Chapter 43: The Battle Begins

Three days have passed.

During that time, I went to make excuses to Achille’s older brother’s wife. I told him that I wasn’t lying around and making the children do all the work because I was lazy, but I was doing so intentionally to foster their ability to take care of themselves and be self-reliant...

She asked me if I was telling the truth, so I told her to look into my eyes. She stared at my face...and then said, “You’re lying!”

How did she know?!

Anyway, I made up an excuse and got outta there! Next, I went to visit Maillart Workshop.

Of course, I saw my replacement Lolotte every day (come to think of it, why was she at the house every day even though she’s supposed to be living and working at the workshop?), but I had to find out what was up with Achille’s whole “inviting Lolotte to be his lover” thing. So I marched over there, and Achille suddenly prostrated himself in a gesture of total submission.

...Did he think I was gonna kill him or something? Was it because of my scary eyes? Hey, shaddap!

Well, I suppose things were different when he was just the third son of a viscount, but it would be difficult to take in an orphan as his lawful wife now that he was a big-shot baron. It would have been one thing if Lolotte could have been a concubine whose child would be born as an aristocrat, but if she was going to be a throwaway lover with no rights, and if her child would end up with no claim to their inheritance or any status as an aristocrat, it would be pretty rough for her despite having married into a wealthy family...

It was possible for her to become a foster daughter of a noble family just for form’s sake, but there weren’t a lot of aristocrats who would take in a commoner orphan, even if temporarily and only on paper. Unless they were really desperate for money and offered a big payout in return, that is...

I mean, they would probably accept with reluctance if I personally requested it. But I didn’t think it was quite right to force someone to do something they didn’t want to, especially if it could affect their house’s reputation.

No, I knew there was a way. I could accept the title Roland had prepared for me and adopt Lolotte myself. I wouldn’t have minded having her as a step-daughter at all, and no aristocrat would turn down my daughter, adopted or not, to take in as their lawful wife.

It was the perfect plan... That is, if you ignore two issues with that.

First, I had no intention of becoming an aristocrat. I didn’t want any unnecessary duties or burdens on my shoulders, and I definitely wasn’t cool with being bound to this country.

The other issue was that this would be far too much favoritism. The Eyes of the Goddess had met me at an early stage, and they received preferential treatment from me compared to all the other orphans. There were so many orphans in the royal capital...no, in this entire country. It wasn’t like I could help all of them. I had met them by chance and they had just happened to help me out, so I took care of them for a bit to repay them. Arranging for one of them to become the lawful wife of an aristocrat was way too much.

Lolotte needed to get through this on her own and make her own life decisions using the hand she was dealt. It wasn’t for me to butt in. So...

“...Well, good luck!”

With that, I patted Achille on the shoulder, said my greetings to Bardot, the owner of the workshop, as well as the others, then left after having a little chat.

After some time, Francette returned from the royal palace with some intel.

“It seems the Brancott army has begun mobilizing. There are many aristocrats and military commanders who oppose this move, but they couldn’t refuse orders from their king and superiors out of fear for their jobs and lives...”

No surprise there. They’d be lucky if the punishment had just stopped there, but their whole family could have ended up getting slaughtered if they didn’t do as they were told.

The first prince wouldn’t have done anything so stupid himself, but the second prince knew he wasn’t as well-liked as him and had taken the throne by force. But if he knew the first prince was still alive, he’d surely be desperate to crush his opposition with all his available force...

And even though this would just result in him losing even more popularity, those who were putting him up on a pedestal weren’t doing anything to stop him.

Not surprising, really. It was convenient for them if the prince took out the people in his way, and they’d only put a target on their own backs if they tried to stop him. If they truly were just in it for their own profit rather than for the country or its people, there was no way they would put themselves in danger for no reason.

“When will they arrive at the border?”

“In four days. They will likely be close to it on the evening of the third day. They should camp the night there, then cross the border in the morning.”

Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense to enter enemy territory in the evening and camp overnight there.

“Then let’s get there by the morning of the third day, just in case. We should depart tomorrow morning, I think.”

There were all sorts of factors at play, like the time it would take for their spies to report, but it takes time, logistically speaking, to move fully equipped armies. I had nothing to carry, thanks to the Item Box, and they couldn’t possibly compete with Ed’s potion-augmented speed, so I’d have plenty of time to get there.

“What about the royal army?”

“They were already prepared to mobilize, so they’re ready to go at any time. Of course, there were some troops who had already been deployed, so once the army regroups with them, the combined force will likely engage the enemy about a day’s march away from the border. That area is a barren wasteland, with no residents nearby, so it’s an ideal battlefield.”

Yeah, no one was stupid enough to start a fight in a granary. Oh, but I guess it wouldn’t matter if it belonged to an enemy, unless victory was guaranteed, and you knew you were going to claim that territory afterward.

“Okay then, time to sleep for the big day tomorrow!”

“...”

Ah, the kids were listening from behind me and looked pretty concerned...

“Why do you look so worried? Do you think mere mortals can do anything to me?”

“...”

Well, I suppose they couldn’t help but worry, even if I was a so-called goddess. So...

“Don’t worry, on the off-chance that something does happen to me, this body is only temporary. Even if it gets destroyed, it won’t have any effect on me. Worst-case scenario, this little vacation of mine will end a bit quicker than planned, and I’d just go back to my own world. I probably have a lot of work waiting for me...”

Oh no, it had the opposite effect! They got even gloomier... On the other hand, Francette and Emile look pretty pleased! Francette is one thing, but I’m not taking you, Emile!

“Whaaaaaat?!” Emile and Belle screamed in shock when I told them I wasn’t bringing them with me.

Of course I’m not! Emile may be a hard worker, but his skill level is only somewhere between that of a common foot soldier and a veteran soldier. He wasn’t strong enough to guarantee his survival on the battlefield. As for Belle, she wouldn’t even qualify as a disposable sacrificial shield.

I mean, there’s no such thing as guaranteed survival no matter how strong someone is. You could always get struck by a stray arrow, surrounded by enemies, or who knows what else. Even Francette had suffered a fatal wound in the war against the Aligot Empire four and a half years ago... This time, of course, we weren’t going to fight like we had back then.

But I had to appease them somehow, or they would insist on tagging along...

All right!

“Why would I want to waste my most reliable trump cards on a chaotic battlefield? I want you guys to protect everyone here and prepare for the worst. In other words, stay on standby here and prepare to protect me during the last stand for the royal capital.”

“Yes!” Belle and Emile replied enthusiastically.

...They were so easy.

The day before the Brancott army was expected to cross the border, we calculated the distance the invaders would travel from the border in a day (including their support troops), anticipated that the Balmore royal army would be deployed in the wasteland there, and moved even farther ahead. ...Basically, we snuck around without greeting the royal army.

I hadn’t brought the children with us, of course, and the king was back at the palace instead of at the front lines.

Roland was a bit farther behind us and leading the main forces. It was probably a veteran general giving out the actual directions, so he was more of a figurehead.

So it was just me here, along with...

“Why are you here, Francette...? You’re supposed to be Roland’s guard!”

“What? But you granted me the title of Einherjar, the Guardian of the Goddess, that one time.”

“Urgh!”

...I had just been going with the flow then, but I did remember saying something like that.

“B-But you’re a noble and a knight, and it’s your duty as Roland’s guard to...”

“I am a liaison officer.”

“Huh?”

“A liaison officer.”

“Whaaat?”

“A liaison officer.”

“Whaaaaaa!”

...Damn! Oh well.

Unlike Emile, Francette was an upstanding adult, even from my point of view as Kaoru Nagase the Japanese woman rather than the Kaoru of this world. She was around thirty, and had lived much longer than me, too... As such, she could make and take responsibility for her own decisions. Yes, Francette didn’t need me doing this and that to protect her. She should be the one protecting me.

