The group silently crept up the stairs. Besides Olivia, there were two servants and three knights in their team. Elna was given her own group to lead while Adrianna led another group. Unfortunately, those left over had to move without a leader.

Olivia's destination was Arnold's former room which was now Luke's room.

The sounds of battle hadn't died down yet. The castle's walls even vibrated every once in a while due to the shockwaves of battle.

Luckily, there weren't any bodies on their way towards the second floor. But the scent of blood still drifted in the air. It was enough to even make a calm person like Olivia anxious of where the enemy was. The scent of blood was much too close.

"We're here, Your Highness." One of the knights whispered just before they turned a corner.

Olivia told him to check if the coast was clear. He did as she said and nodded a while later. Only then did the group sigh in relief.

"Okay. We will move one by one. If an enemy suddenly jumps out of the ceiling or wherever then lives won't have to be wasted if we get attacked." Her words were heartless but logical.

Considering the fact that she was a princess, her life was more important in this situation. If she died as a result of their incapability of being able to protect her then their families would carry the consequences.

Knowing this, one of the knights volunteered to go first. Everyone agreed without hesitation.

"He made it to the door." Olivia was the one to go towards the room this time. She walked with her back against the wall in slow movements. This was to prevent anyone from seeing her from below.

Olivia felt her chest and noticed that her heartbeat was still chaotic.

"Phew." She sighed in relief before signaling the others to wait, "Young master Luke, are you inside? Please answer."

Olivia knocked three times.

Knock— Knock— Knock—

A purple magic circle covered the entire door before fading away.

Then a click echoed.

The door opened and a familiar face peeked out.

"Y-Your Highness?"

It was Luke.

◇

"I see. So you lost people on the way." Olivia said after hearing what Luke and the others had to go through when they reached the second floor.

There were apparently already intruders on the second floor when the group arrived. A battle unfolded and many died as a result of it.

Judging by how Luke seemed unscratched, Olivia could tell that the ones who died tried to protect him.

'Look at him. He's pathetic,' Olivia tried her best not to frown, 'I guess me comparing him to that man is laughable. The two have such differing qualities that it sticks out like a sore thumb.'

Had Arnold been cornered like this then he would've loudly declared how he'd kill all the intruders for making such a mess of his family's castle.

And Luke?

"Hic… Hic…" He was huddled up on his extremely large canopy bed. His sobs filled the entire room.

Taking a deep, soothing breath, Olivia smiled in reassurance, "We have a plan to get rid of the intruders and find out who sent them."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. It turns out that dark elf was sent by Arnold."

Luke's eyes widened.

"I don't know what happened exactly but I can tell that the one who injured that man until he became unconscious was none other than Arnold."

"But… if that's the case… Why hasn't big brother come back yet?"

"That is a difficult question to answer actually…"

'Knowing him, he is probably already looking into the person who plotted his death.'

'Even sir Sebastian and Elna wouldn't be enough for this many intruders. We can assume that each of them are highly trained professionals. The sounds of people fighting downstairs haven't stopped even now.'

"I have a feeling that Arnold is not informed of what is going on in the city. We should also assume that he is not in the city."

Luke's eyes lost its light as he lowered his head.

"…Is that so…"

Did he have faith that that man would save us, Olivia questioned. She noticed that there was a sword next to Luke on the bed.

"Is that yours?" She pointed at it.

"Ah, yes. Big brother bought it for me at the auction." Luke showed Olivia the sword as if to brag about a new toy.

The weapon was a double-edged sword with a thick blade and a dark blue hilt. A mysterious divinity gleam surrounded that sword.

'The metal seems closer to white than it is silver. Is the sword authentic?'

Olivia took it in her hands and ran her finger along the edge. She winched when she accidentally cut her finger.

'It is…'

She gave it back to Luke.

"I am surprised that Arnold would buy something for someone who is not a woman."

"E-Eh?"

"Ah, that is a trick he uses to ensnare women of poor standing," Olivia spoke in disgust, "He would only ever buy something for someone so long as it benefitted himself. In this case he bought the expensive things for women to get into their pants. I can only wonder what his children will be like in the future. Haa… I hope he does not marry someday."

Olivia noticed Luke silently gazing at her.

"I apologize for speaking too much. Perhaps I am too frustrated about something."

"…Do you hate him?"

Luke asked a rather unexpected question. His tone was bold and his expression was serious which made Olivia question if she was speaking to the same person.

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

Olivia felt a lot of eyes turn look straight at her. It seemed that everyone in the room wanted to know.

Olivia closed her eyes and organized her thoughts before replying.

Why was it necessary for them to speak about that man when their lives were in danger?

Olivia wanted to ask that but she was hesitant because she was sure that Luke would push on.

Arnold von Berkley.

