The Princess Doesn't Hide Her Status (4)

Leon dragged the unconscious Murdock over.

Just in case he woke up and started thrashing, Leon stripped him naked so he couldn't hide any valuables.

He took handcuffs from a fallen gang member, cuffed his wrists, and locked him in the iron cage.

Hmph.

Leon looked around the area for a moment.

Because he had put out the fire earlier, the passageway was pitch-dark.

Leon, having long since surpassed the realm of ordinary humans, could see well even in the dark.

Thanks to his exceptional mana sensitivity, he could practically get by with his eyes closed, but not everyone else could.

Leon picked up another dagger from the floor.

He pulled a torch off the wall and scraped the two daggers against each other.

-Kak.

A small spark flew.

Once.

Twice.

A red dot appeared on the oil-soaked cloth, and soon the flame came alive as if taking a breath.

-Fwoosh.

The relit torch drove back the darkness underground.

Leon carried it and walked along the corridor, lighting the torches still mounted on the walls as he went.

The dim underground regained its light once more.

Then he went back to where Aurora was.

The young ladies were trembling, hidden tightly behind Aurora like puppies cowering behind their mother.

'They're so scared, and yet they came out here on their own.'

It seemed a little too optimistic, but it was hard to scold the girls.

The biggest reason they had run away was the novel Leon wrote.

Not just any novel, but one packed full of concentrated modern dopamine, with even the effects of the [Worldview Synchronization] skill applied.

Its destructive power was stronger than Leon had imagined. So he couldn't simply blame them.

Still, they had gone through this once, so they probably wouldn't do it again next time.

Thinking that, Leon opened the iron gate.

“It's safe now, so you can all come out.”

“Is it all over?”

“For now.”

There was still the matter of dealing with the remnants, but he couldn't stay away from Aurora and the young ladies for long.

Aurora nodded and looked back at the young ladies.

“Everyone, you're safe now. You don't have to be afraid anymore.”

“Ah...”

“Thank you. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Seeing the young ladies cry in relief, Aurora gave them a gentle smile.

But everything still wasn't over.

“Leon.”

“I know.”

Leon went through the corridor and headed for the iron cage near the entrance.

Inside were commoner women.

Unlike the young ladies beside Aurora, they didn't know what was happening.

With the lights out so they couldn't see an inch ahead, and with screams and sounds of fighting as well, they were gripped by overwhelming fear.

'And to top it all off, some slave was just standing there staring at them.'

All Leon could do for them was get them out as quickly as possible.

He swung his dagger quickly.

Two horizontal lines were carved into the iron bars, top and bottom, and soon the metal bars fell away with a clunk.

“The bad guys have all been dealt with. You can come out safely.”

“Wh-who... are you?”

“I'm a slave. Her Highness the princess's slave.”

“What? The princess?”

Soon, Aurora appeared beside him.

She stood before the cage and looked at the frightened women.

“Hello. I am Aurora Argenvalt, First Princess of the Empire.”

A calm tone that seemed to gently wrap around their eardrums.

Aurora continued speaking in a soft voice so the women wouldn't be startled.

“I'm sorry I'm late. I should have come sooner.”

A princess.

For them, who had to bow their heads at the mere sight of a noble, a princess was an impossibly distant existence.

Some only moved their lips as if they couldn't believe it, while the woman holding a child in her arms hunched even deeper, as if this were another mockery.

Seeing their reactions, Aurora's chest ached, but she didn't rush over.

She simply lowered herself to meet them at eye level.

“No one will be able to hurt you anymore. Soon, you'll be able to return to where you were before.”

At those words, they heard sharp intakes of breath from within.

Though they were wary of Aurora, they couldn't quite erase the little spark of hope and asked in trembling voices.

“Really... we can go back?”

It was more a question of confirmation than one of expectation.

They wanted to believe, but if they believed and were trampled again, they didn't think they could endure it.

“Yes. You can go back. I swear on my name that I'll safely return you to where you were before.”

All Aurora could do for them was pour hope into them without limit.

She didn't know how comforting that was.

Only then did emotion belatedly well up on the faces of the women who had been holding their breath for so long.

Someone quietly burst into tears.

That crying spread sideways.

The fear, relief, and sorrow they'd been suppressing all burst out at once.

Aurora gave them a soft, pitying smile.

