The Prophet and the Guardian (1)
I thought back to the information Kaiden had given me before.
“You mean the mutant monsters that the Holy Kingdom released, right?”
[As expected, you remember.]
“My memory isn’t that bad.”
After all, I was the one who had first told him that the Holy Kingdom had released mutant monsters. There was no way I would forget.
[Then do you also remember when I said I would look into the Holy Kingdom?]
“Yes, I remember.”
Could he have already found something? I raised one eyebrow.
“Did you discover anything?”
[A few things.]
Kaiden leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.
[A letter arrived from the Ventrum Empire not long ago.]
Why was he suddenly bringing up the Empire?
[It said that the number of mutant monsters has surged in the mountain range stretching between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire, and proposed a joint subjugation.]
“A joint operation to subjugate the monsters?”
[That’s the idea. The truth is, the number of monsters has grown too large for any single nation’s military to handle alone.]
Recently, the number of monsters had skyrocketed across the entire continent. They were appearing far more frequently than usual, and the imperial knight orders were being dispatched for subjugation missions with increasing regularity.
This had the unfortunate side effect of loosening security inside the palace and along the empire’s borders, but there was no helping it. To protect the lives and property of the people, they had no choice but to eliminate the monsters that were attacking villages.
[But that’s not what’s important right now.]
A strange light flickered in Kaiden’s golden eyes.
[It seems the Emperor intends to put the princes front and center during this joint operation.]
“…Pardon?”
I couldn’t help but gape at his words. The first thought that crossed my mind was whether the Emperor had lost his mind.
Lloyd aside, Adrian is sickly and Edwin hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet.
All three princes were still children who hadn’t even reached twenty. To send boys who still had milk behind their ears into such a deadly place…
And they’re princes, for heaven’s sake.
They were boys who had been raised more preciously than anyone else in the world. One of them was even destined to become the master of the Empire after his father.
Yet at a time when it still hadn’t been decided which one that would be, he wanted to send all three of them to a battlefield where they might die?
It was a decision I simply could not understand.
[This is only my speculation, but…]
Kaiden continued in a serious voice.
[It looks like Cabelius III plans to appoint as Crown Prince whichever prince earns the most merit in the monster subjugation.]
* * *
“Is that true?”
The moment Catherine heard my words, she shot up from her seat.
Her face drained of all color as she repeated exactly what I had just said.
“His Majesty the Emperor said he’s sending the princes to the monster subjugation?”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet. I only heard that such discussions took place.”
“Oh my god… heavens above.”
Catherine pressed a hand to her forehead and collapsed back into her chair. Because of the sudden movement, Sage, who was sitting beside her, was momentarily lifted halfway into the air before settling again.
“Hah, as expected of a cold-blooded man.”
Unlike the terrified Catherine, Sage remained utterly calm, as if he had seen it coming.
“To test his own bloodline in such a way. Truly impressive. Simply impressive.”
Said the man who had once driven Edwin into danger under the pretext of testing him. I gave Sage a quick sidelong glance before speaking.
“In any case, since a situation like this could arise suddenly, we should prepare in advance.”
“Even if you tell us to prepare all of a sudden…”
Catherine chewed anxiously on her lower lip. She looked completely lost as to where she should even begin.
It was the sage—no, the gardener Sage—who offered an opinion in place of the flustered head maid.
“First, we need to gather troops.”
“Pardon?”
Catherine’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
“W-what do you mean? Inside the imperial palace, no one except His Majesty the Emperor is allowed to possess troops! Even for a prince, owning private soldiers is clearly an act of treason…”
“Who said anything about private soldiers? I’m saying we should create a faction that will follow only His Highness Edwin during the subjugation.”
Sage looked at Catherine with pity in his eyes.
“The other princes will be doing the same. The First Prince has his maternal uncle as the captain of the Gloria Knights, so he’ll naturally be under their protection. The Second Prince will have the Radcliffe Marquisate’s knight order and the nobles who support him.”
A large-scale subjugation operation wouldn’t involve only the imperial family. The nobles who followed them and the troops under those nobles would all have to participate as well.
