Chapter 21
Chapter 21
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
It was probably because of the Liente blood flowing through half my body.
These black mages were all people who had defected to the Kingdom of Sebon. And every member of the Kingdom of Liente's royal family, except for my mother, had either been killed by Sebon's people or had gone missing.
'Which means I'm the only clearly identified person who carries the Liente royal bloodline.'
I was a person of Sears, and a citizen of the Empire, but even so, if I had Liente royal blood mixed in, they might want to eliminate me no matter what.
'Then in the original novel...... maybe Baron Hawin didn't just sell off his niece, but the Sebon bastards specifically singled me out and told him to bring me.'
Though the full truth of that matter was no longer something I could confirm.
'I didn't expect this.'
I let out an involuntary sigh.
To think they counted even me, someone who had never once been to Liente, as royalty.
On top of that, I was an official citizen of the Empire who bore the name of one of the Founding Five Houses.
If they harmed me without any reason, the Kingdom of Sebon would have to face the Empire.
'So that's why they tried to use an unofficial criminal scheme.'
In the original novel, this incident must have happened a month earlier.
Since they couldn't maintain their smuggling-based coexistence with us, food in the Hawin Barony would have run out sooner.
'He came to sell his own people and got an offer involving me.'
But even though the timing had changed, the fact that they had targeted me remained the same.
For now, the future had changed, and I had survived.
I came back to reality and pulled myself together.
"Now, three of you guard me."
I gave orders to the other knights.
"The rest of you, go to that warehouse and bring back as much wheat as possible. You lot, hurry up and go too."
I directed that at the intruders from the Hawin Barony, who were still huffing with anger.
"You have to earn your potato pay, don't you?"
This was why I'd fed them until they were full earlier.
In the end, the knights and the intruders went rushing off toward the warehouse.
I gave Wendy an order.
"Seal this up properly again. It'd be a waste if it spilled on the way."
It was the sack of wheat the black mage had brought earlier to show me.
I made a solemn declaration to the knights.
"This is grain the black mages amassed illicitly while committing crimes."
We couldn't leave something like this out in the world.
"So we have to eat every last bit of it and make it disappear."
The knights all agreed.
"That's right!"
"We must annihilate it by eating!"
"We won't let a single grain escape!"
Everyone exchanged righteous looks, united in heart.
"Excuse me."
That was when it happened.
"My lady?"
The person who approached my side was Baron Forman.
He had peeled off the burn-victim disguise mask my knight had given him and removed his hat too.
No longer hunched over, the neat-looking old man looked straight at me.
"Could you explain to me what exactly is going on here?"
I looked straight back at the old man.
At that, Philip stepped forward in anger.
"How dare you, with such insolence, look the young lady straight in the eye and speak to her however you please?"
Baron Forman countered in an uncertain voice.
"Your manner of speech is quite archaic...... Are you perhaps from the Kingdom of Liente? I was under the impression that only maidservants came from Liente......."
"Will you not apologize to the young lady at once!"
Philip said only what he wanted to say.
"Instead of bowing your head and thanking her for saving you......."
That was the moment.
"Is it true?"
A low voice came from behind me.
I opened my eyes wide and turned around.
This voice.......
"Did Brisa truly save my maternal grandfather?"
Hair as black as a moonless night.
A face with calm golden eyes and a gentle smile.
A boy as beautiful as if he had been painstakingly carved from stone.
It was Leopold Nozen.
He had been leading the knights stationed closest to this place.
* * *
Monsters fell as though swept away by his sword energy.
"Captain! Captain! No, I mean, Marquess!"
Behind him, the elite unit ran frantically after the platinum-haired young man.
"J-just a little! Let's rest just a little!"
At his subordinates' pleas, Alpheus let out a sigh and pulled on the horse's reins.
After halting his gallop for a moment, he turned back with a bright, refreshed expression.
"Hah, really. You're all so weak."
Even though he was covered in monster blood, his expression was the picture of innocence.
"Still, shouldn't we hurry to see our lifesaver? Doesn't thinking about that give you energy?"
Alpheus recalled what had happened two months ago.
* * *
It took Alpheus and his elite unit less than two days to reach the imperial palace by Warp.
But once they arrived at the palace, even getting to meet an attendant took an eternity.
