by Ryota Hori
At the end of the day, the most troublesome aspect of this whole charade was that the one person who decided who was right and wrong in this situation was the guildmaster Wallace himself, who’d concocted this entire ordeal. The culprit effectively doubled as the judge, and no matter what proof Ryoma’s group presented or what testimony they brought forth, it wouldn’t matter.
So, were they to perhaps ask another city’s guildmaster for help? That was actually a problematic issue in itself as well. Ryoma, being a nameless mercenary, was naturally out of the question, but would even Lione’s group, who had gained somewhat of a name for themselves as a skilled mercenary group, truly be able to have their word taken seriously when pitted against Wallace’s? Worse still, since the affair dealt with the power struggle of a country, it was clear guildmasters in other cities wouldn’t want to be involved with this case.
Both the feeling of fellowship towards another guildmaster and the strength of a country flickered behind this whole affair. No one, except for an extremely righteous person, or one who was very keen on bringing Wallace down, would be willing to discard their policy of self-defense in such circumstances.
So in this situation where they had no other allies, if Ryoma and his group were to complain to another guildmaster, it would simply seem as if they were making excuses for failing their mission, which was the greatest trap sprung against them. Ultimately, being in the right wasn’t enough; they needed the power to make others recognize that they were in the right.
In other words, in order to survive, Ryoma and his group needed to speak to a guildmaster other than Wallace, while having the support of someone with power. And to have their demands judged fairly, it would have to be someone with more power than Wallace.
And if anyone possessed the power and authority to help them right now, it was the knights’ faction. The nobles’ faction had already antagonized them, so they were naturally out of the question, and while it may have been different if they were influential members of another country, the neutral faction would see no merit in helping Ryoma. Which left the knights’ faction as the only possible force that would offer Ryoma their aid once the fighting ended.
Ryoma’s sole realistic means of breaking through this situation was to gain the backing of the Kingdom of Rhoadseria as a nation, in exchange for his assistance in the power struggle against the nobles’ faction. The guild may have had branches across the continent, but they still wouldn’t be able to challenge an entire country directly.
However, that was all just Ryoma’s circumstances. The knights’ faction had no clear reason to give Ryoma their support. On the contrary, he was even responsible for the death of some of their men. A sentimental person wouldn’t lend an ear to Ryoma’s excuses, and would behead him on the spot.
Hence why this was such a gamble; would such a rational person unwavered by emotion exist there? And would that person see the value in using Ryoma?
After crossing through wall after wall, their carriage finally reached the drawbridge leading into the castle.
“Right... Now it’s all down to my ability to speechify.” Ryoma whispered in tense anticipation as they passed under a massive castle gate set along the road to the palace, his gaze turning toward the sharpened roof of the castle looming ahead.
From this point on, Ryoma would put his life on the line in a massive gamble for the third time since his arrival in this world. The strength of his will burned in his eyes.
“The First Princess of the Kingdom of Rhoadseria, Lady Lupis, makes her entrance! All those present before her, kneel!” A black haired woman entered the audience chamber, which had a red carpet laid out across it, and announced the entrance of the princess.
Seeing Mikhail kneel down and lower his head, Ryoma imitated his actions and kneeled on the red carpet. He was, after all, a person from Japan, a nation which had almost entirely abolished the concept of royalty. Japan did have the oldest running imperial household in the world, and while they weren’t shut off from the whole world, an average high schooler wouldn’t be allowed to meet them.
Ryoma’s knowledge of etiquette was limited to standing still and bowing his head, and so he had no way of knowing which courtesy was expected out of someone meeting royalty in this world. So all he could do was mimic Mikhail’s actions with a dubious expression on his face, in a spectacular embodiment of the expression “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
That said, Lione, who had been granted permission to meet the princess with them, was also only capable of awkwardly following Mikhail’s example; this likely meant the majority of people were just as clueless about how to behave in the presence of royalty as Ryoma was. By contrast, though, the Malfist twins carried themselves with elegance and dignity. They may have been slaves until just recently, but they were still descendants of a line of high-ranking knights which held important posts in their country. They had likely been strictly taught such forms of etiquette since they were infants.
I should’ve asked them to teach me this stuff ahead of time...
With that thought in mind, Ryoma simply awaited the princess’s entrance.
A solemn air hung over the audience chamber. This room Mikhail led them into had a great deal of depth and length to it. A red carpet was spread from the entrance all the way to the throne, and on both sides of it stood armed guards with menacing expressions on their faces. There were roughly twenty of them. They had no intent of harming the princess, but this was dangerous for Ryoma’s side, as there were only four of them.
I suppose there’s not much we could’ve done about that. I’m just glad they let us actually meet the princess... Though a private audience with her would have been better...
After entering the castle, Ryoma and the others spent, or rather, were confined in a room for several hours alloted to them at Mikhail’s order. That treatment was to be expected, though. Even if Mikhail could guarantee their identities, as far as the residents of Rhoadseria’s palace were concerned, Ryoma was a suspicious stranger of unknown origin.
