Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight

190: The Benevolent Princess [2]

There are existences referred to as representative of the orthodox noble faction, including Louis von Arkheim.

She has dark violet hair tied neatly, firmly shut lips, and a well-built physique accentuated by well-defined muscles. Her face, set with delicate features and thin eyebrows, gives the impression of someone in their late twenties. Her true name is Ulysses von Fritschel, one of the three sword emperors of the continent.

The title Sword Emperor refers to individuals on par with Theo von Reinhaver, Celsus, who became a sacrifice during the Arkheim power struggle at that time, and Luna.

Ulysses is renowned for wielding a massive bastard sword.

Why was one of the continent’s dignified sword emperors aiding someone as inexperienced as the First Prince Louis? To explain this, one must delve into her family, the Fritschel lineage.

In the past, the Fritschel family was considered a distinguished family renowned for their mastery of swordsmanship. However, due to a particular incident, they fell into ruin, were annihilated during a territorial war, and she was the only survivor, barely escaping.

The circumstances were as follows:

Before the establishment of Arkheim, the nobles in the chaotic central region were preoccupied with checking each other. It was routine to train private armies for constant territorial wars. During this period of conflict, the Fritschel family revered justice and declared their support for the former emperor.

It is not an easy matter to draw conclusions about this, but such noble values are often easily tarnished. Therefore, the Fritschel family suffered defeat in various political struggles among the noble houses, faced territorial wars, and ultimately, were betrayed by the emperor they trusted, leading to their annihilation.

During this process, the [Foolish Emperor] Esteban highly valued her talent and recruited her at a young age, promising to restore her family. Within twenty years of making that promise, Esteban eventually founded the Arkheim Empire and elevated his prestige to the heavens. At this time, Ulysses was granted the title of Sword Emperor and became his loyal retainer.

As the sole heir of the Fritschel family and one of the three Sword Emperors who wield the [Heaven-breaking Sword, Ulysses von Frichtzel possessed extraordinary power to boost the morale of all allies on her side. In times of war, this made her a formidable force.

‘Under no circumstances, should she be made an enemy. Others are dangerous too, but.. if she falls into the hands of demons during a large-scale battle, there’s no telling what disaster might occur.’

I am well aware of how dangerous her power is.

Only after Prim grows to his full potential and activates the [Genius of Command] trait will it be barely possible to match her.

Ulysses was a character in Inner Lunatic who could only be recruited in the latter part of the game. With her overwhelming power, she was not an opponent to be easily dealt with and was quite a troublesome figure.

Furthermore, in the beginning, she is bound to assist the First Prince Louis.

The reason is simple.

As mentioned earlier, a mana pact exists between her and Esteban.

During Esteban’s glorious days, when his reputation reached the heavens, he made one promise to Ulysses in exchange for her assistance. This promise was binding, essentially tying her to him for nearly her entire life.

— After pacifying the wars and unifying the continent, I will restore your family. For that, swear your life to me and my successor.

— I’ll obey.

Thus, due to this agreement, Ulysses had no choice but to support Louis, who was even slightly closer to being the rightful successor, given the current circumstances.

Esteban, having possessed Ulysses, who had lost her family name of Fritschel during the eastern conflicts, ultimately made her the guardian of the First Prince. Thus, she stood by Louis’s side.

'But that alone is not enough. I know this better than anyone.’

If things continue as they are, only tragedy awaits both Penelope and Ulysses.

Even if Ulysses subdues Princess Penelope and places Louis on the throne, she will ultimately witness his repeated acts of tyranny and end up directly executing him herself.

After that, there would be no way to recruit her.

The only solution is to sway Ulysses during this power struggle.

Convincing her to join our side.

There was no other way to recruit her as a unit or ally. This was how the scenario was designed from the beginning.

'But if we can bring her over to our side, with her unmatched loyalty, the entire tide of events could be overturned.’

the first Prince Louis is a dangerous enemy.

The forces behind him, including Rick and Amdusias, are even more dangerous.

There are still two episodes left before reaching the conclusion of Part 1, excluding this one.

I am certain that reaching the ending without her would be difficult.

Though she’s bit different from Paracelsus, Leon, or Thalia, whom I consider it would be impossible to reach the ending had we lost one of them, there is no need to further explain just how exceptional her capabilities are.

Having quickly organized my thoughts, I turned to Christopher and asked.

The real issue likely lay elsewhere.

“What’s the state of Princess Penelope? Is she in danger?”

“…Yes. According to the news, she is currently in a near-rampage state. It seems her naturally frail body cannot endure the overwhelming internal mana. The harmony of her innate mana appears to have broken. With her balance shattered, she is recklessly unleashing magic indiscriminately, and there’s no way her body can handle it. In such a state, if Ulysses-nim were to appear as an enemy… Even this Christopher couldn’t help but feel frightened….”

Christopher was still as talkative as ever. The problem was that the content of his words wasn’t particularly uplifting, but that wasn’t a bad thing at the moment. A companion who could quickly assess and summarize the situation was indispensable.

This time, I turned to Eleanor.

She immediately caught on and continued.

