Chapter 20

Lionel's eyebrows furrowed. He quickly looked around to confirm that no one had followed the Empress. To his surprise, the Empress stood alone without any guards. Most of the knights, not recognizing her in her non-dress attire, seemed unaware that she was the Empress. The Empress did not respond to Lionel's call but lifted her head to gaze coldly at the tower descending rapidly.

"Dangerous! Go back! Sir Leopart!"

Lionel, growing more anxious, shielded her delicate body from the wind as much as possible and appointed a subordinate before even hearing her response. He had to shout almost angrily to be heard over the howling wind.

"Yes!"

"Immediately escort Her Majesty to a safe place!"

Sir Leopart, squinting against the wind, nodded and approached the Empress.

"Why are there no mages? The tower is so close, why haven't they destroyed it? Are they waiting until it touches the ground?"

The Empress frowned and asked Lionel. But Lionel had no time to answer.

"Move quickly, Your Majesty! It's dangerous!"

The danger here was not just the tower. As expected, a shard of glass as long as an adult's forearm flew at an arrow's speed. If the Empress, who was not wearing armor, were hit by it, her body would be severed. How could she have thrown herself into this hell without seeking refuge?! The mere thought of even a small scar on her delicate body made him feel suffocated. Lionel took a step back, completely shielding the Empress and raising his sword. Just as the glass shard, flying at a terrifying speed, was about to collide with his sword—

"?!"

The glass shard, making a chilling sound, was deflected by something transparent and swept away by the wind.

"Keeper?"

Lionel thought the mages had finally arrived. Sir Leopart, thinking the same, looked around for the mages.

"Finally coming? At that speed?"

The mages were indeed coming, but was the magic power from a moment ago really theirs? They were still very far away, and there was no sign of urgency as the Empress had noted. Lionel turned to look at the Empress. Instead of retreating, she took a step toward the tower and said something incomprehensible.

"Since it's almost a Grade 5, there's no need to wait."

Before Lionel could respond, she drew her sword from behind her back. The delicate Empress and the sharp longsword seemed an unlikely combination, but the long, slender black sword she drew matched her terrifyingly well. All the knights of the Royal Guard watched the Empress in stunned silence.

"What are you planning to do?!"

Lionel, approaching her urgently, asked. The Empress replied in a cold voice.

"Destroy the tower."

And as soon as she said it, she crouched and began to run like a black leopard. She ran toward the falling tower, the thunder and lightning, and the black disaster falling across the red sky.

"Commander!!"

As Sir Leopart called out in surprise, Lionel also chased after the Empress. Just as her body was about to be lifted by the updraft, Lionel grabbed her shoulder. Surprised by the interference, Adelle clicked her tongue and pushed him away with magic.

"Don't worry. Don't interfere."

While he was being pushed back by the magic, the Empress, without a moment's hesitation, threw herself at the tower. Without giving him a chance to stop her, she strongly kicked off and rode the updraft.

"No!!!"

"Your Majesty!!!!!!"

The knights, witnessing the shocking scene for the first time, lost their wits and looked up at the sky, and screams and shouts broke out everywhere. Lionel, too, was momentarily stunned, watching the sky. The Empress Adelle had flown into the endless sky. But he regained his composure faster than anyone else. Recalling the feeling of the magic that had pushed him away, he quickly made a decision.

"Prepare to catch Her Majesty if she falls!"

Following Lionel's order, the knights looked up at the sky, ready to catch the Empress if she fell. The late-arriving mages were also stunned by the absurd scene, looking up at the sky.

"Her Majesty was swept up by the updraft?!"

Lennox Poitiers, frowning in disbelief, ordered his mages.

"Form a circular formation around the tower!!! Keeper, spread your magic to catch everything falling from the sky! If Her Majesty falls, catch her safely, understand?!!!"

"Yes!!!"

Following Lennox Poitiers' order, the black-robed Keepers gathered around the tower in a circle. As the knights and mages looked up at the sky with anxious eyes, something strange happened.

"???"

At first, it looked like a mist was rising.

"!!!!"

