“To be precise, you’re trusting me.”

When Rudfelix pulled her hand, Elena was drawn so close that she almost fell into his arms.

“I’ll devote my life to protecting you.”

No matter what preparations Elena made, he had no intention of relying solely on her.

“Grand Duke.”

When Suharto called him again, Rudfelix relaxed his grip on Elena’s hand. Then he let go and left.

‘It’s hot.’

Due to nervousness, she had gripped his hand tightly, and his body temperature was very high.

‘I won’t disappoint you.’

Elena resolved that she would absolutely not die, even if she had to rely on Roina’s ability in the end.

‘If I stay close to Roina, the rocks will avoid us on their own.’

***

Suharto knew the intervals at which the boulders fell. The locations where the rocks rolled also changed regularly. He decided to use what he knew.

“The plan is to go only one-third of the way from the entrance of the valley and then climb the cliff.”

The biggest challenge was whether they could reach that one-third point.

“But first, you need to follow my instructions, so will you fully hand over command to me? We can’t move quickly if I have to move the troops through the Grand Duke.”

Suharto politely requested this of Rudfelix. However, Elena kept hearing Suharto’s words differently.

Hand over command to me and follow me.

If this matter is resolved well, my achievements will spread widely.

‘How shameless.’

It was already outrageous that he had semi-forcibly brought Rudfelix and his troops to the valley under the pretext of support, but now he was openly trying to take away his troops as well.

‘That’s how he would have created the Imperial Guard Knights.’

Even Elena, who was just listening quietly, felt her blood boil, so how must Rudfelix feel?

“Safety must be the top priority. I will hold you accountable for that promise after this is over.”

Rudfelix claimed the benefits he could take in this situation. If he had to give command to the Crown Prince anyway, he wanted to ensure that his troops wouldn’t be treated as lightly as chess pieces.

“By all means.”

Suharto spoke loudly to the people around him, as if to make sure they heard clearly.

“This mission will follow my instructions completely. No matter what happens, you must never disobey my orders.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The knights showed respect to Suharto.

“Select those who can climb mountains well, and place Roina in the very center to protect her.”

Suharto continued to issue orders quickly.

“I will designate where the soldiers should go. Move strictly according to my orders and make sure no one acts individually.”

The knights nodded and rushed toward their subordinate soldiers.

Suharto looked around at the gathering with satisfied eyes, then patted Rudfelix’s shoulder.

“Thank you for yielding. You won’t regret it.”

Even if the Grand Duke felt resentful that today’s achievement would be entirely credited to himself, there was nothing to be done about it.

After calling Roina to follow him, Suharto was about to approach the valley when he hesitated upon seeing Elena.

Elena simply watched quietly from behind Rudfelix, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Suharto.

As he passed by her side, Suharto whispered in a voice so low that only she could hear.

“You made a stupid choice.”

“I simply went to meet the man I love.”

“Does love give you power?”

“If you’re talking about the power of love……”

Elena pretended to consider, letting her words trail off. She put her index finger to her chin, needlessly stalling for time, then smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I believe in the power of love.”

“Haa, truly stupid. You stupid woman.”

“Already openly showing your hatred…… I’ll accept it graciously.”

Elena smiled as she received Suharto’s hateful words. Even if he had raised his hand to grab her hair, she would have had nothing to say, so being called stupid was nothing.

‘Say whatever you want.’

Even if time were turned back, Elena’s choice would still be Rudfelix.

“You’ll regret it today.”

Suharto shouted that much before passing by with a cold face.

Roina couldn’t bring herself to speak to him in his chilly atmosphere and only secretly exchanged eye greetings as she passed. After they had gone, Elena exhaled deeply.

“Can a person be that cold?”

Perhaps it doesn’t matter since he’s endlessly affectionate to Roina?

“But……”

“You won’t regret it.”

Elena couldn’t help but laugh at Rudfelix’s sudden interruption.

“Because my power of love is very large, great, and wonderful.”

“Pfft.”

The knights who heard Rudfelix’s words hurriedly covered their mouths, but couldn’t completely suppress their laughter.

“Yes, yes. I know your love is quite impressive, so that’s enough.”

