Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 23
A Ball for Two

Even though it was probably her first time being separated from the Imperial Guard, she was remarkably composed. I wanted to praise her for it.

However, the situation was too urgent for leisurely chatter.

The enemies were so close that I could hear their footsteps even without straining my ears.

“Your Highness, they’ll be barging in here any minute now.”

Sylvia nodded as she looked at the door.

“Yes, I know.”

“Then, could you fire two shots at the ceiling when they open the door?”

“…The ceiling?”

Not at the enemy? Sylvia looked back at me with a puzzled expression, but I was quite serious.

“It doesn’t have to be the ceiling. The goal is to make noise.”

“Why… Never mind. I understand.”

Perhaps realizing the urgency of the situation, Sylvia didn’t question my instructions.

Click, clack, clack—

Just then, the sound of their hurried footsteps reached our ears.

We waited with bated breath, and the creaking of the door hinges added to the tension.

“I’ll start.”

Sensing the door opening, Sylvia fired two shots as instructed.

Flashes of light filled the dark living room, followed by deafening gunshots.

The agents, who were about to enter, retreated back into the hallway.

Silence followed.

They were probably huddled against the wall in the hallway, discussing how to handle the situation through hand signals.

‘Or rather, discussing how to kill us.’

After causing such a commotion at the banquet hall, they wouldn’t be able to escape the Empire.

This meant their mission wasn’t to kidnap the princess, but to kill her.

However, there was no way for the agents to know exactly where the princess was hiding.

They must have panicked and retreated at the sudden gunshots that greeted them as they opened the door.

Behind the sofa? Behind the bookshelf? Under the desk? Or was she in another room, firing through the open door? They would be riddled with uncertainty.

Usually, such uncertainty leads to the use of grenades.

It was common practice to throw a grenade in the suspected direction and observe the reaction.

That was the moment I was aiming for.

Swallowing nervously, I focused my attention.

Click—

The sound of a grenade pin being pulled made my ears tingle.

I immediately activated my neural acceleration, jumped up from my position, and drew my revolver.

The agent beyond the door, about to throw a grenade towards us, seemed to move in slow motion.

I couldn’t afford to fail. Holding my breath, I carefully aimed at the grenade and pulled the trigger.

The gunpowder exploded, the bullet flew, and the world returned to its normal speed.

BOOM!

The grenade, hit by the bullet, exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

“Agh!”

“Ugh!”

The agents, struck by the shrapnel, cried out, breaking the silence.

I felt like throwing up, having just used neural acceleration, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Your Highness.”

“I understand!”

Sylvia and I stepped out into the hallway, and an agent who was still alive drew a pistol from his pocket.

Before I could react, Sylvia fired first.

Bang!

The agent, with a bullet between his eyes, let out a final gasp and slumped to the floor.

Relieved, I looked around and saw that the other agents were all dead.

We had taken down eight agents in an instant, but it was still too early to relax.

“Your Highness, other agents will come running after hearing the gunshots. They wouldn’t have deployed only eight men for a mission like this.”

“Then we need to escape this place as soon as possible…”

No, it was too late. Footsteps were approaching from the central staircase in the hallway.

─ They’re upstairs! The Empire’s princess is upstairs!

─ Call everyone! Shoot to kill on sight!

─ They’re on the top floor of the hotel! Block all exits!

My breathing quickened with tension. Unfortunately, Sylvia was the only one I could rely on now.

“This way!”

Grabbing Sylvia’s wrist, I sprinted towards the end of the hallway.

Sylvia, running after me in confusion, shouted,

“Daniel! That’s a dead end!”

“It’s not a dead end! The wall is made of glass!”

“What are you…?”

Sylvia’s eyes widened in horror as she realized my intentions.

“Are you saying we’re going to jump out of there?”

“Yes! The stairs and elevators must be blocked by them, so this is our only option!”

“What nonsense…! Suicide is not an option!”

Frustrated, I looked back at Sylvia.

“Your Highness, you can use spatial movement magic, can’t you!?”

“How did you… No! It’s not perfect! It only works within my line of sight!”

“That’s great! It’s fortunate that we’re on the top floor of the hotel!”

I wasn’t sure if I was laughing because the situation was absurd or because I had gone mad.

I ran towards the window, raised my revolver, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets hit the reinforced glass, creating cracks.

At the same time, the agents on the central staircase shouted.

“There!”

“Fire! We have permission from headquarters to kill them!”

Kicking off the floor, I slammed into the glass wall.

Crash!

The glass wall shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.

Sylvia, holding my hand, was also beautifully launched into the air amidst the glass shards.

But our flight through the air was short-lived.

“Gah!”

Unable to defy gravity, we began to plummet towards the ground.

The wind whipped through our hair and clothes, and the hem of Sylvia’s dress fluttered like a flag. It was white.

“Your Highness!”

At my shout, Sylvia, who had been frozen in shock, took a deep breath and nodded.

Taking in the rapidly approaching cityscape, she chanted a short spell.

Immediately, Sylvia and I were enveloped in a white light.

***

When I opened my eyes, Sylvia and I were still in mid-air.

But the ground was close.

