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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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The atmosphere of war had subsided.
This was immediately apparent upon emerging outside with the help of the Luinongs.
Completely collapsed ruins.
Half-burned gates and walls.
Charred ashes and acrid smells that assaulted the nostrils.
The buildings that had symbolized the glory and prosperity of the imperial family had suffered a catastrophe.
Witnessing this, Edanant and Ludmilla moved forward with stiff expressions.
“Sister!”
“Liza…!”
A beautiful princess came running, adjusting her tattered dress.
It was Elizaveta.
Her face, as fair as white jade, was covered in soot, reflecting the successive ordeals she had endured.
“Are you hurt? Are you unharmed?”
“Everyone in the banquet hall is fine. The Luinongs protected us.”
The small fairies cleared their throats while shrugging their shoulders proudly.
Normally, one might have thought they were being pretentious.
But this time was different.
If it weren’t for the Luinongs, the banquet hall would have become a wasteland like other places.
The nobles who had barely survived expressed their gratitude for the Luinongs’ efforts with moved expressions.
“Edan! Edan!”
“Your already ugly face has become even uglier.”
Like Elizaveta, the girl with light green hair was also in a mess.
Edanant took out a handkerchief and wiped Rue’s soot-covered cheeks.
“Eek, huehue…! I-It tickles!”
“How much smoke did you inhale for it to get even in your nostrils? Quickly, blow your nose.”
“Pheeeeng! Sniff sniff!”
“That’s right.”
The rebel nobles who had tried to assassinate the emperor and burn the palace began to surrender in droves.
Although large and small skirmishes were still occurring in various places, it seemed they would be suppressed soon.
They had somehow overcome the crisis.
Edanant exhaled a sigh of relief while staring at Rue’s face.
“Mila…! Liza…! I’m glad you’re all safe!”
“Father, are you alright?!”
The emperor, clad in brilliant golden armor, arrived at the scene accompanied by the imperial knights.
His entire body was covered in bloodstains, suggesting he had fought against the rebel army along with the forces defending the imperial palace.
Indeed, he was an emperor of bold temperament.
Other monarchs would have waited for news of victory from a safe place.
The emperor, brave as a lion, had personally wielded weapons to eradicate the rebels who had invaded the imperial palace.
The rumors of his valor in his youth seemed to be true.
“I’ve completely eliminated the unidentified monsters that swept through the city streets. And… the Mein of the Disaster God who dared to try to assassinate Your Majesty was executed by Young Master Edanant.”
“You’ve accomplished a truly great feat!”
They had captured the Fresh Blood Apostle in the fairies’ paradise.
However, Ludmilla reported to the emperor that she had been executed.
She claimed the Mein had been summarily executed.
Moreover, she boldly added that the Mein’s corpse had been completely burned.
“……”
Although bewilderment arose, Edanant ultimately didn’t reveal the truth to the emperor.
This was because Ludmilla had signaled with her eyes, asking him to go along with her intentions.
He could easily understand Ludmilla’s thoughts.
Edanant participated in Ludmilla’s intent with silence.
‘Even if it’s to protect me… I never thought Ludmilla, who has blindly been loyal to the imperial family, would report falsely to the emperor. I’m worried she might be pushing herself too hard.’
It was particularly bewildering because Ludmilla had shown such strong loyalty that she might have been considered stubborn.
It was disloyalty and unfilial conduct towards her imperial father.
This was probably the first time.
He was concerned that Ludmilla might later suffer from heavy guilt.
“You don’t seem to have external injuries, but you must have exhausted your strength. Now, leave it to the imperial knights and rest. I’ve given instructions, so the maids will guide you.”
“But sporadic skirmishes are still continuing. If you entrust it to me, I’ll suppress them at once.”
“It’s alright, don’t we have the loyal Seven Swords?”
“…Yes, I understand.”
When Barbarossa ordered in a solemn voice, Ludmilla finally had no choice but to yield her stubbornness.
It was also because she felt guilty about reporting falsely.
If one were to pick the person worst at lying in the world, it would probably be Ludmilla.
Ludmilla showed an uncomfortable expression and moved her lips.
It was as if she was advertising, ‘I have committed a sin.’
Edanant, watching Ludmilla’s change from the side, inadvertently burst into laughter.
Ludmilla’s appearance, fidgeting like a timid cat, seemed too cute to him.
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Edanant and Ludmilla were immediately sent to the medical unit.
