first commandment

[Two people look out from the bars in the prison.One sees dirt, the other sees stars. 】

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Slein found Jung in the war room.

The young earl changed from his usual idleness, and issued orders to his subordinates in a strict and orderly manner, deploying the whole army.

"Since the Freiburg troops have not left the spaceship, it means that Her Royal Highness has not fallen into the hands of the enemy, and we still have a great chance. The advance troops dragged the Freiburg cavalry, and the commando entered the spaceship Save the princess."

A young man with chestnut hair stood in front of the main console, observing his nails thoughtfully.That was his habitual action when he was thinking about a problem.

"Yes, Master Jung." The subordinates saluted respectfully.

"Whitehead and his party left with the princess. Now all the odds are on you, don't let me down."

Having said that, Jung raised his eyes and looked at the soldiers in front of him.The reddish-brown eyes covered by the broken chestnut hair reflected the blue fluorescence emitted by the machine, and were silent.

The troops led by Whitehead are his elite troops, both in mech driving and melee combat level are far above ordinary soldiers.It stands to reason that Jung, who had lost his elite troops, would have at least panicked at this time, but he didn't.

Excess emotions will affect correct judgment, which is absolutely not allowed.As a decision maker, Jung was well aware of this.

War is not a child's play, and an order takes tens of thousands of lives as weight.He must win.

Seeing the young man standing on the podium, Slein couldn't help thinking of the past.At that time, like Jung now, I shouldered the so-called "burden of responsibility" to command the entire army.

Such Jung gave Slein two choices: leave or join.

"……leave?"

Slein repeated in surprise.It never occurred to him that he still had a choice now.

But it was also at this time that he really understood Flora's style of doing things.Everything she does is based on one principle:

That is freedom.

She sets him free.

Flora would only reach out to Slaine and ask for his company.But she will never force him, let alone point a cock at him like in the dream.She will always respect his choice.

Ironically...

Jung looked at Slein, smiling maliciously, with a sly gleam in his eyes.

From the very beginning, he had anticipated Slain's choice, so when he saw a wry smile appear on Slain's face, he was not at all surprised.

Slein chuckled, and slowly tightened his hands on his chest, suppressing the soreness.

He began to understand.

At first Flora approached without hesitation, but now she is silently preparing to let him stay away.

It turned out that when she faced him, what she harbored in her heart was timidity rather than courage.

Yes, she gave him a choice.

Ironically, it was also her who made him give up his choice at this time.

"Didn't she realize that... I can't let go?"

He shook his head helplessly, with a sad smile on the corner of his mouth.

Jung understood, and patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

……

"Three groups of advance troops went out to the target site. The commandos followed. Everything is normal."

"Okay, everything is going according to plan."

Jung nodded after listening to the situation report, and cast his gaze out of the window seriously.Among the floating rocks in the universe, a white plane can be vaguely seen shuttled among them——Tarsis.

"...Go, white knight," he said to himself, "the princess caught by the dragon is waiting for you in the tower."

He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes shining with fighting spirit.

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at the same time.

The girl running in the spaceship stopped.

Flora was panting from exhaustion and leaned against the metal railing.Running all the way through the narrow corridor, she was exhausted at this time.

She's now at the entrance to the main apron.Passing through the two metal doors that opened in opposite directions, below is a huge silver-white platform for spaceships and mechs to land temporarily.

This place is as empty as the mouth of a whale, lacking shelter for hiding.Not to mention the impediment to movement caused by the sense of weightlessness. With nowhere to hide, she might be caught if she could not last even a minute under heavy pursuit.

Flora understood that she had been cornered to a point of no escape.

Under the pursuit of the enemy, she was able to escape here alone, relying on the cover of the elite troops led by Whitehead.Without them, she would have been controlled by Freiburg's men.

Noisy footsteps gradually approached.Flora turned her head and saw a group of soldiers chasing after her along the road she had just run on.

"Your Highness, please give up resistance!"

What stood in front of her were countless muzzles.And behind him there is only a metal corridor suspended from the wall, from where he can continue to escape until he reaches the empty tarmac.

Maybe there is still a glimmer of life there, she clenched the metal railing, supporting her weak body and trying to continue to escape.But as soon as she moved, a bullet hit the railing beside her, and a line of sparks was rubbed on the metal.

"...Tsk."

The last sliver of luck was cut.She simply gave up struggling and stood up straight again.

Surrounded heavily, her dignity did not allow herself to show a trace of fear.She straightened her body, raised her chin slightly, and looked at the row of black gun muzzles with contemptuous eyes.

"I refuse to surrender."

She said coldly, her tone decisive.

