Sword Saint Adel's Second Chance: Volume 2 E-Book

Hayaken

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Sword Saint Adel's Second Chance
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 236

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Upon returning to the past, Swordmaster Adel became turned into woman and gained the powers of a Saint. Now known to all as Saint Adel, she dedicates herself to training to master her newfound abilities to better protect her beloved liege, Princess Euphinia.

One day, the royal court receives news that the northernmost Holy Tower in the kingdom has broken down, reverting the surrounding territory into an area filled with miasma and monsters. Hurrying to the site to handle the crisis, Adel encounters a force already in battle against the monsters, led by none other than Mad Emperor Tristan, who was deeply involved in the plot that took Euphinia’s life in the previous timeline! Her immediate impulse is to leave him to his demise, but strangely, he now seems nothing like the cruel and calculating man Adel once knew...

Uncertain who is friend or foe, Adel once again summons her newfound powers and steadfast allies to fend off the darkness lurking in the kingdom’s shadows!

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Chapter 1: The Profane Land Reversion Incident

Chapter 2: The Dullahan in Profane Land

Chapter 3: The City She Can’t Forget

Chapter 4: Melulu Sedis

Chapter 5: The Attack on the Crown Prince (Part 1)

Chapter 6: The Attack on the Crown Prince (Part 2)

Chapter 7: The Attack on the Crown Prince (Part 3)

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Color Images

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Profane Land Reversion Incident

Some time had passed since Adel was officially inducted as Princess Euphinia’s knight escort. One day, she found herself in a courtyard in Wendill Palace, facing down a gigantic beast charging straight at her with fangs bared.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Adel cried, leaping up to vault onto Cerberus’s head when he passed by.

“Hmph!”

However, Cerberus was fast, and he reacted swiftly. The moment Adel’s feet touched him, he was already twisting his head and body around. If she tried to kick off from his back, he would be able to catch her in midair on her way down.

“Yah!”

Sure enough, Adel did exactly what Cerberus expected. She stepped on him for the briefest of moments, then shot up again.

“I saw that coming, Adel!” Cerberus crowed, also leaping up in pursuit. To his surprise, however, he did not catch up with her. Despite having jumped a split second later, he started falling first. “What?!”

By gathering ki at her foot with Ki Convergence, Adel had boosted her jumping power beyond that of even a canine Divine Beast species known for its quickness of foot.

“Right there!” Adel cracked Salamander’s Tail—her spelltool weapon of choice—in Cerberus’s direction. With a sharp snap, the thin whip of fire stretched and wrapped around his neck. When she cried “Shrink!” the line shrunk rapidly, bringing the two of them together.

Cerberus had intentionally chased Adel into the air because he knew how difficult it was to evade in midair. Unfortunately for him, she had chosen the same strategy. On the ground, Cerberus was near impossible to catch, thanks to his overwhelming agility. By luring him into the air, she had robbed him of all movement and left him defenseless.

“Take this!” Adel used Ki Amplification to send her ki into Salamander’s Tail, bolstering its specs. She had such complete control over it, it felt like a part of her own body. What was originally a spelltool that could only produce thin whips of red fire was pushed far beyond its limits, becoming a double-bladed sword with thick blades of blue flames.

SLASH!

Adel’s swing with Salamander’s Tail landed squarely on Cerberus as the two of them landed within a split second of each other.

“You got me good, but you can’t hurt me with a blade of fire!”

Cerberus was a Divine Beast that controlled the element of fire. He was capable of producing powerful flames from his own body too.

“But a point is a point. Do you concede defeat?”

Entranced by the young girl’s cute smile, the gallery of Saints deployed at Wendill Palace erupted with exclamations of surprise and wonder.

“Oh, my! She defeated her Divine Beast with such ease!”

“What a feat!”

“Hmph. I hate to admit it, but my Saint being such a skilled swordswoman certainly brings me pride. What a complicated emotion it is.”

There was a faint smile at the corner of the Divine Beast’s mouth.

One of the benefits to being a Saint was having a ready sparring partner in their contracted Divine Beasts. As they were never apart, they could train anytime, anywhere. This was especially true of Cerberus, who was extremely powerful and more eager than Adel to improve at fighting. The way the two always challenged each other to greater mastery made them the perfect pair.

