The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 48
Yes, I was in the midst of learning swordplay from Rotar.
Shisha’s surprise attack had been the catalyst, but it wasn’t the whole reason.
“More and more people will want to kill Elise.”
Rotar was right. Even setting aside Maximilian, my life was drifting further from anything ordinary.
Even after avenging myself and becoming Empress, threats to my life would be endless. There would be times when enemies drew too close for a gun to be practical.
Learning to defend myself seemed like it wouldn’t hurt.
Rotar stood behind me and pointed out several vital points on the large straw dummy. But the last spot he indicated was, inevitably, the neck.
“Aim for the neck if possible.”
“Why?”
“It’s more likely to be exposed than other vital points, uncovered by clothing or armor. Even with modest force, the impact is significant.”
He subtly wrapped his remaining arm around my waist. I almost teased him about whether a teacher should behave this way, but the pleasant warmth felt too good to protest.
Rotar continued speaking as he gently rubbed my upper abdomen.
“However, you needn’t focus solely on the neck. Real situations have too many variables.”
“Then…?”
His finger lightly jabbed my solar plexus.
“This works well too. For now, just stab anywhere you can. That way, you’ll at least buy yourself time.”
My teacher was oddly forward, yet everything he said made sense.
I swallowed my laughter and looked down at the silver-hilted dagger in my hand. Suddenly, the end of the fourth cycle flashed through my mind.
‘I won.’
That past where I stabbed the sleeping Maximilian countless times. My first victory—or rather, something that couldn’t quite be called a victory.
‘In a way, I’m grateful I’ve stabbed someone before.’
When was it? I seemed to recall hearing that once you commit murder, you can never return to who you were before.
Perhaps that was true. The sensation of tearing through that man’s abdomen still lingered in my fingertips.
In any case, during my entire stay at Sisha’s Castle, I didn’t neglect my training. Gunplay by day, swordplay by night. The passing knights whispered that the Imperial Princess Consort apparently harbored dreams of becoming a knight.
Those were leisurely yet busy days.
“Holy Maiden… or rather, Imperial Princess Consort.”
Early afternoon, at the Training Ground. I was aiming my rifle at a target as usual.
One of the Holy Knights walked into the Training Ground and called out to me.
The moment I saw that pale face, I knew.
Something had gone wrong.
“What is it?”
“…You should visit the Record Room.”
The Record Room.
It had to do with Zaikas’s blessing.
‘Visit the Record Room?’
The way he held back from stating the problem directly made my unease deepen.
“…Understood. I’ll go right away.”
I immediately put my rifle away and left the Training Ground. My pace toward the Record Room quickened without my realizing it.
When I arrived at the Record Room, it lay shrouded in dim lamplight. The Holy Knights sat among mountains of scrolls and books piled high.
Every last one of them wore a dark expression as they studied several sheets of paper, and in that heavy silence, no one dared to speak.
At this point, there was no mistaking it. Something had gone terribly wrong.
My heart clenched tight. Before approaching them, I glanced back over my shoulder. Wolfgang stood leaning against the doorframe of the Record Room.
Things had grown somewhat awkward between us lately, but this was hardly the time to worry about such matters.
“Wolfgang. Is Rotar still with Shisha?”
“Yes. Their conversation appears to be running long.”
At present, Rotar and Shisha were conducting negotiations as the Empire’s prince and the lord of Lumeknia respectively.
Since the two of them shared a border centered on the Snowy Mountains, determining how to establish their future relations was a matter of considerable importance.
“I noticed earlier that Lady Shisha was generously providing maps and tools necessary for crossing the Snowy Mountains.”
Well, given such a cordial relationship, there was little cause for concern.
‘It’s fortunate that Rotar is away right now.’
What exactly was fortunate about it, I couldn’t say. It was simply….
‘…A sigh.’
A strange premonition washed over me.
“Understood. Close the door.”
“Should I remain outside as well?”
“Do as you see fit.”
Wolfgang entered the Record Room without hesitation and shut the door behind him. The fact that he even locked it without being asked suggested he too had sensed the oppressive atmosphere of the room.
I made my way through the solemn Holy Knights and took a seat. The moment our eyes met, their expressions darkened further. I fixed them with a stern gaze and demanded answers.
“What is it? What’s happened, exactly?”
“….”
The Holy Knights exchanged glances, their eyes darting nervously between one another. These men, usually so rigid and angular in their bearing.
Had there been a time like this before? I searched through my memories and one surfaced.
The female priests who had cared for me at the Grand Cathedral had worn that exact expression once.
‘Holy Maiden, the Archbishop….’
It was from the time when I was being sold off as Maximilian’s plaything.
The helplessness of those who knew what was about to happen but could do nothing to prevent it.
The Holy Knights before me now bore that same expression as those priests.
“…Your Highness.”
Among them, it was Lutz who stepped forward to speak.
The massive man, built like a boulder, had gone pale.
“First, we have completed the decryption of the records.”
Surely this much was good news.
“And?”
“We have discovered the method of awakening Zaikas’s Blessing.”
“…!”
Zaikas’s Blessing.
This too was news I had long awaited.
The nearly singular method by which I could stand against Maximilian, who had made a pact with a Demon Lord, was now within reach.
Were these not the very people who had risked their lives crossing the Snowy Mountains for the sake of obtaining this single awakening method?
It was then that I noticed Lutz’s hands as he spoke up to that point.
His two fists, resting on his knees, trembled like aspen leaves.
…Why?
I drew in a breath to suppress the heart that had begun racing with unease. Then I asked again.
“So. What is it?”
“….”
At the most crucial moment, Lutz sealed his lips once more.
Unable to contain my frustration, I rose without thinking and grabbed him by the collar.
“You’re going to tell me anyway. Just do it now. What’s wrong?”
“…Hah, that is.”
Lutz drew in a deep breath.
“There is a common element among all situations in which the ancestors of House of Staufen received divine blessing.”
The man’s voice continued, laden with weighty tension. I sat quietly in place and listened to his words.
“First, all blessings occurred during large-scale battles with massive troop deployments. When combining the military forces of both sides, the scale exceeded at least ten thousand soldiers.”
That would make sense. Among those who bore the name Staufen, there were fewer who had not charged into the vanguard of great battles.
“…And they all experienced the death of a beloved on that battlefield.”
From this point onward, my urge to press Lutz faded.
“A beloved wife, or husband. Sometimes the corpse of a betrothed whose marriage had not yet been consummated lay rolling across the ground.”
What had I just heard?
As I stood dazed, replaying those words in my mind, Lutz continued to explain the circumstances in which Zaikas’s blessing had manifested.
The enraged ancestors of Staufen, despite their overwhelming disadvantage, did not abandon the battle. They swung their swords until their bodies were torn to pieces, until the beating of their hearts ceased entirely.
And when even those who carried Staufen’s blood finally met death.
“That was when Zaikas’s blessing manifested.”
….
A massive battlefield. The corpse of a beloved.
And one’s own death.
In other words.
“…So you’re saying die on a massive battlefield after offering up the corpse of your beloved, is that it?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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