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I circled around behind Zandra as Grau.

Fiene had skillfully created the situation I needed.

Using magic as Grau would be problematic for my reputation, but it was a hundred times better than appearing in the castle as Silver without a reason.

Thinking that, I focused mana into my right hand.

But at that moment—

"How naive!"

Zandra turned around and attacked me with her whip.

The whip, imbued with mana, was extraordinarily fast and powerful.

I instinctively stepped back and dodged it.

"Did you really think you could catch me off guard!?"

"I suppose that's what one would expect from a former candidate for the throne. I'll give you credit for being royalty, rotten or not."

"A former candidate for the throne...? I'll kill you! I'm the future Emperor!"

"I wouldn't recommend setting your sights on an unrealistic goal."

Enraged by my provocation, Zandra lashed out with her whip again and again.

Dodging it, I waited for a chance to counterattack.

I couldn't fight as Silver, so I couldn't finish her off in a single blow.

How should I defeat her?

As I considered several strategies, Zandra grew impatient and cast a spell.

It was wind magic—the magic Zandra excelled at.

She hurled it at me in the form of a sharp blade.

I dodged it by a hair and stepped forward.

Zandra was skilled at magical combat and fighting at midrange, but weak in close combat.

Once I reinforced myself with mana, I should be able to handle her.

That was my assumption as I closed in.

However, my body suddenly stopped moving.

"What!?"

"Hahahahaha!! Did you really think I wouldn't be wary of the timeworn tactic of closing in on a mage!? Of course I've taken precautions!"

Looking down, I saw a shadow binding my feet.

I clicked my tongue and tore the shadow apart, but that created a fatal opening.

"It's over!"

"Tch!"

The wind blade Zandra had cast earlier

had come back around from behind me.

I twisted my body on instinct, but the wind blade sliced off my left arm.

Seeing the blood gushing out, Zandra let out a triumphant laugh, but I merely grinned.

"What's so funny? Has the pain driven you mad?"

"Pain? What are you talking about?"

Without a care, I advanced toward Zandra.

Zandra took a step back when she saw that I felt no pain, but in the meantime, I regenerated my left arm.

"What!?"

Unable to conceal her shock at the arm that had suddenly grown back, Zandra backed away—not just one step, but two, then three.

"What is it? Is that all you've got?"

"Tch! Don't mess with me! Even if you can grow back an arm, you can't grow back your head!"

Saying that, Zandra severed my head with a blade of wind.

Seeing my head fall to the floor, Zandra was certain of her victory.

"Serves you right! That's what you get for becoming conceited over your regenerative abilities!"

"Conceited? What are you talking about?"

I answered Zandra from the floor.

The head that should have been severed was speaking, fully conscious.

For the first time, fear appeared on Zandra's face at the sight.

"No... way..."

"What? Is this the first time you've encountered someone who doesn't die even after having their head cut off?"

"It's a lie! That can't be true! You're not human, are you!? Are you a dullahan!?"

"No. I am human. Just a little different from other humans."

Saying that, I moved my body and picked up my head.

Then I slowly approached Zandra.

Though terrified by me, Zandra created a sphere of light and hurled it at me.

"You won't be able to regenerate once you're reduced to dust!!"

Just as Zandra had said, the sphere struck me head-on and reduced me to dust.

Zandra did not laugh at that.

She still looked wary.

However, after waiting several seconds, then several dozen seconds, and seeing that I did not regenerate, she finally relaxed and laughed.

"What a pathetic sight."

"Were you talking about yourself, Princess Zandra?"

I called out to her from behind.

Driven by fear, Zandra turned around, but I was not there.

There was only black smoke.

But it gradually gathered into a human shape, until it eventually took my form.

"No..."

"Well then... Princess Zandra, are you good at playing tag?"

The moment I said that, a huge amount of black smoke burst from my body.

Sensing danger, Zandra began running down the corridor at top speed.

"Haaah, haaah... No, no! It's a lie! It has to be a lie! There can't be a monster like that! There has to be some trick to it! It's impossible for anyone to survive my forbidden art! Impossible! Impossible!!"

"Princess Zandra! Are you all right!?"

"I'm not all right, you good-for-nothings! Hurry up and deal with that monster!"

