Queen Erya, Prince Cloud’s mother, was being confined in the highest room of the tallest tower by the fortress.
Thanks to Marquis Koupe’s memories, we were able to bypass the tight security and slip right inside. Prince Cloud spoke up as he looked on at the place confining his mother.
“The defenses here are quite strong... Still, we should be able to bypass it all with your invisibility magic... I just hope we can reach my mother and get her to safety soon...”
“Target lock on: Fortress Soldiers. Invoke [Paralyze].”
“Target lock, successful. Invoking [Paralyze].”
I heard several gasps and grunts from all over the fortress, and the soldiers lining the front gate fell down to the ground. That should’ve taken care of most of it, at least. [Paralyze] wouldn’t work on people with great magical defense, or those who happened to be carrying talismans, but it wasn’t likely that there’d be many fitting that criteria.
“Let’s go...”
“...Hm.” I called on to the others and charged ahead. Prince Cloud was just staring at me, blank in the face. Yae suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, staring him in the eyes. She shook her head as if to say “Do not worry about it. If you worry about it, you will worry forever.” I had no idea what that was all about.
We looked over the collapsed soldiers as we strolled into the fort. It was really heavily guarded, for whatever reason. More so than the royal castle, come to think of it. Once we entered the castle, I noticed there were still some people moving around. Mostly helpers, menial staff, and so on. That made sense. I did specify soldiers, after all. Oh well.
When we came through, they all ran outside in a panic. They were screaming something about a disease outbreak. It did kinda look like that from their perspective, I guess.
I ignored them and entered the tower. I took the door keys from an immobile soldier, then started ascending the steep spiral staircase.
About halfway up the stairs, we came face-to-face with a black-haired maid girl in her twenties. She hadn’t been affected by the spell, seemingly. Only natural, as she looked nothing like a soldier to me.
“Name yourselves or I’ll call the guards at once!”
“I am Cloud, second prince of Lihnea. My mother is here, and I’ve come for her. Please let us pass.”
“Prince Cloud?!” The maid with long, black hair suddenly kneeled. She bowed her head. Oh, could it be...?
“Please excuse my behavior. My name is Angie. I’m the personal chambermaid of Queen Erya. On Marquis Koupe’s orders, I’ve been protecting her here.”
“Ah, you’re Angie? Koupe told me all about you. Thank you so much for informing us about my mother. I owe you a great debt.”
“You speak too highly of me...” I knew it! She’s Koupe’s maid, the one that was sent to spy.
“Your mother isn’t much further from here. Just keep climb—”
“What’s all this, then?!” A lone soldier came charging at us from above. Just as I’d expected, there was at least one who had resisted my effects.
Just as I was drawing Brunhild to immobilize him, Angie crouched down low and launched a powerful flying kick to the man’s jaw. Her display of speed and strength was far beyond my expectations. Whoa...
“Angie... she’s definitely a brawler. She moves like a pro...” Elze muttered under her breath. A brawler maid?! Well, I guess if she was spying for the Marquis she’d have to have more to her than just looks.
“Alright, let’s go.” Angie grabbed a set of keys from the fallen man and began leading us up the stairs. We followed behind dutifully.
After a while of traipsing up the stairs, we came to a small door hinged inside a wall. There was no more room to go upward. We were at the tippy-top.
Angie opened it up with the key, and Prince Cloud charged headlong into the room. A lone woman sat on a small rocking chair in the corner, knitting something. She looked to be in her forties. She definitely resembled Cloud. I could see the gentle spirit in her eyes.
“Mother!”
“C-Cloud...? Is it... really you?! Cloud!” Both parent and child shed tears of joy as they embraced. I heard something behind me and quickly turned. Yae was openly weeping. She must’ve been moved. Well, I could understand her reason... Yae was certainly a girl with a beautiful heart.
I took a handkerchief from my pocket and passed it over to Yae. She delicately blew her nose with it, and then dabbed at her eyes. Pfft...
