Nova glanced at the second prince, whom he was holding by the waist, for a brief moment before turning his gaze back to the road ahead and asking, "Do you know where the army camp is?"

After Osvald, under Nova's not-so-veiled threats, had agreed to follow him voluntarily, Nova had immediately congratulated Wulfric on the imminent rise of the Lotra Kingdom before grabbing Osvald and speeding off toward the Empire. Now, less than an hour after leaving the royal palace, Nova decided it was time to dig for some information.

Osvald quietly said, "The elite army camp is near the Empire's capital city, Spira."

Nova smiled faintly, but contrary to his expression, his grip on Osvald's waist tightened as he hissed, "You forgot to point to the location."

Terrified, the second prince pointed a shaky finger northeast and stammered, "T-There. The army camp is there."

'Now I know where to go,' Nova thought with a nod, loosening his grip. "It seems like you aren't a fool. Next question, who's Senna?"

Why do I feel like I'm a hostage and not a new recruit? Osvald thought. But not wanting to anger this elite knight by hesitating too long, he answered, "Senna is revered as the strongest commander in Vireah and one of the Empire's pillars. He's righteous and loyal to the Emperor. That's all I know…"

Nova thought, 'No wonder the token had Wulfric frantically running out of the palace. If he disobeyed and I reported to Senna, he would probably lose his head. It also seems like Tairo was one of the knights valued by him. I doubt there are many others who go around carrying the Commander's token. What a stroke of luck.'

Pleased with the information he had gathered, Nova said, "Good, that's enough. I know princes of vassal kingdoms like you wouldn't know too much about the Empire's workings. Don't worry, you'll learn more at the army camp."

Osvald frowned but kept silent. Being looked down on by someone else, when he had always been the one to look down on others, left a sour taste in his mouth. But he couldn't do anything about it. As long as I reach the army camp, he won't be able to do anything to me. I can train and become stronger. Once I'm strong enough, I'll make him grovel at my feet and repay this humiliation tenfold, he thought.

Nova didn't know what Osvald was plotting, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. What concerned him more was keeping his use of mana hidden from the second prince. This was the reason that, even after three hours of travel, he wasn't even halfway to his destination.

'I wanted to give you some peaceful time before we reached the army camp, but you're so stubborn you won't even fall asleep,' he thought. Having run out of patience, Nova struck the back of Osvald's neck, causing the latter's body to go limp. Nova finally heaved a sigh.

"I can speed up now."

The wind howled as Nova's speed multiplied several times, his shadow seemingly vanishing into the distance.

An hour later, the wind receded and Nova muttered, "I should be close, probably just a few hundred kilometers away. With Senna around, it's best if I don't cause trouble near the army camp."

"Tairo!"

As he sped onward, a voice called out from several kilometers away. Nova didn't slow down. 'It starts now,' he thought with a frown, turning his head to see a knight running at his side.

The knight was smiling. "How's it going?" He glanced at Osvald. "Is that the current target of your mission? He doesn't seem like much." He reached forward, about to poke Osvald, when Nova's eyebrow twitched.

"Now isn't the time for this," Nova said coldly, his speed edging higher as he tried to pull away.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The knight quickly caught up, his expression sobering at Nova's tone. "Is it bad?" he asked.

Nova gave him a brief nod.

"Then let me help you." The knight waved his hand, and his aura reached out, wrapping around Nova. Nova instinctively resisted before stopping himself and allowing it. The moment the aura enveloped him, the knight's speed exploded.

'Fourth stage? What are the chances of running into a fourth-stage knight as soon as I enter the Empire?' Nova sighed inwardly, though not a trace of it showed on his face.

With the fourth-stage knight carrying him, and the camp already relatively close, it wasn't long before the duo arrived.

When the knights standing guard recognized them, they immediately called out, "Jeffrey! Tairo!"

Jeffrey, the knight who had brought Nova here, smiled and waved. "Relax, there's no need to always shout." Then, turning to Nova, he asked, "Tairo, do you need help with this?" He gestured toward Osvald.

