episode_0026

“… What are you doing?”

Estelle let out her voice with difficulty.

But her escort didn’t answer.

“I asked what you were doing, Renee.”

“… … .”

Despite Estelle’s urgings, Renee still remained silent.

And, he didn’t even lower the sword aimed at Estel.

“You are… !”

“Khahaha!”

So, just as Estelle was about to yell, a sound of laughter that made her son-in-law cry broke out.

The owner of that laughter was the leader of the assassins.

“I never thought I would see that crazy princess shaking like this with my own eyes!”

The man, who was laughing cheerfully as if he had seen something rare, soon smiled heartily.

“Stop denying reality now, Her Highness. You already know that, right? What happened?”

“… … .”

Just as the man said, Estelle’s mind had already understood this situation.

However, her heart refused to accept it.

“Rene… ! Say something… !”

Estelle, who rarely raised her voice, shouted in an uncharacteristic way, but Renee’s expression did not change.

“Sorry.”

When she finally opened her mouth, the content was completely different from what Estelle had expected.

What she expected from Renee wasn’t an apology.

“… Because.”

Because of that calm attitude, Estelle eventually accepted the reality.

That Rene betrayed him.

That the only one who understood him had turned his back on him.

“Why… Did you betray me?”

Asking the reason for betrayal was something Estelle would not have done normally.

But I couldn’t help but ask.

I just couldn’t bear it without doing that.

“… No, I’ll listen to the answer later.”

Then Estelle suddenly changed her attitude.

“After the situation is over, I will listen slowly.”

Estelle herself thought it was a cold judgment, but it wasn’t in reality.

She was just afraid.

Hearing the reason for betrayal from Renee’s mouth.

“… You guys, after finding out who is behind it, I will personally kill you.”

Estelle’s cold gaze turned towards the assassins.

“Oh my gosh, be scared. You have a fierce look in your eyes.”

However, despite those cold eyes, the man did not lose his composure.

“I’ll make you sew your mouth shut.”

Instead of being scared, the man smiled slyly at Estelle’s harsh declaration.

“That prestige is good… Is that possible?”

Estelle raised her magic power, vowing to make the man who was constantly acting like a fool regret.

Renee’s betrayal was certainly big, but it didn’t matter.

Renee wasn’t the only escort for her.

Each and every one of the elite escorts remains. Estelle thought that if her strength was added to that, she would be able to take out the assassins in front of her without difficulty.

but. Her judgment was meaningless.

No matter how long I waited, the dark escorts did not appear.

These are people who normally would have shown up a long time ago.

“, it looks like you put a lot of trust in that escort driver.”

The man interrupted, raising his voice loudly.

“Seeing the princess so distraught.”

Smirking, the man laughed.

“Your escort has joined our side. Will the other guards be safe?”

“… … !”

Estelle only realized the situation after hearing the man’s words.

The fact that since Renee was attached to them and betrayed her, there was no way they wouldn’t have dealt with the secret guards.

The other guards who did not know that Rene had betrayed them would have been left helpless.

It was a fact that the usual Estelle would have thought of long ago.

“What will you do now, princess?”

The man was dead.

“… … .”

If this happens, there is no chance of winning.

No matter how hard she struggles, she can’t beat a number like that on her own.

If so, you must choose the next best option.

Run away or call for help.

Even in the midst of embarrassment, Estelle’s mind did not stop thinking.

To somehow find a way to survive.

“Oh, I’m just saying this just in case, but it’s impossible to run away. Because there is a barrier around it. Because of the barrier, no sound or light will escape, so no one will notice anything strange and come to help.”

However, all the paths she had drawn were cut off by the words the man uttered.

Even if you use the artifacts and tools prepared just in case, you cannot defeat them all.

Even if you try your best to escape, you will still be blocked by the barrier.

I don’t know what level the barrier was, but judging from the man’s reaction, it didn’t seem to be at an average level.

Even if it is possible to release it, it will take a considerable amount of time.

death.

That one word appeared before her eyes.

Estelle concluded.

That he was defeated.

That you will die here.

“… Because.”

Estelle asked.

Toward his escort knight, who was still looking at him with calm eyes.

“Why did you betray me?”

A hopeless situation where death is virtually guaranteed.

But funny enough, in this situation, what Estelle felt was neither a longing for life nor resentment at losing.

I had one question.

Why did Rene betray him?

I was curious about that.

We were together for a long time.

was always by her side.

Why did her loyal guard who risked his life to protect her and her only trustworthy friend betray her?

I was just curious about that.

“… … .”

Renee looked quietly into Estelle’s eyes.

No matter how much time passed, Renee finally opened her mouth.

“I didn’t betray you.”

“… What?”

What are you trying to say in this situation?

Now, does he have an ulterior motive to humiliate himself with nonsense?

Facing those questioning eyes, Renee calmly blurted out.

“I have never been on Your Majesty’s side to begin with.”

The cold, bitter truth.

thud.

Estelle felt as if her heart was freezing cold.

“… What do you mean? ”

Don’t ask. I’d rather not hear the truth.

Reason continued to shout.

However, Estelle could not stop.

“Didn’t you ask what I was talking about? !!”

Estelle shouted.

Normally, people around her would have been trembling, but right now, no one here was afraid of her.

Her anger was the only thing hovering in vain.

“Let me tell you a story from the past.”

At that time, the man suddenly said something.

It was a word that did not fit the situation at all.

Estel glared at the man as if he were going to kill him, but the man didn’t care at all.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl who was born in a slum. I don’t even know my parents’ faces.”

The man who opened his mouth like that began to tell his story.

“The girl lived a typical life, as do parentless children in the slums. Go out to the street and steal bread, or get caught pickpocketing and get beaten up… Something like that.”

