“Um… do we really have to go this far?”

“Of course, we do. The Bohemia region is almost completely under the control of Heretic Forces, unlike Münhel. In other words, it’s a place where clergy can easily get shot if they accidentally stumble in.”

“Ugh…”

At some point, Polena started to subtly rebel against the situation.

With Polena’s help, Cazerose was changing her clothes inside the carriage.

In this moment, she was taking off her usual clerical outfit and putting on an inconspicuous traveler’s garb.

Additionally, the symbol of a Paladin was hidden away in her belongings.

Feeling rather reluctant, she appeared just like an ordinary traveler, and as she looked at Cazerose, Polena slowly nodded in approval.

“Well… it is certainly simple, but it suits you well.”

With a surprisingly satisfied expression, Polena gazed at Cazerose.

Cazerose felt a bit flustered and hurriedly stepped out of the carriage.

Watching her rush out, Polena began to look on with a warm gaze, as if a mother were watching her daughter.

‘Really… they look so alike.’

*

The Bohemia region, which rose against the newly crowned Emperor Sijip.

Located at the midpoint between the south and north of the Empire, this place originally served as a buffer between the Heretic and Church forces, but now, it was almost entirely under the control of the Heretic forces, rebelling against the oppressively obvious policies of the Emperor.

Leading these Heretic forces was Count Turun Andreas, head of the ancient Andreas family—a prominent noble among the 13 Nobles of Bohemia—deeply troubled about the future.

Although the rebellion had been successful, and he had managed to oust the noble collaborators with the Emperor, it didn’t mean the situation was resolved.

In fact, one could argue that the real crisis was about to begin.

‘The rebellion succeeded, but the Emperor won’t just sit back. He’ll surely dispatch troops here soon. And it’ll be nearly impossible to fend them off with just Bohemia’s forces.’

The army of Bohemia, while strong and led by Turun, who possessed considerable magical power, was primarily composed of mages capable of wielding magic—a unique advantage.

Turun had honed his talent from a young age, almost reaching the level of a Great Mage.

In fact, during this rebellion, he had single-handedly sent the Emperor’s envoy flying out a window with just a flick of his hand, proving he could triumph over most mages within the Empire.

However, despite Turun’s formidable combat abilities, the Emperor’s army was still powerful.

Although it might not be able to mobilize a massive force of nearly a hundred thousand like in its heyday, it could still easily muster several thousand troops.

The talented mages under the Emperor’s command were too numerous to count on fingers, and among those leading the forces was none other than the famous Great Mage Tilly.

The Empire’s top commander and one of the few individuals Turun could not guarantee victory against in a direct confrontation.

With Tilly’s participation in the impending war nearly certain, Turun found himself in desperate need of new allies, but prospects were slim.

Despite being at the forefront of the uprising, even now, other heretic lords across the Empire were timidly glancing at the Emperor, reluctant to act hastily.

The only option for potential support was the neighboring Palatinate Region, and at that moment, the Elector was leading a meager contingent towards their location, but truthfully, their military strength was minimal and nearly devoid of mages.

It was purely a hasty augmentation of numbers, better than nothing yet not something to rely upon.

Turning attention to foreign countries seemed to cross a line, so Turun had to set that aside for now.

The bottom line was that they needed to win with their own strength, whatever the cost.

To that end, Turun worked tirelessly to mobilize as many troops as possible while tightening internal military discipline.

‘I must gather at least one more soldier… one more mage, if possible. For us.. and for the survival of the heretic forces in this Empire…’

Lost in thought, Turun slowly looked up at the sky.

At that moment, a certain person’s image, one he missed dearly, began to fill his heart.

‘If that child had been here, would I have to be burdened with these worries? Back then… if only I had been a little kinder to that child…’

That lost child, now vanished without a trace, lingered in Turun’s mind, and a bittersweet feeling began to swirl within him.

*

After putting on proper disguises, we stepped into Bohemia Castle.

The first impression was far more tense than we had expected.

“This feels… really like a battlefield.”

“To be precise, we’d say it’s on the brink of war. The last rumor we heard in Münhel said the Emperor decided to take action.”

As soon as we completely left the Münhel region, news of the Emperor’s crackdown on heretics reached us.

This news was practically a declaration of war, and not just I but others began to realize what was about to happen.

“…That means the Emperor’s army will soon be marching here.”

“That’s likely. And if that happens, I believe my master will protect this fragile Polena.”

“Uh-huh…”

Even in such a situation, Polena casually tossed out jokes.

I coughed softly to brush off her words and started absorbing the scenes unfolding before me.

Outside the city, at the training grounds, countless new recruits were wielding weapons, training.

On the castle walls, they were checking artillery and other defenses, while soldiers patrolled the area, weapon in hand, maintaining a thorough watch.

‘How should I put it… It feels like a state of emergency has been declared. Regardless of the side, once in a wartime state, the atmosphere just changes entirely…’

Though the visible scenery of the city was beautiful, the many soldiers bustling about left no room for appreciating that beauty.

And ultimately…

Knowing this city would soon turn to ashes made the current scene feel all the more fleeting.

‘Well… anyway, since we’re here, let’s rest for a day and leave right away. If we stay here too long, getting caught up in the war would be a real headache.’

I wanted to get out of here right away.

But we needed to buy new supplies, the horses pulling our carriage needed rest, and we ourselves needed to recharge.

Feeling akin to sitting on a bed of thorns, we dropped off the carriage at the inn and headed towards the market.

Fortunately, it looked as though normal business was still being conducted despite the tense atmosphere.

Relieved, we moved deeper into the market to buy bread, fruits, and dried meat.

Just then…

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

“It seems like something’s happening…”

A group of people and soldiers crowded around a certain spot.

Seeing the alleyway nearly completely blocked, we briefly considered turning back, but since we didn’t know the area well, we decided to head toward it.

‘What on earth is going on to block the street like this…?’

With that thought, my gaze involuntarily wandered inside, trying to catch what was happening.

Then…

“Eh?”

“…Those people are definitely…”

In dull surprise, both Cazerose and I stared at two familiar faces…

Paladin Nune and Tine were there.

“Let go! I said let go, you scum!”

“You dare do this to a Paladin!? Aren’t you afraid of the heavens!”

The two were being dragged away by the soldiers, shouting about being Paladins in this Heretic Domain, leading to a moment of stunned silence between Cazerose and me as we stared at them.