Chapter 57: The Back
After putting a stop to the misconduct of our own soldiers, I headed straight for the headquarters where Princess Emma the Second was stationed.
“You! You slipped out on your own again! I told you to stay put and wait in the house!”
“Isn’t there something more important to focus on than that?”
“…Ah—”
The moment she saw my face, her first reaction was to question why I had left the place where I was supposed to be confined.
But with just a single sentence from me, all of Princess Emma’s momentum drained away at once.
“A woman was about to be assaulted… If I hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have been able to stop our own atrocity.”
“…!”
My words caught in her throat, leaving her unable to respond.
“Our objective is to restore the former Kingdom of Poln as an independent state, have them become an ally, entrust them with maintaining order within their own territory, and allow us to focus entirely on fighting the Rosha Empire’s forces. If resentment festers here and leads to a situation where we’re attacked from behind, that would be the worst possible outcome.”
“…You’re right.”
She nodded weakly, her expression dimmed.
“This is my failure. Perhaps… my policy was mistaken…”
“No, it’s not entirely your fault, Princess.”
Seeing her lose her usual composure, I offered a quiet word of reassurance.
“I likely would have adopted the same policy myself.”
Increasing troop numbers alone wouldn’t eliminate incidents like this.
If anything, having fewer soldiers might actually reduce the chances of such events occurring.
In a newly occupied city, with only a limited number of Lunoa Kingdom soldiers visible in the streets, anyone brazen enough to attempt something like that was reckless to begin with.
“What matters more is what comes next. Preventing a second occurrence—that should be our top priority.”
“…Yes, you’re right.”
At my words, Princess Emma nodded again, bringing a hand to her chin as she fell into thought.
“…Hey, Noah.”
“What is it?”
“Have you read the laws of the former Kingdom of Poln?”
“The laws? No. I’ve familiarized myself to some extent with those of the Rosha Empire, but not the former kingdom’s.”
“When I learned we would be coming east, I read through them a few times. They’re quite… archaic. Hardly what you’d expect from anything resembling a modern state.”
“Well, the Kingdom of Poln was divided before it ever had the chance to modernize.”
“…We’re scheduled to meet with a member of the former royal family soon. The question is whether they still remember their own laws.”
“What are you planning?”
“I feel sorry for the victim, but… I’m considering using this incident as an example. A warning.”
“If it prevents a second offense, then I think it’s justified.”
“This happened because of my lack of oversight. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
I gave a small nod before continuing.
“Then I’ll head to my company. I’ve already entrusted them with handling compensation for the woman who was harmed, so I’ll go confirm the arrangements.”
“…Very well. I’ll allow it.”
“Heh, thank you.”
I spoke as calmly as ever, but in reality, I had a stab wound in my back.
For now, I had only pressed some cloth against it to slow the bleeding. I should head to my company quickly and receive proper treatment. It wasn’t life-threatening… but being stabbed still hurt enough to make me want to cry.
“Well then.”
Turning my back to Princess Emma, I moved to leave the room.
“…Wait.”
Her voice stopped me.
“Hm?”
“That wound on your back. What happened?”
“…Ah.”
Right—perhaps the injury was affecting me more than I realized.
Why had I so casually turned my back toward her like that?
Regret creeping in, I slowly turned my gaze back to her.
She was staring at me—silently, intently—with eyes devoid of any emotion, fixed on me in a heavy, unrelenting gaze.
“…Run.”
After a brief moment of eye contact, I made my decision and bolted at full speed, fleeing from Princess Emma.
“Waitttt! No—don’t move, your wound—! Someone, someone stop Noah!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Princess Emma immediately gave chase after me.