“Curse you! How are the crown prince and his bodyguards that good? Well, no matter, I still have my phoenix. I can just use it to kill everyone—problem solved. I’ll start with the saint and the margrave! You two get to die all cozy together!”
Regaining his composure, Tailong ordered the flaming bird to attack. A flurry of fiery feathers rained down on us.
It still strikes me with awe—but that won’t keep me from stopping it in its tracks.
“Margrave Linboldt, stay back! O Ice Spirit, entrap everything before you in ice!”
It had been ages since I unleashed my magic’s full potential like this. As a saint, I never stopped training. I couldn’t let so many people be sacrificed before my very eyes.
To protect the people of Elshaid—that’s why I honed these powers!
I managed to block the fiery feathers with a wall of ice, but the smug look returned to Tailong’s face. “Ooh, I’m impressed. You actually blocked the phoenix feathers… But a phoenix is eternal—do you really think you can protect everyone forever?!”
He was right. This was only a temporary shield.
“I can, and I will! As a saint, I cannot let any of my people die before my eyes!”
“Lady Westoria… No, I should say, Saint Leia…”
The phoenix was indeed immensely powerful. But I was powerful too—powerful enough to be one of only three saints in the entire kingdom. I had the pride of someone who’d protected her kingdom as a saint for years. And while I was only in Eric’s service as a bodyguard for a few months, I saved him from all those assassins as well.
“You betrayed your allies; you took a hostage—you’re a monster who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends. I could never let you defeat me!”
“Ooh, you’re pretty tough. No wonder Master Liu said he wanted to bring you home with him. But you’re only delaying the inevitable.”
“A delay is all I needed. After all, Elshaid is blessed with someone who is strong, just, self-sacrificing, and who will rule as king in the future.”
In the middle of his grand feat, Tailong forgot something very important: I was not the only one fighting. Since the others took out his soldiers in the blink of an eye, his fixation on me was beyond careless.
“Lingsha! Johann! Do the thing!”
“On it, my lady!”
“Oh, yes!”
Eric used Johann and Lingsha’s hands as a springboard to launch himself high in the air.
“What the?!”
Eric flew over Tailong’s head and thrust his sword against the traitor’s back.
Now the tables had turned.
Tailong’s plan went down in flames. He had no more cards to play.
“Koh Tailong… Your violence against my fiancée, Leia Westoria, and my vassal, Margrave Linboldt cannot be overlooked. You are under arrest! If you fail to comply, I’ll kill you where you stand.”
Eric growled the word kill. The threat in his voice was more than enough to show his conviction.
“Urgh! I-I see your reputation as the courageous and daring crown prince of Elshaid is not without merit. I never thought this is how it would end. Though it vexes me, I’ll admit defeat. It would seem I am not worthy of this power.”
With a look of resignation, Tailong quietly lowered his hands, sending the phoenix to the ground. Apparently, Eric’s quick wit and readiness to act had taken him completely by surprise.
“So this paper is the key that summons the phoenix? Sorry, but I’m confiscating this.”
“Do as you wish with it; the scroll belongs to Master Liu anyway, not me.”
“Johann, restrain this man.”
“Aye!”
With the talisman of phoenix summoning gone, and his hands bound by Johann, Tailong was now powerless.
With a glance at the traitor, Eric turned to Liu and said, “Prince Liu, the subordinates you brought along are under arrest for attempted kidnapping. We’re going to put them in custody as well.”
“Well, well, well, do whatcha gotta do. Tailong not only committed crimes, but he was also a pain in the ass.”
“Wow, you’re taking this rather well.”
“Well, I did succeed in my mission… I mean, I wanted to take Linny home with me, but it’s clear she doesn’t need me anymore.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused by his mention of a mission. I thought the Ren Empire was after Death Poison, nothing more…
“My mission was to get evidence that I could show to the emperor proving the prime minister and Tailong were traitors. And ya see, when I heard the prime minister wanted Death Poison, I suspected he was up to no good.”
