Chapter 197: The Royal Castle
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: The Royal Castle
Rogen, the capital of the Nivia Kingdom.
In the heart of the city, built upon fertile land, stood the royal castle—the pillar of the kingdom.
How magnificent.
Perhaps thanks to the royal crest emblazoned on it, the carriage passed through the castle gates without any particular inspection.
The castle interior was several times more magnificent than it had appeared from the outside. A sight beyond words flashed past the window.
I hadn't passed through the capital in the Veilhaven Republic, so this was my first time actually seeing a castle.
Before long, the carriage came to a stop in front of a certain mansion.
No, calling it a mansion wasn't enough to describe its splendor.
“Where are we?”
“The Ruby Palace. It's where the princesses of the past have resided, and now, it's where I live.”
As the coachman opened the carriage door, we were greeted by several dozen maids lined up on either side.
I didn't know if it was because the atmosphere of each country was different or if it was the difference between royalty and nobility, but nothing like this had ever happened in the Veilhaven Republic.
...This isn't half bad, is it?
While I was distracted by the spectacular sight that no man could easily look away from, someone poked me.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Elisabeth was glaring at me with a pout.
“Aren't you going to escort me?”
“Escort you?”
Come to think of it, the carriage was quite high off the ground.
High enough that it would be difficult for Elisabeth to get down on her own.
Pushed by her nagging, I got out of the carriage.
“This is my first time doing this. Will that be alright?”
“No. If you make a mistake, I'll punish you.”
“...”
What was with this woman?
When I gave her a look of disbelief, Elisabeth actually laughed.
I casually extended my hand. She skillfully took it and stepped down from the carriage.
“Thank you.”
“I'm honored.”
I wondered if this was what it felt like to be bowed to while you were already on the ground.
Following Elisabeth, Tina disembarked from the carriage.
...?
Tina's attire was a little strange.
Just a moment ago, she had been wearing a skin-tight bodysuit, but now she was dressed in a simple dress like an ordinary maid.
For a second, I doubted my own eyes.
Did she change her clothes in that brief moment it took me to get out of the carriage?
In many ways, she was every bit the assassin.
I followed Elisabeth, who took the lead, toward the mansion.
As she took a step, the maids bowed their heads in succession. Not even the slightest breath could be heard.
Instead, someone was approaching from the mansion at a brisk pace. It was a woman who looked quite old.
She wore a maid's uniform like the others, but her status seemed higher.
“Your Highness Elisabeth! Where in the world have you been?! To suddenly disappear since this morning!”
The woman shouted, sweating profusely.
But Elisabeth seemed to turn a deaf ear.
“Ah, if you're going to nag, do it later.”
“Your Highness!”
From their reactions, I could guess what had happened.
Elisabeth's sudden disappearance must have thrown the entire castle into an uproar, and this woman, who seemed to be the palace manager, would have been held responsible.
She must have felt like every second was shaving a year off her life.
“I was so worried...”
“That's enough.”
As if this wasn't the first or second time she'd heard such nagging, Elisabeth skillfully let it go in one ear and out the other.
“Go and check the carriage following us, and send word to the Main Palace. Tell them there's been an attempted assassination of a royal.”
“...What?”
Leaving the poor woman to suffer under a bad boss, Elisabeth calmly walked towards the mansion.
Naturally, chaos erupted behind her. The stunned woman and the maids alike gasped and rushed toward the carriage.
“Lady Elisabeth.”
“What is it?”
“This seems to be getting out of hand. Can't I just quietly get the letter of recommendation and leave?”
“No.”
It was a refusal as sharp as a knife.
“Then what about just running away?”
“Do it, if you want to be chased by the royal knights.”
Elisabeth glanced back, leaving me with a chilling warning and a smile.
It's a thought I've been having a lot lately, but it seems I have a knack for attracting women with tragic backstories or strange personalities.
*
“...Is it true that the First Princess has returned safely?”
Inside a lavish room, an elderly woman was conversing with someone.
“Yes.”
A man, completely wrapped in a cloak that obscured not only his face but also his build, replied.
“Far from being injured, she is said to have brought back the body of an attacker.”
“...Was it the work of that assassin wench?”
“I believe not. It was common for the princess to go on excursions without an escort. Furthermore, the state of the body was peculiar. It looked as if it had been burned.”
“If not that wench, then who in the world could have saved the princess?”
Her voice was gentle, but the man did not miss the subtle killing intent in the gaze directed at him.
Ignoring the cold sweat trickling down his cheek, the man continued to speak as if nothing were wrong.
“...Around 1 PM, a bolt of lightning struck the Eastern Industrial Complex, and the guards were dispatched.”
“Lightning? On a cloudless day like today?”
“Yes. Traces of magic were discovered, and they are currently searching for the culprit. However, as you know, mages who handle lightning are extremely rare. And considering the wounds left on the attackers' bodies...”
“Enough.”
Tap, tap, tap.
The woman cut the man off, tapping the table as if lost in thought.
