I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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This is the first time I’ve been away from the Imperial Guard, yet I wanted to commend Selvia for her composed demeanor.

However, there was no time for leisurely chit-chat in the current pressing situation.

The enemy was close enough that I could hear their footsteps clearly without needing to listen intently.

“Her Highness the Princess. It won’t be long before they storm in here.”

Selvia nodded, looking toward the door.

“Yeah. I know.”

“If that’s the case, could you fire your gun twice at the ceiling when they open the door?”

“…At the ceiling?”

Not at the enemy? Selvia turned back in confusion, but I was dead serious.

“It doesn’t have to be the ceiling. The goal is just to make a gunshot sound.”

“Why… wait. I see.”

Selvia seemed to understand the urgency of the situation and didn’t contest my suggestion.

Tap tap tap—

At that moment, we heard the sound of the enemy moving quickly, echoing in our ears.

Holding my breath, I listened as the sound of the door’s hinges creaking filled the air.

“I’ll begin.”

As soon as Selvia realized the door had been opened, she pulled the trigger twice, just as I instructed.

A flash of light burst forth from the dimly lit room, followed by a noise loud enough to deafen.

Thanks to this, the agents trying to enter fled back outside.

Silence followed.

They were likely pressed against the walls of the corridor, re-evaluating how to handle this situation through hand signals.

‘More specifically, they’re probably discussing how to kill us.’

Having staged such a grand commotion at the banquet hall, the enemies could not escape the Empire.

This meant their mission was to kill the Princess, not just kidnap her.

However, they had no way of knowing exactly where she was hiding.

They must have been startled and stumbling backward in confusion at the gunshots echoing immediately upon opening the door.

Behind the sofa? Behind the bookshelf? Under the desk? Or did they fire from another room? There would certainly be all sorts of speculations.

Usually, such speculations culminate in grenades appearing.

It’s common practice to toss a grenade in the general direction they believe an enemy might be hiding, to see how they react.

That’s when I would strike.

Just as I was nervously swallowing my concerns,

Click—

The sound of a grenade’s safety pin being pulled tickled my ears.

I hastily stood up and drew my revolver, my senses on high alert.

Through the door, I could see an agent attempting to hurl the grenade toward us, all in slow motion.

I couldn’t afford to fail. Holding my breath, I carefully aimed at the grenade and pulled the trigger.

The gunpowder ignited, sending the bullet flying, and the world resumed its normal pace.

Boom—!

The grenade struck by the bullet exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

“Ahh!”

“Ugh!”

Agents hit directly by the fragments erupted in screams, breaking the tense silence.

Though the adrenaline made me feel nauseous, I couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

“Her Highness the Princess.”

“I understand!”

As Selvia and I rushed into the corridor, an agent still breathing pulled a pistol from under his coat.

Before I could react, Selvia pulled the trigger first.

Bang!

The bullet embedded itself in the agent’s forehead, who let out a choked sound and then slumped limply.

Feeling relieved, I glanced around to find all the other agents sprawled out, lifeless.

We had taken down eight agents in an instant, but that didn’t mean we were out of the woods yet.

“Your Highness. The other agents who heard the gunfire will come running. They wouldn’t have sent only eight agents on this mission.”

“Then we need to escape this place right away…”

No. It was too late. I heard footsteps echoing again from the central staircase of the corridor.

─ It’s upstairs! The Empire’s Princess is upstairs!

─ Gather everyone! Shoot on sight!

─ It’s on the top floor of the hotel! Block their escape!

My breath grew ragged with tension. Frustratingly, the only reliable ally I had left was Selvia.

“This way!”

I grabbed Selvia’s wrist and dashed toward the end of the corridor.

Selvia, startled but following me, shouted out, “Daniel! That’s a dead end!”

“It’s not a dead end! The wall is made of glass!”

“What do you—!”

Realizing my intent, Selvia’s eyes widened in horror.

“You mean we’re going to jump out through there?!”

“Yes! The stairs and elevator are likely occupied by them, so we have no other option!”

“That’s ridiculous! Suicide isn’t a viable plan!”

Frustrated, I looked back at Selvia and said, “But Your Highness can use spatial transfer magic!”

“How can I… No! That’s not foolproof! It only works within a certain distance!”

“I see! It’s fortunate we’re currently on the top floor of the hotel!”

I wasn’t sure if I was being absurd or if the situation was just absurd, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

Running while raising my revolver, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets struck the reinforced glass, creating cracks.

At that moment, we heard loud shouts from agents coming from the central staircase.

“There they are!”

“Fire! We have the authority to kill them!”

I leaped and crashed through the glass wall.

Crash! The glass shattered into a million pieces as shards flew in every direction.

Selvia, holding my hand, soared gracefully among the shards.

But our flight in the air was fleeting.

“Ugh!”

Unable to withstand gravity, we soon began plummeting toward the ground.

The wind whipped through my hair and uniform as Selvia’s dress flapped like a flag. It was white.

“Your Highness!”

At my shout to snap her back to reality, Selvia gave a quick nod after taking a deep breath.

Selvia muttered a short spell, her gaze fixed on the rapidly approaching scenery of the old town.

In an instant, a white light enveloped both Selvia and me.

