An unexpected development — and a welcome one at that.
Ermes had known that the Tracia household was under attack — or rather, he had been present the very moment the assault began.
However, Yurugen simultaneously sensed that Liliana was under attack as well.
The Seamless Great Eagle —
As the only one who could escape using it, Ermes was dispatched to her rescue.
Naturally, this came at the cost of a significant reduction in the Tracia household's fighting strength. He had considered the odds of the remaining forces breaking through on their own to be fifty-fifty —
but it seemed Katia and the others had proven more capable than even Ermes had anticipated.
In any case, the principal mages of Liliana's faction had now gathered here.
They had even succeeded in landing a blow on Laplace, and the tide of battle had completely turned —
—or so it might have seemed. In truth, matters were far from simple.
Thud, thud, thud — footsteps echoed from multiple directions.
The instant they noticed, human figures began emerging from the shadows of the buildings — one, then two.
The figures continued to multiply without cease — and by the time the footsteps finally fell silent,
several hundred soldiers, at minimum within visible range, had encircled Ermes and his companions from every direction.
Liliana whispered.
"How... there are still so many..."
As if to compound her despair, a man who appeared to be a different soldier commander stepped forward before Laplace.
"Lord Laplace. The matter at the Royal Palace has been fully resolved. The estates of all other nobles not aligned with the First Prince have likewise been suppressed.
—With this, the entire Royal Capital belongs to us."
────
Even though she had known it was coming, the declaration was far too cruel.
Without hesitation, the soldier turned toward them.
"Come now, all that's left is to capture the princess! So what if Trapkia is present—with this difference in numbers, they're nothing to fear! Let's move!"
"──!"
At those words, Ermes and the others simultaneously dropped into combat stances.
Around them, the surrounding soldiers raised their weapons and readied their magic, filling the air with an atmosphere on the verge of exploding──
──And then.
"──Stand down."
Dark, yet composed.
Laplace's voice dispersed the tension in an instant.
The surrounding soldiers, along with Katia and her party, wore expressions of shock.
Ermes, in contrast, cast a quiet gaze and waited for what would come next.
"It wouldn't matter how many of you charged in. With Trapkia here in force, all you'd accomplish by attacking is pointless losses."
"W-What─"
"That's exactly why I moved troops in the first place—to prevent this very outcome. But now that foundation is gone, so this ends here."
"That's... that's far too passive!"
Another soldier bit back at Laplace's words.
"What is there to be afraid of! Even if they are Bloodline Magic users, there are only five at most—and they're dragging along a useless princess who can't even cast magic!"
"Exactly! With all of our strength combined, and Lord Laplace's power as well, defeat is out of the question. We could capture them without breaking a sweat!"
"Hasn't everything up until now gone exactly according to plan?! It's only the unit that attacked Trakia that botched it — please, grant us the honor of capturing them—!"
"—Huh?"
The soldiers kept rattling on. Once Laplace heard their final words, he narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly do you mean by 'botched it'?"
"Uh…"
"Were they careless? Then you'd be even more incompetent than the fools who'd be careless at a critical juncture like this — because you weren't trusted with the most important positions. Or are you going to tell me you don't really know what happened, but they must have failed somehow? — Now THAT would be truly absurd."
Having struck a nerve and silenced the soldiers, Laplace continued.
"There's no such thing as a failure without reason, and it's impossible for everything to go perfectly according to plan, you idiots. Irregularities can happen anytime, anywhere.
This time, the biggest one was right here: the strength of Trakia's group — and that princess over there."
"—!"
Pierced by Laplace's dark blue gaze, Lilliana flinched.
He then turned to survey the soldiers once more.
"'They can't use magic, so they must be incompetent.' 'There's no way just a few people could break through.' Don't twist the facts to suit only what's convenient for you. Are you really so stupid you can't even recognize that?"
With an overwhelming force that left no room for argument, he silenced the soldiers completely.
Then Laplace shrugged his shoulders,
"...Well, I'm hardly one to talk. The fact is, I screwed up too.
—But. That's exactly why I won't go any further. I'm not clinging to the original plan. Trakia and his group are no longer our concern."
After delivering his conclusion, he turned his gaze toward them with a thin smile, as if to say *and on top of that*.
"—And as for you, any further—
Royal Capital
There's nothing more you can do, is there?"
Receiving those words, Katia gritted her teeth.
…It was the truth. On that point, Ermes agreed.
Before the battle, just as he had told Liliana.
The Royal Capital was already completely subdued, and retaking it with only the six of them was impossible.
Even if they caused chaos here—let's say, in the best-case scenario, they managed to defeat every soldier present and even took down Laplace.
But that was all there was to it. If the capital's remaining forces were mustered, it wouldn't even compare, and there was no guarantee someone of Laplace's caliber wasn't still lurking.
Escaping was one thing, but when it came to 'taking back the place'… in terms of numbers, power was simply too overwhelming.
Therefore… they, too, had nothing left to do here but retreat.
"Understand? You lot are strong. But you're only
strong."
Repeating words similar to what he had once said to Ermes at the academy, Laplace continued.
"So what if your individual combat strength is outstanding? That's all you can do with such a thing. Princess, having fully grasped that, you would do well to slink away somewhere and survive.
—Because sooner or later, without fail, I will send people after you. And when that time comes."
Pierced once more by that fathomless gaze, Liliana showed her fear.
