Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 640

Anna had urged Scarlett to leave without offering any explanation, but leaving the battlefield without a valid reason was not an option for most. Only someone like Ludwig, who had sustained debilitating injuries, could depart without question. For everyone else, permission was mandatory; leaving without it would be seen as desertion. Yet Anna had simply told Scarlett it was better for her not to be there, without elaborating.

Fortunately, Scarlett understood that beneath Anna’s somber and brooding exterior, she was not a bad person. Anna wouldn’t have said something like that without a good reason. Trusting Anna’s judgment, Scarlett went directly to her teacher and military superior, Ms. Mustang.

She confessed that she was too exhausted and miserable to continue, and pleaded to be sent back to the Temple. She explained that she felt like a ticking time bomb, and if she remained on the battlefield, she would only harm her allies.

Scarlett never mentioned Anna’s reasons. She believed there had to be a reason why Anna was so adamant about keeping the information from Cristina. The desperation in Anna’s eyes couldn’t be ignored.

Naturally, Ms. Mustang was taken aback. Scarlett, who had always done her job without complaint, had suddenly come to her and declared she was exhausted and wanted to go home.

From the teacher’s perspective, it was unexpected, almost like a tantrum. In a military unit at war, any soldier demanding to be sent home wouldn’t be taken seriously. Many soldiers felt the same way. If they could all leave whenever they wished, the Allied Forces wouldn’t hold together. While some stayed in the military just for the meals, many of those who had faced the terror of death often wanted to abandon it all.

Scarlett knew she couldn’t just ask to be sent back without a valid reason. But she wasn’t just any student. As a member of the Temple Royal Class, she had achieved far more than the average soldier. While she might not have been on the same level as Heinrich or Ellen, who could take down monsters with astonishing ease, each student in the Royal Class was exceptional in their own way.

Ms. Mustang, however, misread Scarlett’s request.

Despite her outward composure, Scarlett was just as exhausted and worn down as everyone else. Though she hadn’t shown it, Ms. Mustang sensed that Scarlett’s heart was aching, her emotions festering inside until they finally erupted.

“Yes, Scarlett, you’ve worked hard,” Ms. Mustang reassured her. “I’ll speak with the higher-ups. You’ve earned a break. Let the others handle what’s left. Don’t feel guilty; you’ve done your part.”

“Teacher...” Scarlett murmured, feeling comforted by Ms. Mustang’s words.

Even though Scarlett had a valid reason for leaving the battlefield, she had chosen not to share it. Instead, she made a sudden, childish request to abandon the war, and Ms. Mustang had embraced her warmly. Overwhelmed, Scarlett broke down in tears in Ms. Mustang’s arms.

In the end, Scarlett managed to secure her return to the capital, Gradium, via teleportation without revealing her true reason for leaving.

This meant she couldn’t properly say goodbye to her friends. All she had in her mind were Anna’s words, urging her to leave quickly without further explanation. Scarlett sensed there was something significant behind those words.

***

Typically, the return or dispatch of a single soldier wouldn’t be a noteworthy event in the military. But the Royal Class was a small outfit, and the absence of even one person was noticeable. So, when Scarlett, who had been performing her duties flawlessly, was suddenly dispatched elsewhere, it quickly became the talk of the unit.

During a meal break while on the march, Lanian Sesor raised an eyebrow as he listened to Connor Lint’s account of Scarlett’s unexpected return to Gradium.

“Scarlett went back? Just like that?”

Connor, always curious about the happenings around him, had been the first to notice Scarlett’s absence.

“I wondered if something was up since she wasn’t around, but they said she went back,” he said.

“Is something wrong?” Lanian asked.

“Who knows?” Connor replied. “She might be the type to keep things bottled up, even if she doesn’t say much.”

Erhi, who had a strained relationship with Scarlett due to past grievances, didn’t seem too pleased by the news. They had crossed the line between life and death too many times together to dwell on any past bullying. Those old wounds had been overshadowed by far greater events, transforming them into entirely different people, but guilt and grudges don’t simply vanish.

The few of them sat together, eating some preserved food without the comfort of a dining tent. Erhi chewed his hardtack with a grim expression.

