Chapter 47
‘Blood?’
It wasn’t my blood. This was definitely blood that had splattered from the opposite side.
I lifted my head. Thud! The goblin leader dropped the club he had been holding.
“Gyaaah…!”
It was a voice close to a death rattle. No wonder—the area where his heart should have been was pierced by an axe head.
‘An axe?’
It wasn’t just any axe. It was huge, large enough to slice through the waist of an average adult male in a single strike.
Slash!
The axe that had pierced his heart now cut horizontally across his chest. The goblin leader collapsed lifelessly, top and bottom separated.
As the dust settled, a familiar silhouette came into view.
A figure a hand-span taller than me, wearing a frilled headband—and even a maid’s uniform.
“Asha?”
“Lady Piana! Are you okay?”
At my dazed call, Asha approached, holding the axe in one hand.
I quickly rotated my thoughts.
The Glacies Knights are composed of those who can withstand at least three minutes against Russell.
And after Russell was delegated as the Grand Duke, many northerners were recruited, regardless of origin.
Why hadn’t I noticed?
Asha wasn’t just a maid—she was from the Glacies Knights.
Slash!
Asha swung the blood off her axe into the air, letting it scatter elsewhere.
“Asha… what happened? Weren’t you supposed to be stationed at the imperial palace?”
“Well… I secretly followed under the Grand Duke’s orders. It’s part of my duty.”
Thinking back, there were too many odd things about Asha.
She was excessively skilled with her body.
From asking to be punished when in danger against the bear, to cutting the forest branches under my orders—it all made sense now.
It felt like all the scattered puzzle pieces were finally coming together.
“I originally belonged to the Glacies Knights.”
To join the Glacies Knights, one must withstand roughly three minutes against Russell.
Then that meant Asha had endured Russell’s attacks and survived to join.
“So, the Grand Duke commanded me to disguise you as a maid to secretly protect you, right?”
“Protect…?”
“Yes.”
Asha knelt on one knee. Perhaps she felt sorry for hiding her true identity, because every action she took seemed careful and deliberate.
“I was not ordered to monitor or restrain you. That’s why… I could treat the princess with a bit more freedom.”
Helping me wasn’t for surveillance—it was because she was ordered to protect me.
Even when I was harshly bullied by my older sister, she couldn’t carry out her orders—that too was about protection.
“I’m sorry. If you wish to punish me, I will accept it willingly.”
No.
I had never blamed or hated her even once. She had been by my side whenever I struggled, and I could never convey how thankful I was.
Before I could respond, several footsteps approached.
“No, more importantly, Russell is in danger—”
The goblins sensed the danger after their leader fell. Looking around, I could see them charging from beyond the building.
“Asha. They’re coming!”
“Don’t worry, Lady Princess.”
Asha blocked the path, raising her axe, even larger than herself, before me.
Just seeing her back filled me with courage.
She stepped back, then lightly leaped into the air.
Thud!
As Asha landed, kicking up deliberate dust, the goblins screeched in pain, blinded by it.
“I was always at the forefront of the northern barbarian suppression with the Grand Duke!”
Even if I had eyesight, I wouldn’t have been able to follow her movements with my eyes.
‘Is that really a human’s movement?’
Asha moved freely along the outer walls of the ruined building like a feather, swinging her axe. Her athleticism and wind-controlling magic made it possible.
Her movements looked like a dance. As I instinctively followed her, I snapped back to focus.
‘No, it’s still not enough. There’s more than one set of footsteps.’
Asha’s stamina wasn’t infinite. She had to hold out at least until the guards arrived.
What could I do? Should I look for trees?
‘No. There’s a correct way.’
I carefully placed my hand on the ground.
‘Magic is imagination.’
I didn’t know if my ability was really magic or divine, because no one had given me certainty about it.
But if it was magic…
‘I’ll imagine it. Even without touching the trees, I’ll imagine the chatter of the endless roots and flowers and weeds at the roadside.’
In my past life, the city was so barren that it was hard to see trees or roadside plants.
But now, the city was bathed in sunlight. People lived there.
As I thought this, voices came to me.
“…Humans…”
“An existence that was completely invisible…”
“…Most humans evacuated to safe areas in the east…”
I could hear them clearly. Even the plants rooted in the city seemed flustered.
The voices, once faint, became sharper.
“That black man… who is he?”
“Disadvantageous, disadvantageous… too many. Restraints alone won’t suffice.”
“The leader is dead, but they won’t stop.”
“That’s because humans are controlling them.”
Blood drained from my face.
If the black man meant Russell, then he was restraining only because he knew this was someone else’s territory.
So someone had released northern barbarians into the city and controlled them. There was only one type of person like that in my past life.
“Asha. Take care of the people!”
“Huh? Lady Princess! Where are you going?”
“The people have evacuated east! You protect them!”
As I ran between the ruined buildings, darkness swallowed my vision again. One minute had passed.
The Sordstick’s scanning function only lasts one minute. It can be used three times a day.
‘I’ve already used it twice today, so only one use remains.’
Judging by the situation, it would take a long time for the guards to reach Russell with such a number of enemies.
Asha also had limits, so only Russell could finish this situation.
‘You helped me, so I want to help someone else.’
“Normally, people say that when they die!”
I struck the stick firmly three times.
Daaang!
A clear bell rang in my head, and my vision widened. As soon as I located Russell, I ran.
“Ugh!”
Running recklessly, my low heels slipped off, and my skirt dipped into muddy water. It didn’t matter.
‘Where is it? If my memory is correct, Russell should be deep inside the city.’
If Russell died without understanding, just like I had in my past life…
I couldn’t even imagine it. I couldn’t stay a useless princess any longer.
Turning a corner, I saw Russell surrounded. Other uncontrolled goblins were trying to free those restrained.
Snap! Click!
Every snap of my fingers made thorny vines grow from the ground to restrain them, but even so, they were clearly exhausted from endless reinforcements.
Suddenly, a goblin lunged at me from behind.
“Russell! Duck!”
Swish—
I drew my sword. I dropped the hilt to the ground and moved my legs.
When the goblin attacked from behind and Russell realized and turned—
I blocked his back. I held my sword upright.
“Kyaaaah!”
Thwack!
The sword pierced his heart.
