A New Ally

When we arrived at the base, Ernesto was already speaking with the other companions, so we asked him for a little of his time and entered a separate room.

After explaining about Lancian-sama—Ernesto agreed almost immediately to accept him as an ally.

“Ernesto, thank you.”

“If he was the Princess’s escort knight, he must be strong. There’s no reason to refuse.”

Ernesto said that, but after hearing about Lancian-sama, he seemed somewhat lonely. Perhaps he envied having someone worth serving and protecting to that extent.

“Yes, Hubert is strong. He’s nearby, so may I bring him here?”

“Of course. The execution day of the operation is only a few days away, so we need to decide everyone’s positions quickly. We’ll gather in the living room in thirty minutes for a strategy meeting, so please bring him there.”

“Understood.”

After finishing that conversation with Ernesto in the separate room, we returned to where Lancian-sama had been waiting nearby.

“Hubert, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not at all, please don’t worry about it. …May I ask who you spoke with and what you discussed?”

“Hehe, you don’t need to be so cautious. I’ll tell you everything.”

At Ann’s words, Lancian-sama bowed his head with an emotional expression, then raised his face with a determined look.

The earlier confession about being divine servants and the monster attack being part of a plan had already been shocking enough, so he was probably bracing himself.

Well, since it was about a coup, being on guard was probably appropriate.

“The truth is… we are going to assist in the coup that will soon occur in this country.”

Upon hearing that, Lancian-sama froze, looking even more shocked than when we confessed to being divine servants. After a moment, he slowly blinked and let out a deep breath.

“…Is that truly the case?”

“Yes. You also know how terrible this country has become, don’t you? Unless a coup happens, there’s no way this nation will return to normal.”

“I can understand that much, but why would Your Highness assist with it? Do you have that much attachment to this country?”

Lancian-sama voiced a reasonable question. Ann then smiled with a refined, princess-like expression before speaking.

“As someone who has lived as royalty, of course I want to save the people of this country. —However, that is not the only reason. First of all, the one who has thrown this Empire into such chaos is a divine servant. In that case, shouldn’t we, who are also divine servants, be the ones to deal with it? And besides, if the Empire completely collapses, then my father will lose all interest in me.”

Hearing the latter half of Ann’s honest thoughts, Lancian-sama opened his mouth in surprise before giving a wry smile.

“As expected of Your Highness. I thought the same when I heard about the plan to have monsters attack you—you are truly bold.”

“Is that meant as a compliment?”

“Of course it is.”

“Then I’ll accept it sincerely this time.”

After saying that, Ann’s expression turned serious again as she continued.

“And after the coup succeeds, I plan to return to the Kingdom once. There, I intend to persuade my father and withdraw from the royal family. If that happens, I won’t need to keep hiding anymore.”

“You have already thought that far ahead…”

“Yes, of course. Hubert, do you think my request will be accepted?”

Lancian-sama thought for a moment before slowly raising his gaze and nodding.

“If the coup succeeds, Your Highness will lose your marriage destination, and people will likely say that the nation you married into was overthrown immediately after your arrival. In that case, it would be difficult to arrange another marriage for you, so I doubt there will be any opposition. —His Majesty judges even his family based on their value.”

“Oh my, are you sure you should say something like that?”

“…I am no longer a knight.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

Lancian-sama showed no sign of regret when declaring he was no longer a knight; instead, he wore a refreshed expression. Knights might look like elites from the outside, but they probably have many hardships as well.

“Then I have a request for Hubert, who is now just an adventurer—would you help us with the coup?”

“I would be honored to assist.”

Lancian-sama smiled while giving a knight’s salute at Ann’s words, and his expression looked more alive than ever before.