Chapter 12 : The Empire’s Princess (5)

The captain of the guards’ armor was now shattered into pieces, scattered on the floor, and the maid captain’s perfect uniform was torn. The court wizard’s staff no longer contained magical power and had turned into just a wooden stick.

“Hero, you’re amazing,” said Seraphine, her purple eyes glowing with joy. Her wings sparkled even more brightly.

Iris remained silent for a while before slowly speaking.

“It was my mistake.”

Her scarlet eyes trembled.

“Even though I knew about the hero… I wasn’t prepared enough.”

Her hands, which clutched her wedding dress, trembled slightly, but soon, the cold smile of the Leonhardt family returned.

“But do you think it will end like this? If there’s a problem with the plan, we can just fix it.”

Bang-!

The door opened, and the heavily armed royal guards filled the hall. Knights in silver armor formed a disciplined formation and advanced.

“Captain of the guards, what’s the situation?” Iris asked calmly.

“Three squads are on standby. The court wizard corps and the maid knight corps are also ready,” reported the captain of the guards as he stood up.

The wands of the court wizards began to swirl with magical energy, and the maid knights, who had been attending to the event, took out their weapons.

The situation was tense. No matter how strong Seraphine and I were, there were too many of them. Even beyond numbers, I wasn’t confident in dealing with the regular soldiers.

“Hero.”

Seraphine’s voice echoed in my ear. Her demeanor was incredibly calm.

“You don’t need to worry. I’ve already made preparations.”

Boom boom boom.

Footsteps echoed from outside the cathedral. The sound of a disciplined march grew closer.

“Is it the Order?” Iris’ eyes narrowed.

“I contacted them in advance,” Seraphine replied calmly. Behind her, holy knights lined up. Their pure white armor reflected a holy light.

“Judgment of the Goddess is upon us.”

With a deep voice, the holy knights appeared. Their pure white armor reflected the sacred light as they all shone brightly.

The imperial soldiers murmured. After all, the holy knights were an elite force comparable to imperial knights.

“And that’s not all. The apostles of the Goddess are here as well.”

The commander of the holy knights knelt and spoke. Behind him, apostles wearing holy robes appeared.

In an instant, the two forces were in a tense standoff.

The banquet hall was divided into two factions. On one side were the elite forces of the empire, and on the other, the holy warriors of the Order.

‘This is… turning into a bigger deal than I thought.’

Amidst the standoff between the two factions, cold sweat dripped from me. I had tried to escape the obsession of my party members, but now I was caught between the empire and the Order.

Seraphine’s hand tightly gripped mine.

“Now… no one can separate us.”

I sighed inwardly. I helped because of the comradeship built over five years with Seraphine, but if it ended like this…

‘This is troublesome.’

If the saintess wins, I’ll be dragged to the Order, and if Iris wins, the wedding will go ahead.

“Haah…”

A deep sigh escaped me. Trying to escape my party members’ obsession, I had ended up right in the middle of the two factions.

The power of the empire and the Order stood evenly matched. I was deep in thought, considering how to escape this situation.

Whichever side wins, it seemed like my freedom would be over. What should I do now?

“Everyone is watching. The moment the Goddess’ will is fulfilled.”

Seraphine’s voice carried a sense of ease. Her purple eyes shimmered like moonlight, and her eight wings trembled with joy.

“Finally… the day our destiny is completed.”

As the imperial guards and the holy knights of the Order glared at each other, I wondered how I would escape this situation.

‘I can’t just run away since my route is blocked, and if I go against the Order, Seraphine’s buff will be cut off…’

Just then, my eyes met Iris’. A strange light flashed in her scarlet eyes.

‘Wait… that look…’

Others wouldn’t understand, but for us, who had always used each other, this was enough.

“Haah… I lost this time. I admit it.”

Iris let out a small sigh.

“If I can’t have him clumsily, it’s better to aim for the next opportunity.”

“Wait!” Seraphine sharply interrupted. Her wings trembled with tension.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m just saying I’ll let you spend one day.”

“Who are you to decide when to let the hero go? I won’t allow it!”

Seraphine’s voice rose, and her pure white wings trembled with tension.

At that moment, I noticed a small gap in the formation of Maid Captain Eva. Others might not have noticed, but her movement was unusually unnatural.

“So it’s true… Iris.”

It was no coincidence. The gap was perfectly aligned with the secret passage Iris had shown me before.

There was no time to hesitate. Gripping the holy sword, I ran toward the gap.

“Hero?!” Seraphine’s surprised voice reached my ears. Her wings trembled.

“Grab him!”

There was no time to hesitate. Gripping the holy sword, I ran toward the gap.

“Hero?!”

I heard Seraphine’s shocked voice. Her wings trembled.

“Catch him!”