Not only did no one in Alpheus's group know the proper procedures, but no one stepped forward to help him either.
Even after barely managing to meet an attendant, the situation didn't improve much.
"......You say you're Marquess Sears? Hmm."
The attendant looked Alpheus's clothes over with contempt and said,
"Even if you seek the Second Imperial Prince now, you won't be able to meet him. He has gone east to suppress a Monster Wave."
He gave Alpheus a cursory explanation, as if it were a bother.
"A Monster Wave has struck the east as well, and unlike the west, the east doesn't usually deal with many monsters, so they were struggling. On top of that, they say a very unusual monster appeared there too."
"No, what does the east have to do with the Second Imperial Prince......."
"It was only natural for the imperial household to send the Second Imperial Prince, who had even brought the Northern Civil War to an end."
Alpheus and the elite unit were quite taken aback.
If not the Second Imperial Prince, there was no one who could verify his war achievements. But judging by the attendant's attitude, it was obvious they wouldn't even be allowed into the palace.
"If we came all this way and return empty-handed, do you think Rangsi will leave us alone?"
The unit commander asked cautiously.
"Captain, how about looking for mercenary work here?"
At that, the attendant was horrified.
"A marquess's knight order doing mercenary work? Good heavens. Are you people really from a marquess's household?"
The unit commander rolled his eyes once, then came up with a solution.
"We'd hide our identities."
"That's nonsense."
Alpheus snapped.
"It's our first time in the capital. It'll take half a day just to find work."
After thinking for a moment, Alpheus turned to the elite unit and said,
"It'd be better to go help the Second Imperial Prince. A Monster Wave is something I could handle in half a day if I went, don't you think?"
The elite unit nodded without exception.
"Of course. You're worth a hundred men, Captain."
"We can get paid and help the Second Imperial Prince. It's a great plan."
Alpheus singled out one of the knights and gave him this order:
"You go to the Sears Marquisate and tell them I'll be a little late. It won't be very late."
The chosen knight nodded resolutely.
"Understood. Then will you be taking a Warp to the east right away?"
"Ah...... Since I'm in the capital anyway, let me just buy one present for Bribri."
"Bribri......?"
"It's my little sister's nickname. Isn't it cute?"
"Has this been mutually agreed upon?"
"I agonized over it all night and decided yesterday, so Bribri doesn't know yet."
Of course, he hadn't managed to have a proper conversation with Brisa, but Alpheus still held out hope where his little sister was concerned.
"How desperately must she be waiting for her big brother Alphi?"
At those words, the knight tilted his head.
Thinking back to the night of the funeral, when Brisa had turned him away at the door.......
"Bribri! From now on, call me Big Bro Alphi!"
"Kids, what are you doing? Prepare the exorcism ritual right now. A soul that should not exist in the Sears Marquisate has entered."
Brisa looked ready to turn every color imaginable and say exactly that.
"W-well. 'Big Bro' is usually something children only use when they're really close...... so it might be difficult, don't you think?"
When the knight didn't agree, Alpheus said brightly,
"Well, it might be a little awkward at first."
"Yes, that 'at first' might last a while......."
"But once we get close, won't she call me 'Big Bro Alphi'?"
"Yes, if you wait about half a century......."
"You're too cautious. That's your problem. Try to hold a little more expectation for a brilliant tomorrow and a beautiful future."
Alpheus, positive about everything, patted the knight on the shoulder.
"Anyway, take care."
About half a day after that, Alpheus and the elite unit took a Warp to the east. But the Warp shook excessively, unlike usual, and took a long time.
"Something, something's strange."
"Right? Still, let's wait for now. The direction seems correct."
After all those twists and turns, the east was just as chaotic from the Monster Wave.
He had to follow the Second Imperial Prince's trail all the way to an island near the eastern territory.
And when he finally managed to find the Second Imperial Prince, the prince lay unconscious on the island.
"......Your Highness? Your Highness!"
Even the imperial knights he had been leading were all sprawled out as well.
There was no way to know how long they had been lying there as if asleep.
By sheer luck, he was still unharmed, but if even a single wave reached this far and swept him out to sea, the monsters would surely devour him.
But just as he was about to rescue him, a song came from somewhere.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■"