ILSMT 47

Chapter 47

“His Highness hates it more than anything when the schedule for an expedition gets disrupted. You remember what happened at the Sauer Swamp, Tower Master?”

Roakin made a disgusted face.

“…How could I forget?”

“Even though it was raining, he said we couldn’t delay the schedule any further and forced us to enter the swamp. We went through every kind of hardship imaginable and nearly died several times… I swear, that was the first time in my life I almost cried!”

Perhaps recalling what happened back then brought all her grievances rushing back, because Karis bit down hard on her lip.

“His Highness was more concerned about the safety of the Empire than anyone. Reports of monster attacks are pouring in from all over the country, and yet he’s putting all of that aside to hold a wedding that could easily be postponed until later? Prince Rirenzo?”

Karis shook her head firmly.

“Absolutely not. It makes no sense.”

So it wasn’t just us who found the Crown Prince’s behavior strange after all.

I glanced at Roakin at that thought, and he merely shrugged.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I spoke up.

“There’s something else I don’t understand. If Lady Silodien and the Crown Prince have been in love for a long time, why did the Duke of Silodien reach out to the prince instead of His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“As far as I know, my older brother and the Duke of Silodien were not on good terms back then. No, actually, it wasn’t merely that they disliked each other. My brother practically hated the Duke. Even if the two of them were in love, the Duke wouldn’t have considered my brother someone he could trust.”

Enoch answered.

“Then, putting the Duke aside, what caused the Crown Prince’s attitude to change? In the past, he apparently just stood by and watched the family of the woman he loved fall into ruin. Yet now he’s suddenly taking the young lady’s side.”

Exactly. No matter how much I thought about it, this made absolutely no sense!

Even if we put aside the Duke himself, why would he suddenly side with the daughter of a man he supposedly hated so much?

Why?

The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out what was going through the Crown Prince’s mind.

Could he possibly be being blackmailed by someone?

But who could possibly be manipulating the Crown Prince of the Empire from behind the scenes?

And from everything I had heard, the Crown Prince didn’t seem like someone who could be pushed around that easily.

“Maybe he hit his head when he fainted and something got scrambled up there. His mind must be going back and forth.”

The person who broke the silence was Roakin.

“Please don’t say whatever you want just because you have a mouth.”

“What am I supposed to do when that’s the truth?”

“Yes! Then, including Karis, the four of us will work together.”

I hurriedly cut off their conversation.

If Karis and Roakin started growling at each other again, we’d be in serious trouble.

“Karis, could you look into whether there’s anyone inside the Imperial Palace—or among His Highness’s close associates—who has been acting suspiciously? If His Highness has been manipulated this helplessly, it seems highly likely that someone he trusts to some degree was involved.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Thank you.”

I had originally intended to ask Enoch to do this, but this worked out even better. It would be much easier if Karis took charge of investigating things behind the scenes.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Prince Enoch, for now, could you stay as quiet and inconspicuous as possible inside the Imperial Palace until we contact you again? We don’t want anyone else to notice anything suspicious.”

“…Understood.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Please keep an eye on Her Majesty the Empress from behind the scenes so that she doesn’t get put in danger. She’s practically living evidence, so they may try to get rid of her.”

The prince spoke in a determined voice.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Just then—

Rattle, rattle.

We heard someone pulling on the doorknob from outside.

“What? Why is only this room locked?”

It seemed to be some palace official passing by.

As we heard the jingle of someone searching for a key, Karis hurriedly called out,

“I’m in here!”

“…Commander? What are you doing inside?”

“Ah, well…! I had something important to discuss with His Highness the Prince!”

“With the door locked…?”

“Yes! It’s not what you think, so if you make any weird assumptions, I’ll kill you! I’m coming out now, so wait!”

Karis jumped to her feet and headed toward the door, but then suddenly turned around.

“Oh, but how should we contact you?”

“I’ll send a messenger to the Imperial Palace.”

“Understood.”

Karis waved her hands at us, signaling for us to hurry up and disappear because she was about to open the door.

…Where exactly are we supposed to go?

“Let’s go, Serphine.”

Roakin called to me.

I had no idea when he had gotten there, but he was already sitting on the windowsill.

…But we’re on the third floor.

I looked down at the dizzying height and stared at Roakin as if asking whether he was serious.

He merely looked completely carefree.

…Whatever.

Teleporting inside the Imperial Palace would cause an enormous collision because of the thick barrier surrounding it.

Unless I wanted to advertise ‘Hey, I’m here!’ to the entire palace, we had to somehow make our way outside on foot.

I grabbed the hand Roakin extended and climbed onto the windowsill.

“Eek!”

Before I knew what was happening, Roakin had lifted me into his arms in a princess carry.