*

When I opened my eyes, Selvia and I were still suspended in midair.

However, the ground was fast approaching.

I wrapped my arms around Selvia and braced myself, as we hit the ground with a thud.

“…!”

My body jolted, pain shooting through me, but it was bearable.

Before the pain could recede, I looked around with a sigh of relief at finding no one else present.

All I could see were broken records and shattered furniture.

It looked like a dumping ground for products being discarded from households.

“Ugh…”

Selvia, who had been nestling against me, lifted herself up.

She appeared a bit dizzy, likely from the spatial transfer magic we had just used.

However, she soon regained her composure and looked at me.

“…Are you okay?”

That surprised me. I expected her to ask if we had managed to escape.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Placing my hands on the ground, I pushed myself up.

Looking down at Selvia sitting on the floor, I couldn’t help but notice her appearance was a bit disheveled.

Her hair, neatly arranged before, was now a tangled mess, and her luxurious evening dress was stained with dirt and possibly even blood.

Amidst that, though, her sapphire earrings and necklace sparkled beautifully in the moonlight, which felt almost ironic.

…Wait? Moonlight?

Looking up, I realized the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole.

I could see the stars twinkling up in the sky.

In my haste, perhaps I had chosen a random hideout.

I stretched out my hand toward Selvia.

“Let’s get up. The floor is cold.”

Nodding, Selvia took my hand and rose.

To check on her condition, I leaned slightly down.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Thankfully, I’m not… wait.”

Selvia’s face flushed as she pushed me away.

Her tightly shut eyes hid her annoyance.

“Don’t you think we’re a little too close sometimes?”

“…I was just worried about your safety.”

“I know. I know… sigh. Let’s just check if we’re safe now?”

“We should be fine. They won’t be able to track us down to where we escaped with spatial transfer magic.”

Even if they could, the Imperial Guard would arrive before they could catch up.

The moment Ethilium conversion bombs went off, the Imperial Guard would have been dispatched, so they must have already entered the old town by now.

Realizing Selvia was likely thinking the same, she nodded and stepped back from me.

An awkward atmosphere settled between us.

During the urgency of the situation, we had exchanged jokes and talked, but now that the crisis was over, an unexplainable awkwardness had grown between us.

In the back of my mind, a thought crept in: ‘The closer I get to Selvia, the further I’m away from the battlefield,’ which made it even harder for me to express familiarity.

After all, how could I speak casually to someone as noble as the princess of the Empire?

So, while we killed time waiting for the Imperial Guard to arrive, Selvia carefully broke the silence.

“…Daniel. Do you know how to dance?”

Dance? I shook my head.

“I’ve only watched a few times; I’ve never danced properly. As you know, I’m an orphan, so I’m not well-versed in social skills like dancing. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Just… I thought it would be better to dance than to sit around doing nothing. Plus, there’s still time left before the banquet ends.”

Now that she mentioned it, she wasn’t wrong.

The banquet ended at midnight.

“Your Highness, I would love to join you, but my skills are admittedly lacking…”

“I’ll teach you. It’s not that difficult.”

Well, if she was insisting this much, I couldn’t refuse.

“Then I’ll request a lesson.”

“Great.”

Selvia stepped closer and took my hand.

“Just follow my lead.”

With that, Selvia raised my hand and started to move her feet.

She seemed to be moving quite slowly, likely to accommodate my beginner status, but even that was still a challenge for me.

So much so that when my feet tangled up a few times, Selvia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

I felt embarrassed for some reason.

“…Didn’t you say you can’t dance?”

“If you learn, you can improve. Come on, let’s do it again.”

Selvia began moving again, and I followed her lead.

After repeating this several times, I finally managed to get the hang of it to a certain degree.

I had somewhat completed a less-than-graceful version of the dance.

Beneath the moonlight, as we performed our dance, distant helicopter sounds began to drift toward us.

“Your Highness. The Imperial Guard…”

“Don’t stop.”

I hesitated, wanting to tell her it wasn’t the time for whims.

Selvia, however, wore a lovely smile on her face.

It was a stark contrast to the emotionless dancing we had performed at the banquet hall.

For some reason, I didn’t want to ruin Selvia’s joy.

So, I moved my feet clumsily, and the ensuing dance shifted into a waltz, gracefully coming to an end.

As I finished the waltz, feeling somewhat dazed, Selvia released my hand and looked at me.

“Remember this. You should know how to dance at least this well if you don’t want to be looked down upon.”

As I struggled to come up with a suitable response, the helicopter sound above us grew closer, and the thumping of the blades could be heard right above.

“Her Highness the Princess!”

Startled by the sudden shout, I looked up to see an older man, nearly sixty, fully armed and standing by the helicopter door.

He quickly pulled out the walkie-talkie strapped on his shoulder and pressed the transmit button.

“Base! This is the waste collection point at Altar Markt Street 87 in the old town! I’ve found Her Highness the Princess and Captain Daniel! Both are unharmed, aside from a few minor injuries! Send immediate support! I repeat! This is the old town…”

Now that I truly felt we had survived, the tension began to dissipate.

As Selvia and I exchanged relieved glances, we both paused momentarily before unintentionally bursting into laughter.

It was the tail end of spring.