“Cloud... you’ve grown so much... I’m so glad I survived to see this... I-I’m so glad...!”
“Mother... we’re leaving this place at once. Your Highness, if you would...”
“On it.”
“Highness...?” I opened up a [Gate] right away, and Queen Erya gave me a puzzled look. I thought of taking them straight back to Brunhild, but quickly decided that Marquis Koupe’s mansion would be best for the time being.
Prince Cloud took his confused mother by the hand and led her through the [Gate]. Angie was equally surprised, so we urged her through as well.
With that, the rescue mission was complete. With that, Prince Cloud was no longer shackled... And with that, we could finally begin the revolution.
Heheh... Now, let’s see here... How am I going to deal with that rat-bastard who wanted to make Sue into a slave...? Ohoho... I’m not gonna go easy on him... Now I have nothing holding me back... I giggled internally.
“...Touya’s making a scary face again.”
“He is surely plotting something malevolent, he is.”
I-I’m not malevolent!
◇ ◇ ◇
With the only thing holding him back dealt with, Prince Cloud abandoned the royal palace.
Marquis Koupe was harboring both Cloud and his mother, but thankfully they hadn’t been found out or pursued. Not that it really mattered. If anyone came sniffing around for them it’d be trivial enough to wipe them out or use [Gate] to escape.
The sudden disappearance of the second prince kicked up a massive stir amongst the royals. I used my little spies to listen in on the state of affairs.
“What do you mean Erya’s been taken from Gallia?! You mean to say that Prince Cloud stole her away?! What about the soldiers, were they napping?!”
“A-Ah well... The carrier pigeon message s-said that everyone was suddenly immobilized. They couldn’t do anything!” Prime Minister Wardack smacked his fist against his desk as the messenger recounted his story. The shivering man quickly bowed his head and scampered out of the room.
“Didn’t I tell you, Prince Zabune? It would’ve been far wiser to... remove that boy from the picture.”
“C-Cloud, you bastard child! How dare you rebel against your masters...” The idiot prince didn’t seem too invested in his anger, but Queen Dacia spoke up in hysteria.
Hiding in the shade of a curtain was a little dormouse. The cute little thing was my perfect spy cam.
Through magic, I was able to synchronize my sense of sight and hearing with the mouse’s, allowing me to peek in on what was going on.
“If Prince Cloud and Marquis Koupe were to join forces, it could cause us legitimate trouble... For the time being we should focus on having His Majesty the King relinquish the throne to Prince Zabune. After that, we’ll have Cloud detained and imprisoned. The specific charge is irrelevant, so long as we take him in.”
“But what of the war with Palouf, Wardack?”
“...Unfortunately, we must postpone it. What’s important now is preventing the seeds of revolution from taking hold.”
“Tch... I was looking forward to tasting the Palouf princess, too... Well, I don’t mind. There’ll be plenty of time for that once I’m the king of Lihnea.” Zabune smiled, probably at the prospect of ascending to the throne, then merrily skipped out of the room.
Hm... What to do. It might be better to wait and let the idiot prince become king, then public opinion wouldn’t be so harsh if we deposed him instead...
No, we can’t do that. The longer we wa
it, the more victims there’ll be... I decided on my next course of action.
“The most worrying part of this is Erya’s abduction. If word of it reaches that foolish king’s ears, well... It would be better to have him relinquish the throne to Zabune before that happens.” Huh? Wardack’s changed his tone... He dropped all pleasantries towards the king, and isn’t calling Zabune by his formal title either... Are these his true colors, then? Still, he’s with Queen Dacia... Is he fine talking like this near her because she’s his cousin?
“After all that’s happened, we do need to have the boy ascend. Still, we require the king’s approval to put sanctions on Marquis Koupe... Curses! Still, he likely has no idea that Erya was taken away from us, yet... So long as we can keep him in the dark, we should be fine. Even if you have to use force, ensure the king declares Koupe an enemy. Even if he disagrees, so long as he still thinks we have Erya, he’ll obey.”