I was completely startled and immediately wrapped my arms around the back of his neck to keep from falling.

“Please give me some warning before doing things like this!”

“I’m going to jump now.”

At the exact same time he said it, Roakin jumped down from the window.

…Was that supposed to count as a warning?

I meant I needed time to mentally prepare!

What good was it if he warned me only like this?!

Aaah!

My heart lurched.

I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed internally.

But the impact I was expecting never came.

Instead, I merely felt us land lightly.

What? Is it already over?

I cautiously opened my eyes.

Roakin was looking down at me with an expression that seemed to say he was enjoying the sight.

Oh, right. He was the Tower Master.

For an ordinary person, jumping from a third-floor window would be insane.

But for the Tower Master, who supposedly possessed some of the most powerful magical abilities in history, something like this was hardly a big deal.

“Haha. That wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Realizing I had been worried for nothing, I laughed awkwardly, climbed out of his arms, and stood on the ground.

“There’s a way out behind the garden. Let’s go that way.”

“…Yep.”

I followed Roakin toward the garden.

Perhaps because the banquet was in full swing at this hour, there wasn’t a single person in this enormous garden besides us.

Since no one was around to see us, there was no reason to walk elegantly like nobles.

I grabbed the upper part of my dress and hurried along at a brisk pace.

Roakin continued farther and farther into the garden.

Hmm. Isn’t this a dead end?

Roakin stopped at the end of the path and pushed aside a large branch with his hand.

“…Don’t tell me…”

I watched as a tiny opening slowly appeared among the bushes, and the corners of my eyes began to twitch.

“You don’t mean that little hole is the ‘way out,’ do you?”

“Unfortunately, it is.”

“……”

I immediately realized.

So this is the place…

The secret place belonging only to the Crown Prince and the Tower Master.

Though putting it that way sounds a little strange…

When the two of them were young, they would secretly escape the Imperial Palace whenever they became exhausted from being locked up and training in the training grounds, enjoying little acts of rebellion before sneaking back in.

The book had mentioned that somewhere in the Imperial Palace there was a small opening known only to the two of them.

This had to be that very hole.

“Go in first.”

“Ha…”

It was barely large enough for a child to squeeze through.

How exactly was I supposed to force my body into that?

Just as I hesitated—

Clatter—clatter—.

We heard the noisy rattling of a cart approaching, apparently loaded with all sorts of things.

“Gasp… Someone’s coming this way.”

“Why are there so many people wandering around here today of all days?”

Roakin grumbled irritably.

Unfortunately, the approaching footsteps and noises were getting closer and closer.

There simply wasn’t enough time to escape through that tiny hole.

All right. Based on my years of experience reading romance-fantasy novels, there’s only one solution in a secret place like this.

I pushed my hand against the Tower Master’s chest and backed him against the wall.

Then I stepped in front of him and grabbed his tie, pulling him toward me.

Roakin, who had been shoved backward without warning, awkwardly leaned against the wall and stared at me in bewilderment.

“You… What are you doing…?”

“Shh! Keep quiet…!”

I rose onto my tiptoes and pulled his tie even closer with one hand, while covering his mouth with the other.

“……!”

It was the first time I had ever seen Roakin’s eyes open that wide.

He froze completely like a statue.

I whispered softly to him.

“…Let’s just stay like this for a little while.”

In the suffocating tension, the only sound was the quiet thump, thump of a heartbeat whose owner I couldn’t even tell.

And then—

“Ah, M-Mommy!”

A shrill male scream came from behind us.

The man had apparently spotted us pressed tightly against one side of the wall and nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Oh my goodness! I didn’t mean to interrupt! I’m terribly sorry!”

The man, who appeared to be a gardener, hurriedly turned his cart around and left.

Thankfully, he seemed to have mistaken us for a couple having a secret rendezvous in the garden and fled.

Exactly as I had intended.

“Phew. We’re saved…”

Once the gardener had completely disappeared from sight, I released Roakin with a sigh of relief.

Roakin straightened his disheveled clothes and glared at me with a disdainful look, as though he had just encountered some kind of pervert.

“Next time you put your hands on me, I’d appreciate a warning first.”

He seemed to put unusual emphasis on the word warning.

Or was that just my imagination?

And what was with that arrogant look in his eyes?

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Had he really forgotten all the things he had done without a word—scooping me up whenever he pleased, smashing and blowing things up left and right?

“You finally understand how I feel now.”

I pushed Roakin’s back while he continued grumbling.

“This isn’t the time to stand around arguing. Let’s get out of here before someone else comes.”

We did argue briefly over who should go first, but thanks to the little escape hole, we managed to get out of the Imperial Palace relatively easily.