Volume 10, Chapter 14 – Command and Counter-Command

Although her current public identity is Yisi, apart from her various species characteristics, Yisi and Viel don’t actually have a huge difference in appearance. And Viel is the one who beat up the Empire’s emperor, Adonis. If Adonis were to transfer his anger to her just because she looks like Viel—of course, this transferred anger would be justified in every sense, since she is Viel—things would become troublesome.

Therefore, even if she has an agreement with Gore Harile, and she will sooner or later take Camilla to the royal capital to acknowledge her identity as the Eldest Princess, she still wants to avoid trouble as much as possible.

Refina, who Yisi had suggested swap driving duties with, was slightly surprised.

“But Miss Yisi, we just set out. Isn’t it a bit too early to switch now? It’s still winter in the Empire. With this level of sun, I won’t feel uncomfortable even without an umbrella.”

“I’m considering other issues. Anyway, Refina, just leave the driving to me for now.”

“If you say so, Miss Yisi… alright.”

Pulling the reins tight, Refina controlled the six-legged horse to a stop.

As there were more and more people on the carriage, the original horses were no longer sufficient for the task of pulling it, and controlling multiple horses at once was difficult. So, Yisi had found a six-legged horse with excellent stamina and strength in the Duchy of Chloe to pull the carriage.

It’s worth mentioning that this six-legged horse, which originally belonged to the monster category, had such an extremely violent temperament that not a single horse trainer in the Duchy of Chloe could tame it. Its keeper was already planning to send it to the slaughterhouse. But as it happened, when this six-legged horse met Yisi, it obediently submitted. After Yisi used a little intimidation magic, the horse became docile. However, at that time, the six-legged horse only allowed Yisi to ride it. Even Laxy, a God-Forged Angel, couldn’t get it to obey. It wasn’t until Laxy, frowning, resorted to violence and flipped the six-legged horse over with one hand, followed by Edith using her pureblood bloodline suppression, and the [Divine Key] on Mary’s neck releasing a golden light, that the six-legged horse finally realized there was no one here it could bully, and it completely submitted.

Yisi, having taken the reins, didn’t immediately order the six-legged horse to set off. Instead, she first planned a route on the map. Although the large convoy of Adonis Eli Gloria had appeared on the [Omniscient Map], fortunately, they were about five kilometers away from her group, and both parties were heading to Wilfred City from different directions. Therefore, as long as she changed her route slightly, she could miss Adonis’s convoy.

For now, I’ll just find a place to stop.

GIAAAAAA——

However, just as Yisi flicked the reins, the cry of a Horned Eagle came from the sky. Subconsciously, Yisi looked up—a knight riding a Horned Eagle was flying toward her.

“Tsk.”

I’d forgotten about this.

Since Adonis was traveling with a large convoy, there would naturally be Horned Eagle Knights accompanying him for his safety. Surveillance from the sky was enough to expose anyone with ill intentions. And because of the travel restrictions along the way, there were no other carriages nearby. It was only natural that the Horned Eagle Knight would discover their group.

Not raising the monitoring range of the [Omniscient Map] was a real blunder. Just as she usually couldn’t see things deep underground, if Yisi didn’t deliberately increase the map’s exploration range, the map wouldn’t show what was high up in the sky.

I was careless.

But now that she’d been discovered, urging the six-legged horse on wouldn’t help. Yisi simply stopped the carriage. The only people in the Empire who had seen Viel were Adonis, that general named Carl, and the prime minister, Bradley. As long as she properly explained her intentions, she wouldn’t be given a hard time.

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Finally, the knight maneuvered the Horned Eagle to a stop. After taking the long spear from the Horned Eagle’s neck, he walked up to Yisi with a serious expression.

“Who goes there?”

No, no, I just stopped here. You’re the one who ‘goes there.’

Silently snarking, Yisi faced the Horned Eagle Knight’s question and released the reins, showing she had no hostile intent.

“We are heading to Wilfred to seek a new life. This is the travel permit given to us by the garrison along the way.”

She showed the permit she had received. After the soldier gave it a rough glance, he seized Yisi up with suspicion.

“This is a pass specially permitted for the supply corps. You’re not part of the supply corps, are you? Imperial soldiers don’t dress like you.”

“Ah, the reason we got this pass is because the garrison along the way was attacked by demons, and we happened to help them. At first, they planned to thank us for our assistance with gold coins, according to imperial law, but because we were in a hurry, they used this travel pass in place of gold coins.”

Suddenly, a tremor came from the ground beneath. Yisi subconsciously looked in the direction of the vibration—an [Imperial Gift] covered in green flames was walking in her direction. If she looked closely, she could also see a man dressed as a magic caster standing on the [Imperial Gift]’s shoulder. Just from his clothing, it was clear the man’s status was much higher than the Horned Eagle Knight’s.

