IWTGHFW CHAPTER 36

Episode 36

The kingdom kept sending people, only for them to be accused of being spies and executed. When that no longer worked, they sent knights, but the lord declared a territorial war and attacked.

Hearing the story, Rozen let out a scoffing breath.

“You could’ve just sent an envoy to make your demands, couldn’t you? You send troops out of nowhere, of course we’d think it was an attack.”

“They say they did send one.”

“An envoy?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Well, that’s something Your Highness would know. You’re the crown prince.”

“…I don’t know either.”

Ron looked incredulous at the crown prince’s words.

What? An envoy came from the kingdom and the crown prince didn’t know? If the crown prince doesn’t know, then who does? Unless someone higher up cut off the information… But the only one above the crown prince is the emperor.

A trace of suspicion appeared on Ron’s face. The prince’s expression also darkened as he watched him. The prince lifted his large hand and covered his face.

“It seems His Majesty kept it under wraps.”

“Because of this, an open investigation isn’t possible.”

In Ron’s mansion sat Vice Captain Sean, Royal Knights members Reinolf and Heffi, and Narein. This was the same lineup that had gone to investigate Cary’s Bar—except instead of Ayle, there was a man who looked exactly like Sean: Yen, the crown prince’s aide.

After hearing Ron’s explanation, Sean scratched his cheek and asked,

“So you want us to secretly find the prince of Aint, right?”

“We’ll say you’re on a secret external mission for about a week. In the meantime, spread out across the empire and look for traces. Heffi, your deployment’s been postponed a week.”

Heffi’s expression instantly brightened. A posting to the borderlands, far from the capital’s cultural life, was one every knight dreaded.

In contrast, Sean’s face clouded over.

“But Captain, after seeing how we handled the Cary’s Bar job, His Highness still entrusted this to us?”

Everyone fell silent at Sean’s pointed remark.

Raiding Cary’s Bar and capturing Marquis Vareil had been fine, but aside from Narein finding the ledger, the others had essentially just flailed about accomplishing nothing.

Narein’s ledger had helped, but the decisive evidence to arrest the marquis had already been gathered by the crown prince’s Intelligence Bureau beforehand. All their find did was add one more piece to the evidence list. If their infiltration had been discovered, they could have ruined the prince’s plans entirely.

In short, everyone gathered here now had been shoveling air last time.

“Pfft.”

Yen, who had been quietly listening, covered his lips with his palm, but the chuckle that leaked out didn’t escape anyone’s notice.

“Hey, did you just laugh at us? Huh?”

“Hey? Did you just call me ‘hey,’ Sir Heffi?”

“Yeah. Hey. You laughed first, punk.”

“Then why don’t you laugh too? Ah, but unfortunately, I have nothing to laugh about.”

“You—you punk! How dare you call me ‘you’!”

As Heffi’s backside twitched, ready to spring up, Ron’s large hand pressed firmly on his shoulder. Under the captain’s strong grip, Heffi sat back down with a whimper, while Yen smirked.

Seeing that, Heffi was about to burst into curses and start round two when Ron cut in faster.

“This time will be different. The Intelligence Bureau is moving with us.”

“Oh-ho. If the Bureau’s in on it, that’s less pressure for us.”

At last, Sean’s dark expression lifted. He’d been quietly convinced this mission was doomed based on the lineup alone.

Ron seemed to agree, as he let out a long sigh and gave the group a look of mild exasperation.

“Rye and Heffi, head south. Narein, go north. Sean and Yen, check the east. I’ll take the capital.”

As captain of the Royal Knights, Ron couldn’t move freely. The best he could do was operate within the capital’s outskirts, so he volunteered for that area himself.

Everyone listened closely to the briefing, while Narein gave Ron a strange look. No one else in the room noticed.

Fourth day of captivity.

Today, a very special guest arrived.

“For Your Majesty to come all the way here yourself…”

I quickly stood, bowed politely, and pulled out a chair for her. The King of Aint dismissed her attendants, then took a seat.

Mishi and I stood tensely until she chuckled and gestured to the other chairs. Taking that as a sign to sit, I rolled two over and placed them beside her, sitting down myself.

“Your name was Ayle, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Oh no. She remembered my name exactly.

I’ve always felt it—having someone high-ranking remember your name is rarely good news. Especially if that person is the monarch of an enemy country.

And unlike Ron, she didn’t seem careless, nor did she have an obvious weakness like the crown prince’s attachment to Mishi. That made me even more nervous.

“I heard you were of common birth.”

