After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

Of course, it was for her identity as a princess—that’s what she thought a month ago.

Now, it’s pretty much the same, but with a few more qualifiers:

For her own pitiful, worthless identity as a princess who only she treasures.

For this thing, Heidi treated Aize as a tool and turned herself into a complete clown.

How can one utter such an answer?

So, Heidi, who was a little angry and unhappy at first, was completely silenced by Alicia's question and had nothing to say.

I could only turn my eyes away guiltily.

The pink-haired girl just blinked and continued to stare at him silently without saying anything else.

But just this look was enough to make Heidi feel uncomfortable.

It's not just her.

Along the way, those knights who knew who he was and who once belonged to the Goddess' Blade all pointed at him and talked about him with either curiosity or contempt.

Although I couldn't hear the specific content of the conversation, I didn't think it was very friendly.

Heidi, who knew more than ever that it was all her own fault, could only endure it.

He followed the two knights silently, walking through the ruined streets and passing through the city gate that was only half a hole left.

Finally, I got rid of these torture-like gazes and arrived outside the empty city gate.

On the distant hill, there was a rather large carriage parked, and the light of an oil lamp could be seen shining through the gaps in the curtains.

"Your Highness, Lord Aize is waiting for you there. Please get in the carriage. With that, we will take our leave."

"Well, hard work."

The knight left, and Alicia, who was following him, didn't know when she stopped observing. She disappeared as quietly as she appeared.

For a moment, Heidi was the only one left around.

At this moment, the ordinary carriage in front of Heidi gave her an inexplicable pressure.

This pressure made Heidi, who was usually fearless, feel nauseous and even wanted to run away.

The reason, of course, is that she still doesn't know how to face Aize.

She stood there in a daze for a full half minute, then she scratched her arm fiercely, made up her mind - or rather, put aside her shame, rushed forward, and lifted the curtain regardless.

Chapter 37 Give me a reason

In the dimly lit carriage, Aize was the only one there, leaning in the corner waiting for the other person.

Heidi entered and, after a brief eye contact with Aize, she almost immediately turned her head away as if dodging.

All the emotions that had been suppressed with great difficulty began to stir up again at this moment.

It even made Heidi confused for a moment.

Seeing this reaction, Aize couldn't help but frown slightly.

The reaction was very different from what I expected. He didn't start by talking about his identity and the difficulties he had faced along the way, nor did he just rush over and continue his previous lame performance.

Maybe...it's really different?

But this is not a good thing. After sighing softly, Aize spoke first:

"Anyway, take a seat."

"……Um."

Heidi nodded slightly and sat down opposite Aize.

During this time, she kept her head down, and her hands, which had nowhere to put, subconsciously scratched her already tattered clothes. She didn't dare to look Aize in the eye.

The strange silence lasted for half a minute.

"Why are you here..."

"Aize, a serious blood epidemic has broken out in the capital, and the situation in the city is on the verge of getting out of control."

It was hard to say whether she had made up her mind or was avoiding those sensitive issues, but after a while of hesitation, Heidi suddenly decided to get straight to the point.

As these words came out, Her Royal Highness the Princess finally raised her head and looked directly at Aize.

"The Duke's Alliance has colluded with the Church to completely block the roads out of the city. They intend to trap everyone inside and then... come out and clean up the mess."

As she spoke, an unconcealable anger finally appeared on Heidi's numb and stiff face.

The hands on his knees were clenched tightly, as if he wanted to smash something.

"I'm powerless in this situation. Whether it's my throne or the lives of the people in the city, I... I can't save anything, but..."

Heidi gritted her teeth.

"But Aize, you... you must have a way, right? You can definitely save them, so... please, please help me, help those people..."

The narration was hesitant, stiff and rigid, like a primary school student reciting a text.

If the usual Heidi heard this, she would probably feel very embarrassed.

And Aize was not in a hurry to express his opinion.

Out of his own position and the overall situation, he must intervene in this incident to ensure a smooth conclusion.

But how to intervene is a matter of discussion.

He had just given up his identity as a hero, and if he casually got involved in these things, he would only become the target of public criticism and might even fail immediately.

Therefore, before making a specific decision, he must fully understand Heidi's current thoughts and attitudes.