But while Ryoma didn’t know exactly what kind of report Mikhail gave, when he showed up in the room they were confined in again, he took them straight to an audience with the princess. Based on what information he delivered, the group may have been taken to have their heads lopped off without any audience held, but the odds seemed to be in their favor. If nothing else, Ryoma would at least be given a chance to speak.
After a few moments of kowtowing, Ryoma could hear the sound of a door on the other side of the throne room opening, followed by the echoing of several people’s footsteps.
Princess Lupis and her entourage, in all likelihood. Ryoma’s group waited for her to speak, still kneeling.
“Raise your heads.” A dignified woman’s voice echoed through the room.
As Ryoma raised his head respectfully, his gaze met that of a young woman clad in nobles’ clothes. Her hair was a dazzling silver shade, just like Laura’s. In terms of age, she looked to be in her mid-twenties.
She was Lupis Rhoadserians, candidate for future ruler of this kingdom.
Not taking a seat at her throne, Lupis simply looked down at Mikhail, who remained kneeled and did not raise his head.
“Mikhail Vanash, vice-captain of the royal guard. Rise to your feet.”
As she spoke Mikhail’s name, Lupis’s expression was steeped with severity and calmness. But at the same time, Ryoma sensed a great deal of immaturity from her, stemming either from her age or her lack of experience.
Vice-captain? I thought this guy was a hotshot, but he’s gotten to a fairly high standing in the kingdom, hasn’t he? No wonder he managed to get us an audience with the princess so easily... But that said, he’s pretty impulsive. And he led the assassination attempt himself... Either the knights’ faction really is that understaffed, or maybe they’re just picking people based on pedigree and not ability? I guess in the end, the question is whether or not he’s profitable.
Upon realizing that Mikhail hel
d a stronger position than he’d first suspected, Ryoma couldn’t help but thank God. His individual martial prowess aside, Ryoma recognized Mikhail’s extreme inaptitude as a commander because of his impulsive nature, and wouldn’t have guessed he held such an influential position as vice-captain of the royal guard.
But conversely, the fact that someone as impetuous as Mikhail reached such a high rank in this kingdom was worrying its own way. In order to gain more things to consider, Ryoma kept silent and listened to Lupis’s words.
“I’ve already heard of your report from Meltina. I can only say that I was quite disappointed to hear you failed to carry out your mission. Your failure this time has cost the lives of many promising knights... All of whom laid down their lives in the name of keeping this kingdom’s order. And yet you stand before me, as both commander and survivor... As princess of this country, I would have no choice but to order your death.”
Lupis’s seemingly rebuking words heavily chilled the atmosphere within the audience chamber. But then, Lupis softened her cold, stiff expression.
“However, you are an exceedingly valorous knight, loyal to the royal family, and this kingdom cannot stand to lose one such as you now, when it stands on the brink of crisis. And so, in consideration of that, along with your past achievements, and this mission being the result of a sly deception by the nobles’ faction, I have decided to postpone the execution of your sentence until the day we conclude this conflict with the nobles’ faction. And I permit you to absolve yourself of your crime with your deeds in the battles to come.”
A stir ran through the audience chamber. Her ruling was likely an unexpected one, as Mikhail’s face was frozen in shock.
“Your Highness.” The black haired woman who had entered the room before Lupis spoke up. “Are you quite sure about this?”
“I have no qualms about this. I cannot do something so foolish as sentence such a loyal, skilled knight to death when a civil war looms ahead. I may have granted him a stay of execution, but I have not declared him innocent.”
With Lupis’s words echoing through the audience chamber, the murmuring in the room gradually died down.
“I give you my word that I shall answer your expectations, Princess Lupis!” Mikhail bowed his head deeply, showing the deepest gratitude he could toward the princess’s kindness.
I see... So she values his usefulness. Their faction is already in a weakened state, so she doesn’t want to weaken her position any further... Plus she only stayed his execution, and didn’t deem him innocent. If Mikhail doesn’t garner enough achievement to buy his own life back, he’s finished... Yeah. Not bad. I thought she was just inexperienced, but she definitely takes other people’s feelings and stances into consideration while she manages them... I’m not sure if Mikhail’s that skilled of a knight, though.
While he had some faint doubts regarding her appraisal of Mikhail’s skills, her judgment was far more sound than he’d anticipated. If all she wanted was to spare Mikhail’s life, the bereaved families of those who died under his command during the raid against Ryoma wouldn’t sit by idly.
Still, pushing all the blame on the field commander when this ploy had fooled the entirety of the knights’ faction higher echelon would not have been right, either. In that regard, the compromise of allowing him to offset his punishment by gathering merit through his achievements in the immediate future could be seen as a decision which served to maintain the delicate political balance.
Not bad... I suppose I’ve been dealt a better hand here than I thought... If she’s really what she seems to be, she should be able to understand the validity and advantage of my plan... But there’s still one problem...
Ryoma had cautiously examined the reactions of the people around them when Princess Lupis announced her clemency of Mikhail, and noticed something; several of the people present in the audience chamber scrunched up their faces in frustration and enmity. It wasn’t a blatant expression, of course, and they didn’t so much as click their tongues. But for just a brief moment, their honest feelings had broken through.