What was he to her? How much had their relationship changed?

They grew up like siblings and spent time together almost every day. The two were even inseparable. It was only a few years after that they befriended Grace and Celeste. The four of them were very close. At least when they were younger.

As time passed by and things changed, so did their relationships. They had grown estranged; Grace wasn't part of their circle anymore and only Olivia and Celeste ever spoke to each other. Arnold and Grace were always at each other's necks.

And who was at the center of this?

'That man was.'

Olivia opened her eyes.

"I do."

A few gasps echoed in the room. Ignoring this, Olivia continued.

"I absolutely loathe him. Both my parents and his know this but they still pushed on for us to become lovers. They respected my wishes to set rules for our engagement like we should only see each other once a week and that we should never be in a room alone together."

Although we broke it that one time…

Remembering that made her anger boil which was followed by emptiness and regret.

Rather hypocritical of her, she thought.

"But that does not matter anymore because the two of us are not destined to get married anymore."

"….Has anyone ever told you that you are a bad person?"

"...."

The entire room froze at Luke's rather bold words. His eyes were gazing right into Olivia's eyes.

"I do not understand why you ask that?" Olivia wasn't offended. Rather, she already knew she was a bad person. Perhaps, worse than Arnold in some ways.

"I asked big brother something…" Luke looked at the others in the room, "The question was if he still loved your highness."

"…And what did he say?"

"He said that he is still in love with you. Smitten even. I went around and asked everyone—including miss Adrianna—how much he loved you and I've heard a lot of wonderful things." Luke turned his head towards one of the portraits in the room. It was of a dark blue-haired young man with a condescending smirk.

Even that painting perfectly displayed the arrogance he had in his standing and talent.

"He would do anything to guarantee your happiness. Even shaming himself. Despite being an imperial princess, I had heard that your highness often gets bullied by other noble girls. The one who would stand up to these people was big brother—no, Arnold. Because you did nothing to them for insulting your name, he had to act. How can someone like this be a bad person? Is the world so blinded by what others say that none of them try to understand another's heart?"

'This kid…'

Olivia narrowed her eyes when she heard multiple sighs of amazement. The others seemed so moved by his words that some even cried. He was like a shining beacon in this dark moment of their lives.

'—is really stupid and ignorant of the world.'

Olivia, however, wasn't amazed or moved at all.

"Indeed. I do seem like a bad person, don't I? But is it really necessary to be so protective of someone like him? You are even disrespecting me, a princess, by overstepping a lot of boundaries."

"You aren't understanding what I'm saying!" Luke swung his arm down as he turned back towards her. His raised voice startled Olivia, "Reconcile at the very least! What would come of the two of you hating each other!? He loves you and would definitely appreciate spending time with you!"

"Spending time with me? That is rather inappropriate for a woman to spend time with a man other than her husband."

"You know that's not what I mean! He already told me that he would respect your wishes!"

"….?"

Olivia froze and her mind blanked.

'Those words… came out of his mouth? That can't be true, right…?'

For as long as she had known Arnold, he had been a pushy, egotistical jerk who overreacted when he didn't get what he wanted. That was why he went to such extreme measures to be with Olivia.

Besides what Luke heard from others, Arnold had done a lot of other things which Olivia actually found annoying even if they were done for positive reasons.

Perhaps perspective played a big role in this.

'What if I'm the only one who feels this way?'

Olivia knew that she would look like an idiot if she continued this conversation so she decided to change the subject.

"This matter should not be discussed when our lives are in danger. I would like the three of us to speak of this over tea." Olivia spoke calmly, ignoring the displeased looks of the onlookers.

Why were they so displeased? It was like they thought Olivia was avoiding speaking about this topic.

'But they're not wrong. Still, what I said should make sense. Now isn't the appropriate time for talking about others' relationships.'

"Then that's a promise…" Luke seemed skeptical but nodded regardless.

"Alright," Olivia turned towards the others and began changing the subject, "It looks like the sounds of battle had ceased for now so I think it's safe for us to go out to rendezvous with the other groups."

"Will sir Sebastian be okay…?" Luke seemed worried as he asked with uncertainty.

"We sent a very capable fighter to help him fend off the intruders."

"S-Shouldn't we go and help them fight?"

"And what will our intervention solve? Unnecessary deaths. Are you willing to risk this many lives?"

"…No."

"We will do what the duchess ordered us to do. We plan a surprise attack from behind. It is sort of like a pincher. We will strike when they least expect it. Though we are helping sir Sebastian and the other fighters, we are only getting involved indirectly. Even the strongest foe can be felled so long as their attention is taken away from what should be most focused on. If they were to focus that attention somewhere else then their opponent can deal a decisive blow."

"Ah! So even if we don't do that much damage, attracting their attention is more than enough?"

