“What, what is this……!”

The Emperor couldn’t come to his senses at all due to the hectic report.

“Magicians are attacking the Continental Army. The magic tower came forward and presented it to you, Your Majesty!”

“You must escape, Your Majesty! All of Ambrosia’s knights are coming here armed!”

Two pieces of news were frantically pouring out for the Emperor. The Emperor as well as the nobles were unable to properly grasp how things were going. The only people who understand all this situation here now were Eleon and the Empress, who had just pointed a sword at the Emperor. Eleon stepped up in front of the confused nobles and shouted loudly.

“Those who truly want to protect Crombell, raise your head and look at me.”

Eleon slowly lifted the sword he had picked up and continued.

“Today, I, Eleon de Crombell,  in the name of the Imperial family, will punish the Emperor, Cailos de Crombell, who made Crombell an achievement on the continent, tarnished the honor of the Empire, and sacrificed countless people of the Empire because of his personal affection for blood.”

“……!”

“……!”

Eleon’s declaration, like frost, turned everyone’s faces in the hall into astonishment. Eleon’s sword slowly returned to the Emperor. However, not only the Imperial Knights who were supposed to protect him but also the captain of the Imperial guards and the captain of the guards who had just reported had their mouths wide open in astonishment.

“Who will follow me?”

Eleon asked the crowd.

“……”

But no one dared to answer.

“Let me ask you again.”

Eleon asked again, not caring.

“Who is to follow me to save Crombell?”

No one could easily speak up. Not to mention, the Emperor was stunned and didn’t say anything. A terribly heavy silence weighed heavily on them. Who wouldn’t think that what the Third Prince wanted to do was right? Who would want to follow an emperor who was crazy about his son and was ready to sell his country? But this was treason. The Third Prince was tantamount to declaring treason.

“……”

“……”

When no one was able to answer and remained silent. A low, deep voice broke the terrible stillness.

“Ambrosia will gladly follow the Third Prince.”

The nobles and the Emperor, who confirmed the owner of the voice, opened their eyes at the same time.

“Duke Ethan Ambrosia!”

“……Heook!”

Ethan Ambrosia, who had disappeared from the Crombell Empire, was walking here leading his retainers. Behind Ethan, Ambrosia’s knights were shining with their bloodstained swords, and behind them, the suppressed Imperial guards and guards were being dragged one after another. Ethan Ambrosia approached like a blood-soaked reaper and smiled terribly.

“For the glory of the Crombell Empire.”

He quietly placed the Crombell on his palm and swung it, and finally turned the palm over.

“The time has come to cut out the rotten parts.”

The smile that spread across Ethan’s mouth was very beautiful, and the Emperor instinctively felt that that smile would take away everything he had.

* * *

On the outskirts of the capital, a fierce battle was taking place between the Continental Army trying to swallow Crombell and the Imperial Army trying to protect Crombell.

“In the name of God!”

“Never let those who worship evil black magic live!”

The Continental Army pushed back Crombell’s army with great vigor.

“Aaargh!”

“Help me!”

Crombell’s soldiers struggled to fight without a meager knight to lead them. All of them were Imperial citizens who wanted to protect their homeland. There was no justice to defend Crombell or the Empire, nor a desire to fight for honor. They just wanted to live, and they wanted to protect their families.

“Please, please……”

The Second Prince, who had led them until the most recent, was already surrounded by the territory occupied by the Continental Army and was unable to move. The army led by the Third Prince moved in a wider range to protect the people of the Empire, so there were not enough troops to send to the front line. In this way, their hopes were gradually shattered, and eventually, they were pushed to the outskirts of the capital.

“Calm down everyone!”

“Crombell is never weak. Guards, come forward!”

However, the situation improved as the defense forces were stationed on the outskirts of the capital. Against the Continental Army, who easily captured the territory on the outskirts, they had been holding out for quite a while. But that too soon reached its limit.

“How can they be so indiscriminate while wearing human masks……!”

“No matter how much the Emperor protects the black magician, how can they slaughter so brutally!”

In addition, the Continental Army showed supernatural strength as if they were not human and were brutally slaughtering the Imperial Army. There was no mercy in the hands of the Continental Army.

“If the capital is breached……”

The worst situation began to unfold in the minds of the Imperial Army. Most of Crombell’s population was concentrated in the capital. If that place was pierced, their hearts would now be threatened.

“We have to stop them.”

“My family is in the capital.”

The Imperial Army pushed back their fears, grabbed their swords again, and raised their shields. It was when the Imperial Army prepared for death.

“……hat’s that?”

“Why is the light in the sky……”

In the middle of the battlefield, the sky suddenly started to ring with a bright light. The Continental Army and the Imperial Army stopped running at each other and looked up at the sky. Brilliant lights adorned the sky as if God had descended. The scene was so mysterious that they forgot for a moment that this was a battlefield. At that time,

“……Heook!”

splitting through the light, one by one, people wearing robes began to slowly descend from the air. At their toes, magic circles made of runes glowing in brilliant colors exuded their presence. A year ago, the people of Crombell’s Empire, who saw the magician in Ambrosia’s procession heading to Alton, immediately recognized their true identity.

“They, they are magicians!”

“The magicians have appeared!”

Magicians who were said to be hard to see even once in their lifetime were pouring down from the sky like rain. Everyone was stunned by the overwhelming sight with their swords hanging down.

“Oh God.”

Jerome Lucriver, an Imperial Palace knight belonging to the Imperial Guard, could not come to his senses at all. An experienced old knight who has been in charge of guarding the gates of the Imperial family for 38 years, he was drafted into this war against compulsion. It was a dishonorable war for him, but unfortunately, he had no choice as he bought a mansion with all his fortune on the outskirts of the capital.

