The Villainous Princess Saves The Doomed Knights

3. Beyond The Walls Of The Heart

 

As time passed, the period for rotating the portal guard duty finally arrived. During that time, I…

 

‘Oh, am I going to die of overwork at this rate?!’

 

I was physically experiencing the typical expression, ‘I’m so busy I can’t even blink.’

 

This was because, after confronting the Commander-in-Chief, we ended up securing the right to distribute supplies ourselves.

 

From this guard duty onward, I was responsible for personally allocating the supplies for each Knight Order.

 

As a result, I was practically living in the supply depot lately…

 

‘I’m going to die, seriously.’

 

With dark circles under my eyes, I reviewed the supply management sheet once more.

 

Honestly, I didn’t even want to send a single grain of wheat to the 4th Knight Order, but…

 

‘There’s no need to give them an excuse to complain.’

 

Sigh.

 

I sighed inwardly and signed the properly allocated supply management sheet. Then, I handed it to the staff.

 

“Distribute it as is.”

 

“Understood, Administrative Officer Astrid.”

 

The staff at the supply depot politely accepted the documents.

 

Meanwhile, the workers began loading the supplies onto the wagons for each unit.

 

While keeping a close eye on the process, I was lost in thought.

 

‘Right, they said the 4th Knight Order Commander was assigned to portal guard duty starting this time?’

 

After what happened during the joint training, I requested that the 4th Knight Order Commander be severely punished.

 

As a result, he was assigned to portal guard duty, a task usually handled by rookie knights.

 

I still vividly remember the twisted look on the 4th Knight Order Commander’s face when I made that suggestion.

 

It was, very, very…

 

‘Satisfying.’

 

I chuckled to myself quietly.

 

‘Honestly, isn’t this a pretty lenient punishment? It’s not like I asked for him to be fired.’

 

Although, at the time, I was really tempted to chop his head off…

 

‘It wasn’t quite serious enough for that…’

 

As I pouted in frustration.

 

“Oh, wait a moment.”

 

I hurriedly ran over to one of the workers, eyes wide.

 

The worker looked at me blankly, holding a large sack in his arms.

 

Inside the sack were transparent crystals, each about the size of an adult male’s fist.

 

“Those are barrier stones! Please be careful when moving them!”

 

Barrier stones.

 

These were essential items for sealing portals, produced by the Imperial Supernatural Abilities Research Institute.

 

Portals serve as gateways connecting our world to the otherworld, where the monsters reside. Through these portals, monsters invade our world.

 

Humanity blocks these passages by placing barrier stones around the portals.

 

If the barrier stones function properly, most monsters cannot pass through the portal.

 

‘Well, some monsters do manage to break through the barrier occasionally.’

 

However, passing through the barrier requires a significant amount of energy, leaving the monsters considerably weakened.

 

In the case of lower-grade monsters, simply breaking through the barrier would deplete all their energy, resulting in their death.

 

‘That’s why each Knight Order regularly replaces their barrier stone.’

 

Barrier stones aren’t everlasting.

 

Once their internal magic is completely consumed, they need to be replaced with new ones.

 

It’s similar to how batteries run out of power.

 

When the barrier stones’ usage period ends, they turn purple.

 

And as described in the original story, the color of the barrier stone managed by the 4th Knight Order was…

 

‘Purple.’

 

In the early part of the original story, the 4th Knight Order was a persistent thorn in the side of the Azure Dawn Knights.

 

The 4th Knight Order had been negligent in their portal guard duties, but there was a reason behind it.

 

Like purification elixirs, barrier stones also cost money to produce.

 

But the 4th Knight Order, in the name of “budget-saving,” deliberately extended the replacement cycle of the barrier stones.

 

The money they saved went straight into the pockets of the 4th Knight Order.

 

Sometimes, when the seals would become loose, monsters would escape…

 

But our knights always took care of those monsters.

 

‘Ugh, how disgusting!’

 

I ground my teeth in frustration.

 

Anyway, back to the original story.

 

The 4th Knight Order was even commended by the Northern Command Headquarters for “exemplary budget-saving.”

