Chapter 111 : The Third Prince and Hillan
Chapter 111: The Third Prince and Hillan
Making contact with the imperial family was not easy.
The status the imperial family held within the Empire far exceeded anything one might imagine, and naturally, the imperial family held their heads high.
It was not as if just anyone could come and ask for a meeting and be granted one.
However, if it was a hero on the level of Hillan Cargill, the story changed.
“Hillan Cargill?”
Martin Zespine. The Third Prince of the Zespine Empire tilted his head at the unexpected report.
“Are you saying Hillan Cargill has come to see me?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“For what reason?”
“That is....”
“No, wait a moment.”
After hesitating, Martin shook his head.
Forming ties with Hillan Cargill was something anyone would wish for. However, the timing was not good.
The Empire was in the midst of fierce power struggles among the imperial family, and the moment even the smallest pretext appeared, it was overflowing with jackals that would pounce and tear one apart.
Especially compared to the other imperial family members, the Third Prince, whose support base was weak, had to be cautious in everything, as if walking on a blade.
Even if it were a purely innocent meeting, if the other party was Hillan Cargill, a hero, and if it involved Argann of the Hero Guild, there was no reason they could not fabricate a pretext.
“Refuse him.”
“But, Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
“He delivered this.”
It was a small wooden box.
Click—
There was no special magical treatment on the box. Inside, there was only a single small necklace lying loosely.
“...!”
It was a necklace that Martin Zespine could never simply overlook.
“...Guide him to the reception room immediately.”
“Yes!”
The knight rushed out.
“How could he have this....”
Martin carefully picked up the rusted necklace. From the cold metal, it felt as if a faint warmth was emanating.
‘Kaede.’
Why was your necklace, which should have been in the Demon King’s Tower, here?
Martin softly spoke his younger sister’s name.
* * *
As befitted its reputation as the greatest city on the continent, the imperial capital was vast.
And the imperial palace located within the inner city was no different.
The interior was splendid, and the security was strict. Berje and Hillan walked down a long corridor under the guidance of knights filled with vigilance.
Passing through a majestic garden, they finally arrived at the Third Prince’s annex palace.
“Welcome. His Highness is waiting.”
The attendant guarding the door to the reception room greeted them. His gaze sharpened.
“I respect you. I also respect your achievements. However, if you commit discourtesy toward His Highness with that arrogance of yours, I do not think you will meet a good end.”
At the blunt words, Hillan replied without his expression changing in the slightest.
“Is this how the Empire treats heroes?”
“His Highness originally had no intention of meeting you. In fact, he should not have. However, because of a necklace whose origin we do not know, he chose to take this risk. Would it not be reasonable for my anger, as one who serves him, to exist as well?”
“Did the Third Prince tell you to ramble on so insolently?”
Berje let out a short laugh. The attendant’s face crumpled. The knights growled.
“How dare you!”
“Do you wish to die?”
“Pale.”
Hillan stepped in front of Berje. At that moment, a voice came from beyond the door.
“Let them enter.”
“...However, Your Highness.”
“They are my guests.”
“...Consider yourselves fortunate. Be grateful for His Highness’s mercy.”
The knights stepped aside. The door opened.
Beyond the splendid decorations and high-quality hardwood stood the man himself.
His golden hair, as if symbolizing the wealth of the Empire, was exceedingly full.
The emerald-colored pupils looking at Berje and Hillan were deep, and his robust physique exuded an extraordinary presence.
‘He resembles her.’
He bore quite a resemblance to Kaede Zespine.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
The two sat before him. The attendant exited, and the door closed.
“You are Hillan, and you are Pale.”
“That is correct.”
“I heard the magicians of Arkan were obsessed with that exceedingly pure mana. It seems it was true.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
He did not bother to say that the tone was insolent. He merely turned his head toward Hillan.
“Originally, I had no intention of meeting you. Do you know why?”
“I roughly understand.”
“Knowing that and still drawing me out means it must be that important, does it not?”
“I believe the necklace I presented should have been sufficient as an answer.”
“That depends on what it contains.”
Martin took out the necklace. Then he removed the identical necklace hanging around his own neck.
“This is a necklace Kaede and I received from our mother. It is an item crafted so that no one other than the two of us can possess it.”
“Yes.”
“Why is this in your hands?”
How.
“Did you obtain it?”
“I will explain. That is why I sought out Your Highness.”
“You had better explain it well. So that I can accept it. With nothing but the truth.”
