The Wayward Young Lady

“You're saying the Imperial army was defeated?!”

“Their objective was Rupelin, but they weren't satisfied with just occupying it and continued their advance. As a result, they were ambushed by giant mutated species and suffered a total defeat across the entire line!”

Originally, both sides had agreed that once the forces led by Count Louis occupied the port city of Rupelin, the forces of the Goddess of Light Association would set out to rendezvous with them.

After all, this would force the swarm to split its forces, allowing the Imperial army—with their golems as the vanguard—to fight much more easily.

But just as they and the Imperial army mobilized simultaneously, and before they had even marched halfway past the high walls, news arrived that the Imperial army, having relied too heavily on their golems, had been routed and forced to retreat after a counterattack.

Along with this news came intelligence regarding the newly appeared mutated species: the heavy-armored ants and the saw-jawed ants.

“Those absolute fools!”

Panic erupted throughout the headquarters, and a sharp voice rang out, accompanied by vulgar curses.

Marianne stomped her foot in fury, causing cracks to instantly spiderweb across the hard ground.

“Some of us are risking our lives to push the front lines forward, yet they've completely ruined everything because of their pointless underestimation of the enemy?!”

“Quick, quickly hold the Apostle back!”

Seeing her trembling with rage, magic power surging around her, and her eyes practically rolling back, the panicked commander, Marquis Lumiere, quickly ordered his men to pull her outside.

As her father, he knew better than anyone that once she truly threw a tantrum, no one could stop her.

She had always possessed this kind of personality, though in the past, she was merely an ordinary noble lady.

But ever since she caught the eye of the Goddess, received her blessing and superhuman strength, and became one of the only five Apostles, no one could easily control her anymore.

“Fortunately, a significant portion of their forces, including Count Louis, successfully retreated to Rupelin and temporarily stabilized their position. For some reason, the monsters pursuing them have also stopped. We should still proceed to Rupelin as originally planned.”

Mercifully, the Imperial army had not been completely annihilated. They had narrowly escaped the swarm and retreated to their stronghold in Rupelin.

The reinforcement troops were also about to arrive to rendezvous with them.

Consequently, many who valued the alliance with the Empire advocated for proceeding to Rupelin to join forces as planned.

Most of these people were either close personal friends of the Marquis or held high-ranking positions.

“Absolutely not.”

Yet in the midst of this atmosphere, someone spoke with absolute certainty.

Every gaze in the room shifted in unison toward Celia, who sat at the very end of the table and had been quietly listening to the meeting.

Ignoring the dissuasion of Count Melleren and those around her, she had insisted on seeing the battle against the swarm with her own eyes, which was why she had stubbornly tagged along.

“According to the reports, new mutated species have appeared. Those mutants are as massive as houses, powerful enough to easily crush even golems. Think about it: what would happen if those mutants charged at us, when we don't even have golems? Until we formulate a counterstrategy, we absolutely must not make a reckless move.”

Celia might compromise on other matters, but when it came to the swarm, she would never yield an inch.

In her eyes, marching out blindly without any countermeasure against the newly emerged mutated species was no different from suicide.

“We've already marched nearly halfway there! And now you're telling us to turn back?! With that kind of mindset, we will remain trapped behind these high walls forever!”

Viscount Breton, a confidant of Marquis Lumiere, raised his voice in anger.

But facing the roar of this Viscount, who was of her father's generation, Celia didn't even blink. “Even being trapped behind the high walls is better than being torn apart alive and becoming food for those things.”

“Ugh...”

Viscount Breton was instantly left speechless.

Those deep-sea blue eyes of hers, devoid of any hesitation, were not something just anyone could possess.

They belonged to someone who had spent the last few months experiencing countless battles against the swarm from the very front lines.

It was the gaze of someone who carried a mission more important than life itself. To the factions of the Goddess of Light Association, who were accustomed to blind loyalty to the Goddess, this look was all too familiar.

Those who recognized that look held their breath, quietly observing her reaction.

Even if she were to die here, her resolve would not waver in the slightest.

“Enough, stop arguing. The Imperial army has suffered such devastating losses; even if we reach Rupelin, we would only find ourselves besieged there for a long time. This is not a decision to be made lightly.”

Ultimately, Marquis Lumiere stepped in to defuse the tension.

He already had enough of a headache and had no desire to watch these pointless clashes of ego.

“Special Commissioner, go check on the Apostle. Perhaps because you are close in age, she only seems to listen to you.”

Marquis Lumiere instructed Celia to find Marianne and soothe her agitated state.

“...Understood.”

Celia lowered her head, the corner of her eye twitching slightly. Having been pestered constantly by Marianne during the few days she had spent with the expeditionary force, she had already encountered no shortage of trouble.

Marianne, however, was quite dismissive of the threat. “To be honest, I really want to see those things with my own eyes. No matter how massive they are, they're ultimately just monsters. One swing of my hammer, and their shells will still shatter, and their guts will still spill out.”

Celia advised, “It would be one thing if there were only one, but they are accompanied by an entire army of other mutated species. Even if Lady Marianne could slay one, by the time you finish it off, the other beasts would have already trampled our allies to dust.”

Hearing Celia's words, Marianne bared her pearly white teeth and smiled brilliantly. “True enough. Since you said so, it must be right. After all, you're the one who knows those things best.”

That smile complemented her breathtakingly beautiful face, making her look dazzlingly radiant.

Yet Celia could not bring herself to smile at all, and could only quietly avert her gaze.

Her gaze fell upon several soldiers lying on the ground nearby, groaning in agony.

These were men whom Marianne had personally beaten and injured on the grounds of violating military discipline; they were currently receiving treatment from a priest using holy power.

Even if they had indeed made mistakes, most were trivial matters. If they had truly committed major offenses, they would have long been dealt with by military law.

In Celia's view, even putting it as mildly as possible, Marianne's personality could hardly be described as good.

In truth, Celia had seen many people like her.

Back when Celia had entered the noble academy to study magic, the noble daughters who had arrogantly looked down on and bullied her just because she was the daughter of a minor border lord had behaved exactly like this.

To them, those of lower status were nothing more than tools for venting their frustrations. Their arrogance and recklessness ultimately manifested as cruel tyranny over the weak.

“Celia, why don't we go rest? Let's head to my tent.”

The only difference from the past was that, perhaps having seen through Celia's thoughts, Marianne did not look down on her at all. Instead, she clung to her excessively.

Even during bath time, Marianne would seek her out to bathe together, and she would even sneak into Celia's tent to sleep in the same bed.

Watching Celia's flustered and helpless reactions, Marianne would double over with laughter. Celia was absolutely certain that Marianne was simply enjoying her discomfort.

Staring at the flickering lamplight, Celia's voice lowered slightly. “Perhaps relying solely on our alliance with the Empire is not enough to stand against them. We might need more allies.”

Marianne paused at those words, her playful demeanor vanishing. Resting her chin on her hand, she began to count on her fingers in earnest. “Hmm... our Holy Kingdom, plus the Lucadia Empire, and the beastkin of the great plains... are there any other factions left nearby? Could it be the nations beyond the Empire, or the western kingdoms on the other side of the plains?”

Celia glanced at Marianne, who had quietly slipped her hand around her waist again.

Watching Marianne enter the tent first and pat the space beside her, Celia let out a soft sigh.