Looks like this doesn’t just boil down to a conflict between the knights’, nobles’ and neutral factions...
Putting aside whether Mikhail was skilled enough to buy anyone’s ire, the problem here was that people within his own faction existed who would rejoice at the prospect of his death, when normally one wouldn’t wish for one of their allies to die. If they were wishing for a comrade to meet their demise, then...
Is this just a power struggle within the faction? Or could it be, not everyone in the knights’ faction is loyal to Princess Lupis? Well, I guess that would explain it, but... In that case, that’s another reason I can get on Lupis’ good side.
Though he was pleased to see the chips were falling in his favor, Ryoma refrained from showing it on his face. Being smug right now, at an ill-suited moment, could fatally damage his chances.
Hold on, now... I’m not out of the woods yet. The battle’s just starting. I have to persuade the princess and that woman first... If I rouse their suspicion by mistake, they could have me executed on the spot...
Ryoma directed a probing glance at the woman standing beside the princess. She was a large-built woman, with long, sleek and tied up black hair. She stood at the princess’s side, seemingly serving as her shield, and was clad in heavy iron armor with two swords sheathed at her waist; she seemed to be quite adept at using them. She also appeared to have the deep trust of the princess, who didn’t show so much as a hint of displeasure at the fact this woman had questioned her judgment.
“Thus, the matter of Mikhail is settled. Now, let us move on to the main topic.” Lupis turned her gaze to Ryoma’s group of four.
“I see. Sure enough, you are a girl of adolescent age with silver hair...” Princess Lupis first tried to dispel the greatest source of doubt. “Is it true that you are not a daughter of King Pharst the Second?”
“Yes. My name is Laura. Laura Malfist. And this girl right here is my sister, Sara.” Sara nodded silently at Laura’s words.
They looked like reflections of each other in terms of their features.
“I see... The resemblance between you two is uncanny. Hair colors aside, one could say you are each the spitting image of the other...”
Lupis’s words made everyone’s gazes gather on the Malfist sisters. Indeed, being twins, their faces and physiques were practically identical with the exception of the color of their hair. It was quite visible the two were related by blood.
“Your Highness... We’ve received no intel that the illegitimate daughter had any siblings.” The black-haired woman whispered in Princess Lupis’ ear.
“That surname, Malfist, is familiar to me... Does it not belong to a knight family from the central continent?”
“Yes, indeed. They were a line of knights that served the kingdom of Quift, which was destroyed by the kingdom of Shadora some years ago... The color of their skin and the shape of their faces does seem similar to the central continent’s people.”
Their gazes were fixed on the sisters, and for a few seconds, their gaze was returned.
“I see... Certainly, you’re different from the illegitimate daughter we’ve been told of.” Princess Lupis whispered in a resigned fashion.
Her disappointment was understandable. If Laura was King Pharst’s the Second’s daughter, killing her would remove the thorn about to plunge Rhoadseria into turmoil. Furthermore, the fact that the illegitimate daughter was moved into the country at this time, to the extent where Laura was used as bait to hide her, meant that the antagonism between the knights’ and nobles’ faction would develop into an unavoidable conflict.
Regardless of whether the situation would devolve into an armed conflict or if a political solution was possible, this matter would lead to a great decline in Rhoadseria’s national power. It was, naturally, a matter that greatly weighed down on Lupis, who was a candidate for future sovereign ruler of the country.
“In which case, w
e cannot hold you accountable for having fought our kingdom’s knights...” Princess Lupis whispered, furrowing her lovely, well-kept brows.
They danced to the tune of false information and instigated an attack on complete strangers. If one were to consider who was at fault here, it was hardly fair to judge Ryoma’s side for killing them. If nothing else, she would have to keep up the appearance of being magnanimous on the surface.
“I’m humbled. Thank you for your generous words, Your Highness.” Ryoma said and bowed his head in reverence.
In actuality, Ryoma’s group were victims who had become involved against their will, and could have acted indignant in this situation. But considering the class difference between a commoner and royalty which stood between them, and factoring future relations into it, being needlessly overbearing was a questionable play.
Demanding that justice be done with respect for one’s rights does not always yield the highest possible profit. No, in a hierarchical society and a world without any conception of human rights, the weak crying out for their rights to be respected would only end up with their heads unceremoniously mounted on a pike.
“You needn’t be so formal.” Lupis smiled gently upon seeing Ryoma’s attitude. “We’ve caused you a great deal of trouble... Is there anything you wish for?”
Her words were far more magnanimous than one would usually believe. She must have indeed been an amicable, kind person at heart.
Ryoma pretended to ponder for a moment at Lupis’s words. He’d already decided everything ahead of time, but coming out and saying it would give the game away.
“It’s not much of a wish, per se... But there’s a matter I would request your assistance with.” Ryoma spoke with an apologetic tone.
“You refer to the offer you have discussed with Mikhail?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Princess Lupis’s expression took on a bothered shade at Ryoma’s words. Given her position, she’d have surely preferred to not get involved with Ryoma any further. If possible, she would have just given them money and sent them away at once, because as far as the knights who’d had their friends slain by Ryoma were concerned, Ryoma was quite literally an enemy.