“Supply support is complete. As you instructed, I’ve requested Prim, your attendant, to assist with evacuating people. During this process, Talia and the others have all been lending their strength. The professors are also doing their part.”

“What about my masters?”

“Noah-nim and Astrid-nim are keeping a close watch on Ulysses or the ancient weapon that Prince Louis may have prepared. If they were to fall victim to that… it could completely destroy mages’ dantians and end up giving the enemy a decisive advantage.”

“Just as I thought. Damn it.”

A curse escaped my lips unconsciously.

I knew the situation wasn’t favorable, but I never expected to hear about an ancient weapon this early.

Ancient Weapon.

Among the countless ancient devices referenced in Inner Lunatic, this one stands out. A weapon capable of targeting all mages within a 2-kilometer radius, destroying their dantians with devastating power.

This was discovered in the ruins of the now-destroyed Catalyu Kingdom. While it may not be as legendary as the 'Philosopher’s Stone’ it caused quite a stir in the world.

It operates using the magic stones of demonic beasts, and since these beasts are hunted relentlessly in the northern uninhabited land (魔境 - makyou if you know japanese), there should be no shortage of mana.

The only variable was that the ancient weapon could only be used by a select few, but now—what is this? Someone has already mastered this method.

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t shake the feeling that someone else, unknown to me, is repeatedly intervening in this matter. Could this be related to the main storyline, which is now 45% damaged?

I kept that possibility in mind.

“If they really can use the ancient weapon, there’s no way my two masters will be able to play an active role in this battle. At most, their role would be limited to holding off or monitoring the enemy to prevent their forces from dispersing elsewhere.”

“That’s right. Even if the weapon fires, it will probably only be able to shoot twice at most… But if those two shots hit Dean Noah and Astrid-nim, we will already suffer too great a loss.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean there is no way.”

I took a deep breath and gathered my mana. Then, crossing my hands, I softly chanted a spell. Along with a 'Hihing’ sound, I quickly summoned Carl.

With a rough cry, Carl offered me his back.

Watching this, I swiftly leaped from the carriage and landed lightly on its back.

Now that his body had grown considerably larger, there was nothing to worry about.

“I’ll go ahead, so you all come as carefully as possible.”

“Young master Nox!”

“Nox…! What are you saying…. all of a sudden?! I just told you that your wounds haven’t healed yet…!”

Christopher and Eleanor shouted as if bewildered, but I had no choice but to grab the reins quickly and urge Carl forward.

I felt sorry for them, but now wasn’t the time to hesitate, I needed to move quickly.

“Let’s go.”

With those words, a rough snort, Puhihing, echoed.

Soon, Carl then kicked the ground forcefully, quickly narrowing his stance, and I felt the surrounding scenery rush past with a whooshing sound as he sped forward.

Simultaneously, I heard countless voices calling my name, but I didn’t pay them any attention.

Anyway, even if I try to stall for time here, they don’t seem likely to listen, and there’s nothing else I can do. Right now, the only option is to charge forward recklessly.

There was no other choice.

If I didn’t move faster, I risked turning two of Inner Lunatic’s greatest units into enemies. One of them was the woman I had just explained about, but the other…

The most critical unit in Inner Lunatic, a character who, depending on the situation, could bear a tarnished reputation and lose her original title.

That character was Penelope von Arkheim.

'Whether Penelope remains the [The benevolent princess] or becomes the [Cold-blooded princess] will be decided at this moment. Even if she wins the battle for imperial power, if she falls into darkness, I’ll have no choice but to find a way to kill her afterward’

The assassination of the princess.

As a member of Lunatic, I might face a situation where I would have to kill her.

Of course, from a cold and rational perspective, taking such action could be considered a method. But at this moment, I must question myself.

Has Penelope ever committed a crime so severe that she deserves to die?

Not yet.

“Of course, after her descent into darkness, she becomes a character who, driven by excessive utilitarianism, passively allows countless people to die. But that hasn’t happened yet.”

I can make a choice.

No, calling it a choice might be too ambiguous. It’s more about saving her. Preserving her kind heart and ensuring she doesn’t become mired in misguided hypocrisy.

That is the only purpose I have chosen.

'Which is why.’

I will save Princess Penelope.

I could embellish my actions with all kinds of lofty language, but I know there’s no need for that. The reason for action is simple.

Because I want to.

Because no one else but Nox von Reinhaver is stepping forward to protect his companion.

'Of course, if someone were to ask if she clearly belongs to my faction yet, I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. Unlike Eleanor, who has undoubtedly opened her heart to me, Penelope is full of thorns.’

Hundreds of assassination attempts in the imperial palace.

The envy and scheming of her rivals that she barely survived.

That’s why she is probably hesitant.

Every moment of her life has been spent thinking, striving, and trying to move forward to be better. She has confined herself to the name Benevolent, constantly attempting to live up to it. That was her life.

But even she didn’t realize that this name Benevolent would ultimately be steeped in tragedy.

She is slowly falling apart.

'Save her.’

Because if I fail, I know better than anyone how deeply I would disappoint myself.

That is the common thread between Nox and Yoochan, people who have now become one.

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