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A red trajectory sliced through the air in a straight line, and a blood-stained spear lodged itself into the deck wall.

“Gaaaaah!!”

A chilling scream filled the space.

Katarina, not willing to let this opportunity slip by, immediately charged at the enemy.

“Hah!”

When swords clashed, gaining the upper hand was no simple feat.

So, Katarina aimed for Alfred’s arm instead of his sword.

A deep blue sword aura traced a straight path, and soon Alfred’s right arm flew through the air, splattering blood.

Scrape!

“Gaaaah!!”

Being pierced by a spear and losing an arm would be enough for an ordinary person, but this opponent was a master class that transcended human limits. Even in such a situation, one couldn’t predict what kind of trouble they would stir up.

That’s why Elizabeth stepped in. Her snow-white hair floated lightly upward, and her eyes elongated like a snake.

Exuding a reddish glow, she commanded Alfred.

“Stop.”

The power of a higher being binding the mind of a mortal, the Dragon Word.

Obeying the command of the Dragon Word, Alfred halted all movement. Terrible screams and desperate writhing were frozen in place, as if time had stopped.

And with that, the fight was over. The only indication that time was still passing was the red blood flowing from Alfred’s severed arm.

“Your Highness! Are you alright!? I’m sorry, I failed to respond in time—”

“…I’m fine, Katarina. First, deal with what needs to be done.”

“Yes, yes! Understood, Your Highness.”

Katarina, who had served the princess for a long time, was well aware of how to handle such situations.

She tied up Alfred’s severed arm with cloth to stop the bleeding. This was to obtain information needed to uncover the assassin’s identity.

After finishing the first aid, Katarina let out a sigh, filled with relief and guilt. A deep sense of self-reproach washed over her for not adequately protecting her lord.

Had that instructor not thrown the spear at the perfect moment, she would likely regret this moment for the rest of her life.

But she could have sworn he wasn’t holding a spear when she first saw him…

“…Huh?”

Katarina’s gaze shifted to the spear lodged in Alfred’s shoulder, and at that moment, she was taken aback. The spear looked remarkably familiar.

In fact, she had only seen it once, but that one time was so intense that she couldn’t possibly forget it.

The day she witnessed the Faceless Hero, one of the seven heroes of the continent, in person.

The spear he held looked exactly like the one right in front of her…

“…Huh?”

As Katarina recognized Ezetus, she froze like a statue, while Elizabeth maintained her composure and steadied her startled heart.

This wasn’t the first time she faced a life-or-death crisis. But the experience just moments ago had truly foreshadowed an unavoidable death.

Coming so close to dying so easily was quite a shock for Elizabeth as well, but being a princess meant she couldn’t afford to be leisurely caught up in shock.

Even in this situation, she needed to sit up straight and maintain the dignity of royalty. That was what qualified one to be a ruler and differentiated her from her brothers.

“Now that the situation is stable, everyone, return to your posts.”

Despite the recent assassination attempt, the princess’s calm demeanor left the crew of the airship in awe, and they all returned to their duties.

After issuing orders to the crew, Elizabeth’s gaze shifted to Ion. She wanted to express her gratitude to her instructor. However, Ion was focused on turning the turbines again, not even sparing her a glance.

Elizabeth couldn’t help but let a bewildered smile creep onto her lips. Even after just saving the life of the imperial princess, Ion seemed completely unfazed, as if it was just expected of him.

Thus, Elizabeth decided to refocus on what she needed to do. She could express her gratitude later when everything calmed down.

Elizabeth stepped in front of the completely still Alfred. Katarina, who had finally regained her senses and was making nonsensical sounds of “Wha? Huh?” while alternating her gaze between Ezetus and Ion, now stood guard beside the princess, as if to protect her.

Once again, Elizabeth’s eyes elongated like a snake.

“Now, answer my questions truthfully.”

The Dragon Word could only issue one command at a time, and excessive use not only risked permanently damaging the target’s brain but also quickly drained the caster’s mental strength.

Thus, obtaining maximum effect with a single command was the proper use of the Dragon Word. As the existing command was lifted, Alfred’s previously frozen body began to twitch, and he exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“Gah!!”

Without giving him a moment to recover, Elizabeth shot her question at him immediately.

“Who are you? Are you Colonel Alfred?”

The crew members of the airship had all been carefully selected for their trustworthiness. Colonel Alfred was no exception.

He was a steadfast imperial soldier with deep ties to the Kalstein Marquis, and most importantly, he was certainly not a master class individual. There was a reason Katarina had been so flustered when Alfred had suddenly drawn his sword.

Once everything was revealed, Alfred, now Heinrich, chuckled gravely.

“Huh… No, Your Highness. Alfred is not my name… I am Heinrich.”

“…Heinrich? Heinrich von Dils?”

That name was unforgettable.

Heinrich von Dils. The director of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.

He was the one who had provided information about the safety of this airship.

With the emergence of someone even more significant than expected, Elizabeth frowned and said,

“I thought the Intelligence Bureau was neutral. I never imagined the head of the Bureau would personally intervene.”

“I tried to appear that way… If I couldn’t do that, how could I call myself the head of the Bureau… But the Bureau is indeed neutral. All of this… was my doing alone.”

Alfred—no, Heinrich—tried to maintain a relaxed demeanor in front of the princess, but it seemed the spear lodged in his shoulder was causing him significant pain, making it hard for him to speak properly.

