Yielding the Ice Castle
Loras's arrival unsettled us all. Princess Reciel included. The prince, by contrast, seemed genuinely delighted to have run into his sister inside the Labyrinth.
"I suppose you'll need to explain what you're doing here."
Now that he mentioned it, it was odd that the prince had found us at all. He had entered the Labyrinth well ahead of our group.
"Why should I explain why you're late when you're the incompetent one who fell behind?"
Princess Reciel's face twisted with open disgust the moment she saw him.
"My, I was only asking out of concern. If it upset you, I apologize."
"If you're going to spew more of that nauseating nonsense, just leave."
"It looks to me like you could use my help."
"Help? I don't need it! I found this castle first, so it's mine. Don't even think about touching it."
"Even a blind man can see your team alone can't conquer it. Wouldn't it be wiser not to ignore reality?"
The very thing I had been dreading since Loras appeared had finally surfaced. We had discovered the Ice Castle first, but there was no way the prince would simply walk away from such an enticing prize. Given his relationship with Reciel, he would never hand it over.
"I can't just stand by and watch you overextend yourself out of greed and get seriously hurt. It's admirable that you're working so hard for the empire, but from now on, it would be better to leave it to your brother."
"You're not worried about me. You're just threatening me because you want it for yourself."
Reciel's eyes filled with revulsion, fury, and killing intent.
"If you keep struggling to claim something this large all by yourself and end up losing it to another nation, how do you intend to atone for that disloyalty? Don't be greedy."
"Why would another nation take it? I'm going to conquer it. I have no intention of failing… hah."
Her voice grew sharper with anger, but then she suddenly let out a deep sigh. After a brief pause, she spoke again.
"Fine. If you're that confident, go ahead. Conquer it first."
"…Conquer it?"
The prince clearly hadn't expected Reciel to respond this way. It was only natural for him to feel uneasy when the same person who had been shouting that the castle was hers moments ago suddenly told him to take it first.
"Yes. Go ahead."
"…Why the sudden change of heart when you were so against it earlier?"
"I'm yielding it for the sake of the empire. If you don't want it, suit yourself."
"Of course I want it. I'm simply moved that my little sister has finally come to her senses."
Despite his suspicion, the prince accepted the offer. He couldn't afford to let the opportunity slip away. In truth, Reciel's consent had never mattered much to him. He had only pretended to seek it while expecting her to explode in rage. Her unexpectedly calm concession seemed to disappoint him; he clicked his tongue and looked genuinely regretful. The fact that he didn't bother hiding his expression suggested he had hoped to provoke her.
He's such a piece of work.
Our team members were just as taken aback by Reciel's cool permission.
Is this really okay?
The princess must have a plan.
Maybe it's for the best. Honestly, we weren't sure how to tackle it ourselves.
We had been struggling with the unexpectedly large number of monsters and wondering how to proceed. Having someone else take the first swing wasn't a bad idea. The real problem, however, was…
If Prince Loras clears the castle without much trouble, we'll have done all the work only to hand it over.
But judging by Reciel's expression, that wasn't going to happen.
"Ah, and if you need help, just say so. Don't let pride get in the way and end up getting innocent people killed."
"That sounds like something I've been telling you all this time."
The prince couldn't hide his bewilderment.
"Exactly. I figured I'd say it first so you wouldn't embarrass yourself by failing to follow your own advice."
"…I understand your intention, but what you're hoping for won't come to pass. Don't get your hopes up. It would be best if you rested comfortably and left the Labyrinth. It would be such a shame if my dear sister died here without even recovering her body."
Those words were far more chilling than any curse wishing for her death. The tone was one of pure, sincere hope that it would happen. Because there were others around, he had lowered his voice when speaking the final line, so the bystanders likely thought he was a caring older brother worried about his reckless little sister.
He really knows how to manage his reputation.
Even though he was royalty, he still cared this much about public opinion. He must want the throne that badly. A thought occurred to me, and I glanced at Melody.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You used to be interested in him, didn't you?"
"Yes."
She had even openly provoked him once.
"Are you still interested?"
"Yes. But he seems to have more patience than I expected, so I was planning to observe him carefully."
"Hmm… Was it the right decision to give the prince this chance?"
"We have no other options at the moment, and even if we tried to hold out, he wouldn't simply pass us by. I believe the princess made the correct choice."
"I agree. Still, it's honestly surprising."
Reciel had always flown into a rage the moment she saw Loras. I couldn't help wondering what had led her to make this decision. Having secured Reciel's consent, Loras showed no further interest in us and set up camp a good distance away. Reciel glared at him fiercely, clearly wanting him gone, so it was fortunate he left without protest.
"I imagine you're all uncomfortable with the choice I made."
Once Loras's group had completely disappeared, Reciel addressed the question everyone had been hesitating to ask. Even though she was the team's leader, making a unilateral decision without consulting the others could easily breed resentment.
"You might be angry that I handed over the opportunity without asking for your opinions."
"Not at all. We're certain you didn't yield it for the prince's sake, so we trust you."
What surprised me was how calmly the leader waited for her explanation, clearly trusting her. I nodded in agreement, equally convinced that Reciel would never yield anything to Loras out of goodwill.
"That's right. In my judgment, this castle isn't something that can be conquered easily. It's certainly beyond what we could manage on our own. Of course, they might succeed. Even if they do, it doesn't matter."
"Aren't you disappointed? Especially since it's the prince who stands to gain…"
"The prince won't be able to swallow the Ice Castle all by himself anyway."
"Pardon?"
"I looked into which path he took to avoid running into us. He chose the route most people use."
"Ah!"
Now I understood why she had given him the chance.
"The path we took was clearly a shortcut compared to the popular route. Even though he arrived first, other people will gradually gather near the castle as time passes."
As everyone knew, the Ice Castle wasn't something that could be cleared in a day or two. No one could monopolize it alone. There was no need to fight over it and create unnecessary conflict.
"So… are we heading back now?"
The loot we had already gathered meant we wouldn't be at a loss if we left. But Reciel shook her head.
"No. We still have something to do at this castle."
She rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a small piece of paper that looked like a map fragment.
"What is that, Your Highness?"
"It's a map fragment showing the interior of the castle."
"A map fragment of the interior?"
"We got lucky. It was found while we were dealing with the monsters. It only shows part of the layout, but that part contains a very important clue."
According to Reciel, the fragment marked the location of a hidden path. Our new objective was to find it.
"But what if we're not the only ones who have this map? The others could find pieces too while hunting monsters."
"Since it's a fragment, other pieces will probably turn up. But we have the most valuable one. Let's strike first and clear out the best parts before anyone else finds them."
Snatching the real prize before others could get to it.
"Isn't that fun? They do all the hard work, and we get to enjoy the best parts."
At Reciel's mischievous smile, the team let out silent cheers so Loras's group wouldn't hear.
"Heh, as expected of our princess. I knew you had a plan."
The leader, who had shown such a sharp edge in battle, now wore the warm smile of a kindly farmer.
"Hmph! You always say you like whatever I do anyway."
"You've been sharp and capable since you were little, just like Princess Canaby."
Being told you resembled someone could be taken as an insult by some, but for Reciel, being compared to her sister was the highest praise.
"Anyway, I have everything under control, so please don't worry too much."