The girl was no different from other children in the slums.

Until the girl grabbed the sword.

“It was a crude item that could hardly be called a wooden sword, but the girl realized it the moment she held it in her hand. That you can do a lot with this.”

The girl’s skills improved day by day, and soon the entire slum learned about her talent.

“The rumor soon spread beyond the slums. And after some time, a man who was interested in the rumor appeared in front of the girl.”

The man tested the girl’s talent and found that it was real.

“The man revealed that he was an imperial knight and told the girl to become his disciple. The girl accepted, and thus entered the imperial palace. For a poor man who was wandering around on the streets to enter the imperial palace, there is no such thing as success.”

Life in the imperial palace was awkward, but the girl was satisfied.

At least I didn’t have to go hungry.

“Soon, the imperial palace became noisy, a crazy princess appeared, and a bloody storm broke out, but the girl didn’t care. Because it was a problem that had nothing to do with me.”

On the grand stage of the imperial palace, no one cared about an insignificant being like a girl, and the girl lived as if she were flowing, unaffected by the storm.

Then one day, a man appeared in front of the girl.

“The man spoke to the girl. I am your father.”

It was a random statement. And it was hard to believe.

However, the girl instinctively knew that the words were true.

“What should we call that? The attraction of flesh and blood? Anyway, the girl is reunited with her father, whom she did not know and did not even know was alive.”

The girl was very happy to learn that she also had a family and a father, and wanted to live with her father.

However, the girl’s father shook his head.

“The reason was that the situation was not good. The girl’s father answered that he couldn’t do that because the girl might be in danger if they stayed together.”

Knowing that her father was in danger, the girl wanted to help him.

So I asked my father. What should I do?

What should I do to get my father out of danger?

“The girl’s father hesitated, but eventually surrendered to the girl’s strong will. The girl’s father asks her for a favor. To gain the trust of one person.”

That one person was the crazy princess.

A bloodless, tearless monster that everyone fears.

The princess was the cause of the girl’s father’s danger.

Anyone who rebels against her dies.

Anyone who approaches will also die.

She kills everyone she gets involved with.

That’s why we fear and avoid it.

Approaching such a princess was virtually the same as jumping into danger yourself.

However, the girl approached the princess without hesitation.

For my father. For my one and only family.

“That’s how the girl jumps into a dangerous situation. I was injured countless times and was on the verge of death. After such a difficult time… Finally, the girl succeeds in achieving a goal that seemed impossible.”

After overcoming numerous hardships, the girl eventually becomes the crazy princess’s escort and succeeds in gaining her trust.

“This story.”

The man laughed.

“Don’t you think you’ve heard this before?”

With a very bright face.

“… What.”

A faint voice came out of Estelle’s mouth.

Estelle understood what the man meant.

Whose story is that?

Also who the girl in the story is.

Estelle’s head slowly turned.

In the direction her gaze was directed, there was a woman standing.

Yes, the escort driver looking at his master with cold eyes.

“Then… Renee… … .”

Estelle’s voice shook uneasily.

At this, the smile on the man’s face became even brighter.

“Yes. This lady is that girl. And the girl’s father is none other than Prince Lee.”

The man finally put an end to the story.

“… … .”

Estelle couldn’t make any sound.

Estelle, faced with the truth, was at a loss for words.

─ “I was never on your highness’s side to begin with.”

Those words, the words I ultimately wanted to deny.

It was true.

Renee had approached her with an ulterior motive from the beginning.

For none other than her father, Prince Lee.

Waiting for the day when he will one day put a knife to his own throat.

“How are you feeling, princess?”

A man stuck his face in front of Estelle, who was faced with a despairing fact.

“I feel like I was fooled and played with from beginning to end.”

I was tricked and played.

It’s as they say.

She became a puppet and was dancing on stage without noticing.

Without even knowing that he was a puppet.

He was fooled by the person who had been aiming for his head from the beginning, and he trusted her.

I gave up my side. A friend, I thought.

How much.

Are you saying it’s stupid and stupid?

“… Haha.”

A hollow laugh leaked from Estelle’s mouth.

It wasn’t a life I wanted much from in the first place.

I didn’t even want to be happy.

Just one thing.

I just hoped that someone would understand me, even if it was just one person.

That someone was Rene, Estelle thought.

But, no.

Everything about her was a lie.

Understanding, support, loyalty, dedication, sacrifice.

Everything was a lie.

That cruel fact cruelly crushed Estelle’s heart.

“Okay, now that we’ve answered your questions, it’s time to get to work.”

Grumbling─

The man pulled out his sword.

Then he held it high.

“Don’t be too upset. Because His Highness Prince Lee will rule the empire well.”

The man continued speaking as if he was being generous.

Despite his dark intentions, Prince Lee has created a good image externally.

If Estelle disappeared now that the royal family had decreased due to Estelle, there was a high possibility that he would take the position of the next emperor.

Exactly according to their plan.

“The princess is responsible for her death… Let’s see, I guess we can just overwrite the Academy. The princess of the empire is attacked by a gunman at the academy and dies. Ugh… … . The Academy will not be able to help but pay attention to Reinberg. Appropriate compensation is natural. Wow, His Highness Prince Lee is very wise.”

No matter what the man said, Estelle’s gaze did not turn towards him.

Her eyes were fixed on one place.

Directly towards Rene, who was looking down at him.

Renee, the only person she trusted, the only friend she had, was looking down at Estelle with calm eyes.

Those eyes that don’t feel any warmth at all.

Estelle’s heart was shattered.

“Okay then. Take a break, Your Majesty!”

The man finally swung his sword.

and.

Grumble!

A fierce flame began to bloom from Estelle’s body.