Chapter 19: Stopping a Woman is Torture

Heidi’s brain was buzzing, her suppressed anger teetering on the edge of explosion.  

Tafia? I just fucking—no, as a princess, even her inner thoughts had to stay elegant—I just came back from there!  

And what’s this about “requesting” support?  

Staring at the envelope slammed in front of her, Heidi forced her twitching facial muscles under control and asked:  

“The battle was a success, wasn’t it? Why do we need support? What kind?”  

Liya snorted coldly.  

“Success? You call these massive losses a success?”  

“…What else? Didn’t we kill the Great Witch?”  

“Even with her dead, we’ve only barely caught up to Silver Star’s progress! These losses mean we can’t move for a long time—won’t we fall behind again!?”  

Heidi was dumbfounded.  

The knights’ losses were significant, but within Eze’s predictions. 

His pre-battle plan even accounted for worse scenarios.  

What was wrong with this lunatic to make a fuss about this now?  

Did she… not even read Eze’s full plan?  

Furious yet amused, a deeply uneasy feeling crept up.  

“…So what do you want to do?”  

“Do? Isn’t it obvious?”  

Liya puffed out her chest, proudly smacking the map on the table.  

“With the Great Witch dead and Anlin Plain taken, the demons must be panicking. I’m going to seize this chance to invade their territory and storm the Demon King’s castle!”  

Objectively, Heidi was a smart person.  

But at that moment, her clever brain overloaded and crashed.  

She understood every word, but strung together, they made no sense.  

“…You…”  

“Of course, it’s just a preliminary idea. We need to be cautious. If we can’t take down the Demon King, bagging one or two leaders is acceptable.”  

Hero Liya, redefining “cautious.”  

And a “preliminary idea”?

 In other words, no plan at all?  

Heidi finally grasped the gravity of the situation.  

With Eze around, he could rein in this woman’s reckless ideas. 

Now that he was gone, she was completely unhinged.  

“But… the knights took heavy losses, and supplies were critically low. How are we supposed to invade demon territory?”  

Liya shrugged nonchalantly.  

“That’s why you’re delivering that letter. Troops and supplies? Tafia and nearby nobles can provide them, right?”  

Heidi nearly laughed in exasperation.  

Territory, wealth, private armies—these were nobles’ lifebloods. 

What kind of ego did Liya have to think a single word would make them comply?  

Just because she’s a hero? 

Really?  

Heroes had only been in this world for two years.

Many noble families, with centuries of battling demons, brimmed with martial pride, achievements, and arrogance. 

They wouldn’t budge. 

“That’s… not ideal…”  

The moment she spoke, the blonde hero’s smile froze, fading visibly.  

She circled the table, slowly stepping to Heidi’s side, tilting her head slightly and asking accusingly:  

“What, you can’t do it?”  

“It’s… difficult…”  

“Difficult? What’s difficult? That commoner-born useless hero could do it, but you, a princess, can’t?”  

Heidi wanted to bash Liya’s head with her shield to see what was inside.  

Eze’s influence worked because he knew what nobles wanted, feared, and respected, then tailored his approach—bribery, persuasion, alliances, pressure, and occasional examples to keep them in line.  

Heidi knew the difficulty and her own limits.  

Why else would she cling to Eze?  

But this woman…  

Heidi took a deep breath, shaking her head slightly.  

No, she couldn’t lose it now. Falling out with Liya would threaten her princess status.  

“Fine, I’ll go.”  

Her back teeth nearly cracked from clenching.  

“But it’ll take a few days to negotiate.”  

“How many?”  

“…A week.”  

Liya thought for a moment and nodded.  

“No problem. Our wounded need time to recover anyway.”  

She actually considered the wounded? 

Heidi could cry.  

Head pounding, the princess sighed silently, grabbed the envelope, and stuffed it into her pocket.  

“What about… Eze?”  

“Hm?”  

“He’s badly injured. If… uh, if he dies out there, it won’t look good.”  

Careful not to provoke her, Heidi chose her words delicately.  

“No matter what happens, shouldn’t we… bring him back? We fought together, after all. Whatever issues can wait until he’s healed.”  

Thud!!!  

The table in the tent shook heavily. 

Liya’s face turned so foul even a magical beast would flee.  

“Bring him back!? What a joke!! Neglecting duty, shirking responsibility—where’s the hero in that!?”  

“But—”  

“I gave him so many chances! And what? He botched a simple operation into this! Telling him to get lost instead of dragging him to the Holy Capital for trial was already generous!”  

Telling him to get lost? 

If Heidi didn’t know the full story, she might’ve believed it.  

Probably just saving face.  

Heidi’s lip twitched with disdain.  

“What if… he wants to come back?”  

“Want to come back?”  

Liya paused, then gave an irritating sneer.  

“If he kneels and begs for forgiveness, I might consider it.”  

“…Got it. I’m heading out.”  

At her limit, Heidi didn’t want to waste more time. 

She left the tent, walked far enough to ensure no one could hear or see, and clutched her head, wailing:  

“That idiot, aaaaaaah!!!”  

“Kneel and beg!? There’s a limit to brainlessness!!!”  

She thought Liya was just PUA-ing Eze, but no—she was genuinely brain-dead!  

How could she be a proper hero with such trash?  

Maybe she should just run off with Eze—but no, that’d jeopardize her claim to the throne.  

Heidi pulled out the letter, glaring at the fancy envelope with disgust.  

No need to guess—it was full of nonsense. 

Handing it to the lords would backfire 100%.  

Fuming, she tore it to shreds and tossed it into the dark night sky like toxic waste.  

Negotiate with nobles? 

Not happening.  

Even ignoring the difficulty, it’d be a humiliating disgrace for a princess to grovel before border nobles.  

What then?  

Get Eze back, obviously. Let him deal with the nobles—he’s used to it.  

“A week… I’ve got to bring him back in a week… ugh, what a hassle…”  

But it wasn’t all bad news. 

At least Liya hadn’t reported this to the Holy Capital.  

Eze’s skills were undeniable—everyone but Liya knew it.  

If other hero teams learned he’d left, they’d swarm like starving dogs to recruit him, complicating things further.  

Especially that Silver Star jerk, always flirting with Eze, her intentions written all over her face.  

Good thing it hadn’t spread.  

“Huff—let’s go.”  

Exhausted and aching, Heidi’s mood sank further. 

Reluctantly, she headed to the stables, setting off for Tafia, which she’d just left.  

Meanwhile, in the tent, Liya stared at the map, lost in thought, replaying the conversation.  

She’d been in a decent mood until Heidi mentioned Eze, reigniting her anger.  

Who was he to talk back to her?  

Who’d been covering for that useless hero all this time?  

Some nerves.  

The more she thought, the madder she got, until a sudden idea struck.  

“Wait, isn’t this a perfect chance?”  

With a hero gone, her team’s strength was down. 

Couldn’t she use this to request more manpower from the church? 

Even without a hero, a few elite knights would be great.  

She could squeeze out Eze’s remaining value while pressuring him to come back and grovel.  

Two birds, one stone—perfect, right?  

“Eze, Eze, just you wait. Betray me, betray the Goddess? The consequences are severe”  

With her new plan set, Liya smirked, grabbed a pen, and started writing a letter to the Holy Capital.