Royal Princess of Blood

It was time to set out for the capital city of Nishinoa. According to Taneva, we’d be coming across their capital city anyway on the way to our primary destination. So it was fine if we stopped there as we went, and it would also be a nice place to resupply. And being with a large group of security would make our travel easy, and best of all, I could sleep on the way. Good shit. This journey was taking a bit of my health the longer it got; I was just not making it too obvious. I was used to enduring hard stuff, anyway. I’d take any rest I could get.

There were several carriages, the ones at the front and rear were filled with soldiers. The carriages were pulled by those draconic beasts. There were a lot of soldiers, really making sure their lady was protected from any kind of danger and ensuring her safe arrival to the capital. I suppose after what happened, their commander decided to go all out. Well, whatever works for me.

As we waited by the street for everyone to be ready, I noticed Miyako letting out a relieved sigh.

“Finally almost back, huh? A few steps more.” I casually said.

“Yes… After all that had happened, despite my anxieties, I’ve longed to go home.”

“Nothing beats home.”

“I’ve only gone to another island, and I already miss home so much.” She slowly shifted her gaze toward me. “It must be even harder for you.” She directed me with a sympathetic look.

I stared at her for a moment. “... Hm. Yeah…” Everyday, I longed to go back home. And the farther I got, the stronger that feeling grew. My home was under the threat of being destroyed, and it was agonizing to think about it. I wanted my old life back.

“... When we reach the capital, feel free to ask me anything you need. Transport, or anything. Any way to make your progress faster.”

I nodded. “Okay. We’ll see.”

I wouldn’t know much about what we would need to reach our destination. Only Taneva would know if we would even need any help to get there, or it may be useless to ask, or maybe they got nothing to give that would help. But her kind thought, I appreciated it.

Once the men were all ready, the commander we had met previously came up to Miyako. “Lady Miyako, everything’s ready to go.”

Miyako nodded with a pleased smile. “Alright. Thank you for your service, Commander.”

The commander bowed. “I hope for your safe travels. As for the orders you’ve given me, I’ll carry them out faithfully.”

“... I will be relying on you. You are only a small part of it for now. But this order will spread throughout the entire island soon. We will be cleansed of this blight.”

The commander seemed to be a bit flabbergasted upon hearing that. It was a drastic action to take. And he seemed to imagine how this would all escalate and how it would all end. It could be chaotic. “Is that truly what you wish?”

“It is something that must be done. For true change to come.”

“True change…?”

“I hope for your success, Commander. Success for us all.”

With that conversation done, we made our way to our carriages. There were three passenger carriages prepared, it would seem the commander considered the apt number of carriage for all of us. Therefore, I was going to a different carriage, maybe alone with Nira within.

However, when I parted with Miyako to go to an available carriage, one at the back of the central one, she suddenly froze in place and stared at me as I went. Her eyes were wide, as if she was surprised.

“Estelia…”

“Hm…?” I turned towards her with an inquisitive look.

“Where are you going…?”

I blinked in confusion. “To a carriage…?” It was puzzling as to why she would ask such a question.

Her eyes blinked a few times, her gaze shifting from her carriage to the next. “Oh… I…” She seemed a bit embarrassed. “I thought you’re going to…” She hesitated to continue.

I believed she expected me to join her in the carriage, which was a bit of a surprise that she would expect that, considering that this was a formal entourage. Imagine if we arrived at the capital, and her people received her, and there I was, an unknown person, coming out of the carriage with her. I did not want to be put in that kind of spotlight. I may be utterly beautiful, but there’s a proper time and place.

But then again, we had always been together recently. So she was expecting we’d still be hanging out together on the way there. However, not this time. Besides, I was planning to doze the hell out. It was fine to have Nira with me. And if I were with those two, nuh uh.

I acted clueless. “Well, you can have a space of your own now. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“... That’s…” She lowered her gaze. “I wouldn’t have minded…” she said in a low voice.

“What’s that?”

She shook her head. “N-Nothing… I’m g-going.” And there she went to her carriage, rushing.

Satomi let out a sigh as she followed.

Huh… Guess we’re best friends now or something…

I continued on to a carriage. “You can sit with me in the carriage, Nira.” I called Nira. “The boys get on the other.” Hearing that, Nira smiled widely in joy and excitedly followed beside me.

