Chapter 24

Sneaking a glance outside through the window, she caught the red eyes of the Emperor staring at her direction. She was on the same carriage as him, acting under the name of a secretary. There was one more knight in the carriage who was in charge of protecting the King.

She kept her mouth shut, conscious of the knight’s gaze, but finally spoke when she couldn’t stand her growing concern.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“The Empire’s military power is considered to be the best on the continent, and now, there are many surplus ice-wizards due to the elimination of many disputes. Speaking of which, do you mind if I ask you why you’ve set up such a small army, Your Highness?”

He ran his fingers through his well-organized black hair. This son of the royal household looked stunning even in the slightest gesture of disrupting his hair as if he was annoyed.

“It’s more convenient to have a few elite wizards than to take a large useless group. If someone gets bitten and the undead increases, it’ll be a headache.”

“But…..”

One of his brows curved up, as if he found it funny.

“Why, are you worried? You’re afraid I’ll lose? You’re afraid I won’t come back alive?”

“It’s not like that, but aren’t you being overconfident, Your Highness?”

“I don’t think so. Are you doubting my power?”

“No.”

“You sound funny.”

Perhaps, he was enjoying it, but she was worried about him.

She didn’t know if he was already familiar with it, but she hoped it helped a little talking about the undead’s weaknesses. She also said that it would be helpful to use cryomancy instead of pyromancy, which he usually used.

As if interested, the Emperor listened with great attention.

“You’re acting as a secretary.”

“Was my way of talking too obvious?”

“Mostly…….but some of it wasn’t.”

“Will that work?”

“How do you know I generally use pyromancy?”

Well…..

She was conscious of the knight sitting in the same carriage throughout their conversation, so she answered quietly, a bit nervous.

“Reading the formula…..repeatedly shows it since it can be dismantled. Even if I don’t know what kind of magic you use, I can guess by how it is expressed. This is something I can tell by looking at only the main keywords.”

“It’s possible to do that in reverse….. You really do surprise people sometimes. This is great.”

He nodded.

“I think we’ll be there around today, so I don’t have to spare the formula. All right, cryomancy doesn’t have a good grip when it flutters, so it’s not my cup of tea, but I will take your suggestion.”

“Have you been saving your mana?”

“A little, yes.”

He said she was a genius for surprising him, but he was the real genius for saving his own power.

By the time they reached the southern jungle, two days had already passed. The group started camping near the forest. They said if there was an undead nearby, they must start at sunset. It was possible to meet them in this way, but this was the defensive side.

‘Are they sure it’ll be fine this way?’

However, at this point, she could not just worry about it.

The party camping broke their composure by starting a fire and eating rice, but when the sun went down, each of them gathered quietly in front of the campfire with their own weapons.

By the time the sun was completely over the mountain, everyone, nervous, kept their eyes open. The Emperor was the only one who wasn’t looking nervous. After ordering Celestia to stay in the carriage, he sat leisurely in the heart of the entire knights, rummaging through documents.

‘How long has it been?’

In such a tense situation, even time seemed unable to be processed.

Suddenly, she thought she heard a horse twirling and whining before its front legs sank to the ground. Opening her eyes wide, she tried to peer into the thick shade of the forest. However, it was hard to figure out what exactly was there, even though she spotted something rattling around.

Putting down the paper he was looking at, the Emperor gave a signal. Beside him, the knight waved a green flag and delivered his message to the whole party. It meant to stand by.

Tension intensified as everyone was standing staring at the forest with their weapons drawn before the Emperor held out his two fingers forward. The red flag flew in the air, and almost within seconds, creatures that were difficult to be spotted accurately came running out of the forest. They were both like dogs and humans. No, they were shaped like a human being. The image of them running on all four feet was so bizarre that they looked like animals.

She bit her lips, staring at the charging beasts.

Compared to the countless undeads who were seen in groups on the forest side, the group of 30 people seemed too small. It seemed they were about to be bitten and turned into another undead.

She was so nervous and scared that her fingertips were turning white.

All kinds of magic was poured out toward the undead. Wizards constantly swung out their magical canes or papers. There were wizards using cryokinetics, telekinesis, and magic that trapped down those creatures under the earth. The knights swung their swords with the aid of magic to tackle the undead approaching them.

