His cold eyes fell on Verndia. Despite not saying anything, it was clear that he didn’t want to assist Psychke.

“So that’s what you should do. You’ve been doing so well so far.”

“…”

His eyes darkened for a while before he looked at her. With a hesitant sigh, he blurted out,

“I’ll take care of you in the future.”

* *

She immediately asked Verndia about Eric when he left.

“That person hated me so much. Does it really have to be him?”

“Because I couldn’t possibly put myself with you every day lest I want others to obviously see that I am on your side. Aside from that, Ruan is the best option…”

So, in the end, factions were the problem.

However, why would she need someone who doesn’t want to see her? When she asked him if it was not possible if he could introduce someone else to her, even if that person was lacking, he only closed his eyes and gently smiled.

“It’s not that he hates princesses. He hate Silkisia.”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

“No. The reason Ruan hates Silkisia was simple. Ruan was abandoned from Ikaxia by the Silkisia.”

Speaking of Ikaxia, something came to Psychke’s mind.

Five years ago, Ruan and Silkisia competed for the vacant Ikaxia sub-captain position. Their skills were on par, but in the last match, Ruan strangely withdrew. The reason was his ankle was harmed while hunting.

The people of the world laughed at Ruan for going hunting ahead of an important mission.

Some people ridiculed him for going out hunting when he had an important tournament, others assumed that he succumbed to the power of Silkisia. Still, after that, the relationship between Ruan and Silkisia remained good.

Though they disappeared like snow falling into thin air.

‘That must have been real.’

“He’s a little grouchy, but it’ll be okay if you get to know each other.”

Could they get to know each other well? She was not confident. It was hard to be close with someone who had a past with Yzhar even they were related.

* *

“Since Ikaxia and Adenthal are arriving soon, we plan to reorganize our forces at that time.”

Contrary to what she feared, Eric did a very good job as an aide.

He told her all those important things before going to a war, including the commanders of each unit, the troops, and the battle situation so far. Whenever she asked something, howbeit reluctant, he’d answer her right away.

They didn’t get along well in private, but it wasn’t bad in public relations.

He hadn’t shown any overt dislike since the first day. She may not know what he was on the inside, but on the outside, he was close to Yzhar, so that must also be an act.

Psychke, who had a history of being burned under the mask of Yzhar’s ‘kind brother’, was uncomfortable with it.

Rather than casually sticking a dagger in the back of her head, she would prefer it if Ruan would treat her just as this.

“Judging from the current movements of the monsters, I think we should stop them at least on the blizzard hill, but to do that, start-”

“Count.”

The voice that was reading through the papers stopped.

Eric looked up. There was no emotion contained in her transparent yellow eyes. She took a breath and said directly.

“If you don’t like me, show off your dislike. I know that the Count hates Silkisia.”

“No.”

Taking her words as ‘I can’t manage my expression,’ Eric responded briefly and then turned to the papers.

“I will fix myself.”

“If you don’t like it, say no.”

“I don’t.”

He was calm outside, but she knew there was a fire burning inside. This was how he was able to stay by Silvia’s side for five years. No one had ever doubted him when he visited Silkisia, nor would they ever.

Psychke sighed behind Eric’s back.

Even though he was trying to keep a distance from me, when he came as her aide, he seem to follow the Duke’s words thoroughly. How did the duke gain the trust of such a person?

Once again, Verndia looked great.

Shortly thereafter, Ikaxia and Adenthal arrived in Lestir.

They came with a support unit led by the vice-captain of each guild.

‘I’m sure Yzhar came too.’

Psychke didn’t care about the knights, nor did she seek out Yzhar. Once, when she met him in the hallway, he just passed her like a stranger.

‘The duke said he would place me in the furthest place, so I won’t run into him on the battlefield.’

Psychke learned many things from Eric, including terrain, strategy, and the characteristics of each unit. In the meantime, Verndia formed a new subjugation party.

Then, in order to stop the monsters approaching every moment, they sent a subjugation party to the snowstorm hill.

* *

Snowstorm Hill, about half a day away from Lestir’s territory, was said to have been a temple of a forgotten god in the past.

Now, only the site remains, but broken pillars remain here and there, indicating how great the status of the temple was in the past.

‘If there was a battle tomorrow, even that will be destroyed.’

Narrowly missing the brooch artifact’s limit of 12 hours, she arrived. Upon arrival, Psychke set up her own barracks.

Exhausted from the long journey, she skipped dinner and removed the artifact from her body before falling asleep as a side effect.

A meeting will be held a few hours later, so she agreed to sneak into Verndia’s pocket and participate secretly. Eric will tell her but it was better hearing it herself.

“And when you sleep at night…”

Psychke blurted out her words.

Oh, just thinking about it makes her dizzy.

“Why did you stop talking?”

Verndia, who was placing her smaller body on the palm of his hand, closed his eyes sullenly.

“You should be with me when you sleep at night.”

“…”

“Let’s sleep together in one room.”

“I’ll just let myself be kidnapped.”

Before leaving, Verndia had a story to tell. There was no problem if she was kidnapped in the middle of the day wearing her brooch, but if were to be kidnapped with her small body, she might be eaten by the monsters.

‘If I’m not careful, people might find out that I’ve become smaller.’

