Just an hour ago, I hadn’t thought much of Aslin’s casual talk about hunting monsters, as if she were simply discussing a morning stroll.

Despite mentioning hunting monsters, her relaxed demeanor, like she was heading out for a walk, exuded such calmness that I didn’t take it seriously.

In hindsight, that was my mistake. I hadn’t realized that her ease stemmed from her overwhelming confidence in her own strength, which, even by my standards, was excessive.

How long had it been? It only took moments after Aslin, Katarina, who shadowed her like always, and I teleported to realize I had completely misjudged the situation.

“Kraaaah!!”

The monstrous roars filled the air.

“Waaaah!”

And the clashing steel of the knights of the Sword Order, pressuring the monsters with fierce shouts, made it clear that this was not an ordinary monster hunt.

If I’d known it would be like this, I might have made an excuse to back out, citing my physical condition.

Of course…

“As compared to the monsters we faced when we had to fight together urgently, these hardly make me yawn.”

With Aslin laughing so casually in the face of such beasts, my uneasy thoughts disappeared as quickly as they had come.

“I’m not in the same condition as back then, but I’ll make sure nothing sneaks up on you.”

Before I knew it, the words to protect Aslin, who was ready to dive into battle, slipped out of my mouth.

What else could I do? I’d already resigned myself to the task when I agreed to join her on this hunt.

“Stay behind me. As I said earlier, I’m not so heartless as to make someone who can’t even use their aura properly due to an injured core lead the charge.”

Unfortunately—or rather, thankfully—Aslyn, noticing my enthusiasm, gently pushed me back, ensuring that I wouldn’t be put in harm’s way.

Honestly, there was another reason too: she didn’t have any blind spots for me to cover in the first place.

“The Lady has arrived!”

“Ah! We told her we’d handle these creatures without her!”

“Since she’s here, let’s show her the strength of the Radiant Wings!”

With Aslin’s presence boosting the morale of the knights, their efficiency in pushing back the monsters shot up dramatically. Soon, it became clear that I had no role to play.

“Let’s move to the front. We must show them who has arrived on this battlefield.”

If any ordinary commander had said that, it would have been condemned as reckless, a decision that would lose both the battle and their life.

But Aslin? She took on such risks as if they were a daily routine. Leading from the front, standing beside the strongest knights of the Radiant Wings, she made her presence known to the monsters.

The further she advanced, the higher the morale of the knights soared, seemingly without end.

Even if Aslin didn’t display more of her skills here, it was obvious the monsters would lose their momentum and retreat.

But even in such an overwhelming situation, there was no room for carelessness.

“Kroooarrr! You puny human girl! I’ll eat you!”

A monster, unaware of Aslin’s strength, rushed towards her, determined to crush her before the tight formation of the knights.

Though it was speaking clearly, the monstrous, overwhelming bloodlust unique to creatures like it rushed toward Aslin, piercing her skin like needles.

But before that bloodlust even reached her—

Booooom—!!

A chilling gust of wind sliced through the air as Aslin swung her greatsword.

Crunch—!!

At the same time, the sound of the monster’s head splitting in two filled the air.

Thud—!!

The creature’s body, sliced in half from head to toe, crashed to the ground, littering the battlefield with its remains in a heartbeat.

The beast that charged forward, relying only on its brute strength, was utterly erased by a force far superior to its own.

Even through my heightened perception, able to catch the tiniest fractions of moments, it all happened in an instant.

The confrontation ended so easily that the monster rushing at Aslin seemed like a mere weakling.

But that monster, split in half by Aslin’s sword, was an ogre.

Though not as colossal as the Behemoth, known as the king of the land, the ogre was a savage beast, where ferocity overpowered intellect, with no rival on the ground.

“…There’s no end to them.”

Aslyn, swinging her sword as if it was nothing, shook off the blood and flesh that clung to it. The ogre, which couldn’t even withstand a single strike, fell as easily as that.

…If my mana core hadn’t been damaged, I too could have taken down an ogre with ease, though perhaps not as dominantly as Aslin did.

Even if I had succeeded in the hunt—

“Waaaaaah!!”

“The Lady has felled the ogre with one strike!”

“Let’s drive the rest of those monsters beyond the mountain ridge!”

—it was clear that I wouldn’t have been able to inspire such morale in my troops like she did.

In that regard, Aslin was a step ahead of me.

“Attack!!”

Her brief moment of fatigue from the endless waves of monsters was gone in an instant, as Aslin, now the cool-headed commander, urged the hunting party forward with her booming voice.

The knights of the Radiant Wings, the pride of the Sword Order, formed their ranks, advancing steadily with Aslin leading them.

With their methodical and unstoppable steps, they pressured the remaining monsters, whose morale had plummeted after the fall of the ogre.

Thud—!! Thud—!!

The armored footsteps of the elite knights, shaking the ground beneath them, resounded like thunder, almost as if they were rattling the mountain itself.

While any highly trained knight order could put on a display like this, the sound of the Radiant Wings, the greatest force of the Sword Order, was unmatched by any.

Even during the civil war, the Radiant Wings, renowned for their unparalleled unity, had always overshadowed the Black Wings, an elite division known for its individual prowess. And now, in this monster hunt, their discipline remained impeccable.

“How do you find it?”

