The Royal Guard cautiously entered the passage.
The dark cave ceiling swayed gently from time to time.
Fortunately, the vibrations here were much weaker than at the entrance to the Demon Lord's Castle. The secret passage boasted the strongest structural integrity in the entire Demon Lord's Castle. The reason was obvious—if a secret passage could crumble from even the slightest impact, it would serve no purpose whatsoever.
—Kihhhihihi.
—Kerhkherk.
Giant spiders scurried across the passage floor in a frenzy. They recognized Laura and did not attack the Royal Guard. Laura suddenly felt a keen sense of frustration at lacking the ability to understand the language of monsters.
'If only I knew whether Sister Lapis had evacuated or not, whether the Republic's special forces had infiltrated through here or not—just knowing that would give me so much more room to maneuver!'
But to Laura's ears, the spiders produced nothing more than gloomy, unpleasant chittering. Once again, she wished her lord, the Demon Lord, were here. Her lord would have handled the situation far more skillfully.
"Increase our pace."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Laura felt certain that the passage would not collapse. The Royal Guard repeated the order and quickened their steps. They couldn't predict when or where the Republic's special forces might launch a surprise attack, so they didn't spare any effort in maintaining vigilance of their surroundings.
Laura had traversed the secret passage several times before. But she had never found it this unfamiliar. The intermittent vibrations, the stalactites dripping feebly like waterlogged rabbits—everything felt somehow distant……
'My lord is asleep. Sister Lapis is gone. Is that really enough to make me this anxious?'
Laura bit her lip harder and harder. A faint taste of blood trickled across her tongue. Rather than wasting energy trying to suppress her unease, Laura accepted it for what it was and picked up the pace a little more.
"General."
A dwarven Royal Guard soldier turned around with a troubled expression.
By the time they had passed through the entire passage, no attack had come. Fortunately, no monsters had attacked their forces either. The ceiling and pillars of the passage were somewhat precarious but still solid—they would buy plenty of time.
The problem was.
"The entrance is blocked."
"……."
The exit from the passage leading to the ninth floor of the Demon Lord's Castle had collapsed.
As if this spot alone had been deliberately sealed, a massive pile of rubble had come crashing down. It was far beyond what soldiers could clear by surrounding it. Laura realized that someone had, with perfect intentionality, ignored the rest of the passage and destroyed only this entrance.
"What is the meaning of this? How can there be no way through……!"
Laura snapped in fury.
"Your Excellency. An excessively powerful anti-magic field has formed across the area. It isn't simply communication and teleportation that are blocked. It appears that magic of all schools has been cut off."
The Royal Guard's mage said with a crestfallen expression.
"Magic of all schools? How many mages did the enemy deploy?!"
"If the intelligence we obtained is correct and anti-magic has indeed been established across the entire Demon Lord's Castle……then I would venture to suggest that supreme-tier mages were involved."
"Damn it."
Laura, uncharacteristically, let her emotions show during an operation. But no one tried to restrain her. The Royal Guard was just as frustrated. How could they not be, when the stronghold of Her Excellency Dantalion was being destroyed?
'Two possibilities. It's one of two possibilities.'
Laura bit her finger.
'The Republic's special forces infiltrated here, then sealed the entrance so no one could escape. In this case, the special forces have truly resigned themselves to death. They've even cut off their own escape route.'
In this scenario, the situation was even more desperate. The personnel inside the Demon Lord's Castle could not flee—more than that, they were unable to flee. They would fight the commando unit to the death. The probability of Lapis Lazuli surviving had decreased.
'The other possibility……is that Sister Lapis sealed the entrance herself. She detected the intrusion in advance, escaped through the secret passage, and then deliberately collapsed it to prevent pursuers from following.'
Laura desperately clung to hope in the latter possibility.
It was not a completely feeble hope. There were two grounds for it.
First, the passage was far too clean for the Republic's special forces to have infiltrated through here. The spider colony, while somewhat unsettled, was still scurrying about intact. If intruders had burst through, a massive battle would have taken place. At the very least, there should have been a few spider corpses scattered about…….
Second, the Demonkin residing in the Demon Lord's Castle had been excessively panicked. If a special forces unit had broken into the ninth floor underground, the Demonkin living above would have had comparatively less reason to be in a panic.
'It's possible they infiltrated head-on through the main entrance rather than the secret passage……!'
If that were the case, the chaos among the Demonkin made sense as well.
The special forces had stormed the Demon Lord's Castle with overwhelming firepower. The monsters defending the Castle fought desperately but were soon unable to overcome the disparity in forces and retreated in defeat. This, in turn, threw the Castle's residents into a panic, and a massive upheaval broke out…….
It was possible.
Entirely possible.
Laura steeled herself.
"……We're pulling back."
"General!"
"There's nothing we can do here regardless."
Laura declared with cold eyes.
