CH 168

When daylight broke, the royal capital’s Garrison finally arrived. A messenger was dispatched immediately after the incident, but the only reinforcements who rushed in during the night was another Royal Guard Division battalion, the same one that had returned to the royal capital the day before. The other soldiers had only just set out earlier.

To begin with, one battalion of the Royal Guard Division was forced to return home after being told, “we don’t need that many people because it should be enough to protect the vicinity of the camp on the last day.” Even when the messenger arrived and asked for reinforcements in a panic, he was told that it was “a violation of military regulations to take military action without permission”, thus “violating the supreme command’s authority.”

Even so, the Royal Guards overcame that opposition and decided to dispatch troops during the night and arrive at the camp. By the time the 2nd battalion arrived, all the monsters in the camp had been subjugated, but the situation was still unpredictable. They don’t know how many monsters there are and it doesn’t mean they won’t attack again. Having been able to rendezvous with the battalion that had left earlier and returned to reinforce, the Royal Guards now had enough surplus strength to finally be able to send out a large-scale search party into the forest.

Thanks to that, they were able to rescue Ludwig and the others during the night, and now everyone is resting in the camp’s main tent. Of the rescued, there are only 17 people from Rutger’s group and 9 from Ludwig’s, so the whereabouts of 1 person are still unknown. However, the last missing student was found unconscious in a hollow of a tree not long after the search party entered the forest around dawn, and was taken into custody.

Naturally, the camp training was canceled last night, and the results up to that point were evaluated. The teams that hadn’t been able to hunt yet protested, but since there were only 2 teams left, it was posited that they could have finished in time if it weren’t for the monster attack, and hence they were all, at least on paper, evaluated as having satisfactorily completed their tasks.

Soldiers entered the forest and carried out the corpses of a cow-headed monster and a horse-headed monster. Their goal is to parade these later today to honor the heroes of the night.

It is made into a heroic tale about two members of royalty and their relatives, Ludwig and Rutger, subjugating a monster they had never seen before and protecting their fellow school students. The preparations for that are already progressing steadily, and as the centerpiece of the parade, the subjugated monsters’ corpses will be placed on carts to be shown off to the people.

There are various things that are incomprehensible. But it can’t be said now. Two never-before-seen monster corpses have been recovered, but the corpses of other monsters attacked by students in the forest have not been recovered or investigated. They will be revealed in future research.

The Academy students who had been stranded in the camp until noon that day were interviewed about various things, and now they were finally able to leave the camp and return to the royal capital past noon. And the moment they cross the castle walls and enter the royal capital…

“Woah~~~!”

“Your Highness Ludwig~!”

“It’s the triumphant return of the heroes!”

They were surrounded by loud cheers.

Heroes who defeated never-before-seen monsters and protected the students. Ludwig, Rutger, and Simon were all hailed as heroes of the royal capital by the soldiers who proclaimed as much while they were resting or being interrogated at the camp.

They couldn’t believe it when the soldiers first went around explaining why the parade was being held to begin with. Being a member of the royal family doesn’t mean you have special powers. The royal family of the Kingdom of Ploiss is not royal because they have some kind of special lineage and power, but they were feudal lords who gradually expanded their power and became monarchs.

However… when the new monster’s corpses were put on a cart and paraded through the main street, people were frightened by their massive size and strength. And they give their best compliments to the three people who subjugated them both.

If such monsters had invaded the royal capital… that would have caused considerable damage. They killed it outside the castle walls before it became a threat. Regardless of whether or not the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister’s Son, and their mutual friend had played as much a role as the soldiers claimed, they will never lose their gratitude for killing those monsters when they were so close to the royal capital.

There were so many people on the main street that you wondered where in the world did they find the time to get the news and come here since the announcement had only been made that morning.

“Quite the crowd, isn’t it?” Simon asked.

“I see? I suppose it’s always like this, though?” Rutger said with a puzzled look.

Certainly, when Ludwig or Rutger are the stars of a parade, this many, no, more people than this gather. This time it was so sudden that it was less than usual.

However, that was Rutger’s perspective, and Simon, who was always on the side of the observers, had never experienced being surrounded by so many people, even being cheered on and celebrated. From Simon’s point of view, it was overwhelming to be the star of so much support.

“Wow! Is that one of the monsters they talked about?!”

“It’s huge!”