In other words, Liu’s true foe wasn’t us—it was Tailong.
“So…you played me, Master Liu?” Tailong muttered blankly. “No, that’s impossible. If this was all a ploy to trap me, why submit yourself to a fight to the death?!”
“I guess I did kinda play you?” Liu said as he limped over to Tailong. “But I fought to the death because there was something I wanted to find out. Yeah, guess it wasn’t my smartest strategy.”
Liu was still bleeding—he was probably in danger. I was approaching him in order to heal his wounds when a voice from behind stopped me.
“Lady We—Saint Leia! Why did you save me? I was a hostage! You were supposed to ignore me! Then Prince Eric wouldn’t have needed to endanger himself!”
Linboldt wobbled over to me, scolding me with a frightful look on his face. Was he angry with me for saving him? I was reluctant to justify my actions, but it sounded like he needed to hear it.
“Sir Johann and Miss Lin were near Eric, so I deemed he was not in any danger. Meanwhile, you were in mortal danger, Margrave, so I chose to save you instead.”
If Tailong deemed Linboldt was no longer useful as a hostage, he would have killed him. That was a fact. It was only natural that I would act to save him.
“Mm-hmm. Well, I understand your reasoning,” The margrave said. “But I opposed your marriage. Wouldn’t it be to your benefit to leave me to my fate?”
“Uh, you realize I’m a saint, right? I swore an oath to protect Elshaid and its people in God’s stead. Breaking my oath to God is one thing I absolutely cannot do.”
“Your oath to God? Ahh, I see.”
The day I became a saint, I swore an oath before God that I would give my body to the people of Elshaid. To let someone die would be, to borrow a metaphor from Eric, like stepping on the wrong path. How could I ever do such a thing with God watching?
“I’m just happy to see that you are safe and alive, Margrave.”
“W-well yes, I am all right… But that man kicked you and hurt you. A-and your arm—”
“This burn isn’t a problem. I’m good at healing magic.”
I practiced martial arts to some extent in my training to become a saint, so a kick to the stomach only resulted in a minor bruise. And while the phoenix flames scorched my arm a little, it was nothing I couldn’t heal with a bit of magic.
“Saint Leia…I do believe I was too exacting with you. I never bothered to ask myself why Prince Eric wanted to make you his queen, but now I think I understand.”
“Margrave?”
“Your optimism and your pious life as a saint. And your love for Elshaid. Yes, now it’s obvious why he wants you to be queen.”
He nodded over and over, having finally been convinced. It sounded like he was praising me, but the sudden change in him was difficult to process.
Looking at me with a penetrating gaze, the margrave continued, “But there are still nobles on the peripheries of the kingdom who disapprove of you as crown princess.”
“Yes, I am aware. But I have faith that they will come to accept me in time, and I’m going to do everything I can to support Eric until then.”
“Yes, I know you will. Hmm…allow me to help persuade the naysayers. I’ll tell them no other woman is better suited for the prince. I can say so with confidence now!”
His declaration was so unexpected that my jaw dropped. I didn’t think Linboldt was the sort of man who would change his opinion of me just because I saved his life. I didn’t know what inspired him to make such a promise…but I felt a hot swelling in my chest.
“Thank you so much, Margrave. It’s very reassuring having you on our side.”
“Oh, it’s the least I can do to atone for my rudeness toward you. Can you ever forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You only said what you did out of love for Elshaid; Eric and I both knew that.”
“Goodness…I really am unworthy of your grace—both of you. Now I simply must live as long as possible. I want to see where you two take this kingdom.”
With a big grin on his face, the margrave bowed to me, then walked over to Eric.
Thus, the heightened tensions between the Ren Empire and Elshaid came to an end. Tailong and his men were all arrested, and Liu would also briefly serve a house arrest.
For a minute there, things were looking pretty grim.
I sighed in relief. And as for the others—