“Lord Luke, where are you?! A major incident! A major incident has occurred!”
At that moment, Miseria’s voice echoed.
Looking, Miseria was riding a horse, approaching with a desperate expression. She was accompanied by several escort soldiers on horseback.
Something urgent must have happened.
“Miseria, I’m here!”
“Ah, Lord Luke! You were here!?”
Shouting loudly, Miseria rushed over.
“Grrr!”
“…Hyaa, a magical beast!?”
“Y-Your Highness!?”
Kuro growled menacingly, causing Miseria to lose her composure.
The escort soldiers were astonished to see me riding on Kuro.
They were the soldiers who had accompanied me during my swordsmanship training.
“It’s alright. This is Kuro, a Hellhound I tamed. There’s no danger.”
“I-Is that the A-rank magical beast targeted for subjugation!? …And, there are dead people!?”
Miseria noticed the corpses of the knights and became even more agitated.
“These guys were assassins sent by the Orleans Knights.”
“Hyaa!?”
“More importantly, can you tell me what happened?”
“Yes, calm down, young lady. There’s no danger here now.”
Master Gaine also urged her to speak.
“W-Well, actually, Princess Olivia was kidnapped by Dark Elves during a hunt! They are demanding Lady Luna in exchange for the Princess, of all things!”
“Mother!?”
I was shocked by the unbelievable news.
“What do you mean? Tell me the details.”
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t understand it myself…! But I thought I had to inform Lord Luke as soon as possible, so I rushed here on horseback!”
“…I see.”
I realized that the time had come.
In the game scenario, the reason Luna-mother is assassinated by Emperor Alvaise is because the Dark Elves tried to raise her as the figurehead of their rebellion.
The game didn’t go into much detail beyond that… but judging from the timing, this incident is undoubtedly the beginning of it all.
“Princess Olivia was apparently with His Highness Astoria. Count Saint-Germain is currently hearing the details from His Highness.”
“I understand. I’m returning to my mother’s side immediately. Hurry, Kuro!”
“Woof!”
I wrapped a purple cloth around Kuro’s neck, indicating that he was the property of the royal family.
A notification is required to bring a tamed magical beast into the Imperial City, but I have to be a little reckless this time to save time.
※※※
“W-What is that magical beast!”
“Impossible, a Hellhound!?”
“It’s a magical beast I tamed. There’s no danger, clear the way! I am Prince Luke Celestia!”
“P-Prince Luke!?”
Returning to the Imperial City, I was stopped by soldiers many times along the way. The people on the streets were wide-eyed, but I ignored them and continued.
“Get out of the way! Can’t you see this Imperial Purple cloth!?”
“I-Is that the property of the Imperial Family!?”
Some even tried to shoot magic or arrows at me, but stopped at my shout.
Wonderfully, the speeding Kuro was faster than expected. He’s a good mount.
We jumped over the palace walls.
“A major incident, a major incident!”
“Prince Luke has subdued the magical beast Hellhound that the Orleans Knights were struggling with!”
“Could such a thing be possible!?”
The Imperial Court, nearing sunset, was in an uproar.
It turned into a flashy debut for Kuro, but it’s convenient in this situation.
I had been thinking all the way about how to safely retrieve Olivia from the Dark Elves.
…Probably, this is the only way.
But to get the Emperor to approve my plan, I need to be persuasive.
To do that, I have to show off my power to some extent.
“Please stop, Father!”
As I approached the Prison Tower, I heard Astoria’s scream.
Could it be that Astoria is being tortured in the Prison Tower?
“Kuro, head towards the source of that scream!”
“Woof!”
Together with Kuro, I charged into the Prison Tower, kicking down the gate. In the torture room on the first floor, Astoria was tied to a chair, slumped over.
In front of him stood Emperor Alvaise with a stern expression, and Count Saint-Germain.
“Prince Luke!? This is quite the Hellhound.”
“Luke, stand back. I don’t have time to deal with you now.”
The Emperor glanced at me and interrogated Astoria.