“...You said the princess brought a man with her?”
“Yes. According to a maid at the Ruby Palace, he is quite a handsome man. But it seems he is not a noble.”
“Hmm...”
The woman furrowed her brow, as if something didn't sit right.
The wrinkles she already had deepened.
“The princess who wouldn't even spare a glance for the young lords of other families at her débutante... has brought a man home...”
“I can investigate him, if you wish.”
After a moment of consideration, the woman nodded. The man bowed and then vanished from the room.
*
After following Elisabeth into the mansion, I was assigned a suitable room.
Though, calling it a room was a stretch; it seemed to be a drawing-room.
In any case, she had tossed me some magic books to read if I got bored, so I had no time to be idle.
Being royalty, she possessed several rare books. They were so interesting I wanted to show them to Iris.
Aside from the slightly piercing gazes of the maids, it was reasonably comfortable.
They must be curious about the man the princess brought with her.
A quick look around revealed that I was the only man in the mansion.
There wasn't even a butler, a common enough sight, and even the kitchen staff were all women.
...This is paradise.
The maids were, on average, quite beautiful, and aside from the occasional older woman, the place was close to my ideal.
Of course, Elisabeth kept giving me looks, so I couldn't enjoy the view at my leisure.
Something about the way I looked at the maids being disrespectful, or whatever.
Anyway, as I was passing the time having a staring contest with a beautiful maid standing opposite me...
Click.
The drawing-room door opened.
A familiar scent brushed past my nose.
“I'm sure I told you to rest.”
Elisabeth entered the room, wearing a brilliant pink dress and carrying a faint floral scent.
Her appearance was so beautiful that I was momentarily captivated. It was another reminder that she was, indeed, a real princess.
Tina followed her into the room.
It seemed only Elisabeth had changed, as Tina was wearing the same outfit as when she had gotten out of the carriage.
“Couldn't even wait a moment before hitting on a maid... You truly have no integrity.”
Elisabeth sat down gracefully across from me.
Even her smallest movements seemed to carry the scent of flowers.
“Don't you knock?”
“Why should I?”
Elisabeth scoffed, picking up her teacup.
I guess only her appearance had changed.
Snap!
With a flick of her fingers, the maids in the room filed out in an orderly fashion.
Only Elisabeth, Tina, and I remained.
“I dismissed them because we have something to discuss.”
“Something to discuss?”
“You know that attacker who was escaping over the rooftops? It seems they couldn't recover the body.”
“What?”
That was impossible.
There's no way a mere assassin could have survived a full-power Lightning Spear.
“...Did someone make off with the body?”
That would mean someone involved in the attack was the one who took it.
If handled correctly, this could be a clue to finding the true culprit.
“Who knows. Maybe, maybe not...”
But she seemed indifferent to the body's disappearance.
As if it had nothing to do with her.
“You seem calm.”
At my words, Elisabeth gave a small smile.
As she fiddled with her teacup and turned her head, her profile looked somewhat bitter.
“It's not the first time.”
Elisabeth's cold, sunken eyes stared out the window.
“The first time I almost died, I was five. My favorite rose tea was poisoned. The next time was when I was twelve, I think? I was visiting a nearby territory outside the capital when I was attacked by an assassin. I survived thanks to my guards, but...”
Her voice trailing off, Elisabeth stroked the back of her hand—her left hand, which had been constantly covered by a glove.
Slowly, she silently removed her glove, and I was left speechless.
A scar.
It was a hideous mark, one that looked like it hadn't faded for a very long time.
“The attacker's dagger grazed the back of my hand, and I was poisoned. It must have been a potent toxin. Even with the High Priest, the healing was so slow I nearly died. Well, I managed to survive, but they said there was nothing they could do about the scar. Apparently, not even divine power can heal it.”
Only then did I understand why she always wore a glove on her left hand.
For a noble lady, a scar is a flaw.
It might look small at a glance, but it's a major flaw that gives others an excuse to slander her.
For a princess, the weight of it must have been even greater.
“Is there no way to heal it?”
“...It's not that there are no methods at all, but they're all so impossibly difficult that, for now, I have to assume it's impossible.”
She smiled cynically.
But to me, it felt more like detachment.
It was as if she were observing from a third-person perspective. Even though it was her own story, she seemed far too uninterested.
Like someone who held no expectations.
“Oh, right.”
After a brief silence, Elisabeth seemed to remember something and picked up a bell from the table.
At the short ring, maids entered the room.
“You called, Your Highness.”
Elisabeth pointed at me.
“Take him and get him properly dressed up.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids who received the order immediately surrounded me.
A pressure even heavier than when I was surrounded by the attackers closed in on me.
“...Um, Lady Elisabeth?”
“What?”
“Why do I suddenly need to get dressed up?”
“Hm? Did I not tell you?”
“?”
Picking up a pastry from the table, she smiled brightly and said,
“We have to go see my father soon. When I sent word to the Main Palace, he told me to bring you over immediately.”