And when she finished speaking, a burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly broke through the silence very abruptly.

A trembling old figure passed through the young soldiers and walked towards Flora clapping his hands.

Count of Freiburg.

His wrinkled face was distorted by ecstasy at this time, and the soft facial skin was squeezed out of the grooves.

After the two claw-like hands stopped clapping, Freiburg raised his head triumphantly, pointing his sinister hooked nose at the princess in the gray dress.

There was feigned admiration in his voice:

"Stop running, Your Highness? Your escaping speed is really amazing! Whether it's this time or the last time, you are as dexterous as a little mouse."

Flora was unprovoked, and responded to him with an ice-cold face.She lowered her eyes and raised her eyebrows disdainfully.

Even though she has been cornered, she still refuses to give in.This attitude annoyed Freiburg a bit, but he suppressed his anger and chose to be persuasive.

"...You are still so young, are you willing to die here?"

He turned around and asked suddenly.

Flora understood what he meant, and found his question ridiculous.

Freiburg actually thought he could win her over?Was her determination too cheap, or was the old man too stupid?Thinking that she lost to such an opponent, she didn't know whether she was laughing at herself or him:

"Ha, are you trying to persuade me to submit? What a waste of effort."

Freiburg has always been easily irritated, and his face instantly turned livid.Flora watched his changing expression, such as the sharp sarcasm in his green eyes.

But Freiburg knows why she is not afraid of danger.Thinking of this, he immediately felt relieved, and the anger in his heart turned into deeper viciousness.

"I see...you think I won't kill you?"

He looked at her, as if he couldn't believe her innocence, with a false surprise in his tone:

"Although I knew for a long time that you and Jung were just two shabby kids without a city, I never expected that they were even more childish and ridiculous than I imagined!... From this point of view, we really can't take Weiser's The future is in your hands!"

As if he had witnessed an extremely absurd circus, he burst out laughing.

"..."

Flora remained silent, watching calmly as his laughter faded away.

But she didn't expect Freiburg's next move:

He quickly grabbed the guns of the soldiers beside him and aimed at Flora.

There was a fierce glint in those dark gray eyes.Flora suddenly sensed that he was serious, but there was nowhere to escape.

"lb--!!!"

The gunshot sounded so suddenly, and just as Flora reacted, a sharp pain came from her shoulder.She only had time to bite her lip to prevent herself from moaning weakly.

"--Uh!"

The impact of the bullet staggered her back a few steps.

She clutched her right shoulder, feeling dizzy from the severe pain.She didn't dare to look at her bleeding wound, so she could only close her eyes and grit her teeth, trying to survive this difficulty.

Cold sweat quickly wet her forehead, and she couldn't stop panting.

The pain swallowed her energy, and she lost her strength faster than she expected.Flora couldn't support her legs, so she barely moved back a few steps and leaned against the railing.

Then she kept sliding down, and finally sat down on the cold metal floor.

Warm blood spilled from between her fingers, she endured severe pain, and tightly strangled the wound.

But even so, there was still no trace of fear in those green eyes, only burning anger and unwillingness.

Freiberg took a few steps forward on crutches and raised her chin with the muzzle of a gun.

Looking down at the pale-faced Flora, the pleasure of conquering came like a gust of wind.He was uncontrollably excited.

"Is this the first time you have suffered such a serious injury? Your Highness, this is a rare opportunity. Why don't you describe the pain?" He tilted his head, and his suggestion was full of sarcasm. Xiaozui, can you only use it to say some illusory rhetoric like fairy tales?"

Sweat ran down Flora's pale cheeks and into her blond messy hair like dew on the petals of a white rose.She blinked weakly and slowly, dizzy and unable to answer.

The emperor's daughter, who used to be inviolable above the throne, can only kneel in front of him, powerless to resist.Freiburg felt his blood was boiling.

In the end, the noble lineage is just a puppet in his hands, and the divine power is just a plaything for him to play with.The moment he realized this, his shriveled body swelled up and became extremely huge as if it was filled with something.He felt that he was above everything and was approaching the height of God.

For decades he swallowed his anger.He looked down on Atheram, but could only silently endure the queen's orders.Now he finally made him wait until the day of reversal!Mastering the young princess is equivalent to mastering the key to victory.The frail canary was powerless to resist, so he tore its wings and lay dying at his feet.

The heart beat wildly with excitement.He pressed the muzzle of the gun to Flora's forehead, without hiding the ecstasy on his face.

"Can you ask Your Highness to help me launch a war against the earth?"

Flora's vision was blurred due to excessive blood loss, and she shook as if she was about to faint in a second.But after hearing these words from Freiburg, she found strength out of nowhere, and said firm words in an erratic voice:

"As Weiser's princess, I... will never allow, never allow you to start a war for your own selfish desires and involve the people..."