“She seemed sick. If even the priests couldn’t help, it must be serious, right? Serious enough to send her back to the capital,” Cristina said with a sigh as she recalled seeing Scarlett looking unwell just the day before.

If even the priests’ Divine Power could not heal her, it made sense for Scarlett to return to the rear.

Anna stayed silent, quietly nibbling her bread, offering no words or opinions.

There weren’t many of them left. Ludwig and Ellen had stopped coming to meals at some point. Heinrich often marched with the Kernstadt army, and Evia, who worked as a messenger for headquarters, was the hardest to catch sight of.

Only a few classmates from the Royal Class second-year remained.

Louis, Anna, Cristina, Adelia, Connor Lint, Erhi, Kaier, Cliffman, and Lanian Sesor... The original twenty-two members from Class A and B had dwindled to just this small group.

“She was sick? Her?” Lint asked, surprised.

Cristina nodded in response.

“I gave her a tonic because she didn’t seem too ill, but maybe it didn’t work?”

Anna had done her best to keep Scarlett quiet, and although Scarlett had not understood why, she had done as she was told.

Unfortunately, Scarlett had only spoken about what had happened to the grand duke’s golem, and never mentioned who it was that had actually taken her to his camp.

“Hm? I don’t think she left because she was hurt. You don’t need to worry about that,” Adelia said.

What Anna did not realize was that the secret would only remain safe if Adelia was silenced as well.

At Adelia’s sudden remark, Anna’s eyes widened. She fixed Adelia with a desperate stare. But a stare alone could say nothing.

“So she didn’t leave because she was sick? Then why?” Cristina asked, puzzled.

“Oh, actually...” Anna watched as Adelia hesitated, biting her lip before finally speaking.

When Adelia revealed the truth, Cristina’s eyes widened in surprise.

The others were just as shocked. Scarlett’s power, which was supposed to grant her immunity, had the unintended ability to nullify other things as well. The fact that she might be able to accidentally nullify Titan was staggering. Her power posed a greater threat to her allies than to her enemies.

Now that they understood the gravity of the situation, they all nodded blankly, comprehending why Scarlett had to leave so abruptly.

“That’s why I joined you guys on the march today—to confirm if Scarlett really left,” Adelia explained.

Everyone accepted her reasoning. If Scarlett’s departure wasn’t due to illness but because of the unintended effects of her power, they couldn’t blame her.

Louis was as stunned as the others as he listened to the story. However, Cristina’s reaction was slightly different.

“Ah... I see?” Cristina murmured, her voice laced with a hint of revelation. It was as if she had uncovered a hidden truth, as if she had confirmed a suspicion. Adelia remained clueless, though the look in Cristina’s eyes sent a chill down her spine.

With a knowing smile, Cristina shifted her focus away from Adelia, and her eyes landed on Anna.

“So that’s what that secret talk was about...” she mused.

Anna, her face drained of color, looked down and trembled. Louis Ankton, standing nearby, could only stare at her in bewilderment.

“Secret talk? What do you mean?” Adelia asked, her curiosity piqued.

Cristina smiled reassuringly. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“...”

Adelia couldn’t shake a feeling of unease, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on where it was coming from.

***

A little while later, just before the army was set to march, Cristina was perched on a rock ledge at the edge of their route. Louis stood nearby, unsure of what to say, while Anna sat facing Cristina, who was waiting expectantly.

“Cristina, I... It’s not what you think,” Anna stammered.

Cristina tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Not what I think? What do you mean by that?”

Anna stood there, pale and trembling, while Louis, at a loss for words, could only bite his lip.

“You mean the fact you kept something from us, something we all needed to know?” Cristina pressed.

“...”

Anna couldn’t bring herself to answer.

“Did you think I’d harm Scarlett if I found out? Is that why you’re shaking so much?” Cristina’s directness made Anna flinch, her trembling intensifying.

Cristina rose from the rock ledge and walked over to Anna, who sat with her head bowed.

Cristina crouched down, determined to meet Anna’s gaze. “You might think I’m crazy, but you know I didn’t do all this by myself, right?”

Anna squeezed her eyes shut, and Cristina leaned in closer, her voice a soft whisper.

“What’s crazier? To do crazy things and lose your mind because of it, or to pretend nothing happened afterward? I don’t know, Anna.”