This will also be beneficial for longer-term planning in the future.

But now, Heidi's words obviously missed the point and were far from enough.

So, he just held up his face, pretending to be thinking, and then shook his head:

"I'm not even a member of the church anymore. How can I help you? Just go to the Holy City and find Leah or Rosaline. If a hero expresses his opinion, the church will take action, right?"

These words made Heidi's face tremble.

She smiled bitterly and shook her head:

"Leah... I don't know much about her current situation, but I heard she was arrested. Rosalyn... you know her well, so asking her for help is unlikely..."

Aize couldn't agree more with this statement.

"Besides, I sent messengers to the church for help before the capital was sealed off, but after so many days, there's still no news! They must... must be colluding with the Duke's Alliance... these damned charlatans..."

Heidi became extremely angry when talking about this.

A church that abandons its believers.

A noble who abandoned the people.

These two groups of insects are really a perfect match, they both deserve to die.

In response, Aize just smiled lightly.

"So, since that place doesn't work, you came to me?"

"……Um."

"Your Highness only comes to me, Aize, for help when you're desperate. How should I put it? I'm truly honored~"

This statement is somewhat tainted with personal grudges.

This also made Heidi shudder violently as if she had been electrocuted. She stood up subconsciously and denied it with almost all her strength:

"No, it's not!"

"What's not?"

"I'm not--"

The princess was speechless for a moment.

After all, this is unpleasant to hear, but it seems that there is really no point that can be refuted.

He could only shake his head repeatedly with a face full of regret after his face turned blue and purple, and then he sat back in his seat and said in a voice so small that it was almost inaudible.

"……sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Um... before, I kept taking advantage of you... and treating you like a fool... and things like that. I'm really sorry. I... no, anyway, I'm sorry..."

Heidi squeezed out the above words word by word with great difficulty.

Needless to say, even she herself felt that this was completely inadequate.

After a flurry of thoughts in her mind, she suddenly raised her head, stood up again, mustered up her courage and determination, looked directly into Aize's eyes, and said forcefully:

"Aize, please! Please help me! Regarding the past, you can ask me for anything you want, or ask me to do anything you want! So...so now, please! I...please!"

For Heidi, who has always been arrogant, such a statement is the limit of what she can do.

But this is not what Aize wants to hear.

Be it an apology or compensation, it has no value in relation to the past experiences that Aize had gone through. It will only make this page difficult to turn over, and it will be stuck there forever like a fishbone.

Therefore, Aize decided to continue to increase the stakes:

"Whatever you want?"

"Yes! Anything is fine!"

"Then why did you ask me for help?"

"……well?"

Heidi was stunned for a moment, obviously not understanding the meaning of this sentence.

Ai Ze propped himself up, put away any unnecessary expressions on his face, and said in an extremely serious and earnest tone:

"Why did the Duke's Alliance seal off the city? They simply want to trap you inside and wait until the situation is completely irreversible before they come out to clean up the mess."

"That way, they can eliminate you as an obstacle without bloodshed and smoothly secure the inheritance. In other words, they're not targeting the people of the capital, but you."

"If that's the case, then things will be easy, right? You said anything is fine, so why just announce your abdication? As long as you abdicate, they'll start fighting first, and that'll be the end of it, right?"

"..."

This speech completely petrified Heidi.

Of course she had thought of this solution.

This was even thought of when the situation was just beginning to deteriorate and the royal capital was just being blocked.

However, her emphasis on the throne made her brain rule out this option without thinking.

I even blacklisted it and never thought about it again.

But now, Aize, who knew this, took it out again and placed it directly in front of Heidi in an unavoidable form.

This made Heidi feel an unprecedented fear.

Yes, fear.

Fear of the correctness of this proposal.

In this almost desperate situation, any rational thinking will bring this proposal one step closer to becoming a reality.

And this is what Aize really wants to hear.

Regarding the blood plague incident, it’s not that I can’t help you, but you have to give me a reason to help you.

For the people of the capital?

If that's all, why don't you just abdicate? Why come all the way here?

In the final analysis, isn't he still clinging to the throne?

So, the nature of the matter changed from Aize helping to solve the blood plague to helping to hold Heidi's throne.

So what’s the difference between this and before?

no difference.