Chapter 14: I Expected the Royal Family’s Sincerity… But

After returning from the royal capital of Weimar, I used a spell to “watch” the movements of Princess Victoria before heading home.

The magic I used before the teleportation was one I had developed myself. Essentially, it’s like a surveillance camera that allows me to see things remotely. I can also hear the sounds.

I intentionally didn’t say “execute her,” but instead, I said “dispose of her.”

By observing how the royal family responded to that command, I was hoping to gauge their sincerity toward me.

As a result, the woman who had clung to me back then—turns out she was from the brothel—seemed to have whispered to the younger sister, Princess Wimple, suggesting that I probably had a woman with me. She suggested taking that woman hostage. It led to the woman being sentenced to execution for causing national unrest.

I thought it had leaked from the town where Ivern lived, but it was actually the woman who came up with that idea…

I couldn’t help but doubt Ivern for a moment.

When I asked Meyleen about the “national unrest” crime, she explained that it applied to those who plotted to overthrow the country, and in the demon kingdom, it was always punishable by death.

I was both intrigued and irritated, especially considering that the younger Princess, had been stripped of her royal succession rights and was imprisoned in the northern tower.

I felt frustrated by how the brothel woman was executed, but the younger princess got a lighter punishment—imprisonment instead of execution.

Meyleen told me that stripping a royal family member of their succession rights and confining them to a tower was considered a heavy punishment for royalty. Losing everything and being unable to appear in public was as painful as death for someone of royal blood.

I reluctantly accepted that explanation.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The royal family announced that Princess Wimple had died from an accident, not being imprisoned for a crime.

Meyleen explained that this was a common tactic when a royal family member had committed a crime but didn’t want the commoners to know.

Though I found it somewhat irritating, I let it go when I saw how sympathetic Meyleen seemed toward Princess Wimple, given her past as a former royal.

One day, I went into town to pick up Bennett-san for Meyleen’s routine checkup. When I arrived at Bennett-san’s room, I found Ivern and Yulia there.

“Huh? What are you two doing here?”

When I asked, Ivern scowled and grumbled at me.

“We couldn’t get into the forest.”

“Why not? I gave you both permission slips.”

Yulia, also scowling, chimed in with her complaints.

“It wasn’t Kenta’s barrier; we couldn’t even enter the forest itself! Those soldiers wouldn’t let us pass, saying it was off-limits! What’s the deal with them?!”

Listening to Yulia’s angry rant, I quickly understood the situation.

“Ah, so they took that kind of measure, huh?”

As I admired the older Princess’ strategy, Ivern glared at me and demanded an explanation.

So, I told the three of them the story about the bounty notice.

Upon hearing this, Ivern and Bennett both groaned, holding their heads in their hands.

“Starting a fight with the royal family… that’s insane…”

“Should we have told Meyleen to reconsider, after all?” 

Bennett wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Yulia was fuming with anger.

“To put Meyleen in danger like that, what the hell is Weimar thinking?!”

Yulia was furious that the bounty notice put her best friend, Meyleen, in jeopardy.

“I asked them to do something about it. So, they arranged for soldiers to guard the forest entrance so no bounty hunters could enter.” 

“Oh, that’s what it was.”

Ivan finally understood, and Yulia, in a haughty tone, forgave the soldiers.

“So, those soldiers were protecting Meyleen? In that case, I’ll forgive them.”

“I was wondering why you two didn’t come. It’s a hassle for me to go pick you up, so I thought I’d just talk to the soldiers first.”

With that, I decided to bring Ivern and Yulia along and teleport us not directly to my house but to the entrance of the forest.

“Hey, good work, everyone.”

When I greeted the soldiers, they immediately tensed up and glared at me.

“What are you doing here?! This forest is off-limits!” 

One of them shouted.

Impressed by their commitment to duty, I responded casually.

“Isn’t it to prevent bounty hunters from getting close to the person living deep in the forest?”

The soldiers looked shocked.

“Wh-why do you know that…?”

“Ah, I’m the one living deep in this forest.”

When I revealed my identity, the soldiers hastily pulled out the bounty notice and began comparing the drawing of the criminal with my face.

“…It seems like it’s really you. So, what does a bounty target want with us?”

Ah, that’s right. Since I’m a bounty target, I guess I’m an enemy to them.

The soldiers’ faces showed signs of frustration, as they wondered why they had to protect the safety of a bounty target.

“Isn’t it an order from the princess? Just follow it and stay quiet.”

“…Hmph. And? What do you want?”

“Ah, right. These guys aren’t bounty hunters; they’re my friends, so let them through when they come.”

“And who are these people?”