“Thanks for the match,” Adel said. “You can rest now.”

“Will do,” Cerberus said, disappearing into her shadow.

Adel then turned to Claire. “Mother Superior, we’re finished.”

Claire was the Mother Superior of Wendill, the person who led all the Saints stationed in the country. Whenever the royal family or the country needed the services of a Saint, they had to go through her. She was both the kingdom’s monitor and its contact to the Church. In general, all Saints and their abilities were managed by the Church, and they were forbidden from holding secular power. This included a ban on being directly employed by any country, but Adel had special permission to be Euphinia’s knight escort.

“That...was quite the impressive display. My teacher did tell me what you could do, but seeing it with my own eyes leaves a very different impression. I shall not forget it anytime soon,” Claire replied, smoothing over her expression of astonishment.

Adel had to admit, this felt quite satisfying after having to suffer Claire’s nagging on all manner of topics, from how she should carry herself as a Saint to things that she ought to know. In addition to all her other duties, Claire was also tasked with being Euphinia’s teacher, and therefore was quite demanding in such matters.

“Perhaps you don’t actually need a knight escort of your own, Saint Adel!” another Saint gushed.

Saints made contracts with Divine Beasts to use their formidable powers. This meant that Saints themselves did not have to be good fighters. In fact, when they called forth their Divine Beasts and deployed Sanctuaries, they themselves could not cast any spells. As a result, they kept knight escorts close by who would protect them by casting spells with the anima generated from their Sanctuaries. This division of roles was normal for Saints.

Adel, however, could fight without relying on a Divine Beast’s anima. Instead, she used ki, which was technically anima that humans generated themselves. The way this worked differed from all other magic in a fundamental way, and summoning Cerberus did not interfere with her ability to fight. Her fighting style was something that she had developed before she took her place at Euphinia’s side, back when she had been a young man wearing a full suit of black armor and had been known to all as Swordmaster Adel. Even after she went back in time and turned into a woman, the techniques that she had mastered still stayed with her.

“You really are incredible, Adel!” Euphinia exclaimed, clapping excitedly.

“Thank you, Princess! Your praise honors me!” Adel beamed, then bowed deeply. Euphinia was the only person she would ever accept as her liege, and praise from her was the greatest reward.

Currently, the Saints were conducting a training session led by Claire. The ten or so stationed at Wendill Palace had gotten together with Euphinia and Adel, and were practicing how to sharpen their concentration while their Divine Beasts sparred with each other. It was in this setting that Adel had arranged a demonstration of her Divine Beast fighting—not another Divine Beast, but herself.

Melulu and Mash were also sparring in a corner of the courtyard.

“Mash, did you hear them? Saints don’t need knight escorts anymore. Guess we’re losing our jobs.”

“I mean, I think this is an Adel-only thing.”

“Thank goodness.”

Melulu was using the spelltool Sylphid’s Spear, whereas Mash was using a greatsword from the armory. Every time they clashed, Mash’s blade got chipped, showing the stark difference in quality between the two weapons. Melulu came from the Sedis family, a major merchant group based in another city in Wendill. Naturally, they had the means to supply Melulu with a high-quality spelltool.

“Everyone, it is about time to bring this training session to an end,” Claire called out. “Please return to your various duties.”

Echoes of “Understood, Mother Superior” and “Thank you for the opportunity” rang out as the Saints bowed to each other in a show of appreciation. Their movements were smooth and graceful, giving off an air of class and elegance.

“Oh, they’re done. We should wrap up too.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for the spar, Melulu.”

“Thanks to you too.”

The two put away their weapons and headed to Euphinia, who had been working on honing her concentration while watching Adel. Next to her stood Pegasus, her Divine Beast.

“Melulu, Mash, you two performed wonderfully as well,” Euphinia smiled, showing her appreciation.

At the same time, Pegasus walked forward and began sniffing Melulu’s neck and cleavage, which glistened with a thin sheen of sweat. On the surface, this appeared to be a heartwarming scene of an animal being affectionate with a cute girl.

“Aha ha, that tickles, Pegasus! And right now, I’m a little sweaty.”

Sticking out his tongue, Pegasus cried, “Don’t mind if I help myself to a cute girl’s sweat!”

