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IN Crown Prince Medaikonar’s private lounge in the royal palace. The sounds of glass breaking, Keunt kicking against the wall, and his shouted curses echoed in the opulent room.
“Shite…! The assassination failed! That thrice-damned lascivious saint still lives!”
“P-Please forgive me…”
The genuflecting priest had come to make his report. Keunt clicked his tongue derisively at the man, who knelt there trembling with his head lowered. Sitting in a chair behind him, Medaikonar gazed down coldly at the priest.
“Leave. I’ll send further instructions in due time.”
“Yes, sire…”
The priest practically fled from the room at the dismissal. Medaikonar pushed back his flowing golden hair and exhaled in frustration.
“So, what do you think we should do now about that aggravating imperial prince and his tramp of a priestess?”
Several influential people sat at the table in front of him, including Duke Strelizzi, Keunt’s father and the current Minister of Domestic Affairs.
“Killing her would have significantly reduced the imperial prince’s military might…”
The high priest’s aide muttered those words. He had brainwashed a few of the orphans in the orphanage run by the Church and turned them into assassins as part of the plot to eliminate the Arousing Priestess, Monica Regulus. Except the assassination failed and all the infiltrators had been captured. In his seat next to the aide’s, high priest Pisciozze nodded emphatically.
“The ones captured were all disposable pawns anyway, so we weren’t dealt a serious blow. But…those two are more dangerous than I ever imagined. The Church will continue to support the fight against Prince Richard and his Flame Corps.”
“Good.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs gave his approval.
“It will be too late if we wait for His Majesty’s decision. We have no choice but to thwart the Flame Corps’ invasion directly.”
Even now, the king refused to act because he preferred to monitor the situation. At present, the parliament was divided solidly into two camps—those who supported the king in his cautious approach and those who supported the crown prince in his warmongering. The men gathered in this room comprised the core of Medaikonar’s faction. The Minister of Defense clenched his fist and aggressively stated his opinion.
“Momentum in support of engaging the Flame Corps in combat is also growing within the order of knights. Rumors have already reached my ears about Duke Worth, in whose territory lies Aniyimu, our country’s third largest city, cooperating with the imperial prince behind our backs. If this continues, our Kingdom will be in jeopardy.”
After that, the leading members of the crown prince’s faction put their heads together and exchanged their thoughts on the matter for some time. The more they talked, the more heated the discussion became. And the greater their ambition climbed to destroy Prince Richard and the Arousing Priestess.
“I’ve heard your opinions and will take them into consideration.” Medaikonar stood up and rapped the table. “On behalf of my father, I ask this of you. I wish to conduct an all-out war against the emperor’s brother. I ask those who want to protect our Kingdom of Kophe from the Empire’s aggression to align themselves with me.”
“I have no doubt patriots will gather under your banner, Your Royal Highness. Soon to be Your Royal Majesty.”
A corner of Medaikonar’s mouth curled up when they all bowed deeply to him.
“My personal guard will join the military campaign. Our goal is to try the Arousing Priestess on charges of heresy then execute her once we find her guilty.”
A lone maid had waited outside the room where the prince and his followers raised their voices in excitement. Before anyone could come out, she slipped into the servants’ corridor and raced through the pitch-blackness like a mouse. She ran down the complicated passageway before arriving at a storage area further inside the palace. After making sure she was alone, she pulled out the pendant lying against her chest inside her uniform.
Attached to the chain was a Priestess Teardrop Stone, which glowed faintly in the darkness. She picked it up, carried it close to her lips, then whispered rapidly into it. Within a few moments, the Priestess Teardrop Stone lost its shine. Then the maid tucked the pendant back inside her uniform and returned to the servants’ quarters like nothing had happened.
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AT the same time in Duke Worth’s villa in Aniyimu, Richard sat in a chair and stared at a wall lit by lamplight. Golden letters appeared on it, like an invisible hand penned the words smoothly.
“I see, so the participants were the crown prince, with Keunt’s father, the Minister of Domestic Affairs, heading the rest of the group, which included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense as well as the high priest and his aide… A tremendous cast of characters, all of whom I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting.”
A ruthless smile on his face, Richard crossed his legs leisurely.
“The mastermind of the plot to assassinate the Special Class Saint is the crown prince. He also declared his intention to attack my knights in conjunction with his own personal guard and the Church’s holy knights. Interesting…”
Xenu and Darius stood behind him.
“Based on the speed and magical energy, we believe the source of the transmission came unmistakably from the royal palace. As I mentioned to you before, the transmitter is a disposable one, the so-called Priestess Teardrop Stones distributed to the people. They’re indistinguishable from similar types of junk items, so you can rest assured that their true function won’t be discovered, Your Highness.”
This was why Xenu had so enthusiastically passed them out everywhere on their travels thus far.
“Goodness Gracious, my lord, what a daring decision on your part to use a humble merchant such as myself to conduct intelligence operations for you,” Xenu said. “And one who worked for your former political enemy, no less. What a strange twist of fate, eh?”
“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you, but I do trust in that mercenary nature of yours,” Richard replied to him without turning around, a thin smile stretching his lips. “For a long time I wondered how my uncle was able to gain such accurate information on my projects, you know. Then I discovered it was because he had commandeered a civilian who excelled in espionage, and it all made sense.”
“Well, I for one, would dearly love to continue our professional relationship for many years to come, Prince Richard.”
Xenu and Richard’s interests were currently aligned. To Richard, Xenu had tremendous value as a merchant proficient at espionage and working behind the scenes in Kophe. As for Xenu, he was in the market for a new backer in the Empire.
“Incidentally.” Richard’s voice sharpened. “What’s this I hear about you continuing to seek out Saint Monica?”
“No, no, it’s all a misunderstanding. I simply wanted to gift her things that would help with her recovery. Seemed like she was having a hard time after getting hurt, you know? Things like linens, rare stuffed animals, perfumes, and such. No trickery here, and besides, I haven’t met her at all recently.” Denying the allegation, Xenu waved his hands about, causing his sleeves to flutter lazily. Richard glared up at him from his chair.
“Tell me your aim.”
“I’m just trying to be sociable since she doesn’t look so happy. On the contrary, wouldn’t it be more awkward for me to ignore her?”
“I’m ordering you not to talk to her unless it’s absolutely necessary. I won’t tell you again.”
“Yes, yes, as you wish. I’m already doing my best to stay away, you know. But…considering we share the same goal in the same space, I’m sure there will be moments when coming into contact is inevitable, so go easy on me, Your Highness.”
“You don’t get to decide those moments,” Richard warned.
“Then, you should know that obstructing my movements means I can’t perform my work smoothly. You haven’t put any ‘restrictions’ on me so far because you trust my work, right?”
The situation would be incredibly volatile if they didn’t have a good reason to collaborate. Darius used his thumb to unsheathe his sword just enough for the sound to ring loudly in the room. Xenu shrugged dramatically in response to the tacit warning and laughed.
“Oh-ho, isn’t that terrifying? I’ll take myself out before His Highness’s savage hound sinks his teeth into me. A very good night to you both.”
Richard’s intense gaze didn’t stray from Xenu as he left the room on that bit of nonsense.