It was true that Rachel had played a small part in saving the Emperor’s life.
However, since she hadn’t actually done much, her contribution was rather insignificant.
In 「Record」, Aisha Labelyn became the Emperor’s benefactor by saving his life as a great mage. Furthermore, she secured evidence containing the atrocities committed in the north and was awarded a baronetcy for her accomplishments.
If that was the case—
Although it might be a little troublesome, Rachel could also receive a title by securing this evidence.
Then she could become independent without having to marry.
She wouldn’t have to worry about Ingrave’s influence being brought to the family of whoever she married.
More than anything, since she would only have to take care of herself, she could live a life where there was little chance of any particular problems arising.
The only variable was the location of the evidence.
But Rachel wasn’t particularly worried about that. Even if 「Record」 deviated from what she remembered, she already knew all the facts.
‘If it really comes to it, I can find the evidence myself.’
It was just when Rachel finally made up her mind to pursue a noble title that the representative of the Borza Kingdom’s delegation ground his teeth and spoke.
“This is unbelievable. Why did you suddenly come here? Did you notice something suspicious?”
The person he was speaking to was Nathan Valencia. He replied with an expressionless face.
“No. I was simply passing through this area for another reason. Unlucky, I suppose.”
“Ha……!”
By then, the battle had entered a lull. Only a few dozen assassins remained alive, while the Emperor and most of the Imperial Guard were unharmed.
Nathan was about to finish off the remaining assassins with a sword he had taken from one of them instead of the branch he had been using.
“Wait.”
The Emperor stopped him for a moment and stared coldly at the representative of the Borza Kingdom’s delegation.
“Why did you suddenly attack us? I was under the impression that relations between Olsher and Borza had been good until now. Besides, have I not shown your kingdom sufficient favor?”
“Ha, favor? What favor? I suppose in Olsher, crushing others and making all sorts of excessive profits off them is what you call favor!”
“What?”
Just as the Emperor frowned—
“Cough!”
“Aagh—”
“Kh, cough—”
The members of the delegation and the remaining assassins who had been standing perfectly fine suddenly began collapsing, coughing up blood.
At the same time, Nathan’s gaze immediately turned toward one of the envoys.
“It’s him.”
Instead of drawing his sword, he reached out his hand.
From his heart, golden supernatural power surged up through his arm.
For the first time, Rachel witnessed another application of .
Because the sealing of the Great Monster had been passed down like a legend, everyone had forgotten, but the Valencia family’s ability had originally been most effective at sealing other people’s supernatural abilities.
A golden ring, shaped like the symbol of the Valencia family, flew straight toward the envoy Nathan had singled out and struck him head-on.
Flash—
Pretending that he had been affected as well, the envoy who had collapsed among the others let out a scream.
When supernatural abilities clashed, the one born with the greater power was naturally destined to win.
Nathan Valencia was born with an extraordinarily powerful supernatural ability, strong enough to be compared to that of the first Duke of Valencia.
Soon, the man who had been using the unknown ability collapsed, coughing up blood from the backlash.
Immediately afterward, Nathan Valencia appeared behind him as if he had teleported there and struck the back of his neck.
The man appeared to lose consciousness at once.
Right afterward, the amount of blood being vomited by the surviving members of the delegation and the assassins began to decrease.
Rachel stared blankly at Nathan Valencia.
Now that she had witnessed his abilities firsthand, she could truly feel just how powerful he was.
A level of martial prowess that placed him among the top five in the Empire, combined with a power capable of overwhelming most supernatural ability users.
“…….”
She really did need to take this opportunity to dispel that man’s suspicions as quickly as possible.
There was no telling when another opportunity like this would come again if she let this one slip away.
The Emperor, who had been staring blankly at the scene along with her, was the first to regain his senses and gave an order.
“Restrain them and bring the physicians! And especially that last one—keep a close eye on him. He must be kept alive!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The Imperial Guards moved with perfect coordination.
Only now did the Emperor seem to relax after the tension had finally left him. He approached Nathan and spoke.
“Thank you, Duke. Thanks to you, I was able to survive.”
“…….”
Nathan stared at the Emperor for a moment before lowering the bloodstained sword in his hand.
“I merely followed the young lady here. You should thank her instead.”
“The young lady?”
For a brief moment, Nathan’s gaze turned this way.
Rachel finally came to her senses. The Emperor was looking at her as well.
Rachel quickly approached the Emperor and offered a proper greeting. Her feet hurt from running here in such a hurry earlier, but that was hardly important right now.
“It is an honor to see you, Your Majesty. I am truly relieved that you are safe.”
“Lady Rachel Ingrave.”
The Emperor looked at her with slight puzzlement before personally helping her to her feet and asking,
“First of all, thank you for coming all the way here. The Duke says he followed you. Could you tell me how you came to be here?”
Rachel recited the answer she had prepared.
“Actually, I recently heard that sentiment toward Olsher within the Borza Kingdom has not been very favorable. I had a bad feeling, so although I knew it was presumptuous, I came out to take a look at where you had gone for a moment. I had no idea that His Grace would follow me. But I never imagined the situation would turn out like this……”
Rachel briefly looked up at the Emperor before bowing deeply.
“I wasn’t able to bring the Imperial Knights with me. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, Lady……”
The Emperor let out a sigh and quickly took her by the shoulders, helping her upright.
“What are you saying? Because you took action, an ally in the form of the Duke came here. And you even came personally because you were worried about me. In the end, thanks to you, I was able to survive. That makes you my benefactor as well.”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”
Rachel didn’t show it, but inwardly, she was delighted.
It was uncomfortable, but he was the Emperor.
If the Emperor took her side, her plans for independence would be much easier to carry out in the future.
Moreover, the fact that a similar situation had been created so perfectly, allowing her explanation to Nathan Valencia to work, was even more encouraging.
The Emperor firmly grasped her hand before releasing it.
“I have seen your loyalty clearly. Once this matter has been settled, I will summon you to the palace, so for today, you should return home. Duke, escort the young lady home. There will be an emergency court council immediately, so return at once.”
“……I will.”
Rachel offered another respectful bow.
“I shall take my leave, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. Go on, then.”
Rachel began leaving the garden, following Nathan, who was standing as though he had been waiting for her.
The barrier the Borza Kingdom had set up had long since been broken by the Imperial Guards.
Once she became aware of the pain in her feet, every step made it grow worse.
As word of the assassination attempt against the Emperor gradually spread, the music ceased, and murmurs began to ripple through various parts of the Emerald Palace.
Meanwhile, the two of them were heading straight toward the carriage house.
Suddenly, he turned around.
Rachel, who had been quietly following Nathan, blinked.
“……Why did you stop?”
“…….”
He stared at her silently before slowing his pace.
Somewhat puzzled, Rachel glanced down at her feet just in case.
‘……Could it be because of this?’
Her feet were certainly not in good condition after running in dress shoes.
But it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would make that man notice and adjust his stride to match hers.
……Perhaps there was another reason?
“…….”
“…….”
Before long, the Valencia family’s carriage was right in front of them.
The knights guarding the carriage saluted Nathan.
“Your Grace.”
“Prepare to depart. We’re going to the Ingrave estate.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
He personally opened the carriage door before turning around.
When a hand was suddenly extended toward her, Rachel looked up at him with a slightly unfamiliar expression.
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