“……!”

As if it were a lie, knights in black armor suddenly emerged from all sides of the square and began to blend into the crowd.

More precisely, with each passing, people fell, but to Cael’s eyes, it felt like different colors of paint mixing.

“……The Basker Empire’s army is occupying this area and coming this way….”

Before finishing the situation report, an arrow from somewhere pierced the knight’s throat.

“……!”

Cael was startled by the sight of the dying knight right in front of him.

‘S-Scary.’

His arms and legs started to tremble.

And in front of his eyes, the density of the black paint in the square was increasing.

‘I have to run away, I have to run…’

Although the thought continued to repeat in his mind, his legs wouldn’t move.

The knights who had surrounded Cael a while ago were also keeping their distance to fight the enemy.

‘Is this how I’m going to die?’

Even then, he thought he could soon go to his mother and uncle.

A Paradium knight charging toward the center of the square shouted.

“Look! There’s the Emperor of Basker over there!”

The knight’s shout pointed to a man sitting on a large black horse, looking down at the battlefield with serene eyes.

‘T-That person is the enemy leader. The Emperor of Basker…’

Even from a distance, he exuded such an overwhelming presence that his legs trembled involuntarily.

In Cael’s young eyes, the Basker Emperor felt like an insurmountable giant wall.

Cael despaired twice.

Once when his mother and uncle Siren Marquis’s heads fell, and once again when the Paradium army helplessly faced the arrows and swords pouring down like rain from the enemy…

Numerically and individually, it seemed clear that the Basker army would gain the upper hand.

Sure enough.

Among the Paradium soldiers fighting against the enemy, individuals began to emerge one by one, leaving the front lines.

The Paradium Imperial Army, accustomed to peace, was powerless. Boosted by consecutive victories, the Basker Imperial Army was in high spirits.

“I… I’m going to die….”

Anyone witnessing the miserable scene in front of their eyes would likely think that.

But Cael didn’t want to die.

Even if it meant living to prove the innocence of his unfairly departed mother and uncle.

In the grip of despair, Cael finally stood up. He brushed off the dust on his knees and wiped away tears on his sleeves, already stained with dried tears.

And without looking back, Cael ran away. Without knowing where to escape.

At that moment, someone called out to Cael.

“Hey! Kid!”

Cael turned his head in the direction of the voice. It was a man carrying a slightly younger girl on his back.

“Looks like you lost your mom. Stay with me until you find her.”

He reached out his hand to Cael.

Amidst everyone hastily fleeing to find their own escape route, was there still someone left with compassion?

When Cael reached out, the man had already left his side.

“……”

Cael watched the backs of people running away in confusion, avoiding flying arrows and swords.

But they too were subdued by the Basker army lying in ambush.

Suddenly, he remembered a lesson from a history class he had taken at some point.
“If a country falls, the emperor and his bloodline are said to be the first to be eliminated.”

Even if Cael tried to escape since the authors noticed he was of imperial blood, it seemed only a matter of time before he was caught.

Cael couldn’t resist the knights who took his mother, nor could he resist the knights dragging him to the square.

In that situation, there was no way to escape the Basker warriors.

‘Maybe… it’s for the best.’

Cael really thought so.

At least he could die at the hands of the enemy, not at the hands of the imperial citizens who killed their empress.

“Is Prince Cael correct?”

A Basker knight who approached politely asked.

Cael raised his head and looked at the man in front of him.

A handsome young man with dark blond hair and green eyes was staring at Cael.

Cael held back the urge to cry and asked, “Are you here to take me away?”

“Yes.”

“If you take me… will you kill me in front of everyone?”

Like my mother and uncle just before.

The man, looking awkward, narrowed his eyes slightly in response to Cael’s question.

“I doubt it.”

Cael’s head tilted. Was this enemy someone who could sympathize with a child?

“W-Why?”

“Would you have preferred if I killed you?”

Cael, unable to answer the man’s question, could only purse his lips.

“Dahn! What are you doing standing there?”

Another Basker knight approached, taller than the one who had spoken to Cael, with a sharp impression.

“Vane! Report to Her Majesty. We found the prince, the son of the Empress.”

Dahn responded to Vane with a loud, resounding voice. He didn’t forget to boast that he was the one who found the prince first.

“Oh! Is this the child?”

However, Vane, unfazed by Dahn’s provocation, looked at Cael with widened eyes.

“A child… Address him as Prince.”

Dahn cautiously corrected his address to Cael.

“He looks incredibly cute.”

But Vane just lightly patted Cael’s head.

“Terrifying!”