After hunting a major beast deep in the forest, I received a garbled whisper spell from Sepia, urging me to return to the royal capital.
Sepia was flustered and kept repeating, “Just come back.”
This wasn’t going anywhere, so I had her pass the spell to Arnella to explain. Even Arnella seemed anxious, though she was far more composed than Sepia due to her training.
“The Princess Sanarie has been brought to the palace, covered in blood!”
With that, the whisper spell cut off. I placed the game I’d hunted in the food storage and immediately headed to the infirmary.
The palace was in turmoil, far more chaotic than its usual bustling atmosphere.
The air was thick with the tension of war. I noticed traces of blood in the corridors.
At the entrance to the infirmary, a knight in full plate armor barred the way but opened the door upon seeing me. It seems being a Chevalier was useful.
When I entered with Mastema, the princess was indeed inside. She had a gaping wound in her abdomen, blood-soaked but fortunately not in mortal danger.
Two royal guards were always supposed to be with her. In the back, one of them was receiving treatment. His injuries were even worse than the princess’s, but he remained conscious—a true knight among knights.
“What happened? Where’s your partner?”
“…The Sky Knight, huh?”
The response came from Sanarie Ariez’s personal royal guard. He had sustained serious injuries, but his wounds had been partially closed.
“The emperor has passed… We were unprepared. He shielded the princess and died.”
It appeared one of the guards was already dead.
The numbered royal guards are monsters among imperial knights, positioned at the pinnacle to protect the royal family.
One guard dead, the other severely injured, and the princess with a hole in her abdomen… Only a handful of humans could pull off something like that.
“That the crown prince would act so forcefully and swiftly…”
The crown prince—the man first in line for succession, who had openly clashed with the princess over power. It seems he attacked her immediately after the emperor’s death.
The princess was the only one who openly opposed the crown prince, so he likely saw her as an obstacle. Popularity-wise, he had the upper hand. Killing her would allow him to spin a tragic cover story for sympathy.
If he’s resorting to such direct measures, he must already have the Senate under his thumb. No doubt he sensed the emperor’s end approaching.
Or perhaps…
In any case, it seems the princess barely escaped with her life to this kingdom. The Third Imperial Army, loyal to the princess, is stationed here. It’s better than staying in the empire.
Is this… exile?
I hope Princess Rafa’s estate remains intact.
The princess regained consciousness.
“Is the Sky Knight here?”
“I’m here.”
“I see.”
She grasped my arm.
“I was so sure of myself, yet here I am, completely outmaneuvered.”
“The opponent is your equal; it’s not surprising.”
“I was cautious, but I didn’t expect them to come at me with the intent to kill right from the start.”
If I were the crown prince, I might have done the same. This woman is much more capable and dangerous than she realizes.
The priest treating her warned us not to talk too much, so I raised my left hand to signal my agreement.
“So, what will you do?”
“…I don’t intend to die. Also, that man opposed the kingdom’s reconstruction. He saw no benefit in it for the empire. Regardless of my fate, they’ll come to crush this kingdom.”
“I see. So, it’s war.”
Just then, Princess Rafa burst into the room, clearly in a hurry.
She held the princess’s hand.
“I’m relieved you’re alive. If you’d died, we’d have had no choice but to hand you over.”
“I don’t plan on dying so easily.”
The princess coughed. Blood stained her hand. At that point, the priest forcefully ended the conversation and had us leave the room.
Mastema seemed to have lost interest and was waiting outside.
“This has turned into a troubling situation.”
“It has.”
“…What will the new emperor, the crown prince, do?”
Is she consulting me? I thought about it. I hadn’t had much interaction with the crown prince, so I didn’t have a strong sense of his character. But from what I’d heard, he’s a very forceful person.
Would a man like him let a prey that escaped his grasp go so easily?
The person he wants to crush has fled to the country he wants to crush. It’s the perfect excuse.
“Well, his first demand will likely be for extradition.”
“Let’s hope it stops there.”
“It won’t.”
“Indeed. The Third Army would never agree to such a handover.”
The Third Imperial Army.
The princess had once funded and rebuilt the Third Army herself when it faced dissolution due to budget constraints. As a result, the Third Army is composed largely of her supporters. They’re stationed in this kingdom now, performing their duties without complaint.
Mentioning any thought of extradition would surely lead to an immediate revolt.
These troops are effectively defending the kingdom in place of its own military.
The kingdom, in essence, has lost its autonomy.
Though the surface rebuilding appears to be progressing, the actual reconstruction of the nation is still far off.
“What’s the current state of the kingdom’s forces?”
“We’ve scraped together about 3,000.”
Before Mastema’s summoning, the kingdom had over 20,000 soldiers.
Due to casualties and the need to scale down the military for reconstruction, its current forces are limited.
Meanwhile, the Third Imperial Army numbers over 7,000.
…Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t resorted to looting.
The Imperial Army, excluding the Third, still exceeds 40,000. While they’re spread across the empire, they could likely gather 20,000 near the capital.
But the real issue isn’t that.
The question is, which side will Kasugal support?
That’s the real problem.
The best scenario would be if they stayed out of it.
But if they become enemies… it would mean a fight to the death.
