Unlike Lilin, Setsuna was not accompanied by her knight group. She came alone on her lonesome, giving the distinct impression that she was just present to play around.

The soldiers could feel that she was a Duke so they did not underestimate her but even so, unless one was a Duke close to the power of a King, Dukes had no power to change the course of the entire battlefield alone with no support.

Unless they were a Duke with a zone specialized in warfare.

Sitting in her quarter, a special place that had been prepared for her as she was a VIP, Setsuna drank some water while observing the only one who came with her.

There was one thing that needed to be corrected. While she was not coming with an army in the open, in her opinion. She was already doing so. She doubted many armies in the mortal world could stand properly in front of the woman in front of her.

Isis.

“So. What do you think?”

“Honestly? I don’t have much to say.”

Isis scratched her head as she looked around. “In my place, since we have so many dead, Father likes to organize large-scale wars to train his army. Compared to the number of people fighting there….”

She didn’t need to say more. After all, for people from the Astral world, the wars in the mortal realm were basically nothing more than some childish spats.

“Though if there is one difference. The energy of despair here is far greater.”

Isis spoke quietly. She might look down at the scale of the war itself. For her, all life was precious even if not equal, and seeing so much death saddened her.

“I hope this war will end soon.”

“It will.”

Setsuna nodded. It was hard to say whether she was talking to herself or Isis now.

Setsuna, like many beast men who lived in Lustburg for that matter, was feeling very complicated.

Setsuna had been living in Lustburg for more than ten years now. She grew up, was raised and enjoyed many resources. In terms of simple time, she had spent more time living in Lustburg than in Wratharis.

She considered herself a citizen of Lustburg and was loyal not only to the kingdom but to the royal family.

At the same time…Wratharis was her homeland.

Even though all those she loved died. There was no denying that this was her homeland and that many people died to help her survive the chase of the Tyrant when she was still small and helpless.

The current war was painful for her. Very much so as she felt her sense of identity being torn apart.

The way the soldiers looked at her did not help.

Lustburg in general was a melting pot. While discrimination and racism may exist, they were very self-contained in some old noble house. The majority did not care.

The fact that a Half dwarf like Hermes Travers was allowed to be one of the four Duke was proof enough.

But such rationality tended to vanish during times of grief.

The soldiers looked at her and what they saw wasn’t Setsuna, the fiancee of the prince and also a soldier of Lustburg.

What they saw was Setsuna Ira. The princess of Wratharis is a Blessed and representative of the people who killed those they cared about.

The way the beast men looked at her wasn’t kind either. Be it beast men from Lustburg or those from Wratharis.

A traitor to her homeland. Someone ready to sell her body for power or revenge. She could her the news and while she knew that this was mostly a propaganda spread by Wratharis to discredit her toward the populace, she knew that many people believed in it, and in a way — They weren’t wrong.

Sol was not some good saint fighting for the freedom of Wratharis and she knew that he intended to use her Blessings to have more legitimacy in ruling Wratharis and start ruling the world itself.

Even so, a certain hypocrisy existed as they threw all their plight on her, making her the sole cause of all their pain. It was funny in a way. Funny and painful.

“Are you alright?”

“I am. Do not worry.”

She gave a calm smile and looked up as she could feel someone approaching.

“Princess. Athena Highland and Ares Highland would like to enter.”

“Enter.”

The moment she gave permission, two young people, one man and a woman with matching hair color entered the tent.

They were both clad in armor with a splash of blood on it. The exhaustion of their face was clear for everyone to see but their expression was still steadfast.

The moment they entered, a certain relaxation came as they took a seat a little further.

“I apologize for the blood. I came directly from the battlefield and we did not have much time to wash.”

“Don’t worry. We are both knights of his majesty, there is no need for formality between the two of us. As for you Ares you are more or less a friend of his majesty.”

“You didn’t need to add the More or less part, you know?”

Ares smiled a little before nodding to Isis as a form of salute.

Athena meanwhile laughed, “I might be the most useless knight in existence then since his majesty never called me for his service.”

While Athena was Sol’s knight in name, she had never even spent the night in Babel’s tower, much less following Sol as he did his official duty.

Calling her a Royal knight in this situation was pretty laughable.

“Well, enough pleasantry. Setsuna, Miss Isis. While I would be delighted in joking around more with you, I came as the bearer of important news.”

The air grew solemn as Athena continued,

“As you know. Tension has been growing as soldiers complained about why they had to fight when a Blessed was present. After all, your presence alone could serve as a deterrent. No soldier of Wratharis can harm you.”

She shook her head, “Some Higher also proposed to use you as bait to force Wratharis to send one of their Kings first in action. Doing so would break the covenant and Lustburg would be able to complain at the international meeting. Putting this war to an end and gaining much compensation in return.”

“They are a bunch of wretches who know nothing of honor. But their voices are becoming louder and harder to suppress.”

Ares added. He had always been more on the intellectual side of things and he admitted that many of the plans proposed, while scummy, were in reality very efficient. This would bring much less waste in human resources while ensuring victories.

All of this by sacrificing one woman. Many called for simply delivering Setsuna to Wratharis after making a deal with Lupus.

“We have spies in our midst who are contacting the higher-ups. But it isn’t a problem. Those spies are going to die anyway.”

Athena was calm. This was something they already anticipated and were prepared for.

“Anyway, now the perfect occasion you have been waiting for is incoming. My only question is —- Will you be able to rise up to the challenge?”

“What does it mean?”

“A sage is coming. The Peng King, known as the fastest of their group.”

Setsuna grinned. The gloom that had been settling in her heart slowly vanished.

She had been waiting for an occasion and it seemed like one had been served to her.