Chapter 39 : Millennium Height (13)

I sat in the inn hall, scooping up melted cheese with a spoon and putting it into my mouth.

It was a relaxed scene that didn’t match the current lockdown of the capital, but from an ordinary person’s point of view, this was only natural.

I wasn’t involved in the imperial succession battle, and I wasn’t even a noble.

Normally, nobles live comfortably while commoners are nothing more than gravel on the ground, but now was a kind of national emergency.

It was only the high-ranking people who trembled in fear of being targeted and losing their lives.

A mere commoner like me only needed to go about their daily life.

Especially since the justification for the capital lockdown was the suspicion of the emperor being poisoned.

If someone did poison the emperor, it’d be one of the elites—not a commoner.

What reason would a commoner have to assassinate the emperor?

There’s no benefit from it.

And besides, the Second Prince likely didn’t even believe the emperor had truly been poisoned when he locked down the capital.

That was just a pretext—he was probably preparing to round up the other successors by now.

In short, unless you were one of the stakeholders, you didn’t need to care.

We could just drink milk and eat cheese.

I took a swig of milk.

Then Kris whispered to me.

“Miss Ruina. What do we do now?”

“I explained earlier. As long as we don’t do anything suspicious, we’ll be fine.”

“Not that—I mean, won’t this cool the public’s excitement about you fighting the evil god’s priest?”

“Oh, that.”

Sure enough, with rumors of the emperor’s assassination and the capital on lockdown, my story no longer qualified as gossip.

When faced with overwhelming shock, everything else lost meaning.

“We already made all our investments…”

“Sometimes you just lose money. It happens.”

“Olol.”

Kris let out a whining noise.

“Whiiine.”

No, she was actually crying.

So this money-crazed succubus really cried when she lost money.

Thanks to that, I got a rough idea of how sad Kris must have been when Flora died.

As sad as losing money, huh?

Noted.

“Could it be that the Second Prince assassinated the emperor?”

Jerry murmured softly.

I checked the soundproofing spell and replied.

“Probably not. This rebellion is just him taking advantage of the emperor’s sudden death.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If it were really that well-planned, he wouldn’t need to lock down the capital. He’d have secured the other successors before anything happened.”

It was simple.

If the plan had been that thorough, it would’ve ended the moment it began.

In other words, the very chaos of the current situation was proof that the Second Prince was innocent.

“Besides, from his perspective, it would’ve been better if the emperor lived longer. The more time passed, the more favorable things would become for the competent Second Prince.”

“If he just continued as he had been, he would’ve had a high chance of inheriting the throne. There was no reason to take the risk of assassinating the emperor and starting a rebellion.”

“I see.”

Jerry looked convinced.

Then Leon, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“When do you think the lockdown will be lifted?”

“Hmm.”

I tilted my head at Leon’s question.

Speed was key in a coup.

In modern times, seizing the parliament quickly was essential; in this medieval-fantasy land, eliminating rival heirs swiftly was the priority.

So even if it took a few days at most, the lockdown would be lifted.

But I couldn’t say for sure.

There were too many variables.

“There’s nothing we can do anyway, right? Let’s just take it easy.”

At this point, the only thing we could do was wait for the situation to resolve.

Until then, we couldn’t even leave the capital—

“The lockdown’s lifted.”

“Really?”

“It’s true.”

People murmured all around.

I narrowed my eyes as I listened.

The lockdown was already lifted?

“No—it’s not that the lockdown was lifted. It’s just that the soldiers who were controlling people have all left the castle.”

“That’s the same thing, you idiot. If there’s no one to stop us, the lockdown’s effectively over.”

The surroundings grew noisy in an instant.

With the guards gone, people who had been watched started to chatter.

All the soldiers left the castle?

Hmm.

“Something must’ve happened.”

“What kind of something?”

In response to Kris’s question, I explained carefully.

“For the Second Prince, maintaining the lockdown was extremely important. It’s how he could detain the people he wanted.”

“But now it’s lifted. Ah.”

“Exactly. That means there’s no one left in the capital to detain. No more reason to keep it locked down.”

To put it another way:

Something urgent happened to the Second Prince—so urgent that he had to pull even the soldiers guarding the capital.

“The First Prince must’ve escaped.”

“Miss Ruina, what do we really do now?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I honestly didn’t get the question.

What do we do now—why ask that?

“The situation’s changed. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind.”

“The Second Prince’s situation changed, but mine hasn’t.”

“Really?”

“You thought I’d suddenly charge out to help the First Prince, seeking revenge against the Second Prince?”

“…Honestly, yes.”

I smiled calmly.

