Chapter 52: A Princess’s Return and a Knight’s Devotion

The Blade Human showed no hesitation, fleeing frantically towards the rear, accompanied by the last vestiges of her Shadow Beast contingent.

Bai Yu, however, remained hidden far behind the throng of Shadow Beasts; after all, with others fighting on her behalf, there was no need for her to foolishly rush forward and put herself in harm’s way.

Her current strength was not yet formidable, and cautious as she was, she would only charge in without reservation when she was absolutely certain of her safety and held an absolute advantage.

Seeing the formidable Blade Human scurry away in disgrace, Bai Yu did not command her Shadow Beasts to pursue them, but instead had them all retreat.

Conserving her strength, her foremost desire was to reach Cecilia’s side without delay.

Her guess proved correct; Cecilia, too, rushed towards her at the first possible moment.

Still mounted on her horse, Cecilia removed her helmet, revealing her flawless countenance. She gazed at Bai Yu, scarcely believing her eyes.

“Princess… is it truly you?”

Cecilia’s arm was still wrapped in bandages, yet it did not impede her movements in the slightest.

She dismounted from her steed and slowly walked towards Bai Yu, intending to caress Bai Yu’s face with her hand.

However, just as her armored hand was about to touch Bai Yu, it abruptly halted.

She looked at her own hand, encased in armor, scarred with countless nicks and cuts from years of wielding a sword in battle.

She paused, feeling utterly unworthy of touching such a pure and beautiful princess.

She stopped, withdrawing her hand, and simply gazed at Bai Yu with tender eyes.

“Yes, Cecilia, I have come.”

Bai Yu felt a flicker of confusion; Cecilia seemed subtly amiss.

Wounded, she appeared somewhat fragile, though this fragility manifested more in her spirit.

“Cecilia, your injury?”

Bai Yu dismounted from Xiao An and hurried to Cecilia’s side, her touch gentle as she worriedly stroked Cecilia’s bandaged arm.

“My injury is of no consequence, Your Highness. Why have you come here? This is a time of war with the Demon Race.”

Though her tone carried a faint hint of reproach, she found herself utterly incapable of being stern with Bai Yu, leaving Bai Yu with a persistent feeling of warmth.

“Have I not come to help you? You’ve seen my Shadow Beasts; they are all under my control.”

“Under your control… Your Highness, you possess such an ability?”

Cecilia had clearly never heard of such a thing, yet the undeniable fact of the Demon Race army’s defeat at Bai Yu’s hands lay before her.

This compelled her to believe, regardless of her astonishment.

Just then, the Shadow Beasts under Bai Yu’s command also approached her, dutifully settling themselves around Bai Yu.

The young women of the Knight Order had evidently never witnessed such a sight; they clutched their weapons, regarding these demonic creatures with wary readiness. However, as the Shadow Beasts did not actively attack them, they refrained from making a move.

After all, they had just witnessed this very group of demonic creatures turn on their own kind, thus alleviating their immediate crisis.

‘Could these demonic creatures have pledged allegiance to their empire? Yet, did creatures of the Demon Race truly possess a concept of allegiance?’

Seeing the situation, Cecilia knew she had to explain the current circumstances to the young women, so she temporarily bade Bai Yu farewell and walked towards the Knight Order.

The Knight Captain’s inherent authority immediately took effect. The moment she declared Bai Yu’s ability to control demonic creatures, everyone readily accepted this explanation.

In their minds, such a noble existence as the Princess must surely possess some unique qualities.

That she could control demonic creatures was entirely comprehensible.

It was as if a glitch had appeared in their world, yet the NPCs within it found various ways to rationalize this anomaly.

The result was that everyone was satisfied, and the battle concluded perfectly.

Bai Yu watched the bewildered young women, a wave of speechlessness washing over her. It was truly extraordinary that Cecilia had managed to lead such a group.

****

Within the Knight Order’s encampment, the sounds of young women’s conversations drifted out.

It was already evening, and campfires flickered within the tents as the knight maidens took turns guarding the camp.

Inside a tent, Bai Yu was tending to Cecilia’s wound.

Bai Yu cleansed Cecilia’s wound with the blood flowing from the Water Demonic Stone. Although the injury was not severe, Bai Yu was unsure if the concept of infection even existed in this world, so she dared not be complacent.

‘If only there were a healing arcanum available,’ Bai Yu mused internally. ‘It seems after leaving this place, I’ll need to prepare various kinds of arcane arts.’

Currently, her arcana and abilities were almost exclusively offensive. Kin of the Night could, at best, be considered an auxiliary or defensive arcanum, given its comprehensive enhancements.

After cleansing the wound with the Water Demonic Stone, Bai Yu applied a specially concocted magical elixir. The troops seemed to be equipped with such things, though Bai Yu had no idea what it was, only that it carried a distinct scent, reminiscent of alcohol.

‘Could this so-called magical elixir simply be alcohol?’

As Bai Yu gently applied the elixir to Cecilia’s wound with a clean cotton ball, she herself felt a sympathetic twinge of pain.

She recalled how a mere fall in her childhood had caused excruciating pain, and back then, she had been a boy, and male pain tolerance was supposedly higher than female.

Cecilia’s utterly expressionless demeanor, however, left Bai Yu truly bewildered. ‘Could her technique truly be that flawless?’ she wondered.

Glancing at Cecilia, Bai Yu found her gaze fixed intently upon her.

“Cecilia, does your wound not hurt?” Bai Yu asked, attempting to make casual conversation and divert her attention.

“When I look at you, the pain simply vanishes.”

Cecilia gazed at Bai Yu earnestly, her eyes unwavering, her expression utterly sincere.

“What are you saying…”

Bai Yu’s face flushed instantly. Cecilia’s words were truly too cloying. Yet, Bai Yu found herself genuinely moved by the sentiment.

‘Are straight women truly the most formidable beings in this world?’ she thought.

Cecilia, too, sensed that her words had been somewhat inappropriate. However, with her personality, she struggled to articulate anything more eloquent. She seemed utterly at a loss for words, finally managing to stammer out:

“That’s not what I meant, Your Highness.”

“Alright, alright,” Bai Yu chuckled, amused by Cecilia’s speechlessness. “Come on, lie down now.”

Cecilia gazed at Bai Yu’s smiling countenance, and she couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke her hair.

Then, lifting a strand, she brought it to her nose, inhaling its delicate scent.

A unique floral fragrance, reminiscent of faint jasmine, wafted from it.

Bai Yu did not hinder Cecilia’s actions. Instead, she simply finished bandaging the wound with the last strip of gauze, then gently leaned against Cecilia’s chest.

“Your Highness…”

Cecilia’s hand trembled slightly, as if she dared not touch something so precious.

She tenderly stroked Bai Yu’s back, closing her eyes and savoring the girl’s warmth.

“Cecilia, do you still remember… those things?”