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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Princess's Delusion is Free
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After running and running for a long time, I arrived at a clearing in the forest.
Leaving footprints on the pristine white ground, I walked to the center of the clearing, bent forward, and braced my knees.
Breaths, hot and labored, continuously escaped my lips.
'I feel like I'm going to throw up…'
After sprinting at full speed for several minutes, my head felt light and dizzy.
I didn't want to run this much, but I had no choice.
I thought putting as much distance as possible between myself and Selvia was the top priority.
'It would be a disaster if the Princess found out I was trying to defect…'
It was the Princess's nature to execute traitors, no matter what.
Therefore, disappearing like a ghost without the Princess's knowledge was the best course of action.
"How far are you going to run?! You son of a b—!"
"Haaah…"
As I caught my breath, I heard the voice of a Coalition soldier.
Turning calmly, I saw the six soldiers from earlier approaching, panting.
Seeing that they weren't pointing their rifles at me, it seemed they were willing to talk.
I didn't want to fight either, so I raised both hands, breathing heavily.
"...First, let's calm down and talk. I am Daniel Steiner, acting operations chief lieutenant of the Imperial General Staff Headquarters. State your affiliation and names."
Good. I naturally mentioned my affiliation and rank while introducing myself.
Having heard that I was an operations chief from the General Staff Headquarters, they would realize I was a strategically valuable individual, unless they were fools.
"Who doesn't know you?"
Strangely, however, the Coalition soldiers merely frowned, as if annoyed.
"Enough. Where is the Princess? Depending on your answer, we might let you live, so speak carefully."
"...The Princess?"
My thoughts froze at the word 'Princess' from the Coalition soldier's mouth.
How did that guy know the person accompanying me was the Princess?
Selvia wasn't a fool. She wouldn't have gone around boasting that she had come to the northern front disguised as a war correspondent.
So, only a few knew that Selvia had come to this northern front.
Those few were individuals Selvia had deemed 'trustworthy.'
Given Selvia's personality, which paid meticulous attention to selecting talent, there was no way they would have acted as spies.
Then who used this information to launch an attack?
As I racked my brain, I let out a low groan, reaching a shallow realization.
'The Prince.'
If it's family, then it's a different story.
Because they could observe Selvia's every move from the closest proximity.
Indeed, I knew that Arno von Amberg, the Prince, had fiercely clashed with his younger sister, Selvia, multiple times over the succession to the throne.
It seemed their conflict wasn't merely superficial.
'To try and assassinate his own sister. He's truly a madman.'
Shaking my head, I lowered my hands.
Now that I knew the truth, there was no longer any need to surrender.
Because the soldiers before me weren't affiliated with the Coalition.
These soldiers before me were assassins disguised by the Prince to make it seem as though the Princess had been attacked by the Coalition.
Thinking that this was all the Prince's doing, my head cleared.
"Did the Prince order this?"
The soldiers flinched at my words. Thanks to that, my suspicion became clearer.
"Now that I look closely, your Coalition uniforms are spotless."
"...What about it?"
"Usually, veteran soldiers are sent for surprise guerrilla attacks. Sending new recruits drastically lowers the success rate of the operation. But you all are wearing brand new uniforms, like fresh recruits. Do you think that makes sense?"
If they wanted to disguise themselves properly, they should have made their uniforms look like those of seasoned veterans.
The soldiers couldn't refute my point, then soon let out a hollow laugh.
One of them, who seemed to be the squad leader, stepped forward.
"You caught on quickly, so you must be an elite, just as the rumors say. Then you understand the situation, don't you? Join us. We'll guarantee you a path to success."
"Us? Are you talking about the Prince?"
"...Use proper respectful terms. He is His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince."
Seeing the soldier snarl, I couldn't help but let out a laugh of disbelief.
The soldier saw it and frowned.
"What's so funny?"
"It's pitiful to see you clinging to a rotten rope. Crown Prince? That man is not fit to be emperor. The one who will become emperor is the Princess. Not that incompetent fool."
From my position, knowing the future, I had given sincere advice, but the soldiers seemed displeased, scowling and gripping their rifles.
"Thank you for being honest. There's no need for further discussion…"
From now on, it was a speed battle. While the soldier was speaking, I drew my revolver from its holster.
Simultaneously, I concentrated mana in my central nervous system, accelerating my nerves.
In an instant, my vision greatly expanded, and my pupils constricted.
What I saw in my expanded vision was a world moving in slow motion.
The startled soldier tried to raise his rifle, opened his mouth to curse, and some rushed towards me—all appearing like a slow-motion scene.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my revolver, aimed at their heads, and pulled the trigger.
