlike what one might expect from something resembling a bird, he gripped his sword with both hands. It was a bizarre sight, but the strikes of a Four Heavenly King certainly carried tremendous power.

The Sacred Sword began to glow brightly as it absorbed magical power. With that, Hret’s sword collided with mine. Clang-! At the sound of metal clinking together, I finally understood what material Hret’s sword was made of.

“Claws…?”

“Hahaha-! Die-!”

Rather than wielding a sword, he swung his claws. However, those claws felt similar to the sword they had just collided with. But contrary to a sword, they moved very organically. Blocking his rapidly moving claws with my waist, I habitually attempted to push deeper in, only to realize Yulia’s healing wouldn’t reach me here, and so I simply lowered my sword. Yet, Hret made a bold move to grab my sword with his hand. Scratch-! His claws, along with his fingers, severed.

“Hah!”

Of course, I knew I couldn’t deal damage to my opponent without taking on some risk myself. Had I driven that last strike a step deeper, I might have pierced his heart. But unlike me, whose injury would lead to fatal blood loss if my waist was cut, Hret could regenerate from any wound unless both his heart and head were destroyed simultaneously. That’s why he could be so brazen.

The Sacred Sword, glowing with white light, began to move swiftly. I could see Hret panicking at the increased speed. Soon, waves of black flames began to rise to repel my strikes. But the magic-infused Sacred Sword rejected those black flames. Like Moses parting the sea, I pierced through the divided black flames, striking at Hret’s heart.

“Kugh-!”

Caught off-guard by the sudden attack, Hret wildly released black flames. However, the more he did so, the more openings he exposed.

Scratch-! One strike decapitated him, and with the sword I held in my left hand, I pierced through his heart. Despite being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it seemed he wasn’t immune to death as he sank to the ground with a significant blow to his existence, landing lifelessly with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Hah….”

Thank goodness he was weaker than I expected. I thought to myself as I slowly sank to the ground. I felt somewhat exhausted from expending too much magical power.