"Exactly. A person is at their most vulnerable when something happens that they didn't expect. There does not seem to be a lot of capable fighters besides the knights in our group."

"I will also fight!" Luke said in determination, "I can't expect others to protect me when I can also contribute."

'Trying to act cool is not the best idea in this situation, you monkey.' Olivia mentally shook her head. Of what use would a country boy be anyway?

Even that sword was wasted on him.

"Is it not better if I let Elna use that sword for a while? She does not have her original weapon with her and the one she is currently using is also chipped and dull."

Luke frowned.

Did he think her words were right?

Apparently not.

"I am sorry for miss Elna but I would like to hold onto my weapon and use it to fight."

"…I understand."

The door suddenly burst open which alarmed everyone inside the room.

"More attackers are coming upstairs! The east wing is completely blocked!" The knight yelled and fell onto his knees. There was an arrow in his shoulder which seemed fatal because a lot of blood was spurting out.

"What!?" Olivia screamed when she heard that. She grabbed the knight by the collar, "What are you talking about?"

"The s-spiral staircase… The one that leads to the second library tower…"

'Smart bastards.'

Olivia turned around and ordered:

"Get medical supplies for this man and treat him."

"Understood!"

"W-Wait, princess! Do not go there! A very troublesome opponent has taken over the bridge which is our only escape! Even lady Adrianna is barely holding on!"

"Huh…? You mean the west wing of the castle was left untouched up until now?"

"Y-Yes… We only found out when I went to patrol there… One man managed to stop all of us knights from taking him down. He only had four archers and two tankers which was an overwhelming advantage for us. We thought so at least…."

'Dammit. Don't tell me they had been waiting there for someone to near the bridge between the tower and the main castle… They're toying with us… They know that even if the duke were to find out, it would take a long time for him to arrive at the city…'

The tower that was on the west wing of the castle acted as both a library and a secondary escape route. There was a secret bookshelf that hid the spiral stairs that headed underneath.

"Dammit… Dammit… We had no chance to escape since the very beginning. We have no choice but to fight our way out…" Olivia felt herself go dizzy, "Cough! Cough!"

She coughed into her hand and felt something wet. Her throat burned with excruciating pain which even made her legs go numb.

"Y-Your highness!" Multiple servants rushed towards Olivia who was violently coughing up blood.

The little fox was also franticly trying to help her by jumping around and barking.

"Cough, cough, cough!" After what seemed like a full minute of coughing, Olivia finally calmed down. She looked at her hand and saw crimson.

'Dammit… Why act up now…'

"A-Are you okay?" Luke tried to touch her to help her up but Olivia swatted away his hand.

"I'm fine. Where is the duchess right now?"

The knight, perplexed at what just happened, responded:

"They are currently holding the man and his companions at bay… She told me to tell all of you to not follow the original plan to do a surprise attack."

'They wanted to corner us…' Olivia felt like ripping her hair out. Her dizziness irritated her even further. The only thing keeping her from screaming out in insanity was the little fox that was rubbing its paw on her.

"We have no choice but to run towards the entrance of the castle where sir Sebastian and that dark elf are fighting. This man fighting the other group is more dangerous from what I've just heard. You said he only had a few other comrades, right?"

"Yes. And he is holding back the duchess and the other knights alone."

"He should be at the seventh star at least…." Olivia turned back to Luke and asked him in a serious tone, "Are you still willing to fight with us?"

"Of course!"

'You might be stupid and ignorant but…' Olivia couldn't help but smile, '—that confidence and bravery is what I like about you.'

"It's settled then. Young master Luke will take all capable fighters and head towards the left wing. Your job is only to stall the enemy for as long as it takes while we try and escape through the entrance. Once I go outside, I will immediately gather all the nobles in this city and have them bring their personal armies. We will march to whoever sent these intruders once that is done."

"Roger!!"

Everyone saluted at Olivia's orders. She picked the little silver fox up in her arms and began walking towards the door.

"Y-Your Highness, please wait."

'What the hell is it now!?' Olivia turned to Luke in annoyance. She was about to complain but she was silenced when she looked at what was in his hands.

It was a beautiful red crystal that shined with an ethereal haze. The mineral was without any impurities that its surface was reflective. Olivia was in a daze as Luke put the crystal in her hands.

Her body somehow jolted when she touched the crystal.

"This… is something I have been meaning to give… as a gift," Luke lowered and scratched his head in embarrassment, "I hope we get along…"

'Such a splendid stone!' she screamed inside as she rubbed the surface of the red crystal.

"I am forever grateful for this gift. It will look wonderful in my collection," She noticed that everyone was staring at the two of them. She cleared her throat in an attempt to hide the joy in her voice, "L-Let us leave at once."