And so, the number of forces charging into the middle of the Brancott army came to a grand total of two people.

“What about us?”

Oh, my mistake. Two people and two horses— Ed, and Francette’s beloved horse.

All right then, time to rock!

“But let’s have some tea for now.”

“Yes!”

We had arrived early, just in case, but the enemy wasn’t expected to arrive until tomorrow afternoon. And so, we decided to pull out a tent, beds, chairs, a table, and a tea set, and wait for them to show up.

Some time past noon the next day...

The Brancott army could be seen in the distance. Of course, both the Brancott and Balmore army had sent out preliminary troops to scout ahead, so each of the factions must have known each other’s positions.

We quickly packed up the tent. Surely they would completely ignore two young girls and their horses just standing there without giving them so much as a second glance. They wouldn’t bother trying anything with a harmless lookout or two at this point.

And so, we watched as the two armies closed in as each other and waited for the right timing.

The Balmore army waited for the enemy as the Brancott army moved in, closing the distance between them to about 700 to 800 meters, which meant there was still plenty of time before they started firing their bows at each other. I hopped onto Ed and charged in between the two armies from the side. Then...

Booooooom!!!

The “nitroglycerin-like substance” made a huge explosion up in the sky. Yup, it was that same, familiar stuff I used before. It came in a gourd-shaped container and spawned with two types of chemicals that would mix and cause an explosion right away.

The entire Brancott army froze immediately. Now was the time to bust out the loudspeaker-type potion container.

“To the usurper’s rebel army, which plots to invade the country that the Goddess Celestine has bestowed upon her friend, I say this: you shall fall straight to hell!”

Boom! Bam! Bang!

Glass balls containing something like nitroglycerin rained down from the sky and exploded one after another. They each landed a bit in front of the Brancott army, but weren’t causing any damage. Physical damage, that is.

“Wh-Whaaat?! But they told me the Angel abandoned Balmore! I thought the Kingdom of Balmore was no longer loved by the Goddess!”

“I was told the Angel supports Lord Ghislain’s claim to the throne! They said this is a holy war and the Goddess is with us! So why is the Angel on their side and we’re treated as the rebel blasphemers?! That’s not what I heard at all!”

“They tricked us! We were lied to by those usurping, blasphemous bastards! I don’t wanna go to hell! I don’t want my family to get struck down by the Goddess!”

“Hell no! I didn’t become a soldier just to get killed as an enemy of the Goddess and go to hell! I just wanted to fight for my family, for my country, for justice! I just wanted to protect everyone’s happiness!!!”

It was complete chaos. Some men cried and screamed as they clung to their commanders, others tried to retreat, while others threw their weapons to the ground... No one was concerned with fighting a war against Balmore anymore.

There wasn’t a single life, weapon, or resource lost. And yet, the Brancott army was wiped out psychologically before the battle even began.

“Open the way.”

Fwssh!

I gave the order through the loudspeaker-type potion container, then the sea of people parted, opening a straight path through.

...Who am I, Moses?!

Anyway, the soldiers all fell to their knees, and I walked through the newly-created path with Francette, who was all smiles. Oh, and we were each riding our horses, of course. But man, Francette sure seemed thrilled whenever I did Goddess-like stuff...

In any case, we kept moving forward. With that done, the soldiers should turn back and retreat from here. It was a good thing the battle had ended without any needless casualties on either side. The soldiers were simply following orders, but it wasn’t as if they had strongly believed in their cause this time.

If they understood everything that was going on and were still dead-set on killing the enemy and seizing their riches for their own country, without any intention of listening to the other side, I would have had no choice but to give them a harsh reality check. But if they knew who I was and could be convinced through a simple explanation, that was fine by me.

“Destination: Aras, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Brancott. Let’s go!”

“Yeah!”

“Breeehehehe!”

