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The atmosphere on the first floor of Emilia's palace was so delicate that no one even dared to breathe too loudly, and even the usually peppy and enthusiastic Penny stood in her spot stiffly without making a sound.
As beautiful as the crimson-haired girl in front of them was, with her glacial eyes hidden under those long lashes as she held the palm of the unconscious girl on the bed, they couldn't help but feel a certain sense of terror in their hearts.
When she first received news of only half of Dixie's team coming back, their usually calm princess had immediately rushed over to the other end of the tunnel regardless of anyone's protests.
It was only because of her blood that Cindy, who was almost on her last breath and had almost no hope of making it back alive, was able to survive. But that clearly wasn't enough to put their princess in a good mood.
"I clearly said that if things look too dangerous, everyone must retreat silently. Did I not?"
No one dared to refute her words, and even Dixie, who had been infuriated at being tricked by Cindy before, only kept her head bowed silently.
It was true that many of their teammates had perished, and they even failed to kill their target in the end. Moreover, if not for her having already lost any hope of killing the enemy, and also spotting one of her still-breathing teammates who could be rescued, perhaps Cindy wouldn't even have retreated at all.
She'd already been wounded fatally, after all, and from the moment she charged in, Cindy had no intentions of coming back alive.
This was a clear violation of Emilia's words, and no matter how they all understood it in their hearts, no one could justify Cindy's actions in front of their princess.
Their hearts beat frantically in their chests as they waited for their 'sentence', only for the crimson-haired beauty to sigh in defeat.
"Alright… everyone except for Crystal, Penny, and Dixie can leave. Since you were just following orders from your superiors and couldn't be sure if they followed my intentions correctly, I won't blame you. In fact… I'm sorry for blaming you just now. I was a little… um, I couldn't control myself. Forgive me."
Tears filled their eyes, and the soldiers who had 'run away' felt so ashamed of themselves that they didn't even dare to step forward to comfort their princess with words.
After all, even if she gave them a way out, they understood better than anyone else that they'd all 'agreed' with Cindy to disobey Emilia at that moment.
They thought that no matter what the results were, so long as they were able to help their princess even a little, it was but a small price to pay. How could they be reluctant?
But when they really saw the faint mist in her eyes, a feeling of intense regret emerged from their hearts.
Instead of being blamed or cursed at, the feeling of having betrayed her expectations was much, much worse.
They didn't dare to make eye contact with their princess while leaving, and could only silently implore Crystal on their way out.
Of course, while the blonde girl understood how they felt, she was in no mood to pay much attention to these people at the moment.
The only thing she cared about now was the intense sorrow emanating from her girlfriend.
Crystal couldn't help but bite her lower lip nervously. 'How could things have become like this?'
She'd clearly made sure that everyone's emotions were in place before they left. From Dixie and Cindy to the regular soldiers, no one had even a hint of deceptive thoughts against their empress. If anything, their loyalty and passion for her shone like the burning sun in the sky, almost blinding.
Moreover, their target this time had nothing to do with Cindy's 'vendetta', and no one else accompanying Dixie had any 'weakness' associated with the task either.
The only 'irrational' factor that the blonde girl had been worried about had been Dixie, who was not only brash and overconfident, but also unreasonably passionate about Emilia's will.
She thought that as long as she gave Cindy something that could knock Dixie out if needed, they would have no issues advancing or retreating as they pleased.
It was only now that Crystal realized that she had been too na?ve.
With only the few of them around, Dixie was the first to step forward and break the silence.
"E-Emily… I-I'm sorry…"
The crimson-haired beauty looked up at her, and her lips slowly turned into a gentle smile. "… What are you sorry for? Depending on your answer, I might not be very happy."
Dixie was stunned for only a moment, but with her blunt and honest nature in front of Emilia, she didn't even think about hiding her thoughts. "F-For everything. I-I mean, I wasn't able to complete the task, but more importantly, I… I really might have overestimated myself and charged in if not for Cindy. I-I was mad at that time, but I realize it now."
In fact, Dixie was infinitely grateful that she only woke up when Cindy was being 'rescued' by her princess, and hadn't had time to spout nonsense. Otherwise, wouldn't she have made Emilia more upset?
Crystal could also tell that the dark-haired girl was truly regretful. Even if her reasoning was strange, and her regret mostly stemmed from the fact that 'her princess would be really sad if we died, so it's not worth it' than any actual value attached to the soldiers or even her own life, since she didn't voice those twisted thoughts out, it should be enough to please Emilia slightly.
And as the blonde expected, the gloom in the crimson-haired beauty's eyes really did fade slightly after listening to Dixie's words, and her smile turned more genuine. "It's good that you understand. Then… you also go and wait for me outside, alright?"
The dark-haired girl was momentarily stunned, but seeing how serious her princess looked, she could only give her one last reluctant look before joining the stunned soldiers outside the door. Of course, none of them dared to squeak in the face of her dark expression.
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