A swordswoman gazed at the only A-rank adventurer from a distance.
“Mmm, Abel really is so handsome, isn’t he?” she said.
“Imogen, you’re going to inherit a viscounty... Even if he is an A-rank adventurer, you can’t marry someone who isn’t a noble,” the magician replied, offering her best friend some realistic advice.
“Myu, I’m not talking about marriage or anything that serious. It’s just a little admiration, that’s all. Spell it with me. A-d-m-i-r-a-t-i-o-n.” Imogen’s cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke.
“Oh? Just window-shopping, are we?”
“Abigail, not so loud!” In her panic, Imogen practically screeched the words.
The scout from the same C-rank party, Valkyrie, approached the two women talking in hushed tones. Behind her walked their lancer, Camilla, and priestess, Scarlett.
“What are you all talking about? The men? Goodness, I expected this sort of frivolity from Abigail, but not you, Imogen...” Camila, a beautiful woman of 180 centimeters with a svelte figure, shook her head slightly.
“No, Camilla, I was just admiring him! I swear!” Imogen replied.
“I understand discussing men’s appearances and whatnot. However, I personally think a man’s ability to provide is what matters. Financial security is more important.”
“That’s because you’re the third daughter of a baron,” Abigail, who came from a commoner background, replied seriously.
“Well, my family isn’t wealthy. I can’t expect any support from them,” she retorted.
They weren’t quite on the same wavelength, which wasn’t uncommon for them.
“Gosh, I wasn’t even talking about anything deep... I just think he’s nice to look at...” Imogen murmured, but nobody heard her.
“Then, Camilla, does that mean you’re aiming for a Royal Knight?” Abigail asked.
“‘Aiming’?! I’ve never looked at a man that way,” Camilla snapped back, indignant.
“All right, but let’s say you were considering a Royal Knight,” Abigail pressed her. “Zach Kuhler? No, not your type.”
“Well... Perhaps Scotty Cobouc,” Camilla replied, looking down.
Abigail nodded knowingly. Everyone knew Scotty was smarter and more handsome than Zach. Poor Zach...
Scarlett, the priestess of the party, smiled like she always did while listening to their conversation. A gentle atmosphere always cloaked her, no matter the situation.
“So! What’s your type, Scarlett?” Abigail turned to her and asked.
After tilting her head in thought, she answered, “Ryo.”
“Him, huh?” the four others said in unison.
For some reason, Ryo was the leading “cute” guy in the delegation.
✦ ✦ ✦
The delegation arrived in the royal capital without issue. After the disbandment ceremony, they all went their separate ways. The Royal Knights headed to their newly rebuilt headquarters, the adventurers to their guild, and Ignus and the civil servants to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
And Ryo went to the Royal Center for Alchemy. He and Abel were scheduled to leave the royal capital for Lune tomorrow morning by guild carriage. Therefore, if they were going to do anything, it had to be tonight. So that was where Ryo went, since Kenneth was there.
Meanwhile, Abel descended to the basement of the Institute for Magical Research, passed through a secret passage in the royal castle, and knocked on the crown prince’s stone door. It opened as usual, but the person standing there wasn’t the crown prince.
“You’re Daniel, aren’t you?” Abel asked, recognizing the fellow’s earnest face immediately. “My brother’s attendant.”
“Correct, Prince Albert. Please, come in.”
Abel’s heart had started racing the second he realized that the person knocking on the door hadn’t given the usual signal, meaning it wasn’t the crown prince. His worst fear was confirmed when he stepped inside and found his older brother in bed, no longer able to walk.
“Ah, Albert. Thank you for coming.”
“Brother...” Abel murmured, unable to say anything more.
“Now, now, don’t make that face. We’ve both known since our childhood what was in store for me. Still, this body has lasted longer than I imagined... Although I can’t walk anymore, my mind still runs just fine.”
The crown prince gave him a smile that Abel would never forget so long as he lived...
