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The attack has begun. The dragons, who had been lazing around in the canyon as if they would never get up, wasted no time and sprang into action within just three days. The alarm of their emergency was immediately transmitted directly to the royal capital through magical alerts. At that moment, Margaret, who was effectively in charge of the war preparations under the title of the Eramenia military commander, clicked her tongue, lamenting the short amount of time available for preparations.

“If we had at least one more week, we could have built more fortifications and expanded our defensive lines. With our current state of preparation, we can only drag this out at the cost of thousands of lives.”

Margaret clenched her fist and slammed it down on the armrest of her chair. Richard, the Great King sitting on the throne, slowly rose from his seat.

“Margaret, I delegate the military matters to you. The best I can do is remain in the Royal Palace and coordinate Eramenia’s Grand Mage to slow the dragons down, so I must leave the command and the direct fighting to you.”

Richard, protected by the forest within Eramenia, was as powerful as any being in the world. Even if the Demon King or the Dragon Lord were to descend directly, it would be difficult to imagine inflicting a single wound on Richard without burning the entire forest to eliminate the source of his magical power.

However, when the forest is threatened with destruction, there is no one who can wield the powerful magic necessary to protect this forest other than Richard, King of Eramenia. The Fairy Lord of the Elf Kingdom gains the enormous authority to directly handle the forest’s magic by cutting their hair and offering it to the forest at the moment of their ascension to the throne.

If Margaret were an untrustworthy general, Richard would lead the army himself to confront the enemy, but recognizing his daughter’s abilities, it seems reasonable for Richard to focus on controlling the forest’s magic from within the palace, weakening the dragons, while delegating command to Margaret, who has overwhelming support from the army.

“You’re right. Father has things to protect too…”

As Margaret stood up from her seat, she nodded her head. The princess’s eyes turned naturally towards her mother’s belly. Angelica smiled gently and firmly held Richard’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Margaret. Richard is strong. As long as this kingdom doesn’t completely collapse, your brother and I will be safe.”

“That’s true, Mother. Let’s go, Jeongjae. There’s a battle we need to fight.”

Jeongjae, who had quietly listened to the conversation, nodded in surprise as if waking from a dream at Margaret’s words. As Margaret left the Royal Palace, Richard added lightly towards the Grand Mage following them.

“Please take good care of my daughter, Grand Mage. Whatever orders or directions she gives, there must be good reasons behind them.”

“My life is essentially entrusted to her, Your Majesty.”

Richard was satisfied with that response. The moment Jeongjae and Margaret stepped out of the palace, Margaret stood solo before the many elf soldiers gathered in the royal capital.

Flames, signaling the start of the war, soared in the distance. Due to inadequate preparations, the Eramenia forces had no choice but to completely give up the outskirts of the forest and retreat to build their defensive lines. The task given to the dragons was likely to burn down the entire forest and weaken the elf’s power as much as possible.

Just looking down from the sky won’t reveal where the elven ambush might be hidden within the vast forest, and for the dragons, who needed to perform their missions properly, it would take a considerable amount of time to traverse through the outskirts to reach the center of Eramenia.

The Grand Magic of Eramenia, controlled by Richard, distorts the entire area of the forest, making it impossible for any powerful enemy to navigate between the trees. The only way to counter this magic is to cut down or burn all the trees in the forest. To avoid getting lost and mitigate the threat of any hidden elven ambush, the dragons must burn the forest thoroughly as they fly.

There is still a little time left. However, it is not enough to relax. The enemies are already advancing, not too far yet not too close. Margaret decided to wrap up her speech as concisely and quickly as possible.

“Only those prepared to wield weapons, listen to me. If you lack the confidence to confront the demon spewing hellfire, you may leave this place right now.”

Margaret announced in a calm voice. The elf soldiers, adorned in splendid armor and weaponry, did not retreat an inch and instead gazed only at Margaret.

“If you remain here, I will understand that you are all warriors who will fight for me. If anyone disagrees, now is the time to abandon your weapons and leave!”

No one moved again. It was then that Margaret seemed ready to give her orders as she drew her swords and began to shout loudly.

“Even on the burned forest, there remains nutrient from the ashes. Do you see that flame? It is still faint enough not to be visible to our eyes, but do you see that fire devouring our land?”

Margaret thrust her blades forward and shouted. The Grand Legion of Eramenia responded by stomping their feet on the ground in unison as a sign of support. Margaret was their commander, their parent, and their Great King. There could be no other ruler but her, and no being stronger than her existed in the world.

She is Margaret of Eramenia. There need not be any other reason why all fairies, all the glorious and beautiful things in the world must obey her.

“Do not let the thought of dying in that fire enter your mind. Instead, envision yourselves severing the neck of that monster spewing flames and stopping that fire. Each one of you wields a sword crafted by the finest elven artisans, and you wear armor imbued with the forest’s essence. What is there to fear? You hold weapons sharp enough to slay the enemy and protection sturdy enough to withstand their flames!”

Princess Margaret could not hide her excitement and began to breathe heavily. Even with ample experience participating in plenty of battles, she had never led and commanded such an important legion at such a crucial moment.