They had a valid blow.

However, this momentum turned out to be endless. They were only a few dead individuals of the undead, and almost a hundred new ones kept appearing from the forest. There were so many that the edge of the forest looked completely black.

At that time, the Emperor, who was calmer than anyone else, raised his hands. His mouth moved in a different manner, perhaps casting a certain spell.

He did not shout out loud nor did he draw out any weapon, but he used a greater magic than anyone else here. The small patch of ground that froze under his feet spread at a rapid pace, freezing all the vegetation and weeds that reached it and the undeads’ bodies in their place that were there.

The undeads, which were attacking the others, significantly slowed down but were unable to escape the swords of the prosecutors. The undeads, as enchanted by the Emperor, were planted frozen in their spots in a frenzy of ice.

While others dealt with the small and remaining undead, which was not within the scope of his magic, the Emperor quickly curled up his hands, pushing them down.

A strong wind, threatening to blow up the carriage, arrived. But, Celestia wasn’t scared since she was staring outside.

Numerous frozen figures scattered across the floor of ice due to the sharp wind’s roughness that seemed to have a blade.

As the wind died down, silence came to the place, indicating as if nothing had happened.

She had swallowed her saliva on a ridiculous scale and had even forgotten to blink. She was staring at the silence.

While treating the side effects of his body, she had thought the whole time, ‘Ah, his magical strength seems to have a great extent.’

But, she didn’t know anything.

The scale of his magic was higher than any other sight she imagined. In addition to being large and magnificent, the calculation of the formula and implementation of the mana as a physical object in the real world took place in an instant, making it seem like he was using various magic all at once.

Even if she had a wide knowledge, she couldn’t help but realize that she was a frog in a well.

She was confident she’d seen quite a lot of ships carrying magic practitioners. She had grown up in an orphanage, and she had had a chance to see the battlefield since she was young. Throughout helping Serek practice magic, she’d watched the implementation of basic magic to Dangeville magic. In addition, after coming to the Burg Empire, she’d attended the classes of a magic officer at the Academy and watched all the small and medium-sized magic implementations.

But, she’d never seen something this different.

Perhaps, that’s why he had no choice but to take the lead in the army every time.

Even now, the others outside were staring at him with awe. The view would include some ‘obligations of course’. That’s how the Emperor had done it. The responsibility must have been too great to avoid because it was getting worse and worse for him.

The campfire started again while she was blankly thinking.

The door opened. The emperor entered silently before closing the door behind him. She hurried to pull down the curtains, waiting to check his back.

“So far, you’ve controlled it, but it was pretty foolish to be that close.”

“Is that so.”

His distorted face in her eyes, as she barely glanced at him, reminded her to check his back. Plainly, his expression was not all good.

“Hmm…. Did I overdo it a little more than usual?”

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

Looking down at her hand, he murmured.

“Weird. I keep thinking of weird things. Perhaps…. it’s because of the magical engravings on your body.”

His voice dropped low. His eyes, deeply closing down and opening, seemed to be frighteningly fierce. She knew that look. She’d seen that look.

When Serek had kissed her because of his side effects.

She turned her head without realizing. Even if the Emperor did such a thing to her, she might not be able to cure him as well as she did then. She didn’t want to be used that way anymore.

But before she could say anything of rejection, he only held her hand. He repeatedly groaned, shedding a long sigh as if he was shaking off his thoughts before turning his attention to her.

“Is it okay… if I hug you just once? I didn’t….. want to say this either…..”

She opened her eyes wide when he asked for her permission in a low voice.

Yeah, well, he’d always ask for permission to maintain his position.

He was different from Serek.

At that moment, her nerves calmed down.

And she reached out first to embrace him.

It wasn’t like she could hug any man who asked her. The Emperor didn’t move his arms until her hand swept his firm back.

She could feel the heat radiating on her palm. She’d seen him snoring every time if it was a severe wound on his back, and she was used to seeing new side effects along with some terribly boiling wounds, but not this time. With a fresh new wound on him, she felt like she was holding the hot sun when he hugged her back.