The emissary, who wanted to keep his cool, could not hide his embarrassment at that moment.
He stammered his mouth with a trembling voice.
"What do you mean..."
"It looks like your head isn't rolling well. If you tell me this much, you might know that it's useless to come and take the hour hand off now."
"..."
"His Majesty is not very interested in his daughter, who is not the savior of the empire. That's why he sent Elona instead of Letie to my request for a savior."
The emissary swallowed dryly.
He tried so hard not to get caught sending Elona instead of Letie.
The man in front of him seemed to have already figured out the truth.
"He didn't care if his daughter, who wasn't a savior, died or not. When I think about the fact that the spy openly borrowed Elona's hand to assassinate me."
"..."
"If you suddenly show such interest in someone you have been so indifferent to... There's only one reason."
Looking into the emissary's contemplative face, Kishian said in a still, relaxed tone.
"You heard that the Grand Duchess had cured a contaminated child."
In front of so many people that day, Elona showed her strength.
Since so many people had witnessed it, it would not be surprising if it reached the emperor's ears.
Then, the Emperor's sudden interest in Elona could be easily explained.
He must have finally thought that Elona might be the savior of the empire.
The emissary shook his head with his beard shaking.
"No, he doesn't. His Majesty is just worried about her..."
"Isn't he really someone who knows how to take care of practical things? Whenever he throws her into the enemy's clutches, saying that he doesn't need it, he sends someone here to look for her as soon as she sees the possibility of her becoming a savior."
Immediately after he finished saying that, the smile disappeared from his face.
It was because he felt sad as if his heart had suddenly been crushed.
'I think I know now. Why did the Grand Duchess answer that way at that time?'
When Kishian asked her why she had deceived her, Elona gave a strange answer.
"I didn't need to reveal the truth, so I lied about it."
It was such an absurd reply, and after hearing it, he was so angry.
But now that he thinks about it, it was a lie.
'Actually, I guess she was afraid to reveal it. She knows she's worthless.'
She had lived with a father who brutally discriminated between his daughter who was a savior and his daughter who was not, so it was understandable.
She must have been afraid of the cold treatment she would receive the moment she revealed that she was Elona, that she was a fake, not a savior.
She fears that the Kishian will treat her coldly like the Emperor.
Fearing that and not revealing that she hid the truth would have been the last struggle to protect her pride.
"..."
Kishian didn't feel reluctant anymore.
It was just a pity. He wondered how much she had been discriminated against so desperately that she had been hiding her identity.
He pushed the woman who had lived an unhappy life too much.
He didn't even think about looking into the Grand Duchess's past, just because he was angry right away...
"Please let me see Her Highness the Grand Duchess. She will obey him. She must want to see Your Majesty."
The emissary, who did not know that the Grand Duchess had disappeared, seemed to be thinking of appealing to her.
He seemed to think that if Elona heard that her father was calling, she would run straight to the imperial palace.
"She's not here."
"What is that..."
"Even if there is, I don't want to let you go."
He had no intention of returning the Grand Duchess to those who were not like her family.
If he let her go, they might turn Letie into Elona and send her back.
In his mind, the Emperor was worthy of such a thing.
When Kishian refused, the emissary's face was angry.
As if he thought he was hiding Elona, he immediately revealed it in a high-pressure manner.
"Are you going to disobey the Emperor? No matter how great your forces are, if you dare to stand up to the sun, the whole empire will turn against you!"
"Disobedience, you have to speak straight."
Kishian slowly straightened up.
When the tall man stood up, the emissary also nervously stood up and stepped back.
Even so, there was a height difference, so he had to look up.
Looking down at him, daunted with fear and anger, Kishian said.
"Isn't it disobedience for the subordinates not to obey the superiors? I don't know if it's in the past, but I think I need to reconsider who is the superior now."
"How dare...!"
"Go and tell the emperor. The reason why his neck is still attached is that he is my wife's father. So, if you want to preserve even a little bit more of that lifeline, don't dare to set your eyes on the Grand Duchess."
The emissary's face turned red.
He lost his reason and trembled as if he was about to lunge at him, but before he could do that, the soldiers of the Grand Duke Palace, who were the first to pull him away.
The sound of screaming that he would regret drifted into the distance.
In the remaining room, Kishian clenched his fists.
He wanted to get the Grand Duchess back quickly.
There were too many unfinished stories and unresolved emotions to let go of like this.
***
I almost fell down several times while going over the mountain.
In the first place, I had never walked on flat land like this.
For me, going up and down the rugged mountains felt almost like torture.
At some point, I was so tired that I didn't even speak.
I kept my mouth shut, cleared my head, and continued to move.
And finally...
"Ah. I can finally see the village."
After listening to Rodrick's words, I looked down the mountain and saw the village
It was quite a bustling village.
Was it Barony Leiden?
In any case, I almost burst into tears because I didn't have to climb the mountain anymore.
I tried to hurry down, but before I could do that, Rodrick stood in my way.
"It would be a bit dangerous to enter the village like this, right? You know that the Grand Duke is not someone who can give up so easily. They probably knew we were going to come this way and prepared for it."
"Then?"
"You have to hide your identity. With this."
He rummaged through the pockets around his waist and pulled out five simple silver rings.
"A magical tool that changes your appearance."
"You've been pretty thorough in your preparations."
An item that changed my appearance would definitely be of great help.
It would be useless if the Kishian soldiers had tools to dispel magic, but that was unlikely.
I had brought the sapphire ring with me.
"It's basic. Because your visionary appearance is too conspicuous."
He put a ring in my hand.
After that, he also distributed rings to other mercenaries.
Hertha put it in her finger and muttered excitedly.
"Wow, this is really expensive, so why not use it for this?"
Soon, Hertha's appearance changed, as if the magic of the ring had been activated.
She looks like a middle-aged man with a fluffy beard...
Bram and Dirk also wore the ring, and Bram transformed into a small, delicate girl.
Dirk became a young woman.
Dirk looked at my body excitedly.
"Oh, how could you be such a cute and lovely woman? Isn't it bad?"
Seeing him look so excited, I felt a sense of rejection.
I ignored him and put the ring on my finger.
"Oh."
When I saw my new body, I immediately felt embarrassed.
I became a man. A burly man with a physique almost similar to that of a Kishian.
On the other hand, Rodrick became a small woman.
Looking at us, who had changed into completely different shapes, Rodrick said.
"If you see all these different people running around, it will look suspicious. It would be better to split it into two."
After saying that, he instructed Hertha, Bram, and Dirk.
"Me and Her Highness will go down the mountain first, so you should come down at a different time. We will meet again in four days at the appointment. You remember where it is, right?"
The mercenaries nodded and said yes.
They had decided on a place to join me before they picked me up.
After that, Rodrick took the lead and began to descend the mountain.
I told him a little excitedly that I was finally getting out of here.
"Now that I'm quite strong, does that mean my physical strength will go up accordingly?"
"No, that's not true. This is just an object that changes your appearance and voice, so your health and strength don't change. So don't trust the big guy and hit him on the shoulder."
"Who would do that..."
I muttered in embarrassment, and he burst out laughing.
"I'm glad you didn't. Anyway, since your appearance has changed, it would be better to make up your speech and behavior well so that it is not awkward."
"I'll do it."
My speech and behavior were neither feminine nor masculine, so I probably wouldn't look suspicious.
With that in mind, we went down the mountain together and finally reached the village.
Fortunately, it was a village with a decent population.
With such a large population, it wouldn't look suspicious if a few unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared.
So I believed that I was quite safe.
Until I meet a Kishian who is searching near the mountain with his soldiers.
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