Chapter: 21
I had a rough idea of what this was about.
It was probably because half the blood flowing through my veins belonged to the Riente royal line.
All of these black magicians were refugees who had fled to the Kingdom of Sebon. And every member of the Riente royal family—except for my mother—had been killed or gone missing at the hands of Sebon’s people.
In other words, I’m the only one with clearly identified blood from the Riente royal family.
I was a citizen of Sayers, an imperial subject—but if even a trace of Riente royal blood ran through me, they might have wanted me erased regardless.
Then in the original story… maybe Baron Harwin didn’t simply sell off his niece. Maybe the Sebon bastards specifically told him to bring me.
The full truth was something that could never be confirmed now.
I didn’t see this coming.
A sigh slipped out on its own.
To think they’d count even someone like me—who’d never once set foot in Riente—as royalty.
What’s more, I was an officially registered imperial citizen, bearing the surname of one of the original Five Great Houses.
If they harmed me without cause, the Kingdom of Sebon would have had to face the Empire directly.
So that’s why they resorted to unofficial crimes.
In the original story, this would have happened a month earlier.
Because we hadn’t been able to coexist through smuggling back then, food supplies in Baron Harwin’s territory would have run out much faster.
He came intending to sell off his own people—and that’s when they made him the offer about me.
Even though the timing had changed, the fact that they had targeted me hadn’t.
At least the future had shifted, and I was still alive.
I pulled myself back to reality and sharpened my focus.
“All right. Three of you stay here and guard me.”
I issued orders to the other knights.
“The rest of you go to that warehouse and bring back as much wheat as you can. You—get moving too.”
I pointed even at the intruders from Baron Harwin’s lands, who were still seething.
“You’ve got to earn the price of those potatoes, right?”
That was why I’d fed them so well earlier.
In the end, both the knights and the intruders rushed toward the warehouse.
I turned to Wendy.
“Seal this properly again. It’d be a waste if any spills while you’re carrying it.”
It was one of the sacks of wheat the black magician had brought to show me earlier.
Then I declared solemnly to the knights,
“This grain was gathered illegally by black magicians through criminal means.”
There was no way something like this could be allowed to remain in the world.
“So we’ll erase it by eating every last bit.”
The knights all agreed.
“Yes, my lady!”
“We’ll wipe it out by consumption!”
“Not a single grain will be left behind!”
Everyone exchanged righteous, determined looks, united in purpose.
“Um.”
That was when it happened.
“Miss?”
The person who approached my side was Baron Foreman.
He removed the burn-disguise mask one of my knights had given him, then took off his hat as well.
No longer stooped, the neat-looking elderly man stared straight at me.
“Could you explain what exactly is going on here?”
I met the old man’s gaze.
At that moment, Philip stepped forward angrily.
“How dare you stare at the young lady and speak so presumptuously! Do you have no manners at all?”
Baron Foreman asked in an uncertain voice,
“Your way of speaking is quite old-fashioned… Are you perhaps from the Kingdom of Riente? I was told only maids had arrived from Riente…”
“Apologize to the young lady at once!”
Philip continued without listening.
“You should be bowing your head in thanks for being saved, not—”
That was when it happened.
“Is that true?”
A low voice came from behind me.
My eyes widened as I turned around.
That voice—
“Did Brisa truly save my grandfather?”
Jet-black hair like a moonless night.
Calm golden eyes and a gentle smile.
A boy so beautiful he looked as if he had been carefully carved by hand.
It was Leopold Nozen.
He had been leading the knights at the closest position to this place all along.
* * *
Monsters fell one after another, scattering beneath the force of sword aura.
“Captain! Captain! No—Marquis!”
From behind, the elite unit scrambled to keep up with the blond young man.
“J-just a little! Let’s rest just a little, please!”
At his subordinates’ desperate pleas, Alpheus let out a single sigh and pulled on his reins.
Stopping his charge, he turned back with a refreshingly bright expression.
“Honestly. You’re all so weak.”
Even though he was splattered with monster blood, his face looked utterly innocent.
“Still, shouldn’t we hurry and go see our lifesaver? Just thinking about it doesn’t it give you energy?”
Alpheus recalled what had happened two months earlier.
* * *
It took less than two days for Alpheus to lead the elite unit through a warp gate and arrive at the imperial palace.