There was no need for treatment.
At most, their skin had been scratched by flying debris.
However, due to Elizaveta’s firm insistence, Edanant and Ludmilla had no choice but to comply.
They sat on hospital beds for a moment to receive first aid from the healers.
“Why did you say that?”
When the healers withdrew, leaving them alone, Edanant opened his mouth.
Ludmilla turned her head to the side and answered.
“It was to hide your identity somehow. It was an unavoidable choice.”
Ariel Spellada.
The Fresh Blood Apostle who had tried to assassinate the emperor of the Valtarian Empire was like a precious master key to solving numerous questions.
The identity of the chaos realm.
Information about the suddenly appearing cult forces.
And the circumstances of usurping the magical equipment of the Sage, a member of the Saintess Party.
They needed to thoroughly interrogate her to find out the inside story.
However, Ariel knew that Edanant was an apostle serving the Disaster God of War.
That’s why she had concealed the facts, even making false reports to the emperor, in order to maintain secrecy as much as possible.
“Today, I’ve only received help from Your High… no, from Ludmilla many times.”
As soon as he called her “Your Highness,” Ludmilla’s gaze turned sharp.
Quickly perceiving this, Edanant changed his form of address.
“Please don’t worry about it. Until now, you have spared no effort to protect the citizens. Consider this a small repayment for that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Left alone in the hospital room, a meaningful atmosphere flowed.
Although they were continuing the conversation with blunt content, they were secretly glancing at each other.
It was a strange situation.
To be alone like this.
Edanant and Ludmilla showed awkward reactions, fearing each other’s gaze.
They seemed to hesitate on how to dispel the obviously awkward atmosphere.
“Are all the Luinongs safe? I’m worried that the young fairies might have been shocked by this catastrophe.”
“They were all healthy as usual. But just in case, I plan to check on them later.”
“Ahem, the Luinongs’ efforts were really great this time too.”
“Yes.”
Ludmilla, her face flushed like a teapot, tried to clear her throat repeatedly as she opened her mouth.
However, it was insufficient to improve the awkward atmosphere.
It’s awkward.
Please, someone come.
Ludmilla was experiencing a situation dozens of times more difficult than when she had engaged in battle with grotesquely distorted monsters.
Her slightly trembling red eyes seemed to speak to this.
How,
What to do now?
It was clearly an ‘event’ that often appears in romance novels.
As a novice with no dating experience so far, she quickly fell into panic.
She had no experience dealing with such situations, let alone encountering them.
“Is it alright to leave the Fresh Blood Apostle as is? What if she escapes…”
“I’ve taken measures, so it’s fine.”
He had placed guns designed to react to Ariel’s movements in all directions.
If she rashly tried to escape, the guns would immediately fire.
Even the Fresh Blood Apostle couldn’t deceive the blessing of War.
If she had even minimal intelligence, she wouldn’t clumsily attempt an escape.
“Ludmilla.”
“Yes? Wh-What is it?”
Just as the awkward atmosphere was reaching its peak,
Edanant suddenly opened his mouth.
“I was wondering… if your proposal from earlier is still valid.”
“…Ugh!”
The promise they had boldly made in front of her older and younger sisters came to mind.
At this, Ludmilla’s face flushed more fiercely than ever before.
Hiss…!
It was as if dense steam was rising like from a locomotive.
This wasn’t a simple metaphor.
The temperature in the hospital room was actually rising gradually.
Edanant looked at Ludmilla like this and worried about a fire breaking out.
It seemed as if the Red Dragon might breathe out flames at any moment.
So he hurriedly grabbed a water bottle instead of a fire extinguisher.
“O-Of course… it’s still valid. If you wish…”
Just as the heat was rising to a critical point,
Ludmilla, with her head bowed, whispered in a crawling voice.
“But is it alright? Thankfully, the banquet hall is intact due to the Luinongs’ barrier, but the surroundings are completely devastated. Is it okay to dance leisurely in such an emergency situation…?”
“Don’t, don’t worry…! I’ll make arrangements.”
“If it’s too difficult, we can postpone it to later.”
“No! I’ll somehow arrange a place!”
Hmm.
There’s no need to go that far.
Ludmilla’s insistence on pushing through was truly resolute and determined.
Faced with the princess’ reaction, Edanant felt embarrassed for having caused trouble with unnecessary words.
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Ludmila taking a leap of faith in romance, bravo…