IBPOFCP 68

Chapter 68

“Princess, here are the personal details regarding the person you mentioned.”

It was the day we were leaving for the royal capital. Just as I was about to get into the carriage wearing a simple dress suitable for travel, Tex, who claimed to be the aide of Duke Christina, handed me some documents.

“Thank you.”

Since Leilia, who was accompanying me as my maid, had taken another carriage, I had some rare, private time to myself. Opening the envelope, I found a document revealing the face of a tall, unassuming man.

His name was Kaise. Born a commoner in the Southern Empire, he had won a knight tournament and was formally admitted into Duke Christina’s order of knights. He honed his skills on the border of the monster-infested lands in the southwest, participating in several extermination missions. Later, after winning multiple tournaments, he became Lemonie’s bodyguard when she was five.

“…Is that all there is?”

Regrettably, that was the extent of the information.

“And where did you learn to speak so formally?”

There must have been more to know. Since he had been watching over Lemonie since her childhood, I thought I might be able to extract more details once we became closer—but, oddly, I had no motivation. I was leaving soon anyway; was there really any need to pry into this world’s people?

I slightly opened the carriage curtain. Trees rushed past in a blur. Right. I was probably like one of those trees to the people here. Even if I returned to my own world, no one—except Deon and Ian—would ever know that my soul had inhabited this body.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

Kaise knocked and opened the carriage. Escorted mechanically by him, I walked calmly into the vast palace, so enormous it couldn’t fit fully in my view.

“Greetings, Princess. I am Restil of the Royal Second Knight Order.”

“Greetings, Princess. I am Treitan of the Royal Third Knight Order.”

“Pleased to meet you. I look forward to today.”

The knights seemed to have donned all their medals for the day’s meeting. Their conversation in the hallway suggested they were nervous; perhaps this was their first meeting with monsters.

“By the way, Princess, you’re a survivor of Dreis Prison, right? That means you’ve actually seen monsters.”

“I think I’ve seen more than enough.”

“I heard you even escaped alongside a monster prisoner—is that true?”

Apparently, the rumor had already spread. I nodded slightly, conscious of Kaise and Leilia walking behind me at intervals. Leilia, posing as a fellow survivor and also my maid, was allowed to stand at the back of the meeting room.

“They weren’t exactly monsters—they were divine beasts. The other person had half vampire blood and half human, so they weren’t entirely a monster either.”

“Either way, a monster, then.”

Why did I bother explaining in such detail? To people from the Southern Empire, divine beasts were probably monsters, and vampires with human blood were probably monsters too.

“Fighting alongside monsters in war… Life seems full of strange experiences. I hear you speak the Empire’s language, but wouldn’t it be unsettling to see a beast speak for itself?”

“That’s why I think you’re amazing, Princess. Surviving that hell… In some ways, you’re braver than us knights. I’d choose death over working alongside monsters.”

Their weak laughter echoed through the corridor. Judging by their level of understanding, they seemed to consider monsters less as intelligent beings and more like mute apes or lions.

“Once you experience it, they’re not so different from humans,” I muttered, half to myself, slightly annoyed at their crude reactions. There was a startled noise among the knights. I wasn’t sure why I was defending them. Perhaps it was simply that, since we shared the same ‘ship,’ it was better not to speak ill of them.

The meeting room we entered was massive, almost like a banquet hall. Through the arched windows, the palace garden unfolded like a painting. Curtains trimmed with gold thread. Marble walls and floors tinged with pale pink, a huge carpet, and a long table capable of seating about twenty people.

“Just in case, please sit in the center. Monsters can’t be trusted. If they act out of line, we will protect you.”

The knights naturally arranged themselves in a line, placing me in the central seat. Kaise followed behind, but it seemed their distrust was more about monsters themselves than about the princess’s bodyguard.

“Good morning, Princess.”

Cedric, arriving late, took a seat on our side, leaving only the chairs opposite empty. A few of the nervous knights cleared their throats. The scheduled time was approaching, yet the room remained silent.

“Beasts… don’t even understand the concept of time…”

Treitan, sitting next to me, was just taking a pocket watch from his pouch. A heavy bang on the door made shoulders flinch, and the nearby knights instinctively shielded me.

“Damn, the door’s made for humans; it’s tiny.”

Beyond the door, a massive body leaned through, barely fitting inside, muttering curses. Its oversized tusks protruded like spears from a pronounced lower jaw.

The orc, with dark green skin suited for swamplands, rolled its comparatively small eyes and grinned at one of the knights.

“Tiny humans, huh.”

Every knight froze.

“Hello! Ah, it’s nice and cozy in here. Orcs always cause trouble, though.”

Following him, a dwarf about human-sized with notably thick hands adjusted his waist and took a seat. Then came a half-human, half-beast, and after that, a tall, slender elf with a gentle smile.

“….”

The knights, who had treated monsters as beasts, found themselves unable to speak. Clearly, they had considered the gathered monster leaders no more than dangerous lions at most.

“I don’t recall humans ever holding meetings about interspecies wars in a human castle before.”

“The borderlands are in chaos now; are humans really sending us there? It will only reduce our already limited manpower.”

“Are there no cups for orcs? I feel like I’d break anything they gave me.”

“Are you here to drink wine?”

“Dwarves never understand the struggles of the strong, of course. They blend in with humans effortlessly.”

“What?! Humans and dwarves are entirely different! Are you insulting us? Humans and dwarves together wouldn’t even reach your orc’s fist!”

“Ha! A fist away! How cute!”

Voices in fluent Imperial spread out in all directions, almost deafening.

“Quiet, quiet,” said Restil of the Second Knight Order, standing to intervene, but a clearly angry dwarf sprang up faster than him and charged at the orc.

“You know the saying about small branches being the most dangerous…”

“Enough.”

The red-faced dwarf drew a hammer from his waist just as a tall man entered the room through the still-open door. All eyes, human and monster alike, turned toward him.

“If you’re going to start a species fight here, then sit this war out.”

The man, over 190 cm, furrowed his brow slightly and approached the table. Broad shoulders, an inverted-triangle build, and even among monsters, he radiated presence. At first glance, he looked human, but his beast-like red eyes swept the room, instantly quieting the noisy atmosphere.

A divine beast. A leader among all species, said to be the strongest of the beast-men.

“…Divine Beast! Long time no see!”

Cedric greeted him with a broad smile, and Deon silently nodded, taking the vacant chair. Despite sitting, his size made him dominate the room naturally.

Of all things, he sat directly across from me. As I tried to avoid his gaze, our eyes met, and my head froze in place.

You fought a month-long emotional battle with that man? Deon’s expression was cold and emotionless, so much so that it was hard to believe there had ever been a past between us. I worried he might say something, but he simply addressed Restil and took charge of the meeting.

“How much does the Southern Empire know at this point?”

“They’re aware that the Khan Federation headquarters fell to the House of Duke Ermenst. Has anything else happened…?”

As the meeting began in earnest, I finally exhaled. My purpose here was simple: because of Deon’s unreasonable proposal, I was to quietly sit through the meeting as a survivor of Dreis Prison.

Borders. Vampire habits. Monster transformation. The terrain surrounding the Khan Federation headquarters. All manner of things unknown to me were being discussed.

Something touched the tip of my shoe under the table. Looking down, I saw leather shoes clad in perfectly pressed uniform pants brushing against mine. It was Deon.

Frowning, he scanned across the table, and when his red eyes briefly met mine, he turned his gaze elsewhere as if ignoring me.