Thirty minutes had passed since the battle began, and the kingdom's soldiers were slowly being pushed back under the overwhelming numbers and might of Shido's army.
From high above, Shido oversaw everything, watching as the battle neared its end. The soldiers of King Ramposa III were beginning to lose both morale and momentum. With many of their comrades either slain in combat or surrendering in despair, their will to fight was slowly crumbling.
Even the Head Knight, Gazef Stronoff, and Brain Unglaus, the strongest among them and the ones they had pinned their hopes on, were being utterly overwhelmed by the two powerful knights on Shido's side.
This sight shattered what little hope remained, and soldiers began dropping their swords, overcome by helplessness. Their enemy was simply too powerful, and there was nothing they could do. What made it worse was that Shido, who was the one who orchestrated everything haven't even move even once.
As the mastermind controlling everything from behind the scenes, the one who had forced even the proud nobles to kneel and pledge their loyalty, those who still stood by King Ramposa finally understood just how terrifying Shido's power truly was.
"Could we even hope to win against him?" King Ramposa III said helplessly as he look at the sight in front of him in regret.
'Is everything truly going to end in my rule?'
The thought gnawed at him as he recalled how soft he had been toward his people, if he had just acted more cruel then his people would not try to rebel. But now, it was already far too late.
With Shido's power to manipulate and subdue others, his overwhelming strength, and the two formidable knights at his side…
What could they do but wait to be slaughtered?
...
Now that everything was going smoothly, Shido decided to finally deal with that naughty Golden Princess. Fortunately, those two figure from afar didn't act so Shido didn't have anything to concern about.
He slowly descended toward the ground, heading straight for the place where the higher-ups of King Ramposa III's faction had gathered.
Fear filled their eyes as they stared at the man who had driven their kingdom to the brink of collapse. Yet Shido didn't spare them so much as a glance, they were nothing more than decorations in his eyes. Instead, his gaze fixed on the unusually calm Princess Renner.
Princess Renner smiled sweetly at Shido, as if unconcerned about being seen that way by her father or those close to her. Yet, strangely enough, perhaps by coincidence, the people around her seemed oblivious to her calm, casual smile. This peculiarity made Shido raise a brow.
Ignoring the nervous, frightened gazes of King Ramposa III and his people, Shido walked casually toward Princess Renner. Around him, sighs of relief echoed, everyone except the king himself, of course.
As Shido approached Princess Renner, he suddenly noticed the absence of the Blue Roses. Considering that Lakyus was both a friend of Princess Renner and a noble of the Re-Estize Kingdom, it was strange not to see her here.
But on second thought, Shido realized what might have happened to them. Unlike Lakyus, who belonged to a noble house, the rest of the Blue Roses had no such ties. It wasn't their obligation to fight for the kingdom.
However, Lakyus was different. Even if her friends chose not to fight, she still wished to protect the kingdom. But how could they allow her to throw her life away? In the end, the girls tricked her and poisoned her to keep her from joining the battle.
After that, they fled immediately, just before Shido cast 'World Isolation Barrier'.
Now, only Climb remained at Princess Renner's side. Watching how tense and nervous he was, Shido couldn't help but feel a trace of pity for his pitiful life. The poor boy didn't even realize he was nothing more than a toy to the very princess he served with such unwavering loyalty.
Although Climb was nervous, what weighed on him even more was the pain and sadness of knowing that Shido, the man he had once considered a friend, had revealed himself as the one seeking to overthrow the kingdom.
Fury welled up inside him, unable to comprehend why Shido would do such a thing. He wanted to shout, to demand answers, but Shido had spoke first.
"It's been a while Climb, Princess."
Shido strode towards their direction until he arrive ten meters before them. With a gentle smile, he greeted them just as he always had. That small gesture was enough to tug at Princess Renner's heart, filling her with excitement. Yet she quickly masked her expression, careful not to let anyone notice.
"...Acheval-san, why?" Climb asked Shido with a dark expression, his voice trembling, unsure whether it was because of nervousness or anger.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb!" Suddenly, Climb shouted towards Shido amidst of the chaos of fighting on the surroundings.
He raised his sword, pointing it at Shido as he glared with burning eyes.
"You're the one who caused this chaos! Why?! Why did you have to do this?! Do you even realize how many lives have been lost because of your actions?!"
Climb continued to rain questions at Shido as he roar from the top of his lungs. Even so, the others remained silent, watching anxiously to see how Shido would respond.
But Shido only let out a long, weary sigh before lifting his gaze to the sky. His reaction left Climb, King Ramposa, and the others staring in confusion, as if question marks had sprung above their heads.
"It's good that you treasure this kingdom and serve it with such loyalty. But... even if I do nothing, this kingdom is already destined to crumble."
"W-What... do you mean?"
Uncertain of Shido's meaning, Climb held his tongue and simply waited for him to continue.
Shido then continued to generously explain to climb about the situation of the kingdom even though he didn't have to do so.
From as far back as the kingdom's founding, political discord had already begun to take root. The constant clashes between royalty and nobility gradually deepened, splitting the nation into two opposing factions and sowing the seeds of turmoil.
On top of that, the kingdom was plagued by corrupt and inept nobles, which only worsened the situation. What allowed those vile men to act so freely, however, was King Ramposa III's soft and indecision in dealing with his own people. Had he been a cruel and iron-fisted king, the kingdom might not have fallen so easily into the hands of those greedy nobles.
"It's already a miracle that this kingdom can last so long, but I should give credits to Marquis Raeven for that. After all, he was one of the very few who secretly help the kingdom from collapsing completely."
Shido spoke with a faint smile, his gaze drifting toward the nobles and royals gathered behind King Ramposa. To the king and his followers, however, his words exploded in their minds like a thunderous bomb.
While they were perplex about the words Shido said, they understood he had no reason to lie in this situation. They couldn't believe that the greedy and opportunist Marquis actually did so much for the Kingdom. The nobles couldn't help but want to applaud Marquis Raeven for enduring so much while saving their asses.
King Ramposa III felt his heart bleeding inside as Shido continued to say those words one after another.
Yet, he understood that it was already too late to regret it.