Diane curled herself up. Though she felt somewhat reassured by the body heat of Giselle on her right and Ludiger on her left, she could feel Giselle's hands trembling.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"O-of course... Grandmother and the others are calm, but I've never been on a battlefield."
"A child like you wouldn't be on a battlefield."
"You're just a child too."
"I'm already sixteen."
Even at a time like this, their tone with each other hadn't changed. Just not being alone was so reassuring.
"It's only nuns here. Take everything you can!"
Hearing these violent words, Diane quietly looked up at Ludiger's face. She felt him tightly clench his hand. She reached out and held it.
"...Princess."
Giselle held her other hand. What they could hear were angry shouts of men and women, screams, and the sound of things being destroyed.
"It's my fault."
Ludiger bit his lip.
"Because of me, causing such trouble—"
"It's not your fault."
Giselle, who hadn't seemed to think well of Ludiger, slowly spoke.
"This area is poor. They probably knew this abbey had treasures and came to steal them."
"Treasures?"
"Yes. Money from lodging travelers, from the nuns' 'work.' And because they're keeping the Princess—"
"Ah, right. There's a 'Princess' here too."
Ludiger laughed softly and withdrew his hand from Diane's. Then he placed it on her head. His hand was so big, it made her heart flutter somehow.
Even though she had just confessed whose daughter she was, he acted as if nothing had changed.
Just that made her chest hurt so much. Probably, surely—it would hurt even more when he left this place.
While nervously listening to the sounds outside, the storage room door burst open with a bang.
Holding their breath, Diane's heartbeat thundered so loudly in her ears that she worried it might echo throughout the world.
"This is just storage. Looks like nobody's here."
She felt Ludiger's hand tense. The man turned on his heel, apparently deciding there were no treasures here. But Giselle, unable to bear the tension, coughed.
"Someone's here!"
With that shout, the man ran toward them.
"I was taught that for a king to be king, he should sacrifice himself for the people's happiness..."
Ludiger stood up, looking dejected.
"But all I can do is protect this place. Giselle, Diane, don't move!"
The moment after he shouted, his sword flashed.
Something hot splattered on her cheek. At the time, she didn't realize it was blood spurting from the neck of the man Ludiger had cut down.
All Diane saw was Ludiger wielding his sword lightly, fiercely, cruelly. Even in the dim shed, she could see him clearly.
"H-hyaaah!"
One man Ludiger had missed came toward them. With a trembling voice, Giselle thrust her sword.
The man easily dodged her movement and tried to strike at Giselle.
"...Yaah!"
Diane, who had been crouching down, swept at the man's legs—with the sword she had been holding. As the man stumbled, Giselle quickly thrust her sword.
"Princess, Princess—are you alright!"
"Y-yes..."
When she struck the man's legs with her sword, there was an unpleasant sensation. It seemed to make her realize just how serious taking a life was. The raw feeling of cutting flesh. The cry of pain.
"Giselle, Giselle... I'm sorry."
The smell of blood hung in the air, and Diane's face was covered in splattered blood. Giselle had also sat down, breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, it seemed fierce fighting was still continuing outside the storage room.
By the time Mother Superior Clara and the others arrived, the battle was completely over.
"Giselle... well done. You too, Ludiger."
Four bodies lay in the storage room. One was the man Diane and Giselle had taken down together. The other three were those Ludiger had killed.
"What kind of place is this abbey!"
"It's just a gathering of women with 'circumstances.'"
Her stern expression softened slightly.
"But now I understand why you stayed here. In your own way, you're trying to protect the people around here."
"We were planning to shelter the villagers here in emergencies. Maybe our training wasn't enough—we'll have to rethink things."
Then the Mother Superior knelt before Diane.
"Thank goodness you're safe, Princess."
Her large hands enveloped Diane's.
I couldn't do anything—Diane looked down. She had just been protected by the two of them.
"Ludiger, are you injured?"
"No."
"Then you should leave this abbey immediately. If word spreads that this abbey was attacked, Maxim's men will come. It would be bad if you were here then."
"What do you mean? This abbey isn't that safe either. Wouldn't I be of some use if I stayed—at least I was useful just now."
The Mother Superior shook her head at Ludiger's words.
"Ludiger Betancourt. You look just like your father. People would recognize you immediately. Besides, if you disappear, the Sevran royal bloodline will end. I hear the king and crown prince died in battle."
"Why," Ludiger whispered. The Mother Superior held out the blood-wiped sword to him.
"As a mercenary, I worked wherever I was hired. I worked for your father too. That's why I knew your identity from the start—your father was a fine man."
Hearing this, Ludiger's eyes widened.
This was the first time Diane learned that Ludiger wasn't just a soldier, but someone of Sevran royal blood.
"...You won't hand me over to Maxim?"
"We weren't commissioned to hand over anyone from the Sevran royal family. We don't take jobs we weren't hired for—I was only hired to protect Princess Diane here. On the request of Queen Blanche of Toredrio."
Ah, as I thought, Diane thought.
Earlier, Giselle had unconsciously referred to her as Queen Blanche of Toredrio. They didn't recognize her father as her mother's husband.
—Then.
What was she, who carried her father's blood, to them? Someone they should be loyal to? Or...
"Queen of Toredrio—but she's also Maxim's queen, isn't she?"
"That's what the world says. But we don't recognize Maxim as king. Our cherishing the Princess is a separate matter.
Pack your things quickly and leave. I'll have our young ones escort you partway."
Things were being decided quickly right before her eyes.
—Ludiger was leaving.
Though he had said he would free her, he was leaving.
"Ludiger, are you really leaving?"
She wanted to be with him a little longer. But that was no longer allowed.
"I'll come for you. Not too far in the future."
The mark of his promise was a gentle kiss on her forehead.
That's when it started. The habit of touching her forehead sometimes.