As the crimson blade with a sharp edge pointed towards me, Walter twisted his lips into a smile.

“Despite repeated failures, he keeps persisting.”

He swung the magic-infused sword toward the assailant.

“It’s a bit short to reach me… Ugh!”

The assassin, who had been underestimating the length of Walter’s sword and growing complacent, was driven into the ground.

He vomited blood, realizing that thoroughly analyzing Walter’s movements was futile.

Just a few days ago, he hadn’t used attacks that sent sword energy flying like this. How could he have become so natural in just a few days…

Cassius looked at Walter and personally closed the eyes of the trembling assassin, smiling.

“On my side, I’m scared enough, but how will it look to our enemies.”

Walter, seemingly uninterested in his thoughts, gripped his sword and approached the oncoming enemies.

As most of the volunteer corps members headed toward the central square, Edith returned to her room, feeling an unusually heavy body.

Vivian, who had been pretending to do what Edith had asked in her room, stood up when she saw Edith’s pale complexion.

“Are you okay? Shall I make room for you to take a short nap?”

“It’s okay. I can’t kick you out when I’m the one who asked. It’s getting chilly, and I think I might be catching a cold.”

Edith had been looking into inns and hotels for about a fortnight now. She had heard Walter’s response that he would leave the volunteer corps as soon as Helen’s succession was over, so she couldn’t just stay here alone.

“After finishing what needs to be done in the territory, then…”

Edith rested her hand on her still-flat belly.

Originally, she had planned to start attending the academy after accumulating a considerable amount of money in her account. Money problems could be solved somehow if she worked hard enough after she changed her appearance.

But now, the situation was a bit more complicated due to the child in her belly.

The choices she was considering were only two. She could get rid of the child, which would be tough, or she could raise the child, which would also be challenging.

One thing was for sure; there was no option of failing to protect the child.

Even after confirming her pregnancy, she hadn’t felt the reality of it yet, so discussing the academy at this point was too uncertain.

“For now, I should find a place to stay and think about it calmly. Maybe even visit my old home.”

Edith unknowingly wore a melancholic expression. Seeing this, Vivian clapped her hands, thinking it was her fault.

“It’s really okay. Don’t worry.”

Vivian wasn’t just saying empty words. In fact, she was only pretending to do what Edith had asked. On the day Edith escaped from the Portrian mansion, Cassius had helped her pack the mistress’s belongings and made a daring suggestion.

“Vivian, did you see earlier when Walter took the mistress outside the mansion? Walter broke the mistress’s confinement spell.”

“Even though he’s not a magician?”

“I was surprised too… Turns out he has a remarkable flow of magic in his body. The commander of the Imperial Knights, who served for decades, said he had never seen as much magic in one person as in him.”

In the Empire, those who could use magic were quite rare. Walter had been locked up in the mansion by the mistress all along, but the fact that he had such an enormous magical power meant that there was an incredible secret behind him.

“I don’t know for sure, but considering that he comes from a good family, and he was locked up in the mansion for so long, there must be a significant secret related to his birth.”

Thinking like that, when Cassius handed her two gold coins, Vivian asked, “Why are you giving me this?”

“I plan to follow that guy to the capital. So, I need someone to look after the mistress.”

“…Isn’t it a given that the mistress will go with you?”

“The academy the mistress has always wanted to attend is in the capital, and Walter received an enormous sum of money as compensation from Lady Helen.”
“I plan to follow that guy to the capital, you see. Then we’ll need someone to take care of the mistress.”

“…But isn’t it assumed that the mistress will naturally go with you?”

“The academy the mistress always wanted to attend is in the capital, and Walter, that guy, received an enormous sum of money as compensation from Lady Helen.”

According to what Cassius slightly let slip, Walter’s compensation was enough to buy three luxurious mansions in the central part of the capital.

‘Having Walter with us should definitely make it safer.’

In these times when there were more people than ever highly regarding Lady Helen, the benefactor of my mother, Edith, couldn’t be left in a dangerous place.

In addition to that, knowing how much Edith wanted to go to the capital, Vivian willingly accepted two gold coins.

So, it became a matter of merely pretending to fulfill Edith’s request to find a decent place to stay within the Portrian territory for a few months.