Aurora got to her feet.

“Leon, we need to lead everyone outside.”

“Understood. I'll bring the young ladies over first.”

Leon quickly returned with the young ladies.

The women trapped in the cage and the young ladies gathered in one place.

“We're heading outside now. Before that, is there anyone who can't walk?”

Leon asked, looking around.

“I think that child has a slight fever.”

“This woman has been saying she's dizzy since earlier...”

“I think I may have sprained my ankle a little...”

A few timidly raised their hands.

“Good. Form up in three columns, and have the weak and the children move to the front. The rest of you support one another and move.”

Leon efficiently organized the group.

The women wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but they couldn't act recklessly in front of the princess. They moved in an orderly fashion.

The young ladies and common women exchanged wary glances, but perhaps realizing their situations weren't so different, they gradually drew closer together.

“All right, then let's go.”

“Follow me.”

The procession slowly began to move.

Aurora took the lead.

Behind her, the woman holding the child and those in poor health stayed close, while the young ladies and common women followed, supporting one another.

Leon stepped out of the formation and guarded the center.

A position where he could see both front and back. A position where he could respond immediately no matter what happened.

“They're escaping with the hostages!”

“Block the door! Don't let them out!”

Soon, two men jumped out from the side.

“Don't worry about them. Keep going.”

Saying that, Leon flicked his fingers. Then the remnants charging at them collapsed with a thud.

Seeing that, the girls looked back at Leon with dumbfounded expressions.

Leon smiled and shrugged.

“I'm good at little tricks.”

The Formless Sword, which Leon was training intensively alongside sword control.

A technique that overlays the image of a slash drawn in the mind onto reality, cutting the opponent with an invisible blade.

What people commonly call the Mind Sword (心剑).

If fully mastered, merely thinking about it is enough.

The moment you decide to cut, it's already been cut; the moment you picture blocking, an invisible sword barrier unfolds.

But Leon hadn't reached that level yet.

When trying to form a sword with imagery alone, its shape was too hazy, and when cutting with sheer will alone, the trajectory wavered.

So instead, he uses his fingers.

As if a mage were chanting a skill name when casting magic.

Leon used the motion of his fingertips to grasp the shape of the invisible sword.

From where to draw it.

In which direction to swing it.

What to cut.

With that brief hand motion, he gave shape to the image in his mind.

-Tuk.

Leon's fingers moved once more.

The wrist of a remnant who had been secretly about to shoot an arrow from behind went limp.

“You saw that, right?”

The girl slowly nodded.

Like Aurora, she too knew nothing about swordsmanship, so she simply thought, 'Oh, so it's like magic.'

Just when it seemed the hostage escort operation might proceed safely.

“Please stop for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Leon stopped the procession.

“What's wrong?”

“An unwelcome guest has arrived.”

“Huh?”

Leon's gaze turned beyond the wall. He couldn't see through it, but his heightened senses could feel it.

Footsteps coming from far away.

Not just one or two.

Well-trained strides echoed through the underground passage at regular intervals.

They were nothing like the footsteps of hooligans running around recklessly.

There was weight to them.

There was order to them.

Most of all.

-Clack.

The sound of metal locking together mixed in. It was the sound of armor.

“It's the knight order.”

“The knight order? How did the knight order know to come here?”

“Before we came here, we handed the gang members over to the patrol. They probably interrogated them and got the information.”

“Ah.”

Aurora let out a small sigh.

The sound of armor clashing grew louder and soon came close enough for everyone here to hear.

“Check the inside!”

“Find the young ladies first! Subdue all the remnants!”

The moment they heard that voice, a bright light spread across the women's faces.

“The knight order...”

“It's true! The knight order is here!”

“We're saved now... sob...”

No matter how strong Leon was, to those who didn't know him, he was just a peculiar slave.

For them, the knight order's arrival brought far greater relief than Leon ever could.

Those who had barely been able to move a moment ago, regardless of status, clung to one another and burst into tears.

Aurora watched that scene with pride, but...

“This isn't the time to be happy.”

“Huh?”

It wasn't good news for Leon and Aurora.

“Are you okay if they find out who you are?”

“...Ah.”

Aurora's face froze in place.

Saving the women was good, but the moment her identity was exposed, Aurora would surely be locked up in the imperial palace this time.

