1. The Captive Beautiful Princess
「All troops, advance!」
The dignified command of the princess knight rang out across the battlefield.
One after another, the Empire's strongest Princess Knight Order, led by the Second Imperial Princess Charlotte, sallied forth from the imperial capital.
Their target was the peasant rebel army approaching the capital, carrying straw banners and armed with hoes, sickles, and farming tools.
A greatsword sliced through the air.
Vwooon—!
The sound of the blade cutting the wind echoed across the earth.
In the same instant, the head of the peasant soldier before her was severed clean in two. His torso fell from the draft horse with a heavy thud, spraying fresh blood. The strike was terrifyingly fast.
Next, a sun-baked farmer thrusting out a pitchfork was bisected by the girl's flawless, lethal downward swing.
Zash!
The peasant couldn't even let out a final scream. Charlotte casually flicked the blood from her sword, and a single line of blood splatter painted the dry ground.
「If you want to die next, step forward.」
With her long golden-thread-like hair fluttering in the wind, the valiant maiden's clear, ringing voice caused the peasant rebels who witnessed that single blow to lose half their will to fight.
「T-This is the Princess of the Battlefield...」
The blood-soaked greatsword was far too massive for a girl of her age to wield, yet she handled it with ease. Mounted on a pure white horse and clad in shining silver armor without a helmet, the princess knight was a majestic sight.
Her rich platinum-blonde hair, like a golden cascade, streamed in the battlefield wind. Her amber eyes struck fear into people's hearts and overwhelmed them — they called them "the eyes of a wolf."
Charlotte, nicknamed the "Goddess of War" by the Imperial Army and the "Valkyrie Witch of the Battlefield" by enemy nations, was only 17 years old yet had already fought in countless battles and achieved numerous military exploits.
Suppressing a rebellion of desperate lower-class citizens was as easy for her as twisting a baby's hand.
「If you won't come, then I'll go to you.」
She swung the greatsword lightly with one hand in a show of intimidation. The ignorant serfs could hardly believe such a delicate-looking girl could wield such a massive blade one-handed.
Charlotte wasn't simply relying on brute arm strength. She used the secret technique "Water Form," a fluid, body-movement-based martial art honed through rigorous training, allowing her to wield the heavy sword as smoothly as flowing water.
That a small girl could swing such a weapon with ease filled the enemy soldiers with incomprehensible dread. This was precisely why she chose to fight with a large sword rather than a slender rapier.
「Uwaaaaaah—!」
The peasant rebel army fell into panic. They threw down their crude scythes and poles and fled in all directions.
They had believed that with the Emperor's sudden death leaving only Empress Catherine and his seven daughters as heirs, this was their chance to escape the imperial family's tyranny. But the strength of Second Princess Charlotte, who had succeeded her father as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, far exceeded their imagination.
「How unsightly. You lowly wretches. I'll execute every last one of you. Troops, follow me!」
After giving orders to the Dragon Dragoon and Cuirassier units following behind, Princess Knight Charlotte nimbly leapt onto her white horse and personally led the charge at the front.
Her heroic figure was exactly like the female warrior depicted in the legendary book "The Heroic Tales of the Princess Knight – Sha-Naame."
/Behold, the valiant maiden Valkyrie descends upon the battlefield,
/Letting out a war cry as she straddles her fierce steed,
/The spurs on her feet glittering brightly,
/Her majestic presence sweeping across the land.
The serfs and peasants who dared oppose Charlotte, the Second Princess of the Sun Empire Sonne Impero and the peerless princess knight, were chased down while cursing their own foolishness.
They were pierced and slashed by the lances and sabers of the cheering imperial knights, fell to the ground, and soaked the earth with their blood. Trampled by horseshoes, they vomited blood and drew their last breaths.
In the blink of an eye, the peasant soldiers were scattered and reduced in number. Organized resistance had completely collapsed.
It was then—
「Elder Sister, please withdraw for now.」
The one who appeared was the Third Princess Jeanne, her twin sister, riding a magnificent chestnut horse and holding a large silver lance.
Jeanne had the same rich, voluminous platinum-blonde hair as her sister, braided into three strands and wrapped around her head. Her flawless snow-white skin and beautiful fair features were almost identical to her sister's.
The only difference was her clear, lake-blue eyes.