“Why would I do something like that? What benefit would that bring me?”

“But you kept muttering about how you were robbed of royal favor. I thought that meant you cared.”

“Kris, you have a vivid imagination. You’ve got a merchant’s talent.”

I put a pipe in my mouth and continued quietly.

“We’ll watch things just a bit longer, then slip out of the capital quickly. We’ve got to find the Holy Grail.”

***

Hayes didn’t like the Second Prince.

But then again, not many in the imperial family did.

The Second Prince did not hide his ambition to succeed the throne, and so it was obvious what would happen if he did ascend.

A massive purge, leaving not a single trace of uncertainty behind.

That was just the kind of person the Second Prince was.

That’s why Hayes, who served the Eighth Princess, Tashia Eterno, often secretly interfered with the Second Prince’s affairs.

Sometimes, she interfered outright.

Since Tashia, who was far down in the line of succession, had no realistic chance of becoming emperor, Hayes focused on checking the most dangerous figure should he take the throne.

“Tashia, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Hayes. Keep riding.”

With Tashia on the horse behind her, Hayes urged the horse faster.

The reason they were able to escape the palace was partly due to luck and partly because of the various simulated escape plans Hayes had run through in her head.

As soon as the incident began, Hayes and Tashia sought out the First Prince.

They fled the palace through a secret passage along with him.

A few others joined them, making the group quite large, but the First Prince didn’t mind.

Their movements would be discovered anyway, so he chose to grow the group quickly and decisively.

Hayes turned her gaze to the First Prince, who was leading them.

He was deftly avoiding the Second Prince’s soldiers who had been stationed throughout the area, heading toward the capital’s nearest defense forces.

If they could just reach that point, victory would be his.

The Imperial Army would follow the rightful heir, and no matter how strong the southern forces were, they couldn’t match the might of the entire Imperial Army.
If the Second Prince had secured the First Prince early, perhaps he would have won.

But since he hadn’t, this was a battle he couldn’t win.

The Second Prince and the southern forces knew this, which is why they had desperately tried to seize the First Prince—but failed.

And through all of this, Hayes became convinced that the current rebellion had not been premeditated.

If it had been, they would have secured the First Prince before acting.

Hayes gripped the reins tightly.

Just a little farther.

Just a little more, and they’d reach the capital defense garrison— “Lord Orphin, keep moving forward.”

Hayes lifted her head at the low but firm voice.

One of the knights riding alongside Orphin dismounted, drawing his sword.

The knight murmured, “Darin… You dare betray His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Ezron. I have only one emperor. It’s been that way for years.”

“You traitor…”

Without slowing her horse, Hayes rushed past the two of them.

Then—

BOOM!

The clash between the Imperial Knight Commander and the Western Commander shook the world.

Shivering from the shock, Hayes gritted her teeth.

Master.

I have to get to my master.

Hayes let out a bitter laugh in her mind.

The worst-case scenario she had imagined was the Second Prince becoming emperor.

But now, look.

What she thought was the worst wasn’t even close.

The true worst-case had become reality.

A rebellion.

How could anyone carry out such madness so calmly?

Hayes glanced at the group currently fleeing.

The First Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, the Fourth Princess, the Eighth Princess.

Aside from the First Prince, they were all people with no real claim to the throne.

Would the Second Prince really not rest until even they were dead and the throne was entirely his?

Hayes silently prayed.

Please.

Let nothing happen before they reached her master.

“Where do you think you’re all going?”

A sly voice rang in her ears.

For a moment, Hayes nearly lost grip on the reins.

She slowed the horse—it couldn’t be helped.

The army blocking the path ahead made her bite her lip.

The Second Prince, Isaac Eterno, stepped forward with his soldiers.

“Brother, you’re not fit to be emperor.

The throne isn’t a seat for someone who has nothing.”

“Isaac…”

The First Prince, Orphin, muttered in a voice laced with fury.

In response, the knights who had followed Orphin and the other royals dismounted and drew their swords.

So did Hayes.

“Lady Tashia. Please wait here.”

Tashia silently nodded.

Handing her the reins, Hayes turned around.

Southern knights under Isaac began preparing for battle one by one.

Hayes locked eyes with a knight who had a long scar on his face and began casting magic.

An enchantment spell wrapped around her blade, and her brown eyes turned green.

At the same time, a second sword floated into the air beside her.

The scarred knight grinned fiercely at the sight.

“Showing off your little tricks, huh?”

That moment marked the start of battle.

The southern knights charged the imperial knights.

Isaac rushed toward Orphin.

Amid the chaos, the scarred knight lowered his sword and spoke slowly.

“Shall we begin, too?”