It would be troublesome if more people noticed her. Yisi urged the Horned Eagle Knight.

“How about it? Can we go?”

“This… Although what you said is very likely to have happened, and the pass is not a fake, His Majesty is currently traveling. I cannot just let you leave. Otherwise, if something were to happen that none of us wanted to see, no one could take responsibility.”

“Mmph.”

So inflexible.

Yisi frowned slightly. By the time the two had been talking, the magic caster standing on the [Imperial Gift]’s shoulder had almost reached the carriage.

“Onee-sama, what happened?” Hearing the noise from the Horned Eagle Knight and the [Imperial Gift], Camilla stepped out of the carriage. Her gaze first landed on Yisi, then settled on the Horned Eagle Knight. After seeing the imperial crest on the knight’s left chest, her eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. “Blocked by imperial soldiers?”

If Camilla memorized this soldier’s face, his fate would be miserable once Camilla took her place as the Eldest Princess. The reason I didn’t want to see Adonis was because he might recognize me, but in reality, Yisi and Viel’s races are fundamentally different. It’s impossible for Adonis to recognize her. And Yisi found it hard to believe that Adonis would have memorized Viel’s face in those brief ten seconds. Yisi hurriedly explained.

“It’s nothing like that, Camilla. It’s not that unpleasant.”

“Which means, Onee-sama is still displeased, right?”

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“Like I said, it’s not like that.”

Thud!

The continuous tremors finally stopped. The [Imperial Gift] had walked up to the carriage. To make conversation easier, the young man standing on the [Imperial Gift]’s shoulder commanded it to crouch down. But even so, the young man’s position was still much higher than Yisi and the other two, so much so that Yisi and the Horned Eagle Knight had to tilt their heads up to see him. Coupled with the arrogant atmosphere unique to those in power on the young man’s face, it was displeasing even though he hadn’t said a word.

“What happened?”

The young man questioned the Horned Eagle Knight in a superior tone.

“Sir. I discovered this carriage during my patrol, so I commanded my Horned Eagle to come here.”

“Get to the point.”

“Yes. This carriage holds a pass from the supply corps, but they are not the supply corps. Although they claim they received the pass for helping the garrison along the way defend against demons, for His Majesty’s safety, I believe the best course of action is to guide them to the nearest village and only allow them to come out after His Majesty has arrived in Wilfred City.”

Just guiding them to a village to stay?

This Horned Eagle Knight is surprisingly humane.

While Yisi was marveling, the magic caster’s aura changed abruptly. His expression turned fierce, and his gaze toward Yisi became even more impolite. However, rather than targeting Yisi directly, the young man chose to reprimand the Horned Eagle Knight.

“How can you prove they’re telling the truth? What if they’re demon worshipers, and they kill you while you’re taking them to the village? How will you ensure His Majesty’s safety then? It’s already suspicious for a non-supply corps to hold a supply corps pass, not to mention they aren’t even imperial soldiers. For such people to appear near His Majesty’s convoy, there is no other possibility than assassins from the old nobility. The palace in the capital was just attacked by demons a short while ago, and now you’re being negligent in such a critical matter. Compared to the Court Magic Caster Division, you Horned Eagle Knights truly lack loyalty. You treat His Majesty’s trust in you as indulgence. What are you standing there for? Seize them for me, quickly!”

Oh my?

Yisi tilted her head.

Rather than arresting them, the young man’s attitude seemed more like he was using this as an excuse to find fault with the Horned Eagle Knight. It looked like the relationship between the Horned Eagle Knights and the Court Magic Casters wasn’t very good.

The Horned Eagle Knight, who had also realized this, frowned. He dropped his respectful attitude and straightened his body again.

“As a Court Magic Caster, you have no authority to command me. My only superior is the Captain of the Horned Eagle Knight Order.”

“Are you defying me, the division commander of the Third Court Magic Caster Division!? This is why I say you Horned Eagle Knights have no manners! □□□——[Thorn Whip].”

As the young man swung his staff at the Horned Eagle Knight, a dark green vine, whistling through the air, whipped toward the knight’s cheek. If it hit, even if it didn’t injure his eye, the [Thorn Whip] would definitely leave a semi-permanent scar on the Horned Eagle Knight’s face.

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Although the proper etiquette for a bystander was to pretend not to see, she had no intention of letting an injustice happen right in front of her. Sighing inwardly in exasperation, Yisi timely swung the soft whip used for driving the horse, just before the [Thorn Whip] could hit the Horned Eagle Knight.

Smack.

The two whips twisted together, and it ended with the [Thorn Whip] disappearing.