I glanced behind me and saw the Balmore frontline soldiers just standing there, having done absolutely nothing...

Yeah, I was glad I couldn’t really see their expressions because they were somewhat far away.

My bad!

“Lady Kaoru, what shall we do next?”

Now that she was back in her own country and I was acting as a goddess, Francette was back to addressing me as “Lady Kaoru.” Oh well.

“We should be able to head straight to the capital with the method we just used. I’m sure the Balmore army and Brancott army will follow too... And if we move forward normally without rushing too much, post horses should deliver their reports before we get there.

“The first prince, who should be hiding somewhere and keeping an eye on the situation, the men of his faction who had no choice but to reluctantly follow the second prince’s orders, and the original priests of the Temple of the Goddess in Brancott...they should all have heard about what just happened by the time we get there...

“So, we’ll be marching right in through the front door after giving the other forces enough time to gather, march in, and join us.”

Francette grinned, but then she looked a little worried as she brought up a question.

“Um, Lady Kaoru. I will have a chance to be of use to you, won’t I?”

...Not my problem!

“What? Kaoru has returned to Balmore?! And she’s leading the Balmore army and our own invading troops to strike down the blasphemer Ghislain?! Ahh! The Goddess’s blessing is with us! Contact any aristocrats and dignitaries who will answer our call at once! And only those with a trust ranking of A. Don’t contact B-ranks or lower until the very last moment to avoid the information getting leaked!

“As for the Temple of the Goddess, contact only the archbishop. Emphasize to him that the other priests are only to be contacted after the uprising takes place.”

“Yes, my lord!” Fernand’s confidants moved out at his orders.

“So, Kaoru is here. Hmhm... Hahaha...”

“You shouldn’t get too optimistic... The counterattack is one thing, but afterward, she isn’t...” Fabio warned the grinning first prince Fernand.

“That’s right. Kaoru is working for the Kingdoms of Balmore and Brancott, and for their people. She absolutely isn’t doing it out of love for you or anything. If you get the wrong idea and get ahead of yourself, it’ll end up in disaster. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Urgh...” After even being told off by Allan, who had failed in his search for Kaoru but still enjoyed his little trip anyway, Fernand couldn’t help but hang his head.

“What?! The Angel is leading the army to the royal capital?! Ah! The forces of the Goddess are with us! Lady Celestine has sent her servant to save our Kingdom of Brancott from the heretics leading her to ruin! Very well, I will keep this a secret for the time being. Once the time comes, we of the Temple of the Goddess will give our lives for the Goddess, the Angel, and the people...”

“Impossible! You’re the ones who told me that the Goddess Celestine had forsaken Balmore! You said that Lady Kaoru, the Angel herself, had left the kingdom and was to ally with me to oppose Fernand! So why...?” Ghislain accused the priests, but they had also been taken completely by surprise.

It seemed they weren’t too frequently in contact with Bishop Bruce, given that they hadn’t been alarmed when they stopped hearing from him with him. It was also evident that they were not yet aware that Bruce had tried and failed to kill Kaoru, and had been executed after revealing everything he knew.

But as bishops, using eloquence to wheedle their way out of situations was part of their job description.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, my lord... The Angel is leading the army of Balmore to come to beg for your forgiveness! Now that the Kingdom of Balmore’s own army has defected to us, along with the Angel, there is no need to ruin the land or slaughter the people, all of whom are about to belong to our kingdom. We only need to demand their complete and total surrender.”

“What...?” It was obviously a lie, but a drowning man will clutch even at a straw. Amidst the fear and despair, the second prince Ghislain wanted to — no, had no choice but to — cling to the answer that he wanted most.

“I...I see! So that’s it! Damn that messenger for coming back with a false report! Haha, hahaha... Hey, someone behead that messenger from earlier!”

When the crimes of the bishops from the old Holy Land of Rueda had been exposed and their assets were seized, some of them had quickly converted their funds into gold and jewelry, then escaped the country to live the rest of their lives in comfort, while the other bishops rejected their methods and instead plotted their return to power.