Hey, wait a sec... Wasn’t Erya taken as a hostage to keep Cloud under their thumb? Does this mean that the king’s effectively been a hostage this entire time, too? If he cared about Erya that much, it basically means he’s been turned into a yes-man with the threat of her death... Still, this is a good opportunity for me... I’m gonna catch these guys right in the act. I used [Gate] to send my smartphone to the mouse, and then it began to record.
“If Erya and Cloud return to the king’s side, it would cause a problem for us. We must block the royal palace off at once. No one enters, no one leaves. First order of business is having the king relinquish his throne to Zabune in front of the nobles.”
“And what will become of the king once he hands it over?”
“He will be disposed of. I wouldn’t normally want to do it so quickly, but this Cloud business means we could have malcontents or an uprising soon. We need to ensure that the throne is incontestable.”
Well, that just about does it. They’re totally conspiring to assassinate the king right here. What’s more, Queen Dacia’s just as guilty as Wardack! This evidence should help prevent Prince Cloud from being viewed as a suspicious rebel. Now there’s actually proof and cause to rise up.
“After that, we’ll have Cloud killed in some circumstances or other... We cannot allow anyone with the royal bloodline to live.”
Huh? What was that? That doesn’t add up... Even if Cloud and the king died, Zabune would still be... Oh. Oh no. No... don’t tell me... Th-That would explain why Zabune was always treated so much better than... Cloud...
“Our family will finally lay claim to the royal throne. None will stand in our path.”
“Yes, after all these wasted years, our son will rise as king...”
“Ahaha! It’s the birth of a whole new royal line, I’m so excited...” The two people giggled together, crooked grins painted on their faces.
“Our family will finally lay claim to the royal throne. None will stand in our path.”
“Yes, after all these wasted years, our son will rise as king...”
“Ahaha! It’s the birth of a whole new royal line, I’m so excited...”
The video playback ended. I looked around the room. Everyone was sitting there in stunned silence.
“Then... Prince Zabune is the son of Wardack and Queen Dacia?! Doesn’t that make this a coup? An attempt to wrest control of the royal family?” Marquis Koupe stood up from his chair, fists clenched. He sounded furious. I could hardly blame him. It was as he said, an attempt to usurp the throne. If I were in his position, I couldn’t possibly remain calm. Wardack had maintained the ruse about Zabune’s birthright for over thirty years. He took control of the political climate of the country, then threatened the king. Through this, he took over as prime minister ten years ago, and his rot had only grown deeper.
The fact was that Wardack had likely engineered Koupe’s removal as prime minister, just as he’d engineered everything else.
“It was surprising... Still, the proof is in the pudding.”
“I-I agree, I do. Cloud-dono and that miserable whelp do not share any physical features, they do not. They do not even share a single parent. They are not brothers at all, they are not.”
Elze and Yae spoke up reasonably. It was true that there was really no resemblance between Cloud and Zabune, but Zabune definitely had the wicked eyes of both Wardack and Dacia.
There’s something in the animal kingdom known as a “brood parasite.” Some bird species, like cuckoos, lay their eggs in the nests of entirely different birds. Those birds would then unknowingly raise the cuckoos as their own, absolving the real parents of responsibility. This situation kind of made me think about that.
I looked over at Prince Cloud, who was shaking slightly in his seat. The prince interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on his knees. Then, he suddenly spoke up.
“My broth— That is, Zabune... is indeed not related to me, then. I no longer have reason to hesitate. For the sake of my mother, for the sake of my father... for the sake of my country that has been so monstrously bastardized and scorned, I will fight. I will oppose the traitors who are attempting to usurp my nation.”
“Well spoken, Prince Cloud! You are the true heir, after all. That pathetic family will never take what is yours by birthright!” Marquis Koupe was right. We were on the side of justice. We’d saved Queen Erya, whose life was being used as a bargaining chip to keep the king compliant. The opponent had no more trump cards to use. All we had to do was force the truth from their mouths. But first, I decided to do a little conclusive investigation.
