kscans

Chapter 148 - The O-saki and the Emissary

"What in the world… is the meaning of this?"

The King of Sucaraba was dumbfounded.

This was the audience chamber. Kneeling with their hands bound were knights wearing the armor of the Sucaraba Kingdom’s regular army.

"Who knows? We came here to ask you that very question, you know?"

Behind the row of knights stood an adorable girl, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled sweetly. She flashed a fan, her attire lavish.

Rewind to a few dozen minutes earlier.

A carriage had suddenly descended in front of the royal palace. Tied to the carriage, which was protected by numerous monsters, was a net. Inside the net were knights clad in the armor of the Sucaraba Kingdom’s regular army, suspended by bee-like monsters.

Two children had disembarked from that carriage.

Dressed in opulent clothing, they had requested an audience with the King of Sucaraba, their gazes possessing a sharpness unbefitting of children.

"What is this? Monsters? They came down from the sky? You must be joking."

The gate guard took the aide’s exasperated words head-on, his eyes fixed in a glare.

"How much better it would be if I were joking… Royalty leading disaster-class monsters… I myself do not want to believe it!"

"Royalty?!"

A stir rippled through the air in the hall.

"According to their escort knights, she is a princess of the Kingdom of Frontier. Moreover, it seems they were surrounded by soldiers of the Sucaraba Kingdom and nearly abducted the moment they entered the borderlands. The men captured in the net are some of them."

The king’s face twisted strangely.

He had been informed that a special goodwill envoy would be visiting from Frontier. The word was that they had a report concerning magic and magical power. There was more. They were supposedly bringing a wide range of technologies, such as paper-story shows and puppet theaters for entertainment, sweets that were recently popular in the central region, and magic tools jointly developed with Flowers. The king himself had been looking forward to it. The central region was closed off and did not accept the borderlands. Their military strength was worlds apart, and Sucaraba couldn't hope to compete. Amidst this, the nobles of Sucaraba had also been waiting with bated breath for the arrival of guests from Frontier, a nation on good terms with the central region. And yet…

Someone attacked Frontier’s special goodwill envoy party?

The king gripped the armrest of his throne, giri. The whiteness of his knuckles conveyed the depth of the King of Sucaraba’s fury.

"Prepare for an audience at once. We must not keep our guests waiting."

And so, within a short time, the King of Sucaraba came face to face with Little One.

"According to these men, His Highness the Crown Prince told them to abduct us. He said he wouldn’t shy away from using military force. Frontier has been thoroughly underestimated, hasn’t it?"

Little One sighed lightly and glanced at the King of Sucaraba.

"The Crown Prince…? You men, are you certain of this?"

The knights nodded at the king’s questioning.

"We were not told they were Frontier’s special goodwill envoy… The order was to secure the carriage pulled by monsters and bring them here."

A carriage pulled by monsters could only be Little One’s troupe. The Frontier knights’ eyes narrowed slightly. Ignoring them, the King of Sucaraba ordered an attendant to summon the Crown Prince.

"I am terribly sorry about this. I swear to the gods, the Sucaraba Kingdom has no intention of harming Frontier. On the contrary, we were looking forward to the new technologies and entertainment you would bring."

Observing the King of Sucaraba’s undisguised dismay, Little One pondered, fumu.

So this was the Crown Prince acting alone?

As the king and Little One exchanged a few words, the doors to the audience chamber opened, and a young man appeared. He looked to be around twenty years old. He had light reddish-brown hair and grey-blue eyes. His hair, which reached the middle of his back, was tied in a single knot behind his neck. The young man glanced over Little One’s party, jirori.

"What is the matter, Father?"

The young man walked right past Little One and looked up at the King of Sucaraba on his throne.

"These men say they went to the border on your orders. Is that correct?"

"It is."

The Crown Prince’s low reply sent the chamber into an uproar. Unfazed by the murmurs, he continued.

"I heard that a special goodwill envoy was coming from Frontier and ordered them to provide a welcoming escort. What of it?"

