The Siege Breaks
I sat in the inn hall, scooping melted cheese into my mouth with a spoon. It was a leisurely sight that didn't match the situation of the capital being under siege, but for ordinary people, this was actually the natural response. I wasn't involved in the imperial succession struggle, and I wasn't even a noble. Normally, nobles had it overwhelmingly easy while commoners were nothing more than rubble underfoot, but this was a kind of emergency. The ones trembling in fear of being wrongly targeted and losing their lives were the high and mighty. A mere commoner just needed to live their daily life. The pretext for blockading the capital was the suspicion of the emperor's poisoning, which made it even more so. Even if someone poisoned the emperor, it would be the high and mighty who did it—why would a commoner do such a thing? There was no benefit to be gained from it anyway.
Moreover, the Second Prince probably didn't believe the emperor had truly been poisoned when he blockaded the capital. That was just a pretext, and by now he was likely preparing to capture and purge the other heirs. In other words, this was something that non-stakeholders could ignore. We could just drink milk and eat cheese. I downed a glass of milk. Then Chris whispered to me.
"Ruina-nim. What should we do?"
"I explained it earlier. As long as we don't do anything suspicious, we'll be fine."
"Not that. At this rate, the popularity of Ruina-nim, who fought a bloody battle with the Evil God's priest, will cool off."
"Ah, that story."
Indeed, with the rumor of the emperor's poisoning spreading and the capital under blockade, my story wasn't even gossip material anymore. In the face of overwhelming shock, everything else lost its meaning.
"But I've already finished all the investments…"
"Sometimes you have to lose money."
"Waaah."
Chris made a crying sound.
"Waaah, waaah."
No, she was actually crying. This money-obsessed succubus cried when she lost money. Thanks to that, I roughly understood how sad Chris had been when Flora died. It must have been as sad as losing money. Confirmed.
"Could it be that the Second Prince assassinated the emperor?"
Jerry muttered quietly. I checked the soundproofing magic and replied.
"Probably not. This rebellion just happened to ride on the situation of the emperor's death."
"Why do you think that?"
"If it had been planned that thoroughly, he wouldn't have blockaded the capital. He would have secured the heirs first before anything happened."
It was simple. If he had prepared that meticulously, everything would have ended the moment it began. In other words, this chaotic situation itself proved the Second Prince's innocence.
"Besides, from the Second Prince's perspective, it's better for the emperor to live as long as possible. The more time passes, the more advantageous it is for the capable Second Prince. If he just continued as usual, his chances of inheriting the throne were high, so there was no reason to take the risk of assassinating the emperor and starting a rebellion."
"I see."
Jerry nodded in understanding. Then Leon, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"When do you think the blockade will be lifted?"
"Who knows."
I tilted my head at Leon's question. Speed was crucial in a coup. In modern times, quickly seizing the parliament was important, but in this Happy Medieval Land, quickly eliminating the heirs was key. So even if it took a while, the blockade would likely be lifted in a few days, though I didn't know for certain. There were too many variables in this situation.
"There's nothing we can do anyway, right? Let's just take it easy."
After all, there was only one thing we could do in this situation: wait for things to resolve quickly. Until then, we couldn't leave the capital anyway—
"The blockade has been lifted."
"Really?"
"Really."
People were murmuring. Hearing the conversation, I narrowed my eyes. The blockade was already lifted?
"No. It's not that the blockade was lifted. It's just that all the soldiers who were controlling people have left the castle."
"That's the same thing, you idiot. If there's no one left to stop them, of course the blockade is lifted."
The surroundings instantly grew noisy as people, now free from the watching soldiers, began chiming in one by one. All the soldiers had left the castle? Hmm.
"Something must have happened."
"What kind of incident?"
At Chris's question, I explained carefully.
"Blockading the capital is extremely important from the Second Prince's perspective. That's how he can keep the people he wants trapped."
"But he lifted it. Ah."
"Yes. The reason for the blockade has disappeared. Because the people he needed to keep trapped are no longer in the capital."
In short, something urgent had happened to the Second Prince—so urgent that he had to pull even the soldiers used for the blockade. I continued.
"It seems the First Prince has successfully escaped."
"Ruina-nim. What are we really going to do now?"
"Huh? What do you mean, 'do'?"
I asked back, genuinely confused. Why was she asking what we were going to do?
"The situation has changed. I was wondering if your mind had changed too."
"The Second Prince's situation has changed, but mine hasn't?"
"Really?"
"Did you think I would rush out to help the First Prince for revenge against the Second Prince?"
"…Honestly, I did think that."
I smiled leisurely.