***

The state of the war between Tornridge and Wisteria only grew more dire and harder for the latter. The invading forces have pushed deeper into the Wisterian Kingdom's territory. Despite all the unfinished preparations Wisteria did, they couldn’t completely hold back the vast number of forces coming in from the Tornridge. Or perhaps, there were just stronger foes among their forces that Wisteria couldn’t keep up with. No backup either to help them fight the invaders.

Tornridge had been preparing for this event for a long time, planning it for many years. Furthermore, it was in their nature to be powerful warriors, for they were conquerors. And they have won their wars and taken over many nations, incorporating them into their empire.

Wisteria did as it could to hold back the opposing forces, and among the most important parts of this was their supply chains.

Channels were created to distribute rations and resources to various parts of the kingdom. Incomplete as it may be, it served its purpose. Furthermore, Wisterians coordinated through messages that even now the empire couldn’t decipher. That being said, the empire couldn’t let Wisteria keep its supply chains. That was why they decided to be sneaky.

The empire planned to use Wisteria’s own forces against them by hiring its local adventurers. Some adventurers were loyal to only one thing — money. Therefore, the empire hired adventurers to search for these supply channels and sabotage them.

Wisteria caught wind of this, of course. Countermeasures were prepared beforehand. They had to stop them before they could cause permanent damage. Wisteria’s situation was volatile, after all. One mistake would change the tide of the war significantly.

A small task force was being prepared for the mission, to take care of these traitorous adventurers. And to be among them was a maid.

Mera was at the palace, the walls and the hallways seemed dreary for some time now. Not because of how it appeared, but it was just the air around it, and everyone in it. It was especially the case for Mera, who had an important missing piece in her heart. And it was somewhat driving her insane with every passing moment. But that was just how it was when you missed someone.

She was currently sitting at a bench within the palace hall, waiting for some news. Vernon heard of the situation, and he was ordered to join the operation. However, he was about to make a request that would involve Mera. And because of that, Mera was feeling quite nervous. Various thoughts, good and bad, swirled in her mind.

She had trained hard, she had killed plenty of monsters. She was injured many times, faced difficulties. Therefore, Vernon decided she was ready to move to the next step. Mera took a deep breath. She wanted to keep going, she shouldn’t stop. It was necessary, if she were to follow in her footsteps.

Still, she wondered if she was even truly ready in the first place. But she had to be.

A while later, Vernon had finally arrived. Mera abruptly stood up and faced him.

“Sir Vernon?” She waited for a response.

Vernon nodded. “You’re permitted.”

Mera sighed in relief.

“I’ll brief you,” Vernon continued. “But not here.”

This was something that shouldn’t be known to those who were not involved. They shouldn’t be careless. The people within the palace may be trustworthy now, but they should still keep it safe. A small precaution wouldn’t hurt anyone.

They moved ‌outside, in a clear yard.

“What’s this mission about, Sir Vernon?” Mera asked.

“To summarize, the empire intends to use some of our adventurers to sabotage our supply chains. And we are to stop them.”

Mera’s eyes widened. “Our adventurers? They… they would betray the kingdom?” She was in disbelief. In these dire times, to think even those warriors would do something absolutely disgraceful.

“Adventurers have always been people working for the coin. It wouldn’t be strange if they accepted such jobs.”

Mera still found it terrible and absurd. Money should never be more important than loyalty to one’s nation.

“We have information that they are moving out in two days. Best to prepare appropriately beforehand,” Vernon added. “We’ll check your equipment today and have the craftsmen make improvements.”

Mera lowered her head. “To stop them… does it mean that we have to… kill them?”

“The directive is clear, these traitors must not be shown mercy. Especially to these adventurers. They understand might, not compassion. And we must show them the consequences of betraying Wisteria.”

Mera slowly took a deep breath. “... Will I be strong enough?”

“You should be. But I’ll still look after you.”

Mera clenched her fists. “... Am I really… ready to…?”

“That’s up to you to decide.”

Mera lowered her head.

Taking a life… with my own hands… my own countrymen…

She never imagined it would be in this kind of scenario. She thought her hands would first face true enemies. But facing her own people, it was a dreadful thought.