Ch.283Chapter 283 – Princess Gabriella (2)

The table fell silent for a moment.

As I was contemplating what to say to Gabriella, she smiled softly and spoke.

“Still, I had some luck left.”

“What kind of luck?”

“There were still loyal subjects devoted to my father, and an old friend who was working to save me.”

Gabriella smiled at Domestica.

And Domestica nodded with a bitter smile.

“It was the day after my uncle told me he was unilaterally arranging my marriage. Domestica, who had always been watching for an opportunity to rescue me, used drastic measures to help me escape, and ultimately succeeded.”

“How was that possible?”

Beatrice asked quietly.

And Domestica looked at Beatrice and replied softly.

“I still keep in touch with the maids working in the palace.”

“You must have had a very good relationship with them.”

Sera said with a smile.

And Domestica smiled back and said.

“Yes. I have good relationships with most of them. And some very, very good relationships too.”

“…You don’t happen to have leverage over them, do you?”

“The tea has gone cold. Let me pour you some more.”

Domestica ignored Sera’s question and poured more tea into Gabriella’s cup.

Then Gabriella spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.

“…Dome isn’t a bad person. She has many friends and people who help her. She just has a talent for making even those who aren’t close to her or cooperative help her.”

“You flatter me. Please drink before the tea gets cold, Princess Ella.”

Gabriella obediently accepted the tea and drank it.

Then she looked at me again and said.

“…Of course, many people sacrificed themselves to save me… Thanks to their efforts, I was able to safely escape from my uncle’s side. After evading the trackers, I eventually joined up with Dome and her friends, along with my father’s former retainers.”

“I see.”

“Even after that, Dome had to work behind the scenes to prevent my uncle from tracking me down. She apparently collapsed from overwork during those efforts.”

I now had a general understanding of why Domestica had collapsed from overwork.

After nodding, I quietly said.

“So those people were the rebels.”

“We prefer the term ‘resistance.’ As in, those who resist the vicious traitor and the church.”

I nodded at Gabriella’s words.

She was asking me to be careful with my terminology.

“I apologize. So that’s how you joined the resistance, Your Highness.”

“Yes. Despite my inadequacies, I’m working hard. Trying to profit by selling items to all of you, for instance.”

Gabriella said with a smile.

“Well, that’s the end of my story. All this talking has made me thirsty.”

Gabriella raised her teacup to her lips.

Looking at her, I glanced at the small ship on the table and asked.

“So you must have taken this ship when you escaped.”

“…That’s right. Though I didn’t bring it from somewhere else during my escape.”

With sorrowful eyes, Gabriella began to speak.

“This was originally a gift from the court magician of Florence or the palace to my sister… Dana. After my father passed away, I made various efforts to keep it.”

“A gift?”

“My sister Dana had talent for magic. I heard the court magician went to great lengths to create this for her.”

Gabriella spoke somewhat bitterly.

“My sister, who always said she would ride this ship abroad when she grew up, never got the chance to do so.”

So this ship was a memento.

It was an item of tremendous significance to her personally.

“…It’s not my place to ask, as I’m the one who needs the ship, but are you sure this is okay?”

“Once I became a member of the resistance, I couldn’t prioritize my personal feelings over matters related to our cause.”

Gabriella said with a faint smile.

“Besides, I’ve kept other mementos of my sisters. Angel’s quill pen that she often used, Beatrice’s handkerchief with her own embroidery…”

With eyes full of longing, Gabriella murmured sadly.

But she quickly composed herself and looked at me.

“…The belongings of my other sisters also hold memories of my family. Kind-hearted Dana would certainly allow her memento to be used for the greater cause.”

“I see.”

“Thank you for your concern, Sir Knight. But I’m fine, so please don’t worry too much.”

Gabriella looked at me and said.

“Just as I have things precious to me, you have things precious to you. So whatever item I offer, you should only think about what’s important to you.”

“I understand.”

I was already aware of what Gabriella had said, but my heart had grown a bit heavy at the thought of using someone else’s memento. It seemed she had noticed this.

