Episode 122
Leander , the General Captain of the Babenberg Knight Order, felt extremely displeased upon receiving the report of this sudden visitor.
However, because she claimed to be the sister of the future Grand Duchess, he couldn’t simply turn her away without verification.
In the end, he had to go to the main gate himself to confirm the uninvited guest’s identity.
“My apologies, Madam. I am Leander Euges, Captain of the Babenberg Knight Order. I must ask you to state your precise purpose for visiting once again.”
“Are you mocking me? Louise is going to be the Grand Duchess of Babenberg, and you treat her own sister like this?”
Leander frowned at the woman’s manner of speech.
He didn’t know how she had fooled the regular knights, but to his ears, it was far from the speech of a royal.
But the opponent was just one woman and a coachman.
He couldn’t use force against someone who hadn’t even brought a single guard, so Leander simply spoke stiffly.
“I find it hard to understand that you would visit in the middle of the night without any prior notice to Her Highness the Princess. A single carriage standard cannot prove your identity. I must politely request you return now.”
“Then just ask the Grand Duke! My name is Zenais Zoe! I’m Senior Callisteon’s academy senior!”
Leander dropped his pretense of politeness and sharply retorted.
“…An academy senior?”
It was just a week ago that the exiled Second Princess had sneaked into the Grand Duke’s castle like a rat, throwing a fit and claiming to be the Grand Duke’s academy classmate.
Leander, having arrived in Edessa that very afternoon to escort the young Grand Duchess, had seen the Second Princess’s face clearly at the castle.
And not just that.
He had made the foolish guards who let the Second Princess in pay dearly for tarnishing his reputation that very night.
Although the Grand Duke had shown mercy due to the upcoming happy occasion, in Leander’s view, a mere salary reduction was not sufficient punishment for their offense.
Under normal circumstances, it would be against knightly etiquette to boldly make eye contact with a noblewoman of higher status.
But Leander couldn’t help but stare directly at the woman.
Unfortunately or fortunately, it wasn’t the Second Princess.
‘It’s not her, but…’
For one, the red hair was similar to that of the Brentani royals.
But the sun had set long ago, the lighting wasn’t sufficient, and Leander was far too tall compared to the woman.
The woman flinched and stepped back at the Knight Captain’s approaching gesture.
“Y-yes, what was your name? I-I’ll tell Louise everything, so you wait right here.”
Then, she hurriedly climbed back into her carriage.
Before the coachman could even kneel to make a step, she grabbed the handle and leaped up in one swift motion.
‘What the…’
Just as Leander was observing the woman with suspicious eyes…
—BOOM!
A loud explosion sounded from somewhere.
Reflexively turning, he saw black smoke billowing from the top floor of the hotel.
—Neighhhh!
Amid the noisy sound of horse whinnies, the carriage, its door still not properly closed, rattled away.
Leander sprinted into the hotel, shouting orders to the knights behind him.
“Capture them! If any escape, you’re all dismissed!”
The baby here was the sole heir of Babenberg.
Failing to protect her was worse than death.
Leander flew up the stairs.
At the same time, Callisteon was sparring with the 4th Captain, his sword in hand.
In truth, Frilis was too young to pass through a gate safely.
But traveling to Babenberg by high-speed carriage was an even longer and more arduous journey.
Eventually, Callisteon had sought a mage’s advice and decided to bring the baby over during the deepest part of the night’s sleep.
Babenberg Castle was perfectly prepared for the baby’s arrival, but he was so distracted by the thought of finally meeting his daughter that he couldn’t focus even on his daily training.
—Bzzzt, Bzzzt!
Then, something vibrated in his breast pocket.
Callisteon gestured for the 4th Captain to pause the spar and pulled the communication orb from his pocket.
But it was silent.
His face gradually hardened as he rummaged through his pocket again.
What finally emerged in Callisteon’s hand was a small, white protective stone.
The item linked to the defense barrier of the Edessa hotel room—the one that should never activate.
The 4th Captain noticed it too and gasped.
“Your Excellency…?”
“Open the gate! Now!”
But unless the 4th Captain was a mage, there was no way to open a gate instantly from their spot.
As the Captain rushed out, Callisteon also kicked off the ground and followed.
Knights nearby, unaware of the reason, swarmed after them.
A temporary gate opened immediately in the top-floor corridor.
The steward hurriedly brought combat armor.
“Your Excellency, perhaps you should wear protective gear, just in case…”
The Grand Duke wore simple protective gear for sparring, but it was only for practice.
But Callisteon asked in a voice filled with rage,
“Is my child over there wearing any protective gear?”
The moment he finished speaking, the 4th Captain passed through the gate first.
The knights swarmed through after Callisteon.
Like master, like men.
Not one hesitated or delayed; they all departed immediately.
In Babenberg, they only used ultra-high-speed gates.
Callisteon realized for the first time how long a split-second travel time could feel.
He should have gone to get the child himself from the start.
He should have done so the moment Louise left.
He should have brought the baby over before setting off for the Imperial Capital… In his excitement, he had foolishly forgotten what was most important.
When they arrived at the Edessa hotel, acrid, hazy smoke stung their eyes.
It seemed there had been an explosion.
Callisteon had installed perfect protective measures in the room where Louise and the baby stayed as soon as he purchased this hotel.
So, the explosion shouldn’t have affected the room’s interior.
The barrier should have activated the moment it detected the impact; if so, at least the baby wouldn’t be hurt by the explosion.
She had to be okay.
There were three protective stones linked to the barrier, capable of deactivating it.
Two were with Callisteon and Knight Captain Leander here, and the last one was with Louise.
‘Louise must know about this situation by now too. She’ll be here in a panic soon.’
Until that moment, Callisteon firmly believed in Leander.
No matter what happened at the hotel, he would have definitely protected his heir.
But before his eyes could adjust to the grayish smoke, a large man approached and dropped to one knee before him.
“Your Excellency, the barrier won’t deactivate. We cannot even approach it.”
It was Leander, the very one he had trusted.
“What nonsense is that!”
Callisteon’s face twisted violently as he shouted.
Since Leander had a protective stone, deactivating the barrier shouldn’t have been difficult.
‘If the barrier won’t open…’
Gasping for breath, Callisteon went to the door of the room where Louise had stayed.
The protective magic covered the entire room Louise used and the nursery.
Several knights lay fallen before the door as if hit by the blast, but the wooden door itself was unscathed.
It meant the barrier had activated in time.
Deactivating the barrier didn’t require difficult skill.
One only needed to insert the protective stone into the small groove on the door handle.
But no matter how long he waited after inserting the stone, the barrier remained steadfast.
“…Ren Daphtan.”
Callisteon muttered.
“Sir?”
Leander, standing beside him, thought he had misheard his lord.
But Callisteon only issued an anxious command.
“Contact the Magic Tower. Find the Tower Lord. Find out where he is.”
“Your Excellency, surely you don’t mean…”
Callisteon tightly shut and then opened his eyes.
“How many wizards are there, initially, who can interfere with magic of this level? What are the odds that such a mage would dare threaten my heir?”