“What a body! How do you even beat something that?!”

“Look! The other one’s torso is completely gone!”

“Both its arms were so cleanly cut off! What kind of master could make such strikes?”

Wherever they go, people cheer for Ludwig and his friends as they ride a roofless carriage while smiling and waving, and then shout in surprise at the monsters in the cart.

“It seems that His Lordship Rutger and the nobleman Simon burned it in half with the spell they shot together!”

“I heard that His Highness Ludwig slashed both arms and legs on each side, and then stabbed it in the throat to finish it off.”

Many people were aware of the information at the time, as the soldiers went about shouting out detailed proclamations and putting up signs to spread the word of their achievements.

When the people first heard that information, they thought that even though it was a new kind of monster, it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway, or that it was subjugated by the Royal Guard Division who would have been accompanying them regardless. The assumption held… until they saw the actual corpses and changed their minds.

If monsters of this magnitude were to rampage, it would have been a massive disaster. It shouldn’t have been easy to subdue even by the Royal Guard Division. From the achievements of the Royal Guard Division so far, the people also recognize their might. However, at the same time, it is nothing less than knowing the limits of the Royal Guard Division to some extent. The Royal Guard Division is certainly a gathering of excellent knights, but they aren’t omnipotent.

Even the people figured that for the Royal Guards to subjugate these monsters without sacrificing anyone was with the help of some new power, different than the usual. Even though there were Academy students, they don’t think these aristocratic bonbons would be of any use. In that case, there is no doubt that the 3 people being celebrated had played roles in their own ways.

And above all, no matter who gets credit for killing what, the fact that these many monsters were subjugated by these Academy students and the Royal Guard Division will not change. The gratitude and blessings for those are real. It has nothing to do with whether the accolades to the Crown Prince and his friends were exaggerated or not.

“Um… Your Highness Ludwig… is this okay? This all is thanks to that lady…” Simon quietly whispered to Ludwig amid the commotion, with an uncomfortable look on Simon’s face.

“–! I see. I suppose you noticed as well, Lord Simon?” Ludwig whispered back.

In all this noise, no one else would have heard them.

“Yes, because I’ve seen that lady’s magic…” Simon replied.

“Ah… so that’s how. I see it now. Certainly, if you’ve seen that girl’s magic, you’ll know who did it… does Rutger know as well?” Ludwig asked.

There is only a handful who can use such out-of-the-ordinary magic. As the future King who should be able to know anything in the Kingdom of Ploiss, there is only one person who comes to mind. Ludwig was convinced that if he had seen the magic of “that lady” even once, he would immediately trace it to her.

“No, I’m not sure if Lord Rutger knows,” Simon replied. “Would you like to tell him?”

“No, let’s keep silent about this,” Ludwig said. “I and Rutger are also rivals in romance. Isn’t it okay if I have a little bit of an information advantage over him?” he added, smiling mischievously.

Simon’s mouth falls open as he finds himself speechless.

“Yo-You’ve noticed…?” Simon finally manages.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ludwig said. “I and Rutger have been together since we were kids. You can tell at a glance who has stolen Rutger’s heart.”

That’s right, Simon agrees. Simon can roughly understand what his childhood friend thinks and feels at a glance. Sometimes he can’t read, but that’s also important. It might be nice to know everything about each other, but Simon knows that trying to get to know each other is also important for the bond between the two because there are things they just won’t understand at a glance.

“That lady has no intention of boasting about this incident to the people around her,” Ludwig said. “That’s why she didn’t show up and handed over her achievements to others. Then what we should do is keep from spreading information about her to places that don’t need to hear it. It’s not about wearing stolen valor, it’s about understanding that girl’s feelings and leaving her alone. Am I incorrect?”

“No… you’re right…” Simon said.

Simon is also very indebted to “that lady”. Simon also understands that “that lady” is a little eccentric and doesn’t like to stand out. In that case, as Ludwig said, it would be their role to make sure that “that lady’s” wishes are met.

Simon’s feelings for “that lady” are “respect” and “loyalty.” He has some admiration for her as a woman and a romantic partner, but he doesn’t think they’re even close to being balanced with each other. Above all, he didn’t have to feel such strong feelings of love or romance because he had someone that had been on his mind for so long now. If Simon hadn’t met “his childhood friend”, his heart would have been captivated by “that lady” by now.

