episode_0040

『My dear sister. I am writing to you today to discuss something related to the banquet. You and I both live busy lives taking care of our people. I can see that you are having a hard time because of the banquet schedule. It is a return ceremony for the warriors to return to the empire after defeating the Four Heavenly Kings.

It would be awkward to miss it when you’re busy.

One, don’t worry. Our Father, His Majesty the Emperor, has decided to participate in person. There is no need to come to us and show off your dignity. I will not go to see you either, so you too, Deila, can rest in peace.

-Dear brother, Ian Fieldor-』

“···Huh, bullshit.”

After reading the entire letter, Deila tore it up into pieces.

It was a letter from the First Prince, Ian Fieldor. It seemed like an extremely affectionate letter, but to her, she could see the dark inside.

“You’ve already planted your eyes and ears in the banquet hall, so you’re telling me to just disappear?”

It was a de facto restraint. It was a pretext to prevent Deila from participating, under the pretext that she herself would not participate. It was a very dark warning that if she were to participate, it would be restrained in some way.

In the meantime, he will use the nobles to gather all kinds of information, while isolating himself from the political world.

“No way. I will never let you go back to what you want.”

Of course, she had no intention of listening to that.

She will somehow make friends with the warrior. That was the only way she could do it, being isolated in the political world. She had to somehow create a card to use.

So she forced herself to attend the banquet hall, overcoming the glares of the nobles and being wary of any threats that might come from anywhere at any time.

To be honest, I was scared and nervous, but I was able to overcome it for the sake of my future.

As time passed and the banquet was held, when I met the warrior I had been waiting for… I couldn’t help but be disappointed.

Because the warrior’s first impression was, quite simply, the worst.

“Bring me some alcohol!”

The sight of someone looking for alcohol while constantly spitting out harsh words.

The man I met at the banquet hall was a total punk.

A rude, shameless thug and an ignorant fool.

She was amazed at how someone like that could become a warrior.

She felt that it would be difficult to make normal friendships, and she had a gut feeling.

‘I guess I’ll have to give up on making connections…’

ha.

A sigh escaped her lips.

*

The Phildor Empire.

The royal family, led by the current Emperor Maurice Phildor, had a total of five sons and daughters.

First Prince Ian, Second Prince Aiden,

1st Princess Ayla, 2nd Princess Elvira, 3rd Princess Deyla.

Everyone is a shining star of the empire.

Besides, Morris was not exactly a patriarchal figure.

What this means is that anyone can challenge for the throne as long as they have enough ability.

Well, at this point we could predict one thing.

This means that the royal family will be hit by a bloody storm.

If you can bring all the people of the empire under your wing, who wouldn’t challenge it?

But unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to see that bloody fight.

‘That’s right. It’s almost sorted out already.’

The first princess died, and the second prince was imprisoned.

The second princess, Elvira, sided with the first prince, and most of the nobles also supported the first prince.

In fact, the election of the First Prince is almost certain.

And Deila was a latecomer who got involved in that situation. Naturally, the situation couldn’t have been good.

In addition, the First Prince’s personality was extremely violent, so the restraint was becoming more severe day by day.

Can’t you tell just by looking at the state of the First Princess and the Second Prince? In fact, her life could disappear at any moment like a light in the wind.

But that’s why.

‘We need to make connections.’

There were no conditions as good as these

You won’t be in a position to be picky about whether it’s cold or hot. You’ll have to grab onto any rope, even if it looks like a rotten rope.

‘The question is how to seize the opportunity···.’

First of all, it was clear that it would be difficult here. With so many people around, how could I approach them first?

Whether she’s being watched from all sides or me being drawn into wide-area aggro, it’s equally difficult for her to move.

But that’s okay. The opportunity will come someday.

‘Let’s just watch for now.’

While thinking like that, I carefully used one skill so as not to get caught.

[Use ‘Chungsul’!]

Wow!

For a moment, a purple light spreads across my hand, and then a small bug appears on my palm.

A creature that we caught with special care at Chungwang’s castle.

It was a one-eyed bug. Its squinty eyes would certainly make for a great reconnaissance tool.

‘Stick over there.’

I secretly put a one-eyed bug on her.

Okay. Now you can recognize it wherever you go.

Now it was time to just sit back and watch.

*

She had given up on confronting the warrior, but that didn’t mean she would stay still. Unlike the warrior, all of his party members seemed normal.

Deila approached his party members with the mindset of a chicken instead of a pheasant. Of course, that didn’t mean it was easy to approach them…

Although not as much as the warriors, they were also receiving a lot of attention. Surrounded by numerous nobles, chatting away, they seemed like the center of high society.

Well, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that today was the center. After all, we caught the Four Heavenly Kings.

She looked at the party members with a look of admiration for a moment, then approached them and introduced herself.

“Hello, this is Dayla von Fieldor.”

The party members’ reactions to her introduction varied.

“Meet the princess.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

Camilla paid her respects with the restrained gestures befitting a noble knightly family, and Jules greeted her with the benevolent smile of a saint.

Lily bent her waist 90 degrees as if embarrassed, and Adele slightly lowered her head with a blank expression.

The reactions were all different, but there was a certain amount of respect and courtesy in them. She felt a little better after receiving the respect she had not felt in a long time.

She tried to continue the conversation right away.

Kwuk.

If only someone hadn’t grabbed her shoulder.

“Haha, Princess, wasn’t I the one speaking first?”

He was a nobleman with the rank of baron.

Just a baron.

A nobleman of mere baron rank arbitrarily puts his hand on the princess’ shoulder and tells her to step back.

Originally, it was an act of blasphemy that could have resulted in the death of three generations, but···.

“Haha, I see···.”

She had no choice but to just back off.