'If a high-ranking knight takes care of Osvald, the little prince won't be bored for a moment,' Nova thought. With a solemn expression, he lowered his voice and said, "Please, take care of him. If possible, try to get as much information from him as you can, he's suspected of involvement in a possible rebellion."

"What?!" Jeffrey blurted out before quickly regaining his composure. "Are you sure?"

Nova nodded firmly.

Jeffrey didn't doubt him. He had known Tairo for so long, fought beside him as a comrade, how could he question him now? His gaze hardened as he looked at Osvald. "Alright. Go report to the Commander. I'll handle this one."

The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced with a cold and merciless glare. To Jeffrey, anyone who dared rebel against the Vireah Empire deserved only death, and not a shred of pity.

Seeing this, Nova smirked. 'This little prince will have hell rain down on him as soon as he wakes up.' He handed Osvald over and scanned the camp, quickly spotting the largest tent. 'That must be the Commander's.' Without hesitation, he strode toward it, as if he couldn't wait to deliver such urgent news.

Jeffrey, still standing where Nova had left him, glanced at Osvald and muttered coldly, "You think you can rebel, huh? I'll show you what happens to rebels." A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he dragged the unconscious prince toward a tent at the outskirts of the camp.

////

"Commander, I'm here to report an urgent matter," Nova announced from outside the largest tent.

"Come in."

Stepping inside, he found a middle-aged man seated at a desk, eyes fixed on a stack of documents. 'This is the Empire's Commander? Judging by his appearance, I never would have guessed,' Nova thought.

Without looking up, Senna said, "Isn't it urgent? Go on."

"Sir," Nova began, "on my journey to Larmida, I discovered that the three kingdoms are colluding. They're preparing to rebel."

The air instantly grew heavier, pressing down on him until even breathing became difficult.

'This… is this above the fourth stage? Fifth? I can't tell. I've never felt anything like this from others,' Nova thought, fighting to remain composed.

Senna lifted his gaze and fixed it on "Tairo." His voice was firm. "Those are heavy accusations. If you aren't certain, you could implicate the three kingdoms in a war they do not deserve. Explain everything clearly."

Nova nodded and recounted the events in detail: the suspicious "meetings" between the three kingdoms' armies, and how the man he was sent to escort back turned out to be one of the secret knights that Lotra had been training in the shadows.

"Sir," Nova continued, his tone that of a dutiful soldier, "I couldn't bring that knight back. He was at the third stage, strong enough to kill my two colleagues. Under those circumstances, I had to use the Second Sword to slay him. But I didn't return empty-handed. I captured the second prince. We may be able to extract information from him."

The commander sat in silence, his expression unreadable. Nova waited patiently.

At last, Senna said, "I understand. Go back and be ready for war at any time. You're dismi—" He paused, then slowly asked, "Did my granddaughter leave you any message?"

'Shit. Who's his granddaughter? Judging from the way he asked, they might not be close. Maybe he doesn't expect a message at all. If I say something, I risk blowing my cover. Better to stay silent.'

Nova gave a slight shake of his head.

Senna sighed.

"Sir, I have a request," Nova said.

Senna looked up at him again. "What is it?"

"Since we're about to enter war, I'd like to train in Senna's art once more," Nova said tentatively.

The commander frowned. "Don't you have a copy?"

'Tairo, oh Tairo… where did you hide your copy?' Nova sighed and replied, "I destroyed it while fighting the knight from Lotra. At the time, I thought I was going to die and didn't want him to get his hands on it."

Senna considered those words. They made sense, if anything, they revealed how loyal Tairo was. With a wave of his hand, a booklet floated across the room and landed before Nova as Senna's deep voice rang out: "Take it, and go."

Nova fought to keep the smile from his face. He bowed lightly, then hastily left with the book in hand.

"…She still hasn't forgiven me?" Senna murmured into the silence.

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