Volume 7
Chapter 101: The Princess and the Prince
Inside the trailer on the way back to Papel Village, I held the now-smaller Ryu on my lap and sensed the awkward atmosphere in the air.
“Um, let me introduce myself properly. I’m Eight Tsurugi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“N-Nice to meet you, Lord Eight.”
The one who answered me was an adorable girl with purple hair and eyes.
The girl sat on Eve’s lap in the center seat, and the sight of one beautiful girl holding another made quite a picture.
Her name was Francesca.
She appeared nervous after suddenly finding herself surrounded by strangers, and no one could blame her.
It had all begun several hours earlier—
Hijiri pointed at the girl inside the bag.
“This is Francesca Zahabania. I believe she’s ten years old.”
“Zahabania? Don’t tell me…”
“Exactly. As you can probably tell from her name, she’s the first daughter of the Sovereign Prince of Zahaba. In other words, she’s a princess.”
H-He kidnapped the enemy nation’s princess!?
“Wait! So this really is a kidnapping!”
“You’ve got it wrong! I rescued her!”
“…Rescued?”
I glanced at the girl—now introduced as Francesca—and she seemed terrified of Hijiri.
“She’s obviously terrified of you! What were you thinking, kidnapping a little girl like this?”
“N-No, that’s only because I accidentally massacred all the guards while I was kidnap—rescuing her…”
“You were about to say ‘kidnapping,’ weren’t you?”
“I sAiD nOtHiNg Of ThE sOrT.”
I decided to question the vigorously head-shaking Hijiri later and untied Francesca.
Francesca looked at me fearfully, so I met her eyes, smiled, and spoke as gently as I could to avoid frightening her any further.
“You’re safe now. I won’t let that scary man over there come near you.”
“Eight, why are you so determined to paint me as the villain here?”
“Whatever the circumstances, massacring people in front of a young child is unquestionably wrong.”
“Could you be a little kinder to me? I risked my life making it back here…”
I could tell that Hijiri had endured his own share of hardship.
That, however, was one matter, and this was another.
It was wrong to terrify a child so young.
“So why did you kidnap her?”
“To get information. For some reason, the Princess of Zahaba seems to have been imprisoned. I suspect it’s connected to the recent infighting in Zahaba, so I want to ask her what she knows, but…”
When Hijiri tried to approach, Francesca darted behind me.
“Well, I suppose I’ll have you get it out of her, Eight.”
“What…?”
“Don’t worry. Younger girls tend to become attached to you, don’t they? She already likes you more than she likes me, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
With those words, Hijiri hurried out of the medical tent.
And thus, another resident was added to our household.
◆ ◇ ◆
After completing his infiltration mission in the Principality of Zahaba and stopping by the port town, Hijiri attended a party hosted by the king in the royal capital without even taking time to rest.
“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Naohito.”
“I’m truly exhausted, Leticia. Well, Father-in-law’s unreasonable requests are nothing new.”
“Hehe. My father has high hopes for you in his own way.”
“I’d be happy if that were true.”
Hijiri shrugged and laughed.
The woman beside him, wearing a cheerful smile, was named Leticia.
She was the first princess of the Kingdom of Elde and Hijiri’s fiancée.
“By the way, what is this party actually for?”
“I was not told the details either, so I do not know. Apparently, a prominent figure from another nation will be visiting.”
“For a party this grand, perhaps it’s some dignitary from Luresia?”
Hijiri spoke while surveying the entire hall.
Many of the Kingdom of Elde’s most distinguished nobles had gathered there, and some had already begun chatting among themselves.
Even the food being brought in was lavish. A gathering on this scale would be unthinkable unless the visitor was a dignitary from a great nation comparable to Luresia.
Leticia, however, shook her head.
“No, apparently—”
At that moment, the soldier guarding the entrance to the hall raised his voice in a grand announcement.
“His Highness Prince Clad, first prince of the Principality of Zahaba, has arrived!”
The person who entered the party hall was a handsome young man with well-formed features.
His silver hair was tied back.
However, upon hearing the name of his country, Hijiri and Leticia openly grimaced.
“The Principality of Zahaba?”
“…I never imagined someone from that country would truly come here.”
Ignoring their surprise, Ziekoon, king of the Kingdom of Elde, personally welcomed Clad.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Ziekoon, king of the Kingdom of Elde.”
“I am Clad, first prince of the Principality of Zahaba. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for your arranging such a gathering today.”
“There is no need for thanks. More importantly, may I ask at once why your nation suddenly declared war upon my Kingdom of Elde?”
“Of course.”
Clad stood at the center of the hall and began speaking with excessively theatrical gestures.
Hijiri listened closely.
“We declared war not because we bore any grudge against your nation.”
“Then why?”
“Our sole objective is the defeat of the false Hero, Eight!”
Though his expression did not change, Hijiri was astonished to hear the name of his close friend.
“The truth is that my beloved younger sister was recently abducted by an unknown person. I believe the false Hero Eight orchestrated it!”
“…I see. And why would that justify waging war against my country?”
“Some retainers who care deeply for my sister ran out of control. Neither His Highness the Sovereign Prince nor I could stop them, and they began a war against this country, where the false Hero resides. For that, I offer my deepest apologies.”
(No, you’ve got the order backward.)
Hijiri calmly delivered the retort in his mind.
Hijiri had abducted Francesca only after Zahaba declared war upon the Kingdom of Elde.
The sequence of events was backward.
To Hijiri, the story about Clad’s sister could only be an attempt to conceal Zahaba’s true reason for starting the war.
Ziekoon could not possibly have overlooked the contradiction, yet he merely stared at Clad and said nothing.
The nobles of Elde attending the party, meanwhile, reacted in various ways.
“To think such circumstances lay behind it…”
“Eight—is that the man who has recently become the subject of rumors after those papers were scattered everywhere?”
“What a villain! So the rumors were true!”
“Now, now, let us not leap to conclusions. I heard the man went to the front despite the danger and served meals to the knights and adventurers.”
“Indeed. He has contributed to our nation, at the very least. It would be foolish to believe the words of an enemy who abruptly declared war upon us without first hearing his side.”
Just then, Clad appealed to the murmuring nobles with a desperate expression.
“The false Hero Eight is deceiving all of you! Please believe me! Please help me save my sister!”
Sensing the love of a brother for his younger sister in his forthright words, the nobles’ previously levelheaded attitude transformed.
They began supporting Clad in unison.
“Oh, what devotion to his sister…”
“He does not appear to be lying.”
“Surely, he speaks the truth.”
Hijiri and Leticia, on the other hand, watched Clad with cold eyes.
“Lord Naohito.”
“I noticed. He did something just now. Brainwashing, fascination, or some similar power, perhaps.”
“It does not seem to be affecting either of us very strongly…”
“That’s because we’re protected against such things several times over. Judging by how dramatically those nobles changed, however, I don’t know how long our defenses will last. Leticia, prepare to leave the royal capital at any moment.”
“Understood.”
Leticia left the party hall without making a single sound.
Her movements resembled those of an assassin, not a princess.
“…Still, this is unexpected. Perhaps I misplayed my hand… And has Eight done something to earn that man’s hatred?”
Whatever the case, the situation was not good.
Hijiri knew that Francesca, Princess of Zahaba, was currently with Eight.
After all, he was the very person who had left her there.
If the nobles raised an outcry and mobilized the Knights to investigate Eight, Eight would immediately be suspected of kidnapping the princess.
Hijiri concluded that he had to act before that happened.