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On the road back to Eramenia after leaving Harker Count Territory, Margaret smirked as she recalled the person who had brought her here.

It’s ironic, really. In the end, to receive help like this from her. On the day she left the northern frontline, Margaret lightly packed her belongings, donned her gear, and mounted her white horse, receiving the farewell from Rose and Walter.

“Well, since I’m on leave, make sure to rest well. Who knows when you’ll return, so be thoroughly prepared.”

Rose grabbed Margaret’s hand and said. Margaret frowned in response.

“Leave, what leave? I’ll do what I need to do. If I can bring back a new legion when I return, wouldn’t that have its own significance?”

“Then I wouldn’t ask for more, but please don’t overdo it. Having you return safely is a greater help than any legion.”

Walter sincerely remarked. Margaret waved her hand and nodded.

“Yeah, I can manage that much. I feel sorry for leaving at such an important time. Well then, I’ll take my leave. You two shouldn’t be away from the military for too long either.”

After Margaret’s words, Rose and Walter turned their backs and headed back to the Empire’s army assembly point. Once the farewell party, including the two, had left, only one person remained.

It was Jenis Harker.

As Margaret was about to turn her head south, she felt Jenis’s gaze and hopped off her horse to approach the Great Sage.

“What’s the matter, kid? Do you have something to say to me?”

“First of all, just know that I really don’t want to say this.”

Jenis replied haughtily, sounding like she was cooling off on her own. Margaret tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“Sure, I’ll keep that in mind. But if you really don’t want to say something, what is it?”

Margaret, who had been confused for a moment, suddenly broke into a small smile as if she had an epiphany. The Elven Princess shook her head and shrugged.

“There’s no need to ask. If you’re being so unfriendly towards me, it’s clearly about that guy. What, are you planning to go down to Baron Harriet’s Territory and see his face or something?”

“It’s not that I’m being unfriendly! Well, it’s similar, but a bit different.”

Jenis lightly stroked the red bead on her staff. Margaret’s gaze also turned towards the bead.

“I’ve heard Reyna’s red eyes show many things. By ability alone, it wouldn’t fall behind Harriet’s glasses…”

“If we’re talking about objective performance, this bead is surely superior. The user’s skill is stronger with the glasses, though.”

Jenis muttered sarcastically. Margaret couldn’t deny that what she said was true. No matter how much a previous hero had created it, compared to the legendary staff used by the Great Sage from a thousand years ago, Simon Harriet’s glasses had somewhat ambiguous performance.

Even the hero herself had once admitted that the glasses only showed fragmented information that was difficult to interpret—just fleeting images.

Once Walter had seen the future, he would spend quite a while contemplating how to interpret what he saw. After all, a magic tool with the power of foresight is essentially just a high-performing computing machine.

How to interpret the results that machine outputs is up to humans. And how to utilize it is even more difficult—it relies on human choices. Perhaps in that respect, Walter possesses outstanding capabilities that make it hard to compare with Jenis. It might be true now, but no one knows how far Jenis will develop in the future.

“Ah, anyway, what I meant is, um… you have to go south first anyway, right? When you go back?”

“Right. If I go directly east from here, I might come across the Demon King’s army’s stronghold. I’m planning to head south first, then cross the mountain range to the east.”

“Then it wouldn’t disrupt your schedule if you stop by my hometown for a moment?”

Margaret paused for a moment, contemplating Jenis’s words.

“Well, that’s true. Harker Count Territory would be a place worth making a diplomatic visit at a time like this. Isn’t the vigilance a little strict there?”

“I don’t think they’d stop you, Princess… but, hmm, if it’s something that weighs on your mind, I can make you an access permit right here. Anyway, please drop by our territory on your way back. I think it’s necessary.”

Margaret seemed to ponder what Jenis’s words meant.

“Is he in your territory right now?”

“Right now? I’m not sure if he’s there… hmm, maybe he isn’t yet. But this guy… ha… is really out of control… so just keep that in mind. If it weren’t for this situation, I wouldn’t have bothered the Princess. Honestly, I want to go myself, but…”

“I get the gist. He has some weird thoughts stuck in his head and is acting foolishly, huh? Is he asking me to coax and reassure him to go quietly back home?”

“It would be nice if you could coax him. He has a rather childlike side to him… I can’t even tell if I should consider this a good thing.”

Jenis couldn’t hide her complicated feelings as she left Jeongjae’s treatment to Margaret. Both knew that they had feelings for the same person.

Both were a bit too mature to act like ordinary love rivals, but they also didn’t have the breadth of spirit to act as if there was nothing between them.

“Anyway, I’ve gained good information. I’m grateful for that.”

“Don’t say things that make people uneasy! Good gracious. Here’s how it is. Just don’t go and do anything strange. If you happen to collapse somewhere, help yourself get back to normal, and don’t go beyond that. Considering I provided you with the information, I think a demand like this is fair, right?”

“Well, you know. It’s not like I can just blurt out what I’ve picked up. From there, it’s up to me how I want to proceed.”

Margaret said with a hint of mischief in her voice. Jenis frowned and shook her head.

“Have you ever been hit by a memory-erasing spell?”

“I’ve never been hit, but I’ve countered one. Why are you asking? Want to show off your skills?”

Jenis seemed to contemplate whether or not to ‘show off’ as she fiddled with her staff, but then let out a deep sigh, giving up.