Out of those bishops, there was a group who had vowed to get revenge by making their way into the center of the Kingdom of Brancott, a neighbor to the Kingdom of Balmore, which the old Holy Land of Rueda had been absorbed into. They concealed the fact that they had escaped from Rueda and claimed to be bishops on missionary work from a faraway land, so as to curry favor with the second prince. The vast riches they had brought from the Holy Land of Rueda certainly hadn’t hurt at all.

The bishops of Brancott considered the first prince to be the clear heir to the throne, making them enemies in the eyes of the dumb second prince who wished to be king. To him, the whispers from the traveling bishops, telling him he was fit to be king and assuring him that it was the will of both the Goddess and the Angel, were quite comfortable to hear, so he ignored the unspoken agreement to keep the church and politics separate. Instead, he kept them close by.

Once convinced, he began spreading their whispers around, in full agreement with what the bishops had said. The second prince claimed that he had just so happened to be the only one near the king at the time of his sudden passing, and that the king’s last words were to have Ghislain take the throne in his stead. He then took immediate action to arrest the other would-be king.

But rather than be captured, the first prince used a secret passageway that had been passed down through the kings and the crown princes of each generation, and thus managed to escape with his trusted confidants. The second prince knew that those around him only cared about their own benefit over that of their country, and that there was no telling how his currently-obedient retainers would act if the first prince showed up, so he had no choice but to eliminate his rival and make them accept him as the rightful heir.

In order to pull this off, he initiated a plan to invade the neighboring kingdom of Balmore, effectively killing three birds with one stone by searching for the first prince, getting the military and merchants on his side, and diverting the people from their discontent all at the same time. But, of course, this decision was greatly influenced by the “traveling bishops,” who had given him such good advice while relaying “the will of the Goddess.” And, of course, her will was for him to unite the Kingdom of Balmore under his rule...

The traveling bishops had one wish: to take over the Kingdom of Balmore, and thus retake Rueda, all while getting revenge against those who had betrayed and banished them! With that done, they would regain all their glory from those days long gone!

...But instead, it was all ending here. They had never expected the Angel to return to the Kingdom of Balmore and launch a full counterattack. Considering that they had raised their soldiers’ morale in the face of an invasion on a friendly nation of many years by using the names of the Goddess and the Angel, this turn of events had effectively nullified their military power.

They considered their options, and...

“We must escape! We pulled it off once before, and we just need to do it again. Most of the fortune taken from Rueda is still there. We only need to load it all into the carriage and flee to the center of the continent, then start over again... Only...”

“Yes, we must crush that demon and get our revenge. Once she’s gone, the Goddess Celestine will go back to staying out of human affairs for the most part, apart from occasionally warning us of danger...”

The self-proclaimed “traveling bishops,” who were actually Rueda’s former bishops, were quite optimistic in their views. It was true that the Goddess Celestine hadn’t directly punished the bishops from the Holy Land of Rueda, instead only speaking of past events. She had actually left without really doing anything, other than scolding the Pope a bit for misusing the sacred treasure. Depending on how one looked at it, it could be interpreted as refraining from unnecessary interference and thus staying out of human affairs.

It was all because of that damned girl, the one who happened to have the Goddess Celestine’s favor. She was the one who forced her interpretation on everyone after the Goddess had left. In their minds, the fall of Rueda was all because of that girl’s malicious false rumor-mongering.

The soon-to-be-former rulers of the Holy Land of Rueda had looked rather lifeless even upon returning to their country after those events, and were in no state to make any reports for some time. Because of this, there were several days of delay before the information started to come in. Not to mention the reports were wildly inaccurate and had many omissions, exaggerations, and contradictory statements.

Among the confusion, a few of them with a keen sense for danger were able to take the opportunity to flee. However...

