This time, the story proceeds from Margaret’s perspective, a little before the Duke’s Army detachment led by Elnet arrives at the castle.
The time rewinds to shortly before the Duke’s Army detachment led by Elnet reached the royal castle. Queen Margaret had sent the Second Prince Gordon through a secret underground passage.
“Gordon will surely be protected by Kent and his companions. Clara, we must go to protect our King to fulfill our mission.”
“Haa, I’m a maid hired with money, so I could break contract and run away alone to protect myself, but I guess I have no choice. I’ll be sure to get a good hazard bonus later.”
“Yes, yes. If we protect him safely, I’ll add a special bonus for sure.”
“The contract is sealed then.”
Clara is a maid attributed to Margaret, but their relationship was not one of loyalty to a mistress. Instead, she was dispatched from a servant dispatch guild to her post. Due to this contractual relationship, if she were in a dangerous situation, she could break the contract and flee to protect herself, though a penalty would apply. However, the contractual relationship between the two had lasted for many years, forging a strong bond. Clara had no intention of abandoning her duties and fleeing; she conveyed her willingness to accompany Margaret, though she did request an increase in her pay.
“Even the most elite Royal Guards in our country are vulnerable against those who use magic.”
“Indeed. If I had urged them to strengthen their magical countermeasures sooner, perhaps we could have avoided this situation. I deeply regret that.”
Clara and Margaret left the storage room and proceeded down the corridor, only to find a Royal Guard knight defeated and lying on the floor. As Clara was hired labor, she didn’t show much emotion even in such a situation, but Margaret, since marrying into this country, had advised the King to urgently implement countermeasures against magic, a subject that had not been studied at all here, considering the circumstances in foreign countries. However, over many years, the concept of magic had been forgotten, and this country, which considered physical force like swords to be supreme, did not understand her advice. They struggled just to secure the budget to maintain the old temple, which barely remained, and couldn’t advance their plans.
The country’s policy changed when a certain ducal family suddenly increased its influence around the summer of last year. Investigations revealed that magic was involved in their rise to power, and the country finally took action. Margaret seized the opportunity, secured the budget, and began establishing a temple as a base for magic research. However, the Duchy’s magic research was far ahead of the Kingdom’s. With their organized magic units and the use of Concealment Magic, infiltrating the royal castle, which had no magical countermeasures, was easy. The Kingdom’s delayed response resulted in the current situation, and Margaret regretted not having advised the country more strongly and taken action sooner.
“Margaret, regretting what has happened is futile. I believe overcoming the current situation is our top priority.”
“You’re right. What Clara says is true. Let’s move forward.”
“Understood.”
Margaret switched her mindset and, together with Clara, headed towards the King’s location.
“There are two women!”
“Kk, we’ve been found.”
“Margaret, get behind me.”
Margaret and Clara had been proceeding smoothly through the castle without being discovered by enemy soldiers, but their luck didn’t last long, and they were spotted by the Duchy’s Army soldiers. Clara stepped back, shielding Margaret, and faced the Duchy’s Army soldiers.
“Oh, you think you can take us on? Seeing as you’re not running, the woman behind you must be the prize.”
“Well, who knows? We’ll eliminate you and proceed.”
The Duchy’s Army soldiers consisted of two men and one woman. Margaret and Clara found themselves in a situation where battle was unavoidable.
“Clara, the woman has a fairy. I’ll draw her attention; can you handle the two men?”
“Don’t worry, fighting is my main profession, more so than my work as a maid!”
Margaret, who had been behind Clara, spoke softly. Clara couldn’t see the fairy moving with the female soldier, but Margaret, who possessed magic power, could clearly see it. Although Clara worked as a maid, her true profession was that of a martial artist skilled in fighting bare-handed, making her a rare individual proficient in both areas. On top of that, she also possessed the disadvantage of being bad with machines, but that was irrelevant here.
“Please!”
The female soldier of the Duchy’s Army said in a low voice, and several small ice masses flew towards Clara.
“Too weak. How about this?”
“What? There are magic users in the Kingdom!”
Margaret immediately created a wall of water, blocking the incoming ice masses. The female soldier, who hadn’t expected to be blocked by magic, exclaimed in surprise.
“Distraction during combat is fatal!”
“Guh!”
“This woman… is strong.”
