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Back to the town plaza, after the defeat of the Bone-Eating General...
“It’s finally over...”
“Yes, it is...”
Caim and Millicia landed on the ground, confirming their victory. Millicia had turned the Bone-Eating General into dust with her Sacred Arts, and the giant skeleton with its broken rib cage was no longer moving either. This was all proof that they’d won.
“We may have emerged victorious, but we have put the townspeople through a lot of trouble...” Millicia said, her expression brimming with sorrow. “If I had not been targeted by assassins, they would have been able to keep living in peace... How can I apologize to them...?”
“I don’t think that’s right,” Caim interjected with a frown as he kicked the remains of the giant skeleton. “You’re just a victim of whoever hired the assassins. We even tried to avoid towns so as to not bother anyone. Don’t put more responsibility onto yourself.”
The ones truly at fault were the killers and whoever had hired them. Millicia was just a victim and wasn’t to blame.
“Still, I am a member of the imperial family. I am responsible for anything that happens to the people of this country,” Millicia replied, a strong sense of duty shining in her eyes despite her sorrowful expression. “There must have been a better way. If I had been wiser and stronger, I might have been able to avoid this outcome. But since the damage has already been done, I must bear the consequences!”
“Oh well, you do you.” Caim shrugged with a sigh. Despite appearing meek and docile, Millicia was actually far more stubborn than Tea and Lenka. Once she had decided something, she wouldn’t budge no matter what Caim said.
You have a strong sense of duty, you love your people, and you’re obstinate and willful... Yeah, you really are cut out to be a ruler.
“Anyway, let’s get out of town. Nothing will happen if we stay here.”
“Yes... Ah, but there might still be skeletons left over. We must search for them and—”
“Wait.” Caim suddenly stopped. “What’s happening...?” He’d just gotten goose bumps and had a very, very bad premonition. Something like malice and hostility, but different from either, was now being directed their way, sending a chill down his spine.
“Is there a problem, Caim?”
“Something is coming, but I don’t know what...”
The next instant, an explosion erupted in the distance. The sound was accompanied by a blast that sent waves of scorching heat and smoke their way. “Millicia!” Caim hurriedly grabbed Millicia and dove inside the giant skeleton, earning a yelp from his lover.
The next instant, the entire town was engulfed in flames.
“Damn it... What the hell was that...?”
Millicia coughed. “I thought I was going to die...”
After a moment, the fire and the smoke cleared, and the two of them crawled out of the giant skeleton. If they hadn’t hidden inside it, Caim might have been fine, but Millicia would surely have been hurt.
“It didn’t feel like a magical attack, and I didn’t sense any mana...” Caim said.
“Perhaps explosives have been placed inside the town. I do not know who did it, but they must have been targeting me,” Millicia replied.
Millicia was right—the explosion had been the work of the Company, led by Mistress. They had concealed the explosives in town, using the Bone-Eating General as bait to kill Millicia themselves. Even if the old assassin had won, the Company would still have detonated the explosives in order to deal with a troublesome business rival and take the reward for themselves.
“We’re fine, but what about Tea and the rest...?”
“Master Caim!”
“Are you hurt, Princess?!”
“Well, there’s the answer.” Just as Caim started to wonder about them, Tea and Lenka ran over to them through the destroyed buildings and remaining flames. Rozbeth followed shortly after. “Seems like you’re all fine.”
“I’m glad you’re all right too, Master Caim! I was really worried!” Tea must have been truly anxious, because she had tears in her eyes as she jumped at Caim, pressing his face against her chest.
“You weren’t caught in the explosion?” Caim asked.
“No, we were outside of the town!”
“What about the hostages?!” Millicia questioned in panic.
“Do not worry—we have rescued them. They are waiting outside of the town,” Lenka answered. It seemed the three of them had accomplished their mission without any trouble. “Still, I am surprised the Bone-Eating General uses explosives as well as necromancy.” She scowled at her surroundings. “He blew up the whole town... What a truly vile man!”
“No, that wasn’t him,” Rozbeth interjected. “This kind of method is actually right up the Company’s alley. They’re weak, so they use guns and explosives to kill their targets.”
“You mean those black-clad men from before? Did they team up with the Bone-Eating General?” Caim asked.
“I don’t think so—probably they were using him. Their boss, Mistress, is very cunning, so she wouldn’t hesitate to use a fellow assassin as bait,” Rozbeth replied with a sarcastic shrug. “Once they know that we’re... Or rather, that Princess Millicia is still alive, they will try something else.”
“If they’d just attack us head-on, I could kill them easily... These kinds of underhanded tactics are honestly annoying.” In a way, they were a more formidable enemy than the Bone-Eating General. “If we’re gonna have to fight anyway, I’d rather do it now and be done with it...” Caim sighed, displeased.
And with that, the battle in the town of Orwell was over and everyone lived happily ever after...
No, of course that didn’t happen.
When the returning townspeople saw what had become of their home, their expressions were painted with despair.
“Is this...our town...?”
“Damn it! There’s nothing left!”
While Caim had defeated the Bone-Eating General, the Company had completely destroyed the town. The women had been saved, but they had lost everything else.
“The shop I inherited from my father...!”
“My brother was killed... Why did this have to happen to us?!”
“Where is my husband? Give him back!”
The townspeople complained with tears in their eyes.
“Hey, you...” One of them approached Caim and the girls and talked to Millicia. “The old man asked us to find a blonde woman. That’s you, right?”
“...Yes.”
“So everything happened because of you?”
Millicia didn’t answer.
“I lost my house, my wife and daughter were injured, and other people had friends or relatives who died. And you’re saying all of that is your fault?!”
“Yes. You were used to bait me,” Millicia confessed without trying to give excuses.
“You...!” The man’s face flushed with rage.
“I am truly sorry,” Millicia apologized with a perfect bow before the man could shout at her. “I sincerely apologize for involving you in my circumstances and causing you harm. Though I understand that money is not enough to make up for what has happened to you, and I cannot do so immediately, I will compensate you fully as soon as I am able.”
The man was speechless in the face of such a resolute apology. He understood this wasn’t just lip service—she truly meant what she said. Moreover, despite how Millicia was currently dressed, it was obvious from her manners and her way of speaking that she was of high birth. And yet she had bowed to him. In a society where one’s position was of utmost importance, even a commoner like him knew how significant it was for someone of higher status to lower their head to someone below them.
“Uhh...” The man faltered, but it was too late for him to back down. He understood Millicia’s apology was sincere, but they had all lost too much for him to simply accept the destruction of their town. “You... You...!”
Driven by his anger, he moved to grab Millicia, but stopped when he noticed Caim’s cold gaze behind her. Next to him stood Lenka, her hand on the hilt of her sword. The both of them were silent, but the intent in their eyes was clear—if the man touched Millicia, it would end very badly for him.
With no other choice, the man gave up and began to talk. “I loved this town... I was born here, and I inherited that shop from my father. But now...”
“...I apologize again.”
“Shut up!” The man stamped his foot on the ground in fury and wailed. “Just get lost already! Never show your face here again!”
Millicia, however, continued to bow.
“Princess...” Lenka placed a hand on her shoulder.
Millicia’s face wasn’t visible, but she was also crying, her tears trickling down her cheeks and dampening the soil.
Caim and his companions left the destroyed town of Orwell. Millicia wrote a letter asking for the lord to shelter them and gave it to the townspeople’s representative. She also gave them most of the money she was currently carrying, as well as some of their precious provisions, vowing to formally compensate them someday.