"Why would I do something like that? What benefit would it bring me?"
"But you kept muttering about having your Star Silver taken away. I thought you cared about it."
"Chris-nim, you have a rich imagination. You have the qualities of a merchant."
I put my pipe in my mouth and continued quietly.
"Let's wait a little longer and then quickly leave the capital. We need to go find the Holy Grail soon."
*
Haze disliked the Second Prince. In fact, there were few imperial figures who liked the Second Prince. The Second Prince didn't hide his ambition for the throne, so it was obvious what would happen if he succeeded. A massive purge that left not a single threat behind. That was the kind of person the Second Prince was.
Therefore, Haze, who served the Eighth Princess Tasia Eterno, often secretly interfered with the Second Prince's affairs. Sometimes he interfered openly. Since Tasia, who was far down in the line of succession, had no chance of inheriting the throne, he was keeping an eye on the most dangerous person in case he became emperor.
"Tasia-nim. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Haze. Keep running."
Carrying Tasia on his back, Haze urged his horse to go faster. Haze and Tasia had been able to escape the imperial palace partly due to luck and partly because they had mentally rehearsed various scenarios in advance. As soon as the incident broke out, Haze and Tasia found the First Prince. They escaped the palace together with the First Prince, who was trying to flee through a secret passage. A few others joined in, making the group quite large, but the First Prince accepted them without issue. Since their traces would inevitably be discovered, he had hastily increased their numbers.
Haze shifted his gaze to the First Prince running at the front. Currently, the First Prince was dodging the Second Prince's soldiers stationed throughout the area and heading toward the nearest garrison of the defense forces. If they reached there, it would be the First Prince's victory. The imperial army would obey the orders of the legitimate heir, the First Prince, and no matter how strong the southern army was, it couldn't compare to the entire imperial army.
If the Second Prince had quickly secured the First Prince and succeeded to the throne, it might have been different, but since he hadn't, this was a fight with no chance of winning from the start. The Second Prince and the southern army knew this, so they had done everything in their power to capture the First Prince, but ultimately failed. And through this series of events, Haze became certain that the current rebellion had not been planned in advance. If it had been planned beforehand, they would have secured the First Prince first before acting.
Haze gripped the reins tightly. They were almost there. Just a little further and they would reach the capital defense forces' garrison—
"Lord Orpin. Keep advancing."
Haze raised his head at the low but heavy voice. One of the knights riding alongside Orpin drew his sword and dismounted. The knight muttered.
"Darin. How dare you betray His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Hey, Ezron. I only have one emperor. I've been that way for years."
"Y-you traitor."
Haze didn't slow his horse and passed between the two. Immediately after—
BOOOOOOM—!
The swords of the Imperial Knights Commander and the Southern Commander clashed, shaking the world. Amid the trembling shock, Haze gritted his teeth.
Master. I need to go to where Master is.
Haze let out a hollow laugh in his mind. The worst situation Haze had imagined was the Second Prince becoming emperor. But look. The worst he had imagined wasn't the worst after all—the true worst had descended upon reality.
A rebellion. Why would anyone commit such a mad act so calmly?
Haze checked the faces of the people currently fleeing. The First Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, the Fourth Princess, the Eighth Princess. Everyone except the First Prince was at the very bottom of the succession line. Did the Second Prince need to kill even these people to feel satisfied with taking the throne?
Haze prayed inwardly. Please. Let nothing happen until we reach Master.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A sly voice rang in his ears. For a moment, Haze almost lost strength in the hand holding the reins. He slowed his horse. He had no choice. Facing the army blocking their path, Haze bit his lip hard.
The Second Prince, Isaac Eterno, stepped forward with his soldiers.
"Brother isn't fit to be emperor. That position isn't one that someone with nothing like you can sit in."
"Isaac."
The First Prince, Orpin, muttered in an angry voice. In response, the knights following Orpin and the other royals dismounted and drew their swords. Haze did the same.
"Tasia-nim. Please wait a moment."
"……"
Tasia nodded silently. Haze handed her the reins and turned around. The southern knights following Isaac one by one took combat stances and loosened up. Haze faced the knight with a long scar on his face among them and activated his magic. Refinement magic overlaid his blade, and his brown eyes turned green. At the same time, a second sword was drawn and floated in the air.
At the sight, the scarred man laughed viciously.
"Using an interesting little trick, aren't you?"
"……"
With that as the signal, the southern knights charged at the capital's knights, and Isaac charged at Orpin. In the midst of the chaos, the scarred man lowered his sword at an angle and slowly opened his mouth.
"We should start too, shouldn't we?"