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Adel cracked Salamander’s Tail, using the whip to firmly muzzle Pegasus’s snout. She yanked on the spelltool as hard as she could, pulling the Divine Beast away from Melulu.

“Mfh! Mmm!”

“A-Adel! You can’t do that to Princess’s Divine Beast!”

“You’re only saying that because you can’t hear him, Melulu.”

Not being a Saint herself, Melulu could not hear the voices of Divine Beasts. If she had understood what Pegasus just said, she would have shrieked in disgust and sent him flying with a punch.

Even Mash was surprised. “Am I imagining it, or is Adel always rather harsh toward Pegasus?” he murmured. Naturally, he did not understand Pegasus either.

“It disgusts me just to explain!” Adel spat. “Donkey! Get back inside Princess’s shadow right this moment!”

“Before that...please strangle me directly! Please hold me between your juicy boobs!”

Adel growled and summoned Cerberus. “How about a nice hot bath of fire instead?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t call me for nonsense like this.” Cerberus sighed. “So, you want me to burn him to death?”

“Eeeep!” Pegasus yelped in fear, fleeing into Euphinia’s shadow.

“Aha ha ha...” Euphinia laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to react.

“Saint Adel, the Divine Beasts lend us their strength when we call for them because we have made a contract with them; they are not subservient to us. I ask that you treat them with respect and decorum,” Claire admonished.

Hearing this, Adel felt a little—no, she felt extremely hurt.

“Mother Superior! I want to talk with you about something! Please come this way!”

She grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her away to a corner of the courtyard beyond Euphinia’s earshot. She had wanted to ask Claire a question for quite a while now, so she decided to finally do it. This too was for Euphinia’s sake.

“What is the matter, Saint Adel?”

“How is it not obvious?! Mother Superior, why do you suffer that vulgar Divine Beast to stay at Princess Euphinia’s side?! He is clearly a bad influence, no matter how you slice it. I fail to understand how you tolerate it, being Princess’s teacher in manners and class among other things. You can’t be oblivious to the way he speaks and behaves!”

“Ahhh, yes. That. I do understand your concerns, but...”

“Why, then?! Why do you merely stand by and do nothing about it?! We ought to banish him and make arrangements for Princess to contract another Divine Beast right this moment! If needed, I would be more than happy to offer my own. Come, let’s convince Princess together!”

“Princess Euphinia herself does not wish to null her contract with Pegasus. Don’t worry, I have already taught her to ignore the outbursts from Pegasus that she does not understand.”

“B-But that alone is—”

“It has already been several years since Her Highness contracted with Pegasus. And yet, her demeanor has remained the same. I have concluded that Pegasus’s presence does not actually unduly affect Her Highness.”

“Of course! Princess’s character is as pure and pristine as a mountain stream! However, we can’t guarantee that won’t change. Are we not being too optimistic in assuming that—”

Suddenly, Adel recalled how Euphinia had been in the previous timeline. With Pegasus as her Divine Beast, she’d gotten embroiled in a fight at the town of Sidel in what was then the fallen kingdom of Wendill...and lost her life. Despite the years spent with Pegasus, she had remained wise and morally upright to the very end. In other words, even though Adel hated to acknowledge it, her worries that Pegasus would be a bad influence on Euphinia were very unlikely to come to pass.

“It will be fine. Let us believe in Her Highness.”

“Urgh...”

“In the first place, Pegasi are extremely rare beings. They are held in such holy regard, some even believe they serve as the deities’ steeds when they travel between worlds. A Pegasus agreeing to contract with a human is almost a miracle. Even my mentor, Saint Theodora, had never seen another case. Princess Euphinia’s ability is thanks in no small part to the Pegasus she has contracted.”

“I refuse to accept this! I can’t simply overlook that filthy beast’s reproachable behavior!”

“I am not saying that you have to overlook it. If you are capable of reforming Pegasus, nothing would make me happier. Unfortunately, he refuses to even speak with the rest of us in Wendill Palace.”

As a rule, Pegasus loved only virgin girls. In all likelihood, Claire and the other deployed Saints no longer fit the bill.

“So, you are leaving it to me?”

“It is not an order. If you can do it, then I would greatly appreciate it. That said, I imagine he will leave Her Highness of his own accord several years down the line. This issue will sort itself out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Princess Euphinia is both royalty and a very talented Saint. Her elder brother will likely succeed the throne, which leaves her to marry into one of the Four Powers’ ruling families. Once she does...need I continue?”

