I Once Thought I Had No Place, Being Married Off to An Enemy Nation as A Token of Apology but That Was Only for One Night - Chapter 17

“I will return to the Greifner territory ahead of you to take command of the knights.”

Despite it being the dead of night, Ludwig headed toward the teleportation magic circle. His expression was the picture of gravity. He was clearly a good lord who did everything in his power for his land. Once he vanished from the teleportation array, Frieda turned back toward me.

“Princess Noel, it is our turn now. First, let us head to Isenwald.” “Yes, let us.”

Ludwig did not trust me. He only accepted my presence because it came as a set with Frieda’s reinforcements. In other words, I was causing trouble for Frieda.

“Frieda, I am sorry.” “There is no need for you to worry. After all, we only have these spare resources thanks to you.” “I suppose so. But still.”

It was an undeniable fact that I had inconvenienced the people of the Isenwald territory. Above all, they did not know that I was the one who purified the Hexagon Hall. To them, I must look like a tyrannical Empress seizing the spare resources that someone else had worked to provide.

When I shared these worries, Frieda gave a carefree laugh.

“It will be fine. If you like, shall we call for volunteers specifically to assist you, Princess Noel? If we do that, you will quickly see that your fears are groundless.” “No, what if no one shows up?”

The thought made me anxious. However.

“A stampede occurred in Lord Ludwig’s territory?” “And Princess Noel is heading there as reinforcement, so we are to assist?” “Then let our units be the ones to go!”

We were in the conference room of Isenwald Castle. As soon as Frieda explained the situation, two knights immediately volunteered.

The first was Kai. The other was the knight who had thanked me before. He was an older knight, which was rare in the Empire, so I remembered him. I believed his name was Riot.

“Then my unit of Saints shall accompany you as well.”

Following them, one of the Saints stepped forward. I remembered her face as well. She had been at the previous meeting and mentioned she was involved in the purification of the Hexagon Hall. She agreed to take the Saints under her command and join the reinforcements.

“It is settled then,” Frieda declared. “The two knight units led by Kai and Riot, and the Saint unit led by Christia shall serve as reinforcements. Prepare for departure immediately!”

At Frieda’s command, everyone began moving busily. Out of the corner of her eye, Frieda looked at me proudly. I could almost hear her saying, “See? I told you it would be fine.”

However, not everyone was well disposed toward me. There were some who wore dissatisfied expressions, as if wondering why they had to lend their strength to the Empress. I wondered why those three had offered to help. As I was thinking this, Christia, the Saint who had volunteered, walked over to me.

“You are the Saint who volunteered to join the reinforcements, are you not?” “Oh, how rude of me. I have not introduced myself yet. Please, call me Christia.” “Well, Christia, I am happy you offered to help. But are you sure? It has been a month—no, it has been less than two weeks. Should you not be saving your holy power for the purification of the Hexagon Hall?”

I recalled her saying she was in charge of the Hexagon Hall. Since she had used her holy power for the previous support, she would have only recovered two weeks’ worth of power. If she used it again now, I worried she would not be ready for the next purification.

“Actually, that is not an issue,” she said with a smile. “Lord Riot and I went to check the status of the Hexagon Hall under Lady Frieda’s supervision. The rate at which the miasma accumulates has become slower than before.”

Because of that, she explained, they had the leeway to send reinforcements.

“But you will be using that leeway for my sake. Are you certain?” “Yes, of course. After all, this is all thanks to your thorough purification work, Princess Noel.” “I see. That is a relief, but wait.”

Wait just a minute. Did she just say I was the one who purified the Hexagon Hall? Did someone tell her? I looked at Kai, but he shook his head vigorously.

“So it was indeed you who purified the Hexagon Hall.”

Seeing my reaction, Christia looked as though her suspicions had been confirmed. It seemed I had been tricked.

“What makes you think I was the one who did it?” “Well, considering the timing, it would be harder not to suspect you, would it not?”

That was true enough. Since no one had pointed it out, I had assumed no one noticed.

“However, there are many unfavorable rumors regarding you, Princess Noel. I imagine many people believed those rumors and excluded you as a possibility. I only realized it because.”

She turned her gaze toward Frieda.

“Did I do something?” Frieda asked. “You gave orders to call off the search for the Saint who purified the Hexagon Hall, did you not?” “Ah, I did say that.”

I see, that was it. The people of the Empire were longing for the return of the White Saint. No one could help but associate the mysterious Saint who purified the Hexagon Hall with her. Under normal circumstances, they would search desperately for the identity of that person.

