Chapter 55 – Human? (1)
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 55 – Human? (1)
Elene and Aaron remained cautious, while Ketal and the Tower Master watched silently.
Before long, the bushes parted, revealing the strangers.
Elene’s pupils widened.
They were clad in armor painted in shades of blue and green.
The uniformity of their attire made it clear they belonged to a knight order.
The knight at the forefront looked at Elene and smirked.
“So here you are. It took us quite a while to find you.”
“…Lukento?”
The knight, called Lukento, bowed respectfully.
“The leader of the Blue-Green Knights, Lukento Edenheimer, pays his respects to Elene Mavlocci Lutein, first princess of the Lutein Kingdom, heir to the great royal family.”
‘Lutein Kingdom?’
The Tower Master searched his memory.
Lutein Kingdom.
It was quite a distance from here, one of the empire’s vassal states.
That was all he knew.
‘So she’s a princess. Is this a romantic escape? And the old man is her lover? What an unusual princess.’
The Tower Master’s thoughts went no further.
The affairs of the human world held no value or interest for him.
The title of princess meant nothing to him.
Lukento turned to Ketal.
“Are you a mercenary?”
“Yes. She hired me to protect her.”
“The person you are escorting is the first princess of our Lutein Kingdom.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Lukento and Elene were both taken aback by Ketal’s words.
“You knew?”
“Aaron called her ‘princess’ right in front of me.”
“Oh, right?”
“Nothing changes. I’m her escort.”
His attitude was extremely relaxed.
Lukento hesitated for a moment, perhaps finding it unexpected.
But he soon spoke with a cold gaze.
“Then there’s no need to explain further. She is our princess. We will protect her.”
“Why is the princess here?”
“Because she ran away. With her retainer.”
Lukento sighed lightly and glared at Aaron.
“A retainer who not only failed to stop her but led her away… This will be severely reprimanded.”
Aaron flinched.
The lack of rebuttal suggested that Lukento was indeed from Elene’s kingdom.
“You’ve come a long way. Must have been tough.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Lukento’s words were sharp.
“Mercenary, you have protected her, and for that, I thank you. But from here on, it is our responsibility.”
Ketal stroked his chin and spoke.
“Patrick, what do you think?”
“I don’t know the details, but if what they say is true, there’s no reason to refuse. A mercenary must be informed of any factors that might complicate the journey. Failure to do so is grounds for legitimate contract termination.”
Patrick spoke calmly.
“I see.”
“Ah…”
Elene’s face showed distress, but she couldn’t argue.
Patrick’s words were accurate.
She had believed there would be no pursuit, or that they would have lost it long ago.
That was why she had waited for mercenaries at the Barkan estate for days.
But Lukento had found her.
She hadn’t realized they were tracking her.
Essentially, she had deceived Ketal.
She lowered her head.
Seeing Ketal’s acquiescence, Lukento stepped forward.
Elene instinctively stepped back.
“Come, Princess. Please follow me. His Majesty is worried.”
“No, no.”
Elene refused Lukento’s approach.
Her face showed instinctive fear and disgust.
Lukento smiled and advanced.
Ketal raised his hand to block the way.
Lukento scowled.
“…What are you doing?”
“First, I have something to hear from her. She trusted me and was about to tell me what she knows. It’s a sign of trust.”
Why set out late at night?
Why not follow the path but take a detour?
Why avoid people’s eyes?
Why leave her kingdom?
He hadn’t heard the answers.
Ketal looked at Elene.
“Elene. You had something to say, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
Startled, Elene raised her head.
“…Are you not leaving?”
“I knew everything from the start. There’s no reason to leave. Besides, since we have an audience, why not open up and be honest?”
“Ah…”
Elene’s eyes darkened.
There was so much she had kept inside, so much it was overflowing.
She gritted her teeth.
“…Who are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked, who are you?”
“I am Lukento Edenheimer, the commander of the Blue-Green Knights, the foremost knight order of our kingdom. You know that well.”
Lukento responded with confusion.
Elene’s expression twisted.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I don’t know you!”
Elene pointed at Lukento with a hostile finger.
“I know Lukento Edenheimer. But I don’t know ‘you’! Who are you?”
She started to pour out what she had kept inside.
“Who are you all? You took over the castle, replaced my friends, my family! My father, my mother! Even my little sister is gone! What are you all?!”
‘Hmm?’
The Tower Master, intrigued by her words, subtly wove a small amount of mana through Lukento’s body.
No one noticed.
The result came quickly.
‘He’s human?’
The Tower Master tilted his head.
A mysterious path within.
A quietly flowing aura.
He was undeniably human.
Elene shouted with a contorted face.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
“You’re planning to consume me next! And take over our kingdom! Don’t be ridiculous! I won’t let you! I’ll get my revenge on you all!”