“It is said that magicians do not care about the affairs of the continent, but why are there magicians on this battlefield……”

His voice was now trembling. The magicians said they abhor black magicians. It never occurred to him that the magicians who appeared in this situation would support Crombell. Furthermore, did they not lose their master in the Alton Estate? The magic tower, who cooperated with the Emperor, then turned their back on Crombell. It seemed as if the magicians who appeared sprinkling light like the descent of angels would punish Crombell under the name of God. Jerome felt a huge difference in power that could not be solved by just human power and lost all his will.

“Crombell’s ruined……”

Jerome, who was devastated with his sword hanging down, heard a soft, laughing voice in his ears.

“Oh my, don’t sound sad like that.”

“Heok!”

Jerome gasped and turned around at the voice he heard right behind him, even though he couldn’t even feel any movement.

“……!”

Lady, who should not be on the battlefield, was looking at him with a smile. He was a member of the Imperial Guard and guarded the royal gate, so he recognized who it was at once.

“Countess Sarah Millen……?”

When her name popped out between the quivering lips and the widened eyes in disbelief, Sarah smiled kindly as if to say the answer.

“Long time no see, Sir. We met last time with Young Master Claude, right? It’s nice to meet you again by chance.”

Looking at Jerome’s trembling eyes, Sarah smiled brightly. She remembered Jerome’s face. It was because she had stolen the Imperial Palace pass from him in the past to let Claude see Ethan in the palace, no, he was a knight who got into trouble when she borrowed it lightly. Thanks to this, Claude was able to enter the Imperial Palace without much friction, so Sarah had a slight debt to him.

“Why, why are you here? This is the battlefield. It’s dangerous for Lady to come…… No, more than that, Countess Millen is dead. She’s dead at Alton……”

Jerome stammered, referring to the gossip. His face was frozen as if he had seen a ghost.

“I’m dead?”

Sarah asked again, eyes wide as if she had heard it for the first time in her life. Jerome coldly nodded his head.

“Yes, the Master of the magic tower who died in Alton is actually the Small Countess of Millen……”

That day, the Duke of Ambrosia from Alton came to the capital carrying the body of the Master of the magic tower, and it was said that it was Sarah Millen. Rumors circulating quietly among the people of the Empire once swept the social world when Sarah Millen and the Duke of Ambrosia disappeared at the same time. Sarah smiled at Jerome, who looked confused.

“The rumor is half right and half wrong.”

A halo shone behind her, who was smiling brightly. Lady’s beautiful smile on the bloody battlefield seemed like it could be called an angel’s smile, but it wasn’t a halo in that sense, but a real light. Jerome could see that the glowing light behind Sarah was a magic circle. The magic circle that the magicians descending from the sky have on their backs.

“……Heok!”

From the magic circle, he could see the figures of two people slowly walking toward him. Jerome, while trembling in fear, raised his sword and aimed it at them.

“Get behind me for now, Countess Millen. The magicians will never be in favor of Crombell, so it’s dangerous……”

“It’s okay, Sir. Rumors are half wrong, but half right.”

“……?”

Leaving the confused Jerome behind, Sarah turned to face the two people walking out of the magic circle. The two of them jumped out of the magic circle and went straight to Sarah and started talking.

“Master, we have secured the whereabouts of the Second Prince, Ilior de Crombell. The Third Elder will bring him here.”

“Oh. He must have been having a hard time being isolated, but he can’t rest……”

“He couldn’t help it because you insisted that you would feel comfortable if you saw the situation here.”

“Yes, thank you, Belluna. And Benjamin, is there any news from the Imperial Palace yet?”

“Duke Ambrosia told me to tell you that the Imperial Palace has been cleaned up. It was bland, so please work comfortably.”

“Heaven…… And did he say anything else? Is that all?”

“……There isn’t.”

“Don’t lie.”

“……Well, it was something like he misses you. Do I even have to tell you this?”

“Cute.”

Sarah was talking friendly with the magicians. Jerome, who had no idea what the situation was, just listened to their conversation with wide-opened eyes.

“Countess Millen, what on earth……”

Sarah explained the current situation in a kind voice for Jerome, who was anxious because he didn’t know what was going on.

“Ah, I didn’t explain it to Sir. The rumor that Sarah Millen died was false, but the rumor that I was the Master of the tower is true.”

“……So you’re really saying that Countess Millen is a magician?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m here today to finish what I haven’t done yet.”

From Sarah’s hands, azure magic radiated dazzling light and rose like flames. In an instant, it rippled and spread like waves across the swollen battlefield. Then there was a great uproar with screams from the Continental Army.

“There are black magicians who escaped from Alton Estate. And wars like this are the black magicians’ favorite arena. They’ll be hiding among the Continental Army and fulfilling their desires.”

“……!”

“So I have to clean it up with my own hands. We also punish the Continental Alliance for slaughtering the poor Imperial people for false causes.”

Jerome looked at her with startled eyes and saw Sarah’s eyes turned cold.

“Let’s get it started.”

Sarah’s voice echoed across the battlefield like thunder. And at the same time, dazzling light burst out from the hands of the magicians who filled the air.

Baaaang!

Water and fire raged like a storm with a great roar on the battlefield. The ground turned over and the storm howled.

“Sa, save……!”

And it didn’t sweep all of the Continental Army, but it flew even more fiercely at some soldiers and knights. The Imperial soldiers watched the scene with their eyes wide open, not knowing what had happened. Magicians were protecting the Crombell Empire from the Continental Army. Even though the magicians were obviously protecting them, they instinctively trembled in front of that overwhelming power. It never occurred to them that they were on the same side.

“From now on―.”

Sarah’s lips opened slowly, and her voice, cold and numb like the frost in midwinter, resounded in the middle of the battlefield.

“The magic tower will start cleaning those evils.”