It would be Euphinia’s duty to produce offspring, which meant she would naturally lose her virginity. Pegasus would hate this and therefore decide to leave. This was what Claire was insinuating.

Being both a princess of the Middle Kingdom and an incredibly talented Saint, Euphinia was more than qualified to stand beside the prince of any country. Add to that her own irreproachable character and deep wisdom, not to mention her breathtaking beauty, and she would be swamped with suitors in no time.

“Oh, wait! That reminds me!”

Something had just occurred to Adel: in the previous timeline, Euphinia did already have a fiancé. And it was someone who Adel knew very well.

“The Mad Emperor, Emperor Tristan. He and Princess...it hasn’t happened yet, right?”

The Torust Empire, one of the Four World Powers, was located northwest of Wendill. It was ruled by an emperor named Tristan, the man who had led the Northern Federation and plunged the entire world into war in the previous timeline. He was one of the key figures who had brought about Wendill’s destruction. It was through killing him—which led to the Northern Federation falling apart—that Adel had ended the Great War.

That very same Tristan had been engaged to Euphinia. Of course, said engagement was voided when war broke out and Wendill was obliterated. In light of the fact that he had been working with Elciel the War Saint, his name topped the list of people that Adel intended to eliminate now that she had returned to the past.

“Mad...Emperor? By Tristan, are you referring to Imperial Prince Tristan of Torust?”

“Oh, sorry. I was talking to myself. In regards to Pegasus, I understand. I will do my utmost to reform him.”

Based on Claire’s response, Euphinia had yet to become betrothed to Tristan. Based on Euphinia’s current age, there were still four or five years before she would have met Adel. For all she knew, the betrothal might happen sometime soon. If Adel could prevent it from happening, the future would definitely change. The easiest way to set this in stone would be to kill Tristan. With the person who kicked off the Great War dead, perhaps the war itself could also be stopped.

Adel wouldn’t hesitate to take any opportunity to prevent Euphinia’s tragic fate. She swore this to herself once more in her heart.

Claire nodded with satisfaction. “Do as you like. Now, shall we return to our—”

“Saint Claire! Saint Claire! Where are you?!” a knight suddenly called out, barging into the courtyard.

“I am here,” Claire replied, catching his attention. “What is the matter?”

“His Majesty is urgently asking for you! Please see him posthaste!”

“Understood. Has something happened?”

“Yes, ma’am. A Holy Tower on our border with the Torust Empire and the Republic of Malka has fallen, and the territory has reverted to profane land. His Majesty wishes to confer on a response with immediate urgency.”

“Is that true?! Very well, I will head over right away!” Claire’s strict face grew even more taut as she exited the courtyard at a small run.

“Hm, profane land. Looks like they’re going to be busy.”

The main duty of Saints deployed to countries was to maintain the Holy Towers within the borders of their assigned country. Therefore, it would be up to the Saints and Wendill’s knights to deal with the current crisis. And if Claire had her hands full, she would nag Adel less about manners and whatnot. With this faint hope in her heart, Adel realized she was actually a little happy about what had happened.

Out of nowhere, Euphinia popped up. “Adel!”

“Princess! Yes, what can I do for you?”

With a deadly serious face, Euphinia declared, “Adel, we should go too!”

◆◇◆

Adel and Claire said in unison, “You must not!” Even their expressions were the same.

“The two of them actually agreed on something! Now that’s a rare sight,” Melulu chuckled.

“Perhaps they are more similar than they think,” Mash nodded.

Adel whirled on the two. “This isn’t time for nonsense! You two, help us talk Princess out of this!”

Long story short, Euphinia wanted to accompany the force that would be heading out to deal with the profane land crisis. Profane land was territory not under the blessing of a Holy Tower. Saints had to erect Holy Towers to purify land before people could live on it. In its natural state, the land was a harsh environment filled with miasma that formed monsters. Supposedly, this world was built on top of the corpse of the Evil One. According to legend, Almaz, the goddess who created man and Divine Beast, used the last drop of her strength to cover the corpse with dirt in exchange for the world that had been destroyed in their fight.