“Yes. I currently work in the Imperial Palace’s Administrative Support Team.”

“How curious.”

Excuse me? Curious? Isn’t that a polite way of saying “odd”?

Did I do something wrong? I managed to survive in the empire this long, but is this where I get quietly erased?

As my anxious gaze trembled, she gave a soft laugh.

“It’s not against etiquette, but you don’t feel like a commoner.”

Well, that’s because I’m not technically one anymore.

Working in the palace grants you quasi-noble status. Even if commoners still look down on you, you’re not quite the same as them.

But she didn’t seem to mean it that way.

“For a commoner to bring a chair right next to a king and sit down, just because I told you to—remarkable, isn’t it?”

Ah. That’s what she meant.

What a stickler. I sit when told to sit, and now I’m getting called out for sitting?

I just gave her a vague smile in reply. This was a world where social rank dictated everything, and rank reigned supreme. Just because Ron or the crown prince tolerated my casual manners didn’t mean other nobles—or this queen—would. I wouldn’t be surprised if she cried “insult to nobility” and had my head chopped off.

It really hit me how much I’d been surrounded by people with little sense of authority. Even Mishi, a prince, played clapping games with me like we were childhood friends.

I hesitated, wondering if I should stand, but she waved her hand as if to say it was fine. I think that was a sign to stay seated. Hopefully she wouldn’t then turn around and punish me for it.

After a moment’s thought, I decided to stay put. My life was already hanging by a thread—might as well be comfortable before the end.

“You’ve probably heard about the kingdom’s situation from Pasel.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about the matter regarding the prince.”

“That loose-tongued fellow. I just got a call from the crown prince—he said he’d secretly look for my son.”

Since I’d already guessed things would play out this way from the moment Pasel spoke, I only nodded quietly. She gave me an odd look.

“You look as if you already knew.”

“It’s something anyone could have predicted.”

“I see. Then do you also know that several royal knights will be involved?”

“Well, since the whole empire will have to be searched, it’s inevitable.”

“No.”

Her icy blue eyes locked onto me. Looking into them felt like meeting Narein’s gaze—like being pulled into a bottomless abyss. The vague dread was like staring into the deep sea, so I quickly looked away, rubbing the goosebumps from my arms.

Her voice pierced my ear.

“Sir Metaylor told me this: that the knights would be dispatched, but I must not lay a hand on you.”

“…”

“Originally, only the Intelligence Bureau was supposed to act.”

What the heck, Ron? “Don’t lay a hand on me”?

That’s embarrassing. Did you say that to the queen’s face? What’s that supposed to mean?

Wait… that’s… kind of cool.

For some reason my cheeks grew hot. I lifted my hands from my lap and pressed them to my face, feeling the warmth through my palms.

The King of Aint stared at me, then suddenly asked,

“What’s your relationship with Sir Metaylor? Lovers?”

“What?! No! Of course not! The captain just looks after his people well, that’s all.”

I flailed my hands in denial, startled out of my wits. Mishi, sitting beside me, tried to speak, but the queen raised a hand to stop him, instead giving him a faintly amused smile. She looked back at me and murmured, “So that’s why the devil’s gone soft.”

Regardless of what she meant, I was too busy fanning my burning face.

“You mean Marquis Orion?”

“Unbelievable. So he didn’t disappear—he was actually working directly for the crown prince’s Intelligence Bureau?”

“And the part about losing his daughter? That’s true, right?”

“Surely they wouldn’t lie about that. Even if the Bureau’s a bunch of liars.”

For the first time in a while, Orion felt the veins in his forehead throb.

The second prince’s crossing into Aint was an unprecedented crisis, and a joint covert operation between the Intelligence Bureau and the Royal Knights had begun.

They couldn’t investigate openly due to the emperor’s watchful eye, but the mere fact of the Bureau and the Knights working together had the Bureau agents buzzing with excitement.

After all, how long had it been since they’d gotten to do such a flashy mission? It was exactly the sort of thing they’d joined for.

And yet—the knights they were sending along were these idiots?

“I can hear you, you know. Why not just say it to my face?”

“You could hear us? Sorry, sir.”

“What, did you think standing right behind me made you inaudible?”

One was a bright blond with sharp features; the other, a soft, petal-pink-haired man with a slack demeanor.

The blond at least seemed capable, but the pink-haired one looked like he was missing a few screws. Ron must have a twisted sense of humor to send them.

Right now, they were standing on a warp zone. They planned to start at Count Remiblan’s territory in the far south and work their way north, searching for any trace of the Aint prince.