"……Well, that should do it."
Rose had charged solo into the enemy's main camp, achieving exactly the disruption she'd planned.
After slipping underground briefly, she returned to the point of infiltration — and called out to the figure waiting there.
"Job's done, thanks to you two. You saved me — Lucius, Albert."
"An honor, Sky Witch."
"……y-yes……"
To the heartfelt praise, Lucius responded with a polite bow.
And Albert, barely able to draw breath, managed his reply.
In truth, without these two's cooperation, Rose could never have mounted a solo charge at this speed — a speed that left the enemy no time to respond.
Just as Laplace had predicted, numerous powerful mages had been stationed along the route as a countermeasure against Rose. Many possessed magic specialized in anti-air combat, and even for Rose, charging straight through all of them head-on would have been grueling work.
That was precisely why these two mattered. With mobility enough to keep up with Rose, they had taken on the enemy mages and shifted to a defensive posture — and that was what made the current results possible.
……That said, they were far from unscathed.
Lucius, whose abilities excelled against magic, had sustained no few wounds — and as for Albert, he was already a battered husk, completely drained of magic power. There was no chance he could return to the front lines in this decisive battle.
"You alright? Albert."
"……I'm……fine……"
At Rose's concerned inquiry, Albert showed at a glance that his condition wasn't life-threatening, then spoke.
"……If anything, I'm grateful."
"!"
"I'm aware that among the Third Princess faction, I'm the weakest. There was a real chance I'd become nothing but dead weight in this battle."
Just being involved in such a pivotal moment was, for someone like him, an extraordinary stroke of fortune. A sacrificial pawn for Rose's sake — and that was the honest truth of it. But with his current strength, being useful enough to serve as a pawn was more than he could ask for. From a clear-eyed assessment of his own abilities, he had reached that conclusion firmly — and then, holding nothing back, had wagered everything on becoming that pawn.
"……Lady Rose."
"What is it?"
"Did I……was I useful? Did I contribute to the outcome……to changing this country?"
Despite a condition that looked as though he might collapse at any moment, his eyes held an unmistakable light of conviction as he asked.
A light Rose had seldom seen when she was still in the Royal Capital. Receiving that gaze, she softened her expression.
"Of course you were."
She answered from the heart.
And then — it wasn't really her style, honestly, but she felt this was the right thing to do. Drawing on the royal etiquette she had once learned.
"You were magnificent, Albert von Yelk. I won't forget your valor, and I'll carry your regret at being pulled from the fight here with me. So rest easy — from here on, I'll handle things. We'll handle things."
Hearing that, Albert...
Relieved of his tension at last, he let go of his consciousness as well. With equal respect, Lucius lifted him onto his shoulders.
"Carry him back to camp, Lucius. After that, you're to reinforce the others — El, Liliana, and the rest — for the vengeful spirit countermeasures."
"Understood. And……you, as expected——"
"Of course I'm going after Orthesia. That's where I need to settle things."
Perhaps a foolish question, Lucius paused briefly to collect his thoughts……but pressed on, probing.
"……This may go without saying, but — do be careful. The Pope over there is……I can't quite put it into words, but—"
"Sharp instinct as always. ……Yeah, I know."
Even Lucius could sense something unsettling about the opponent — an unease he couldn't fully articulate.
Understanding the weight of that warning, Rose answered nonetheless.
"Right now, she's obtained something that — if she plays it right — could kill even me without breaking a sweat. She won't let her guard down, won't show mercy……and at the same time, she won't ignore anything either. She'll take everything head-on and settle it properly. So don't you lot worry about what's going on over here."
Hearing that, Lucius seemed to recognize that further words would be superfluous.
"……May fortune favor you."
With a bow that conveyed his own form of respect, he departed.
"…………Now then."
Rose sank into thought for just a few seconds.
……That boy, Albert.
The letters that arrived regularly from Ermes — judging by the reports from the academy, Albert had initially been a young man resigned to the same aristocratic mindset as everyone else.
And yet now he'd become that.
"I thought I'd already accepted it, but seeing it firsthand really is something."
That was how hopeless the country had been back when she was there.
But that was already in the past. The generation had changed, and values were shifting with it.
If that was the case, then—
She wouldn't go as far as Yurgen had, taking everything with him.
But — at the very least, the past that she herself had directly set in motion, the past that still cast its shadow on the present — she should settle that with her own hands.
Steel her resolve once more.
"Then——"
The Sky Witch drew a single breath — and revealed a smile that was beautiful yet fierce and battle-hungry, just as it had always been.
"Time for a spectacular brawl, Orthesia — it's been a while."
With those words, she raised her magic power.
And flew off in the direction where they would settle their reckoning.