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“What is that thieving girl saying?”

Isabella, already on edge, furrowed her brow as she spoke.

How dare they come to steal Edgar’s belongings and make ridiculous justifications about some sacred mission.

I can’t forgive this.

-Swoosh!

With that, Isabella radiated negativity from her entire being.

At the same time, a bluish aura burst forth from Vanessa, pushing back the negativity.

However, Enya took advantage of that moment and slipped in.

With a deadly strike, she aimed for Vanessa’s waist.

“Ugh!”

A staggering sword energy that felt like it could knock you out!

Vanessa swiftly dodged backwards and deployed her mana shield.

But even that mana shield shattered with a crash, and Enya’s sword energy penetrated inside.

Quickly reinforcing her abdomen with mana, she found she couldn’t avoid the blow.

Her abdomen was lightly cut, causing blood to flow.

“……..”

The members of the revolution looked on in shock at Vanessa.

Vanessa, one of the strongest in the Eastern Kingdom.

And yet, she was injured by mere academy students, who were still just students.

Their leader, who rarely spilled even a drop of blood in battle.

“Are these really the strongest students of the Empire? I’ll give it my all.”

Still, the revolutionary members felt relieved by Vanessa’s following demeanor.

It was as if they had met a worthy opponent, and their leader was smiling.

In other words, it meant that she hadn’t fought at her full capability just now.

As proof, when Vanessa genuinely drew up her mana, an unprecedented volume of blue aura burst forth.

And that enormous blue aura began to form clouds, covering the space.

She was about to use one of her trademarks, ‘Judgment.’

-Kwaaaaaaang─!

Dozens of flashes descended vertically from the mana clouds.

It resembled a scene where the god of thunder unleashed lightning upon the human world with no restraint.

This was the ultimate skill of Vanessa, collectively referred to as ‘Judgment.’

“Ugh…!”

And this crazy destructive large-scale attack was something that Isabella, Enya, and Charlotte had never experienced before.

Unlike the trivial training they had undergone at the academy, Vanessa had honed her skills in actual battle for several years.

Having crossed the brink of life and death multiple times, her ultimate skill was more than enough to overwhelm mere first-year students.

“Vanessa. That should be enough.”

At that moment.

A calm middle-aged voice stopped Vanessa from behind.

Oliver Cromwell.

The spiritual support of the Craible Revolution had stepped forward to halt her.

“The objective is complete. It’s time to withdraw.”

Cromwell said, placing a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder.

Nodding her head, Vanessa retracted her outstretched hand and dissipated the mana clouds.

As a result, the three women, who had been using all their mana solely for defense, gasped and stared daggers at Vanessa.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Enya had consumed most of her mana defending against Vanessa’s attack.

But her fighting spirit hadn’t yet broken.

As Vanessa turned her back to launch another strike, Enya rushed in.

-Swoosh!

But then.

Edgar, in a Kamen Rider transformation, stuck a card inscribed with a speed spell into his belt and blocked Enya’s advance.

Before she could even react, he punched her in the abdomen and struck the back of her neck.

Enya’s eyes fluttered closed as she collapsed.

It was because she had focused all her mana on attacking and had neglected her defense.

“…Let’s not waste our energy on senseless battles. Will you let us go now?”

Cromwell, having knocked Enya out, carefully placed her on the ground.

Isabella and Charlotte, upon realizing Cromwell’s immense skill, glared at him in a defensive stance.

“You can’t let him go!”

At that moment, club members rushed in and started shooting magic engineering rifles at Count Cromwell.

But with just a wave of his hand, a barrier formed in the air, blocking all physical attacks.

The club members looked on in shock at the sight.

“Quite an impressive weapon, but still far from perfect. It seems you all need to work harder.”

And with that, the Count casually commented on the weapons the club members had crafted themselves and began to stride forward.

Step by step, radiating a strange charisma, he approached Isabella and Charlotte.

Then, casting a sidelong glance at Isabella, he said.

“Indeed, you could fight at any time if you so wished. But isn’t that power meant to be conserved?”

“……..!”

Isabella’s pupils widened.

She realized he had grasped the essence of her power—a first in her life against someone she had never seen before.

“Edgar Fix. Deliver this to him.”

Without giving her a moment to collect herself, the Count thrust a letter envelope towards Isabella.

Overwhelmed by the Count’s natural yet unusual presence, Isabella subconsciously accepted the letter.

“Then.”

With that, the Count handed over the letter and turned away.

He stepped into the black portal, accompanied by Vanessa waiting for him.

