The Remains Of The Carriage

After returning to where the knights were, we finished preparing to sleep and leaned against a nearby tree to rest. Since there was still time before actually going to sleep, I decided to tell Lady Seremees about what had happened earlier.

“Lady Seremees, do you have a moment right now?”

When I called out, a reply came immediately.

“It’s fine. Did something happen again?”

“Yes. We found out that there is a faction in this country planning a coup, and we decided to help them.”

After explaining about Ernesto and the others in detail, Lady Seremees’s voice became brighter than before.

“So there are still people like that in the Empire. That is wonderful news.”

“Yes. So we plan to help Ernesto and restore the Empire to normal.”

“That sounds right. Rebuilding a nation isn’t something that can be accomplished by strength alone, so I think that’s the best approach. What concerns me is whether the coup will succeed.”

That was exactly the problem… that was the biggest concern. I possessed great power, but the situation I was weakest in was chaotic battle.

Even if there were many enemies, as long as the battlefield contained only enemies, victory would be easy. But if allies and enemies were mixed together, I couldn’t use large-scale magic. Even when swinging a sword, I would need to watch my surroundings.

“The fastest way would be for you and Rebecca to storm the castle yourselves, but then it wouldn’t be a coup.”

“This time it won’t end just by defeating the enemy, which makes it difficult.”

“True… perhaps the two of you should focus on targeting and defeating only the strongest opponents. For now, while I monitor this person named Caesar, I’ll also gather information about powerful knights within the Empire.”

“Thank you very much. Please do.”

With that, my conversation with Lady Seremees ended. I stretched widely and looked around. How many of these knights would end up becoming enemies?

Thinking about that, Rebecca and I quietly chatted through the night, taking turns keeping watch and getting some light sleep to recover our strength.

The next morning. We had finally arrived at the location of the carriage that Ann had been riding in. The carriage had lost its original shape, and it was clear that monsters had ravaged it.

“…This doesn’t look very hopeful, does it?”

Someone muttered those words, and they echoed unexpectedly, spreading a sense of despair among the knights. In the midst of that, Ernesto moved aside the wreckage of the carriage, checking underneath to see if Ann was there.

“Everyone help. Five people investigate the carriage, the rest search the surrounding area. Return here before it gets dark.”

“…Understood.”

After that we joined the search party for the surrounding area and desperately searched for Ann, but of course she was nowhere to be found. Since there were no footprints either, the knights were already in a mood of giving up.

“We found no trace of Princess Henriette.”

“We couldn’t find anything either.”

“I see. There were no traces in the carriage either.”

Once all the search parties reported and Ernesto announced the results of the carriage investigation, silence dominated the scene.

“…If the body hasn’t been found, doesn’t that mean there’s a chance she’s alive?”

One knight spoke those words desperately, hoping for something, but another knight quickly crushed that hope.

“There’s a high chance monsters carried her off. …There were plenty of monster tracks after all.”

“…Then searching is pointless?”

No one answered those words, and the knights collapsed onto the ground where they stood.

“Haah, I can’t take this anymore!”

“Seriously! Why do we have to go through something like this?!”

“What do you think will happen if we return with nothing?”

“…We knights are an important military power, right? Surely they won’t take our lives…”

At that hopeful remark from one knight, several others muttered with dark expressions.

“But you know, it’s hard to understand what the higher-ups are thinking.”

“…Lately I’ve started to lose track of what they even want to do with this country.”

“What’s wrong with you guys? Weren’t you all happy because you could do whatever you wanted?”

At those words from one of Ernesto’s allied knights, several knights flushed red and stood up. However, unable to offer any rebuttal, they soon dropped back down to sit again.

From the looks of it, if a coup really happened, many knights might side with Ernesto and the others. However, it would probably be difficult to recruit them beforehand. Someone would surely report it to the current leadership to gain better treatment.

“In any case, we will continue searching for one week. It’s already late today, so rest.”

With Ernesto’s words, the discussion ended, and the knights began preparing their camp individually.