Chapter 113 · A Precious Person (2)

Only Sierra was in the next room.

She had piled a stack of books on the table and was flipping through the pages urgently. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice me entering.

“Sierra.”

“Princess!”

She looked up with a start.

“Sir Parsiel is…”

I shook my head with a dark face.

I was about to mention that he had briefly regained consciousness, but I closed my mouth, fearing it would raise pointless hope. It would be easier to persuade her if the situation seemed utterly hopeless.

“Where are Yuz and Rosa?”

“Yuz and Rosa went to the royal library and are searching through books like mad. No matter how much we searched the temple archives, there was nothing related.”

She bit her thumbnail anxiously.

“Mana rejection is common, but there’s no one who has a rejection reaction to prana… I don’t understand what on earth this is.”

I steeled my eyes.

“Sierra. Do you trust me?”

Her eyes went wide at my words.

“O-of course, Princess.”

“I might be able to find a way to heal Papa. But I need your help and my friends’ help.”

“Really? There’s a way?”

Sierra’s complexion, which had grown haggard from nursing him through the night, brightened a little.

“But why not tell His Majesty or the High Priest…”

She murmured in puzzlement.

“First I need to meet Leo. The prince confined in the tower right now.”

“…!”

“They’re absolutely preventing me from meeting him, so I have to see him secretly.”

“That person is… that person is…”

Sierra seemed troubled by the conversation she had overheard earlier. Fear was spreading across her face.

“This wasn’t Leo’s doing! Princess Aquila and the Commander of Dinitas orchestrated it!”

“!!”

The bombshell was dropped.

I had dragged this kind and innocent priestess onto the battlefield. I was already so grateful for all the care she had given me that I didn’t want to ask her to bear such a heavy burden. My debt to the priestesses kept growing.

“Why would they…”

Sierra went pale and confused, but after thinking carefully, she calmed down. She rose from her chair, knelt before me, and looking into my eyes, spoke in a sincere voice.

“I trust the princess. What should I do?”

Her deep trust made my heart ache. For an adult like Sierra to say she would trust and follow an eight-year-old like me.

“First, I need you to bring Rizen, Freesia, and Mila here without anyone knowing.”

Ark was confined at his family home, so breaking through the Ellenoa family’s guards would be difficult. I wasn’t sure if these three would be enough…

Because of this incident, security would have become even tighter, so I couldn’t bring them to the temple.

I recalled the secret place I used to visit with Ark and Rizen when I was four. The space behind the rose fence between the royal palace and the temple’s back gate. There, even several people could hide without being noticed.

I asked Sierra to call them there.

Sierra left without delay, and less than half an hour later, she returned with Rosa and Yuz.

“Everyone’s gathered. But the royal guards are guarding the temple tightly. I don’t know if the princess can get out to meet them…”

“I’ll use portal magic to go.”

“Portal magic…!”

They tried to stop me, knowing how dangerous portal magic was, but seeing my resolute eyes, they had no choice but to step back.

“I’ll be back soon.”

I forced a smile with my swollen eyes and cast the portal spell. As I stepped through the grotesque distortion of space-time, I could feel their worried gazes on my back.

“Princess!”

The moment I emerged from the portal, welcome voices greeted me. Rizen, Freesia, Mila… all were pale.

But there was an unexpected person too.

“Ark?!”

“Princess! You’re safe!”

Ark, who was usually the picture of a neat young lord, was completely disheveled. As if he had just woken up.

“Ark, what happened?”

“Yesterday, after receiving healing from the priest, I was on my way back to the princess when someone struck me from behind. When I woke up after fainting, I was at the main house. It must have been my father’s doing.”

He was furious.

“Something felt off, so I watched for an opening and escaped secretly. I know the secret passages of our estate better than anyone. And I sneaked into the temple to discuss things with Rizen, when I happened to see Sister Rosa looking for Rizen.”

“What a relief. I really needed you, Ark.”

He looked pleased for a moment at my words, then immediately turned serious.

“But what on earth happened? I heard Sir Parsiel collapsed after being attacked by that prince. But that wasn’t an attack, it was…”

“A mana rampage. Someone caused Leo’s mana to rampage, and also placed a curse on Sir Parsiel that prevents him from using divine power.”

Everyone present gasped in shock.

“What? Who on earth?”

I spoke coldly.

“Ark’s knight order commander.”

“!!”

He was left speechless, his mouth hanging open.

“Count Alter? What do you mean…”

“So no matter how much Ark insists that Leo had a mana rampage, it won’t do any good. Rather, Alter might have Ark expelled from Dinitas.”

“That can’t be…”

He seemed utterly unable to believe that his commander had done such a wicked thing. Ark hadn’t followed Alter with wholehearted loyalty, but he must have respected his formidable strength, so the shock was great.

“Our commander was stabbed in the back by the Dinitas commander?! How dare he do such a thing!”