“Of course. This necklace was given to me by Kaede Zespine. By her.”
“...!”
Martin’s face twisted.
“I believe I told you to explain it well.”
“I am doing so.”
“There is no need to investigate your movements in any grand manner for me to know them. After Kaede was abducted, you would not have gone to Ergest, would you?”
“I said I received it from her, but I never said that I personally received it.”
“Continue.”
“A few months ago, are you aware of what happened in Hortonwork?”
“I heard that Arkan attempted to search for the Demon King’s Tower, putting Lavinia Arkan at the forefront.”
“At that time, I had the vice-captain of the Red Hawk Assault Unit, the elf Granada, join them.”
“Are you saying he found Kaede? Arkan’s group that could not even find the Tower?”
“No. They did not find the Tower, and of course they did not find Lady Kaede either.”
However.
“Lady Kaede came to find Granada.”
“...You dare spout nonsense to an imperial family member in the heart of the Empire. Do you think your status as Argann of the Hero Guild will protect you?”
Martin erupted in anger.
It had been fully a thousand years since a Demon King descended and a member of royalty was abducted.
Over those thousand years, there had been hundreds of abductions and rescues. But not once had an abducted royal broken their own shackles and escaped the Tower.
“Just because it has never happened does not mean it will never happen. Do you know? The Tower cannot be forcibly opened unless one is a hero. And Lady Kaede is a hero.”
“How a Demon King treats abducted royalty differs entirely depending on the Demon King. But one thing is common: they place restrictions so that escape is impossible. I know my younger sister well. She is a hero and an excellent knight, but she is not so overwhelming as to forcibly tear apart such restrictions.”
Hillan Cargill.
Martin growled.
“Has being propped up by the Hero Guild left you blind to everything? How dare you attempt to demean an imperial family member of the Empire! Is there no one outside!”
At his roar, knights rushed in.
“Your Highness! Are you unharmed?”
They drew their swords and pointed them at Hillan and Berje. At the killing intent aimed at his own throat, Berje clicked his tongue.
Watching him carefully so that he would not explode, Hillan continued the conversation.
“I will state this clearly: I have never spoken a lie. Your Highness, do you know? Arkan’s search party to find the Tower was sincere. It was a large-scale operation with mage corps, knight orders, and even golems and chimeras deployed.”
“So?”
“Then what about the Demon King of Dark Flame? Though things were exaggerated due to my failure and the abduction of the princess and the imperial princess of Hilderan and the Zespine Empire, he is still a Demon King who has been summoned for just over a year. And all Demon Kings have clear limits the shorter their summoned period.”
Martin did not respond. Hillan continued.
“The Demon King of Dark Flame cannot possibly be strong. Moreover, to deal with Arkan’s group, he reportedly released monster hordes. You know this, do you not? Even the monsters kept as subordinates can only be few in number.”
“Then Kaede escaped by exploiting a gap in the Tower’s defenses? With a Demon King present, no less.”
“The Tower’s prison is underground. Conversely, the Demon King is at the summit.”
“So Kaede escaped by exploiting a gap in the defenses?”
“That is what I believe.”
Puhahahaha.
Martin laughed. He burst into loud, raucous laughter. Then, abruptly, he stopped. A heavy pressure pressed down on Hillan.
“Are you trying to toy with me right now?”
“I do not think the possibility is high. However, I would like you to consider it calmly, just once.”
“Consider?”
“I could not find the Tower. The Kingdom of Arkan could not find the Tower either. Yet the necklace of Her Highness Princess Kaede is in my hands. If not as I have said, do you believe this would be possible?”
Impossible.
Yet Martin could not answer at once. There was nothing incorrect in Hillan’s words, and yet he could not dispel the sense of unease.
“Then my sister is?”
“I cannot say for certain, as I did not go out myself. However, according to Granada, while climbing Ergest, he happened to glimpse a hurried-looking figure, but due to a monster attack, he could not properly identify it.”
“And when he searched the place where that figure had been, this necklace was found lying there?”
“Yes.”
“No one among Arkan’s group saw Kaede, then?”
“An elf’s vision differs from a human’s.”
“Does it not sound too much like a fixed poker game?”
“There are times when reality is more theatrical than a play.”
“Interesting.”
No, there was not.
Martin endured the impulse to cut down the hero before his eyes on the spot.
No matter how suspicious the claim appeared, the necklace was genuine. The necklace.
