Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Levi froze.

He hadn't expected Rapunzel to make such a suggestion on her own.

She was just too pure (and foolishly naive)!

No wonder, in the fairy tale, she had trusted that prince so quickly—and surrendered herself to him just as quickly!

But for Levi, this was good news.

His eyes lit up, though he still asked, "Is that really okay?"

"I'll leave a letter for my godmother. When she comes back, she'll know where I've gone!" Rapunzel said. After a pause, she added, "Of course, if I come back before she does, then I can just burn the letter. She'll never have to know."

As she spoke, Rapunzel gave Levi a mischievous wink.

Levi was momentarily stunned before understanding.

Rapunzel had been locked inside this tower for far too long. She desperately wanted to see the outside world.

According to the fairy tale, her godmother had shut her inside the tower when she was twelve years old and had kept her there ever since.

A quick sweep with Detection had already revealed her age.

Eighteen.

That meant she had been imprisoned in this tower for a full six years.

No wonder, when the prince had promised to take her away, she had been willing to abandon even the godmother who had raised her.

Because she longed for freedom.

Thinking this, Levi said to Rapunzel, "Then thank you, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel smiled warmly.

Levi nodded and continued, "Let's leave now."

"Do you need to bring anything with you?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, I do."

Rapunzel thought for a moment before heading into another room to gather her belongings. In the end, she came back carrying a large bundle.

"Will this cause you any trouble, Levi?" she asked somewhat embarrassed.

Levi shook his head.

"Let's go."

"Do you want me to lower my hair first and let you climb down?" Rapunzel asked innocently. "My hair can grow longer."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I can fly."

Levi cast the Third-Ring spell Wizard's Hand, carrying Rapunzel and her large bundle out of the tower and away from the Magic Herb Garden.

Rapunzel turned back.

The Magic Herb Garden had already vanished behind its magical barrier, disappearing from sight.

For some reason, a faint sense of melancholy welled up inside her.

But she quickly pushed the feeling aside.

Turning her head, she looked at the scenery rushing past on both sides and felt the gentle wind blowing against her face.

Her mood soon improved.

...

Duchy of Silverbrook, Capital City.

No matter how slow to react the Duke of Silverbrook might have been, news from the Silverclaw Peninsula had finally reached him.

When he learned that the Silverclaw Viscount had colluded with the Kingdom of Valeria and formed a joint army to attack Hornreach, he was so furious that his heart felt like a drum beating inside his chest.

But after the anger came schadenfreude.

He knew it wasn't appropriate.

Yet he simply couldn't help himself.

The Silverclaw Viscount could never have imagined that Levi was not only a Great Knight but also a mysterious and powerful warlock.

This time, he had truly kicked an iron plate.

The allied forces of the Silverclaw Viscount and the Kingdom of Valeria had suffered heavy casualties and were now locked in a stalemate against Levi's troops at Frostfang Pass, unable to advance or retreat.

Levi's soldiers couldn't break through Frostfang Pass for the time being.

But likewise, the allied army couldn't defeat Levi's forces either.

Although Levi only had a little over a thousand soldiers, Frostfang Pass was a long and narrow position that simply couldn't accommodate large numbers of troops moving through at the same time.

The allied army numbered over ten thousand.

But that advantage was useless.

On the contrary, Levi possessed a large force of musketeers whose suppressive fire was proving highly effective.

As a result, the allied army found itself in an extremely awkward position.

They couldn't break through.

Yet retreating wasn't a good option either.

The moment they withdrew, Levi's army would advance unopposed. Without defensive fortifications, they would suffer devastating losses under the fire of Hornreach's musketeers.

For now, all they could do was continue the standoff.

But the problem was that Levi's force numbered only around a thousand men, while the allied army exceeded ten thousand and also maintained a large number of warhorses.

Feeding both men and horses consumed enormous quantities of supplies every day.

And all of that burden fell upon the Silverclaw Viscount.

His territory had already been severely weakened by the Kobold threat.

Now things had become even worse.

If this continued, the Silverclaw Viscount's lands would collapse without a battle ever being fought.

However, the Duke of Silverbrook wasn't pleased by this situation either.

Because regardless of whether the Silverclaw Viscount won or lost this war, it would be bad news for the Duchy of Silverbrook.

If the Silverclaw Viscount won—though that possibility was extremely slim—the Kingdom of Valeria would gain a foothold deep within the duchy.

Within five years, the Duchy of Silverbrook would almost certainly be swallowed up.

But if the Silverclaw Viscount lost, Levi's mysterious warlock faction would expand accordingly.

He might even annex the entirety of the Silverclaw Viscount's territory.

The duke was well aware of everything Levi had been doing in Hornreach.

In his eyes, it was unmistakable ambition.

Once Levi absorbed the Silverclaw Viscount's lands and greatly increased his strength, why would he remain content ruling a single corner of the world?