No matter how outstanding someone is, they cannot go to the battlefield alone.
In the end, what was most needed was a force with high loyalty and exceptional martial prowess.
“The gardener is right. Before entering the subjugation operation, we must gather as many forces as possible that will support His Highness Edwin.”
“There are still moderate nobles who haven’t chosen a side yet. Couldn’t we persuade them?”
“It won’t be easy, but we have to try.”
The fact that they hadn’t aligned with any faction yet meant they possessed strong convictions and stubbornness. I looked at Catherine, who was sitting there with an uncomfortable expression, unable to say anything.
“Catherine.”
“Y-yes?”
“Could you compile a list of the moderate nobles for me?”
“What? Ah, well… that’s not difficult, but…”
“Then I’d like you to do it right away.”
“R-right now?”
“Yes.”
When I stared at her steadily, Catherine hurriedly stood up.
“U-understood!”
The moment Catherine left the room, I immediately turned my gaze to Sage.
“Could you introduce me to a trustworthy mage?”
Sage frowned at my sudden request.
“A mage? Why a mage all of a sudden?”
“To reinforce our forces.”
“Ah, well… those bastards are certainly well-suited for monster subjugation.”
Sage made a face and scratched roughly at his forehead.
“But the mages I know are all old, and most of them have already passed on. Don’t you know any mages, Lady Kyle—I mean, Lady Brown?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking…”
I paused, frowning.
Actually, there is one mage I know.
A very old connection suddenly surfaced in my mind.
…Should I go find him, just in case?
It was a sticky, ominous connection that I never wanted to encounter again. That person was fundamentally different from Sage or Somnia.
Actually… can he even be called human?
Just remembering the past I had shared with him made my head throb. During my time in the assassination guild, I had faced life-threatening crises dozens of times—and more than half of them had been because of him.
“Lady Brown? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just got a sudden migraine.”
I avoided Sage’s curious gaze and brushed it off.
Let’s put him on hold for now.
I would only use past connections when there was truly no other choice. I steeled my resolve and pushed the memory of that man out of my head.
“By the way.”
Sage suddenly threw out a random question.
“Are you really planning to go through with this?”
“With what?”
“Well…”
Sage seemed to think for a moment before blurting out, “Do you truly believe Edwin can become Emperor?”
“…It’s not that I believe it.”
Believing was something for the priests and followers of the Leon Holy Kingdom.
I rose from my seat without a sound.
“I’m going to make it happen.”
* * *
The sewing room in the Second Consort’s palace was bustling today as always.
Because its mistress was so sensitive to fashion, the seamstresses could never set their needles down for even a single day. Today, they were diligently working on the dress the Second Consort would wear to the upcoming banquet.
Under the hands of many seamstresses, golden floral vines gradually took shape across luxurious red silk.
“My, your skills are truly excellent.”
“Is this the new girl who just joined?”
Among them, however, was one whose skill stood out noticeably.
It was the new seamstress.
“Goodness, it really looks like actual flowering vines.”
“How can it look so lifelike?”
A small stir arose among the usually busy seamstresses.
The newly arrived seamstress was not only quick with her hands but also possessed an exceptional sense for embroidery. Thanks to her, the workload of the other women had decreased little by little.
“Yes, I used to work at the Emperor’s palace.”
The praised seamstress smiled shyly.
“As expected. Those from the Emperor’s palace really are different.”
“Still, for His Majesty to send one of his own people… Even if he doesn’t show it, he must truly care for Her Highness the Second Consort.”
“Indeed. Everyone knows he never sends his own attendants to other palaces.”
The seamstresses poured out gossip for the first time in a while—talking about the Second Consort, the Emperor, the Empress, and the princes. All sorts of scandals and rumors from the imperial palace flowed from their lips.
“Wow, really?”
The new seamstress listened to their stories with apparent interest.
Her eyes, clear as glass beads, held a translucent light that seemed almost inhuman, yet no one noticed.
“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”
The new seamstress carefully raised her hand and joined the chatter.
“What does Her Highness the Second Consort like the most?”