The paladins moved, but the imperial soldiers immediately blocked their path.

“You can’t act on your own in front of me.”

Iris’ cold voice rang out.

While running down the corridor, I pressed a specific point on the wall. With a clanking sound, a secret passage opened.

“Hero! Where are you going…? Are you leaving me again?”

Seraphine’s desperate cry echoed. Sorry, but this is the best I can do.

I turned and looked back as I jumped into the passage. Iris waved lightly with a cold smile.

“Everyone, step back. You don’t want to make a problem between the Order and the Empire, do you?”

Her authoritative command rang out as I ran into the darkness.

“Hero… where are you going? We’re destiny…”

Seraphine’s urgent voice reached me, but the interference from the imperial soldiers would make it hard for her to follow me.

‘Where should I go now?’

I thought while running. It was clear that both the Empire and the Order were not options.

‘Sorry, Seraphine.’

The noise behind me grew fainter. I ran through the darkness, searching for a new escape route.

I didn’t know where to flee, or how long this escape would last… the end was nowhere in sight.

The sounds of the cathedral faded away as I caught my breath in the darkness of the secret passage. I had barely escaped.

A sigh escaped me. This wasn’t the end.

I hadn’t solved the problem, I had just delayed it.

I knew very well that if things continued like this, I would never escape their obsession.

“I have to grow stronger on my own.”

I muttered quietly. To be able to enforce my will, to stand alone without anyone’s help.

Without dragon magic, elf spirits, or the saint’s blessings… only with my own strength.

‘To do that…’

Thoughts began running through my head. Hidden dungeons, forgotten relics, secret manuals… everything I had seen in the original work passed by in a flash.

Then, a strange thought crossed my mind.

‘Wait…’

The wizard corps were in a standoff with the Order at the cathedral, and the royal guards were there too. Even the maid knight corps, the empress’s personal guard…

“What about the royal treasury? Who guards the treasury?”

A smile spread across my face. This was an opportunity.

The treasury held things I had been searching for: magical materials, ancient secret texts, legendary equipment… things that had only been seen in the game, now stored for real.

‘If I can loot that…’

My plan would be accelerated. The time it would take to gain the power to face my party members would shorten.

I turned my steps. A staircase leading deep underground caught my eye.

‘Just this time…’

I felt a twinge of guilt, but this was a necessary choice. With the usual heavy guards almost gone, this opportunity wouldn’t come again.

Later, I could always return it. I would just consider it a loan.

I descended the stairs in the darkness.

It was just as I expected. The usual heavy guards were nearly gone. The few remaining sentries were yawning, barely awake.

“Sorry…”

I quietly struck the back of one of the sentries. Without making a sound, he collapsed.

I entered the treasury. What was more important than gold and jewels were the magical items.

‘Strange…’

In a place where the highest treasures were kept, there should have been an ancient magical barrier. Many thieves had failed in the past trying to loot it.

Magic circles detecting mana, runes cursing intruders and absorbing their souls, traps sending people to prison through teleportation…

But now, I couldn’t feel any magical energy at all.

‘What about mechanical traps?’

I carefully examined the floor. Any wrong step could cause the ground to collapse, poison darts to shoot, or the walls to move.

‘Strange. Too strange.’

None of the dangerous traps from the original knowledge were visible. It was as if…

‘As if someone disabled them all?’

Meow meow meow—

Suddenly, the sound of a cat meowing froze me. My heart raced. Slowly, I turned my head toward the sound.

“Ugh… Harunya?”

There, hanging upside down from the ceiling, bound in black threads, was Nia. Her golden eyes sparkled.

“I finally found you, meow!”

Her black ears trembled with joy. Her expression brightened as if she had found her savior.

“Nia? What are you doing here…”

“Well… I came for the treasure, but got caught in a strange trap… Why was there a wild grape on top of the trap, meow…”

“Did you fall for such a petty trap?”

Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

Well, the Empire must have known that the legendary master thief was a cat beastman, so they must have prepared for it.

“Ugh… Don’t say that! You came here to steal treasure too, right, meow?”

“I came to borrow it! I’ll return it later.”

“What nonsense, meow?”

Nia looked at me with a bewildered expression. Well, the concept of ‘borrowing’ might be foreign to a thief.

“By the way, Nia…”

“Hmm?”

“Other than the trap you got caught in… are there any other traps?”

Nia’s expression changed subtly. Her black tail twitched.

“I disabled all the traps, meow! You can praise me, meow!”

So that’s why it was so easy.

The question I had earlier was answered. The reason all the traps had been disabled.

‘Did you come to chase me but decided to loot the treasury first? Really a cat thief.’

“Harunya… Can you help me, meow?”

Her black ears drooped as she pleaded for help.

If I saved Nia, the cat’s obsession would start again… what should I do…