After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

The captain of the guards was the one who was drunk by Aize before.

Time was tight so the explanations were limited and he didn't understand what was going on.

But after a moment of hesitation, he immediately did as he was told.

Before leaving, he did not forget to give Aize a look that was a mixture of surprise and admiration.

Aize nodded and looked at Christina beside him.

"Chris, take your men and gather as many defeated soldiers of Brian's army as possible and reorganize them. We need to utilize all our manpower now!"

"Yes, Lord Aize!"

The blue-haired knight girl answered crisply, then turned and left with a few knights.

Aize turned his gaze towards the house again.

After throwing Brian into the dungeon, Constantine came out again and waited for the next order.

"Constantine, take a team of scouts out of the city to confirm the location of the orc army and the losses suffered after the battle with Brian's army. Report back immediately!"

"clear."

The gray-haired mercenary nodded calmly, and without another word, turned around to carry out his mission.

Everyone else, whether they were from the Knights or Tafia's guards, also received their tasks within the next few minutes.

Evacuate people, dispatch supplies, maintain public order, etc.

Everything is in order.

As those who received the order left one after another, fewer and fewer people remained at the scene.

Soon, only a few guards and a few knights were left.

And Uriel, and Leah, and Rosaline.

No one spoke for a while.

Yuriel remained silent because she knew that Aize must have his own plans.

If you interrupt him when time is tight, it will only disrupt his train of thought.

Leah, who was still tied up, had a somewhat complicated mentality.

Just now, she saw with her own eyes that Duke Brian, whom she trusted, fell into a state of madness.

There was also a slight fluctuation in my heart.

That is, is there a possibility, although it is only a possibility and not necessarily correct?

Does this guy really have a problem?

And I was deceived! ?

Not...likely... maybe.

Even if we don't mention him.

The humiliation of being chased by the orc army, coupled with the resentment of letting the chief escape because of her mistake a year ago, made Leia hold her breath at this moment.

No matter what, she wanted to stay and join the battle against the orcs.

However, with the situation completely under Aize's control, in order to achieve this goal, it seems that he really has to "beg him" as Uriel said.

But how do I start?

Just thinking about it made Leia feel nauseous.

Therefore, he could only stare at Aize with a blank and embarrassed look.

Maybe he was expecting Aize to notice and come over to talk to him.

But unfortunately, Aize, who had been ignoring her since they met, still had no intention of paying attention to her.

After assigning tasks to his subordinates, he took a breath and said to himself:

"Next, formulate a city defense plan? No, let's go see Her Royal Highness first."

Chapter 142: Waking Up from a Dream

The so-called nobility is based on blood as a bond and inheritance.

Therefore, no matter which human country, the nobles are always very happy to keep their families prosperous to avoid the extinction of their bloodline due to some accidental accidents or wars.

Among the nobles, someone like Sheen, who had four children in one generation, was considered rare.

But this brings up another problem.

Inheritance rights.

If the nobles' fiefdoms, rights, properties, etc. were divided equally, it would be like granting them an order of favor to themselves. Within a few generations, the family's strength would be weakened to the point of becoming a joke.

Therefore, almost all families would pack these things up and give them to the eldest son.

Under such a model, the status of children other than the eldest son is rather awkward.

The second and third ones can still be trained as potential successors.

The further along they are in the future, the more marginalized they become, often becoming mere vase-like roles.

In the Arte family of the Arte Kingdom, Heidi ranks seventh among her peers.

This order of events determined her life trajectory almost from the moment she was born.

There is no need to worry about those disturbing affairs, nor to get involved in the war between humans and demons. You can just grow up under the utmost care and have no worries about food and clothing.

Then one day in the future, she would obey the family's arrangements, marry a young noble, move to another place to continue being a vase, and then grow old and die.

that's it.

But five years ago, all that changed.

At first, Heidi thought it was just another ordinary report of a demon invasion.

