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–––Luvias’ viewpoint

It was late at night, but Surfour suddenly was filled with noise. The guards that rushed out of the castle spread throughout the city, and quickly went to work apprehending all of Stied’s nobles and adjacent men, who had been abusing their authority so far. The guards were not strong enough to fight the black knights one-on-one, so if they encountered one, they would retreat, or call for reinforcements to defeat them with numbers. Though I did not need to worry about that too much, as the majority of the black knights were staying in the castle.

“Out of the way!”

I ran in front of my small group of guards, sword in hand. Many black knights noticed something was wrong and tried fighting back, but most of them could not handle a single strike from my sword before falling. When the guards that had turned to Stied’s side saw that, they were filled with fear and tried escaping, but their old comrades captured them before they got far.

“Your Highness! It’s that room over there!”

One of the guards pointed to a room, its door open wide. That was Grom’s room, and if the door was open then… I had a really bad feeling, so I rushed through the door and looked inside as fast as I could.

“Governor Grom!”
“Lord Grom!”

We found the governor in a puddle of blood. The black knights had decided to leave him dead as a parting gift. I rushed to his side and lifted his body. He was unconscious after losing so much blood, but he was not fully gone yet.

“…”
“He’s still breathing? Then-!”

The guards entered the room after me, their faces turning pale seeing Grom. I had no time to pay them any attention though, so I just cast the healing magic I had recently learned to use without chanting, and focused on trying to heal Grom with all my power. His complexion slowly recovered, and his breath became more regular as well. It was a dramatic change, allowing the self-flattery. I took a deep breath, glad that I had trained so hard.

“Somehow…I got him back…”

I wipe the sweat that had formed on my brow and turn around, only to see all the guards around me bow at the same time.

“W-What happened?”
“Thank you so much, Your Highness! You saved Lord Grom’s life..!”
“There’s no need to thank me for that. I just did what I had to do. More importantly, is the castle safe again? If not, go help the others, and don’t forget the city needs to get cleaned up too! Also, if there are any black knights left, let me know and I’ll deal with them myself!”
“Understood!”

I had completed my main mission, rescuing Grom and his family. Now we just had to clean the city of Stied’s men. Grom was still unconscious, so I left him in the hands of the guards and I stood up with sword in hand.

§　§　§

At sunrise, the vestiges of the conflict the night before could be seen clearly. There were ruined buildings in many places of the city, and some were still on fire. Those were probably the results of Stied’s nobles and soldiers trying to fight back. Our guards had suffered some losses too, but at least no civilians perished. At least that was good news amongst the chaos.

“Still, that was…exhausting.”

We had been awake all night, running around and fighting, so both the guards and I were tired. Somehow I found having to find my enemy more exhausting than having a clear enemy in front of me to fight. But thanks to that we had gotten rid of Stied’s influence, so that was a good result. I was drinking a cup of tea a maid had served me, when a guard approached me in a slight trot.

“Did something happen?”
“Your Highness. Lady Lapis has returned. Should I lead her here?”
“Ah! Yes, bring her immediately!”
“As you wish!”

After a quick reverence, the guard dashed away. Everyone in the city knew my Master. Or rather, they knew her strength.

Hearing she was here, all the drowsiness clouding my mind was cleared up. I stood up to meet her, and saw her beautiful face just outside. She waved her hand and ran towards me. Somehow just seeing her brought a smile to my face. Only one day had passed, but just having her next to me felt really reassuring.

“Luvias, I heard everything. It seems you were hard at work.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Did you find Sepia?”
“Yup. I’ll tell you everything that happened. I was told what you did on my way here too, but I’d like to hear the details from you as well.”
“Of course.”

§　§　§

“So they did that to Grom, huh. But I’m glad you saved him.”
“I know, I was almost too late. It feels good knowing that both Grom and Sepia are safe though.”

We were talking in Grom’s room, and we both sighed in relief hearing each other’s story. It seems everyone I cared for had survived the chaos, and they were staying in Sorciere’s city now. Everyone from the guild who helped was also safe, so it sounded like it was the best result all around.

“But well, I think the main fight is just about to start.”
“I know. There’s no doubt Stied will act when he hears that you fought to free a city, being the third princess and all.”

She remained calm even when she said that. She jumped off the bed where we sat, and glanced out the window. For someone so strong and fearless as her, Stied’s army was nothing to be worried about.

“What do you plan on doing next, Luvias?”

She turned around and asked that, her voice calm like that of a waitress asking for an order. But as our gazes met, I could tell she was serious, and would allow no lie or deception through. I gulp before slowly opening my mouth.

“At this point, I can no longer pretend to not realize. Since we can’t determine whether my brother is alive or not, I have to stand up. If we allow this chaos to consume the country, it’ll just make it easier for demons to attack.”
“…Even if doing so means giving up on being a hero?”
“!”

I understood what she meant. Even if I stand up and push the country back into the right path, it won’t be a definitive solution. No one knew what happened to the king, my father, and the two princes, Stied and Magna, would be gone as well, leaving no one on the throne. A country as large as Bordaule cannot be run simply by delegating to ministers. They need a monarch that can keep them and the nobles in check.

But if I took that role, then I would be unable to travel around and work as a hero. And that would mean having to part ways with my Master and friends too.

“…”

I felt my determination faltering for a second. Ever since I escaped the palace, I had lived through so many memories with them, both happy and sad. But they were all new experiences for me, like I was enjoying life for the first time ever. Just remembering all the fun times I had with them made me want to forget about everything else and continue living with them forever. But I could not allow myself to do that. I was Luvias, third princess of Bordaule. If I turned a blind eye to my duties and just prioritized my own desires, I would be the same as the nobles on Stied’s side. I gritted my teeth and looked into her eyes. As her disciple, I could not allow myself to act with such shame.

“I’m ready for that, Master. I’ll fight to regain the country, and I want your help to do so.”
“I see. If that’s your decision, I’ll fight alongside you without questioning it. I’m sure everyone else will help too, so let’s join forces.”

I felt her hand patting my head, and I had to turn my face away to hide the tears forming in my eyes. I knew she noticed that, but she remained silent, just gently patting my head. I was thankful to god from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to meet such a kind and gentle Master.