Not only the subjugation party, but also the two knights, Ikaxia and Adenthal, had also participated, so it was not known what they would do once they found out her secret.

Perhaps rumors circulated that she had been cursed by the gods because of the oracle.

So, Psychke would stay in the duke’s barracks at night and return to her own barracks as soon as she woke up.

However, when the duke kept appearing like that, her mind changed completely.

“Why? Men and women can sleep in one room. I don’t know what will happen to you if you’re not with me.”

“I’ll just be alone.”

When Psychke hated it, Verndia teased her and poked her in the cheek.

“It’s a joke.”

“No, I do not want to.”

“What if you get kidnapped?”

“I don’t get hurt. Stop poking me.”

“I will poke you until you agree to stay with me.”

“Stop, go out, er, go out-”

“Duke! Where are you, Duke!”

It was around the time she was dodging his fingers, clutching her flushed cheeks.

Urgent cries for Verndia burst out from outside the barracks.

“A number of monsters have appeared in the front!”

Psychke and Verndia’s expressions hardened at the same time. Really, a raid on their day one?

His thoughts came to a halt, not knowing what to do with the small princess in his hand. After hearing another call outside, he confirmed that there were no pockets in the armor he was wearing, and put Psychke in the leather pouch she was rolling around.

* *

Standing in front of them and confirming the monsters, Verndia gave a low voice.

“I don’t think there is an upper class. Most of them are low-class and a few middle-class.”

Steps, steps. A group of skeletons holding weapons such as toothless swords, spears with only handles remaining, and worn-out shields were approaching this direction.

Most were white, there were purple, red, and other colors that seemed to be poisonous.

Between them, he saw an ogre holding a bat the size of a child.

Verndia, who was of a lower rank than she had raided, frowned.

‘I could have left the princess in the barracks.’

He brought her here because he feared that she might get into trouble.

He was frustrated but he needed this quickly and release her. He promised a fast battle, therefore ordering a march toward the monsters.

“Go!”

Then he hurriedly changed the order due to the energy of the giant monster fell in the ground.

“Separate!”

It was a trap. The ground began trembling, cracks appeared on the spot where the subjugation team was a moment ago. Snow fell like flour through the cracks and there it spit out a huge monster.

It was a worm, a monster resembling an earthworm that lived underground.

The monster that had lost its target let out a high, disgusting cry and went back to the ground. The monster was preparing to attack again.

“I don’t think it’s alone!”

“Pay attention to the shaking of the ground!”

The commanders encouraged the troops.

To make matters worse, a wyvern appeared from the sky, and Lindworm, a dragon without wings and forelimbs, appeared from behind the skeleton, spewing black poisonous smoke.

Lindworm was running toward them, destroying even the skeletons blocking his path.

They were high-level monsters that could not be easily dealt with.

Verndia grasped the situation of the battlefield and gave commands.

“The 1st unit protects the wizards. Unit 7 attracts Worm’s attention. Unit 4 blocks Lindworm until the magic is ready. I will join you after dealing with the wyverns. No complaints?”

“Yes!”

“It’s possible!”

“No problem.”

“All right.”

He nodded his head and rode with his horse away from the soldiers.

Now that it’s hard for wizards to concentrate because of the worm, it’s hard to keep the wyvern in check with just a bow, so he planned to deal with that first.

He spoke to Psychke in his leather pouch.

It was because the pocket she had put her in had her war horse tools in it.

“Princess. There should be something like a long stick in there. Can you get it out?”

“Are you saying this?”

Psychke, who had been searching in his pockets, held out a stick through the slightly open slit.

Thanks to her miniaturization and lightweight magic, even her pea-size girl could lift it with ease.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Verndia received the magic tool and immediately activated it.

Then bang! There was a sound that could make the heavens and the earth break.

It was a magical tool used to draw attention by making a loud noise.

“You’re going to lose your ears.”

Sensing that all living things on the battlefield were looking at him, Verndia used his superpower in the air with a slight frown.

Then, a huge purple flame burned that could be seen from a distance.

The Wyverns who saw the flame rushed forward.

The monsters on the ground couldn’t come because the subjugation team was blocking their way, and the worms in the ground didn’t come because they felt the vibration of people’s feet rather than moving by sound.

Verndia dodged the wyvern’s claws by keeping his body close to his galloping horse.

Then he got on the back of the wyvern that was attacking him.

The wyvern twisted his body to drop him from his back.

After slashing it down with a single sword, Verndia jumped onto the next wyvern using his corpse as a steppingstone.

He stuck his sword between the teeth that were about to bite him and attached itself to the wyvern next to him.

The sight of him slaughtering living things with his purple eyes shining and covered in blood was how she confirmed that he was indeed a mad dog in battlefield.

While he was running around the battlefield excitedly, Psychke in his pocket was just about to die.

“Ugh, ugh.”

There was nothing to hold on to and support her body.

He has already been hit in the face and body by magic tools flying through the air dozens of times.

“Ugh!”

While avoiding the magic tool flying from the side, she was hit squarely by something round.

Psychke groaned and clutched at her reddened face.

Verndia, completely unaware of the situation in his pocket, kept asking for something.

“Princess, can you take out something like a marble from inside?”

“Wait a minute…”

Psychke let out a groan.

Things from here and there kept hurting her face, she couldn’t restrain a grunt.