That meant the Duchy of Silverbrook would face danger as well.

Unless...

He was willing to expose himself and report Levi's identity as a wizard to the Church.

In that case, he and Levi would become irreconcilable enemies.

And there was no guarantee the Church would spare him either.

After all, he was the one who had granted Levi his barony and awarded him the territory.

So that path was closed as well.

The Duke of Silverbrook felt trapped.

His situation wasn't much better than the Silverclaw Viscount's.

Just as he was racking his brains over the future of the Duchy of Silverbrook, his beloved daughter, Melissa, entered the room carrying a small golden ball.

"My dear father, you look terrible. What's troubling you so much?" Princess Melissa asked.

Seeing his favorite daughter, the Duke of Silverbrook forced a smile and was about to send her away. Then his gaze fell upon her beautiful face, and a thought suddenly struck him.

"Father, what's wrong?"

The duke's expression grew complicated. After a long silence, he said, "Melissa, I need you to go somewhere."

"Where?" Melissa asked.

"Hornreach."

Melissa's face immediately changed.

"Father, that's hardly a pleasant place."

"I know, Melissa. But I've run out of options," the Duke of Silverbrook said helplessly.

"Father, what do you need me to do?"

After a brief silence, Melissa still found the courage to ask.

The duke felt both comforted and pained.

"Melissa, I need you to represent the duchy and travel to Hornreach to support its lord in resisting the Kingdom of Valeria's invasion."

"Is that all?" Melissa asked.

"And if possible, it would be even better if you could win Lord Levi's heart," the duke said awkwardly.

Melissa's face instantly flushed red.

"Father!"

"Melissa, this is important. It concerns whether our duchy can continue to exist!"

"If you and Levi were to have a child, I would immediately declare that child the heir to the duchy!"

Melissa was not the Duke of Silverbrook's only child. Above her were several older sisters and an older brother.

"Father, has the situation really become this serious? That Levi is only a Great Knight," Melissa said with a grave expression.

"He's more than just a Great Knight."

The duke paused before picking up an intelligence report from the table.

"Not long ago, one of his retainers displayed power far beyond that of a Great Knight."

"Father, are you saying..."

"A Heaven Knight. A Sky Knight!" the duke said, enunciating each word.

Melissa understood the significance of a Sky Knight.

She also vaguely understood the pressure facing the Duchy of Silverbrook.

That pressure came not only from the Kingdom of Valeria, but also from the Kingdom of Amtyr.

Ever since the incident involving that prince, the Kingdom of Amtyr had been constantly pressuring the Duchy of Silverbrook. Matters had escalated to the point where troops were already massed along the border.

They were simply waiting for an opportunity.

On top of that, there had been the recent Kobold Disaster.

Although the worst of it had ravaged Hornreach and the Silverclaw territory, the Mist Swamp was vast. Many regions of the Duchy of Silverbrook bordered the swamp and had suffered significant damage as well.

Of course, the Kingdom of Amtyr hadn't escaped unscathed either. Part of its territory bordered the Mist Swamp as well.

The creatures living in the swamp didn't only run toward Silverbrook.

Even so, the strength of the Duchy of Silverbrook—and of the Duke himself—had undeniably been weakened, while the pressure upon them continued to grow.

If the duchy had a Sky Knight at a time like this, the entire situation might be different.

"Father, are you planning to have me recruit that Sky Knight?" Melissa asked.

"No. We must not do anything that could offend Levi."

The duke paused.

"He... possesses far more power than you realize. According to our intelligence, that retainer is absolutely loyal to him. I'll say it again—if you can truly win Levi's heart, that would be the ideal outcome."

Melissa fell silent once more.

After a long while, she slowly nodded and bit her lip.

"Father, I'll do my best."

"My precious daughter has grown up," the Duke of Silverbrook said, a complicated expression appearing on his face.

"Father, you've raised me for so many years. It's time for me to repay you," Melissa replied with a gentle smile.

Seeing how sensible his daughter had become, the duke's expression only grew heavier.

He sighed.

He wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing at all.

He simply reached out and stroked Melissa's head.

Not long afterward, the Duchy of Silverbrook issued a public declaration.

It condemned the Kingdom of Valeria's aggression and denounced the Silverclaw Viscount's family for their betrayal. It demanded that the Kingdom of Valeria immediately cease its invasion and withdraw beyond its borders.

As for the Silverclaw Viscount's family, the duke issued a realm-wide call to arms directed at all nobles. Any noble who joined the campaign against House Silverclaw would be allowed to keep whatever Silverclaw territory they successfully occupied.

The declaration also praised the Lord of Hornreach for defending his lands and announced that the duchy would dispatch reinforcements led by Princess Melissa herself to support Levi.

When the proclamation was released, the Silverclaw Viscount became even more irritable.

Events were not unfolding as he had imagined.

Instead, things were getting worse and worse.