The Runaway Princess
Logan opened his eyes.
“Gasp!”
“You’re awake.”
“D-did I pass out? How much time has passed?”
About thirty minutes. He hadn’t been unconscious for very long.
“I feel like I had some kind of dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah, one where I was saddled with an incredibly burdensome task.”
“Look at what’s pinned to your chest.”
“What am I supposed to look at….”
Logan lowered his head. The emblem I had personally pinned to him was gleaming.
“W-wait. Is this real?”
“Do you think I’d give you a fake?”
Forging an Imperial emblem? That’s a crime that would cost you your life ten times over. Of course, I could forge as many as I wanted. I was the owner, after all.
“It’s real.”
When Logan lifted his head, his pupils were trembling uncontrollably.
“Then, you are….”
“I told you from the start. I came from the Empire.”
“R-right, you did. Dispatched by the Imperial Palace…. No wonder you seemed so incredibly strong. Hah.”
It seemed he had mistaken me for some sort of secret agent sent on a rough mission. I decided to play along with his misconception. It made things easier to persuade him.
Besides, if he knew the Emperor of the Empire was standing right in front of him, he might just pass out again.
Logan looked down at the emblem I had given him.
“Then this is….”
“I can’t stay here forever, and I figured you were the most suitable person to act as the local point of contact. Can you not do it?”
I had already dealt with Ballack, the so-called leader. There might be some remnants of the Black Mages left, but they weren’t a major problem.
The real problem was that in my zeal to pull out the roots, I had eliminated the very brains that ran this country.
“You heard it yourself—there’s only a young prince left. He needs an adult to rely on.”
“And that’s me?”
It didn’t really matter to me whether Logan accepted or not.
It sounded grand to be called a guardian of a prince, but in reality, it wasn’t much. To put it bluntly, what kind of difficult task would I give a middle-aged adventurer like him?
I just wanted him to act as a human marker, a sign that the Empire’s reach had extended here.
If he didn’t accept, I’d have to endure the annoyance of finding another collaborator, but… anyone would do it. It wasn’t just anyone; it was having the Empire as a backer. There would be no shortage of people lining up for the job.
Filtering out the suitable ones from that crowd was Lily’s job.
“……I tried to trap you in a pitfall, you know.”
“Hmm.”
Now that he mentioned it, he had.
Thanks to that, things had gone smoothly, so I didn’t have any hard feelings, but it seemed to be weighing on his mind.
“Then you should accept my offer even more.”
“Huh?”
“Take responsibility with this.”
Logan’s pupils wavered.
“Is it really okay for me to take on such a heavy duty?”
“It doesn’t matter who takes it. I just thought you were the most suitable.”
Well, regardless of how little I thought of it, to Logan, this might feel like the choice of a lifetime. I understood that well enough.
A long while later.
“……I’ll give it a try.”
Logan made his decision.
“A wise choice. Now, take this.”
“What’s this?”
“An artifact to protect your body. There aren’t many people bold enough to mess with someone carrying the Emperor’s emblem, but it’s better to be prepared for the unexpected.”
Perhaps because of the implication that his life could be in danger, Logan’s face stiffened with tension.
“Is it really okay to give me something so precious?”
“If you’re going to be like that, the emblem I gave you is even more precious.”
Artifacts that protect the body were, fundamentally, meaningless to me. They were worth more to him, a middle-aged man who had done some exercise. Could I give them to someone else? The Imperial treasury had even better treasures.
“I have to deal with the remaining remnants, too. I’ll be going now.”
“B-brother.”
“What is it?”
“……Thank you. Truly.”
I stood up from my seat.
“You said you’d live for your younger sibling.”
“Y-yeah. That’s right.”
“Since you’ve decided to do that, be a great brother.”
“Brother….”
Look at that, look at that touched face. Logan’s eyes were brimming with tears. I didn’t particularly want to see him cry….
That was when it happened.
“Brother!”
Logan’s younger sister came running over. Was her name Lucy?
“Lucy, say hello. This gentleman here is the benefactor who saved both you and me.”
“Thank you!”
Lucy bowed deeply. Logan ruffled his sister’s hair with an affectionate gaze. It was a gesture that showed his affection for a sister with whom he had a large age gap.
However.
“Brother, were you worried about me?”
“Of course, you brat. That’s why I told you not to go out alone at night.”
“Hehe.”
The way she looked at her brother was a bit unusual.
Well, they’d figure it out. They weren’t even blood-related, after all.
Quite some time had passed since I returned to the Empire.