But when they realized it was the end of a flickering flame, the fire had already spread terrifyingly across the entire tower.

"The tower!!!!"

The heat of the flames hit their faces. The knights and mages, overwhelmed by the heat like the sun had descended, involuntarily took a step back. The tower now looked like a giant pillar of fire, burning so fiercely that it shone blindingly white.

"Your Majesty!!!!"

"Try to control the flames with magic!!"

The mages tried their best to suppress the flames, but it was all in vain. The flames would only extinguish after consuming everything.

"Commander, what do we do?!"

While everyone was in a panic over the flying Empress and the terrifying pillar of fire, only Lionel remained calm. He observed the pillar of fire calmly, repeatedly recalling the Empress's appearance.

"Commander!"

"Wait."

"…Yes?"

"Wait and see."

The tight-fitting training uniform, the sword fixed to her back with a belt, the strong magic that had pushed him away. Lionel's eyes narrowed.

'Would you classify a tower with a flying automaton as a Grade 4?'

In the waiting room of the council chamber, the Empress had clearly asked this. Sir Leopart, stunned, stared at the pillar of fire. Since Lionel had told him to wait, he had no choice but to do so. After a while, the seemingly endless white flames began to subside. The knights and mages gathered in the rose garden were all stunned, watching the scene. As the sky, which had been blood-red, began to turn a light pink, Lionel, who had been staring intently at the white flames, noticed something. He started running towards the base of the tower with all his might and opened his arms wide to catch the Empress, who was falling rapidly.

***

Adelle was falling endlessly, her body limp. The sky was gradually turning blue. Destroying the tower and falling, the rapidly receding sky was a spectacle known only to her. 'What if I die? Do you know when the ground is close?' she had answered her subordinate, 'Don't ruin my hobby.' Inside the tower, a little effort could amplify her magic, making it easy to reduce her speed and land safely. It might look scary to others, but it was easy for her.

'Well, let's see if I can land beautifully,' Adelle thought, flipping her body to face the ground. She was startled to see a man standing with his arms wide open, looking up at her desperately. His beautiful face, filled with determination to catch her, was getting closer and closer. Adelle quickly used her magic to pull her body upwards. Lionel, who had his arms wide open, slowly lowered them as the Empress's falling speed significantly slowed. The flames, which looked like a cluster of light, shattered and danced in the sky, and the blood-red sky was turning pink. The Empress, with the light pink sky and the light behind her, descended slowly as if descending from the heavens. Lionel and Adelle looked at each other.

The cold and pale Empress landed softly on the ground. At the same moment, the tower disappeared with the last flames, and the sky at the horizon began to turn blue. In this moment, even the wind had stopped, and a calm descended on the ruined rose garden. Adelle, who had captured everyone's attention, tilted her head towards Lionel. Her hair, which had come loose, cascaded like a black waterfall to one side.

"Did you intend to catch me with your arms as I fell?"

"That was my intention."

"You would have lost your arms. You are a knight who uses a sword."

Adelle glanced at his broad shoulders, which had foolishly opened to catch her without considering the consequences, and then looked away. No one had ever run to catch her if she fell, only to scold her for falling. As she passed by him, she whispered with a hint of a smile.

"Still, I appreciate your kindness. And for yesterday."

Hearing this, Lionel, who had been staring at the Empress's retreating back, suddenly came to his senses. Wasn't she the one who had fled with a disheveled face last night? How could she laugh like that just a day later? The sensation of her slender shoulders was still vivid in his palms. Lionel clenched his burning hand, just as he had last night. His inability to take his eyes off the Empress was not the only thing. The people, who had not even thought to cheer the Empress for destroying the tower in an unprecedented way, were still staring at her in a daze. Adelle, walking briskly, glanced at Lennox Poitiers standing to one side. He was holding a sword that looked like an amplifier, his face stiff as he looked at Adelle. As she passed by him, she said casually.

"Put your sword away. It doesn't seem necessary."

Lennox blinked and slowly turned his head to look at the retreating Empress. After a moment—

"Did Her Majesty… destroy the tower alone…?"

Someone's question echoed hollowly over the ruined rose garden.