Aslyn, having effortlessly sliced an ogre in half and shattered the enemy’s spirit, turned to me for my thoughts.

“Cutting down the ogre that came to assert its dominance was an excellent tactical choice.”

I offered my honest observation.

“But as I mentioned when we faced off before…

I like straightforward people. Especially those who don’t hesitate when telling me something important.”

“Considering your strength, this might sound absurd, but I think you need to reflect on your position.”

“You’re saying I should be cautious because if something were to happen to me, the entire battle could be thrown into chaos?”

“Yes. It’s a sensitive thing to say, but even during the civil war, I made attempts to exploit that very weakness to turn the tide of battle.”

I advised Aslin to be cautious, pointing out something she hadn’t noticed herself—something natural for someone who had fully accepted their own strength.

What I said wasn’t a lie; it was the absolute truth.

During the succession war, my older brother, who led the Sword Mansion in the southern region of the Zakharat Mountains—the fiercest battlefield between the Imperial faction and the anti-Imperial faction—often tried to turn the overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation by employing such tactics.

Though those attempts always ended in failure, the strategy itself wasn’t flawed.

The idea was to assassinate Aslin, the supreme commander, to shatter the unbreakable unity of the Sword Order.

Another approach was to lure Aslin, who never hesitated to swing her sword in chaotic battles, into our lines to capture her, or if necessary, kill her.

I was the one entrusted by my brother to face Aslin in those confrontations.

While we were evenly matched, I didn’t possess the power to overwhelm her. Moreover, the sheer numbers of the Sword Order’s forces, like an unstoppable tide, made my brother’s plans impossible.

But if everything in life could be overcome by sheer skill and ability, my brother and I wouldn’t have struggled so much.

So, my advice to Aslin was, at least, given out of concern—to ease the hardships she might face in the future due to her overwhelming strength and confidence.

Though we were enemies during the succession war and had no choice but to fight, I didn’t harbor any ill will towards her.

In fact, the thought of Aslin getting injured or killed made me feel an odd discomfort, which I wanted to shake off.

No matter the intent, my words could easily be seen as impolite.

Yet Aslin didn’t change her expression at all and listened quietly.

“Even if you are now Her Excellency’s spouse, there are some expressions you should be careful with,”

Katarina, dressed not in her maid outfit but in full armor, cut in sternly, her imposing presence clearly suggesting I should stop speaking.

But Katarina’s intimidating aura vanished like smoke the moment Aslin raised her right hand to stop her.

“Even Her Majesty once said something similar to me. I never expected to hear it from a former enemy like you…”

“If someone like me could notice it, then it’s only natural someone like Her Majesty would be aware.”

“Hahaha…”

“…Your Excellency?”

“I’ll keep it in mind. Since it’s my husband’s first piece of advice to me, as a wife, I should certainly listen to it.”

“…Grr.”

With Aslin accepting my opinion so graciously, Katarina, who had been pressing me, let out a small groan and withdrew her aura entirely. It seemed she had no further justification to continue pressuring me.

Although her strength didn’t overwhelm me to the point where I couldn’t handle it, I was grateful to Aslin for skillfully diffusing the situation. I had no desire to get into a power struggle with someone I would be working closely with from now on.

In any case, I was glad Aslin understood. Although I had no doubt that as soon as the battle raged again, she would forget my words and throw herself into the frontlines, enjoying the chaos.

“I’ll stay here and focus on encouraging the knights and soldiers. It’s true that the situation has improved to the point where I don’t need to step in, but your advice is valid.”

Aslyn’s respectful acknowledgment of my words was the kind of attitude befitting someone in command.

I was about to express my gratitude for her consideration when—

“And also…

“What is it?”

“Too much humility doesn’t look good on you. How can someone of your caliber call themselves  ‘someone like me’? You should take pride in your abilities.”

Apparently, she wasn’t pleased with how I’d referred to myself earlier. Pouting slightly, she protested against my self-deprecation.

My gratitude vanished in an instant.

I realized that if I opened my mouth to thank her now, I might accidentally blurt out how cute she looked in her current state.

“Your Excellency… this isn’t the Ducal Mansion. Please…”

Katarina, sensing that Aslin was about to overstep her bounds, tried to intervene, but—

“Hey! Can’t a wife throw a little tantrum at her husband?”

Aslyn paid no attention to her loyal servant’s efforts and continued to act adorably, playfully protesting to me.

Even though we were still on a battlefield, the situation wasn’t extreme, allowing for these more human, softer moments to surface.

I was startled by this side of Aslin, a side I had never seen during the succession war.

“Pardon me.”

Suppressing my surprise, I drew the sword she had gifted me from my waist.

Whoosh—!!

With a swift movement, I sliced through the air, deflecting the projectile aimed at Aslin with ease.

At first glance, it seemed like nothing, given the slow speed at which it flew.

“…Hmm?!”

But as soon as my hand tingled upon impact, I realized it was no ordinary arrow. If I had swung carelessly, dismissing its slow speed, I would’ve been hit by a paralysis curse.

Fortunately, I was able to block it, and the paralysis only briefly affected me before passing.

“…Ugh.”

Still, forcing my aura to counteract it left my core throbbing painfully.

“Endy?!”

Oddly enough, despite the pain being mine, Aslin’s voice rang out in shock, as if she were the one who had been hurt.