The gunpowder exploding and the bullets firing seemed unreal, as if floating in zero gravity.
Yet, the bullets steadily flew towards the soldiers' heads.
The moment I moved the revolver's muzzle to finish off the last soldier, the nerve acceleration released, and the world returned to its normal speed.
Bang—!
Five gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, successively blowing apart the soldiers' heads.
Without even a proper scream, the soldiers collapsed with a thud.
But the last one. The soldier I faced the moment the nerve acceleration wore off was still charging.
"You bastard—!"
I wanted to aim, but my hand was shaking violently.
My body was under strain from the recoil of using nerve acceleration.
This was a useful ability that allowed me to graduate at the top of my class from the military academy, but it definitely had a drawback in the severe strain it put on my body immediately after use.
Moreover, it was only because I had a mana cylinder that I could take out five people simultaneously; otherwise, the nerve acceleration would have worn off midway, and I would have been defeated.
The mana consumption was equally extreme.
'Damn it…'
My head throbbed, and my body wouldn't obey, as if I were stuck in a swamp.
But if I didn't kill him, I would die. Forcing myself to concentrate, I pulled the trigger.
Bang! A gunshot echoed high in the sky, and the arm of the charging soldier exploded.
It was a failed shot. The soldier screamed at his arm being blown off but didn't stop charging at me.
Immediately after, the soldier reached me and shoved me with his full weight.
"Ugh!"
I fell backward, sinking into the snow.
The soldier climbed onto my body and pulled out a military knife, intending to stab my head.
Judging it dangerous, I instinctively grabbed the soldier's wrist.
"Fuck! You son of a bitch! You devil! Die!"
The soldier spat curses indiscriminately.
But I had no strength to retort to his curses.
All I could do was hold his wrist with both hands and push him away.
"Ugh…!"
But it wasn't working. There was no strength in my hands.
I could see the tip of the knife drawing closer to my eye with every passing moment, but I couldn't stop it.
Fear ran down my spine.
'...What? Am I going to die like this?'
They say people usually see their lives flash before their eyes before dying, but all I felt was emptiness.
I wanted to deny death, but the strength was slowly draining from my hands.
That's when it happened.
Bang!
Along with a gunshot, the side of the soldier's head, who was pinning me down, exploded.
The soldier immediately slumped forward, collapsing onto me.
I quickly snatched the dagger and plunged it deep into the soldier's neck.
Just in case, I made sure he was dead.
After that, I pushed the soldier aside and slowly raised my upper body.
After steadying my ragged breathing, I looked to the side and saw a group of figures in Imperial Army uniforms, wearing gas masks.
'The Imperial Central Army… and among them, the Imperial Guard, perhaps.'
If it was the Imperial Guard, I could roughly guess who sent them.
Sure enough, Selvia came running up from behind them, a step late.
Seeing her face etched with worry, I felt a pang of guilt, as if I had done something unnecessary.
Selvia, unaware of my thoughts, approached me closely and knelt down.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
I nodded.
"I wasn't hurt. Thanks to the Imperial Guardsmen. So…"
As my voice trailed off, Selvia lowered her gaze, as if she understood.
"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to deceive you. It's just that as a member of the Imperial family, I felt I wouldn't be able to truly understand what kind of person you are, so I disguised myself as a war correspondent."
I'm sorry, but I already knew. Still, I decided to pretend I didn't.
"So, have you learned a lot about me?"
It was an attempt to lighten the somber mood.
"Of course."
However, Selvia seemed to have taken my words seriously.
"First, during the operational planning, you refuted Captain Heinz's opinion, your superior, and established a new logic. Given that it was valid, you possess an unyielding will that doesn't bow to authority and an eye that penetrates the battlefield."
I just blurted that out because I wanted a dishonorable discharge.
"Even in Edelkrall Canyon, you instantly identified Colonel Jeremy, who was disguised as a soldier. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense that you succeeded in killing Colonel Jeremy with your first shot."
It really doesn't make sense. I shot a soldier and it turned out to be Colonel Jeremy.
"Finally, you possess a spirit of sacrifice, willing to dedicate yourself to the Empire's people at any time. You threw your life away just to save a mere war correspondent."
What is she talking about? I just made up some excuse and ran off, thinking it was my chance to defect.
None of it was true, but seeing Selvia's serious eyes, I couldn't bring myself to say otherwise.
Besides, the moment I told the truth, I'd be sentenced to death.
"Lieutenant Daniel Steiner."
Selvia, holding my hand, solemnly declared.
"Dare I say, representing the Imperial Family, you are a treasure born of the Empire."
I felt like I was going to die from the sheer pressure.