A desperate defense of Eramenia against ten dragons. Even an elf who has lived 400 years or twice that would be unable to conceal their excitement and tension in the face of such a crisis. Margaret raised the twin swords she had held high above her head and shouted.

“Shout, my brothers! In the name of our homeland! And shout, my sisters! In the name of me!”

“Era-Menia! Era-Menia!”

The moment Margaret issued the rallying call, the soldiers, having waited for just that, raised their spears and roared their homeland’s name. Only the most highly respected High Elves could receive the rallying call of Eramenia in front of the soldiers. And only those recognized as the true masters of the kingdom could command that their name be called after Eramenia’s name.

That order was fulfilled.

“Margaret! Margaret! Margaret! Margaret!”

Amidst the thunderous cheer, Margaret waved her hands as she stepped down from the platform. Jeongjae watched in a daze as Margaret seized the army entirely and made it hers. Jeongjae spoke to Margaret, who had come down from the platform.

“You… were incredible.”

“Hmm? Did you not realize until now? I’m a bit disappointed. I thought I explained just how great I am on the very first day we met.”

“No, it’s not just ‘great’… witnessing this scene feels like… I can’t help but feel that there couldn’t possibly be an Eramenia without you. And Eramenia is… a magnificent kingdom, right?”

Jeongjae wasn’t unfamiliar with the sight of soldiers cheering for their commanders. Imperial soldiers would chant Walter’s name at every great victory, and cries for Rose were not uncommon either.

However, no cheer, no shout, could match the roar of these elf soldiers stepping into battle with the fate of their homeland at stake. Even if the numbers were multiplied by dozens!

“It feels embarrassing to lift Eramenia myself. But I’m certainly proud of this nation.”

“To them, you are already the Great King, Margaret. Are you really… considering stepping away from that?”

Jeongjae cautiously posed a very sensitive question. Noticing his meaning, Margaret turned back towards Jeongjae and asked.

“Why? If I say I would, do you think you would be able to accept my heart?”

“Uh? No, um, that’s not what I meant.”

“Just kidding. The reason you ask such questions is that you would want to reject me and go for her if I said I wasn’t ready. I don’t know you well enough to harbor such naive expectations.”

Jeongjae winced at her apparent consciousness of Jenis. Honestly, Jeongjae couldn’t comprehend what these two women, engaged in a subtle war of nerves over him, saw in him.

Choosing one would be difficult. But the hardest part was suppressing the ego that swelled inside him at the thought that two truly remarkable women might genuinely like him. Jeongjae could be as ruthless as necessary, but he did not want to become the kind of low-quality man who toyed with people’s feelings lightly.

“Then, let me answer you this way. If you accept me, I will follow. Anything for you. Whatever you request, I will do it. Even if you command me to abandon everything I love about my homeland, I would do that as well.”

“Really, Margaret?”

Jeongjae asked with a tone of skepticism. Margaret burst into a pleasant laugh and replied.

“Because I know you’re not the type to make such requests! Now, let’s go. We need to set up the crossbow. I don’t know what unreasonable request you have in mind, but at the very least, it doesn’t seem like the right time for that.”

“Y-yeah.”

Jeongjae briefly hesitated, watching Margaret cheerfully stride ahead. That look in her eyes just now, especially when she vowed to comply with any unreasonable request, was definitely not her joking demeanor.

Margaret often jokes, but she is not the type to treat jokes lightly. Rather, while she may make a serious comment like a joke, she doesn’t throw out unclear jokes during serious moments—that is not Margaret’s nature.

The promise she made to him was not a light one disguised as a joke. She merely brushed it off with a reason that ‘Jeongjae is not malicious enough to make such demands,’ and there was a degree of truth to that. Jeongjae would never make requests that extreme of Margaret. Truly, no matter what happens.

But they say elf love is heavy. The fact that she has such feelings could already mean they had crossed an irreversible river. If someday Jeongjae finds himself in great danger, would Margaret set aside her kingdom and prioritize her feelings, putting her homeland in jeopardy?

Perhaps… Jeongjae is unknowingly ruining a truly great fairy lord?

The sight of Margaret before the soldiers receiving their adoration was radiantly brilliant, and no matter how loud and grand the elves’ cheers were, they could never diminish the majesty of their ruler.

It made sense. Fairies need not serve gods. A living deity wielding weapons issued commands right before their eyes. An overwhelmingly great hero can erase the need for divine shadows.

Yet, that god-like being before Jeongjae transforms into someone no different from an ordinary human. She feels shy, experiences jealousy, and sometimes breaks down in tears.

Could that be a good thing? Is it a positive signal that even someone appearing great can be honest before someone? Or is it a negative signal indicating her greatness is diminishing because of the noble obsession of the High Elves?

And Margaret pretends to be okay…

If, in the event that Jeongjae truly could not accept her, would Margaret really be alright?

A multitude of thoughts crossed through his mind, but it was not yet time to arrive at an answer. The dragons were drawing closer. That was the immediate problem demanding an answer right now.

 

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