Episode 111
The thundering hooves of horses echoed as they galloped away. The Crown Prince and Cesar entered the forest, separated from the other nobles under the pretense of hunting.
When they were far enough away, Cesar spoke,
“Is there a reason you came this deep into the forest, Your Highness? The commotion will start soon regardless of where we are.”
Cesar shared the information he obtained through Wilhelm with the Crown Prince. He had discovered that there was some sort of deal between the Second Prince and the Holy Kingdom involving Petri, the heart of the Empire.
The Crown Prince’s expression hardened upon hearing this.
‘So that’s why monsters have been appearing in the Imperial Palace and throughout the Empire, despite our continuous extermination efforts.’
The Crown Prince, unable to hide his fury, flushed with anger.
There were lines that shouldn’t be crossed, no matter how important the throne was. But the Empress and the Second Prince had crossed them.
They couldn’t have been unaware that the disappearance of Petri, which protected the Empire, would lead to a surge in monster appearances and cause tremendous damage.
And yet, they had stolen it, using it to receive funds and support from another country, and strengthen their power.
All the unsettling pieces clicked into place, pointing to one answer.
‘Retrieve Petri from the Holy Kingdom and eliminate the Second Prince and the Empress during the hunting competition.’
The Crown Prince decided to act before they could cause any more damage.
The Empress, having lost the Emperor’s trust and with her plans already in motion, had no choice but to gamble.
Kill or be killed.
If he fell for her schemes this time, he would lose his life, and the fate of the Empire would fall into the hands of those villains.
‘I’ve already anticipated the Second Prince’s actions during the hunting competition, so I have to prepare for the Empress’s schemes.’
Unlike the Second Prince, whose plans were full of flaws, the Empress was meticulous, rarely making mistakes. The only suspicious activity they had discovered was her increased spending on luxury goods.
Now that she was refusing to disclose even the list of items entering the Empress’s Palace, there was no way to know what she was planning.
Just then, Cesar mentioned something suspicious.
‘The monsters have been too quiet lately. It’s strange.’
‘Monsters?’
‘Yes. With Petri gone, the number of monster appearances surged. It’s suspicious that their activity has decreased so drastically, despite our extermination efforts. As if they’re lying dormant, waiting for something.’
‘It’s true that the Empress’s spending on luxury goods has increased significantly. And the monsters are unusually quiet…’
The Crown Prince recalled that the Empress was knowledgeable about poisonous herbs.
The poison recently used on the Emperor was incredibly rare, unknown to ordinary people. He had barely managed to identify it, having studied poisons because of the Empress.
The Crown Prince looked at Cesar, lost in thought. He figured Cesar, with his connections, would be well-versed in the rumors of the back alleys.
‘Have there been any rumors about an excessive amount of monster tranquilizer being traded?’
The answer came smoothly.
‘Are you referring to the safe tranquilizer used to subdue a single monster, which is legally traded? Or the illegal one, banned due to its dangerous side effects?’
The Crown Prince thought that if Cesar had joined forces with the Second Prince, he would have been the one at a disadvantage. It was also the reason why the brazen bird’s predictions had seemed plausible.
‘Do you think the Empress would use the legal one? She would have used someone else to acquire and administer the banned one, to avoid being caught.’
‘…Come to think of it, there was a strange rumor. That the supply of the illegal monster tranquilizer has dried up.’
The Crown Prince’s eyes gleamed, finally grasping the Empress’s plan.
‘And the reason its trade was stopped is… because the monster, after the effects wore off, became even more aggressive and attacked people.’
After that, the Crown Prince and Cesar had tried to find a way to neutralize the drug’s effects on the monsters. But the monsters were already dormant, so it was too late.
Even if they acted quickly, the Empress, realizing her plan had been exposed, might escalate the situation.
So he reached out to the only person he could trust.
“The Tower Master said he would only help to the extent that no lives were lost, so we have to make sure no one else gets involved.”
Despite having cursed the old man countless times, the Crown Prince felt relieved, knowing the Tower Master would protect everyone.
“Did you tell your bird about this? Sylvia seems quite angry that I only told her to evacuate without explaining anything.”
