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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The plaza outside the royal castle of the Lodreim kingdom.
The plaza buzzed with excitement from the festival that began before the Nameless Day.
Children ran around more energetically than usual, and adults chatted with bright smiles, as if this day was an exception.
“Yes, this is what a festival should be like,” Elsie said, watching the scene from afar.
“And we have to ruin it.”
“Right.”
In reality, public opinion of the Masked Hero wasn’t favorable.
Whether he actually kidnapped the princess or not, taking the innocent princess was undeniably a villainous act.
Moreover, since the kingdom announced that the princess would appear today, people didn’t seem to believe the Masked Hero’s claimed of kidnapping her.
‘But it’s all going according to plan.’
It couldn’t be helped.
This was the only way to save everyone here.
“So let’s wait for now.”
We watched the festival and waited, and waited.
Until the royal family appeared in the plaza.
The wait continued from morning through lunch, until evening, when the festival was in full swing.
And then, finally, there were signs that something was about to begin.
“Knights,” Elsie observed.
Knights in blue and green uniforms began to enter the plaza.
They were probably trying to secure the area before the royal family arrived.
They walked around every corner of the plaza, checking for any potential dangers.
People seemed to sense something from their actions.
The boisterous atmosphere momentarily stiffened, but everyone seemed somewhat expectant.
After all, it was a rare opportunity to see the princess in person.
Then, a voice boomed,
“Her Highness the Princess is arriving! Please clear the center of the plaza!”
It was a sound that had been audible from quite a distance.
Now it was much closer.
And soon, knights in golden uniforms appeared.
‘The Royal Knights.’
The core group that colluded with the Demon Lords, the key players in the coup.
They, who were supposed to protect the royal family from close range, were the ones who murdered them.
And then, citing deteriorating relations with the Sak, they issued a closed-door policy and locked the castle gates.
This distorted peace had been maintained for three years.
In a few days, their reign would come to an end.
Whether by the Demon Lords or by me.
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder.
Finally, a magnificent carriage appeared at the end of the Royal Knights’ procession.
It was a carriage with a golden lion carved on it, the symbol of the Lodreim kingdom
The carriage slowed down as it reached the plaza and finally came to a complete stop near the statue of the Nameless King.
At that moment, one of the carriage doors opened.
A man stepped out.
“The Knight Commander…!” Elsie muttered, a quiet but clear note of anger in her voice.
Her face remained unchanged due to the optical camouflage, but he could guess her expression.
The Knight Commander was the one who led the Royal Knights in the coup and murdered her family.
‘Revenge. That’s Elsie’s biggest driving force.’
It was the same regardless of the route.
Whether she stayed in Sak and submitted to the enemy, or escaped.
She lived only for revenge.
‘I don’t know how she’s feeling right now.’
One thing was certain: the Elsie of this timeline had changed quite a bit after meeting him.
Perhaps she had gained another driving force besides revenge.
But he was certain that the drive for revenge still remained within her.
‘I can feel it.’
Uncontrollable rage swirled within her.
It was natural, considering she was reunited with her nemesis after years of escaping from the Lodreim kingdom.
And…
‘Rage can be a good driving force in a way.’
But rage couldn’t be a perfect driving force.
Especially for a delicate operation like this, which required absolute perfection.
So, he told her,
“Anger is good, but don’t be consumed by it.”
“Of course.”
He had thought she would know.
But, as he said before, he confirmed it one last time for absolute certainty.
She would understand that too.
The Knight Commander walked around the carriage to the other side.
And opened the opposite door.
A woman sat inside.
As the carriage door opened and the woman was revealed, gasps spread through the crowd gathered in the plaza.
At first glance, she resembled Elsie, around the same age, and objectively speaking, she was beautiful.
However…
‘They’re definitely quite different.’
The fake princess.
Her skin wasn’t Elsie’s pearly white, but just pale.
Elsie’s physique was slender yet toned, whereas the fake princess was just bone-thin.
But the biggest difference was their hair color.
Elsie, who had been growing her hair since the military academy, barely reached her shoulders, while the fake princess’s hair flowed down to her waist.
But her blonde hair wasn’t Elsie’s radiant gold, but a faded, washed-out shade.
She looked fragile, as if she would break with the slightest touch.
“Please step down.”
She took the Knight Commander’s outstretched hand and carefully descended from the high carriage.
Her dress fluttered elegantly and then settled.
At this moment, to anyone who didn’t know, she was the perfect image of a ‘princess.’
And the people, seeing her, began to believe.