The remaining bishops consisted of those who weren’t present when the Goddess had descended, and therefore only had skewed, inaccurate information. Not only that, but they took that flawed information and interpreted it to fit their own bias.

And so, their final conspiracy was set into motion...

“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you, Lady Angel!”

“Ugh!”

When we arrived at a city just before the royal capital, an unwelcome sight was awaiting us...

Yeah, him!

“Prince Fur Man...”

“It’s Fernand!”

Well, on second thought, I guess he wasn’t all that furry. Anyway...

“I’m only here to take out those who picked a fight with me. No more, no less!”

My message was loud and clear, but Fernand seemed unaffected. He was still His Royal Highness the Prince, so I had to treat him with some respect, but I didn’t have to give him that courtesy in my internal monologue.

I had separated the armies of both countries; once that was done, the six of us, including Francette, myself, and the four knights Roland sent from the back moved forward, only to find Fernand waiting at the first city just before the capital. Fernand, Allan, and the man named Fa—no, Fabio—who I had met once each at the shop and Grua, the royal capital of Balmore, along with their many followers, were all there. According to them, their forces were waiting in a place some distance away from the city.

As I thought, it seemed that most of those who were cooperating with the second prince were doing so out of necessity. They couldn’t publicly oppose him when the royal palace and influential aristocrats had been occupied and the first prince was missing.

I mean, if the king and first prince were out of the picture, the second prince would naturally be the official heir. Anyone who opposed this would be treated as a rebel seeking to usurp the throne and a traitor to the country. Their entire family line might end up being massacred. This was especially true when the ruler was a cruel and cowardly fool who was aware of how precarious his position was. That was why everyone just did as they were told... Until the right moment presented itself, that is.

If the first prince had died in accordance with the plan, things might have gone differently. The people could have had no choice but to give up on everything and obey the second prince, or otherwise stage a revolution, fully aware of the dishonor that would come with it...

But since Fernand was alive, they only had to wait. Justice was on their side. They could wipe out the usurper, who had committed the grave sin of murdering his own father, along with his parasitic and treacherous retainers.

And that time had finally come. A full-scale civil conflict was unlikely to break out. Everyone had only refrained from acting against the usurper out of fear for their lives, and their lack of clear justification. In a sense, he proved to be quite capable by eliminating the king and those above him in the order of succession, then effectively dividing his influential opponents before they had time to discuss how to respond, but this was likely due to input from his advisors rather than his own cunning.

At the point when he failed to kill the first prince and let him escape, his sandcastle had already begun crumbling. And so, in an attempt to take in the military, merchants, and combative aristocrats while distracting the people from their grievances, he made a reckless move to invade a friendly country. Or perhaps he was afraid the first prince would defect to the Kingdom of Balmore and try to take back the throne by force using Balmore’s army.

That possibility wouldn’t have been out of the question. It would have provided Balmore with a righteous cause to aid the first prince and rightful heir in his request to punish the usurper. In other words, it’d be a chance to save the people, act in the name of justice, and stand up for their ally, the Kingdom of Brancott. It was plenty of reason to invade their neighboring country, and would leave the first prince and the Kingdom of Brancott greatly in their debt.

In that scenario, which prince would the aristocrats and national army side with? It was no wonder the second prince felt threatened. And sure enough, the very thing he had feared was rapidly becoming a reality...

“Kaoru, you should rest in this city and wait for the armies of both sides to catch up. Once the forces regroup, we can attack the royal cap...”

“I’m not attacking the royal capital.”

“What...?”

Why would you want to attack your own kingdom’s capital? Are you stupid?!

...Yes, he was. And judging by his overly familiar attitude, Fernand seemed to think I was “that Kaoru.” In other words, the Kaoru who he had met here in Brancott.

In his mind, he had already decided that Alfa Kaoru Nagase, who he met in Balmore’s royal capital, and Mifa Kaoru Nagase, who worked at the dining hall in Brancott, were one and the same, even though I kept telling him that they’re two separate people...