"The responsibility for this judgment is mine alone. Even if the Minister of State Affairs meets with misfortune, the only one who will answer to Her Excellency Dantalion is me. You are to obey my orders."
"……Understood."
Zakri, the Royal Guard captain, bowed his head. The supreme commander had declared she would take responsibility. He neither had the right nor the ability to damage that resolve.
Laura turned around and exited the secret passage.
She split the Royal Guard into two groups. She assigned two hundred and fifty soldiers to Zakri and ordered him to reinforce the Custos territory, while she led the remaining two hundred and fifty back toward the battlefield.
When Laura approached the command tent, Ivar was waiting for her. His expression was just as grave as hers.
"Minister of Military Affairs. I've heard the report."
"Oh. I'm ashamed……."
Laura furrowed her brow.
"The passage was completely blocked. There was nothing I could do. I can only pray that the Minister of State Affairs has safely evacuated to Custos……."
"Forget the Minister of State Affairs—something more urgent has come up. Minister of Military Affairs. Her Excellency has regained consciousness."
"My lord!"
Laura's face lit up. But it immediately darkened. She had achieved the victory her lord desired in battle. This was certainly a triumph she could be proud of. But how could she possibly explain that the Minister of State Affairs was in danger? Laura simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
Ivar, sensing her feelings, spoke with a somber face.
"She has regained consciousness, but she's still very weak. If we bring up the Minister of State Affairs, her condition might worsen. I believe it's best to keep it secret until she's regained at least some strength."
"……."
Laura managed a difficult nod.
If her lord learned that the Minister of State Affairs's life was in danger, how would she react? She would undoubtedly force her ailing body upright to rescue the Minister of State Affairs herself. Laura did not want to see her lord, whose body had been ravaged by poison, do something like that.
Furthermore, there was effectively nothing they could do at this point.
If Minister Lapis had perished, they could do nothing about it. If Minister Lapis was alive and had evacuated, there was likewise nothing for them to do. In the end, fate rested not with them but with the other side……
"I'll go see my lord first."
"Her Excellency is still very weak. Please be careful."
"I know."
The two of them entered the tent.
Laura saw the bed and felt her heart grow heavy. Her lord's body still lay powerlessly on the bed. Sensing a presence, the patient slowly opened her eyes.
"Laura? I can hear Laura's footsteps……."
"Yes, my lord. It's your Laura."
Laura approached the bed and knelt down. She clasped the patient's hand tightly. Suddenly, Laura realized that her lord's eyes had no focus. From the direction of the pillow came an infinitely feeble voice.
"I'm sorry. I can't see clearly in front of me right now……I overexerted myself a little, it seems."
"Oh……."
Laura's eyes welled up.
Her lord's face was too gaunt. When her eyes were closed, the severity of her lord's condition hadn't been obvious, but now it was fully exposed—haggard and stark. The dark circles under her eyes had turned pitch black, and her skin had surpassed pale to become deathly white.
'I can't say it. I can't tell my lord about Sister Lapis…….'
Laura wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
No matter that her lord was bedridden, in Laura's eyes, her lord was still her lord. The moment she sensed something was off, she would undoubtedly demand to know what was wrong. Laura didn't have the confidence to successfully pull off a lie in front of Dantalion.
"My lord is an idiot. Always trying to smooth things over with brute force, and look—you've collapsed again. They say fools never change, and it seems my lord will be a fool forever."
That was precisely why Laura spoke cheerfully.
So that the other person wouldn't notice a thing.
She prayed silently that her lord wouldn't sense anything strange.
Perhaps Laura's earnest wish reached her. Or perhaps it was simply because her lord's condition was that severe. Fortunately, no voice of reproach or interrogation came.
"That's harsh. Despite appearances, this is the result of my best efforts. I drank three whole bottles of poison……coming back alive means I've already fulfilled every obligation."
"My lord has never once fulfilled any obligation in her entire life. Truly."
"That may be so. Haha……."
A coughing sound rang out. Laura watched the bed anxiously, worried her lord might cough up blood. The cough was extremely dry, but there was no trace of blood. Laura's eyes reddened once more.
"My lord is an idiot. A complete idiot."
"As soon as this war is over, I plan to live quietly. No more wars. Politics reduced to a minimum. Peaceful and quiet……but I suppose it's still a bit early to dream of life in a garden. Laura. How is the battle going?"
"Our forces are winning, my lord. The Republican army is in retreat."
Laura spoke in an intentionally bright tone.
She was glad that she didn't have to lie to her lord, and above all, that she could deliver a few pieces of good news that would help restore her lord's spirits.
"Our forces are currently in close pursuit. I've given the order to chase them right up to the gates of Munich. The Republican army won't be able to retreat easily."
"I see. Chasing them all the way to Munich."
Silence fell.
A moment later, a single feeble, trembling word dropped. But behind it was clearly hidden an iron will.
"Laura. Press the attack immediately and take Munich. Now is the perfect opportunity to annihilate the leadership of the Habsburg Republic……."