The Baron is definitely part of the First Prince’s faction. No, not just him, but everyone here.

And in the first place, she didn’t have the power to punish the Baron.

Because she had virtually no supporters, the only positions she was given were that of a knight-errant, and a demoted court maid.

This was her current address.

A princess with no power whatsoever, only a title.

When she thought about her situation for a moment, she felt a surge of sadness… but as always, she controlled her feelings.

‘···are you okay.’

I’m already used to it.

Aren’t you still trying to get out of this situation?

She continued to face similar rejections after that.

As she tries to have a conversation with the warrior party, the nobles suddenly intervene and push her back.

It was the nobles’ restraint that did not give her the opportunity to make a kite.

As time passed like that, the banquet was over. The nobles, who were drunk, were slowly starting to return to their mansions.

In the case of the warrior, he was sound asleep on the table, and in the case of the servant, he moved his body to clean up even though his face looked tired.

“······.”

Deila also had no choice but to leave bitterly. In fact, she had gained nothing from the banquet hall.

As she left the banquet hall, her escort knight greeted her.

“Are you here?”

“···Go.”

She muttered melancholy and clung to him.

The escort knight, who had predicted her feelings just by that, quickly comforted her.

Although he was only an apprentice knight in terms of skill, his heart for serving her was sincere.

“I guess things haven’t gone well, Princess. But don’t worry. The day will come when everyone will recognize the Princess’s character.”

“That should come soon···.”

Deila smiled weakly.

It’s already been over a year since I joined as a latecomer and faced off against the First Prince. A lot has happened in that time.

Her close older sister Elvira went over to the First Prince, and the knights and nobles who had welcomed her with affection all distanced themselves from her.

It is clear that they were all persuaded or threatened by the First Prince.

She knew it too… but there was nothing she could do.

Because no one would side with someone who is obviously going to lose.

She knew that too… but she couldn’t give up.

Otherwise, wouldn’t the death of my older sister Ayla be too unfair?

He walked for a while with such a gloomy expression.

“Didn’t the prince clearly warn you not to attend the banquet?”

“?”

Suddenly, a voice was heard from in front.

I looked up and saw about fifteen people with their hoods pulled up.

“Even though we clearly warned you, if you ignore us like this, we will have no choice but to act harshly···.”

“Who are you···. No, I’m the only one who knows that I received the letter before, so how on earth do you know?”

For a moment, the princess’s eyes become suspicious.

“Oh, no way···!”

But that was only for a moment, as soon as he opened his eyes wide as if he realized something.

“Royal Family Slaughter Squad?”

The slaughterhouse.

A group similar to the SS, but operating in a slightly darker setting. Their main tasks are assassination, intimidation, and cleanup, and other dirty work that cannot be done in public.

And the fact that they came to him… means that this time he is the target. The client is obviously the First Prince.

She growled in a very nervous voice.

“How dare you… put your hands on the princess’s body? Even if it was Ian’s order, do you think you’ll be okay?”

“Haha, do you really think we should kill the princess?”

The man in the hood laughs lightly.

“They’ll just hold her for a while. The princess was just returning to the palace when she was kidnapped by a stranger. And the stranger will be defeated by the royal guards a few days later and take the princess away. They’ve already chosen a scapegoat. ”

“What are you going to do if I go back and blow it all up?”

“Haha, who would believe the words of a powerless princess···. And would they just send her back? They would probably keep her mouth shut to some extent.”

In that moment, the man in the hood’s eyes gleamed.

“Well··· I guess some degree of ‘persuasion’ will be necessary.”

Creepy!

In that moment, goosebumps ran down the princess’s spine.

He said ‘persuasion’, but anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Slaughterhouse will know what that word means.

That persuasion included various threats and brainwashing. Suddenly, looking behind him, he saw another hooded figure drawing out black magic power.

This is evidence that he is a warlock. The Slaughter Squad has a warlock and is trying to brainwash and threaten him through curses.

Of course, the things that would happen to her through the curse… would be things she couldn’t even dare to imagine.

The princess’s body trembled as she imagined the ominous future.

The escort knight who saw that drew his sword.

“Please step back, Princess.”

“Ha, how dare a guy who can’t even write properly···.”

But his minor rebellion was thwarted within seconds, as the hooded figure at the front flicked his hand and the knight was slammed into the wall.

Boom! Boom!

The man didn’t stop there, he picked up the escort knight several times and threw him to the ground. Deila was shocked at the sight.

‘Ability user!’

Extraordinary ability.

A power similar to magic, but clearly different. A unique power that no one else can imitate.

And of all the people she knew, there was only one person with this ability who could use telekinesis.

Kyle, Deputy Commander of the Slaughter Squad.

A swordsman who is at the forefront of the empire and uses telekinesis as his base.

That person has come to catch her now.

She tried to run away quickly, but even that was already blocked by the barrier.

Boom! Boom!

Deila’s heart pounded with nervousness.

“It’s no use. The work in this area has already been completed. No matter how much you cry or scream, no one will come looking for you today.”

“···That’s right.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

It was then. A voice was heard from a place where neither the hooded group nor the princess were present.

“Wow, it would be hard for even a single ant to get in here. And there would be no sound or smell. I don’t know who made it, but it’s well made.”

“Who are you!”

The startled slaughtermen turned their heads toward the sound. Dayla also naturally turned her head. And there…

“Hello~ I’m a warrior.”

There was a warrior who smiled gently and waved his hand.

A completely different atmosphere from what I had seen at the banquet hall.

His drunken face regained its color and became extremely calm.

His half-opened eyes were clearly looking at the execution ground.

Also, the strangely polite way of speaking made it seem like he was a different person.

Such a heterogeneous situation.

In that situation, Deila couldn’t help but ask herself.

‘···what?’