Vortex(4)

After the knot in her heart was untied, she easily managed everything. Even Brendel was relieved to see her so headstrong and resilient again. He may have liked the helpless looking princess back then, but compared to her now, she was far more alluring.

That’s most likely because she fits the image I’ve had of her.

But Brendel didn’t let his guard down. Although the princess might be temporarily uplifted, for now, it did not change the fact that they were still in a very difficult situation. And at least before the preparations were ready, Brendel knew she still had one more problem in mind…

He did not intend to speak up but he was waiting for someone else to raise the question. Oberwei was attentive and Maynild wasn’t stupid either. There’s no need for him to be a smart aleck.

And when Brendel looked over, he was fascinated by Maynild. She was just standing there silently, releasing an aura that was familiar to him.

Familiar but yet unfamiliar.

The room was quiet for a moment. Maynild naturally felt the gaze of the young man staring at her, but every time she looked at him, she would see him avert his eyes quickly.

“Hmm,” The Maynild frowned slightly. Not far from her, Princess Gryphine was working when she suddenly turned around and looked at Oberwei who was also working silently.

She wants to speak with me, Maynild thought to herself.

“Your Royal Highness, how do we deal with Prince Haruz?” she asked silently.

The sentence struck her, and the princess was stunned briefly. Brendel even saw her slender fingers shiver.

It was unavoidable. Ever since Haruz entered the Royal Cavalry Academy, he was under the guidance of the Royal Faction. It may seem like protection, but as time grew on, it became closer to that of surveillance and custody. Finally, he became the Royal Faction’s hostage. Adding the fact that Makarov, Marquis Baal, and the others were not easy to mess with, it would be hard to get the young prince back.

“Of course we have to get him back, we cannot let my brother become their hostage.” the princess replied.   But how? the princess frowned. She could only command a small team of amateurs who had yet to graduate from the Academy, and their numbers were not even half of the Royal Cavalry.

Furthermore, the princess had not officially broken up with the Royal Faction. They could not. If they did lose the hostage, there would be a chance that the Royal Faction may side with the Holy Cathedral of Fire. But chances of that happening is slim, so it was not that big of a concern.

The room fell silent.

“Why don’t we try to negotiate with the other nobles?” Oberwei offered. “If we’re really at our last straw, maybe we can seek help from the Knight of the Lake, who knows – “

“I will try to convince Freya,” Maynild answered softly. She was as calm as a statue and did not show a hint of anxiety.

The strength shown by the Knight of the Lake was second only to Andesha whom Brendel met in the Loop of Winds. It was not surprising that Oberwei thought of him. As the wielder of the Lionheart Sword, the Knight of Lake protected Freya but she has no control over the powerful entity.

Oberwei was well aware of this too. But they did not have any better ideas right now.

Brendel could not hold it any longer. He shook his head and interrupted, “ I do not think it will work, Lord Oberwei. To get the princess’ brother back is not a hard task, we just have to modify our schedule.”

“Modify our schedule?” everyone repeated in a shocked tone.

“I recommend that we do not leave too early, it will be best if we waited for the meeting to end,” Brendel replied. “In fact, there is no difference if we take action now or later. Even if we take action now, it will be chaotic and destructive outside. It would be easier if we waited for our chance.”

“Not to mention-”

“Not to mention the most dangerous place is the safest place, and staying here would be the better option. Who knows? Maybe we’ll have better odds of leaving this place in the future?” It was Princess Gryphine who completed his sentence.

“Of course, we can also choose to kill them when they leave or enter the Anderla Cathedral. Their guard will be at the lowest then.”

“And the point is, if we attend the meeting, Makarov and the others will let their guards down, thinking that the princess would definitely not split up with them,” Brendel explained while Oberwei nodded in agreement.

They are all intelligent people. I’m just accelerating the timeline with my past experiences and giving them the ideas earlier on,  Brendel thought.the princess and her people will face challenging situations in the future. Who knows what the Holy Cathedral of Fire will do?

Upon hearing Brendel’s explanation, everyone was enlightened.

“It’s decided that the Royal Faction will wage war with Duke Seifer after the meeting, right? There’s gonna be a good show!” in an instant, the princess managed to grasp the entire situation that was about to happen and laughed sarcastically, “Even if the Holy Cathedral of Fire wanted to attack us, it would definitely not happen in the near future. After all, they have to wait for the northern army to arrive, don’t they?”

“Since we are all going to attend the meeting, can Mr. Brendel escort His Royal Highness out of his manor?” the princess requested.

