Bronya stood with her arms crossed.
Silently watching the large group approaching aggressively from not far away, her expression remained calm and unruffled.
"Get out of the way, don't block the path!"
Seeing a Silvermane Guard standing at the side of the road blocking their way, one of the red-armored private troops instinctively reached out to push him.
But the next moment, everyone was stunned.
The moment his hand extended and was about to touch the Silvermane Guard, the other reacted first—grabbing his arm and executing an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming him straight to the ground!
"Thud—"
Feeling his face kiss the cold floor, the private trooper was completely dazed by the fall.
He crawled up viciously, ready to explode, only to hear this voice:
"Ah… Captain Bronya, he just tried to attack me!! Help!! They're assaulting Silvermane Guards—!"
For a moment, Count ***, along with all the servants and guards he'd brought, were utterly dumbfounded.
Clearly the Silvermane Guard had made the first move—how was he the one crying out?
"What?! Daring to injure a Silvermane Guard—how utterly audacious!!" an officer roared.
Every single officer who had come with Bronya was present without exception, all standing here now.
Right in front of Count ***, they raised their shields! Forming a straight line, they created an impenetrable wall.
The other Silvermane Guards behind them gripped their weapons tightly, all assuming combat stances and staring warily ahead.
"???"
This series of actions completely stunned the previously aggressive Count and his group!
What the hell was going on?
Had all these Silvermane Guards gone insane, or had a wire gotten crossed in their heads?
"Hey, what do you people think you're doing? Aren't you here to protect me?!" *** roared.
"Then what do you think you're doing? Why are you bringing troops to attack our Silvermane Guard members?!" an officer demanded, weapon raised warily.
"Wuwuwu, my hand, wuwu~"
The Silvermane Guard who had just thrown the man now removed his glove, pinched his pinky finger, and whimpered pitifully:
"Look, it's even broken the skin, wuwuwu~ How am I supposed to get married in the future? When Little Sampo sees this, he might not like me anymore!"
"What? This is serious!"
"Quick quick quick—go bandage it! Medic! Medic!"
"Wuwuwuwu."
"Damn it, where's the medic? Could it be that these bastards deliberately kidnapped the medic?"
"Too despicable—I want them to pay with their lives for my brother—!!"
"Waaahhh—!!"
Watching these Silvermane Guards who seemed completely unhinged, Count ***'s eyes widened in shock.
What was happening?
At the beginning, these Silvermane Guards hadn't been like this at all?
He looked through the ranks of Silvermane Guards and saw Bronya standing on the high steps.
She was currently looking at her phone, completely deaf to the chaos here.
"Damn it, still playing on her phone at a time like this!"
Count *** had wanted to curse loudly, but he suddenly noticed one of his own guards nearby was also fiddling with his phone.
So he turned his fire on his own side first.
"You idiot! What time is it and you're still playing on your phone?!"
"Hm… huh? Can't I?"
"What do you think!! I've told you how many times not to play on your phone—why is it always you? Did your brain short-circuit today or what?!"
"But that one over there with the three-turbo duck is also playing on her phone." The strange guard pointed at Bronya and spoke in an innocently naive voice.
"You bastard—that's the future Supreme Guardian! How can you compare yourself to her?!"
Just as the Count finished speaking, someone from the opposite group of Silvermane Guards sneered coldly:
"Count ***, you actually know the Captain's status? I thought you didn't!"
"Exactly! You dare attack Silvermane Guards under Captain Bronya—you people really don't want to live!"
"Grab them, grab them!!"
"Fuck…" Seeing this, the fat old Count *** couldn't help but curse under his breath. He shot a vicious glance at Bronya standing on the steps behind.
He said gravely:
"Bronya, what exactly do you mean? Weren't you people here to protect me!"
Bronya said softly:
"That's right—we've been protecting you all along, haven't we?"
"Protecting me? Say that again—you're protecting me?!"
After glancing at the Silvermane Guard officers in front holding weapons aimed at him, he pointed straight at Bronya's nose and cursed:
"Look at this—does this look like protection to you? Oh~ I get it—this is Cocolia's doing, right? You're suppressing me? Suppressing an elder?!"
"Please refrain from baseless accusations."
"Oh~ I get it—you're messaging Cocolia, aren't you? It's that woman teaching you, right? No wonder your attitude changed so drastically—no wonder… no wonder!"
"Watch your language."
Bronya silently raised her phone and said gravely:
"I was merely chatting with the Executor about off-world customs and culture. Slandering the Supreme Guardian is a serious crime."
"Huh? Executor…? That bastard?"
*** narrowed his eyes and carefully peered at Bronya's phone.
The distance was too far—he couldn't make out the words at all, couldn't see the specific chat content.
But at that moment, the guard who had been playing on his phone the whole time suddenly pulled a pair of binoculars from his coat and handed them over.
"Master, use this—it'll be clearer!"
"You idiot—for once you've got some brains at a critical moment!"
Count *** took the binoculars, nodded at the strange guard, and looked toward Bronya's phone again.
In the chat log, the last few lines were especially eye-catching.
[As long as I'm shameless enough, thick-skinned enough, and crazy enough, no one can morally blackmail me!]
This line had been sent by Bronya's chat partner.
"…"
There seemed to be more chat history below, but if Bronya didn't scroll down, Count *** couldn't see it.
Seeing the other side suddenly pull out binoculars, Bronya quickly put her phone away.
She had only raised it casually… thinking no one could possibly read it from this distance.
But… how did they have binoculars on the other side?
Carrying binoculars in their own castle?
"…"
Just from seeing that last line clearly, the Count understood the reason behind everything that had happened!
No need to guess—the rest of the chat log must have been the Executor specifically instructing Bronya on what to do.
He'd long heard the guy was a lunatic—never expected that just a few remote words could turn this group of Silvermane Guards into lunatics just like him!
"Hehe, Bronya, you really are…"
"Careful!! He's using Words of Power to curse Captain Bronya—interrupt him quick~!!" The troublemaking Silvermane Guard suddenly cried out in a delicate voice.
"What?! Quick—!!"
"Protect Captain Bronya!!"
"Waaahhh—!!"
The Silvermane Guards suddenly surged forward all at once!