They had created the Immortals together. They had also chosen to join forces with the Black Order together.

“You’re not thinking of backing out now, are you? Not after everything we’ve been through?”

Anna remained silent.

“Why does it feel like you’re trying to distance yourself, like you’re not part of this anymore?”

“I... Cristina, I...”

“Isn’t that the worst thing...?”

Louis gently pulled Cristina away from Anna, who looked on the verge of tears.

“That’s enough... Anna must have had her reasons,” he said.

“What? Louis, do you also think I’d harm Scarlett if I knew that she can neutralize the Immortals? That I’d harm her because I learned she can turn them back into ordinary corpses?”

The anger, malice, and madness in Cristina’s eyes made Louis feel like his heart was sinking.

“Cristina, that’s not what I meant.”

“...”

“Please, calm down. Even if what you say about going mad after doing crazy things is true, there’s no reason to purposely go off the rails. We need to calm down,” Louis said, his voice serious yet measured.

Cristina clenched her teeth, struggling to hold back something that refused to be contained. After a tense moment, she let out a sharp breath, as if releasing the pressure inside her.

“Yeah, I guess I was too harsh. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, Cristina. I just thought it would be bad if too many people found out...” Anna replied, her voice trailing off.

Despite her apology, Cristina couldn’t shake the memory of Anna’s insistence that Scarlett keep the truth from her. Anna couldn’t stop herself from trembling, knowing that what she’d just said was a lie.

“I’d never think of hurting Scarlett. Of course not. That would make no sense. If, in trying to save Ashir, I ended up hurting Scarlett—if I ended up hurting a friend—then everything I’m doing would be meaningless. That would be wrong.”

There was still a chance to save a friend. That was why they’d held hands and done what they’d done.

If, in pursuit of this goal, their actions ended up causing harm to their friends, it would be like denying everything they stood for.

Cristina, having regained her composure, spoke calmly, and Anna began to tremble and cry.

“I’m sorry, Cristina. I was just so anxious... too scared...”

Cristina stepped closer to Anna, gently patting her shoulder.

“I understand,” Cristina said. “I know that I’m a bit off. No, more than a bit—quite a lot, actually. I admit it. I don’t claim to be sane. Of course, I understand why you’re worried. It’s completely understandable,” she said softly, her voice filled with empathy.

Anna continued to sob.

“I admit it. I guess I’m weak. I’m not strong like you guys, who can still think straight after everything we’ve been through,” Cristina admitted. “I’ve ended up like this because I was weak.”

She believed she had lost her mind because she lacked strength. She knew that Louis and Anna were stronger, which is why they could remain rational. She had broken because she was weak. She had gone mad because she was weak. What others could endure, she couldn’t. What some could accept as truth, she couldn’t.

However, being mad did not necessarily mean being irrational.

“But you know... There are traitors in the Allied Forces.”

“...”

“...”

“The Order of the Holy Knights switched sides months ago. Do you really think others haven’t followed suit since then? That would be too optimistic.”

Through Ludwig, they had already learned that the Church of the Five Great Gods had pledged allegiance to the Demon King. Several months had passed since that revelation, and the Demon King had likely recruited even more traitors.

Perhaps a third of the Allied Forces. Perhaps even half. Or maybe even everyone except them. All their allies might have already become enemies.

“We’re not the only ones aware of Scarlett’s power. No matter what happens, there will be those who try to exploit her. And the Demon King already knows about her ability.”

The thought of Scarlett’s power being used in that manner was unsettling.

Reinhart was already aware of Scarlett’s powers, but if he or others discovered that her power could neutralize the Immortals just as it did the golems...

“It’s not about harming Scarlett.”

“...”

“In fact, we have to protect her.”

The Demon King would undoubtedly try to use Scarlett.

They had to protect her.

“That’s why I was angry. Not because I hate you or anything, Anna...”

Anna wiped her tears and looked up to meet Cristina’s eyes. She wanted to apologize for her anger, for not mentioning something important, claiming it was to protect Scarlett.

“You know my heart, right?” Cristina said.

But in Cristina’s eyes, there was a shadow too dark and ominous to be just concern for a friend.