I used [Invisible], slipped back to nab a hair from both Wardack and Zabune, and then took it back to Flora at the alchemy lab. She ran a DNA test, and we determined that they definitely were father and son. Thus, we had conclusive evidence that Zabune was not the king’s progeny. They were not connected at all.
I had to do it, just to be certain. It was for my peace of mind.
“Fufufu... I’ll be sure to run the test again when your children are born, you know?”
“...What’s that supposed to mean?” Why was she bringing up children all of a sudden...? I didn’t really think that I’d have to worry about being the father or not, though.
I started to understand why the shogun prevented males from accessing the inner palace during the Edo period...
“You’re gonna have a lotta kids, you know? The doctor said you would, you know?”
“Doctor Babylon said that...? Don’t tell me she was looking that far ahead...” Was she using that damn future-peeking artifact again? Just how far was she looking? Guess I’ll have kids after I turn eighteen, huh...? Am I really gonna give in to desire that easily?!
Lemme think... It’ll be another year and a half... Ah, wait. There’s nine months for pregnancy, so... The earliest this could happen will be around two years from now... Oh, but in this world a year isn’t three hundred and sixty-five days... It’s actually a good bit longer than a year on Earth. So with that in mind, I might have some more time.
“There’ll be nine brides, each bearing children for you, you know? You’ll be a great monarch with many heirs.”
What?! Nine kids or more... That sounds like it might be a hassle... Wait just a second. Nine? Did she say nine?
“What exactly do you mean by nine?! I don’t remember anything about nine!”
“Now now, don’t worry, you know?”
I’m seriously gonna have that many wives...? What kind of future is that?! W-W-Wait, hold on though... Elze, Yumina, Linze, Yae, and Lu... Equal five. If I tentatively add Sue to that, that’s still only six. Does that mean there are still three more girls remaining? What’s gonna lead to that?
“...Did you tell anyone this?”
“I didn’t, you know?”
“Don’t tell anyone. You could cause unnecessary damage.” Damage to me, that is... What the hell are you doing, future me?
“Oho. Then I’ll accept your proposal, you know? I’m happy to be one of your potential wives.”
“What? No. Shut up! Didn’t y
ou already tell me you can’t have kids?”
“If we combine the research lab and the alchemy lab’s facilities, it should be possible to create a clone of you, Master. That’d be like us having a baby, you know?”
“Absolutely not!” I didn’t feel comfortable having a perfect clone “son” running around. After warning Flora not to babble pointlessly, I headed back to Marquis Koupe.
I told Elze and the others the report I’d gotten. With that, there was no doubt Zabune was a fake heir. We had no more reason to hesitate.
“Then I’ve got one final thing to do, alright?”
“Are you going somewhere, Touya-dono?” Yae cocked her head to the side. Of course, I’d already decided my destination.
“I’m going to the first victim of all of this. He deserves the truth.” As I spoke, I opened up my [Gate].
◇ ◇ ◇
Two days later, all of Lihnea’s nobility were gathered in the royal palace. To an outsider it would seem like a regular king’s summon, but in truth, Wardack had called them all there.
My party, myself, Koupe, and Cloud had all made our way into the palace. We hid ourselves with [Invisible] and stood a bit away from the gathered noblemen.
Wardack smiled broadly as he addressed them all.
Queen Dacia stood smiling by the side of the throne, and Prince Zabune stood a little bit down from the throne. He had this irritating grin on his face, though.
Just as the murmurs in the room reached fever pitch, a loud trumpet blew.
“Presenting His Majesty the King.” The nobles all hushed at the messenger’s words, bowing their heads. The king of Lihnea strolled into the room. The man was easily in his fifties. He stood tall, and honestly reminded me a little bit of Prince Cloud, but his face gave off a far less reliable vibe.
He wore a white robe accentuated by a deep red mantle on his shoulders. The man definitely gave off the presence of a king. He sat himself down on his throne.
In Another World With My Smartphone_Volume 6 Page 7