"It's really unchanging!"

Her words can't pose any threat to Freiburg, and the old man who has a well-thought-out plan doesn't take her seriously at all:

"The people? They are just a group of ants who are at the mercy of others. That is their only remaining value. The decision-makers should be nobles, and they can only be nobles. Leadership is the vocation of nobles."

As he spoke, he became excited and couldn't help raising his voice:

"—Because only they know what righteousness is!"

But his words sounded like a joke to Flora, she shook her head lightly:

"Righteousness? Do you think it is righteousness to launch a war on the earth?"

"of course."

Freiburg answered her without thinking.

"...Then you are wrong, Sir Freiburg," Flora said softly, "The war you want to start is not based on the wishes of the people, but only for your own benefit. What benefits the people is the righteousness You just said that leadership is the vocation of nobles? But if a noble as a leader insists on going his own way and cannot seek happiness for the people... such a noble, such a leader, what is the meaning of existence."

After finishing speaking, Freiburg listened patiently.

For some reason, his expression became extremely serious, and the frivolous expression just now disappeared.

"It's really... extremely ridiculous."

After a long time, he spoke with a stern face, and somehow there was a trace of pity in his tone:

"...I know you are naive, but I didn't expect you to be so naive."

From Flora's few words, he pieced together the real purpose of her and Jung.While suddenly realizing it, he was shocked by the truth of the matter.His eyes widened in disbelief, their sagging eyelids propped up.

"Now I finally understand what you and that brat Jung are up to...you want to bring democracy?"

Flora slowly closed her eyes, opened her lips and smiled silently, which was a tacit consent.The moment the shadow of despair really touched her, she was no longer afraid of anything.

At this time, she was like a martyr tied to a pillar of fire, pale and helpless in the face of death like a thin wing.

And Freiburg, who held a gun against her forehead, was like a heretic inquisitor holding a torch, with a hint of genuine sympathy from human nature in his decision.

But this sympathy is bound to fail to bring about any change.Because neither of them will regress, let alone give up their choices.

"Stupid! Stupid!"

Freiburg gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words.

"Rights? Democracy? They are just a group of mortals with low intelligence, but you want to give them decision-making power? What intelligent decisions can they make?"

Although they are both of noble origin, Flora completely opposes Freiburg's point of view.

Because she is well aware of the injustice of fate being manipulated.

As the initiator of divine power, she cannot make a choice for her own destiny.Her priority is to protect the country, not to make herself happy.She is doomed to have no right to fly freely, let alone choose happiness freely.

"People are born as human beings and should be equal. One's own life should be controlled by oneself."

But if the light that blooms in her hands can contribute to Weiser's happiness and allow more people to be free, maybe her life will have more meaning besides being a puppet...

This is her choice.

"Equality? Freedom?" Freiburg was amused by her. "Do you believe in these beautiful empty words? Let me tell you, it will never be realized."

"Maybe……"

Unexpectedly, Flora did not give him a definite answer.

Because she, too, had questioned her choices.It's not like she didn't think about what Freiburg said.

But in the end, she decided to believe it.Because there is always light in the darkness, like the stars in the night, guiding her and giving her the confidence to move forward.

Atheram's kindness, Remulina's tolerance, Edellizo's loyalty, Jung's friendship, Slein's tenderness...

After experiencing betrayal again and again, after witnessing conspiracy after conspiracy, when she was underestimated, poisoned, and assassinated, it was they who gave her hope and lighted up the light again and again.

She does not deny the ugliness of human nature, but she firmly believes in the goodness of human nature.

"I understand what you mean...but even so, I still firmly believe..."

Human longing for distant places can be traced back to primitive times.Human beings with undeveloped intelligence have not been satisfied with the ground under their feet since then.They looked up at the starry sky, firmly believing that there would be a more beautiful picture in the distance.

In the face of cruel reality, should we stop our steps?

Once you learn to compromise, you will lose your vitality and hope, as well as the courage to pursue beauty.

For the future of mankind, we cannot stand still.The road to pursue your dreams is unknown and dark, but as long as the star named "Hope" shines above your head, you will never lose your way.

And Flora firmly believes that the bounden duty of a leader is to point out the star for people.

"I still firmly believe that what we should do is not to kill their hope, but to give them hope."

Her gaze is firm.

Freiburg couldn't figure it out, why did he listen to this little girl's nonsense?

Hear the most beautiful songs of dying swans.Then, he thought, he probably wanted to hear, listen to Flora's last monologue.

