Thud! Thud!
The homunculus in the canyon knelt on one knee, starting from the front.
The great power of domination spread like ripples, lowering the bodies of the homunculus.
As the spectacle unfolded, a huge roar shook the canyon.
“I present my regards to the King!”
“I present my regards to the King!”
Brigitte felt like her mind was flying.
She looked for Elijah with eyes that seemed to pop out. Her direct subordinate was paying no attention to her, and was showing Michael the utmost courtesy.
The homunculus in the canyon knelt on one knee, starting from the front.
The great power of domination spread like ripples, lowering the bodies of the homunculus.
As the spectacle unfolded, a huge roar shook the canyon.
“I present my regards to the King!”
“I present my regards to the King!”
Brigitte felt like her mind was flying.
She looked for Elijah with eyes that seemed to pop out. Her direct subordinate was paying no attention to her, and was showing Michael the utmost courtesy.
A sense of bewilderment like never before came over Brigitte.
If the person being treated as an example had been Eve, it would have been less shocking.
But finally, Snorret, who provided an example, helped Brigitte to have a clear perception.
“Snorret Wint meets with Michaelis Agnito, the King of the Homunculus.”
There was no room for misunderstanding. Brigitte looked at Michael with trembling eyes and stammered.
“Wh, what... A king... How dare you claim to be King! Who are you to dare claim to be King!”
Of course, Brigitte was the only one who did not recognize his qualifications. At this moment, all the homunculus were bowing deeply to their king.
“Get up! Everyone, get up! The masters of you, homunculus, are the royal family of Hadelamid! How dare you set up a King among yourselves! Have you lost your mind? Get up!”
No one listened to Brigitte's cries. Elijah was the only one who responded with a pitiful word.
“It’s no use. The person in front of you is a special being. He is someone whose power is much higher than that of the imperial family.”
“Elijah Halsten!”
“Oh, so please don’t yell for no reason. That will just make you sound like you don’t want to hear it.”
Brigitte's eyes widened and she trembled. She was not only shocked and confused but also angry.
It was hard to stay sane.
Then Michael looked at Brigitte and said.
“You see now. This was a fight you couldn’t win from the start.”
“Ugh..."
Brigitte turned her gaze to Michael's side. There, unlike her, was her half-sister, who had already won the fight.
“Bridgette.”
Eve's clear voice made Bridgette's shoulders tremble.
“Uh, how?”
“Ah, the voice? It was purified thanks to the World Tree staff.”
"That!"
“If you’re going to use that artifact, you should have properly checked the opponent’s artifact as well.”
"You!"
As expected, nothing worked as well for Brigitte as Eve's provocation. Her eyes immediately rolled back and she tried to rush at Eve. However, she was only able to stagger because she was bleeding a lot from her self-injured shoulde
“Hey, hey...! Aaaah!”
Dump!
Brigitte lost her balance and fell. She even rolled halfway across the floor as if the impact had hit her shoulder.
Eve opened her mouth, looking down at the unsightly sight.
“Come to think of it, right after Ambroxa’s seal was released, you said this to me. That luck was on your side.”
“Ugh..."
“But what can I do? Fate was on my side.”
“Evienrose!”
Blood stood within Brigitte's veins, and she sprang to her feet and cried out against the evil.
"Then?"
“Oh, this is treason! This is real treason!”
It seems that she was aware that the pressure she had put on Michael earlier was a fake betrayal.
Brigitte's spirits rose as she finally got a reason to fight.
She continued to swing her sword at Michael without paying attention to her staggering, bleeding body.
“You heinous traitors! I cannot stand by and watch you disrupt the foundation of the empire! I will stake my name and the imperial blood that flows through my veins, and I will never let you go to the absolute imperial capital! No matter what happens, I will strike down the hammer of justice at this very moment. My precarious body finally gave in."
“Oh my!”
Brigitte stumbled and lost her balance. Behind her was a thousand-foot cliff.
Her new figure suddenly disappeared from sight.
"Huh!"
The sound of gasps being reflexively swallowed in surprise erupted from all over. However, Eve and Michael remained calm without any disturbance.
The two looked down calmly at the place where Brigitte had fallen. In the pit, there was only a red glow, and no sign of any falling beings could be found.
Eve and Michael calmly sorted out the situation.
“Then that’s it. She pretended to stumble and ran away to the warp.”
“I guess she plans on going to the capital and reporting this treason to the Emperor.”
“Yeah. That might be Brigitte’s only hope left.”
“She can’t have gone far now. Should I chase it?”
"No."
Eve immediately answered and looked back at Michael. The corners of her mouth were curved.
“I knew you left it there on purpose.”
“I just asked out of courtesy.”
Eve and Michael exchanged laughter. It seemed as if the same picture had already been painted in their heads.
Eve turned around. She saw the faces of the homunculus looking confused as to what was going on. Eve told the whole army.
“Third Princess Brigitte has escaped from the battlefield!”
"Ah!"
“The Third Princess has deserted...!”
The homunculus were immediately convinced by the neat summary of the situation.
Eve continued speaking in the powerful voice of a commander-in-chief.