“By the way, did you do your homework?”
“Yes, I finished everything.”
“Good. I knew you would. You’ve always been diligent in that respect, Albert.” The crown prince nodded once, then took one of his assignments and casually flipped through it. “Hmm... These answers are quite interesting.”
“Bad interesting or...good interesting?” Abel asked with an anxious expression.
“Definitely not the former. Needless to say, there are no absolute, correct answers to many of these questions. As long as you follow the basic laws, the rest is up to your own judgment, Albert.”
Easier said than done, Abel thought.
“A country exists to serve its people. The same goes for a royal family. Keep that in mind, and I think you’ll become a fine king.”
With those words, the brothers’ short meeting came to an end.
✦ ✦ ✦
Elsewhere, in Acray, Marquess Alexis Heinlein hummed thoughtfully in his mansion.
“From the earl himself, Grand Master Finley Forsyth? We received a request before to search for the missing A-rank party Five Dragons, did we not, my lord? We dispatched C-rank adventurers from the White Brigade to various locations in the northern part of the Kingdom. But this—this is...”
“It wasn’t delivered to the adventurers’ guild, but directly to me,” Marquess Alexis Heinlein answered with a wry smile.
“Now he wants us to send our most elite to...Carlyle?”
“Yes. The capital of Flitwick’s duchy.”
The B-rank party White Brigade used a noble’s mansion as its base while in Acray, with its original base being in Lune. The party frequented this estate often since Phelps, the party’s leader, was the Heinlein heir.
His second-in-command, Shenna, and four other members of his party entered his office.
“Sir, at your service!” announced Blair, the duel-wielding swordsman who wore both blades across his back.
“I think a little less sarcasm would do you some good, Blair!” said Wyatt, a magician holding a staff taller than himself.
Gideon, the priest, sighed. “Now, now, that’s enough, you two.”
The last man—Lorenzo, the scout—entered silently, only shaking his head.
These six individuals, including Phelps and Shenna, were what Hugh McGlass called the White Brigade’s “army of six.”
“I’m sorry for the short notice, but I need you four to head to Carlyle, Flitwick’s capital in the north,” Phelps said.
“Flitwick? Isn’t that the king’s brother’s territory?”
“Blair, at least address him as ‘Your Highness’...” Wyatt scolded him.
“Ah, yes, yes, Your Bloody Highness.”
“Fine! If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. Let’s take this outside!”
“Enough already,” Gideon barked.
Phelps, accustomed to their bickering, ignored them entirely. Gideon was the resident referee, and once he’d stopped them, Phelps resumed.
“To be frank, I think a rebellion or something of the sort will occur. Within a year, no less.”
“Seriously?” Blair said. Now that he understood the gravity of the situation, he promptly stopped joking around.
The powerful Duchy of Flitwick was ruled by Prince Raymond, the king’s younger brother. With Carlyle, the second-largest city in the north, as its capital, its fertile and vast lands were renowned for their wheat yields. If a rebellion took root here—especially one led by the king’s brother—many nobles would likely follow him. Those who couldn’t hope for advancement under their current ruler might join Prince Raymond’s side, hoping for a chance to turn things around. A possibility that could lead to a civil war that would split the Kingdom in two...
“Captain, what should we do?” the priest Gideon asked.
“If possible, I’d like you to bring back evidence of insurrection. But not at the risk of your lives. Should things come to a head, we’ll need you the most then.”
“Do you want us to put down any uprisings?”
“No need. I doubt it’ll be that easy, and it might be better to deal with it after they’re already underway.”
“Well, damn, that’s got me quaking in my boots,” said Blair.
Blair knew that Phelps was one of the best in the Kingdom when it came to frontal assaults. But he also knew that Phelps was even more skilled in unconventional tactics and stratagems. And since he was discussing the rebellion as if it were a done deal, it was only natural that Blair felt a sense of dread.
“All right, off we go, then.”
With that, the White Brigade’s most elite members went north.