Rather than escorting, why don’t you call it daylight abduction? Brendel shook his head, saying, “I am not suitable for this role. First, I do not know the prince. Secondly, I’m afraid that the size of your army will be insufficient at breaking through the encapsulation this time. I have one squad in Ampere Seale too, I will lead them to assist you instead.”

Everyone there who heard Brendel lifted their heads and looked at him. They have never thought that Brendel would have brought an army with him. As the Royal Family’s ‘secret agent’, the credit would definitely fall upon the princess.

Oberwei looked at her student, Could it be that she had already anticipated this situation?

Only Princess Gryphine’s eyes sparkled.

Freya’s POV

“The princess requested Sir Benninger to escort Prince Haruz？”

Storms and lightning were upon the whole city, the clouds were like a canvas smeared with grey and black paint. Each layer of the clouds was soaked in both colors, its form changing.

Water droplets rolled down the brim, making thin trickles flow down the tarpaulin cape. Freya turned, her greyish brown eyes sparkling under the moonlight. She looked at Brendel from her side, her fair skin glowing like a jade.

Brendel nodded his head.

The Sir Benninger he knew was the youngest son of Duke Seifer. He came to the camp with the admiration he had towards the princess. There was nothing particularly notable in history, except that he became the head of the Seifer Family later on.

Sir Benninger was loyal to the princess, yet at the same time, he was not of the Royal Faction. This made him the perfect candidate for this role. But somehow, Brendel did not feel good about that decision, Is this jealousy?

“ I heard…” Freya hesitated.

“Heard what?” Brendel turned to look at her. The childishness was gone, but her tough nature as Bucce’s female military captain remained.

“Sir Benninger is Duke Seifer’s youngest son. For him to come here, he must have betrayed his family. I believe she has her reasons for trusting him that much,” Freya replied.

Brendel neither agreed nor objected to that statement.

While she may be harsh and direct in her words, Brendel did not discard the possibility that she might have a tender heart. Although her status as a member of House Covardo may not let her be together with Benninger’s House Seifer, it may be that Sir Benninger had really won the heart of the princess.

The rain picked up, with streaks of lightning lighting up the whole place, blinding the world with whiteness. Anderla Cathedral stood silently in the rain, like a silent citadel. And the walls were filled with statues of gargoyles and dragons, each of them a valuable art treasure.

The two of them were hiding in an alley across a street from the cathedral. It was close to the appointed meetup time with Magadal.

Although he said that he was coming here to steal a ship’s portrait, in reality, he was just here to meet Magadal. After all, with the Demon Whale in his hands, there was no need for him to go look for trouble.

Freya felt admiration. After all, most girls were weak towards romantic topics. Not to mention how noble Sir Benninger’s act was for him to willingly betray his family for his love.

That was a story that only existed in novels.

Brendel could not help himself observing this War Goddess who had revealed her cute side. For some reason, he felt that he could only be himself and relax in front of Romaine and Freya.

Freya was also someone who was willing to sacrifice anything for her ideals like Sir Benninger. And now that he was also working to save the Kingdom and everyone in it, it seemed like they were the same too.

Except that Brendel was working to fix the timeline.

Freya turned around and was shocked by his expression, “ Is there something on my face?”

“No… no.” Brendel shook his head immediately.

“Why hasn’t Princess Magadal come out yet?” Freya impatiently asked…

Brendel looked at the time, She should arrive right about now.. He lifted his head to look at the cathedral’s back door… but there was no one there. He frowned. People would normally be on time during meetups like this… Unless a situation arose.

Plus Princess Magadal was not a careless person.

He suddenly felt anxious.

“Is there something wrong, Brendel?” Freya asked when she noticed his unease.

“It is past the appointed time,” Brendel answered.

She frowned slightly, “Could it be… that Princess Magadal is in trouble?”

“It is possible,” Brendel said. He could only give it a guess.

“What should we do now?” Freya asked concernedly.

Brendel frowned. He could have taken the ship’s portrait anytime. But in actual fact, he was here to discuss the contents of the letter that the newly installed Archbishop Moros handed to Wood. Even though he could have easily guessed it, he wanted to have confirmation with Magadal.

The safest thing to do was to leave now. But Brendel felt uneasy. If he were to leave without a word, it would be like a betrayal to Princess Magadal who might be in trouble in the Anderla Cathedral.

It was just like abandoning his own comrade, which he loathed more than anything else.

“Brendel, should we go in and look for her?” Freya asked with a frail voice. “ Magadal is a good friend of the princess…”

“How do you plan on going in?”

“I don’t know. But still, we can give it a try, can’t we? There must be a way to do so.”

Such naivety. It seems like she still hasn’t changed that much Brendel shook his head and said, “Nevermind.” But before Freya could glare at him, he added, “Ah! I know. Come follow me-”.

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