The young man naturally glared angrily at Yisi, who returned a smile.

“My, my. Leaving aside the fact that a member of the Magic Caster Division cannot command a member of the Knight Order, to begin with, whipping a colleague who serves the same master like this… that’s going too far, isn’t it? Also, a piece of advice, sir. If possible, I hope you can leave here as soon as possible, and I will also return the way I came. We both take a step back. Otherwise, things will develop in a way you would not wish to see.”

“Hehe… attacking a Norta Empire Court Magic Caster… you brought this on yourself! [Imperial Gift], smash that carriage for me!”

“Division Commander, don’t!”

This is bad.

The young man’s furious order made Yisi want to press a hand to her forehead. This must be what they call running straight into the muzzle of a gun. Yisi began to silently pray for the young man’s soul.

As expected, Camilla’s eyebrows shot up.

“Kneel for me!”

Just as the carriage was enveloped by the [Imperial Gift]’s giant foot, its downward-stomping motion suddenly froze. Then, to the young man’s rapidly changing expression, the [Imperial Gift] changed its posture and knelt on both knees in front of the carriage—or rather, in front of Camilla. As for the young man standing on the [Imperial Gift]’s shoulder, he almost fell off due to the sudden movement.

“What? [Imperial Gift], stand up!”

The man’s voice, tinged with panic, echoed across the field, but the [Imperial Gift] did not obey his command. It maintained its posture of kneeling to Camilla.

Camilla’s staff tapped the driver’s seat with a light thud. Her golden hair billowed back from the downdraft of the [Imperial Gift]’s kneeling. Her beautiful face was filled with impoliteness. With a disdain even more condescending than the man’s, she scoffed through her nose.

“Hmph. I didn’t expect to be able to sweep away insects for Onee-sama this way. Even I am starting to look forward to this. [Imperial Gift], smash him!”

Kakakakaka—

The massive body began to rise. The [Imperial Gift]’s right hand reached for its left shoulder, preparing to grab the young man standing there. But the young man, sensing the danger, used [Fly] magic to leap out of its grasp, his features twisting as he let out a hysterical scream.

“N-This is impossible! This is a treasure gifted to me by His Majesty, how can a third person control it! What magic did you use! I, in my capacity as the Division Commander of the Empire’s Third Court Magic Caster Division, order you to disarm and surrender immediately!”

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He’s completely misreading the situation.

Shaking her head, Yisi chose to let the man’s words go in one ear and out the other. Respect was mutual. The moment the man ordered the [Imperial Gift] to smash the carriage, her impression of him had dropped into the negatives. As for how this would end, Yisi wasn’t worried. The Empire’s Eldest Princess was in the carriage. The implications of smashing the carriage were self-evident. Disrespecting the royal family was a minor crime, but a charge like murdering royalty would probably scare the man into kneeling, begging for mercy, and peeing his pants.

“Onee-sama, that man…”

“Just leave him be. He at least has the strength of a quasi-hero. Even if he can’t beat the [Imperial Gift], he can get away.”

“No, I mean, how should he be executed?”

“There’s no need for Camilla to go that far. When the imperial soldiers see the [Imperial Gift] chasing that man, they’ll naturally understand what happened. They will handle it appropriately. Right, Mr. Horned Eagle Knight?”

Yisi smiled at the dumbfounded, dazed Horned Eagle Knight.

“Wh… what happened? Why is the [Imperial Gift] chasing the Division Commander…”

“This is the Empire’s long-lost Eldest Princess. One of our purposes in coming to the Empire is to bring the Eldest Princess home. Why the [Imperial Gift] obeys her… that doesn’t need much explanation, does it?”

The Horned Eagle Knight’s whole body trembled. He was aghast, almost falling to his knees.

“This is the Eldest Princess!?”

“Mhm, yes. However, we have no intention of meeting Gloria XVII right now. As for when we will meet, if Gloria XVII’s destination is Wilfred, I think we will meet soon. I hope Mr. Horned Eagle Knight can relay this message to Gloria XVII.”

The knight’s expression was hesitant. Finally, he bit his lip.

“Please forgive my refusal. As His Majesty’s subject, I have a duty to bring the Eldest Princess to His Majesty right now.”

“The Eldest Princess has no such intention. Does Mr. Knight want to face the Eldest Princess’s reprimand in the future?”

Following Yisi’s nod, the knight looked at Camilla’s cold face and couldn’t help but gulp. The current monarch, Adonis, was wise, but that didn’t mean his imperial sister was also wise. If Camilla truly became the Eldest Princess in the future, and today she was forcibly taken away by a mere knight…

“And that’s how it is, so please return~”

Yisi revealed a bright smile, one that could break through the dark clouds.