Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 259
258: Engagement - Pace
Guarding the prince is certainly a comfortable task. As junior knights, Lena and Leo were assigned to protect the prince, which provided them with ample free time.
This was because they weren't the only ones guarding the prince. In addition to Lena and Leo, four other knights were also assigned, meaning that they only had to work four hours a day to complete their duties.
Of course, Leo worked for eight hours.
Since he found it boring to be alone without Lena, he often accompanied her during her shifts. One day, the prince asked them,
“What’s the nature of your relationship?”
“We’re engaged to be married,” Leo replied, his tone clearly intended to ward off any potential misunderstandings. Lena frowned and gave Leo a sharp jab in the side, annoyed by his bluntness.
“Haha, is that so? You two look good together,” Prince Arnulf de Klaus responded nonchalantly. In truth, he was more interested in Leo than Lena.
[Achievement Unlocked: Meeting Arnulf de Klaus - Gained slight favor from all nobles serving the Klaus royal family. Gained slight favor from Arnulf de Klaus].
This favor likely stemmed from Leo’s achievements and abilities like {Dignity} and {Royal Blood}. The prince, known for his interest in the infamous noble slayer, Noel Dexter, often sought Leo’s advice, which Leo provided without hesitation—especially during Leo’s shifts after Lena had completed hers.
“We need to hasten our advance. Capturing every small village as we go only slightly stabilizes our supply lines and offers little other benefit.”
“Hm. That differs from the general's opinion. So, what’s the reason for rushing?” the prince inquired.
“At this rate, we won’t reach 'Langzra' until around autumn. It’s a small city with less than a thousand people and low walls, but the presence of a mage will make it difficult to capture. We can’t just bypass it either because there’s a river behind the city. We can’t cross the river with the enemy at our backs, so it’s best to arrive at the city as soon as possible and prepare for a siege.”
The prince, examining a map, nodded in understanding.
“So... if we don’t quickly capture this Langzra city, we won’t be able to cross the river this year?”
“Yes. Even if it freezes over, it’s not a river wide enough for an army to march across. So, if we want to reclaim the Asgard region, we must greatly increase our marching speed. If we don’t reach Langzra and secure it as a supply base, we’ll soon be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Bellita Kingdom.”
The prince nodded again, clearly comprehending the situation.
The Bellita Kingdom is a powerful nation. As a kingdom in the continent's center with a long history, it is wealthy and heavily populated.
For the poor, northern Astin Kingdom, Bellita was a formidable opponent. The only reason the Astin army had managed to hold its ground was that their forces largely comprised barbarian warriors who didn’t require combat training. The Astin Kingdom could quickly replenish its troops without needing new soldier training.
However, this advantage was being gradually eroded as the months passed.
Once the Bellita Kingdom’s recruits completed their training, they would be reinforced with large numbers of troops, leaving the Astin Kingdom to be pushed back. This had happened repeatedly in previous campaigns, preventing the Astin Kingdom from reclaiming the Asgard region and leading to frequent defeats.
Leo spoke firmly, “We must capture ‘Toridom’ by next spring at the latest. If we seize that natural fortress, even the Bellita Kingdom’s massive army won’t be able to retake it easily. If we hold it, that place will become the border, and then the surrounding plains... or rather, the Asgard Plain will become ours.”
Leo corrected himself, as he had momentarily confused it with the name from a different timeline where the plains were called the Toddler region.
The Asgard Plain and Toddler region.
This area, called by different names by the two kingdoms, held historical significance for both.
The ‘Asgard’ Plain, where the name of the Aslan Kingdom originated before the northern kingdom split into Astin & Aster Kingdoms.
It was also the homeland of King Maunin and Queen Reti, who liberated the Aslan Kingdom from the Arcaea Empire, making reclaiming this land a long-held aspiration for the northern kingdoms.
On the other hand, the ‘Toddler’ region was where Toddler Akiunen, the founder of the Arcaea Kingdom, and his sister Reisia left their mark on history. Although opinions varied on where they were born, it was generally accepted that they first united human forces here and drove out other races.
Therefore, to the Bellita Kingdom, which claimed to inherit the legacy of the Arcaea Empire, the Toddler region was a crucial territory. The towering ‘Astro’ mountain, on which they built a fortress to honor Toddler Akiunen, was a testament to this. That fortress is known as ‘Toridom.’
Of course, the fortress wasn’t built by the Bellita Kingdom out of nowhere; it was originally a small mountain fort constructed by the Arcaea Empire, deeply connected to the First Saint, Azura.
The prince said, “Your reasoning makes sense. I’ll convey it to the general.”
He then added with a slight, bitter tone, “Since things have come this far, we must win...”
Leo’s suggestion was accepted. With the reinforcements led by the prince, the Astin Kingdom’s army began pushing the frontlines forward, ignoring the smaller villages and advancing swiftly south. By the time they had encircled the city of Langzra, securing only the minimum supply lines, it was the height of summer.
Since it was certain that the Bellita Kingdom’s mage was defending the city, mages from the Legd Tower began setting up a barrier around the city to nullify the Mana Lord’s power, preventing anyone from using magic during the siege. The Legd Tower, associated with the Astin Kingdom, was known for its red-robed mages.
As the red-robed mages circled the city, Leo heightened his vigilance.
This was where Count Herman Forte had appeared. Although they had advanced quickly this time, and it was still a bit early in the season, Count Forte had come to ambush the rear around the time they had encircled this city.
