Chapter 30: The Attack Under the Moonlight

I froze with the rope raised.

“What do you mean by that?”

The Princess might be in danger.

Rina uttered words that could not be easily overlooked.

Not long ago, the terrorist attack to kidnap the Princess ended.

But she might face a new crisis?

If it’s true, it’s a pretty urgent situation.

But, of course, I can’t take Rina’s words at face value.

Could she be trying to get out of this situation?

I glared at Rina with eyes full of suspicion.

“Tell me more.”

As if finding hope in my words.

Rina began to speak with a bright face.

“The terrorists you defeated the other day? It seems like they’re plotting something again.”

Even though they’ve already experienced failure once, they’re plotting something again?

They are truly persistent.

But.

“Weren’t you on the same side as those terrorists?”

“Eh.”

Rina starts to panic as if she heard something unexpected.

And she stammered, rambling.

“N, no? Wh, what are you talking about??”

“The tattoo on your wrist. It’s the same tattoo as those guys. Weren’t you two on the same side?”

Where is this obvious lie coming from?

I pointed to her wrist.

Only then did Rina hurriedly cover her wrist.

She erased the tattoo.

But I’ve already seen it.

The place where the old red wolf tattoo was.

Only scars remained, and the original traces could not be found.

‘Did they fight each other?’

I thought something was strange.

At that time, Rina’s actions were clearly interfering with the plans of the same side.

Killing the Ogre that invaded the Academy.

She even cast buff magic on me, who was trying to save the Princess.

I don’t know what the trigger was.

But it seems that she has now withdrawn from that mysterious organization.

I don’t know how much truth Rina’s words contain.

But I have no choice.

It would be better to at least warn of the danger.

“So when is it?”

“Uh…. Tonight?”

“…What?”

It seems that I need to hurry a little.

*****

We ran through the darkened streets, having exited the underground sewer.

“There will be a lot of knights around the Princess, so how are they going to kidnap her?”

Surely, due to the recent incident, her surroundings will already be under strict guard.

The Golden Knights, who are among the most skilled in the Empire.

Surely they would be thoroughly excluding any danger.

How do they say they will kidnap the Princess?

“I don’t know the details, but they said they would target the day the Princess returns to the Imperial Palace. And that’s tonight.”

The Golden Knights of the Imperial Family, who are under heavy guard at the Academy.

It’s too difficult to break through that.

That’s why they’re trying to target the gap when the Princess inevitably comes out.

But.

‘How did they find out?’

The secret schedule of the Princess, which only her closest aides could know.

It’s strange that they know that.

There is a spy inside.

I can’t help but think so.

‘There are many problems….’

I can vaguely guess that there is simply a purpose.

But I don’t understand why they are acting so violently.

‘A terrorist group that wasn’t in the original work.’

I can’t predict anything about them.

Time is now heading towards night

It’s a little late to head to the Academy now.

That’s why we ran straight in the direction of the Imperial Palace.

“By the way, why were you there?”

I ran through the streets and asked, recalling the image of Rina being beaten by Goblins while unfolding a barrier a while ago.

“I was looking for something there.”

“Did you lose something?”

“It’s similar. I lost something more precious than my life.”

More precious than life….

I can’t even imagine what the precious thing Rina is talking about is.

Why was she wandering around that place while her mana was running out?

“So did you find it?”

“No, it seems that wasn’t the place. It wasn’t there.”

But it seems that she couldn’t find it.

I looked at Rina’s face, which was becoming somewhat wistful, and turned my head at Verno’s words from behind.

“Young Master. I can see it over there.”

I turned my gaze to where Verno pointed, and there was a carriage with a crude appearance just passing the bridge.

Around it, as if they had no intention of hiding their identities.

Several knights with cloaks covering their faces are riding horses and guarding the surroundings.

It seems that they wanted to hide the fact that the owner of the carriage was the Princess as much as possible.

But the moment I saw them, I could tell at once.

A blurry imperial emblem drawn on the wheel.

The Princess is definitely in that carriage.