"A welcoming escort?"

It was Little One who sharply cut into the Crown Prince’s coolly delivered explanation.

"Is attempting to abduct someone with military force what you call a welcome here?"

"It is only natural to provide an escort to ensure their safety along the way. Unlike Frontier, our country’s public order is not so good."

"My, my, I was threatened with being dragged away, you know? Is that an escort? So that is what you call it in the Sucaraba Kingdom. I was not aware."

The Crown Prince’s composed brow twitched. Little One did not miss it. Before he could open his mouth, she launched a verbal assault like a Gatling gun.

"It seems the knights did not even know we were the Frontier envoy, and dispatching a unit without informing them of who they were supposed to be escorting is the way of Sucaraba, I see. I feel sorry for the soldiers. Being made a spectacle of in a place like this. As someone in a position of leadership, I sympathize with soldiers who are given such vague orders."

In the dead silent hall, only the Crown Prince’s eyes widened as he ground his back teeth.

I won’t let you get away with it, nyon.

The knights of Sucaraba looked upon Little One’s words with admiration. They had only been told by the Crown Prince to capture the party in the monster-drawn carriage and bring them to the detached palace. They only learned it was a party of Frontier royalty when they came face to face. Even so, they tried to carry out the Crown Prince’s order, but His Grace was now trying to shift the blame onto the knights’ independent actions. That he had sent them out as a welcoming escort, but the knights had resorted to military force on their own.

Having discerned this from the flow of the conversation, the knights, who had hung their heads in despair, heard unbelievable words.

The princess of Frontier had cut off that unsettling line of reasoning. She explained the situation with neither too much nor too little detail, closing off the Crown Prince’s escape route.

A knight’s duty is to serve the royal family, no matter what injustices are forced upon them. If it is an order from the Crown Prince who will one day be king, they have no choice but to obey. That is what leads to the peace of the nation. But the princess of Frontier was saying she felt sorry for soldiers who were told such unreasonable things by their superiors.

Someone understands.

That alone was a knight’s reward.

Whatever judgment was passed down here, as long as there was someone who understood, it would be enough. The knights were prepared. They would likely be punished to cover up the Crown Prince’s blunder. That was how it was in most countries in Arcadia. Their superiors thought of them as nothing more than tools. In fact, it had been drilled into them that it was an honor to be sacrificed for the sake of a noble.

Following that example, the kneeling men resolved to take the blame for the Crown Prince. It was the best way to avoid tarnishing the royal family’s name. But they did not know the creature called Little One.

"The one above must take responsibility for the failures of those below. At least, that is how it is in Frontier, you know?"

the girl murmured in a cute voice, fufu.

Eh? The people of the Sucaraba Kingdom wore expressions of utter confusion.

"The knights’ failure is the Crown Prince’s responsibility. And furthermore, the Crown Prince’s failure is His Majesty the King’s… Now then, what will you do?"

Little One tilted her head, putting on a cunningly cute face. It was the Crown Prince who was flustered by this, casting aside his composed mask.

"That’s absurd! Do you have any idea how many subordinates I command? Are you saying that if any single one of those soldiers causes some trouble, the blame falls on me?!"

"That is correct. One who cannot even command their subordinates and make them follow regulations is not fit to be king, you know? Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Impossible!"

The Crown Prince strode toward Little One, trying to intimidate her. Dorfen slipped in between them and looked down at the Crown Prince sternly.

"It is a subordinate’s duty to serve so as not to bring shame upon their beloved lord. To be able to serve such a person is a knight’s highest honor."

Looked down upon by the knight with a powerful build, the Crown Prince showed a hint of fear. Dorfen’s words were a scathing insinuation that a royal who could only keep subordinates who caused scandals was an outcast.

"If I were to cause some incident, Her Highness the Princess would surely try to protect me with all her might. That is precisely why I intend to serve with my utmost sincerity, so as not to bring such a predicament upon my lord."