For thousands of years, the Kingdom of Art, one of the barriers among human countries, has been in constant conflict with the demons. Such reports can be seen several times every year and are no longer surprising.

However, this time the situation did not calm down as before. The atmosphere in the royal capital, whether in the palace or on the streets, became increasingly heavy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The adults, whether parents or older brothers and sisters, are smiling less and less.

But whenever Heidi asked, the answer she got was always just a smile and "It's okay."

Finally one day, at a routine meeting, his father announced that the royal family would go to the front line of the war.

At that time, Heidi didn't know what this meant.

You'll find out soon enough.

A month later, the Royal Knights returned.

Carrying countless wounded soldiers, the horrific bodies of his brothers and sisters, and the only thing left of his mother - a bloody arm.

And there was his father who was so badly injured that he couldn't even speak.

"sorry……"

With a muffled voice, the king used up his last bit of strength and placed the bloody crown on Heidi's head.

Then, he closed his eyes forever.

Half of the kingdom fell and the royal family fell into decline.

This day symbolizes the full outbreak of the largest-scale human-demon war in history, and is destined to be recorded in the history of this world and remembered forever.

But Heidi, who was an eyewitness, did not have a very deep impression of it.

I just remember that I seemed to hide in the room and cried for a long time.

The little princess who grew up as a vase has since become the first heir to the throne of this precarious country.

From that day on, she never cried again - not even the fake tears she put on for show.

Even when she was assassinated two years ago and fell to the ground with the blade piercing her body, she did not feel any fear or regret.

however--

"Uh... uh—"

Heidi opened her eyes.

In front of me was a slightly familiar ceiling, and beneath me was a soft bed.

If my memory is correct, this should be one of the guest rooms in the mansion owned by Lord Sheen of Tafia.

I rested here a few days ago.

The severe pain that had surrounded his entire body and caused every meridian to bleed and tremble had disappeared. Apart from the unusual feeling of fatigue, he felt the same as usual.

“Hmm…tsk——”

Heidi covered her face, gritted her teeth, and flicked her tongue in annoyance.

Because when I was half awake and half asleep just now, I seemed to remember things from the past - with unprecedented clarity.

When was the last time you dreamed of that day?

I can't remember clearly.

Why is it still...

"Awake? How's the situation?"

"……well?"

A familiar voice came from the side.

Heidi was startled and turned her head in surprise, only to find that Aize was also in the room.

He was sitting in an armchair, flipping through some unknown book.

As he said this, he closed the book, threw it on the small table beside him, then stood up and walked over.

"Time is of the essence, so I used the antidote I seized from Brian. I was worried he might be up to something, but it seems he's alright now."

Heidi blinked and shook her head slightly:

“…What on earth is this?”

"Hmm...how should I put it? In short, Brian colluded with the demons to usurp the throne, and to that end, he occupied Taphia. Now, Taphia has been recaptured, and of course, you have been saved as well."

Although it's just by the way.

“Yes… this is it…”

Heidi nodded and let out a soft breath.

But then, she couldn't help but turn her eyes away.

According to past habits, she should now show great courtesy and take the opportunity to overturn the previous declaration of breaking the engagement, maintaining the previous status quo in order to resist the subsequent joint abdication by the three major nobles.

But after going through so much, Heidi didn't know why and was unable to speak.

The hands under the quilt unconsciously clenched into fists and trembled.

After a moment of silence, Aize walked gently to the window, gently opened the curtains, looked outside through the cracked glass, and asked:

"Heidi, do you remember the first time we met?"

"……well?"

The princess, who was struggling, was stunned for a moment and did not respond.

Aize lowered the curtains, turned around and said:

"That was two years ago. I had just arrived in this world and had just become a hero. And you were just a princess then, not yet assassinated and reincarnated."

"Ah."

Heidi nodded.

Yes, when Aize and Heidi first met, Heidi wasn't even a hero yet.