“She’s not a bird anymore; she’s my beloved, my future fiancée.”
Seeing his immediate, defensive reaction, the Crown Prince realized that their current alliance was only due to a fortunate alignment of interests.
He clicked his tongue, thinking how incompatible they were, and asked,
“Did you tell Lady Witten about this?”
“I didn’t. She might get angry and break the jewel I gave her if she finds out.”
“I think it would have been better to ask for her help with the monster extermination. She’s the only one in the Empire who can wield divine power, besides the delegation from the Holy Kingdom… and of the two, Lady Witten is the only one who might help us.”
The Crown Prince had considered asking the delegation from the Holy Kingdom for help.
But it was difficult to expect them to willingly use their divine power to eliminate monsters, considering they were supplying funds to the Second Prince in exchange for Petri.
That’s why he had been hoping for her help.
However, unlike the Crown Prince, Cesar was firm.
“No. If her true identity is exposed while helping us, they’ll try to take her away from me. Why should I let them steal my precious woman, my light, from me again?”
Losing her once was enough. And she said she wouldn’t run away anymore.
So Cesar had no intention of letting Lily leave his side again.
“Should I assume the Holy Kingdom is the one you’re so wary of?”
Although Cesar didn’t answer, the Crown Prince took it as a confirmation, knowing that the bird was connected to the Holy Kingdom.
And realizing something else, the Crown Prince chuckled. He knew the Duke’s possessive nature, but there was a clear difference from before.
“But you did give Lady Witten an artifact to contact you, didn’t you? And you made it in the form of a jewel. You’re afraid of losing her, and at the same time, you’re also afraid of her resenting you.”
The Cesar from before wouldn’t have cared about being resented; he would have been satisfied with just possessing her. But now, he was different.
That fact alone made the Crown Prince see the bird in a new light.
“I won’t deny it. But we don’t have time for idle chatter. It seems the monsters will be making their move soon. And we have to deal with the Second Prince’s private army before that.”
The Second Prince, who they had expected to ambush them during the chaos caused by the monsters, had made the first move. The Crown Prince thought for a moment and then spoke,
“Hmm, it seems like the Empress didn’t tell the Second Prince about her plan, contrary to our expectations.”
He might be swept away along with the monsters.
The Second Prince’s forces didn’t seem to be prepared for that.
“Yes, it seems so.”
“She’s a terrifying woman. Sending her own son to his death, just to prevent her plan from being leaked.”
The Crown Prince drew his sword and summoned his knights. They had to deal with them first, and then eliminate the rampaging monsters.
The news brought by the wind spirit to the women’s tent wasn’t good.
Sylvia, her eyes filled with anxiety, stood up and called me,
“…Shall we go outside for a bit, Lady Witten?”
“Yes. It’s a bit stifling inside the tent.”
We left, making an excuse to talk. Once we were far enough away from the others, Sylvia sighed.
“…A fight has already broken out.”
It was an expected situation, but the Crown Prince and the Second Prince’s forces, who were supposed to be separated, had clashed.
However, the Crown Prince and Cesar seemed to have anticipated this and were calmly dealing with them, more focused on something else than chasing after the Second Prince, who was trying to escape.
“What could be more important than the Second Prince?”
“I don’t know, I only saw the Empress talking to the families supporting the Second Prince…”
As I anxiously frowned, I saw the Empress leave the tent and approach us.
“Lady Veronica, Her Majesty the Empress is looking for you.”
Sylvia, barely hiding her displeasure, greeted the approaching Empress.
“It’s been a while… Your Majesty.”
“Lady Veronica was my son’s fiancée? I’ve seen you from afar, but I’ve never spoken to you before, so I came to find you.”
The Empress sneered, seeing Sylvia’s poorly concealed expression.
“You’re not very good at hiding your feelings, are you?”
“I don’t know what I did to displease you, Your Majesty. If you’re just looking for faults, please stop.”
The Empress smiled maliciously at Sylvia’s sharp retort.
“Faults? I’d love to correct your bad manners, but it seems our encounter ends here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something… enjoyable will be happening soon. You can look forward to it.”
Just as she said that, the ground started to shake, and a menacing roar echoed through the area.