Ermes moved to support her shoulder—but there, she lifted her head and took a single step forward.
"…Yes, you're quite right. I understand perfectly. However—"
Fixing Laplace with a stare that, despite her youth, was filled with all the intensity she could muster, she glared back.
"There will be no need to send anyone after me. Because I—will most certainly return."
"——"
"Prepare to reclaim this capital, this country, from your hands. I will absolutely return. So please... relay this to Lord Herk."
Her youthful, innocent beauty hardened into the shape of determination. Pointing a finger at Laplace, she declared.
"I will absolutely deliver a slap across your face before the throne. Be prepared, and wait for me!"
Confronted with this, Laplace stared blankly for a moment.
Then—with mockery, yet with a certain gravity—she smiled fearlessly.
"Roger that. I'll pass it along. But change it to 'please wait without getting your hopes up,' will you?"
Then, from even farther away, the sound of many footsteps echoed.
More soldiers were converging on their position. Fully aware of this, Laplace deepened her grin.
"Well then, run along—no, you're welcome to stay right here? If you do, I'll be sure to pass along your earlier proclamation as the grandest—"
—farce—
"—of them all."
"!"
Naturally, there was no reason to remain after being told that.
And so Liliana, accompanied by Ermes and the others,
fled from the Royal Capital—now engulfed in chaos, fury, and flames.
◆
The Royal Capital was burning.
It was filled with the sounds of usurpation, revolution—and surely, the beginning of ruin.
"...The Trankia family has also been seized."
After fleeing the Royal Capital and reaching a safe location,
Yurugen spoke to Liliana in a heavy voice.
"Leila and the other servants have been evacuated to safety as well, so we haven't lost any personnel. However — facing those numbers, remaining at the house would have been suicide, so we had no choice but to abandon it. ...I'm sorry."
There was no one to blame.
If Yurugen had made that judgment, then it must have been the best course of action. Everyone shared that resolve.
Besides, the fault didn't lie with Yurugen alone. It belonged to everyone — or to no one at all.
There was nothing they could have done.
Just as Laplace had said — the moment Laplace appeared at that audience, the situation had already become an unstoppable checkmate.
Their evil influence had penetrated far deeper into this country than anyone could have imagined, and as First Prince Helck — and behind him, Laplace and the organization he belonged to — had planned, the Royal Capital was taken without any means of resistance.
In this battle for the next succession to the throne, they had — before even fighting — already lost.
—But.
"Then,
let's take it
back."
And yet. Even when everything had been taken from them.
There were things they had gained, and things they had been born with.
The young princess who possessed the greatest of these.
A wielder of Creation Magic, his foremost disciple, declared:
"The Trankia family, the Royal Capital, the throne — all of it.
Let's gather what we were missing this time and go take it all back once more."
"……Your Highness."
Earlier that day, Liliana had done nothing but cling to Ermes and sob. Now, seeing the change in her—her resolute attitude and declaration—Yuragen's eyes went wide.
Without pause, she carried on with her vow.
"And then, before the throne. Just as I said, I will give my brother one solid slap across the face. And then I will press him—why did he do this, what did he know, what was said to him, what did he think? I will demand answers for every last thing, and I will let him know just how deeply he hurt me, hurling every thought I have been holding back at him—"
Barely holding her tears in check, she finished.
"—And then. In the end, we will properly reconcile."
The girl who loved her family more than anything spoke her heart, exactly as she was.
"I will lay everything on the line, and he will take it all in. And then, we will be family again. I want to go back to that."
"……"
Everyone present listened through to the very end, hearing the full weight of the girl's resolve.
Then, before them all, Liliana bowed her head.
"Um… I'm sorry. Until now, I haven't had enough resolve. Saying things like 'I have no intention of becoming queen,' running away… I was being spoiled."
"During all that chaos in the Royal Capital, every single one of you gathered here without a single person missing. I… I had been completely relying on all these wonderful people."
After confessing her past behavior and her own failings—
She raised her head once more and looked squarely at everyone.
"—I will not waver anymore. I promise I will not stop until we have reclaimed the throne. So… I am asking you once more—please, lend me your strength."
Then Liliana looked around at everyone one final time, and her eyes came to rest on Ermes's face.
"……And, Master."
A steady light shone in her beautiful emerald eyes as she spoke.
"Please… once again. Won't you guide me?"
When asked, Ermes first looked around.
Katia, Sarah, Albert, Yurugen. Some smiled, some nodded.
After confirming that their hearts were as one, Ermes looked forward once more.
Liliana Josephe von Yustia.
A girl who bore a strong resemblance to his master, and the only one who currently shared his trait.
She gazed at him with eyes that drew a clear line between that pleading expression from before and something far more resolute—her gaze carrying a certainty, perhaps even something stronger than his own, fixed on him in all seriousness.
...She's beautiful, he thought.
For him, that was enough.
"Yes. Gladly."
He gave a brief affirmation and took her hand.
Liliana's eyes glistened with tears as she offered her gratitude once more.
And so, the six who would become the beginning of everything came together.
The battle to reclaim the kingdom's future had begun.
With this, the prologue of Chapter Three comes to a close.
And now, Chapter Three—the battle to retake the Royal Capital—begins.
I plan to keep the pace up without letting things drag,
so I'd be grateful if you'd continue to follow along...!