Her cries were filled with despair and anger.
Lukento sighed in frustration at her outburst.
He looked at Ketal.
“Did you hear? The princess is delusional.”
“What? Delusional? Nonsense!”
“If that’s the case, Princess, can you prove that His Majesty and I have been replaced by something else?”
Elene fell silent at his words.
Lukento spoke again, looking at her sympathetically.
“We know everything. How you hired a wizard through Aaron. But in the end, there was no result, was there?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Think about it logically. Everyone in the castle except you has changed. Do you really think that’s possible?”
The castle, where the king and key figures reside, is a hub of power.
It was naturally well-protected.
The idea of it being entirely replaced, as Elene claimed, was impossible.
“Everyone except yourself has changed. Isn’t it more reasonable to consider that you are the one who has changed, that you have fallen ill?”
“That does seem reasonable.”
Ketal agreed.
Despair filled Elene’s face at the thought of losing her ally.
“Then step aside. The princess needs immediate treatment.”
Lukento moved forward decisively.
However, Ketal did not step aside.
Lukento frowned.
“…If you don’t step aside, I’ll have to use force.”
As he spoke, Lukento accelerated, raising his fist to strike Ketal’s chest.
In that instant,
Crash.
Lukento’s body flew backward.
The knights waiting nearby were startled.
“Commander!”
“Gah!”
Lukento spat blood.
The armor on his chest was completely crushed.
Ketal waved his fist in satisfaction.
“Perfect.”
He had controlled his strength perfectly.
Lukento controlled his internal injuries and glared.
“What are you doing?!”
“As her escort, it’s my duty to fend off threats. Your words may be logical, but I have no reason to believe you.”
“Nonsense! The princess is sick!”
“It could be the opposite.”
Lukento was flabbergasted by Ketal’s words.
“You’re saying that everyone except the princess has been replaced? That’s insane! Do you really think that’s possible?!”
“Why not?”
Ketal spoke lightly.
Everyone in the castle had been replaced by something identical, and no one noticed.
Only the princess remained unchanged.
It was clearly impossible.
In modern times, Ketal would have thought the princess was delusional.
But here, it was possible.
The impossible could indeed happen.
Because this was a fantasy world filled with magic and wonder.
Lukento frowned.
“As the escort of a deranged princess, it seems you’re just as deranged.”
“It’s sad to hear you say that. But I have no reason to trust your words either.”
“Nonsense!”
“Elene confirmed your humanity through magic alone. Can she be one hundred percent sure with just that?”
“That’s the rambling of a madman!”
“While I’m not denying that, I also have no reason to believe you. Your words are just as filled with impossibilities.”
Ketal smiled as he asked.
“Patrick, is it possible for a foreign Knight Order to move around so freely?”
“It is not possible.”
Patrick replied calmly.
“A knight order of that size is a significant threat. No country would allow a foreign knight order within its borders unless they had a blood alliance.”
It’s a given.
Knights are weapons in human form.
If a knight order decided to act, they could easily destroy a few territories.
No country would let such a sharp blade within its territory.
It’s a matter of national security.
“Is the Kingdom of Gehentra and the Kingdom of Lutein in a blood alliance?”
“To my knowledge, they have no such relationship.”
“Then it’s impossible for them to move around so freely.”
Ketal spoke with a smile.
Lukento was silent for a moment before he spoke.
“We explained our situation while searching for the princess. We were given permission.”
“Then where are your escorts? Do they let over fifty knights wander around without supervision?”
The smiley remark struck like a sharp dagger.
“And how did you track us? Despite our careful movements, it shouldn’t have been possible to follow just our traces.”
Silence again.
Lukento turned his gaze to Patrick.
“We had a collaborator.”
“It wasn’t me,” Patrick shook his head.
Ketal laughed.
“Isn’t that too obvious a lie? If Patrick and the Kingdom of Gehentra were collaborating with you, this would have been resolved at the Barkan estate. There was no need to come this far.”
One by one, his points were refuted.
Logical points, just as Lukento had made to the princess.
Lukento could not refute them.
“Elene, you believed there was no pursuit, correct?”
“Y-yes. But they did pursue, so…”
“No. You were right. There was no pursuit.”
No one besides Patrick had triggered Ketal’s detection range.
“What?”
Elene was baffled.
Her look asked how the Blue-Green Knights were here if there was no pursuit.
“It’s simple. They suddenly appeared.”
The smile never left Ketal’s face.
He looked like he was enjoying the situation immensely.
“Really suddenly.”
In the Snow Fields where one couldn’t see an inch ahead, survival required the ability to read everything with closed eyes.
Ketal could detect nearly everything within his range.
But Lukento and the knights appeared within his detection range without any warning.
As if they had materialized.
Ketal’s smile broadened.
“How did you come here?”
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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