There were all sorts of things—the aftermath of the chaotic royal reconstruction, dealing with the remnants of the Black Mages, and so on. But, all in all, it had gone well.
I had started by blowing away the biggest variable, so it would have been strange if things hadn’t gone well.
And the first thing I did upon returning was to give Elizabeth the souvenir I had promised.
“Here is your souvenir.”
“You actually bought one. What is it?”
Elizabeth opened the wrapped box with an excited expression.
“This is…….”
The souvenir was the remains Ballack had left behind. Wasn’t it a fragment of an existence that had achieved a spiritual ascension of sorts? I had brought it along, thinking it might have significant value to Elizabeth, a Black Mage.
“What on earth is this?”
I guess not.
“No, why would you…”
Elizabeth grumbled for a long time.
Anyway.
After that incident, peaceful days followed.
“Another letter of protest?”
I pressed my temples.
The fact that I had personally visited the Kingdom of Trier had, surprisingly, not been discovered.
“We went to great lengths to hide it.”
Elizabeth said with a weary face. As she said, it was thanks to the high-ranking officials who had worked desperately. I should give them a vacation later.
“It’s fortunate that it wasn’t discovered that Your Majesty went there, at least….”
Right. The only thing that wasn’t discovered was the fact that I had gone there myself. I picked up the letter placed in front of me.
[The Empire must apologize for secretly crossing borders, interfering in other countries, and projecting military power! No matter how much the Black Mage’s party…….]
It was long. I stopped reading halfway through. It was a letter of protest from a small country in the east. It was also a country located in a position where one had to pass through its borders to get from the Empire to the Kingdom of Trier.
I could understand why they were flipping out and angry. It couldn’t be helped. I had left the Imperial emblem with Logan, so it was impossible for it not to be discovered.
In the first place, my intention in leaving it was to lend Logan my authority, so it would have been troublesome if it hadn’t been discovered. It was an intentional act.
That said.
“Tsk.”
“Still, there’s no direct condemnation.”
That was true. I had deliberately left the workshop Ballack had built wide open for everyone to see.
[We were able to stop a great crisis on the continent through the Empire’s decision.]
Even the Holy Kingdom had stepped up and certified, “We were almost screwed,” with a stamp of approval. Thanks to that, even the Alliance of Kingdoms, which usually had a seizure whenever the Empire did anything, had taken my side this time.
[It is regrettable that the Empire acted secretly, but it cannot be denied that it was for the future of the continent. Our alliance supports the Empire’s actions.]
Since even those who would bark whenever they heard the word “Empire” were taking my side, if one were to be technical, this could be called a continent-wide WWE.
[Why did you cross our borders without even telling us!!]
Except for the few countries whose borders were directly violated. But they were all small countries. I just ignored them. If I stepped up and crushed them with force, my image would only get worse.
And so, these letters of protest were flying in from time to time.
“It’s for their own political image. They know the Empire won’t retaliate directly, so it seems they’re using this opportunity to build an image of someone who courageously speaks out for the country, even when their life is in danger.”
That was Elizabeth’s analysis. So, for the sake of their own image, they were happily provoking me, knowing I wouldn’t answer.
“Then I actually feel like scolding them.”
“Shall I go?”
Lily quietly lifted her skirt and pulled out a dagger hidden on her thigh. If I nodded, it seemed like a few corpses would appear tomorrow….
I shook my head.
“Forget it. I’ll bring it up as a topic at the meeting later.”
If all else failed, couldn’t I just send Lily to leave a note by their pillow while they were sleeping?
Just then.
“Ah, Your Majesty.”
Lily, who had tucked her dagger back in, opened her eyes wide.
“……They say Princess Cecilia has returned?”
“……Cecilia?”
Hearing that, Elizabeth’s eyes, who had been processing documents with me, widened. If I was the childhood friend who was a bit older, Cecilia was a childhood friend of about the same age as Elizabeth. It must be a welcome name in many ways.
I was surprised, too. Why would my younger sister, who left home shouting “Down with Khalid,” return? You’re not supposed to be back in the Empire yet.
The question was soon answered.
“Brother, what on earth is this?”
Cecilia, who appeared in the office, pulled out a book I had never seen before with a cold face.
‘Praises for the Shining Sun of the Empire’……?
“What is that book with a title so embarrassing that it’s hard to even read it to yourself?”
“What do you mean, what is it! It’s a book praising you, Brother. Are you even having people spread things like this now?”
I truly had never heard of it. I looked into the book again. Let’s see. Author, Simon….
Simon?
……Why does that name sound familiar?