Soon, the portal closed, and they vanished without a trace.

***

“He’s a monster…”

In Count Cromwell’s hideout.

Vanessa muttered, her voice trembling.

Cromwell tilted his head and responded.

“Who? The academy students?”

“…Yes.”

Nodding while gazing at her shaking hands, Vanessa reflected on the battle from earlier.

It was a string of shocks.

The latent potential within those first-year students was enormous.

That someone as strong as her from the Eastern Kingdom would be forced to exert her full power.

If they had taken a coordinated attack seriously, victory wouldn’t have been guaranteed.

Thankfully, they were clustered together, allowing her to push them back with her ‘Judgment.’

“…The world is vast, and there are many strong ones. I’ve just gained another reason to grow stronger.”

And Cromwell encouraged the disheartened Vanessa with a reminder to become even stronger.

In essence, he meant that the need to grow stronger had increased, so she should train herself.

Vanessa smiled back, saying.

“Hehe. Indeed. This isn’t a time to feel down.”

“Right. Above all, today is a day to celebrate. We accomplished our mission perfectly.”

Cromwell said as he looked at the pile of steel stacked in the storeroom.

With this amount, they would have enough to construct twenty tanks.

“Enjoy today’s success. Things will get busier from here on out.”

Cromwell said, instructing her to take care of the hard-working members.

Vanessa then smiled brightly and suggested they all go out for a celebration.

She proposed having a drink to bond with the members.

“…I’m afraid ‘that time’ has come. Looks like I pushed it a bit today.”

“Ah…”

But when Cromwell mentioned ‘that time,’ Vanessa’s expression hardened.

It was understandable, as ‘that time’ was when Count Cromwell, a full-body burn victim, needed to heal himself to stay alive.

In other words, the terminally ill Oliver Cromwell had to heal inside a life-support device for more than five hours a day.

“Yes. Take care.”

Thus, while putting on a brave smile, Vanessa bid farewell to Cromwell.

Cromwell nodded back before walking wearily towards his room.

Vanessa stared at his retreating figure with a blank expression.

***

“Eve, everything good?”

Edgar asked as he entered the life-support device with what appeared to be Count Cromwell’s suit.

Eve, appearing in Edgar’s form, reverted back to her own self and responded.

“What do you take me for? I executed everything perfectly.”

Eve then presented a video summary of today’s events.

From leading about 800 individuals to a large-scale workshop to engaging in various recreational activities and building camaraderie, Eve had done it flawlessly.

“Good job. You truly are my one and only sister.”

Ed praised her while patting Eve’s head.

Having spent time as siblings, Ed had grown accustomed to this relationship and viewed Eve as a sister.

Of course, Eve had designs for a relationship beyond that of siblings, but for now, she was biding her time.

“Then I’ll step out for a bit.”

At that moment, Edgar, who had been patting Eve’s head, stood up and said.

Eve tilted her head and asked.

“Where’re you going?”

“I have an appointment. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

After finishing his statement, Ed slipped out of the lord’s tent.

He asked the guards who saluted him what time it was.

“It’s 9 o’clock.”

9 o’clock.

It wasn’t late for an appointment ordinarily.

He always met Isabella at 10 p.m. on the academy’s hills.

“However, today…”

Isabella seemed a little off.

She arrived at his territory long before their scheduled time.

And she looked quite worried.

“I’ll figure it out when I see her.”

So, Ed changed into his suit and leaped into the air.

He flew to a nearby exchange station and made his way to the academy through the central exchange.

After climbing the hill, he found Isabella already waiting for him.

With dark circles beneath her sunken eyes.

“……?”

Isabella looked more haggard than usual.

Ed approached her with a puzzled expression.

As soon as she sensed his presence, Isabella shot up and rushed towards him.

And then—

-Wrap!

She hugged him tightly.

As if she wouldn’t let go, she wrapped her arms around his waist with all her strength.

Ed gently wrapped one hand around her head and the other around her back, saying.

“Today, you seem more anxious than usual. What’s going on?”

Isabella, who had come to see him even before their appointment time, buried her face and said.

“I didn’t see you all day… Today was the day we were supposed to meet… I was anxious because I didn’t see you…”

With Ed recently shuttling back and forth between the revolutionaries and the academy, he had hardly shown his face.

Because of that, Isabella couldn’t even have moments where she calmed her heart by catching a glimpse of him from afar.

As the actual powerholder and key decision-maker of the Empire, doubts crept into her mind—was he forgetting someone like her?

That anxious feeling had turned into fear.

“There’s no way I’d forget.”

