{🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please support me.🥰 You can access upto 100+ advance chapter through Patreon by using the link: https://patreon.com/Oreski}
"No!" Marianne was startled, "Please, think of your status, Your Highness!"
Although she secretly disdained Euphemia's naïveté, Marianne knew very well that Euphemia was still the Third Princess of the Britannian Empire—an imperial figurehead who bore the dignity and symbolic authority of the royal family.
Euphemia remained quiet, her expression soft but resolute. Her silence spoke louder than words—her will was set.
"If Your Royal Highness insists, then I have no choice."
The tense air in the Governor's office shifted as faint echoes of footsteps and murmuring emerged beyond the polished doors.
Marianne, ever alert, noticed Shen He and his group entering from the shadows. Instinctively, she reached for the emergency alarm embedded in the desk—but she never made it. An invisible force hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her to the ground without even a whisper of movement.
"Marianne!" Euphemia gasped.
"She's fine," Shen He reassured, eyes calm as he stepped forward. He glanced briefly at Euphemia, whose bewildered expression softened the sharpness of her noble image.
With flowing pink hair cascading like silk, she was indeed stunning—barely sixteen, but possessing a serenity that contrasted with her youthful appearance.
"Who are you?" Euphemia asked, mustering her courage while suppressing the panic rising in her chest.
This was the Governor-General's residence, fortified with guards and surveillance. The emergency button was designed to alert high-level responders within seconds. If she shouted, backup should arrive instantly.
But the composure—and oddity—of this group unsettled her. Shen He still held two small girls in each arm, their innocence at odds with the scene. They were not assassins. They didn't even act hostile.
"What do I even say…" Shen He tilted his head, his steps slow and deliberate. "We're friends of someone you once met. Someone… important."
"Friends of someone I met?" Euphemia echoed, confused.
She tried to comb through her memory, but no one came to mind.
"Your Royal Highness Euphemia," Shen He looked at her intently, pausing as if to gauge her reaction. "Do you not understand yet? As long as your father remains on the throne, Britannia's discriminatory policies will persist. No matter your ideals, you alone cannot change the system."
"…" Euphemia stayed quiet for a moment, then whispered, "If I do nothing, then nothing changes."
"An idealist, huh." Shen He sighed inwardly.
Only someone who truly pursued ideals would continue to act—even in the face of hopeless odds.
"Then… what did you come here for?"
Though her voice trembled slightly, Euphemia stood tall, calm despite her fear. She was a princess—trained for diplomacy and poised in crisis.
"Well, to be honest…" Shen He grinned and pulled a rope from his bag, "This is a kidnapping. Please cooperate, Your Highness."
"…Kidnapping?" Euphemia blinked, stunned.
Her gaze scanned the strange group. A serene young woman who seemed too gentle to hurt anyone, two wide-eyed girls who looked more like dolls than accomplices, and a boy who, while silent, didn't radiate menace.
It was absurd. It felt like a joke.
But reality hit when her hands were swiftly bound with soft rope, her mouth sealed with glossy tape, and a sleek black collar snapped around her neck.
This really was a kidnapping!
"Master, why the collar?" Jeanne asked in a whisper, inching closer with innocent curiosity.
"You don't want to know, Jeanne." Shen He chuckled vaguely.
Jeanne blinked, puzzled. But nearby, Misaka Mikoto Alter's cheeks flushed red—clearly, she'd thought of something… less innocent.
Euphemia didn't understand their language. That made everything worse. As her surroundings blurred, she realized she was no longer in the Governor's mansion. Somehow—instantly—she had been transported into a truck.
If her mouth hadn't been gagged, she would've screamed.
Now, she trembled softly in the corner of the vehicle. This had turned into a surreal nightmare.
"Don't worry," came Joan's soft voice. "We won't hurt you."
Unable to bear her pitiful expression, Joan reached out, gently removing the tape and loosening the ropes. She hesitated at the collar—then undid that too.
Shen He sighed in regret. The adorable image of a pampered noble girl in captivity was already gone.
Soon, the sound of sirens wailed in the distance. Britannia's security forces had clearly realized the Governor-General had vanished.
"Master," Qi Mu Nanxiong's voice rang telepathically in Shen He's mind from the driver's seat. "There's a blockade ahead."
"Can we bypass it?"
"I can alter our appearance—but not fake ID documents."
Qi Mu Nanxiong was an honest citizen back in his world. Criminal skills, even with superpowers, weren't his specialty.
"No helping it—let's teleport."
This kind of mundane arrest was beneath them. For Shen He, the thought of being captured by ordinary soldiers was humiliating.
Before the convoy could halt, Shen He and the others shimmered and disappeared from space.
A second later, armed guards burst into view. Spotting them, a squad leader shouted, "There! That's the Governor-General!"
Caught off guard by the sudden appearance, soldiers raised their rifles and opened fire—too late.
A crackle of black electricity flashed across the air. In an instant, Misaka Mikoto Alter unleashed a devastating pulse, downing every soldier like falling dominoes.
Just a bump in the road.
Shen He exhaled, guiding Euphemia forward when—
A trembling hand grabbed his ankle.
He looked down. One of the soldiers, still shaking from the electric shock, had latched onto him.
"L-Let go… Your Lord Governor…!"
Despite his convulsions, the soldier refused to release his grip.
"This guy…" Shen He grumbled.
Misaka Mikoto Alter snorted and kicked—lightly, but enough current pulsed through to cause more violent twitching. Not enough to kill, but far from painless.
Yet… the soldier still held tight.
"…You zapped me too, you know," Shen He grumbled, wincing.
"You were in the way," Misaka Mikoto Alter huffed and kicked again, sparks flying.
"Stop! Please!" Euphemia cried, flinging herself in front of the soldier. "Don't hurt him!"
Her eyes were red with worry. He had risked his life—his soul—to protect her. How could she stand by?
Shen He studied the two of them: the noble-hearted girl and the soldier clutching his ankle.
Something clicked.
"What's your name?" he asked, narrowing his gaze.
The soldier couldn't speak. But Qi Mu Nanxiong answered through telepathy.
—Kururugi Suzaku.
The name struck Shen He like a jolt of lightning.
Looking at Euphemia… then at the soldier… he realized he might've just catalyzed the infamous tragedy of Knight Ji Wangdao with his own hands.
{ Enjoying the chapters? Please Support me on Patreon and unlock 100+ advanced chapters, with 3 new chapters released every two days!
patreon.com/Oreski}