Hmm...

“By the way, why do you keep talking to me as if we are close? I’ve only met you for a few minutes in Grua, correct? Do you always act so familiar with women from other countries? First you call me the Lady Angel, and the next second, I’m Kaoru? I can see why the second prince deemed you unworthy of becoming king.”

“Wha! Wh-What are you...” Fernand’s eyes widened in an expression of shock. Everyone around us seemed flabbergasted too.

Yeah, he deserved that. I had to keep him in check, or he would just get carried away.

“Frankly, it’s quite offensive. I don’t want to be near you, so please stay away. I feel like I’ll become pregnant if you so much as touch me.”

“Wh-Wh-Wha...”

There! I hadn’t ever planned on making the armies clash or sieging the royal capital in the first place. There was no need for people to die in pointless battles, regardless of which country they were fighting for.

Military officers and aristocrats may have been happy to defeat their enemies in glorious combat, saving the capital and winning acclaim in the process, but what about those who died needlessly as a result? Maybe those who had been on the right side would be fine with it, but the soldiers on the so-called bad guy’s side still had wives, children, and family members too, and they would no longer have a future.

No, I wasn’t gonna have these people march into the castle as allies of justice or “the armies of the Goddess.” I had already taken countermeasures to prevent this.

We had been moving forward slowly to buy more time, but we were still some distance ahead due to the support troops moving at a slower pace. Still, sending light cavalry between us and the bulk of our forces wasn’t too big of an issue.

And so, we sent out Roland’s four knights — also known as the Four Walls, the ones who had received the divine swords — behind the vanguard troops and Brancott’s royal army to carry out my orders. The orders I gave to Brancott’s armed forces were as follows:

“Choose an impressive-looking cavalry officer who’s a skilled talker and send him ahead to the royal capital. Have him spread rumors among aristocrats, military personnel, civilians, everyone who’ll listen; have him say that the Goddess won’t forgive anyone who aids the usurper, the one who killed his own father, and that she will send forth her messenger to carry out her punishment.”

The message was loud and clear: Anyone who opposed me was an enemy of the Goddess and would be punished accordingly. Everyone knew about the incident that had occurred in Balmore about four years ago. How many people would try to stop me from entering the castle now? Only a heretic who didn’t fear the Goddess herself would dare try. In other words, a member of the group who attacked Layette, and therefore my enemy. They would be very easy to recognize.

So, I didn’t need any soldiers that wanted to achieve glory and fame through slaughter. People who were itching to kill were too dangerous to have around. My goal was to resolve this peacefully, and I didn’t want that to be ruined by their ambition. No thanks!

Did I have proof that the second prince murdered the king? Well, all I said was that anyone who aided the patricidal usurper wouldn’t be forgiven, and hadn’t specified anyone in particular. It was more of a general statement. I mean, I think most people would agree that killing one’s parents and usurping the throne were both pretty unforgivable things.

I hadn’t said anything inaccurate. Nope.

“I’m afraid I might get pregnant if I stay here. We’ll be moving ahead a little farther and camping out instead of staying in this city tonight.”

“Yes, my lady!” “Wha...?” Francette and the Four Walls responded in unison.

And so, we moved our horses along. Fernand and the others stood there as we left them behind, the inn workers and people of the city glaring at them hatefully.

Couldn’t blame them, really. They had lost the opportunity to be known as the last inn where the Angel rested before entering the royal capital, or the city that the Angel used as the headquarters for her counterattack, so of course they’d be upset.

Well, it wasn’t as if this would make them think the second prince was any better than Fernand, so I didn’t mind. I wanted to take a long bath before bed, but oh well. We may have been camping overnight, but I didn’t mind because I still had a bed to sleep on. Tomorrow was the big day.

I would get vengeance for Layette and the orphans who had been beaten and injured, as well as the incident where they had tried to kill me. They would pay. No one will ever even think about messing with me or my friends ever again...