So, Ed reassured Isabella.

He held her long enough for her to feel at ease.

“Ugh…!”

Time passed, and soon Isabella began to show signs of her breakdown.

The emotion control spell was loosening, and the negativity she had been suppressing burst forth uncontrollably.

“Sheesh…! Gah…!”

Self-loathing, self-denial, guilt, anger, sadness. The urge to commit suicide stemming from all of it.

Every negative emotion rampaged inside Isabella, causing her anguish.

People she had hurt in the past and those who had hurt her began to appear, pointing fingers at her.

Their echoes resonated in her head, choking her breath.

“It’s okay.”

But at that moment.

Ed told her it was alright.

The visions she saw were merely a reflection of guilt because she was a good person.

He kept telling her that she was a good person.

Because of those words, Isabella was able to endure to today, through the most painful moments.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

“Well done. You held on.”

Finally, Ed embraced the gasping Isabella.

With the emotion control spell gradually returning, Isabella slowly regained her composure.

Once her breathing stabilized, she said.

“I think I was a bit too cold today.”

“……? What do you mean by that?”

“I went to your territory. I was worried you might not come, and when I heard you went to the workshop, I acted like a child and threw a fit.”

Ed, who had previously seen Isabella while disguised as Count Cromwell, now realized why she had been in his territory.

Reassuring her, he said it was okay.

Then Isabella sat up and asked.

“And… Did you hear? There was an intruder in your territory?”

Ed nodded.

He had instructed that if there were security issues on the policy side, the lord’s secretary, namely Eve, would report directly via a hotline.

So by design, Edgar Fix should be privy to information regarding this.

“They stole my steel. They say they’re quite skilled.”

Isabella nodded.

With a serious expression, she recalled Vanessa.

“That woman… I felt like I had seen her somewhere before; she’s the leader of the rebels from the Prance Kingdom. She’s definitely plotting something.”

“………”

“And there was a middle-aged man who appeared… I’ve never seen movements like that before. He was dressed in a peculiar suit, just like yours.”

Saying that, Isabella took out the letter from her pocket.

Handing it to Ed, she said.

“And they told me to give you this letter… I’m sorry. I read it myself. But I don’t understand what it means.”

Ed nodded and accepted the letter.

A letter addressed to himself—

“To you who know the secret of the cosmos, consider it the price of cowardice.”

A letter he had written himself to create an antagonistic relationship between Count Cromwell and Edgar Fix.

Ed’s expression hardened as he unfolded the letter.

He had laid down the groundwork for the full-scale mechanization push.

“…Ed, do you have any idea what it means?”

Then Isabella asked if he understood the contents of the letter.

Ed replied with a significant smile.

“Well, it’s hard to explain. Only those cursed with knowledge can understand it.”

“…Curse of knowledge?”

“Yeah. It’s a kind of riddle that only someone like me can grasp.”

An astonishing truth that could turn the paradigm of this world upside down.

Ed smiled, ignoring that truth.

Because he knew he could protect Isabella and his precious people with the cost of this cowardice.

***

In December.

The Prance Kingdom, welcoming winter, was shrouded in impending war.

Since the incident of the revolutionary leader Vanessa’s escape, the once-dormant actions of the revolutionaries had become a source of anxiety.

Moreover, it was a huge deal that all the spies within the revolutionaries who had secretly provided information to the kingdom were wiped out.

Previously, they could have used those spies to wipe out the revolutionaries or even capture their leader, Vanessa. But since her escape, such news had completely dried up.

Completely unaware of what they were preparing, they could only wait for the hammer to fall.

“Commander! Urgent news!”

Yet, despite all this, the Prance Kingdom didn’t mind the revolutionaries much.

After all, all they could do was incite the commoners, who were nothing but meat shields.

Even their military strength was just a meager force capable of guerrilla warfare.

They were nothing more than pests that bothered them from time to time.

“Urgent news? What is it?”

Thus, the commander of the Prance Kingdom’s First Legion thought little of the urgent news.

He assumed it would at most be an incident about the capture of the revolutionaries, and with a nonchalant expression, he inquired.

“Sir, it’s a full-scale war…! The revolutionaries are marching with bizarre war machines and a massive military force…!”

However, the soldier delivered news of a large-scale all-out war.

The commander was briefly taken aback, but then he grinned.

“Ah, so they’ve chosen to come out to the field? That’s quite the novel method of suicide.”

With that, the commander drew his sword.

Gathering the trained troops for that day, he issued the command.

“Prepare the cavalry! Today, I shall slaughter those foolish rebels!”

 

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