“The members of the Orleans Knights have confessed. You took Princess Olivia to an unpopular place in order to steal a kiss from her, and that’s where the enemy attacked!”
“Hic! N-No, Father! It was all Luke’s doing. He used his Dark Elf subordinates to try to trap me with his cowardly… Gyaaaaaaa!?”
Electricity was discharged from the chair, and Astoria’s body convulsed violently.
“I explained that if you lie, electricity will be generated from that chair, didn’t I?”
Count Saint-Germain stated in amazement.
It seems to be a measure to quickly extract accurate information from Astoria.
“Even at this point, you’re still spouting nonsense! It was you and Rose who were plotting to trap Luke!”
“Really, I’m not impressed that you even mobilized the Orleans Knights for a midnight brawl.”
I was surprised.
It seems that the confrontation with Astoria three days ago had reached the Emperor’s ears. He’s a man who can’t be underestimated.
At this rate, there’s no need for me to take action, and the Third Prince’s faction will be destroyed.
“Your Majesty, are you planning to hand over Mother according to the Dark Elves’ demands?”
“I told you to stand back, Luke.”
The Emperor scolded me.
But I have no intention of backing down. If the response to this incident is mishandled, Mother’s death is certain.
“…Prince Luke, that is not the case.”
Just as I was about to speak again, Saint-Germain answered.
“Saint-Germain!”
“Why not, Your Majesty? Prince Luke is also involved. Besides, Prince Luke’s intellect may be of assistance to us.”
Saint-Germain smiled like a kindly old man and explained in place of the Emperor.
“Even if Lady Luna is handed over, Princess Olivia will probably not return. The Dark Elves’ goal is revenge against the Empire. In order to pit Macedonia against the Empire, Princess Olivia will almost certainly be killed after being subjected to cruel torture.”
I was stunned.
…I had vaguely thought so, but is the reason Olivia doesn’t appear in the game’s main story because of this incident?
“…That’s the situation.”
The Emperor continued.
“In the first place, it is impossible to grant the wishes of bandits. We must annihilate the Dark Elves, offer Astoria’s head to Macedonia to apologize to that country, and appease their anger.”
“It would be troublesome to have Macedonia as an enemy right now. I don’t know if the King of Macedonia will be satisfied with that… but we must show as much sincerity as possible.”
“Offer my head to Macedonia!?”
Astoria was astonished.
“That’s too much, Father!”
“Shut up, you good-for-nothing! Die for the Empire!”
The Emperor coldly abandoned his own son.
“Hic, ah… Ooooooo!?”
Astoria, realizing his fate, began to cry pathetically.
“…That’s the situation, but do you have any good solutions, Prince Luke?”
Saint-Germain sent me a probing look.
“There’s only one solution. Mobilize all available troops to hunt down the Dark Elves and make them pay in blood!”
“If we were to bet on the one in ten thousand chance of rescuing the Princess, then Your Majesty’s method is certainly the only one…”
“That’s right. We must execute it as soon as possible. Before the Princess is subjected to their torture!”
So this is the background to my mother’s assassination…
The King of Macedonia, whose beloved daughter was brutally murdered, will probably demand my mother’s life in retaliation.
It will be difficult to resist this.
My mother will be regarded as the figurehead of the bandits who shook the Empire, and the opinion to eliminate her will become the majority within the Empire.
If I stand by and do nothing, the doomed future in which my mother is killed will surely come.
Then, there is only one thing I should do.
“Your Majesty, please wait. May I be entrusted with the task of rescuing Princess Olivia?”
“…What?”
The Emperor turned around.
“If successful, please grant me the right to inherit the Imperial throne! I will surely accomplish it and show you!”
“Oh, this is…!”
Saint-Germain exclaimed in admiration.
“I will not allow you to make empty boasts to me, Luke.”
“That’s right! T-There’s no way such a miraculous thing could be possible…!?”
The Emperor’s gaze sharpened, and Astoria, who had been wailing, widened his eyes.
“Ha! Of course, I have a plan in mind!”
“What did you say…?”
Everyone present seemed shocked.
“Very well, speak. If you succeed, I shall grant your wish!”