Chapter 15: Noble
Finne POV
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“I’m scared…..!”
“It’s okay Your Highness. The knights will be here soon.”
Inside the mansion, Finne tried to sooth Christa by gently stroking her hair.
The maids came up to Finne with a troubled expression.
“Fi, Finne-sama….Umm….”
“What is it?”
“That’s….the town folks are demanding to enter the mansion…….”
The Emperor forbid them from leaving their homes.
However, they must be anxious from the battle that is happening nearby so they want to seek refuge in the Lord’s mansion.
Finne has no intention to blame them for that.
“What about the countess?”
“She can’t decide so she said that it is up to Her Highness Christa and Finne-sama to decide……”
“I see….Your Highness. What do you want to do…….”
“…..I don’t know…….but, I’m scared…..”
Christa tightly grasps Finne’s clothes out of anxiety.
Holding that small hand, Finne give her a reply.
The Lord is now fighting at the Emperor’s side. The countess can’t make her decision because right now Christa’s opinion is the most prioritized.
“I see…..then, are you going to forsake people who have those same feelings as yours?”
“That’s…..no good…..”
“Why is that?”
“…Nii-sama will get angry.”
“Yes, His Highness will get angry isn’t he. Now, how about we take the old, the young and the sick into the mansion first?”
“Okay….”
“I will head out for a bit. Are you fine alone? Everyone is being anxious, I have to give them some peace of mind.”
“……Un…….”
Christa still looks lamenting but Finne sits her on a chair with a smile. She then leaves the room after she asked the maid to take care of Christa.
Finne head to the entrance.
There she saw the guards drew their swords at the people.
“Hurry up and return to your house! Didn’t you hear His Majesty’s order!?”
“I’m asking you! Please let us in!”
“YOU!”
“STOP THIS AT ONCE!”
At that dangerous situation, Finne shouted at the guards.
Although Finne herself is a daughter of the Duke, she was known for her reputation as the Blue Seagull Princess, the name was bestowed by the Emperor himself and she was treated like a part of the imperial family.
Here, the voice of royalty is the loudest. Therefore, the soldiers immediately let go of their swords and kneeled.
“Fi, Finne-sama…..”
“The thing that you should draw your sword against is not the people right?”
“Yes, it is as you say. Forgive my rashness……”
Satisfied with their reply, Finne looks at the crowd in front of the gate.
Their number is not just a hundred or two.
She can see both commoners and nobles that came to visit the festival as well as the merchants. Each and every one of them looked anxious.
“I am Finne von Kleinert. You may better recognize me by the name of Blau Mowe.”
Saying so she points at her blue seagull hair ornament.
It is the testimony of the eternal beauty given by the Emperor himself.
The people who know that the Emperor love this daughter of the Duke like his own all kneeled at once.
However, among them, there were some young people who came to the front by pushing the other out of the way.
“Oh! Finne-sama! It’s me! Gied!”
To Finne, that is the voice that she doesn’t want to hear the most.
The person that hit Arnold, his childhood friend whose action she can’t possibly overlook. Gied von Horsvath and his entourage are smiling as they spotted Finne.
He selfishly pushes the other people aside with not a doubt in his mind that she would let them in. Without joining the battle, he self-importantly finds a safe place to hide.
Looking at them, Finne felt like the noble’s blood in her had been defiled.
She had never felt that when she looked at her father. Even her good for nothing brother’s action never makes her felt that way. Gied’s action has turned the word noble meaningless.
In order to gain respect, you have to be deserving of it.
That’s why Finne ignored him.
“We will accept the children, the elderly and the sick. People who are healthy please gather together in the largest building that you can find and barricade the entrance. Tsunami is simply a big monster movement. They are not interested in human life. In the unlikely event that the monsters enter Kiel, everything will be alright if we can earn some time. I will open the gate now.”
“Fi, Finne-sama? It’s me! Gied! Have you forget?”
“I remember you well. Gied-sama of the ducal house of Horsvath.”
“Aah, I’m glad. Then can we get in?”
He tries to enter the mansion as though it is only natural.
If you think about Arnold, the wise choice would be to let him in. there’s no need to create an unnecessary enemy after all.
However, Finne chooses not to do it. Even it is in contrast to Arnold’s wish.
That’s why.
“Know some shame! You didn’t even consider fighting at His Majesty’s side and look for a place to guarantee your safety! Don’t you feel sorry for your predecessors who created those lineages of the Horsvath house!?”
“Wha…..!? You! Who do you think I am!”
“It doesn’t matter who you are. The only ones who can enter the mansion are the children, the elderly and the sick. The others please go somewhere else. This is the decision of Her Imperial Highness Christa. If you insist on wasting any more time than this, you can make an appeal to His Majesty later. However, at that time I wonder who will be the person that will be punished for this, it is clear as day to me though!”
“Kuh….! Don’t get carried away just because Leonard is backing you! Remember this! I will never forgive you!”
With that, Gied leaves the mansion with his entourage.
After seeing that Gied went away, Finne deeply exhales and orders the guards to open the gate with a smile.
Seeing Finne’s earlier action, the people leave their children, elderly and sick people in their care and went away without any complaint.
