Fortunately, only a few of the imperial soldiers who fled were injured. However, because they had suddenly been treated as rebels, they ran away without any preparation. The relief she felt the moment she left the imperial capital and managed to conceal herself transformed into intense anxiety.

There were no dragons or horses. In other words, they had no means of escaping.

Albeit they weren’t attacked, there was no sign that a messenger would arrive. It seemed that negotiating was out of the question.

In that case, Natalie would remain as a hostage, and the tension would remain high. While the soldiers had received proper training, it was only natural for them to be mentally exhausted.

Not having a captain-class coordinator was already bad enough, let alone a general. At first, there should had been 300 people. Except, the number diminished the moment they realized they had a better chance of surviving by escaping alone. As of the present, the number was already less than 100 people.

It might be easier to organize a smaller number, but they wouldn’t stand a chance should they be attacked.

“Stay strong. Here, have some water.”

Natalie encouraged each and every one of them. Having removed her high heels, she distributed water with fluffy leather shoes.

“Thank you, Your Highness Natalie.”

“Sorry for involving you.”

“As you should be. Hence why, be firm. Once the negotiator comes, you’ll lose if you look the slightest bit hesitant.”

Everyone laughed and nodded at Natalie. Each day, their smiles were losing radiance. Some might have already abandoned hope.

Natalie just wanted something to hold on to rather than letting herself being killed without able to achieve anything.

Natalie herself was about to be crushed by anxiety. However, there was no way she could show that. Even if she were to rot, she was still a princess.

—when she thought about it, the moment she was attacked by the Fairert army and fled, her luck might already run out. It turned out that crown prince Vissel was trying to take control of the imperial army by dominating the court. She felt that she shouldn’t let that happen.

Her mistake was involving the imperial soldiers who had been cut off by the imperial capital the moment they were no longer of use.

How foolish of me.

For the time being, with Natalie as a hostage, those soldiers had managed to leave the imperial capital.

However, the actual problem had only just begun. She had to come up with a decision because no one else would.

What Natalie knew was that Vissel was no better than that Emperor, the one who had a penchant for little girls. From the conversation she overheard during the fight, her uncle’s followers were hiding in Radea territory. Because of that, the remaining imperial soldiers were being treated as rebels.

I think I’ve made the correct decision, but what will the people think of the Rave royal family after this?

However, such pride was powerless against reality.

What could she do for herself? She didn’t even know how to help the soldiers. Perhaps, in the end, no one would survive, after all.

“Kyu.”

Hearing a voice at her feet, Natalie looked down.

At her feet was the small dragon that not even the gentle Frida was scared of picking up. With his front legs, he presented the nuts he had found from somewhere.

“Thank you, Rho…”

“Kyu~”

It seemed that when Natalie was distributing water, Rho also found nuts and other food from somewhere and distributed them. The soldiers smiled at the sight. The imperial army was different from the Dragon Knights, but it was also required of them to learn how to ride a dragon. Watching over the little dragon seemed to raise the moral of the imperial army.

If there was anything that kept their despair at bay, it was probably Rho.

The shadow of the rock where Natalie and the others were hiding was a dangerous place near the dragon’s habitat. However, the dragons didn’t attack. On the contrary, they presented nuts and food to Rho. She didn’t have to worry about water because Rho had located a source, too. Sometimes, dragons would come to drink, but they didn’t do anything to her and the others.

A small dragon with a strange pattern and a pair of golden eyes.

The color of his scales was gradually returning due to exposure to rain and wind over the past few days.

They probably thought they might lose their blessing if they were to reveal his true identity—therefore, no one said a thing.

However, she was sure everyone was starting to notice—

—the King of Dragons, the golden eyed, black dragon.

Every time she recalled that though, Natalie was also reminded of that little girl.

At first, Natalie pitied the Dragon Princess. The Dragon Emperor must had taken a fancy to her, something which resulted in her being brought to a foreign country. However, the Dragon Princess whom Natalie talked with was strong despite her young age. Yes, that girl even painted the golden-eyed, black, dragon.

Natalie laughed at the memory. Her legs, which had been weak, also became firm.

“Hey, Rho, I wonder if there is a place where I can fish.”

“Kyu.”

Rho, whom had finished distributing the nuts, looked back and though. An old soldier laughed from her side. Towards said soldier, Natalie had apologized many times.

“Fishing sounds good. Nuts are good, but grilled fish is another story.”

“Why don’t you hunt? It might provide you with a bit distraction—”

“—Emergency! An army has been dispatched from the imperial capital!”

A soldier who was keeping watch on their surroundings with binoculars ran down from the hill, almost tumbling down.

The relaxed atmosphere tensed in an instant.

“Are they come here?! Aren’t they supposed to be dispatched to Radea!?”

“Where’s the messenger!?”

“How many of them?! Is there a dragon!? We’ll be done for if they burn this area from above!”

“O, only cavalry and infantry, but there are 10,000 of them…! I think it’ll take them half a day until they reach this place…”

“It’s over for us!”

“Damn, I thought we were going to negotiate!”

“Calm down!”

The soldier who had talked about fishing a while ago shouted out loud.

“Let’s do our best to escape while also ensuring that Her Highness Natalie remains protected!”

The turmoil spread to the surroundings.

“That’s just foolish! Now that this has happen, the princess is but a hindrance!”

“I, I’ll escape by myself! This group is the target, it’s not my problem!”

“Wait, if actually abandon Her Highness Natalie, we’re going to turned into actual rebels!”

“Thank you for your help, I appreciate everything you’ve done! Farewell!”

“I didn’t ask for this! Say whatever you want!”

“Doing that, we’ll all be considered rebels! This is the exact moment where we have to stay loyal! Otherwise, the moment Crown Prince Vissel lays his eyes on us, we’ll be finished!”

Natalie bit her lips. Towards the spreading turmoil, there was nothing she could say—even though she was at the center of that turmoil.

Rho came to Natalie’s feet. It was when she was about to lift Rho up—

“—Rather, shouldn’t we just offer Her Highness Natalie?”

Who said that? The words emitted from somewhere calmed the everyone.

---

***T/N: That escalated quick… whatta bunch of scums.

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