That the Masked Hero hadn’t kidnapped the princess.
“See? I told you.”
“Even the Masked Hero couldn’t just break into the closed castle and kidnap the princess.”
“I told you, only idiots would believe that.”
The Knight Commander, confirming that the fake princess had fully descended from the carriage, affirmed their words.
“Look, the princess is here.”
As if echoing his words, the plaza instantly filled with cheers.
The Knight Commander, seemingly satisfied with the response, smiled and shouted once more,
“Therefore, from now on, anyone who spreads these false rumors will be arrested!”
Another burst of cheers erupted.
The atmosphere was at its peak.
Now was the perfect timing.
“Elsie.”
At my signal, Elsie nodded.
And she used optical camouflage to conceal herself.
‘First…’
I took out the holy relic Resonance from my inventory.
A bow with multiple bowstrings running parallel, a design I still couldn’t get used to.
I placed my hand on the outermost string.
‘Authority of the Wind.’
I felt the wind swirling around my fingertips.
But this wasn’t enough.
I needed to resonate with at least three arrows.
Helplessly, I used the skill I received from the God of Connections, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.
But I could feel the Authority of the Wind swirling around my fingertips becoming even stronger.
I plucked the bowstring.
Three arrows I had placed around the plaza resonated simultaneously.
The waves created by the resonance traveled through the air and converged on the plaza.
‘This is Do.’
I skipped a string and moved my finger to the next one.
And plucked it.
The arrows resonated again.
‘Mi.’
Two more to go.
I plucked the fifth and eighth strings in turn, maintaining the same interval.
‘Sol, Do.’
As you might have guessed, these were musical notes.
I discovered this while researching how to use Resonance; each string of the bow had its own note.
And the resonant sound produced by the resonating arrows was the same as that note.
So what was this melody?
‘Ding dong ding dong.’
It was the chime often heard before announcements.
I thought it would be the most effective way to get people’s attention.
‘There will be a brief announcement.’
I brought my mouth close to the string of Resonance.
This was another way to use Resonance that Lyudmila taught me.
It seemed to be a substitute for the voice amplification or communication magic used by mages.
Greetings.
My voice echoed through the plaza.
Everyone looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound.
The sound was amplified by the arrows placed around the plaza, making it difficult to pinpoint its direction.
I said to them,
Look up.
Everyone looked up.
Then someone shouted,
“There!”
It was the rooftop of a building near the plaza.
Elsie, disguised as the Masked Hero, stood there.
“It’s the Masked Hero…!”
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder.
The Knight Commander, unable to stand it any longer, shouted,
“Silence! I’ll imprison anyone who doesn’t quiet down!”
The crowd finally fell silent.
In the somewhat quieter plaza, the Knight Commander shouted at the Masked Hero,
“You’ve been running rampant lately, even spreading false rumors about kidnapping the princess. But unfortunately, we have the princess safely in our custody.”
To him, with his smug expression, I had no choice but to reveal the truth.
Well, he probably already knew.
You don’t even realize that’s a fake princess? How pathetic.
The Knight Commander’s face contorted with rage.
His face red, he pointed at the Masked Hero and yelled,
“Shoot him!”
The knights and soldiers with bows all aimed at the Masked Hero on the rooftop and fired.
But for some reason, the arrows simply passed through the Masked Hero.
“Wh-What…!”
Of course.
Elsie was crouched in a blind spot, further back than she appeared.
The Masked Hero they saw was just an illusion she created.
To the visibly flustered Knight Commander, I continued, pressing my advantage,
I have the real princess.
The Knight Commander retorted furiously,
“Lies! Anyone can say that! Go up there and capture him right now!”
The knights began to enter the building where Elsie was.
Seeing this, I said,
There’s no need for such trouble. I’ll come down myself.
With those words, Elsie jumped from the rooftop.
And landed in the center of the plaza, in the space created around the fake princess.
She stood opposite the fake princess, with the statue of the Nameless King between them.
I said to the knights who were about to approach her,
It’s best not to come closer. You’ll regret it.
The approaching knights hesitated.
The Knight Commander was about to give them another order when I spoke,
Anyone can talk the talk? Then I’ll show you I can walk the walk.
With those words, I moved my mouth away from the string of Resonance.
The rest was up to Elsie.
Elsie lowered the hood covering her head.
Her sun-kissed golden hair was revealed under the bright light of the Lodreim kingdom.
And finally, she removed her mask.
“Because I am Princess Ercia La Lodreim.”
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