The necklace alone bore the weight of all plausibility.
“Then in the end, nothing has changed. Other than obtaining a single necklace. And the claim that you received it directly from Kaede is also false.”
“I believe it is no different from receiving it directly. Granada said their eyes met. And it is not as though nothing was gained.”
“...?”
“That location. If the owner of that necklace truly is Her Highness Kaede Zespine, then would not the place where she was last sighted be the greatest clue to finding the Tower?”
“...!”
After a brief silence, Martin spoke.
“So then, what is it that you want?”
“Please help me.”
“With what?”
“So that I may rescue Her Highness Kaede.”
“Why is it you who seeks to rescue Kaede?”
“Because then Your Highness will help me. Ever since the day the hero’s march failed, my objective has always been one.”
Hillan released deliberate anger. At that murderous intensity, the knights flinched.
“To find the Tower and bring it down. And to rescue the two princesses of Hilderan. And in addition, to rescue Your Highness’s sister, Her Highness Kaede Zespine as well.”
“Even if what we desire differs, if the ultimate goal is the same, I believe we can board the same ship.”
Please.
“Help me bring down the Tower of Dark Flame.”
Hillan bowed his head with a trembling voice. At the sincerity radiating from his entire body, Martin closed his eyes once more.
And Berje—
‘I ordered him to do this, but it still pisses me off.’
He was barely restraining the boiling urge to kill.
He wanted to burn the back of Hillan’s head to ashes with flames.
* * *
Making contact with a prince was difficult.
And to stay close at that prince’s side and smoothly present a direction, to gain the right to interfere, was even more difficult.
An appropriate pretext was necessary.
Berje and Hillan pondered and reached a single conclusion.
Since the very issue tying them to him was related to Kaede, they would use that once again.
“Are you truly all right with this?”
“In any case, the fact that they intend to find my Tower will not change. If so, it would be better to use them instead and guide them in the direction I desire.”
That was Hillan’s justified thirst for revenge.
And the familial bond between Kaede and Martin.
There was a chance that information about the Tower might be revealed, even if only a little, in the process, but he did not mind. There was the harsh land called Ergest, and by using the Peul Orcs, he could set the board before they even reached the Tower.
“...How am I supposed to trust you, when you have already failed once?”
After a long while, Martin finally spat out those words.
Berje and Hillan felt that it had gone through.
“I failed once, but there are heroes who have not even experienced a single failure. I wandered Ergest longer than anyone, and though it is meager, I have obtained clues as well.”
“I hear you are receiving support from Hilderan?”
“Is support not better the more of it you have?”
“You are quite greedy.”
“I understand Your Highness’s concerns, but Arkan also failed. No matter how much one prepares, I believe it is still not enough.”
“...Guide them to their rooms.”
“Your Highness?”
“Go on.”
“Yes!”
“Follow me!”
The knights sheathed their swords and gestured to Hillan and Berje.
However, neither Hillan nor Berje rose from their seats.
Martin’s face twisted.
“What are you playing at?”
“I know what troubles Your Highness. I also know what the current situation of the Empire is like.”
“Do not wag your tongue carelessly. No matter how great your fame, Hillan Cargill, this is the Empire, and these are matters of the Empire.”
“I wish to offer advice that would benefit Your Highness. On the way here, we passed through Hapstrain Gorge.”
“Hapstrain Gorge?”
“It is said to be a place where no fewer than five Demon King’s Towers once stood, so out of curiosity. In any case, there I discovered something rather interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“I cannot say for certain, as I did not fully peer into its interior.”
However.
“It would be wise to gather heroes and armaments imbued with the power of interference. That will further solidify Your Highness’s position.”
“...What is that supposed to—”
“I will take my leave now, Your Highness. When you have finished your deliberation, please call for me at any time.”
Berje and Hillan disappeared.
“Can you guess what he meant?”
“Hapstrain is where five Demon Kings descended. It is also a place where remnants of demonic energy remain in considerable amounts.”
“He mentioned heroes and the power of dimensional interference.”
“The influence of monsters affected by demonic energy was not a matter of just a day or two. Perhaps it is related to that....”
“If it were something so trivial, there would have been no reason to tell me.”
“Hmm.”
Had it been an ordinary hero, he would have dismissed it, but the other party was Hillan Cargill.
“Secretly dispatch people.”
“Yes.”
“We will postpone our answer until after that.”
“Yes.”
The knight bowed his head.