Thanks to her, I gathered my slightly lightened thoughts and quietly said to Gabriella.

“Then let’s move on to the deal.”

Gabriella nodded at my words.

She closed her eyes once, and soon the princess’s expression changed.

From warm eyes to sharp ones that had killed personal emotions for the sake of a purpose.

“What do you want from us that makes you willing to offer this ship, Your Highness?”

I quietly asked while withstanding her sharp gaze.

Soon Domestica smiled lightly and spoke.

“My request is simple.”

Gabriella bowed her head respectfully and said.

“Please drive the demons, the vampires, out of this land.”

I looked at the bowing princess for a moment.

Then I quietly asked.

“The vampires?”

“Yes.”

Gabriella took another sip of her tea.

Watching her, I quietly asked.

“First, I’d like to ask why you want us to drive out the demons.”

“It’s not complicated.”

The princess said while drinking her tea.

“I’ve heard that someone suspected to be a vampire has been frequenting the palace recently. You heard this from Dome, right?”

“Yes.”

When I met with Domestica, she had told me a story.

About people with pale skin entering and leaving the palace.

Sia had suspected the existence of vampires upon hearing this, and that suspicion had turned into certainty after meeting the vampire named Sirius.

“Setting aside the question of strength, our resistance is an organization meant to face the royal army and the Emiris Church. Because of that, our tactics and equipment are focused on fighting people and walls, and those who join us are specialists in those areas.”

Gabriella quietly explained their situation.

“But demons and vampires are different. We only know them from literature, but demons are formidable opponents for humans. Without preparation, we cannot win against them.”

“Then what about preparing more or—”

“That’s impossible. Because we’re already at our limit.”

The princess said this and then smiled slightly.

“This is confidential information about our side… but let me just say that we don’t have the resources for further preparation.”

My eyes narrowed slightly at the princess’s words, though she wouldn’t be able to see this because of my helmet.

‘They’re planning something soon.’

And that plan probably involved the royal army.

They must have concluded that they might clash with demons as well.

“Couldn’t you manage with the equipment you’ve already prepared?”

The royal army and the church wouldn’t be that weak, so their preparations must be substantial.

But Gabriella smiled and said.

“That’s a fair point, but our current equipment is only designed to face humans, so I believe it won’t be able to properly counter the powerful magic or special sorcery of demons.”

“I see.”

I quietly responded to Gabriella’s words.

“But based on the current situation, it’s presumed that the palace and demons are in collusion. If we’re not careful, we might end up fighting demons while unprepared.”

“So you’re asking us to fight the demons. You don’t know until when?”

“Well. Since we have our own schedule, I think I’ll have to ask you to fight the demons in the near future.”

Gabriella smiled at my words.

“Of course, I’m not saying you should fight alone. Our side will fight alongside you. I just think that you, who have already fought them, will fight better than us who have little experience fighting demons. That’s why I’m making this request to you.”

After taking another sip of tea, Gabriella smiled fiercely.

It was a smile reminiscent of Beatrice.

“I understand your hesitation, but personally, I’d like you to lend your strength for the future of this country.”

“……”

“Fortunately, I have more items I can offer you. And I’ll add more compensation on top of that.”

“Is that so.”

I looked at Gabriella and said.

“So the ship is definitely included, and there will be additional compensation beyond that.”

“Yes. Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Gabriella nodded at my words.

And I quietly asked her.

“But one thing. How can you guarantee that we’ll only be fighting demons?”

“Because the royal army and the church are prey for our resistance.”

Gabriella said with a smile.

“So I won’t ask you to fight the royal army. The royal army is a force that our resistance must face.”

Gabriella bowed her head again and said.

“Only the demons. You only need to deal with them. Please lend your strength to make them retreat from this land.”

After hearing Gabriella’s words, I quietly opened my mouth.

“There’s no guarantee that we can handle the demons either.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve already heard about your abilities.”

With an apologetic expression devoid of any smile, Gabriella said.

“The truth is, my friends were monitoring the area and confirmed that you fought vampires. They also noted that you weren’t overwhelmed by them at all.”