“Forget it. I know what’s more important and what’s less. At any rate, keeping that person safe is the most important issue. As far as I know, you’re the only one who can help him right now, Princess. And you know, the Princess can sometimes say mischievous things, but really, she’s quite the gentleman. There’s no way she’d do something vile in a situation like this. I believe that.”

“Well, I don’t know. Trying to provoke my sensibilities like that won’t yield any returns. Just how many years do you think I’ve lived, kid?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake! Just forget it! So hurry up and go! I’m busy too, you know? I can’t just take care of the Princess’s injuries! It’s not like I’m an old maid! I’m out of here! Take care!”

Whether Jenis was genuinely heated, she hurled a string of insults toward Margaret and expanded her wings, soaring into the sky. Despite hearing curses that even Rose wouldn’t utter easily, Margaret looked entirely unfazed, smiling as she waved goodbye to the sky.

“Thanks for saying I live young for my age, Great Sage!”

“Ptooey!”

Hearing Jenis’s friendly retort, Margaret remained smiling as she mounted her horse and began her journey south.

Thus, Margaret arrived at Harker Count Territory just in time to witness Dracula unleashing indiscriminate bombardments toward Harker Castle and could potentially shock Dracula with a long-range arrow shot from a distance.

Thanks to Margaret’s timely intervention, Dracula retreated hastily without inflicting greater damage on Harker Count Territory. The events that followed weren’t particularly noteworthy.

As Jenis had predicted, Margaret discovered Jeongjae, who was tired and collapsed on the road, and quietly moved him to a nearby building, laying him on her lap and healing him with magic until nightfall.

No matter what, Margaret wasn’t one to disregard at least a minimum of duty. Considering the considerable help she had received from Jenis, she didn’t act too hastily. Even had there been no issue with Jenis, she likely wouldn’t have rushed to approach Jeongjae.

That was not only because of her personality but also a consideration as someone who fully understood Jeongjae’s condition. Hammering away at the walls of someone unprepared to open their heart would only lead to misfortune.

Having lived manyfold longer than a human lifespan, she well understood the dangers of recklessly tapping at the heart of a sensitive person.

Thus, Margaret quietly left the Count’s territory and rode toward the Magical Mountains. She also intended to verify the progress of the Southern Alliance, which had recently reportedly begun to bear fruit, and to observe what impact the emerging military organization, situated on the other side of the mountains from Eramenia, would have on the unfolding of this war.

Since it was unlikely that the soldiers belonging to the central imperial army would be returning, the total number of troops that the alliance would possess would be about 25,000. Most of these troops would come from Count Harker and the territories under his dominion, so the chances of a conflict arising over command would be low.

Margaret wanted to positively evaluate the very establishment of the alliance for now. Although it was unpredictable how it would influence the political situation of the Empire in the future, it could potentially help alleviate the current situation, in which the royal family’s army served as a shield over the southern region while local lords only observed each other.

And she secretly hoped that if the Empire created such a separate military force and took a more active stance in the war, it could also influence changes in Eramenia’s attitude.

Suddenly lost in her thoughts, her steps halted midway along the path.

It wasn’t because she sensed something. The surroundings were remarkably quiet, and there were no signs of enemies appearing.

Tears began to fall suddenly from the eyes of the elf princess, who had been lost in contemplation while on horseback.

“Most of the territories I’ve come to cherish like this…”

Margaret murmured as if whispering to herself.

“Will all perish before I reach the peak of my power.”

Humans enter a phase of aging long before reaching their peak, having passed the halfway mark of their lifespan. However, elves are celebrated for entering their peak after surpassing that halfway point. Between the ages of 500 and 600, the power of elves reaches its most formidable state, gradually declining from 600 to 700, with many passing into eternal sleep by age 1000.

Margaret’s age was still just 400. Even she, who was called a high elf among high elves, hadn’t yet reached the peak in the grand scope of her life cycle.

She had never once regretted befriending humans for even a moment. Friendship with humans, love for them, is not a taboo among elves. Wise fairies know that excessive taboos and exclusivity only invite reactionary sentiments and incidents.

While she held some slight feelings of exclusivity, at least elves and humans did not refuse to bind themselves within the same category they call “humanity.” However, even then, though it’s not completely a taboo, there exist realistic limitations. The walls of reality do exist.

One reason why Jenis and Margaret, while somewhat clashing with each other, were able to avoid outright hostility is that a significant common understanding has emerged between them.

In any case, Jeongjae would likely be the first to die among the three of them. Simply put, there’s no way for Jeongjae to live as long as the two women who harbor feelings for him, just based on life expectancy.

“To merely predict this… is such a burden.”

Margaret looked around nervously, fearful of being seen, and hurriedly wiped her tears. She was not someone who cried often. It was an event that usually happened once every several decades. Yet, it hadn’t even been a few months since the last time she had cried, and here she was, shedding tears again.

She could not ignore the part of herself that realized just how fragile her heart had become.

“Seeing the future is no simple task. Yes, it wouldn’t be easy.”

As if she had never cried, the elven princess perfectly concealed her tears and hurriedly moved her horse toward the east. Love exists even amidst the most intense of wars. And even beings that can remain calm in the face of the carnage of war often find it difficult to keep their composure in the face of love.

 

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