Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 208: The Beggar Siblings - The Only Daughter

Leo left the Irotashi River, leaving behind Harie, who was filled with rage.

He had no way to deal with her seething hatred toward Sir Bart. Furthermore, knowing that the Duke of Tertan would soon learn of Philas's death and launch an all-out pursuit, Leo hastened his journey.

However, the pursuit had already begun. The western border count of the Kingdom of Conrad was Midian Tertan (son of Duke Lappert), and every city that received the message had mobilized its troops. Soldiers spread out, restricting movement and establishing a siege.

By now, the knights of the Duke of Tertan were likely rushing in, and Leo realized he was in a dire situation. The tightening noose intended to capture Bart was not a welcome sight for him either.

"Damn it, damn Oriax."

Because of that bastard, I have to travel even at night. I can't live like this forever, so I'll eventually get caught, but I needed to delay that as much as possible.

I need to gather more knights and turn some nobles to my side. If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn't have sought out Sir Bart.

Leo, deeply pulling down his hood, scratched his head furiously. Even though he had the insignia of the House of Monarch, soldiers wouldn't leave him alone, sneaking around in the dead of night. At the very least, they would try to take off his hood, and then...

They would see a young man who looked just like Prince Eric de Yeriel.

Since Eric de Yeriel was the grandson of the Duke of Tertan, the duke's private soldiers would recognize his face.Sir Bart had escaped, and I was the one caught in the siege.

Annoyed, Leo spurred his horse. Given the circumstances, he decided to break through the siege with force before the duke's knights arrived. Waiting until the siege tightened, Leo nonchalantly approached the soldiers holding torches.

"Stop! Get off your horse. Where are you going at this hour?"

"Make way. Do you think you can block the path of a noble? I am a distant relative of the House of Monarch."

Leo took out the insignia of the House of MonarChapter However, the soldiers, though bowing respectfully, did not clear the way.

"I'm sorry, but this area is currently under the control of the Duke of Tertan. Could you please remove your hood?"

"Why should I?"

"...Is there a reason you can't?"

The soldiers' gazes hardened. Just as Leo was about to subtly reach for his sword hilt,

- Piiiik!

A loud whistle sounded. As a blue signal line shot up into the night sky, the soldiers' attitudes changed abruptly.

"There!"

"We found them! Not far! They said they'd reward us even if we just delay them. Captain, what should we do?"

"...It could be a trick. We stay here. But first, take off that hood... Ah!"

As something clicked in Leo's mind upon seeing the blue signal, he turned his horse around. If his memory was correct, this trip wasn't a complete waste.

He quickly headed toward the place where the signal had flared. "Did the cavalry arrive already?" he mused, waving casually to the surprised soldiers, pretending to be an ally. He easily slipped through the breached siege.

However, the siege was layered three, four times, and soon Leo spotted a knight skillfully maneuvering seven horses, breaking through the siege.

"Damn! Were there cavalry nearby?"

The knight, seeing Leo, leapt from his horse to another horse behind. With a long whip, he skillfully directed the horses ahead, then turned gracefully toward Leo.

What exceptional horsemanship.

It seemed the knight intended to deal with the pursuing cavalry and escape, but Leo shouted,

"Gallen!! It's me!"

"What?!"

When Leo slightly removed his hood, Gallen froze. He was so shocked he even dropped his sword.

"Prince, Prince?!"

"No time to explain! Ride!"

"Yes, sir!"

Gallen couldn't gather his wits. He turned his horse as ordered, but couldn't stop his mind from racing towards the prince.

How... How is this possible? The prince is alive...? How did he get here?

At that moment, soldiers in the distance were readying their spears to face the cavalry. Finally able to take his eyes off the prince, Gallen swallowed hard.

I've lost my sword. What should I do now? As he pondered, the prince, closing in, asked,

"What should we do? Should I go ahead and take them out?"

"Yes. But it's dangerous. I can manage somehow..."

"Hiya!"

The prince spurred his horse, charging ahead. With a long sword raised high, he rode toward the spearmen, and Gallen was filled with worry.

Riding and handling a sword is difficult. To wield such a heavy longsword, unlike a light one-handed sword, one must be able to control the horse without using the reins.

But even at a glance, the prince's horsemanship seemed inadequate.

Does he even know how to handle a sword?

Gallen, doubting even Leo's swordsmanship, discreetly whipped the side of the prince's horse.

The soldiers conveniently moved aside, making it easy to pierce through. If the unremarkable horse was stabbed by a spear, Gallen intended to grab the prince and escape. He also adjusted the other horses to avoid the soldiers as much as possible...

- Sssshhhh!

Without supreme horsemanship, he would surely have fallen. Gallen was mesmerized by the flash in the prince's hand.

It was an Aura Blade.

The prince leaned dramatically, and the brilliant flash in his hand cleaved through more than a dozen spears and soldiers in an instant.

“Unbelievable.”

