Chapter 107: Hero (6)

A profound sense of despair engulfed her as she watched helplessly, the airship hurtling towards its inevitable destination.

“Ah…”

How could she not know this place?

“Aaaaah…!”

Bernium Palace—the heart of the Frenche Kingdom and residence of the king. A place she had frequented freely in her youth. It was clear that if nothing changed, the airship would pulverize Bernium Palace. And if that happened, the king would surely perish.

I-I must do something! She had to prevent the airship from colliding with Bernium Palace at all costs. But even controlling her own body seemed beyond her capabilities now. The approaching palace loomed larger with each passing moment, draining the color from her face.

Oh God…

All she could do was pray—pleading for the king’s absence from the palace.

She prayed he was somewhere else. But at this late hour, the king she knew would surely be asleep. Those behind this attack must have chosen this time for that very reason.

Is this… the end?

For the king’s life, for the fate of the Frenche Kingdom—and even for her own twenty years on earth—all could crumble because of tonight’s events. The fact that there was nothing she could do drove Page further into despair.

Just then…

Vwoom.

A glimmer of hope emerged from her despondency.

Vwoom, vwoom.

Page followed the strange reverberations and saw it: a figure enveloped in brilliant light.

“Ohhh…” Despite the urgency of their situation, she found herself momentarily stunned.

“Prince Louis?”

The source of this radiance was none other than Louis, whom Page affectionately referred to as her “white-haired kid.”

Defying gravity and the falling airship, his body effortlessly floated upward.

Page’s gaze remained fixed on Louis’s every move.

Unaware or uncaring of her scrutiny, Louis simply raised his hand with a blank expression.

As he did so, the white light emanating from him began to gradually suffuse with a blue hue.

This transformation indicated mastery over both human and gravitational forces—a tier-2 power attribute.

From its origin at the bridge, Louis’s influence swiftly permeated throughout the entire airship.

“Ah…” A gasp involuntarily escaped Page’s lips.

Such overwhelming energy! She felt both awestruck by its sheer magnitude and bewildered by the profound respect it commanded.

What… is this?

It wasn’t merely the display of elemental power that astonished her; rather, it was the essence contained within these attributes—an essence that resonated deeply with her own being.

It weighed heavily on her heart.

Though she had initially dismissed Louis as merely a monster, facing his true power left Page utterly dumbfounded.

…H-how is this possible?

What Louis had shown her was but a mere fraction—a tiny tip of an iceberg.

Page couldn’t find words to describe the overwhelming sensation washing over her. She could only stare, transfixed.

Meanwhile, Louis continued with his task.

Let’s see… That spot should do nicely.

Scanning the area ahead, Louis spotted the vast garden of Bernium Palace and allowed himself a slight smile. His pale hand began to weave patterns in the air, each movement sending blue elemental energy rippling outward like an ethereal aurora.

The breathtaking spectacle left Page utterly spellbound once again. It was as if Louis were conducting a dance of blue light itself. As Cheonggong’s choreography reached its zenith…

A miracle occurred.

Grrrumble.

The hull of the airship, enveloped in an azure glow, began to vibrate subtly. The rapidly descending vessel, tilted at a perilous forty-five-degree angle, slowly righted itself. And that wasn’t all—this marvel continued unfolding before their eyes.

“It—it’s moving!” Pablo cried out, his voice tinged with wonder.

As he shouted, the bow of the airship altered course. A wave of relief washed over Page’s face.

It’s heading toward the garden! she thought, her heart leaping with hope.

Although this trajectory would still destroy the palace grounds, it was infinitely better than leveling the entire royal complex. Anything was preferable to such utter devastation.

Whirr-whirr-whirr…

The airship abruptly slowed its descent and began to gradually lower toward the ground.

When it was merely three meters above the surface—

The blue light enveloping the hull dimmed rapidly as the airship plummeted, crashing into the garden’s fountain with a resounding splash.

“Aargh!”

“Kyaa!”

Passengers cried out in surprise at the sudden impact.

After a brief moment of jolt—

Thud.

The airship had finally landed completely.

It all happened within mere minutes.

Louis broke into a wide grin, satisfied with his handiwork. “Emergency landing complete!”

With effortless mastery over his power attribute, Louis had rescued countless lives without batting an eye. His serene demeanor left Page utterly spellbound.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Just who… are you?”

In response to her question, Louis simply sent her a smile.

The people most startled by the late-night crash of an airship were none other than those at the Frenche royal palace.

“Huh? Wh-what’s that?!”

Upon seeing the falling airship heading towards the palace, a guard sounded the emergency alarm across the entire area.

Thud-thud-thud.

“E-emergency! Emergency!”

“Immediately attend to His Majesty the King!”

The trajectory of the plummeting airship was unmistakable. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen it coming. It was clear that if nothing changed, the king’s palace would be destroyed by the airship crash.

However, no one anticipated an airship falling from the sky. Moreover, darkness delayed its discovery, causing further delay in informing the king. As a result, everyone expected a collision between the palace and the airship.

Suddenly…

“Huh?”

The airship, enveloped in a blue glow, abruptly changed course and slowly descended into the palace grounds before coming to a halt.

Thud.

A sound that could shake the very foundations of the earth reverberated through every corner of the darkened royal palace.

“What are you all standing around for?! Move quickly!”

The administrators residing within the palace sprang into action. This was an unprecedented situation—having an airship land inside the palace grounds. Bernium Palace erupted with commotion.

