54. Rebellion

The royal palace dungeons.

In that heavily guarded place, former Eastern Knight Order Commander Oscar Landolben was being held.

He had already been found guilty and was scheduled for transport to the mines within days.

Landolben had reached the point of resignation.

A bracelet around his wrist—one he could not remove himself. It nullified all Skills.

With this, Oscar was nothing more than an aging man.

Everything he had built up as a knight had been stripped away.

Hope no longer existed in his life.

But then, a voice reached him.

“―Landolben.”

A low voice echoing through the dungeon.

When he looked up, a single man stood beyond the iron bars.

It was an old acquaintance. A bureaucrat.

One of the same Welzley ducal faction.

“What brings you here? I never expected visitation rights to be approved,” Landolben said, and the bureaucrat smiled.

“There’s nothing gold can’t buy. But time is short. I’ll speak plainly about what matters,” the man replied.

“What matters?”

“When I worked at the Military Police, I designed this dungeon. For emergencies, I built in an escape route.”

Landolben was not surprised by this. He and his allies regularly committed such “misdeeds,” after all.

“Are you telling me to run?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Running won’t help. I’d spend my entire life being hunted, living as a penniless vagrant without a registry. That’s all that awaits me.”

“No, it’s not necessarily so. There’s exactly one way to overturn everything.”

“Overturn everything? How?”

“Captain Welzley is plotting the assassination of Princess Iris. If it succeeds, our faction will not merely be restored—we’ll gain even greater power than before.”

“…What!? That’s impossible. No one could do such a thing.”

To kill Princess Iris and gain favor with Princess Camilla.

That was high treason itself.

Merely thinking of such a crime was enough to warrant execution.

“So, will you lend me your strength?” the old friend asked.

At his former friend’s question, Landolben quietly nodded.

In Landolben’s eyes—eyes that had resigned themselves to everything—there was a spark of fighting spirit.

It was the same look he’d had back when he’d strived to reach the apex, no matter the cost.

†

They had reached the midpoint of their journey to the Crand border territory.

Just now, at Razbe Castle where they’d arrived, the party planned to spend one night.

“…Princess Iris. We have been awaiting you. Please, come in…”

The castle lord welcomed them inside.

The castle was not large by any means, but it had adequate security, appearing far safer than staying at a town inn.

“Your Highness, we have prepared this room for you. Knights, please use this room,” the castle lord said.

Reet and his companions were shown to a single floor at the castle’s highest level.

Of course, even as guards, they couldn’t all share the same room, so three knights were positioned around the princess’s chamber in surrounding rooms.

“Please, take your time…” the castle lord said, excusing himself.

Company Commander Ursu ushered Iris into her room and gave instructions to the remaining knights.

“Reet, you take the room on the right. Larg, the left. And escort squad leader, divide your force to watch above and below this floor.”

“Understood,” they replied.

†

After sharing dinner with the castle lord, the party returned to their respective rooms.

“Aira, I brought you some sweet bread from the kitchen~”

Reet presented the gift to Aira, who had been waiting in his room.

While it fell short of croissants, sweet bread was one of Aira’s favorite foods.

“Kyuru~”

Aira fluttered her wings and flew to Reet, accepting the bread with her small front claws and biting into it.

Watching her, it was hard to believe she would soon be able to transform into a great dragon.

“Can you really transform?” Reet asked with a smile.

Aira held out the bread she was holding and nodded.

She seemed to be saying it would become possible once she ate this.

“Well, you’re cute anyway, so it’s fine,” Reet said.

When he patted her head, Aira narrowed her eyes happily.

But then, it happened.

Suddenly, Aira’s eyes snapped wide open.

“Hmm, what’s wrong?” Reet asked.

“Ryuu…”

Aira stared at the floor of the room.

“Is something there?”

“Ryuu.”

Apparently the answer was yes.

The floor—or rather, the level below?

Aira’s gaze gradually drifted upward.

Reet listened carefully.

From outside the room came a faint sound—the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs.

A servant, perhaps? Or one of the guard unit members?

No.

Dragons possessed senses far more acute than humans.

It was not a matter of having good hearing. It was an intuition for discerning good from evil.

And what Aira was sensing, Reet judged, was danger.

“Aira, stay in the room,” Reet said.

Reet took up his sword and left the room.

When he stepped into the hallway and looked toward Iris’s adjacent room—the door was standing wide open.

A bad feeling washed over him.

Reet immediately rushed and peered inside—

“Photon Ball!”

The next instant, a flash of light burst through the room.

The unleashed wave sent Iris crashing against the wall.

“Princess Iris!!!”

Iris struck the wall and lost consciousness where she fell.

Fortunately, it seemed the protection barrier had only been broken and she had no serious injuries.

“What’s this? You’re supposed to protect the princess properly,” the figure said.

The person who had cast the magic was wearing a black mask, making their identity unclear at first glance.

But Reet knew from their bearing.

Father!!

The traitor’s name—Ride Welzley.