Gallen thought he was dreaming. His longing for the prince had turned into an illusion.

However, the sharp wind brushing against his cheek and the pounding heart told him this was no dream.

This remarkable feat repeated several more times. By the time they had sufficiently broken through the siege, the prince stopped his horse.

“Gallen. I am glad to see you again.”

“Do you remember me?”

- Prrrrr.

The faintly brightening eastern sky cast a light on the prince's golden hair. His gleaming golden eyes made Gallen feel there was no need to ask, “Who are you?” This man... this man was the prince they lost over a decade ago.

“Of course, I remember. You have been a loyal knight for many years. You have done well.”

“Ugh. Ohhh.”

Gallen dismounted and knelt. His sorrowful life, the tears of a knight who had lost his youth, flowed down his cheeks, and in that intense silence, a message suddenly appeared.

[Achievement: Master-Servant Bond.2v - ‘1’, Those who swear loyalty to Leo will never betray him.]

However, Leo found no use for it. “Stand up. You must have many things to say to me.” As he spoke, he helped the knight up, but the middle-aged knight could only repeat, “No. Not at all.”

 *Gallen was more talkative than he seemed. To avoid pursuit, they released the six conspicuous horses into the meadow, and as he rode alongside Leo, he began to talk.

As Leo thought, Gallen was quite an outgoing person. Although it was their first meeting, Gallen was one of the royal guards who had been with Bart during the attack on Philas Tertan, and he had acted independently right after the assault.

“They must be cursing me immensely right now.”

As he said, whenever Bart and his companions mentioned Gallen, they would lose their composure and spew curses. However, their anger lacked genuine malice. Instead, it was mingled with a sense of memorial, as Gallen had taken their horses and acted as bait at Irotashi River right before they boarded the boat.

Imagine the shock of the knights who found themselves escaping thanks to an unexpected sacrifice. It was why they couldn't openly express their gratitude.

Gallen, however, had his reasons. As they headed north towards the Baron of Monarch, Gallen spoke.

“Airon... Oh right, you wouldn't know who Sir Airon is. He's a friend born in the port of Noyar, a fisherman's son. He suggested disguising ourselves as a fishing boat, but I doubted it would work. If knights disappeared without a trace and there was a river nearby, it would be obvious where they had gone.”

“True. But wouldn’t it have been better to discuss it before fleeing?”

“Well... if I had, my comrades would have followed me. So, I didn't say anything... but now I think I should have. Then they could have met you sooner. By the way, Prince, is it alright not to bring Bart along? You might not know, but he's an excellent swordsman. Though... he doesn't compare to you, of course.”

“I regret it, but there's no time.”

Leo spoke obliquely. Bart would return to Noyar Port around next summer. There was no way to contact those who had fled to the sea, and Leo couldn’t afford to wait until then, so he decided to return to the Baron of Monarch.

Fortunately, Gallen wasn’t one to pry into others’ affairs.

When the prince behaved oddly, traveling at night and napping at noon, he only asked, “Is it to avoid pursuit?” and never questioned further. Instead, they shared trivial conversations like,

“Wouldn't it be better to ride another horse?”

“I borrowed this one.”

and continued steadily northward.

Nothing special happened during their journey. Over about a month of riding, Leo learned some horsemanship from Gallen. When they arrived at the Baron of Monarch, it was winter with light snowflakes drifting.

Located at the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Conrad, the Baron of Monarch bordered the Kingdom of Bellita and the Kingdom of Aisel. As is typical for border territories, the Baron of Monarch used a fortress built for military purposes as its lord’s castle. However, its small size made it appear rather shabby.

What made it seem even shabbier were the tightly packed houses around the fortress.

A ramshackle slum. Those flimsy houses, barely holding up against wind and rain, leaned against each other, their roofs precariously perched.

This too is a characteristic of a border territory. When fugitives from other kingdoms set up homes here, if the lord wasn't meticulous, it would quickly become like this.

Moreover, with the head of the family, Gustav Monarch, away in the Kingdom of Bellita, there was no one to take care of things. Passing the shabby houses, Leo entered the lord's castle.

Showing the insignia to the guard and asking the steward if any of their party had arrived earlier, the steward, as lackluster as the gloomy lord’s castle, assigned a maid to him.

Leo thought, “This place won’t be of any help to me,” and, guided by the maid, headed to the outer building where Lena, Jenia, and Tian were staying. There, he unexpectedly encountered someone.

A tall figure with white hair. Archbishop Verke was waiting for him. But more surprising was...

“Jenia?”

It was Jenia's actions. She, dressed in an elegant brown dress, was arm in arm with Archbishop Verke. She smiled warmly and dropped a bombshell on Leo.

“Grandfather. Let me introduce you. This is the one I promised my future with...”

Leo was stunned. Archbishop Verke looked displeased, and Jenia introduced her future husband cheerfully to her grandfather. Her real name was Jenia Peter, the only daughter of Count Gustav Peter.