This was called the Great Coffin Doctrine. Its veracity aside, profane land certainly did exist, and there was no way to deal with it other than a Saint purifying it with a Holy Tower.

The tower that had broken down this time was Holy Tower VII, the one closest to the border with Torust in the northwest and Malka in the northeast, leaving the surrounding territory to revert to profane land. In response, a strike force would be formed from the knights and Saints at Wendill Palace.

Claire, who led the Saints, and Belzen, the commander of the knights, were in the middle of working out who to bring when Euphinia suddenly said she wanted to go too. This hardly needed to be said, but the trip was going to be dangerous. Allowing the country’s princess to expose herself to such danger for no apparent reason was absolutely out of the question.

If Euphinia had ordered Adel to help out the strike force, she would have obeyed without question. However, she was vehemently against bringing the princess along. This was something that Adel strongly agreed with Claire on.

Melulu timidly raised a hand. “Um, Princess, I hate to say this, but I think I’m on Adel and Saint Claire’s side this time...”

“Please understand how important you are,” Mash chided. “If anything were to happen to you, the fallout would be incalculable. It is unwise to charge into danger that could be avoided.”

The king nodded. “Listen to them, Euphinia. If harm befell you, those around you might have to bear responsibility. Knowing that, do you truly need to do this?”

“Father...”

Adel felt a pang of guilt at seeing Euphinia look so dejected by everyone’s reactions. “Princess, I think I understand how you feel.”

“Huh?”

“You are worried that Tower VII fell because it was affected by what happened at Central Tower, are you not? That is why you wish to resolve this crisis by your own hand.”

A short while ago, when Euphinia had touched Central Tower as part of her initiation ceremony as a Saint, the structure had cracked open, spewing miasma everywhere. Ever since then, she’d been troubled by the thought that she was at fault for the incident. If Tower VII breaking was related to that, then the responsibility was hers. This was why she felt so strongly compelled to accompany the strike force.

“Y-You are right...but I guess I would only cause everyone trouble. I won’t insist.”

“In that case, Princess, please order me to take part.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am your loyal servant. I am your hands and feet. Everything that I achieve is what you do through me. As such, please order me to suppress the profane land territory. I will alleviate your worries on your behalf.”

Euphinia fell silent, but the anxiety in her face gradually gave way to her usual gentle smile. “Thank you, Adel.”

Before the time jump, Adel had been blind and therefore unable to see such changes in Euphinia’s expression. The thought that her words and actions had brought a smile to her liege’s face filled Adel’s heart with pride and joy.

“In that case, can you take care of it for me?” Still smiling, Euphinia took Adel’s hand. The soft and warm sensation moved Adel to tears.

“Oh, Princess! You...you honor me far too much!”

This inadvertently made Euphinia worry again, this time for Adel. She peered into the other girl’s face. “Are you okay, Adel?”

“Oh! I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be—”

“Your Highness, please allow me to go with Adel,” Mash interrupted, having grown numb to this exchange which happened so often.

“Nooo, that means I’m the only one who has to stay back!” Melulu wailed.

“I mean, if Adel’s going, you already have to stay by Her Highness’s side by default,” Mash pointed out. “And I’m sure the strike force could use all the fighting power it can get.”

Seeing that the discussion was coming to a close, the king declared, “It seems we are decided. Saint Claire and Commander Belzen, gather your forces with immediate urgency. Adel and Mash will accompany—”

Suddenly, a guard rushed into the audience chamber. “Reporting, sire!”

“Hm? Speak.”

“Saint Theodora is right outside, asking for an audience! How should we receive her?!”

“What?! She came here all the way from Alderford?! She must have something of import to discuss. Escort her in right away!”

“Yes, sire!”

The guard turned around and ran off again with nimble steps.

Claire turned to the king. “Your Majesty, this is opportune. If we ask, perhaps my mentor might agree to aid with the matter at hand!”

“Saint Claire, I doubt there is any need for such extremes,” Commander Belzen interrupted. “Despite our cordial relationship, Wendill and the Church are separate entities. I believe we should be careful about asking too much of the Church.”

The Holy Tower Church was the exclusive national religion of not only Wendill, but also the four superpowers that encircled the kingdom. It was clear to all that, when compared, the Church had much higher standing than Wendill did. In light of their already lopsided relationship, the knight commander was of the opinion that putting Wendill further in the Church’s debt was to be avoided if possible.

