The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

Chapter 16 - Aina\'s Fury

The Britannia Empire’s palace.

A middle-aged knight walked through the corridors.

Clank, clank.

Every step he took echoed with the heavy sound of metal from his pristine knight\'s uniform.

"Deputy Commander."

The knight guarding Princess Aina\'s quarters snapped to attention as soon as he saw him.

"You\'ve been working hard."

"May I ask the purpose of your visit, sir?"

"I have something to report to Her Highness, Princess Aina."

"Ah, I see. Please go ahead."

Clank, clank!

The subordinate knight saluted in unison.

The deputy commander nodded and stepped inside, pausing momentarily to ask a question.

"Any unusual occurrences?"

"None, sir. It’s just that Her Highness has been receiving more visitors lately, and it’s making her a bit tired."

"I understand. It can be demotivating, can’t it?"

"...Sir?"

"The White Knights weren’t originally meant to be gatekeepers, after all."

The White Knights were one of the two knightly orders that symbolized the Britannia Empire. While they performed various tasks for the royal family—especially under the Emperor—their duties had become increasingly erratic under Princess Aina’s leadership.

"I’m not sure if I should say this, sir, but..."

"...Speak your mind."

"These days, it feels like we\'re more directly serving Her Highness, Princess Aina. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, of course!"

The subordinate knight stammered as he spoke, causing the deputy commander to sigh.

"You mean it doesn’t feel like you’re serving the Empire?"

"...Yes, sir. That’s right."

Motivation is essential.

Especially for knights, who hold such an honorable position.

The deputy commander glanced at the report in his hand.

A dossier containing information about the movements of the Blood Cult.

This was crucial intelligence that should have been presented during a strategic meeting, not just to one person.

‘...Princess Aina’s popularity has risen too rapidly.’

People across the continent worshipped the heroes.

Though it had been over a year since the Demon King was defeated, the heroes’ popularity showed no signs of waning.

Of course, the deputy commander also applauded the heroes\' achievements.

He agreed they deserved the accolades.

But there was a problem.

‘Too much power is concentrated in the hands of Her Highness.’

Princess Aina’s momentum was like a snowball rolling down a cliff. As the one who had slain the Demon King, people accepted anything given to her. No, they even argued she deserved more. The White Knights were among those affected. How could one of the Empire’s two most prestigious knight orders be under the control of a princess rather than the Emperor?

But he couldn’t voice his complaints.

A knight\'s duty is to serve the Empire.

The sword does not offer opinions.

It merely fulfills its purpose.

...At least, that’s the official stance.

‘We need a legitimate reason.’

A reason strong enough to rein in the princess\'s excesses.

There wasn’t one at the moment, but someday it would come.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Yes, sir!"

The deputy commander’s footsteps were heavy as he walked away.

◆

Princess Aina’s office.

Sitting behind a luxurious wooden desk, Aina questioned the deputy commander.

"Have we still not found any leads on the Blood Cult’s leaders?"

"No, Your Highness. We’ve managed to capture a few low-ranking members, but we’re focusing more on infiltration at the moment."

"Hasn’t it been over six months?"

"Infiltration isn’t an easy task. The Blood Cult is particularly thorough when it comes to maintaining secrecy."

Sigh.

Aina let out a sigh, prompting the deputy commander to clench his fist, though he kept it out of sight.

Infiltrating an enemy organization is never simple.

If things go wrong, operatives can be captured or even killed.

Given that, the knights were pushing themselves to the limit in this mission to uncover the Blood Cult.

The prophecy had decreed that the Blood Cult intended to summon the ‘King of the Underworld’.

The knights were sacrificing themselves for the good of the Empire.

But this woman didn’t seem to understand that.

Crack.

The deputy commander clenched his fist harder as he bowed his head.

"I’ll see if we can speed things up."

"You should. What’s the status of the White Knights who were dispatched?"

The deputy commander adjusted his glasses and began his report.

"They’re monitoring the noble houses closely tied to the royal family, like the ducal and comital families. Twenty knights are currently deployed, and there’s nothing unusual to report."

"Sir Reinhardt’s pressure on me has been increasing. Please bring me results as soon as possible."

Aina mumbled without even lifting her head.

The deputy commander bit his lip.

Our knight order serves the Empire, not you.