「What is it, Jeanne? There's no need to worry about overextending. Look. The traitorous peasants are fleeing in disarray. These pathetic commoners are no match for us.」
「However, it appears the Republic of Recublic has intervened in the serfs' rebellion.」
「What…? The Republic of Recublic...?」
The Republic was a mysterious nation that had appeared ten years ago on an island across the sea from the continent. Originally, the continent had been divided among seven kingdoms. The dynasties sometimes formed alliances and sometimes fought, but for a thousand years they had ruled as absolute feudal states.
The Republic, however, had no king. Its leaders were chosen by popular vote — a concept utterly incomprehensible to the rulers of the dynasties.
In the year 1003 of the Imperial Calendar, the Republic's army, having prepared thoroughly, crossed the sea. Using mysterious giant steel beasts that spat fire, they attacked the seven kingdoms. In just a few months, they destroyed the Grand Duchy of Boden and the ancient, tradition-rich Kingdom of Goldenbaum.
「The Republic…? But why...?」
「I do not know. But we should withdraw for now. According to the messenger, the Republican army is advancing toward the royal capital.」
「Are you telling me to tuck my tail and retreat in front of these commoners? I cannot do such a thing!」
Charlotte tried to shake off her sister's hand and urge her horse forward, but Jeanne desperately held onto the reins.
「In the capital are Mother Empress Catherine, Elder Sister Sophia, and our younger sisters Scarlett, Maya, Reyna, and Melody. We cannot put them in danger.」
When the names of her mother and sisters were mentioned, Charlotte fell silent. It was precisely to protect their smiles — the people she loved more than anything — that she had chosen the harsh path of knight training.
She had sworn at her knighting ceremony two years ago that she would never allow even a single hair on their heads to be harmed, even if it cost her her life seven times over.
「W-What is that?!」
The royal guard knights staring into the distance let out cries of shock.
From beyond the cloud of dust left by the fleeing peasants came a strange mechanical sound — kyururururu — accompanied by black smoke. A massive iron box on wheels advanced toward them. Even Charlotte stopped in her tracks at the bizarre sight.
「A monster...」
「It's what the Republican army calls a 'Panzer' — a tank.」
Jeanne answered with a pale face.
「A tank…? Not a chariot?」
「I don't understand the mechanism, but it seems to be a magical vehicle that moves on its own without the power of horses or men.」
The Longbow unit of the royal guards, having recovered from their initial shock, drew their powerful bows in unison. Countless arrows rained down on the tank a moment later. But they all bounced off harmlessly like pebbles.
Next, the armored Dragoon unit charged the tank with their cavalry lances.
At that moment, a thin barrel protruding from the tank flashed with fire, and a sound like rapid drumming rang out — tatatatatatata!
The Dragoons were struck by high-velocity steel bullets traveling at invisible speeds. They spurted blood from all over their bodies and collapsed to the ground along with their horses.
「W-What did that iron box just do?!」
To the Imperial Army, where one-on-one cavalry combat was still the flower of the battlefield and firearms were limited to matchlocks or muzzle-loading muskets, the machine gun was an utterly incomprehensible weapon.
「Elder Sister, it's dangerous! We must retreat—」
At that moment, one of the tanks' turrets rotated, and a high-explosive shell was fired with a thunderous roar.
It exploded right in front of Charlotte and Jeanne, blasting the two princess knights into the air and slamming them into the ground.
「P-Princess…!」
Having lost their commander, the royal guard division fell into chaos.
Soldiers were shot down by bullets and shells, blown away, and then crushed into minced meat under the tanks' caterpillar tracks. In less than half an hour, the Empire's strongest Princess Knight Order was completely annihilated. All that remained was the sorrowful neighing of riderless horses.
The hatch of one tank opened, and a man in a black uniform and boots — apparently the commander — descended.
He grabbed Charlotte's long golden hair where she lay collapsed on the ground and lifted her face.
「Ugh...」 A faint groan escaped from Charlotte's lips.
「Hmm… Even covered in the dust of battle, what a beautiful maiden. This face is truly top-grade. Heh heh, even through the armor I can tell she has magnificent flesh. Looks like the shell was properly adjusted.」
「Yes sir. We reduced the explosive charge, so it seems she only lost consciousness from the blast.」
「Good. These girls are absolutely necessary for the Republic's plan. Kukuku… Imperial princess. From now on, you will come to wish — thousands, tens of thousands of times — that we had simply killed you. Prepare yourself.」
The commander ordered the restraint and transport of Charlotte and Jeanne. The two of them had no idea yet of the fate that awaited them.
This day marked the last day that Princess Knight Charlotte would remain human.
The west wind, Zephyrus, stirred up clouds of sand, dyeing the sun red as if foreshadowing the princess knight's tragic destiny!