“This is an unparalleled disgrace to the Imperial Army and the Royal Family! We must track them down to the end, hold them accountable according to military law, and then execute them with my own hands as the Commander-in-Chief! However! The immediate post-war process is more urgent. Our military will focus on returning to the Imperial Capital while taking care of all the affected areas, including Yggdrasil! First, gather the wounded below Yggdrasil!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
As soon as the order was given, the homunculus began to move in unison.
Eve looked far east, where the capital Hadelun was. She conveyed her feelings to her half-sister, who must have been running away in a panic by now.
'I'll give you enough time, so go as hard as you can.'
In the capital that she finally arrived at after all that hardship, the things that Eve had arranged for her early on would be waiting for her.
Anticipation created a strange color in her amber eyes. Eve took a deep breath, her chest heaving.
Eve said with an exhalation.
“Yes, this is the last one, Brigitte.”
***
For the past two weeks, Brigitte's life has been a struggle.
Her goal after escaping from Yggdras was to inform Desmond II of Eve's treason. To do so, she had to return to the zodiac faster than Eve.
For the past two weeks, Brigitte's life has been a struggle.
Her goal after escaping from Yggdras was to inform Desmond II of Eve's treason. To do so, she had to return to the zodiac faster than Eve.
Brigitte hurriedly crossed the labyrinthine canyon. She was able to do so thanks to the path she had previously memorized with her guide's magic. However, she had to endure great hardships in the process.
She had run away alone, with only her own body. She had no one to take care of her, and she had no supplies for a long journey. She was trying to corner Eve, so blood was running down her left shoulder.
With that kind of body, she had to hold the devil's hand alone, sleep on the hard ground, and eat the devil's meat because she couldn't stand the hunger. For Brigitte, who had always lived on tiptoe, it was an unimaginable suffering.
'Atlas...!'
When she left the labyrinthine canyon and arrived at the nearby village, Brigitte looked almost as if she had come back from the dead.
Brigitte, who had not eaten or slept properly for two days, was not in her right mind. She boldly demanded from the residents gathered in the town square.
“I am the third Princess Brigitte Agnes Hadelamide! Give me bath water and food right now! I have to leave quickly, so prepare a horse and dry food!”
At that time, the village was in ruins due to the dragon and was no different from a refugee camp.
The people gathered in the square were survivors, enduring hunger and cold with meager food rations and a central bonfire.
The residents were dumbfounded at Brigitte's antics.
“A royal family member? With such an appearance?”
“There’s no way someone as worthy as Her Royal Highness the Princess would walk around alone.”
“She's trying to commit robbery using a method that isn’t even funny.”
“Isn’t she crazy?”
Bridgette's eyes rolled back easily at the insult she had heard for the first time in her life. A magical aura formed in her hands.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh, aaaah!”
When she came to, several people were lying on the ground, bleeding, before my eyes, while others were running away, screaming.
'What have I done!'
The acts that only a villain would commit contradicted Brigitte's mental world, which always cried out for justice. She was startled.
But Brigitte's natural temperament helped her easily regain her composure.
She ran away from the village after robbing the town hall and stealing all the food and herbs. A horse was tied up behind the building. It was the only horse she used to request supplies from the lord's castle, but it was not Brigitte's job.
So she squandered all the town's resources and rationalized all of this.
‘That was clearly an insult to the royal family! They deserved to be punished! And now, these are not things I’ve done, they’re just borrowing them for a while. I can pay you back in full later!’
She went through several villages like that. After learning that no one believed her to be royalty, she later decided to steal without asking.
It soon became clear that not revealing one's identity was a very wise move.
It was when Brigitte finally left the village full of ignorant people and entered a city with a well-established infrastructure.
‘This is a large city, and it’s where we escaped the Dragon’s attack. I can finally travel to the Imperial City in one go through the warp portal!’
The corners of her mouth naturally curled up in her dream. But then, the sound of the citizens chattering in the city square pierced Brigitte’s ears.
“Did you hear the news of victory?”
“I heard! As expected, the Princesses defeated the demon dragon!”
“Hey, you bastard! The Princesses! The 7th Princess did this alone!”
“God, what a day!”
“Huh? What is the Third Princess doing?”
“No, well, she was so scared of the dragon that she deserted without even fighting.”
“What, what?! Shh, shh! What am I going to do if you say something so loudly?! Are you trying to ruin your family by insulting the royal family in your later years?!”
“Well, so what? The rumor has spread. Can’t you see that they’re offering a reward for reporting on the whereabouts of Her Highness the Third Princess?”
“Huh? What is the Third Princess doing?”
“No, well, she was so scared of the dragon that she deserted without even fighting.”
“What, what?! Shh, shh! What am I going to do if you say something so loudly?! Are you trying to ruin your family by insulting the royal family in your later years?!”
“Well, so what? The rumor has spread. Can’t you see that they’re offering a reward for reporting on the whereabouts of Her Highness the Third Princess?”
Brigitte almost fainted with her eyes wide open. Only then did she realize that she had brought great dishonor upon herself during her escape.
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