“Where are my guards? Attend to His Majesty at once!”

But how could the king remain idle amidst such turmoil?

Clunk… clunk… clunk…

An elderly man in his mid-sixties appeared, flanked by bodyguards clad in heavy armor.

“M-my lord! It’s too dangerous!” Despite his subjects’ attempts to dissuade him, King Frenche insisted on entering the garden.

“It’s alright. More importantly, what seems to be the situation?”

“That is…”

In response to the king’s question, the manager briefed him on everything that had transpired. Meanwhile, the palace guards rushed into the garden and surrounded the airship within moments.

After hearing the full account, the king gazed at the airship.

“Huh… It suddenly fell from the sky, you say? Which organization does this airship belong to?”

“Judging by the engraved emblem, it appears to be an airship owned by Lord Samuel of the Fall Continent.”

“Samuel?” The king’s face froze for a moment.

Airships were not commonly operated by many countries; even when they were, these vessels were either reserved exclusively for royal use or treated as strategic weapons of state.

Lord Samuel was the only one who operated a private airship for civilian use between the Summer and Fall Continents.

“Why did Lord Samuel send his private airship?”

Although it traveled between both continents, this ship clearly belonged to a territory within the Fall Continent.

If things went wrong, it could escalate into a conflict between the Frenche Kingdom and the nation where Lord Samuel’s domain lay.

So, the King of Frenche gave an order:

“Send people to that private airship immediately!”

“At once, Your Majesty.”

However, before his subordinate could carry out the king’s command, there came a response from the direction of the airship first.

Druk.

The door of the landed airship opened, and people poured out.

“We’re… we’re alive!”

“I’m alive!”

“Hooray!”

The passengers emerged from the airship ashen-faced, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. They stepped onto the ground with tears streaming down their cheeks, some collapsing onto the dirt and wailing loudly.

“W-What is this?”

“Huh…”

The heavily armed soldiers of the Frenche Kingdom who had surrounded the airship were bewildered by the sudden turn of events and stood frozen, unsure how to react.

Meanwhile, over eighty survivors had already exited the stricken vessel. All were passengers; not a single crew member could be found among them.

In the chaos of the attack, the crew members had been killed first. Thanks to Louis’s quick thinking, however, all the passengers managed to escape unscathed.

Once all the survivors had escaped, Louis’s group finally emerged. Naturally, Pablo was at their head.

“I’m aaaaalive!” he cried out more ecstatically than anyone else who’d made it outside so far. He kissed the ground like someone deeply in love with Mother Earth.

After him came Louis and the twins.

“He’s being such a drama queen again.”

“Pablo, you’re acting pathetic.”

“Oh-ho, Pablo! Ba-ding!”

Louis looked down disdainfully at Pablo sprawled on the ground while the twins playfully smacked his back.

Meanwhile, soldiers of the Frenche Kingdom had swiftly approached on an airship. As passengers realized they were surrounded by armed guards, many finally grasped their predicament and began standing up uneasily.

“W-Where are we?”

“Who are these people?”

Though they’d miraculously survived, no one understood what exactly had transpired.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in military attire stepped forward from beside the King of Frenche and barked loudly:

“This is Bernium Palace within the Frenche Kingdom! Identify yourselves at once for trespassing upon our sovereign territory!”

“F-Frenche Kingdom?” someone stammered incredulously.

The Frenche Kingdom was located three days’ journey northwest by carriage from their original destination—a fact that only deepened the mystery surrounding their sudden appearance here.

As confusion reigned among the survivors due to this sudden turn of events, Armed Forces’ solemn voice continued:

“You have not only illegally crossed national borders but also committed grave offenses capable of inciting conflict between nations! The person responsible for this incident must step forward immediately and explain the circumstances! Failure to do so will result in punishment according to the sacred laws of the Frenche Kingdom!”

His proclamation sent a ripple of agitation through the passengers.

Among them, someone shouted:

“C-Captain! Captain, come forth and provide an explanation!”

“Steward? Is there no steward here?”

But neither the captain nor any crew members could appear—they were already dead.

In that moment, as panic escalated and chaos deepened…

“I’ll explain everything,” a voice called out from beneath the shadowy entrance of the airship.

Though thin, it was a fairly loud voice, enough to capture everyone’s attention.

The one who emerged from the airship, under all eyes, was none other than Page herself. She moved with slow, deliberate steps, her face composed.

“Who is she?”

“Who could that be?”

Passengers looked at her quizzically, not understanding what was going on. However, grateful for Page taking charge of the situation, they parted ways to let her through.

Yet, upon seeing Page, people from the Frenche Kingdom reacted strangely.

“Huh?”

“What?!”

They were shocked by Page’s appearance. Most of them seemed quite elderly.

The elderly officials, their eyes blinking rapidly at this unexpected turn of events, couldn’t help but question what they were witnessing.

“W-What is happening?!”

“H-How could she—?!”

A murmur of shock rippled through the Frenche Kingdom delegation as confusion set in amidst the sudden shift in atmosphere.

Thump-thump.

Page slowly stepped forward, her gait deliberate and purposeful. She came to a halt before the king, whose face was etched in stone. With a swift motion, she lowered herself onto one knee.

“I will tell you everything,” she declared in a steady voice.

Though her tone remained composed, the king’s eyes betrayed his turmoil upon hearing these words.

And then…

“Your Highness… No, Father.”

The change in address elicited gasps from those present, astonishment plain on every face.