Rina, who was looking at the carriage leisurely crossing the bridge, asked me.

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to wait until they come?”

Should I wait for the full-scale attack to begin, as she said?

But even if the Knights are escorting.

If they are suddenly ambushed, there is a possibility that they will suffer some damage.

The best thing is to inform them of the attack in advance.

But the problem is.

‘I have no way to convince them how we knew that information.’

You might think that I can reveal that the source of the information is Rina.

But I’ve already made a promise to her.

A promise that if she handed over the information, I would not hand Rina over to the security guards.

And I have no intention of breaking a promise I’ve already made.

Of course, if she was a villain who committed absolute evil, the story would be different.

But all the actions Rina has done so far have been helpful to me.

For me, Rina is not a villain, at least.

“Hehe. Can I go now? You confirmed that my words were not lies.”

Her information that the Princess would move to the Imperial Palace tonight was correct.

Then there is a high probability that other information is also correct.

Besides, Rina is now in a state where her mana (blood) is exhausted.

It’s just a hindrance to get her help.

“Do whatever you want.”

Anyway, the sure thing is that Rina is not our enemy.

When I released the binding tied to her arm, Rina quickly ran away.

“Is it okay to let her go like that?”

“It’ll be fine. More importantly, let’s focus on that side.”

Verno asked me, quietly watching Rina’s receding figure.

Rina is not important now.

I carefully glared around the carriage.

“…!”

Those guys.

A group of suspicious people who were waiting in front of the path of the carriage where the Princess was riding far away.

The red wolf tattoo.

They are definitely them.

At this rate, a collision is inevitable.

But I stopped for a moment as I was about to run out to warn them immediately.

‘What if my identity is revealed…?’

It’s annoying to be called here and there for investigation later.

Besides, I’ve heard that sometimes people who have made outstanding achievements are forcibly dragged into the Knights.

The Princess, who has saved her twice?

She might be greedy if she has a desire for talent.

Me become a knight?

I absolutely don’t want that.

Then….

‘Ah, I had that, didn’t I?’

I put my hand in the subspace.

And I took out something that was inside.

A glossy steel helmet.

An item that was thrown into the subspace because it was useless after using it to save Elena.

This seems to be enough to hide my identity.

I put it on my head without hesitation.

Then I infused mana into the shoes.

When I infused mana into the shoes, my body quickly began to become transparent.

My body quickly became transparent in a stealth state.

Perfect.

With this, I can act without being caught.

I ran towards the carriage with the stealth magic activated.

Anna looked out the window, leaving her body in the rattling carriage.

She is heading to the Imperial Palace in a carriage, despite the late night, to attend the monthly Imperial meeting.

‘Those greedy old foxes….’

Perhaps the Emperor would not want her, who had almost been kidnapped the other day, to attend at the risk of danger.

But Anna knows that she cannot leave her seat because of the power-hungry foxes.

How did it come to this?

The prestige of the Imperial Family, which was firmly high, was crushed by the power of the nobles who had become stronger at some point, and it could not move properly.

Greedy and covetous, insidious gazes that always target her.

Just thinking about that stifling atmosphere makes my head throb.

‘I need power.’

To subdue them, stronger power than them.

And stronger strength is needed.

To do that, talented people who will stand by her side are important.

The nobles are already mostly corrupt.

There is no justice in the world.

So she, the Princess, must break this vicious cycle.

Anna’s eyes were filled with a burning desire.

But.

Boom!

“It’s an attack!”

“!!”

The carriage, which had been running without a hitch, suddenly stopped.

Soon, sharp steel sounds began to be heard outside the door.

‘An attack?’

The carriage came to a sudden stop, causing her to lose her balance for a moment.

She was about to get up from her seat when.

The tightly closed door opened, and a black shadow entered the carriage.

“Who…. Mmph…!!”

“Shh…!”

A mysterious man who coercively covers her mouth with a fairly rough hand.

But.

‘Louis Vermore…?’

White hair protruding through the steel helmet.

Anna opened her eyes wide when she discovered it.