“You tampered with this airship?”

“Yes… I disguised myself as the captain and installed a small bomb in the engine… I wanted to install a larger bomb to blow up the airship, but if it were any larger, Doctor Brown would definitely have caught on… So I disguised myself and waited inside the airship just in case.”

“Right. Truly the head of the Intelligence Bureau. No one noticed that you, the Count, were not Colonel Alfred. I mean, I can understand that, but most of the crew has been loyal to Colonel Alfred for quite some time.”

“While I may not be as skilled as Silvia, it seems my disguise skills are still decent… After all, I was the one who taught her disguise techniques.”

Heinrich’s gaze turned towards the engine room. To be more precise, he was looking at the back of a man silently turning the turbines.

“That man seemed to recognize my disguise the moment he saw me… Truly an eye that matches his reputation… Ha ha.”

“……”

As soon as they arrived at the airship, Ion’s gaze had been directed at Heinrich. The chilling glint in his eyes indicated that even then, he had recognized Heinrich’s disguise.

Ion must have been observing Heinrich intently since that moment.

Elizabeth posed the most critical question.

“Who ordered you to assassinate me?”

Heinrich twisted his lips in response to that question.

“Order…? There is no such person, Your Highness.”

Once under the command of the Dragon Word, lying was impossible. This meant he was speaking the truth.

Elizabeth’s expression hardened.

“All of this was your independent action?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The First Prince only planned to make light of the airship. His intention was to humiliate you in front of the people. But I saw this as a golden opportunity.”

“A golden opportunity…?”

“You wish to become the Emperor, don’t you? But with the Demon King still alive, if a powerful Empire splits due to succession of the throne! When the Demon King returns, which country could confront the Demon King’s Army!?”

Heinrich shouted passionately.

His eyes glimmered with a madness born of conviction.

“If only you, the princess, were gone, the succession framework of the Empire would be clear… The Empire must not be divided. Under a strong successor, we must come together like never before…! Only then can we continue to maintain a great and powerful Empire…! All of this was planned solely for the glory of the Empire!”

At Heinrich’s confession, Katarina’s expression twisted with rage.

“How dare you! For such a reason to target the princess!”

In the end, it meant he had orchestrated all this for the First Prince. Acting neutral all this time was likely just to use it crucially in the most important moment.

Now she had heard all she needed to hear. There was no more information to uncover, but keeping him alive and putting him on trial could deal a significant blow to the First Prince.

At that moment, a low, heavy voice cut through her thoughts.

“That’s a lie.”

Ion Instructor had quietly approached her and Heinrich.

“Ion Instructor?”

“The turbines should be fine for a moment.”

Elizabeth hadn’t asked about the turbines out of concern, but casting a glance toward the engine revealed that the turbines were still spinning vigorously, even without him there, indicating how hard he had been working them.

Elizabeth asked with a puzzled tone.

“A lie? He can’t lie, having been subjected to the Dragon Word.”

“Then he likely worded it cleverly. It may not be a lie, but neither can it be regarded as the truth.”

“……!!”

Upon hearing Ion’s words, Elizabeth realized what she had overlooked all along.

And everything that had felt odd up to now began to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

Heinrich had cunningly led the conversation in a way that would make Elizabeth view the First Prince as an enemy. However, even if Heinrich’s plan had succeeded and Elizabeth had died on the airship, Emperor Wilhelm would have a hard time shaking off a significant political stigma. An unerasable mark of having sullied the Empire’s reputation to kill his own sister.

Even if Elizabeth managed to leave here alive, that would not be without its downsides. Elizabeth, who would take Heinrich’s confession at face value, would undoubtedly create an irreparable rift between herself and Emperor Wilhelm. This could escalate into a fierce competition for the throne where their lives would be threatened.

In that scenario, who would benefit the most?

By disguising the Third Princess’s murder as an accident and laying the political stigma at the feet of the First Prince.

If the two royal siblings ended up in a bloody conflict against each other, the one who could sit back and reap the most benefits would be—

Elizabeth’s eyes burned with a reddish glow.

“Who truly wishes for you to become Emperor?”

“……”

“Speak!”

“Cough-!”

Heinrich coughed violently, spitting blood instead of answering. A symptom often seen in those resisting the Dragon Word.

Heinrich glared at Ion with tear-stained eyes filled with hatred.

“Why… Faceless Hero…! Why are you siding with the Third Princess…!”

“Huh?”

“You should have… more than enough reasons to resent the Empire… the royal family that abandoned you and your comrades… Don’t you resent them…?”

Ion fell silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“I did resent them.”

“Then…!!”

Ion shook his head slightly.

“However, I am not siding with the Third Princess.”

His tone was as calm as ever.

“I am simply protecting my student.”

Elizabeth gasped in surprise as she looked at Ion. Heinrich did the same.

He stared at Ion with a dazed expression, but then burst into a mad laugh.

“You madman…! For such a trivial reason to involve yourself in the competition for the throne? Rejecting all that power and fame, sitting quietly while everything unfolds? Do you even know what enemy that makes you? The Third Princess will eventually die without becoming Emperor! Even after turning the next Emperor into an enemy, you would go this far just to protect a single student!?”

Ion nodded.

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Heinrich gaped in disbelief.

 

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