Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru

Neither moved nor spoke as they stood facing each other.

The long silence that fell over the corridor was finally broken—by Hilde.

Clack.

The sound of her single step echoed down the hallway.

“Stop right there.”

Klaus’s command came immediately.

Standing protectively in front of me, his cold gaze fixed firmly on Hilde.

“No one is allowed beyond this point. Leave.”

His voice, uncharacteristically cold and hard for Klaus, gave the order.

Hilde flinched violently, as if struck by a whip. Her face pale, she stopped in her tracks and looked at me, almost as if clinging to hope.

“…Princess…”

Her voice, like her clasped hands, trembled.

Though we had barely met before, she was looking to me for salvation—but I didn’t know what to do. Just as I struggled with my unease, Klaus took a step forward, blocking my view.

“I said leave. Are you deaf?”

His fingers touched the hilt of the sword at his waist. The faint click of contact rang out louder than it should have.

I wanted to talk to Hilde, but now wasn’t the time. She might be plotting something—and more than that, if she came any closer, Klaus might truly cut her down.

“…,”

“I didn’t know—!”

I was just about to tell her to leave, but she spoke first, nearly shouting.

“This… this isn’t what I wanted. I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know!”

“…What are you talking about?”

She muttered incoherently, lost in confusion. Klaus frowned suspiciously at her seemingly unstable behavior, but something about her words struck a chord with me.

She said she didn’t know.

That things would turn out this way—she didn’t know.

I was stunned.

Had that man really involved her in such a large-scale crime without even telling her part of the plan? She was nothing more than a disposable pawn—a sacrifice.

I almost felt pity… but I scolded myself for it. She could be lying. It was entirely possible that she was making it all up, cornered and desperate.

Even so… my heart wavered.

“I… I…”

She took a shaky step forward, her balance unsteady.

Her face was ashen, her eyes hollow. Even her usually neat hair was disheveled, but she didn’t seem to care. She looked like a ghost—too fragile for it to be an act.

If all of this were just a performance to earn leniency, then she was worthy of being called a peerless actress.

“Lady Rosemarie, please step back.”

Klaus, seeing Hilde approach, finally drew his sword. The double-edged blade gleamed dully, snapping me back to reality.

This was no time to stand around.

“Klaus, please don’t be too rough—”

“I understand.”

His voice was calm as he responded to my hasty plea.

Though it worried me to see him point the tip of his sword at her, I had no choice but to trust him. As I stepped back, Hilde, as if drawn by my movement, stepped forward.

“Wait.”

My lips moved silently, forming the word.

Just then, as I gasped at the despair etched on her face—heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Suddenly, a man appeared at the far end. Clad in the armor of the royal guard, he stormed forward, metal clanking loudly with each step.

Mid-charge, he drew the sword at his waist—and swung it straight down at Hilde.

“Get out of the way!!”

“Ah—! Guh… aaah!!”

Hilde, frozen in shock, reacted to my scream just in time to pull back—

But not fast enough.

The blade slashed across her right shoulder, sending her flying into the wall.

Hitting the wall hard, she collapsed limply, blood soaking through her clothes from the gash in her shoulder.

“Ah…”

“Are you unharmed, Your Highness?”

The man who had just slashed a girl now turned to me, speaking as casually as if commenting on the weather.

It was Niklas von Bülow.

His light brown eyes, which had seemed gentle from a distance, now looked disturbingly savage and murky.

“My deepest apologies. I looked away for just a moment and allowed you to be endangered.”

“What are you talking about…!?”

Niklas wore a solemn expression, but it felt fake—like a mask pasted over his face. It made my skin crawl.

With a dismissive motion, he swept his sword near Hilde. Her skirt was torn, and something clattered to the ground with a metallic sound.

A small dagger, roughly 15 centimeters in length, had fallen out. It had likely been hidden in a garter belt.

Niklas picked up the knife and deliberately held it out for me to see.

“As you can see, this woman is part of the enemy’s faction. We received intelligence from certain sources, but gathering proof has proven difficult.”

…What the hell is he talking about?

He spouted lies with such ease, as if breathing.

To someone like me—born into peace, raised in a sheltered world—even after my reincarnation, this was my first true encounter with pure malice.

Niklas’s eyes showed no remorse, no anger, no sadness—not even pity.

They were cold and hollow, like someone discarding a broken tool. The emptiness in his eyes was so revolting it made me nauseous.

“Ugh…”

Perhaps regaining consciousness, Hilde moaned softly and stirred against the wall.

But before I could react, Niklas stepped forward. With a clatter of armor, he raised his sword again.

“Stop this!!”

“Lady Rosemarie!”

I tried to run forward, but Klaus blocked me.

Though he had remained silent until now, he reacted the moment I moved—focused entirely on protecting me. No one could exploit that kind of dedication.

I was easily caught and held back. I bit my lip in frustration.

“Your Highness, as long as this woman lives, she will be a threat to you. She must be eliminated.”

“And who gave you that authority!? I’m ordering you to stop!!”

Held back by Klaus, I shouted at him.

But Niklas didn’t hesitate. Like a third-rate actor, he shook his head with an exaggerated gesture.

“I’ll accept whatever punishment you wish to give me later. But I cannot allow this woman to live.”

“…!”

No use. He wasn’t going to listen to me at all. He intended to kill Hilde here, no matter what.

My heart pounded painfully.

Blood roared through my veins. A ringing filled my ears. My head throbbed. I couldn’t breathe—how do you breathe again?

I gasped like a fish out of water, unable to take in air. Through the haze, I locked eyes with Hilde, who had raised her face.

Her tear-filled green eyes looked up at me. Her trembling lips slowly formed words.

“……!!”

Help me, they said.

“Stop…!!”

I reached out. A blade came down.

The red-tinted sword tip moved in slow motion, burning into my vision.

No matter how I cried or screamed, I couldn’t reach her.

“Stop ittttt!!”

Thud!!

“Guh!!”

A dull impact rang out.

Niklas’s sword flew from his hands, spinning through the air before stabbing into the floor. A stone, the size of a clenched fist, rolled beside him as he groaned and held his left hand.

“Ah…”

“You are in the presence of Her Highness. Show some restraint, Niklas.”

At the end of the corridor stood a man who had just finished his throw, now lowering his stance.

With a stern expression and eyes like polished obsidian filled with sharp anger, he exuded authority. Niklas gasped—but I, in contrast, felt the tension leave my body.

I wasn’t afraid of him. I could never be afraid.

Because in a moment when no one else would listen—he heard my voice.

Because only Lord Leonhart… granted my wish.