And even though he has his future master before his eyes, Simon’s loyalty was already devoted to “that lady.” Of course, as a noble of the kingdom, he is prepared to serve and protect the royal family, but if he can only protect either the royal family or “that lady”, Simon will protect “that lady” without hesitation.

“However…” Simon said, “wouldn’t it be better to inform Lord Rutger and tell him not to spread this information? At this rate, if Lord Rutger knows nothing about it, he may order an investigation…”

“That should be fine. If Rutger’s set his information network to task, they should have already found out about ‘that lady’. She’s not that careless,” Ludwig said.

“So I see…” Simon said.

Simon was convinced by Ludwig’s strangely persuasive words. After this, the parade continued to the royal castle, and the people who had made achievements this time were to be rewarded by His Majesty the King himself.

The next day, Berne Academy was originally scheduled to be closed for 3 days starting that day, but naturally, there was no time for that. The staff runs around to collect information and conduct interrogations and site inspections, and people enter the forest and conduct field surveys. Meanwhile, Ludwig visits a mansion in the royal capital.

“Hello, Flora,” Ludwig said.

“Huh…? Your Highness Ludwig?”

Ludwig makes a wry smile at Flora still calling him “Your Highness Ludwig” despite all these years, and he prepares to down across her as she was drinking tea.

Originally, if there was a visitor, the House Servants wouldn’t allow them to go straight to the master’s room. Despite this, Flora turned her gaze to Helmut who had let Ludwig through without informing Flora of Ludwig’s visit. Guessing what that gesture meant, Ludwig followed up,

“Ah, about him…… please don’t blame Helmut,” Ludwig said as he sat himself down. “I forced him to let me through to here without telling you.”

“Is that so……?” Flora asked.

Flora fixed her eyes on Ludwig. Ludwig didn’t say a word, only moving his gaze slightly toward Helmut. Flora senses his intent and dismisses her servants.

“Thank you for your work, Helmut,” Flora said. “You and everyone may leave now.”

“At once…” Helmut muttered.

A cup of tea is served before Ludwig before Helmut and the other maids all leave as one. After the room was vacant but for them, Ludwig picked up the tea, enjoyed the aroma, and then put it in his mouth to drink. After taking his time, he opened his mouth and said,

“The day before yesterday, you rescued me. I wanted to give my thanks to you for that.”

“The day before yesterday?” Flora asked. “I haven’t stepped foot outside my home since I finished exams at school,” she lies with a straight face.

Ludwig smiles, amused. “I just want to say what I please, so please, just listen to me. I was ready to stand up in the moment but the circumstances rendered me useless. I thought I had studied swordsmanship, magic, and all other matters better than anyone else but none of it mattered. I almost had to make sacrifices of everyone for my sake. It’s thanks to those who helped me that time that no one died. So, thank you.”

Ludwig gently took Flora’s hand and kissed the back of her hand.

“-Hii!?” Flora squeaked.

She stiffens with a strange posture and expression. Flora is often thought of as a perfect superhuman who is usually very graceful and has no flaws in her behavior, but she actually has a weakness. She is so naive that even the slightest touch of Ludwig causes her to turn bright red and freeze. Ludwig stood up, a smile spreading out on his face from how lovely and innocent his future bride was.

“My apologies,” Ludwig said. “I really would wish to relax more with you, but I can’t seem to find the time for a while. I must confess I sneaked out again today. The tea was delicious. I will see you later.”

“…………”

Ludwig hurriedly returned to the castle, waving goodbye at Flora as she was still frozen in the same pose and expression as when Ludwig had kissed the back of her hand, like a doll whose soul had escaped it.

T/N: For those of you wondering, the Japanese response went between, “I know that Prince Ludwig isn’t that bad and is very well-mannered and a good person, but he’s still a man getting in the way of the Lillies.”, “Maybe it would have been fine if it was anyone except Flora.”, and “She’s going to need to disinfect her hands and her mind of everything that happened just now.”

Next chapter, we go back to Flora’s perspective and get to the finale of the Bayen counter-suing saga. Sorry for those of you that wanted more courtroom drama but there’s none of that and we just get the important part: the decision. Flora had extenuating circumstances (camp training and her duty as a royal knight), an identity to keep secret, and a competent manager that was much more experienced in business law and lawsuits and would have been much better suited for suing the ever-loving daylights out of Bayen.