After she took in the people, Finne returned inside the mansion and ordered the servants to barricade the entrances.
“Please barricade it as tightly as possible! When the monsters arrive let hold it down together. It will be fine as long as we can manage to hold them off until the change their course.”
“Yes! Finne-sama!”
“Finne-sama! Her Highness Christa is calling for you!”
“I’ll go right away. Everyone, you don’t have to be scared. The knights will definitely come to save us.”
Finne tells that to everyone inside the mansion as brightly as possible.
She thought that at least she has to be the one who has a smile on her face. In fact, that is all she can do.
As a daughter of the Duke, she can use some magic but she is only good at recovery magic. She can’t use any combat magics that are often used in battle.
She can’t fight as brilliantly as Elna.
She felt bitter about that. She left her territory to be useful to Arnold but so far she hasn’t been useful to him at all.
For Finne, taking care of Christa is the first task that Arnold asked her to do. That’s why she thought that she wouldn’t leave her side no matter what, but.
“If we don’t take the flute the monsters will keep coming! !”
Seeing Christa screaming, Finne remembered something.
It is the conversation between Arnold and Christa.
Christa said that Kiel would be surrounded by monsters. And it actually happened.
As long as Arnold took her words seriously, Finne judged that she has to believe her as well. That’s why Finne tightly hugged Christa.
“Your Highness. It’s okay. I will look for that flute. Can you tell me where it is?”
“No….you will die…….”
“It’s fine. I am lucky after all. And if it’s getting dangerous, Al-sama will surely come to save me.”
“…..Really?”
“Yes. it’s true. That’s why please tell me. Where can I find that flute?”
“….I saw it falling off the clock tower……..it is the cause…….”
“Understood. I will go and get it.”
Saying so, despite the maid’s protest Finne headed to the clock tower, the tallest building at the center of the city.
The scale of Kiel’s clock tower is different from that of the other cities.
It has the height of dozens of meters and is a tourist attraction of Kiel, a precious landmark.
Finne climbs up that clock tower with a ragged breath.
On the other hand, Elna is in a stalemate battle with Sam and Dean in the sky.
“Tsk! So irritating!”
Dean gave up attacking Elna straightforwardly. It is not impossible for both of them to defeat her together but it will take too much time.
It’s time for them to resort to underhanded means.
Dean takes out the magic flute that can command monsters, [Hameln]. If he increased the number of monsters, as a knight Elna will have to protect the Emperor.
If that happens, Dean and Sam will be able to gain the upper hand.
In an attempt to lure more monsters to Kiel, Dean put the Hameln to his mouth. However, Elna intuitively felt that she can’t allow that to happen so she heads to attack Dean.
“I won’t let you!”
“Kuh!?”
Dean managed to evade her attack but the Hameln fell off his hand and is falling to the city of Kiel.
Seeing that, Dean hurriedly chases after it.
“Shit!”
“Come back here!”
That flute is not dean’s. It is something that their cooperator gave to them. Using that, Dean made a plan involving Carlos to create this event.
However, their cooperator told them that they have to absolutely dispose of it afterward. It was their promise to that cooperator.
Without that cooperator, it will be difficult to escape or even survive this place. Destroying that flute is connected to their survival.
That’s why Dean desperately chased after it. Seeing Dean like that, Elna also felt that something was off and chased after the flute.
Both of them clash in the sky many times, during which the flute rapidly falls toward the ground.
And when it approached the clock tower, a white hand extended from it and caught the flute.
“ ! ! ?”
Receiving the flute that was falling with strong momentum, Finne somehow managed to stay inside the clock tower.
She let out a sigh in relief that she managed to catch it but soon she heard a sharp voice from Elna.
“Run away! Finne!!”
When she raised her face, Dean shot a mass of magic power toward the clock tower.
As a result, she lost her footing and fall.
However, Finne ignored that.
She knew of the danger from the start. This is why Finne threw the flute toward Elna who is heading toward her. Then as she saw Elna caught that flute with a surprised look on her face, she smiles.
“Aah….I am finally useful.”
“Damn you!!”
To his anger, Dean shot another lump of magic power at the falling Finne.
She doesn’t have a way to avoid that lump of magic midair.
“FIIINNNNEEEEE! ! ? ?”
Elna shouted.
Entrusting Arnold to Elna, Finne closes her eyes.
The moment she did that, she felt something is flashing from the sky but Finne had no time to worry about it.
Even though she already prepared to face death and close her eyes, the pain and shock she was expecting never come.
Rather, she felt warmth.
When she fearfully opens her eyes, Finne was embraced by an adventurer wearing a silver mask.
Her words were robbed away by her surprise. She only told Christa that he would come to help her to calm her down. She never thought that he would actually come to save her.
At the same time, there is someone who is as surprised as Finne.
It was Dean.
“You bastard……to be able to cancel out my magic bullet, Who are you……? Give me your name! !”
“……..Adventurer under the imperial capital adventurer guild, SS-rank adventurer, Silver……I have come to defeat you.”
The characteristic silver mask and a black robe.
The adventurer who was known as the strongest adventurer in all of the empire’s history appeared.