Yet, Frieda had ordered the search to be called off. In other words.

“You thought Frieda was trying to hide the identity of the person who purified the Hexagon Hall?” “Exactly as you say, Princess Noel. Therefore, given the circumstances, I guessed it was you.” “You got me. Everything you said is correct. I was the one who asked Frieda to keep it a secret.”

When I confessed, Christia and Riot wore expressions of “I knew it.” Frieda bowed her head, saying, “The fact that you were found out is my failure. I am truly sorry!”

“It is not your fault, Frieda. It likely would have been discovered even with a normal investigation.”

The decision to call off the investigation was not a mistake. Above all, they had only discovered the fact that I had performed the purification; they had not realized I was the White Saint. As I was thinking that, Christia spoke again.

“Purifying that much miasma is no ordinary feat. Furthermore, I heard rumors that snow fell in the capital and purified the air. If that is the case.”

This line of conversation was getting dangerous. I was sure she was about to call me the White Saint.

“The Saint of Black Snow possesses power rivaling that of the Great White Saint.”

Wait. What was Christia saying? The Saint of Black Snow had power equal to the White Saint? Since they were just different names for the same person, there was no doubt the power was equal, but I see; that was how they were misunderstanding it.

“It is only natural when you think about it,” Riot added. “If you carry an opposing title like Black Snow to her White Snow, it stands to reason you would possess power equal to the White Saint.”

I was not entirely satisfied with that explanation. Did the possibility that I was the White Saint not even exist to them? Regardless, they had not discovered my true identity, but they had acknowledged me as a Saint of equal caliber. In the end, this was the best possible outcome.

“Since you found out, I suppose it cannot be helped. But please, keep it a secret from everyone else.”

I let a bit of cheerfulness into my voice.

We traveled via the capital and teleported to the Greifner territory. Since the party had been at night, the emergency meeting for the stampede took place in the middle of the night. By the time we gathered reinforcements in Isenwald, it was early morning, so the sun had already risen when we arrived in the Greifner territory.

In the plaza of the castle in the territorial capital, injured people lay as far as the eye could see. Not just the medical teams, but even people who appeared to be civilians were providing treatment, yet they were clearly shorthanded. I bit my lip at the tragic sight.

“Help with the treatment,” Frieda ordered. “As you command.”

In response to Frieda’s order, Christia and the others led their subordinates and ran toward the injured.

“Princess Noel, please wait here for a moment. I will go find Ludwig.” “Yes, I understand.”

I watched Frieda leave. She told me to wait, but I turned my eyes toward the surrounding devastation.

I would not go so far as to call it hell on earth. During my time as a Saint in Ashtal, I had seen similar tragedies many times. But even so.

“I never get used to this.”

To protect someone precious, someone else’s precious person gets hurt. I bit my lip, wishing monsters would just vanish, and began helping with the treatment of the nearby wounded.

After I finished treating several people, I noticed a small girl wandering nearby. She could not have been more than ten years old, with her hair in braids, looking around anxiously.

“Are you lost?” I asked, feeling concerned. The girl shook her head. “Anna is looking for her father.”

My heart sank. That meant Anna’s father was either a knight or a soldier. He was either among these wounded, or perhaps. The worst case scenario flashed through my mind. I chose my words carefully. “So your name is Anna. What is your father’s name?”

“My father’s name is Ash,” Anna replied with an innocent smile.

I prayed her father was safe. Immediately after, a knight I was treating tugged on my sleeve. Sensing a heavy atmosphere from him, I leaned in to listen.

“Ash was a soldier in the unit that stayed behind to act as the rear guard so the civilians we were escorting could escape.” “Are you sure?” “I know Ash. He should have a daughter just about her age.” “I see.”

The rear guard is the unit that stays behind to hold off the enemy’s pursuit. It is a vital role to allow allies to escape, but they do not expect to retreat themselves. It is said that the survival rate of a rear guard unit is less than twenty percent. Anna’s father was in that unit. It was the worst possible case.

“Big sister, you have a scary look on your face. Is something wrong?” Anna tilted her head, and I hurriedly smiled. “It is nothing.” “Is it? Did you not just say my father’s name?” “Oh, no, well. Yes. I was just checking to see when your father might return.” “It is okay! My father will be back by the end of the day!”

Anna’s innocence cut through my heart. I struggled to keep my face from twitching and could only manage to nod and say, “Is that so?”

“You see, today is my birthday! That is why he promised we would all celebrate together!”

It was not the first time I had encountered a situation like this. Even so, I knew I would never get used to it. I clenched my fists so hard that they bled.