The soldiers and mages came rushing over.

Zandra breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted them.

She must have thought they would at least buy her some time.

However, the moment they touched my smoke, they melted away. Their bodies literally melted.

"Eek!?"

"There's nowhere left to run, Princess Zandra."

"Damn it! You there! Somebody! Isn't anyone here!? Save me, now! I'm a princess! Zandra Lakes Adler is here! Save me! I'll give whoever saves me enough money and status to live in luxury for the rest of their lives! So save me! Save me!!"

Zandra shouted.

Seeing that, Fiene asked.

"Grau-sama... What is this...?"

"An illusion. She'll be playing tag with me inside the illusion for a while."

I watched Zandra, who stood there muttering to herself.

I had cast an illusion on Zandra the moment I got behind her.

She seemed to think she had broken free, but that had only happened inside my illusion.

Illusions that make others experience nightmares can damage their minds, so I prefer not to use them, but I suppose Zandra is an exception.

She is a member of the imperial family and a highly skilled mage, after all.

She should eventually break free on her own.

"What are you going to do with Princess Zandra?"

"She has no value as a hostage, and killing her would only let Gordon absorb her forces. Killing her would be easy, but... it would be more convenient in various ways if she fought with Gordon and they got in each other's way instead."

Her followers would not abandon Zandra while she was trapped in the illusion.

They would surely try to get her somewhere safe, and that alone would hold them up sufficiently.

Fiene let out a sigh of relief at my words.

She must have thought I might kill her.

Killing her was an option, too—a simple, easy move.

But it would solve nothing.

The root of the problem was not Zandra. Killing her wouldn't bring anything back.

If so, there was no reason to kill her in front of Fiene.

"I believe criminals should be judged according to the law. Once everything is over, it would be proper for His Majesty the Emperor to judge Princess Zandra."

"Yes. Assuming Zandra is still alive by then. Sister Liese won't let this mother and daughter off, regardless. I can't prove it, but they were involved in the Second Consort's death. Once they become enemies, Sister Liese won't show them any mercy."

I could only resign myself to that.

It's not that I don't want her dead; it's just that killing her now has major disadvantages.

If the situation changed and killing her no longer carried any disadvantages, I would show her no mercy.

Fiene surely would not want that, but Fiene was a special case.

Those caught up in Zandra's schemes and those caught up in this rebellion would surely want her executed, and Father would pronounce a death sentence as well.

It was only a question of sooner or later.

Perhaps Zandra would be happier if she died now.

She would die bearing the full weight of the people's resentment.

That, one could say, was exactly what Zandra deserved.

"For now, she'll remain like this for a while. Let's hurry to the throne room while we can."

"No. We were only able to get Mitsuba-sama and Jianna-sama out of the rear palace. We destroyed the route leading to the castle, so the enemy's attention should be focused there. Let's use the secret passage to rescue the Third Consort-sama and Therese-sama."

I smiled wryly at Fiene's words.

Even after coming so close to disaster, she was still thinking that far ahead.

She had really grown.

But...

"That's a good plan, but the Third Consort and Sister Therese are already in the throne room."

"Huh? How...?"

"They used Mother as a decoy and hurried out of the rear palace. Much to my displeasure. So everyone but you is in the throne room. Mother and the others are steadily drawing closer, too."

When I checked their positions with the detection barrier, Mother and the others had already made it close to the throne room.

The soldiers' movements had been considerably sluggish because Zandra had been on this floor.

Zandra's barging in and moving the soldiers had thrown their deployment into considerable disarray.

Zandra was not one of Gordon's subordinates, but a collaborator. However, she had no intention of helping Gordon win, and Gordon did not trust her either.

They kept each other in check and on guard, and got in each other's way.

They were as incompatible as oil and water. There was no way things would go smoothly.

"So it worked out!"

"Yes, thanks to you. You did well. You really helped."

"No, I only imitated Al-sama. I didn't do anything special."

"I don't think imitating me is quite that easy."

With a wry smile, I pulled Fiene closer to me.

Then I made a teleportation gate appear.

If no one was around, there was no need to take time using the secret passage. We might as well teleport straight there.

"Well then, time to escape."

"Yes!"

Saying that, Fiene and I teleported to the upper levels of the castle.