“Is that so.”

“I believe no one is more qualified than you.”

After saying this, Gabriella quietly opened her mouth again.

“Please, would you consider it positively?”

I remained silent for a moment as Gabriella urged me to answer.

Then, I finally spoke.

“I understand for now.”

“Then—”

“However, it’s difficult for me to make this decision on my own.”

After briefly nodding to Gabriella, whose face had momentarily brightened, I said.

“I’ll discuss it positively with my companions and give you an answer tomorrow. Is that acceptable?”

“…That’s fine. It’s about time we ended this meeting anyway.”

The brightness that had briefly appeared on Gabriella’s face returned to normal as she spoke.

Her slightly smiling face somehow felt like a mask.

+

“Then please come back here around noon tomorrow.”

“We will.”

With a “Please give us a favorable answer,” the princess saw us off.

Though she seemed slightly disappointed that I wouldn’t decide immediately, she let us go.

As we walked away from the place, I looked at Sia, who nodded.

“There are no watchful eyes around.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m certain.”

I nodded at Sia’s words.

It should be safe to speak now.

“She didn’t seem that way at first, but Princess Gabriella is surprisingly desperate.”

Though I had heard about her past, this was my personal impression of the princess.

She seemed somewhat anxious even while proposing the deal.

In response to my words, Eve and Sera nodded and spoke.

“I thought so too.”

“She was definitely someone we needed to listen to carefully during the conversation.”

After they finished speaking, I saw a few more people nodding.

It seemed that not just those two, but others shared similar opinions.

Only Chris tilted his head and looked at me curiously.

“Why do you say that?”

“Why, you ask.”

I smiled bitterly at Chris’s question.

“That woman is trying to use us in her fight against the royal army, one way or another.”

“What?”

Chris’s eyes widened slightly.

Looking at him, I quietly said.

“…She only recently learned about the demons, but has no time to prepare… I suspect her real intention is to mobilize us for some operation in the near future.”

“Since the palace and demons are in collusion, fighting demons means fighting the royal army too.”

I quietly nodded at Sera’s words.

Though Gabriella made it sound like we would only be fighting demons, it amounted to the same thing.

As long as someone in the palace was colluding with demons, it was obvious that the royal family would use the royal army to interfere with our attempts to eliminate the demons.

“And considering who the resistance defines as their enemy, we’ll likely end up fighting the church as well.”

“The church might try to take advantage by intervening in the fight between the royal army and the resistance.”

Especially if the church had noticed that the current palace was colluding with demons, they could act more boldly.

If they could use the demon issue as justification, they would have the moral high ground.

With bad luck, we might not only have to fight demons and face the royal army’s attacks, but also deal with the church’s intervention.

“What about just selling the ship for money?”

“She probably wanted to prevent any room for negotiation. By telling us about the item’s history, she might have wanted to establish the premise that it couldn’t simply be sold for money.”

Eve responded bitterly to Sia’s question.

Indeed, after hearing that it was someone’s memento, it would be difficult to just offer money for it.

“The item we want is in their hands. For us, it’s not just about money but also time. It’s unpleasant, but they have the upper hand in this negotiation.”

Eve muttered that at least they didn’t know that time was also an issue for us.

Considering that time can’t be bought even with money, they might have made even more demanding requests, like asking us to destroy the royal army outright.

“This cup of wine has a lot of poison in it.”

“Indeed.”

It seems like the quickest way to get what we need, but the risk is too high.

“…What should we do?”

Part of me wants to just take the ship and run.

I started to feel a slight desire to consider more aggressive options.

“Helmet.”

“Hmm?”

It was Beatrice, who had been quiet until now.

I hadn’t expected her to speak up suddenly.

“What is it?”

“I have a good idea.”

“What is it?”

“It’s not something I should say here.”

Beatrice spoke quietly.

Then, with eyes that seemed to have resolved something, she looked at me and said.

“Instead, please leave this matter to me.”

For some reason, Beatrice’s voice sounded desperate.