Rizen’s fists were clenched so tight they turned white, and he was trembling. His voice shook with rage. He revered Paeon more than anyone, so hearing this news must have devastated him.

“The only people who might know how to break the curse right now are Alter and Leo. But Alter won’t tell us, so we have to meet Leo. That’s what I’m going to do now.”

Ark and Rizen’s expressions turned grave. Freesia, who had been listening quietly, spoke with her violet eyes sparkling.

“Princess, if there’s anything we can do, just tell us.”

Mila stepped forward as well.

“That’s right, I’ll help too!”

Not a single person in this place raised an objection. Rather, they were all eager to find some way to help me.

“Why do you all believe me so easily? I haven’t brought a single proper piece of evidence…”

I was honestly puzzled why they trusted me this much.

“The princess’s words have never once been wrong.”

“The princess is absolutely not the kind of person to falsely accuse anyone.”

They spoke without a moment’s hesitation. I was deeply moved once again and nearly shed tears. But the situation was too urgent to show such a pathetic display. Paeon was still on the verge of death.

“First, Ark, go to the tower and scout the situation. Here, take this communication stone.”

I handed him the communication stone I had been researching to sell to Brilia.

While we waited, Ark headed to the Tower of Repentance. As expected, there were several royal guards stationed there.

Ark activated the communication stone and approached them.

—Sir Ellenoa? What brings you here?

Although young, Ark ranked quite high in Dinitas, so the guards greeted him respectfully.

—Ah… the Commander ordered a night patrol.

He lied smoothly, just as I had instructed.

—What’s the situation with that prince?

—He’s like a rat in a trap. Hah, that little brat is really something. To think he reduced Sir Parsiel to that state.

Hearing their chatter made my blood boil, but I held it in. These men who normally wouldn’t even meet his eyes were now acting so bold the moment they heard Paeon was beyond hope!

—Are you sure the mana-blocking barrier spell is properly in place?

—Yes, we heard Princess Anastasia was using magic to go in and out of this tower, so additional barrier magic was cast.

Damn it! Then using portal magic to enter would be impossible. We’d have to break through by force.

—If only the princess hadn’t been so reckless, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

—Without Sir Parsiel, Veritas is finished too.

Rizen, who was listening along, was so furious he nearly shouted, and I had to kick his shin.

—Still, I hear Count Alter will personally conduct the interrogation tomorrow.

Interrogation?

—Interrogation of whom?

At Ark’s question, the guard answered with a laugh.

—The prince confined here, of course. He’s going to find out what curse was used on Sir Parsiel. A couple of arms will likely fly off. Then he’ll never be able to use magic again, and considering what he did, that’s a fitting punishment.

“You son of a—#@$!”

In the end, I paused the communication stone and spat out a curse. Freesia seemed startled to hear it. She’d used worse curses herself! I was so furious that it was unbearable that I couldn’t blast off Alter’s arm this very instant.

Ark quickly returned to the secret place. He too was in a state of great anger.

“I never knew the Commander was such a despicable human being!”

“Alter is one of the most despicable humans I know.”

I spoke gloomily. To think my mother almost married such a man—her end was tragic, but even if she had lived, her future wouldn’t have been bright.

“How many people were guarding the tower?”

“For now, I think there were eight at the tower entrance and about two in front of the cell door.”

They must have felt secure with the barrier up, because the security seemed lighter than expected. It seemed we could break through with just ourselves. We just couldn’t afford to waste time.

“Everyone… will you be all right?”

I looked at them nervously. Even if it was under the order of the First Princess, opposing the royal guards could be considered treason.

“I’m ready.”

“Me too!”

Seeing their determined attitude, I nodded as well.

“Then, operation begins!”

Somehow it seemed I kept saying that phrase a lot in this life.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Sir Ellenoa, why have you come back?”

“Ah, I forgot something.”

“Huh? The person with you isn’t Sir Tigris…”

Thwack!

Ark and Rizen struck the two knights right in front of the entrance with the hilts of their swords, and they collapsed. It seemed their martial skills had improved tremendously without my knowing. It was over in the blink of an eye.

“What is this…!”

While the other guards turned toward Ark and Rizen in surprise, Mila, Freesia, and I, who had been hiding against the outer walls on both sides, rushed out and threw the mental binding mediums.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

I had hastily made them from loose stones, but fortunately they worked well. The guards lost consciousness the moment the stones touched their bodies and collapsed.

Rizen carried me on his back and climbed the stairs. The tower was very tall, so it took quite a while to ascend. Ark ran ahead quickly.

By the time Rizen’s breathing grew ragged, I heard the sound of Ark taking down two guards.

“Princess, you can come now.”

He unlocked the firmly closed iron door with a key he had found by searching the guard’s waist.

The moment Rizen set me down, I ran toward it.

“Leo!”