“W-what do we do? What should we do?”

“There's no point fretting over it. Either we walk out boldly or slip away now. One of the two.”

“Slip away? Can we get out?”

“There's another way out besides here.”

“What about these people?”

“Now that the knight order is here, won't they be fine?”

That was logically correct.

Most of the members had already been subdued, and their leader, Murdock, was locked naked in a cage.

Even if a few remnants remained, they wouldn't hold out long against the regular knight order.

So they should just leave now.

After sneaking out with Leon, they could return to the imperial palace as if nothing had happened.

'The problem is what to do with the women...'

She had promised to take responsibility for them.

As the princess, she had a duty to return those imperial subjects to a safe place.

Aurora, who had been hesitating, hardened her resolve.

No matter how important her own situation was, she couldn't leave those fragile women behind.

As expected, here she had to take responsibility all the way to the end...

“Your Highness.”

Then someone called Aurora.

When she raised her head, the young ladies were standing there looking at her.

“We'll do it.”

“...Pardon?”

Aurora blinked.

“Do what?”

“We'll take responsibility and protect these people.”

At the unexpected words, Aurora's eyes widened.

“You all? Really?”

“Yes.”

The young ladies looked at one another, then nodded. With very serious faces, they answered in unison.

“Because Aurora would have done the same.”

The heroine of the novel.

Because Aurora would have done the same. So they could do it too.

“Aurora would never have just walked away.”

“She wouldn't have looked away from people in danger.”

“So we'll do it too.”

And above all.

“Isn't it only natural that the princess should hide her identity?”

Everyone here was a devoted reader of <The Princess Hides Her Identity>.

They loved the novel so much that they had even been taken hostage in real life.

Now that they'd been given the chance to become a character in the novel, and they'd give it up?

Absolutely not.

They couldn't go around calling themselves devoted readers if they did that.

“So trust us and go. Even if it kills us, we'll take the fact that Your Highness came here to the grave with us.”

“Everyone...”

Aurora's eyes grew wet with emotion.

“To be supporting characters who protect the heroine's secret...”

“We may not be the heroine, but this is cool in its own way.”

Somehow the story seemed to be heading in a strange direction, but anyway, she could trust them with it.

“Leave this place to us and go, Your Highness.”

“...All right. I'll leave the rest to you. Let's go, Leon.”

Aurora turned around.

And the moment she stepped forward.

“Ugh.”

Her legs gave out.

Just before her body tilted to the side, Leon's hand reached out first and supported her upper body.

“Are you all right?”

“I-I'm fine.”

Aurora smiled as if nothing was wrong. But that smile was a little paler than usual.

She had been walking nonstop since morning.

She had run through unfamiliar streets and gone into the criminals' den.

She had endured danger and swallowed fear.

She had only been forcing herself to stand so as not to unsettle the frightened women.

She had long since reached her physical limit.

“Commander! There's a path leading inside here!”

Soldiers' voices rang out from not far away.

They were much closer than before. At this rate, they'd be discovered before they could escape.

“Noona.”

“Huh?”

“Please excuse me for a second.”

“What— eek!”

Before she could even answer, Leon scooped Aurora up in his arms.

In an instant, her body left the floor.

Aurora reflexively grabbed Leon by the nape of his neck.

“Leon!”

“If we linger any longer, we'll be exposed.”

“That may be true, but...!”

“We're going. Hold on tight.”

Leon kicked off the ground.

-Bang!

A brief crack of displaced air.

The two of them shot away from the group in an instant, then disappeared beyond the dim gap.

At the same time.

“Inside!”

“We've found the young ladies!”

With the sound of armor clashing, the knights rounded the corner of the passage and burst in.

“Is everyone all right? Are any of you injured?”

“Miss! You're safe! Thank goodness!”

The knight order had arrived.

The hellish time was over.

Now they could truly go home.

It was a moment when cheers should naturally have burst out, yet the young ladies weren't looking at the knights.

Blankly.

They only stared dumbly at the direction where Leon and Aurora had just disappeared.

“...Noona?”

“Noona?”

“You heard that, right?”

“I heard it.”

“I heard it too.”

“A slave... calling Her Highness the princess Noona?”

Everyone thought the same thing.

This was the premonition of a huge scandal, even more outrageous than the novel.