 

Meanwhile, the Azure Dawn Knights was criticized for wasting the budget and became the scapegoat!

 

The originally transparent barrier stones would turn purple due to contamination, which became a common occurrence.

 

‘And that’s when Cassia from the original story stormed into the Knight Order.’

 

At that time, the only person who could have stopped her, Giscard, was absent.

 

Cassia stubbornly insisted on visiting the portal.

 

Coincidentally, due to the contaminated barrier stones, the barrier around the portal was weakened.

 

She ended up being killed by a monster that escaped through the weakened barrier.

 

The blame for this fell entirely on the Azure Dawn Knights, creating a frustrating scenario…

 

‘Hmm.’

 

Feeling a sudden chill, I subconsciously rubbed my neck. Could it be that I’ll end up following the original storyline and meet a tragic end here?

 

‘Anyway.’

 

I shrugged my shoulders and looked back at the workers transporting the supplies.

 

For now, I decided to focus on what I could do.

 

‘I need to closely monitor the replacement of the barrier stone to ensure it’s done properly.’

 

If there’s one redeeming quality about the Azure Dawn Knights, it’s their honor.

 

The honor of protecting humanity and preventing the portal from going berserk when the entire world was in peril.

 

But if something were to go wrong with the portal…

 

And if civilians were harmed because of it…

 

‘Our Knight Order’s reputation would be completely ruined…’

 

Suddenly, I felt a chill run down my spine as if I had been doused with cold water.

 

That’s exactly what happened in the original story.

 

After being wrongfully blamed for the 4th Knight Order’s negligence, the Azure Dawn Knights was scorned by the Empire’s citizens, and the already meager support dwindled even further…

 

‘It would be great if I could set up some kind of safety measure in advance.’

 

Of course, I’ll do my best to keep an eye on the replacement of the barrier stone, but I can’t monitor everything.

 

There’s always a chance something could go wrong at the portal.

 

In that case, we’d need a safety measure to ensure that our knights don’t get blamed.

 

‘Ugh, seriously. Why am I suffering like this because of the 4th Knight Order’s negligence?’

 

As I grumbled to myself, someone spoke to me.

 

“What are you thinking about so intently, Administrative Officer Astrid?”

 

Huh?

 

Startled, I looked up at the man standing before me.

 

Why is he here?

 

“Commander?”

 

It was Giscard.

 

At this time, he should be in the middle of training with the knights.

 

Why did he suddenly appear at the supply depot?

 

Meanwhile, Giscard was staring at me with a somewhat anxious expression.

 

Unable to withstand his piercing gaze, I asked sullenly,

 

“Why are you making that face?”

 

Giscard then asked me curiously,

 

“You’re not planning to cause any trouble, right?”

 

This guy, seriously!

 

I glared at him with dagger eyes.

 

Looking slightly embarrassed, Giscard scratched his chin with his index finger.

 

“Well, it’s just that when the Administrative Officer stays quiet and looks deep in thought, I can’t help but get worried.”

 

“Oh, come on, that’s too much.”

 

I retorted, crossing my arms.

 

“Honestly, am I not a pretty competent Administrative Officer?”

 

Giscard’s eyes turned deep in thought, and then he replied,

 

“…Well, I suppose that’s true.”

 

Unexpectedly, he replied like this?

 

Huh?

 

I stopped mid-complaint and blinked in surprise

 

‘Did Giscard just…agree with me?’

 

I couldn’t believe my ears!

 

Giscard, looking a bit awkward, quickly changed the subject.

 

“So, what were you thinking about so intently?”

 

“Oh, that… I was just pondering over some issues related to the barrier stones.”

 

As I answered absentmindedly, a sudden realization struck me like a bolt of lightning.

 

Wait, isn’t Giscard an Aura user?!

 

The most skilled one in the Empire—no, in the entire world!

 

“Commander!”

 

I immediately clung to Giscard.

 

He looked down at me in shock.

 

“W-What is it?!”

 

“I have a favor to ask!”

 

I looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

 

At the same time, Giscard’s expression became one of suspicion.

 

“You’re not planning something reckless again, are you…?”

 

No, no, I’m not!

 

* * * *

 

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