Chapter 81
The Holy Empire of Hilderd and the Palen Empire were located close to each other.
As such, many people intending to attend the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly were currently in the Palen capital.
They were waiting for Hilderd’s gates to open, and in the meantime, sightseeing around Palen.
With the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly not far off, it was easy to spot foreigners in the capital’s square these days.
The large participation of royalty and nobility in this Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly wasn’t solely because of the ‘Fairy Queen’s Crown.’
It was rare for so many people of high status to gather in one place.
They wanted to attend for the sake of networking, if nothing else.
Because of that, obtaining the qualification to participate in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly wasn’t easy.
Chesha had heard that Kierne had donated a huge sum to get her in.
In his words, it had uprooted one of the count’s family pillars.
But then again, since the Basilian family was also the master of the underworld, it was probably an amount light enough to joke about and brush off.
Anyway, for that reason, it wasn’t strange at all for foreign royalty to be out enjoying themselves in the capital.
Using mercenaries as escorts was also a common occurrence.
Getting into a scuffle with mercenaries on the street wasn’t frequent, but it wasn’t unheard of either.
It was just rare for all these elements to combine.
This was truly a headache.
If it was royalty participating in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, it meant they had either power or wealth—or both.
Moreover, as a fellow participant in the assembly, they would be a tricky opponent for Kierne, who was likely engaged in underground political maneuvering to win.
She had heard that the participants’ support also influenced the victory in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly.
Chesha bid farewell to Karha.
“Brother… Take care… Chesha was happy to be with you all this time…”
“Hey, hey! Don’t send me off!”
Karha clung to the iron bars, pretending to cry.
Seeing his pitiful act made her heart soften again, so she decided to hear out his excuse.
“Why did it happen?”
Karha must have clearly recognized that the other party was of high status.
Moreover, being foreigners, their attire and speech would have given them away, so he could have noticed and avoided them.
She was curious why he had deliberately picked a fight and ended up behind bars.
Sensing her pitiful judgment, Karha made a face like a sad kitten and whined to Chesha.
“No, listen. I’m really innocent, okay? I was minding my own business when they bumped into me.”
“You’re not a carriage; why would they bump into you?”
“Well, probably because.”
Karha hesitated, then subtly showed his waist.
Displaying the two swords hanging side by side, he said.
“They must have coveted my swords.”
“…?”
“I was at the weapon shop. Getting the hilt leather replaced.”
It was a regular weapon shop Karha visited every time he came to the capital.
He always got his swords maintained there.
But a sibling of the royalty attending the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly had visited the weapon shop at the same time as Karha.
The man had admired Karha’s swords placed on the counter and demanded that he sell them to him.
Naturally, Karha hadn’t even bothered to listen.
Then, the mercenaries escorting the royalty had suddenly started picking a fight.
“In the end, well… it turned out like this.”
Karha muttered dejectedly.
He let out a sigh, “Ahh.”
Chesha echoed his sigh with a “Hoo.”
“Which royalty is it?”
Still, if it was some minor kingdom, maybe Kierne could handle it somehow.
Chesha asked with hope, but the answer turned her to stone with a crack.
“Skaya… The crown prince there. He came with the princess attending the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, I guess.”
The marine kingdom of Skaya.
Originally founded by pirates who seized islands and built a nation, now proudly recognized as a thriving maritime country—a kingdom of rootless scoundrels.
And its crown prince was…
“My lady! Please marry me!”
The proposal addict who pestered Lichesia day and night to marry him.
“…”
Chesha’s face grew extremely grave.
At this point, maybe she should just tell the other Basilans to handle it themselves.
‘And quickly wash my hands of this?’
It was at that moment, as an ominous premonition began to creep in.
Suddenly, the outside became noisy.
She could hear the guards and Theo shouting something.
A large presence approached quickly, and then the door burst open.
Light from outside flooded into the dim jail area.
“She’s here, you say?”
The somewhat cheerful voice hinted at a mischievous malice.
Chesha swallowed a curse inwardly, “Agh.”
And she quickly pressed her hat down firmly with both hands.
Thud thud, the footsteps drew nearer.
“Hello, boy. I heard you’re suffering because of me, so I came personally…, hmm?”
Chesha, who was flat against the bars with her hat on, flinched.
“…Baby?”
A jail in the guardhouse and a baby weren’t exactly a matching pair.
Chesha stubbornly kept facing away, pretending not to notice.
In the meantime, Karha stretched his legs and stood up, retorting sarcastically.
“My name is Karha Basilian. Not boy.”
“Ahaha, right. Have you reflected a bit?”
“…”
Karha made an annoyed face.
But he held back and said.
“…Yes.”
At the sullen reply, the man burst into laughter again.
He spoke in a deliberately magnanimous tone.
“I didn’t know they were cherished swords. Still, how about handing them over to me? I’ll pay well.”
“They’re my mother’s keepsake.”
With one sentence, Karha silenced the man—truly the blood of Basilian.
The man seemed a bit flustered, then naturally changed the subject.
“Is this baby your sister? Coming all the way to the guardhouse to see her brother—impressive.”
Misfortune was descending upon Chesha.
“Hi, baby?”
The man reached out toward Chesha.
Swish.
Chesha, clinging to the bars, agilely dodged his hand.
“Hmm?”
Swoosh.
Dodged again.
“Huuh?”
Swoosh swoosh.
“…Huuuh?”
She kept dodging!
Karha, watching, blinked his eyes.
He must be wondering what this situation was.
It suddenly reminded her of a similar incident when she first met Karha in the underground jail of the Serpent’s Sanctum.
But Chesha was even more desperate now.
As she diligently evaded, the man seemed to give up.
Just as she sighed in relief as he backed off.
Whoosh, with the sound of cutting through the air, hands dug into both her sides.
Chesha’s body was lifted into the air in an instant.
Her hat dropped to the floor with a thud, and a low chuckle sounded in her ear.
“Gotcha.”
Clang!
Karha slammed his fist against the bars.
“What the hell are you doing? Don’t touch the baby!”
But the man ignored Karha’s shout.
Grinning, he turned Chesha’s body and held her in his arms.
“Let’s see that baby face…”
His voice gradually trailed off.
Chesha looked at the man with resigned eyes.
Dark purple hair caught her eye first.
Well-tanned skin and a solid, muscular build.
A man resembling a feline predator, as if ready to hunt prey at any moment.
Crown Prince of Skaya, Itar Skaya.
“…Crazy.”
He spat out a vulgar word.
Itar, uttering a word unbelievable from royalty’s mouth, exclaimed again.
“Crazy, my lady…!”
She knew it.
Chesha dangled limply in his grasp.
Itar was obsessed with the seductress.
What would happen if Chesha, a miniature version of Lichesia, caught his eye?
He would undoubtedly charge in, using any means to possess her.
Indeed, Itar, embracing Chesha tightly in ecstasy, already had a crazed look in his eyes.
“Boy. I don’t need the swords. Sorry for trying to take your mother’s keepsake.”
And then, as Chesha had predicted, he acted exactly as expected.
“Instead, I’d like to take the baby to my kingdom.”
“…”
The jail fell silent.
Theo, who had just entered to stop Itar, gaped with his mouth wide open.
Karha stared blankly up at Itar for a moment.
Then, with a deep sigh, he nodded toward Theo.
“Captain.”
“…Yes?”
“Instead of just insulting royalty.”
Shing, two swords were drawn.
With the gleaming blades, Karha smirked.
“I’ll go for regicide.”