Seizing the opportunity, Clara approached a male soldier and delivered a spinning kick to the back of his head, taking him down. Seeing this, the other male soldier recognized the opponent’s strength and assumed a stance, drawing his sword to fight back.
“Do you know? Magic users with fairies are most effective when targeting their master.”
“Kya!”
“Master, watch out!”
As Margaret spoke, she fired a water mass towards the female soldier. Margaret, who had experience as a Saintess in another country before marrying into this one, was well aware of the weaknesses of those who could use magic by commanding fairies. Those who command are often lacking in their own combat abilities and rely heavily on the fairies they command for fighting. Since fairies move based on their master’s commands, if the master is incapacitated, they can no longer issue orders. Furthermore, if the master dies, the contract is forcibly broken, and the fairy becomes harmless. Margaret knew these facts well and attacked the master without hesitation, rather than the fairy.
“Haa, haa, I thought I was going to die. Thank you.”
Naturally, the fairy moved to protect its master without receiving a command, creating ice masses to block Margaret’s water mass. The protected female soldier was stunned and unable to move from the sudden attack.
“Clara, now!”
“I know. Teryaa!”
“Kya!”
As Margaret signaled, Clara moved behind the female soldier and struck her with the edge of her hand. The fairy, which should have been protecting its master, was occupied with Margaret’s attack, leaving the defenseless female soldier easily defeated. Incidentally, the male soldiers Clara had been dealing with had both been defeated at some point and were lying on the floor.
“Margaret, should I finish them off?”
“There’s no need. We must hurry now.”
“Understood.”
Margaret decided that the three soldiers Clara had defeated would not wake up for a while, so she judged it unnecessary to deliver the finishing blow. She left them in a state of unconsciousness and proceeded onward.
*Don, Dodon, Don, Don*
“It’s me, please open.”
Margaret and Clara ran down the corridor and arrived at the target room. Then, Margaret knocked on the door with an irregular rhythm. This was a secret signal known only to royalty and some retainers, used in case of unexpected situations to indicate that the other party was an ally.
“Your Majesty, we are glad you are safe. Please come this way.”
The door then opened slightly, and a Royal Guard peered out cautiously before showing their face. Upon recognizing Margaret, they opened the gap wide enough to allow her and Clara into the room.
“You!”
“Margaret.”
Margaret confirmed that her husband, the King, was in the back of the room and called out to him with relief. The King, seeing that Margaret was alive, rushed to her side. The two embraced, overjoyed to find each other safe.
“I don’t know what means the Duchy used to infiltrate the castle. It was so sudden that all I could do was gather the Royal Guards nearby and barricade ourselves in this room.”
“Among the infiltrating Duchy’s Army were magic users. Based on that, it’s highly probable they used Concealment Magic to enter the castle without being noticed. Concealment Magic is used to hide oneself from view or to make others unable to perceive one’s presence. They likely used it to enter boldly through the main gate.”
“What? Is this because we didn’t prepare for magic, as you’ve been saying all along, Margaret? If this is the outcome, I regret not taking countermeasures sooner. My misjudgment has put many people in the castle in danger.”
As Margaret explained her speculation about the method of this attack to the King, the King realized his misjudgment in his decision-making and wore a pained expression, thinking of those endangered within the castle. Margaret gently leaned against the King to comfort him.
“That’s right. I met Gordon on the way here.”
“What? And where is Gordon?”
Margaret, leaning against the King, informed him of her encounter with Gordon. The King, noticing Gordon was not with her, asked with concern.
“I had Gordon escape the castle using the secret passage within the castle. I told him to rely on those he trusts, so if he reaches his destination safely, he should be fine.”
“I see. This castle will likely fall soon. If that happens, we, including the royal family, will all be killed, and the Kingdom will perish. However, if even one person can escape, hope can be entrusted to the next generation. Margaret, you have done well.”
When Margaret informed him that she had Gordon, the Second Prince, escape the castle, the King showed a relieved expression and thanked her.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. We are detecting multiple footsteps approaching this way. Please retreat to the inner room in preparation for any unexpected situations.”
Just as Margaret and the King finished exchanging information, a Royal Guard watching the door alerted them to someone’s approach. Since the sound alone could not distinguish friend from foe, a tense atmosphere permeated those within the room.