“Oh, who cares? Does it matter to you guys? Kenta!”

Since Ivern was about to answer honestly, I interrupted him.

“Ugh! If it weren’t for Princess Victoria’s orders, I’d slice you down with a single blow…!”

“Heh, don’t talk about things you can’t do.”

Oh, by the way, I said that with a double meaning: first, that he couldn’t defy Princess Victoria’s orders, and second, that there was no way he could actually cut me down.

It seems like the soldier took it as the latter meaning and instinctively reached for his sword’s hilt.

At that moment, a superior-looking soldier hurriedly stopped him.

“Hey! Are you planning to defy Princess Victoria’s orders!?”

“But—!”

“The princess’s orders are absolute! Even if this man is a vile criminal, if she has commanded that no harm come to him, we have no choice but to follow that! What do you think you’re doing, breaking her orders yourself?!”

“Ugh…! Tch…”

The soldiers were acting like they were in some heated drama, but honestly, it’s Princess Wimple’s fault that this is happening, so if you have complaints, take it up with her.

Well, since Princess Wimple is being reported as dead, I guess there’s nowhere to complain anymore.

“Well then, I’ll leave it to you next time.”

I said this as I walked into the forest, feeling the soldiers’ resentful glares.

Once the soldiers were out of sight, I was about to teleport home, but then Ivern shoved me in the back.

“Ouch! What the hell, man?!”

“You’re the one who’s asking what I’m doing! Why the hell did you provoke them like that!? Now I have to face those guys next time! Do you get it!?”

…Ah, so next time, those soldiers are going to be giving me sarcastic remarks, huh.

“…Don’t worry about it.”

“You bastard!!”

I comforted Ivern with a smile, but he wasn’t happy about it and chased after me.

“Come on! I get it, you’re close, so let’s go already!”

“Yeah! We can’t keep a pregnant woman waiting!!”

Well, she’s not exactly sick, and it’s not like the baby’s about to come out right now, so it’s not an urgent matter…

That’s what I thought, but there’s no way I could say that to Yulia, who was concerned about her friend, so we quickly headed toward home.

A few days later, I decided to check on Princess Wimple’s condition, so I took a look at the surveillance magic I had left active at the royal castle.

Since it was the northern tower, I wondered if it was the one around here.

The royal castle was unnecessarily large, so it took a bit of effort to find the tower where Princess Wimple was being imprisoned, but eventually, I located it.

I then observed the scene.

“…Hey, Meyleen.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Come here for a second.”

“? Sure.”

Mayleen, who had been preparing dinner, came over when I called her.

“Take a look at this.”

I said, showing her the surveillance footage.

The magic display hovered in the air, showing an image that anyone nearby could see.

“…Huh?”

“Is this really how royal family imprisonment works? Living like this?”

What I saw was Princess Wimple, dressed in an elegant gown, reading a book with a bored expression in a room so luxurious that it couldn’t possibly be considered a punishment. There were servants standing by, and on the table, there was freshly brewed tea and snacks.

It looked more like a normal young lady’s room than a prison.

“…No. In the Demon Kingdom, royal family imprisonment only provides basic clothing and food, and the room itself is usually just a bed and a desk—nothing fancy. There aren’t supposed to be such luxurious rooms, dresses, or servants. Books, tea, and snacks are absolutely out of the question.”

“So… what this means is that they’re just hiding Princess Wimple from the public, but they haven’t actually executed any punishment, right?”

“Well… she’s been declared dead, so she can’t be seen publicly. But after some time passes, she’ll probably show up again eventually.”

I see. I see…

So, that’s the plan.

In other words, they have no intention of keeping their promise with me.

“I’m going out for a bit tonight.”

“Alright. Understood.”

That night, before going to bed, I teleported to the royal capital of Weimar.

During the day, I might be spotted by someone, so it was better to do it at night.

I used the cover of darkness to float above the royal castle in the capital.

After visually confirming the northern tower where Princess Wimple was being held, I cast magic toward the tower.

The magic struck the tower, engulfing it in a massive explosion.

After confirming the blast, I teleported back home, leaving the royal castle in chaos behind me.

“Welcome back. How did it go?”

“Yeah, I made a big scene and crushed it as an example.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”

When I returned home, Meyleen gently embraced me to comfort me.

Once again, I was reminded that the rulers of this world couldn’t be trusted.

Later, I got a report from Ivern that, for some reason, my bounty had been lifted in the Weimar Kingdom.

Ivern was puzzled, but I quickly figured it out.

They were scared and came to try to appease me.

From then on, I purposely didn’t contact the royal family.

Let them live the rest of their lives, always fearing my shadow.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter