Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 63

63. Childhood Friends – Irotashi River

The carriage ahead stopped, and a sharp whistle echoed. Immediately, the soldiers and knights guarding the procession rushed forward.

'What's going on?'

Leo, sitting in the driver’s seat of the third carriage where Lady Guidan was riding, poked his head out to look ahead.

The soldiers and knights at the front were forming a battle formation. Soldiers, with no fear, had drawn their swords and were charging recklessly, blocking the path of the noble procession.

Leo stood up on the driver’s seat, leaning to the side to get a better view of the situation, and was taken aback.

'This is insane!'

The six knights, who he initially thought were mere soldiers, began to fiercely fight against a dozen knights. Each of them exhibited the exceptional swordsmanship akin to the level of 'Katrina.'

Knights of such caliber, surpassing the common knight, were rare. Out of the 450 knights of the Bellita Royal Knights, perhaps only a hundred could reach such a level, and that was because of the high standards of the Bellita Royal Knights.

Leo's astonishment didn't end there. The seventh knight, who joined later, made the ongoing battle seem like a mere skirmish.

'My god...!'

Leo was startled by the prowess of the unknown knight.

Among the knights he had met, the strongest was undoubtedly Noel Dexter, the father in the betrothal scenario.

Excluding the swordmasters.

Swordmasters were monsters beyond the category of knights, and he had never seen them fight. Though he had once faced a swordmaster and lost his head, that wasn't a fight.

But the knight in front of him, wielding a two-handed sword with one hand and disrupting the formation, seemed far stronger than Noel Dexter.

Was this the level right before reaching the state of a swordmaster? The knight was easily dealing with the knights of the Tertan family.

At that moment, a couple of soldiers screamed and ran away. They dropped their shields and one-handed swords on the stone floor and fled.

'This is no time to hesitate! I have to run!'

Leo, having faced many similar dire situations, quickly assessed the situation.

It was over this time too.

Without hesitation, he jumped down from the driver’s seat and picked up the sword abandoned by a fleeing soldier.

Looking back, he saw the formation crumbling, and the six crazed knights were slashing their way through anyone in their path.

Blood sprayed into the air like mist.

Lena! I have to get Lena and escape.

As he fled from the monstrous knight, he saw Lena in the distance.

The maids and handmaids at the back of the procession had also realized the situation and were fleeing in a rush.

Lena was waving her arms, jumping up and down.

"Leo! Hurry!"

"Get out of the way!"

"Kyaa!"

At that moment, a soldier who was fleeing ahead pushed aside a maid who was in his way.

Pushed, Lena stumbled and, saying "Oh? Oh?" fell off the stone bridge without a railing.

"Lena!"

Below the bridge, the Irotashi River flowed heavily with a dark blue hue. Lena, having fallen into the water, struggled desperately but couldn't reach the nearby riverbank.

Lena couldn’t swim.

Leo hastily tucked the sword into the waistband of his shabby trousers and jumped into the river.

Lena, along with the maids, was chatting in the carriage.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the clanging of weapons and shouting could be heard.

The maids and servants, stepping out of the carriage to look ahead, turned pale.

Far ahead of the procession, a bloody wind was blowing. Soldiers with severed heads were spraying fountains of blood into the air, and severed arms were slowly spinning down into the river.

Some soldiers, screaming in terror, ran away, followed closely by blood-stained knights.

They cut down anyone they could reaChapter They didn't hesitate to stab the fleeing soldiers in the back or the trembling driver in the side.

"Run away!"

The servants and maids started to flee as well, but Lena, with a pale face, shouted.

"Leo! Leo!"

Frightened that something might have happened to him, Lena stamped her feet, unable to run away.

Leo was sitting in the driver’s seat of the third carriage, where the young lady was riding. It was far ahead of the last carriage where Lena was.

But for some reason, she couldn't see Leo among the fleeing soldiers. If he had run away, he should be running this way...

‘What should I do? Ah, is it not this way?’

Lena passed by the snorting horses and moved to the right side of the carriage.

She could see Leo in the distance!

Since the drivers sat on the left side of the carriage, Leo, who had come down on the right side, was heading this way.

The space on this side was quite narrow. Carriages generally kept to the right side of the road.

Leo, picking up a sword, started running towards her.

Lena waved her arms and shouted.

"Leo! Hurry!"

"Get out of the way!"

A soldier fleeing urgently pushed Lena, who was in his way.

Feeling herself falling, Lena tried to brace herself with her arms but felt her body lifting off the ground.

"Kyaa!"

The dark and terrifying river was right in front of her.

- Splash!

Falling into the icy water, she lost all sense. Thrashing her limbs and swallowing water with every breath, the cold river stiffened her body, and the heavy pressure squeezed the air out of her lungs.

'Leo! Save me! Leo!'

Choking on water, Lena could no longer shout and only gulped in water.

At that moment, someone grabbed her neck from behind and pulled her up.

"Gasp!"

After catching her breath with the much-needed air, Lena, held by the collar at the elbow, struggled desperately in fear.

After a while of struggling, the person who dragged Lena near the riverbank spoke.

"Lena! We're almost there! Get up! You can touch the ground here!"

Someone shouted from behind, but Lena, unable to hear, didn't stop flailing her arms and legs. She only regained her senses when she felt the ground beneath her back.

"Le... Leo?"

"Lena, are you okay?"

Lena, lying exhausted and panting, turned her head to see Leo's worried face close to hers. Despite his blue lips and dripping wet hair, he first asked about her well-being.

Leo hurriedly grabbed and shook her cheeks, reminiscent of the time he saved her when she fell into the valley long ago.

Lena hugged Leo tightly, trembling. She was truly scared. Since she almost drowned in the past, she had never immersed her body fully in water again.

"Leo, thank you."

Even in the chaos, Lena, feeling sorry for having treated Leo coldly all this time, spoke tearfully.

"I'm sorry. I doubted you for no reason... Your ears didn't move. I was secretly using..."

"Lena. Sorry, but this isn't the time. We need to run quickly..."

At that moment, there was a sound like someone jumping down. Startled, Leo drew the sword from his waist and swung it behind him.

- Clang!

Instinctively swung, it managed to block a thrust.

The knight, who had aimed at Leo's back, showed a surprised expression for a moment, then threw the sword handle from his right hand to his left and thrust again.

"No!"

Lena pushed Leo.

As Leo, who was trying to get up, fell over and avoided the sword, Lena took the blow. Her delicate shoulder split open.

"Lena!"

Leo sprang up and blocked Lena. The knight, who had been slaughtering the knights of the Tertan family, was right in front of him.

It's over.

"Lena! Run..."

Leo tried to take a defensive stance with his sword, but the knight's sword thrust like lightning. From below, it mocked Leo's swordsmanship, piercing his chest.

"Ugh..."

Time seemed to slow, and his vision wavered, leaving afterimages.

A sword stuck in his chest, a dark and blunted blade, a large left hand holding both the red jewel and the hilt calmly, three blue droplets engraved on the hilt, and a letter...?!

Leo's eyes widened.

The same emblem as on the necklace of the beggar siblings!

Then this person is...

The knight pulled out his sword. Blood poured from Leo's pierced back, drenching Lena's head.

Lena, unable to believe what had just happened, looked at the protruding sword disappearing again and muttered.

"Le, Leo?"

Leo collapsed forward. He felt his teeth break against the pebbles on the ground.

'Only Lena... Only Lena must survive...'

[ Leo has died. ]

Before he could turn his head to take one last look at Lena, his heart stopped. Darkness quickly descended, and messages popped up.

[ You have died. 2/3 ]

[ Achievement: Second Death - The speed at which you assimilate with Leo slows down. ]

[ Thank you for playing "Raising Lena." ]

[ Lena ]

[ Final Occupation: Maid of the Gaidan Family ]

[ Marriage Partner: Single ]

[ Leo ]

[ Final Occupation: Servant of the Guidan Family ]

[ Marriage Partner: Single ]

[ Childhood Friend Ending: Death of a Friend ]

- Lena, born in the village of Demos, had a happy childhood... (excerpt) ...As a maid, she died by the sword of Lord Bart while following Lady Guidan to the Conrad Kingdom. -

- Leo, born in the village of Demos, had a happy childhood... (excerpt) ...As a servant, he died by the sword of Lord Bart while following Lady Guidan to the Conrad Kingdom. -

As before, Leo disappeared, leaving only Minseo's consciousness lingering in the air.

And then, overlaid with the monotonous texts, appeared the pictures of Lena and Leo lying dead by the riverbank.

Lena, hugging Leo in death, still tried to cover her friend's gaping wound with tears in her eyes.

- Ugh!

Minseo, momentarily agitated, turned away from the scene, unable to bear the sight, showing a pretense of reviewing this round functionally.

Failed again.

This time, it ended before he could even try anything. All he did was attempt to travel with Lena, but the tenth round ended, and the death count rose steadily to 2/3.

Now, Minseo was more burdened by the death count than the round limit.

One more death, and it's 3/3... pushed to the edge of the cliff.

- Ugh!

He forced himself to ignore the gradually fading pictures and texts, continuing his thoughts. Though he felt sorry for the deceased Lena and Leo, the only time he could think clearly as Minseo was now.

'What is this scenario supposed to be?'

Almost every route was blocked. There was no legal way to cross the border with Lena.

To make her a princess, they had to leave the village before the {Priest} event occurred, but if they stopped by the lord's castle for permission... it ended up like this.

What should I do?

The childhood friend scenario seemed the freest but was also the most unclear, making it impossible to discern the scenario's objective.

'The beggar siblings scenario at least has a path to reclaim {Lineage}...'

Come to think of it, there was something gained from this scenario.

Found a clue to the {Lineage} event.

The mysterious knight, who displayed tremendous skill, was undoubtedly a royal guard. He must have been the knight who personally escorted the young prince and princess.

The emblem on the knight's sword, seen at the end, was the same as that on the beggar siblings' necklace. According to the {Noble Society} information, the emblem with three droplets must symbolize Lena and Leo siblings. It might even symbolize their mother...

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

'Wait a minute... is this scenario meant to assist other scenarios?'

Minseo thought about the abilities he had acquired from the childhood friend scenario.

In the first round, the {Hunting} ability, in the second round, the {Backstreet Rules} information, and in the third round, the {Noble Society} information.

All useful in other scenarios.

Also, the childhood friend scenario was the only one that provided a safe way to separate from Lena.

Or rather, it was almost forcing the {Priest} event.

Sending Lena to Lutetia through the event allowed Leo to move freely alone.

‘Since Lena is too perceptive to stay together, that seems right... But Gilbert Forte, that bastard, will chase Lena again!’

He didn't want to see her chased out again.

Minseo pondered deeply.

If only Gilbert Forte could somehow be dealt with in the beggar siblings scenario... like Katrina returning from the war, that bastard wouldn't appear from the capital church.

'If that happens, send Lena away through the {Priest} event. Then just think of it as a time limit. Since it takes three years for Lena to become a priest, during that time...'

[ You have not cleared "Raising Lena." ]

The message popped up urgently. Before Minseo could finalize his plan, the message announced a restart, and the pictures and texts had already disappeared.

'Give me a moment to think!'

[ Leo, you blocked the sword of one who has honed their swordsmanship to the limit. For this achievement, you are granted the ability {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Style}. ]

[ Restarting. ]

Minseo's wish was ignored.