Adel agreed with not asking Theodora for help, but for a different reason. As someone who had just been appointed to participate in the strike force on Euphinia’s behalf, Adel wanted to erase the source of the princess’s worry with her own hands.

“With my teacher’s help, the process of restoring Tower VII would go much smoother. Does prestige truly outweigh that?” Claire countered.

Just then, an elderly woman with a kindly air walked into the room. She was flanked by a young boy and girl with silver hair tinted sky blue. This was none other than the great Saint Theodora, also known as the Tower Saint. Lute and Myu, the twins who served as her escort knights, were apparently also her grandchildren.

“Thank you for granting me an audience, Your Majesty,” Theodora said, graciously greeting him in the way customary of Saints. Following suit, Lute and Myu also bowed courteously.

“Eminent Theodora! Wendill welcomes you.”

“My apologies for imposing without advance notice at such a frantic moment. Thank you for always taking good care of my disciple Claire.”

“We are more than grateful for her diligence in educating my daughter.”

“As it so happens, that is exactly who my business today concerns: Princess Euphinia.”

“You don’t say. What can be so important that you made the trip in person?”

“We have also been informed of the destruction of Holy Tower VII in Wendill. I am sure you are urgently gathering a force to deal with it, but I must ask...have they set off yet?”

“I’m afraid we ourselves have only received the news recently. We are discussing our response right now, actually.”

“What a relief. I am not too late.”

“For what?”

“Please allow me to accompany the strike force.”

Claire’s face lit up. “You will come along?! Thank you so much, Teacher!”

“The offer is a welcome one indeed!” the king said, disregarding Belzen’s frown.

“However, I have a condition,” Theodora continued. “Please allow Princess Euphinia and Adel to come with me as well.”

This time, it was Euphinia’s face that lit up. “Eminent! You would take me along too?!”

The princess looked so happy, it made Adel a little—no, quite jealous. She wanted to be the one to make Euphinia smile, but Theodora had made the princess smile the brightest.

Doing her best to hide her emotions, Adel spoke up. “Eminent Theodora, in our discussion, it has already been decided that I will be going and that Princess Euphinia will be staying behind. May I ask for the reason behind your request?”

The king nodded gravely. “As Adel says, we wish to distance Euphinia from danger as much as possible. Do you have a reason?”

“Indeed I do. I wish to use this incident as an opportunity to teach Adel and Princess Euphinia how to restore and erect new Holy Towers. After all, there is no better teaching environment than actual profane land. The two of them possess such overwhelming talent that they are sure to lead a new generation of Saints. I myself am advanced in years, as is evident. While I am still active, I wish to pass on everything I know.”

“Hmm, an Eminent personally teaching Euphinia does sound enticing...”

“You would teach me yourself, Eminent?!” Euphinia exclaimed, her face now practically radiating happiness.

Theodora smiled gently. “I would love to. You two just might be my last students.”

“Gnnnrgh!” Although she wasn’t aware, Adel was pressing her lips together in an expression filled with bitterness.

Mash and Melulu gave her strange looks.

“Why are you biting your lips with such a bitter look, Adel?”

“This is a good thing for you too, isn’t it?”

“I know it is...but still!”

Next to them, Theodora seemed to be having success convincing the king.

“Of course, I will personally ensure Princess Euphinia’s safety. I have also brought forces from Alderford who will cooperate with the subjugation effort.”

“Hmm... You, the Tower Saint, will be directly passing your knowledge on to Euphinia? Do you see that much potential in her?”

“Father, Eminent Theodora’s achievements speak for themselves. Her skills and knowledge simply have to be passed down! If the honor is mine, then I would gladly accept it. I’m sure it will prove helpful not only for Wendill, but the world! Please grant me this opportunity!” Euphinia bowed deeply in supplication. At the same time, she also tugged Adel’s sleeve a few times. “Adel, you have to ask him too!”

Seeing the desperation on the princess’s face, Adel bowed just as deeply. “Your Majesty, with Eminent Theodora accompanying us, even if something happens, we would be more than equipped to deal with it. Needless to say, I will also give my all. In light of this, I too ask that you give Princess your permission.”