But once they arrived, even meeting a single attendant took an eternity.
None of Alpheus’s group knew proper palace protocol, and no one stepped forward to help them.
Even after finally meeting an attendant, the situation didn’t improve much.
“…You say you’re Marquis Sayers? Hmm.”
The attendant swept a contemptuous gaze over Alpheus’s attire before speaking.
“Even if you seek out His Highness the Second Prince now, you won’t be able to meet him. He’s gone to suppress a monster wave in the Eastern region.”
He explained lazily, clearly annoyed.
“A monster wave struck the East as well, but unlike the West, the Eastern territories aren’t accustomed to dealing with monsters, so they were having trouble. On top of that, a particularly unusual monster appeared.”
“No, what does the East have to do with the Second Prince—”
“Sending His Highness, who has already resolved the Northern civil war, was only natural from the imperial family’s perspective.”
Alpheus and the elite unit were thrown into confusion.
If not the Second Prince, there would be no one to officially recognize their achievements. And judging by the attendant’s attitude, it was obvious they wouldn’t even be allowed into the palace.
“We’ve come all this way—do you think Rangsi would let us off easy if we return empty-handed?”
The captain asked carefully.
“Captain, how about we look for mercenary work here?”
The attendant recoiled in horror.
“A marquis’s knight order doing mercenary work? Good heavens. Are you really people of a marquis’s house?”
The captain rolled his eyes once before offering a solution.
“We’d hide our identities.”
“Absurd.”
Alpheus cut in sharply.
“It’s our first time in the capital. It’d take half a day just to find work.”
After a moment of thought, Alpheus turned to the elite unit.
“It’d be better to go help His Highness the Second Prince. A monster wave is nothing—if I go, wouldn’t half a day be enough?”
The elite unit nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. You’re worth a hundred men, Captain.”
“We can earn money and help the Second Prince. It’s the perfect plan.”
Alpheus selected one of the knights and gave him instructions.
“You go to the Sayers marquisate and tell them I’ll be a little late. Not terribly late, though.”
The chosen knight nodded resolutely.
“Understood. Then will you warp straight to the East?”
“Ah… since we’re already in the capital, I should buy a gift for Bribri.”
“Bribri…?”
“My little sister’s nickname. Cute, right?”
“Has that been mutually agreed upon?”
“I stayed up all night thinking about it and decided yesterday. Bribri doesn’t know yet.”
Although he hadn’t really had a proper conversation with Brisa, Alpheus still held hope for his younger sister.
“She must be waiting so desperately for her Alphi-oppa.”
At that, the knight tilted his head.
Considering how Brisa had slammed the door in his face the night of the funeral…
“‘Bribri! Call me Alphi-oppa from now on!’”
“Kids, what are you doing? Prepare the exorcism at once. An unclean soul has entered the Sayers marquisate.”
Brisa looked like she’d say exactly that.
“Well… um… ‘oppa’ is usually something only children use when they’re really close, so… it might be difficult…”
When the knight failed to agree, Alpheus replied cheerfully,
“Well, it might be a bit awkward at first.”
“Yes, the ‘at first’ might last quite a while…”
“But once we get closer, won’t she call me ‘Alphi-oppa’?”
“Yes, if you wait about half a century…”
“You’re too cautious. That’s your problem. Try holding a little more hope for a brilliant tomorrow and a beautiful future.”
Ever-positive Alpheus patted the knight on the shoulder.
“Anyway, safe travels.”
After about half a day, Alpheus and the elite unit warped to the East. But the warp shook violently and took far longer than usual.
“Something… something feels wrong.”
“Yeah. But let’s wait it out. The direction seems correct.”
After many twists and turns, they arrived in an Eastern region thrown into chaos by the monster wave.
To find traces of the Second Prince, Alpheus had to travel as far as an island near the Eastern territory.
And when he finally found the Second Prince—
He was lying unconscious on the island.
“…Your Highness? Your Highness!”
Even the imperial knights accompanying him were all sprawled out, unconscious.
There was no way to know how long they’d been lying there like sleeping bodies.
Thankfully, they were unharmed—for now.
But if even one wave reached this place and swept them into the sea, they would surely be devoured by monsters.
And then, as he tried to rescue them—
A song drifted in from somewhere.