He wanted to say it, but he couldn\'t.

The Emperor had transferred command to her, so the knight order had to follow her lead.

"...Understood."

The deputy commander bowed his head.

As he walked out of the office, he spoke without turning back.

"But Your Highness."

"Is there something else you’d like to say?"

"If we see even the slightest threat to the Empire, we will cut it down without hesitation. That is our role."

Click.

He didn’t wait for a response before leaving the room.

◆

“…Damn it!”

Aina hurled a book at the closed door.

Thud!

The book hit the door with a loud crash.

But the sound was insignificant compared to Aina’s fury.

Damn it.

Aina took a deep breath, trying to contain her rage.

Everything had been going well since she became a hero.

Her position in the line of succession had skyrocketed, leaving only the First Prince ahead of her.

But that wasn’t all.

The best part was that her demands now carried a sense of legitimacy.

As the hero who had defeated the Demon King, Aina’s requests were easily justified, no matter how extravagant they were.

The White Knights were a prime example.

According to the prophecy, the King of the Underworld needed to be found to prevent a disaster from befalling the continent. The Blood Cult, which sought to bring this calamity to the world, needed to be rooted out. It wasn’t a task she could handle alone, so she requested the cooperation of the White Knights, the less rigid of the two orders. The Emperor had granted her control over them.

— A hero’s actions can be trusted.

Even the ministers had rarely objected.

Aina was treated as a hero.

That was the biggest reason she was doing so well.

But.

"Haa…"

Aina clutched her forehead.

Being a hero allowed her to get whatever she wanted, but only up to a point. Knights like the deputy commander who had just left always followed her orders begrudgingly, as if they were doing it under duress.

She could never make them truly her own.

"Why is that?"

Lack of leadership. Aina couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with her. How could she get the people under her command to truly follow her? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer.

"Lee Han, that guy..."

He was brilliant at this.

He didn’t need formal authority.

Even knights who came just to deliver news would end up helping the party with all their heart after a few words with him.

"How did he manage to win over the knights?"

Crack.

Aina clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She had thought everything would go well without Lee Han. She had even believed things would be better...

Outwardly, everything was fine, but beneath the surface, it was all rotting away.

"Ah..."

Aina grabbed a fistful of her golden hair.

She didn’t care about ruining her appearance as she buried her head in her desk.

In the end, only one thing mattered.

Could she claim the throne or not?

Even if no one was loyal to her, once she ascended to the throne, everyone would bow to her. The ruler of the Empire held that kind of power.

So the only thing that mattered was this.

Finding Lee Han, her only weakness.

If he had truly returned, as the prophecy said, she had to recapture him and silence him.

She already had a plan.

Aina gently caressed the vial of medicine hidden in her drawer.

◆

The Gray Duke mansion.

In the midst of the Blood Cult’s "mana orb test," Lloyd found himself staring at the man standing before him.

"Why are the White Knights here...?"

"We’re here to root out the Blood Cult. They’re trying to bring calamity upon the continent..."

The knight Arno trailed off as he looked Lloyd up and down.

"But from what I’ve seen, the calamity has already arrived."

"You think I’m the calamity?"

"Yes. When you lost consciousness, a monstrous aura began to emanate from you. It was vast and overwhelming, something that seemed impossible to resist."

Damn it.

The knight must have entered Lloyd’s room while he was in the middle of meeting Ortega. Did Ortega’s aura leak out while Lloyd was unconscious?

When Lloyd had awoken, this knight had been the first person he saw. It wasn’t a coincidence. Now it made sense. The knight had probably been looking for the right moment to kill him ever since he volunteered to serve.

Ron—no, Edward Arno—smiled sadly.

"I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die."

Shing.

He drew a thin blade hidden in his trousers as he continued to speak.

"Lloyd, when I first saw you, I knew you weren’t ordinary. So I kept an eye on you."

"......."

"And by sheer luck, I witnessed the moment that monstrous thing inside you began to awaken."

"That’s—"

"There’s no need to explain. Whatever it is, if it fully awakens, the world will be doomed."

Step.

He took a step forward.

Lloyd tried to step back, but his back was against a tree.

"I’m truly sorry, but I must kill you."

The knight in white spoke politely.

"For the Empire."

His gleaming white sword slashed toward Lloyd’s neck.