"This is what it means to be a knight. I, too, give detailed instructions so that nothing will happen. To neglect such a thing… Perhaps Your Highness the Crown Prince is not suited to be a ruler?"

The girl shook her head, as if in exasperation. The Crown Prince’s face turned from pale to bright red. The composure he had just moments ago was nowhere to be seen. He was so enraged it looked like steam might rise from his head.

Well, of course he would be. He had been called an amateur in public. And by a knight from another country at that. Furthermore, it was impossible he wouldn’t notice Little One’s subtle insinuation that he was not fit to be king.

"How dare you say such a thing!"

Just as the Crown Prince looked ready to pounce, a shout from the king stopped him.

"That is enough! Her Highness the Princess is correct. You are far too incompetent. Knights, you have done well. You may leave. I will grant you a reward later."

"Father?!"

"You will leave as well! Do not disgrace yourself any further!"

The Crown Prince was dragged away by the knights, shouting something. The King of Sucaraba watched him go with a tired expression, then turned to look at Little One.

"This is most embarrassing. I would be grateful if you would not be deterred by this and would continue to maintain friendly relations between our countries…"

Yeah, that seems unlikely, doesn’t it?

The King of Sucaraba must have guessed as much from the expressions on the faces of the Frontier party. He looked up at the sky and covered his eyes with one hand.

While such a pointless scene filled the audience chamber with an awkward atmosphere, the Crown Prince, who had been forcibly sent back to his detached palace, was in a rage.

"Why did it come to this?!"

He swatted the food and wine that had been prepared on the table to the floor, then pulled off the tablecloth and threw it down as well. If things had gone well, Her Highness the Princess should have been here right now. They would have had a pleasant banquet, and he could have drawn out Frontier’s secrets. He had wanted to apologize for the forceful methods, give her the gifts he had personally prepared, and grow close to her. Once she was welcomed into the main palace, he wouldn’t be able to get a private meeting. She would be guarded by Sucaraba knights at all times. That was why he had absolutely wanted to meet her at this detached palace before she entered the main palace. The Crown Prince’s detached palace had a separate entrance from the main palace for private meetings and excursions. That was why he had schemed to use it to invite Her Highness the Princess and her party.

But he had failed.

It was more than a failure. Of all things, he had made the worst possible impression on Her Highness the Princess.

The princess he had yearned for for so many years.

"She was such an adorable person… Just as I imagined, commanding so many monsters. Oh, what have I done!!"

The Crown Prince would never forget the monster carriage that had soared through the sky several years ago. He, who had just come of age, had fallen in love at first sight with the Honeybee Carriage flying through the sky. And with the princess who was said to control it at will.

What kind of person could she be? He had heard she was a young princess. She must be a wonderful person.

With an admiring gaze, he had investigated everything he could about Little One. A sage who lived in the royal palace with monsters and possessed great technology and knowledge. She was kind and gentle to all, regardless of status, and had a fiancé for a political marriage. He had learned in detail that when she traveled as a special goodwill envoy, she was accompanied only by a small number of guards and attendants, and had resorted to this reckless act.

He had thought that if he greeted her roughly, Her Highness the Princess, who was reputed to be gentle, would surely obey him meekly to protect her followers. He had never imagined that she would fight back and bring them to the royal palace.

"I just wanted to know… how she controls the monsters. It must be a secret technique of Frontier. I suppose I won’t be able to find out now."

This was the reason the Crown Prince had wanted to welcome Little One in secret.

He could not act improperly where the king could see.

"Ah… I wanted to find out no matter what. I wonder what it feels like to command monsters. It must be so pleasant."

the Crown Prince murmured in a daze.

Little One, in the audience chamber, was unaware of the crazed light in his eyes.

Here, too, was a person obsessed with Little One, but in a way different from Frontier and the other countries, whose feelings had become twisted. For now, Little One was completely unaware of the existence of the Crown Prince of the Sucaraba Kingdom, who showed an extreme partiality to monsters.