Leo turned to Lena and asked, “Lena, I always stay with you when you work. Can’t you stay with me while I’m working?”
Lena smiled sheepishly and agreed.
“Hehe, sorry. Captain Jensen has been training with me... so I’ve been a bit busy. Are you upset?”
“Yeah. A lot.”
“Sorry. Please don’t be mad~ I won’t do it again.”
Lena cupped Leo’s cheeks, which were puffed out like a bowl, and pleaded. Leo, with a sulky expression, turned his head and said, “Let go.”
Was he really angry? Lena, feeling anxious, mumbled, “...I’ll forgive you if you do something for me...”
“Huh? What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll forgive you if you give me a kiss, but until then, no chance!”
“Oh, fine... Is this okay now?”
- Smooch.
“Hmm. I do feel a bit better, but I need more.”
“That’s enough. You’re not a kid anymore...”
Leo pulled her closer. Well, he tried to pull her in for a kiss, but Lena’s arm shot out, knocking his hand away.
“Try if you can.”
Lena assumed a fairly solid defensive stance. Leo, with a sly grin, pressed down on her raised arm from the outside with his elbow while simultaneously slipping his hand into her armpit.
It was a martial technique designed to cross the opponent's arms and immobilize them by pressing on the scapula. However, just as he was about to secure her, Lena’s hair brushed against his nose as she twirled and somersaulted forward.
“Whoa?!”
Lena flipped through the air and twisted her body upon landing. Leo had no choice but to follow her movement to avoid breaking his arm that was trapped under her armpit.
- Thud!
The result was this. Though it wasn’t exactly a throw, the way Leo ended up on the ground made it look like Lena had thrown him.
As he lay on the firm, sandy ground, Lena looked down at him with a cute, smug expression, her lips tightly pursed, as if daring him to continue.
Hah! I may have underestimated you, but don’t forget, I’m a Sword Master!
With that thought, Leo sprang to his feet and charged at her again. They tussled, arms entwining and occasionally tripping each other up. Although Lena was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, it took a bit of time, but Leo’s superior strength eventually allowed him to pin her down.
“Tch, I guess I can’t win. I’ll surrender—mmph!!”
Leo and Lena shared a kiss.
Something similar had happened a long time ago, but this time was different—completely incomparable to back then.
Back then... I was so weak that I couldn’t even follow Lena onto the battlefield. Now, I wonder how many people are stronger than me.
As he was lost in these thoughts, gazing at Lena with a sense of nostalgia, she spoke.
“You know, I really hated losing to you. Back then, you were such a frail, scholarly type.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I first met you. But even then, your swordsmanship was incredible. I was pretty confident in my weapon skills too.”
“Was I really like that?”
“Yeah. It was the first time I lost to someone my age. That’s when I threw away my hand axe and begged my dad to ask the knight next door to teach me swordsmanship. I wanted to beat you one day.”
...Sorry, but that’s probably never going to happen. Leo felt an unexpected pang of guilt.
“But you always stayed ahead of me. Just when I thought I could finally catch up, you’d be ahead again... Honestly, it’s still like that now.”
“...”
“But I’ve decided not to worry about it anymore.”
“...What?”
Leo thought perhaps he hadn’t hidden it well enough, expecting Lena to start lamenting. But instead, she looked directly at him and spoke clearly, with a confident smile on her face.
“I think I’ve finally perfected my swordsmanship. Well, maybe ‘perfected’ is too strong a word. Let’s just say it’s fully formed. And once I got to that point, I realized that comparing myself to others didn’t really matter anymore. It’s all about how precisely I can execute my sword technique.”
“...”
“Just saying. I started thinking that way around yesterday. I still want to beat you, though... Oh, I’m not sure how to explain this properly. Haha. But when are we going to make our mark? Are we really going to become knights just by guarding the prince?”
“No. But wait a little longer. We’ll get our chance to shine soon.”
Leo spoke with confidence, holding Lena’s hand. He was proud of her for reaching such an advanced stage in her growth, where she no longer compared herself to others.
It was the mindset of a knight who had just created their own swordsmanship.
- All that matters is doing my best. Perfectly embodying my own style comes first.
Immersed in her unique swordsmanship, she was at the point where the gap between herself and an ordinary swordsman had grown significantly.
Of course, to break through this stage and progress further, one must start considering their opponents again—whether in practice duels or life-and-death battles, it's not something you can do alone...
Thinking this, Leo couldn’t help but laugh.
Despite overcoming her regrets, Lena was still determined to catch up to him. He had a feeling that she would soon move beyond this third stage—according to the achievement system—and quickly enter the fourth stage, where her swordsmanship would harmonize with others.
Even now, her skills would earn her recognition anywhere, but once she reached that level, she wouldn’t be far from matching even Sword Masters. She’d be in the same league as top knights like his father, Jensen, Lloyd Agnac, and Sir Hazen—strong enough to challenge even the likes of Sir Bart, who was perhaps the strongest knight not yet a Sword Master.
How could he not be thrilled? Lena had the perfect environment to continue growing.
True to this, Count Herman Forte did not appear until the Astin Kingdom army had captured Langzra. Leo thought to himself that perhaps the count really would only show up in autumn.
Minseo might have thought differently, though...
Lena is growing too quickly.
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Chapter 259
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