‘I was a pervert.’

She figured the strange interpretation of “power of love” was entirely her own fault.

“Follow me.”

Fortunately, the atmosphere shifted at Suharto’s shout from the distance.

Suharto divided the troops entering the cliff into three groups and made them move according to his instructions from the beginning.

Once those explanations had been conveyed to all the soldiers, Suharto looked around with serious eyes.

“First unit, go down below that cliff.”

At his command, the soldiers moved quickly, but they couldn’t hide their fear of the valley’s rumbling.

“Hurry.”

As the knights urged them forward, all the soldiers followed behind.

While they pressed themselves against the bottom of the cliff, Suharto quietly looked ahead and then smiled.

“Look. Are any boulders rolling down?”

At his confident voice, those in the first unit looked up. There wasn’t even the slightest vibration, and the cliff seemed peaceful, as if unaware of the human intrusion.

“Second unit, follow me.”

Suharto entered between the cliffs with Roina. Everyone watched the Crown Prince’s movements with tension.

Moving swiftly to the place Suharto had designated, they looked around.

Again, nothing happened, which changed everyone’s perception of Suharto. Passing through a cliff where boulders fall was akin to s*icide. Yet following his words allowed them to pass through without dying. Just for that, they regarded the Crown Prince as extraordinary.

‘No.’

Only one person, Elena, didn’t relax her vigilance.

“Ugh.”

A young soldier at the tail end stumbled backward, unable to maintain his position. As he left the spot Suharto had designated, the quiet cliff immediately made a loud noise. Soon after, a boulder appeared from nowhere and rolled down.

“Ahhh!”

The soldier tried to block it by raising his spear above his head, but it was like hitting a rock with an egg.

“Tsk.”

Suharto watched without any intention of saving the soldier who had disobeyed his orders, not doubting the man’s death. Rudfelix, who belonged to the third unit, was about to move, but Elena’s motion of attaching paper to a tree was faster.

Stems instantly grew from the tree and wrapped around the soldier.

“What is that?”

“That……”

Their faces showed disbelief at what seemed like magic occurring without any mage present.

If they were shocked, how much more unbelievable must it be for the soldier who wasn’t crushed by the boulder? He stared with his mouth agape at the shadow that had hung over his head and saved him.

Only after the boulder rolled away along the stem did the stem slowly return to its place.

Elena acted confidently as she protected everyone from death. She didn’t avoid Suharto’s surprised gaze directed at her.

‘You thought you’d take all the credit? Not a chance.’

Elena pulled out the thick stack of papers she had brought.

‘Just watch. I’ll keep creating twist after twist.’

***

“Ha, she’s truly an interesting woman. Interesting to the point of irritation.”

Suharto let out a hollow laugh, finding this situation absurd. He had expected to engage in a battle of nerves with Rudfelix, but surprisingly, he was fighting with Elena.

Today’s hero should have been him alone. Suharto had poured everything into that goal. He had spent countless sleepless nights investigating strange signs occurring across the continent and preparing solutions to resolve the problems.

He had even orchestrated this joint expedition with the Grand Duke to use it as a stepping stone to make himself emperor, but an unexpected person was interfering.

“Clearly, I’m saving most of these people……”

The soldiers who moved according to his signals had experienced several times that they wouldn’t be harmed, so now they would follow his words without hesitation even if the ground were collapsing. Yet he couldn’t just watch with a smile because.

“Duck your head!”

At Elena’s shout, a soldier quickly ducked his head and curled his body. That soldier had been helping a fallen comrade at the very back and was in danger because he was following last.

“Stick your spear in the ground!”

At Elena’s brief shout, the soldier stuck his spear in, and the boulder that had approached to the brink suddenly changed direction after hitting the spear. She had intended to dig a groove in the ground to divert the boulder elsewhere, but since that process wasn’t easy, she used the spear instead.

“Hwaaa!”

The spear, unable to withstand the weight of the boulder, broke as easily as a matchstick. If he had chosen to change the boulder’s direction himself in that place…… Just imagining it made his whole body tremble and his legs go weak with fear.

“That’s the problem.”