Endless Silver Machine

When entering the fifth floor below the ground, there were no more threatening magic machines.

Walls made of stone bricks formed a straight path, and burning torches were inserted at regular intervals on the walls.

It is not only the only lighting in the underground passage, but also proves that there is oxygen here.

"As you go down, do you become less vigilant?"

"Most people would have been dealt with on the upper floors a long time ago. We were only saved by an inexplicable earthquake."

Neither Charlotte nor Aika knew that the vibrations that caused the ground to break came from the shelling of the ground, so they interpreted it as an earthquake.

"Let's not talk about it for now. Is Lan Ming on this floor?"

"That's what 'that person' said, I'm not sure."

The "person" Charlotte refers to is the person who helped her get from August to Rosenberg Prison.

On the way to this level, Charlotte told her the current situation during the break in the battle.

"I didn't expect that you would actually act like this in order not to bring trouble to your family."

"This is the suggestion of Her Royal Highness Princess Ziming Yiela. She is a very powerful planner."

"It turns out that Lan Ming's sister is this kind of person..."

Aika has not seen Ziming Yiela in person until now.

Charlotte looked at Aika who commented so casually, her eyes filled with reproach.

"Your attitude towards the two princesses is too frivolous!"

"That's because Lan Ming himself said not to talk to her in that respectful manner..."

"I know this, so I didn't say anything more when you called Her Royal Highness Princess Lan Ming by her name..."

There was suddenly no conversation between the two, and they just continued to move forward cautiously.

After turning a corner, the light from the torch became even more dazzling, and there was no way forward.

The wall was hollowed out inward to create a separate cell.

Lan Ming Yiela is in this room that is completely isolated from the outside world.

Her hands were hung in the air by chains hanging from the roof. The chains crawled across her body like poisonous snakes and were tied to her legs.

The previously dazzling dress had become unsightly, and her underwear was vaguely exposed from between the torn pieces of cloth.

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"your Highness!"

Charlotte raised the spear and twisted the space of the cell partition, making a hole in the steel partition that allowed two people to enter.

The footsteps and voices coming from outside the door made Lan Ming, who almost fainted again, slightly open his eyes.

After being locked up in a place like this for a long time, Lan Ming had lost the concept of time.

"Charlotte, there is a magic circle on this chain."

"It's probably a cursed iron that can seal magic. You can just unlock it with your hands."

Aika and Charlotte put down the half-asleep Lan Ming and let her lean against them.

After removing the chains that hindered the flow of magic power, Lan Ming regained some consciousness.

"Charlotte...Aika...why..."

"Charlotte and I are here to save you."

"Nonsense! Why...do such a thing..."

Although it was very difficult for Lan Ming to even speak, seeing the two people covered in dust, he could understand that they did not rescue him through formal methods.

"your Highness……"

"If you come to rob the prison now, the Senate can use it as an excuse... What you are trying to do now is not at all like this..."

"Is being locked up in a place like this what you, called 'Her Royal Highness', should do?"

Now Lan Ming can only cling to Aika, so weak that even ordinary girls cannot resist.

But Aika couldn't take her away by force, and it would be meaningless if she couldn't make her willingly accept the status quo.

"Before we rescued you, what did you do for yourself? Are you just being locked up here and counting the days?"

Snapped--

This slap came not from Lan Ming, but from Charlotte, who suddenly stood up and glared at Aika.

"Shut up! Aika, you are so rude to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

"Stop, Charlotte..."

"Do you know what kind of determination Her Highness the Princess has when she returns to this country? People who don't know anything should not talk nonsense here!"

This was the first time that Charlotte didn't listen to Lan Ming's words. Her tears fell on the cold stone floor with her falling hands.

The tone echoed in the empty dungeon was high and trembling, and Charlotte pursed her lips tightly as if she was swallowing back all the thousands of words of rebuke.

Lan Ming was speechless, even she had never seen such a weak side of Xia Luo.

Aika never thought that this knight lady, who had never shown weakness, would expose her tears in front of her competitor.

There was still burning pain in the place where he was beaten, but Aika couldn't be angry no matter what.

"I really don't know why Lan Ming was stupid enough to throw herself into a trap, so I have to take her out now to find out."

"That was a trap... I didn't expect to be brought here..."

Lan Ming is now in the position of Aika holding him, and it is very difficult to avoid his condescending gaze.

She had nowhere to run, but her stubborn attitude never changed.

"Even if you can rescue me now, what will you do next..."

"I came to save you in the name of the 'Qianze' family. Do you understand what this means?"

"That is……"

Lan Ming knew that Aika had been rejecting this sudden identity from beginning to end.

"When we were about to leave August, you came to invite me to be your knight. I should have said this..."

——Maybe one day, I will become an enemy of the empire. At that time, if I were your knight, I would be in all kinds of troubles.

"……do you remember?"

"Of course I remember... I can understand your determination in this answer, but I absolutely cannot accept it..." Lan Ming couldn't hide his unwillingness, "Even now... I can't accept it..."

"I accept the responsibility of being your knight, but cannot accept the title."

"..."

This sentence was also what Aika said when he rejected Lan Ming, and now he said it again in front of Lan Ming.

"But now you have more troubles than I do, and now we are both enemies of the empire. Therefore, I can legitimately fulfill my responsibilities as a knight."

Lan Ming's eyes had already overflowed with tears. Her fragile heart no longer allowed her to rely on anyone's tenderness, which would only bring more disasters.

Even if his supporters believe in him now that the radicals are in power, Lan Ming can no longer rely on anyone's power.

Therefore, having lost the concept of time and existence in the dark underground cell, loneliness has penetrated her fragile heart.

"Lan Ming, now I am here to greet you as your knight. I am also an enemy of the empire, so my identity is worth using, right?"

Aika smiled provocatively at Lan Ming in his arms, but Lan Ming reached out and pushed his chest away.

She tried to stand up by herself, but failed. Charlotte quickly supported Her Royal Highness's swaying body from the side.

"I don't need to use your identity..."

Lan Ming said to him without allowing Aika to question, and the confident expression returned to this tired face.

Without the high heels, Lan Ming looked even smaller than Aika remembered, but there was no sign of weakness in the eyes that looked up at him slightly.

"It is the duty of a knight to wield a sword to protect me. Aika Chise, can you bear this honor?"

The slightly raised corners of his mouth were Lan Ming's small revenge on Aika driven by his pride.

…………