Lupus understood that the success of the negotiation hinged on her keeping both options open at all times.
She responded by bringing a charming smile to her lovely face.
“Oh my, how ominous. You show me such a lovely smile, but what you’re doing is nothing short of a threat. Ha-ha-ha.”
Tachibana scratched his head as if troubled, but his reaction wasn’t entirely negative. Perhaps he had been expecting this turn of events all along.
Seeing that Lupus’s words weren’t a bluff, he let out a small sigh.
“However, it seems you’ve misunderstood something. If you were to plot anything to threaten the peace of the Free City of Elbar, I could end your life at a moment’s notice. There are neither shields nor spears here to protect you.”
The casual attitude Tachibana had maintained until that point suddenly vanished. His expression grew serious, and Lupus felt momentarily overwhelmed.
However, she managed to hold her ground.
“That may be true. But you won’t kill me—because I might bring unfathomable benefits to Elbar. You can’t ignore that possibility, can you?”
Even when faced with the threat of death, Lupus did not back down. Showing fear now would make her no different than the girl who had fled in terror from the infighting between the members of the imperial family.
She had already steeled her resolve and crossed a line. No matter who her opponent was, Lupus would not abandon the fight.
Now that a girl twenty years his junior had seen through his true feelings, Tachibana closed his eyes and raised both his hands in a gesture of surrender. It wasn’t entirely genuine, but it was still a significant outcome.
Tachibana lightly clapped his hands and relaxed his shoulders.
“Your method of negotiating has plenty of flaws and is quite forceful, but I like your attitude. I’ll accept your request. However, I will also impose a few conditions on you,” Tachibana said, holding up three fingers. “I’ll ask you to agree to three things. First, you are not to reveal your status as a princess until we instruct or permit you to do so. Second, you must get our approval before you attempt to gather any large group of people or lead any organization. Third, you are not to leave Elbar’s territory without our permission. You must abide by these three conditions. If you break even one of them, we will consider you an enemy and eliminate you.”
The word eliminate unmistakably meant death. If she violated even one of the conditions, Tachibana would likely kill Lupus without hesitation. Fully cognizant of this, Lupus quietly nodded.
“I understand. I accept your conditions.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It’s a relief you’re so reasonable.” Tachibana’s sharp gaze softened slightly and he let out a breath. He took a sip of the cold coffee sitting on the desk and, as if transitioning to casual conversation, continued speaking.
“I’d like to say our negotiation is concluded there, but frankly, there will be difficulties in bringing Tsushima Rindou back immediately. I hope you can understand that, yes?”
“Of course. I’m aware of his situation. Right now, he’s trying to defeat one of the Six Imperial Swords. And that’s not all—Causa Insania’s knight will likely go after Tsushima as well to silence him. No matter how skilled he is, facing two members of the Six Imperial Swords won’t end well. I’d like for you to help him before it’s too late.”
Lupus thought back to the moment just before she had lost consciousness from the drug Causa had given her.
At that time, Finé had been absent, despite her knightly duty requiring her to always be at Causa’s side. Lupus knew it could mean only one thing for a woman as loyal as Finé to leave her master. Without a doubt, Causa had sent her as insurance to kill Tsushima.
As Lupus looked at Tachibana with a sense of urgency and prayer-like hope, he leisurely stifled a yawn.
“Hmm. Causa’s knight… That would be Finé Primus, right? So she’s the other member?” Tachibana recalled what he knew about Finé. After a moment of thought, he nodded once. “Well, I don’t think there’s much to worry about. I factored this into my calculations when selecting who to send.”
“Calculations? What do you mean?”
Lupus couldn’t keep up with what Tachibana was saying. Did he mean he had foreseen everything from the start and had deliberately selected Tsushima as her bodyguard?
That seemed far too detached from reality for her to comprehend. Seeing her confusion, Tachibana began elaborating.
“You see, I actually had a fairly good idea of what Causa might be scheming. I could also predict the general developments, including Ross’s plans and your movements. But apparently, I wasn’t the only one who foresaw this outcome,” Tachibana said, holding up a single envelope with an air of significance. It was dyed a deep purple and sealed with gold-and-crimson wax.
“What’s that?” Lupus asked.
“When you sought to defect, Causa requested I send an exceptional bodyguard to protect you. At the same time, however, I received another request from someone else.”
Tachibana’s lips curled into a mischievous smile, as though he was about to reveal something amusing. Lupus frowned, unable to grasp his true intentions.
Lowering her voice slightly, she leaned forward, pressing him for answers.
“What exactly was written in the contents of that envelope?”
Tachibana swayed the envelope lightly from side to side before letting it drop onto the desk with a small thud. The gesture seemed to suggest the letter wasn’t particularly important to either of them.
Tachibana exhaled lightly through his nose and leaned back in his chair.
“Oh, nothing that would have much of an impact on you. It was simply a request to teach a lesson to some ill-mannered princes of the Balga Empire.”
Though he spoke casually, the request itself was horribly problematic. Just interfering with the imperial family of the Balga Empire—a global superpower—could easily escalate into war.
Yet Tachibana showed no concern as he continued.
“Well, you’ve already killed one of those princes. Should I say it saved me the effort or that it was overkill? Perhaps I should prepare an excuse or two. Ha-ha-ha,” Tachibana chuckled, wearing a troubled smile.
As Lupus listened to him speak, she felt an uncomfortable sensation linger in her throat, like there was a bone stuck there. From Tachibana’s tone, it seemed that Ross wasn’t the only member of the imperial family meant to be “taught a lesson.”
So who else from the imperial family could it be, then? Lupus mulled this over, but astonishingly, only one man came to mind.