Of course, he didn't intend to kill her.He will bring her back to Yanglu City and use her to start a war.

Yes, he really didn't intend to kill her.But there are more terrifying things than death.That is to be deprived of human dignity and become a puppet in his hands.What awaits Flora will be a lifetime of torture and deprivation, endless.

…Until the end, she will forget what she said today, and her hopeless eyes will no longer flicker.

For some reason, Freiburg wanted to hear more from her.When the day she fell into the mud, he hoped that he could recall everything today.

That feeling must be memorable.

"Mr. Freiburg, I believe that bringing hope is the bounden duty of a leader."

The girl's expression was determined.

"Let everyone be free and equal, let everyone control their own destiny and not be at the mercy of others... I understand that this goal is difficult to achieve. But even if it is not achieved while I am alive, hundreds of years later, thousands of years later, One day, we will gradually approach there..."

"Because we always long for the light."

"boom--!!!!!"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by an explosion.The voice was very clear, probably very close, and Flora could even smell the smoke.

The spacecraft was attacked by an explosion earlier, and then became a battlefield for the two armies, and now it can no longer support it.As the battle situation expanded, the sound of gunfire got closer and closer, and the vibration felt under the feet gradually increased.

It's over.Flora thought to herself, the numbness of her fingertips rose up her arms, gradually freezing her consciousness.

Due to the excessive blood loss, she could feel that her consciousness was gradually moving away from her body.

"Sure enough... miracles won't happen."

she muttered to herself.

As soon as the voice fell, a sudden change occurred.

First, the expression of the Earl of Freiburg changed suddenly, as if he saw something behind Flora.

Then a type of fighter standing opposite raised his gun and began to shoot.

Amid the intense gunshots, Flora was pulled up from the ground.

The moment she turned her head, the first thing that caught her eyes was a purple light beam, which was emitted by a white machine.Under its leadership, a group of mecha soldiers passed through the protective film and entered the empty tarmac one after another from the outside.

After losing too much blood, Flora's brain became a little dull, but her body made a decision for her first:

She wanted to run away and seize this chance.

The moment she made up her mind, she burst out of nowhere with a burst of strength, and suddenly threw off the restraint of the soldiers.Then she took a step and ran away.

The Freiburg soldiers were overwhelmed by the sudden cavalry and retreated steadily, so for a while they had only bullets to chase Flora who had fled.Even so, however, she was still in danger of being hit by stray bullets.

But at this moment, while running, she saw the white mecha stop in front.Under cover, the hatch of its cockpit opened, and a familiar person jumped out of it, stretching out his hands to her.

"Flora—!"

As he called her name, a cannonball fired at the enemy's position.The roar drowned out his voice, and the blast whipped his flaxen-gray hair into curls.

……

It's Slein.

Flora could hardly believe her eyes.

In retrospect, Flora always felt that was the closest she had ever been to death in her life.

But just when she was about to give up hope and firmly believed that "miracles cannot happen", he brought her a miracle.

"Flora, jump down!"

He yelled at her, with a different look of anxiety on his face than usual.

She didn't hesitate.

Using her intact left arm to prop up her body, she climbed onto the railing of the metal verandah, and quickly turned over.

In the weightless environment of the tarmac, she fell slowly, her gray dress fluttering like a piece of light ashes in the battlefield.

The blood dripping from the wound floated in the air, like a loose coral necklace, dazzlingly bright.

But ten seconds, she felt so long.Like falling into water, everything becomes slow and unreal.The flames in the corner of the eye are fading away, and the sound of guns gradually fades away.All she could see was the person who stretched out his hands to her, and all she could hear was the beating of her own heart...

In the darkness, she vaguely saw the shining star.

...it was his eyes that looked into hers.

He caught her firmly.

Due to inertia, he hugged her and turned around a little before he stabilized his footing.

Flora, who had always had poor tear ducts, suddenly had the urge to cry. She hugged him tightly, and her slender fingers stained with blood sank into his soft hair.She buried her face in his neck, surrounded by the gentle breath of his body, it was so warm, she finally felt at ease.

And Slein gently stroked her back a few times to show comfort, and then whispered close to her ear:

"I... choose you."

The author has something to say:

BGM of this chapter: MKAlieZ-- Hiroyuki Sawano

The copywriting comes from the lyrics.

Leben, wasistdas? "What is it to be alive? Like a walking dead"

Signal, Siehstdudas? "A ray of light in the dark, do you see it?"

This chapter is particularly difficult to write, and it has been changed many times before it is considered satisfactory.

The next chapter is over.

By the way...you didn't seem to be surprised at all in the last chapter, did you guess that Remulina was Atheram in disguise?You guys are so smart (hey