I held Sylvia tightly and crashed onto the ground, my shoulder taking the brunt of the impact.

“…!”

My body jolted, and a sharp pain shot through me, but it was bearable.

Before the pain could even subside, I looked around and sighed in relief that there was no one around.

All I could see were broken records and furniture.

It seemed to be a place where discarded household items were collected.

“Ugh…”

Sylvia stirred in my arms and sat up.

She seemed dizzy, probably from using spatial movement magic.

But she quickly regained her composure and looked at me.

“…Are you alright?”

I was surprised. I thought she would first ask if we had escaped successfully.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I pushed myself up from the ground.

As I looked down at Sylvia, who was sitting on the floor, she was a sight to behold.

Her neatly combed hair was disheveled, and her luxurious evening gown was stained with dust and blood, a complete mess.

Ironically, her sapphire earrings and necklace were still sparkling flawlessly in the moonlight.

…Wait, moonlight?

Looking up, I saw that the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole.

The stars, densely scattered across the sky, were clearly visible.

Had she chosen this place in a hurry, looking for any place to hide?

Thinking how she managed to pick such a place, I reached out my hand to Sylvia.

“Let’s get up. The floor is cold.”

Sylvia nodded and took my hand, standing up.

To check on her, I bent down slightly.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, fortunately, I’m not… Wait.”

Sylvia blushed and pushed me away.

Her tightly closed eyes held a hint of annoyance.

“Don’t you think you’re getting a bit too close sometimes?”

“…I was just worried about your safety, Your Highness.”

“I know, I know… Sigh. Never mind. More importantly, are we safe now?”

“I believe so. They won’t be able to track us down to where we escaped using spatial movement.”

Even if they could, the Imperial Guard would arrive first.

They must have been dispatched immediately after the Aethereum Transference Grenade exploded, so they would have reached the old town by now.

Sylvia also seemed to think so, as she nodded and moved away from me.

Then, an awkward silence fell between us.

During the crisis, we had joked and chatted comfortably, but now that things had calmed down, an inexplicable awkwardness settled between us.

Moreover, my mind was filled with the unconscious thought that ‘the closer I get to Sylvia, the further I’ll be from leaving the military,’ so I couldn’t act friendly towards her.

In the first place, I couldn’t casually talk to the princess, one of the most noble figures in the Empire.

So, as I was trying to kill time until the Imperial Guard arrived, Sylvia cautiously spoke up.

“…Daniel, do you know how to dance?”

Dance? I shook my head.

“I’ve only seen it from afar, but I’ve never properly danced. As you know, I’m an orphan, so I’m not familiar with social skills like dancing. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I thought it would be better to dance than to spend time idly. The banquet won’t be over for a while anyway.”

Now that she mentioned it, she wasn’t wrong.

The banquet ended at midnight.

“Your Highness, I’d love to dance with you, but my skills are inadequate…”

“I’ll teach you. It’s not that difficult.”

Well, I couldn’t refuse after she said that.

“Then I’ll gladly learn from you.”

“Good.”

Sylvia stepped closer and took my hand.

“Follow me.”

Saying that, she lifted my hand slightly and started to step.

Perhaps she was being considerate of me, a beginner, because her movements were quite slow, but I still struggled to keep up.

As I stumbled a few times, getting my feet tangled, Sylvia couldn’t help but laugh.

I felt embarrassed.

“…Didn’t I tell you I’m not good at this?”

“You’ll get better with practice. Come on, again.”

Sylvia moved her feet again, and I followed her lead.

After repeating the movements several times, I was finally able to imitate her to some extent.

We managed to create something resembling a dance, albeit clumsily.

As we danced under the moonlight, the sound of a helicopter reached us from afar.

“Your Highness, the Imperial Guard…”

“Don’t stop.”

I was about to tell her that this wasn’t the time to be playful, but I stopped.

Because Sylvia was smiling faintly, seemingly enjoying herself.

It was a stark contrast to her expressionless face during the dance at the banquet hall.

For some reason, I didn’t want to spoil her joy.

So I clumsily moved my feet, and our dance continued, culminating in a waltz.

As I was still feeling awkward about having danced the waltz to the end, Sylvia let go of my hand and looked at me.

“Remember this. You should at least know how to dance this much so you won’t be looked down upon.”

While I was still trying to come up with a proper reply, the sound of the helicopter hovering in the sky grew closer, and soon the whirring of its propellers could be heard right above us.

“Your Highness!”

At the sudden shout, I looked up to see an old soldier, nearly sixty years old, armed and standing at the helicopter’s entrance.

He quickly took out the radio attached to his shoulder and pressed the transmit button.

“Headquarters! This is the waste collection center on 87th Street, Alter Markt, in the old town! We’ve found Her Highness and Captain Daniel! Both are safe with only minor injuries! Send support to this location immediately! I repeat, this is the old town…”

Now that I knew we were truly safe, the tension drained away.

As Sylvia and I exchanged sighs of relief, our eyes met naturally in the air.

We stood in silence for a moment, then both of us burst into laughter for no particular reason.

It was the end of spring.

—————

Please rate and review this novel on Novelupdates!

If you enjoy the translation, please consider buying me a Ko-fi. It helps keep me motivated!