Since They’ve Dared to Lay Hands on Our Princess, They Must Pay the Price
“Right. And the paperwork?”
“We’ve finished… about half of it, Your Grace.”
Samuel glanced wearily at the mountain of approval documents piled on the desk and nodded with all the life of a man resigned to his fate.
In accordance with the Grand Duke’s wish to rest for a while with his new bride after the royal marriage, the ducal castle had gone into full preparation mode.
They had already moved to exterminate the last traces of the demonic beasts in advance and were swiftly wrapping up all pending affairs.
But everything had been thrown into chaos thanks to King Hayworth.
Without any warning, he had abruptly sent Anette to the Arcan Empire—unfortunately timing her arrival for the very period when the ducal castle was drowning in the heaviest workload of the year.
Samuel, who had initially leapt at the chance to escape this paperwork hell by running all the way to the marshes of the demonic beasts to deliver the news of Anette’s arrival in the capital, was now back at his desk, feeling as though he were dying in real time under the weight of the backlogged work.
“But… it seems, Your Grace, that you enjoyed yourself quite a bit.”
When he’d left earlier, the Grand Duke had still looked tired—yet upon returning from hastily dashing out of his office saying it was the princess’s bedtime, he now looked positively radiant.
Left to himself, he might have started humming.
“Of course I enjoyed myself. Now that Her Highness is here in the ducal castle, it finally feels like home.”
…An unfortunate thing to say within earshot of the castle’s retainers, who might take offense.
Samuel, feeling the sting of it more than anyone, replied with a touch of sullenness.
“Must be nice. While Your Grace has your beloved fiancée to soothe your weary heart and restore your strength, what on earth am I supposed to draw strength from…?”
“I’ll see that you get a bonus.”
“Thank you, Your Grace! I shall devote my life to serving you.”
His change of expression was so swift that Kardin couldn’t help but think—yes, this was truly his aide—and let out a small, wry chuckle.
Still, he found it a little pitiful how Samuel only saw one side of things.
For when the Grand Duke spoke of giving him a bonus, it meant that this paperwork marathon was only just beginning.
There’s an awful lot to do this month.
Naturally, it was all for Anette’s sake.
Blissfully unaware that his liege and employer was planning to work him to the bone, Samuel smiled foolishly and returned to his work.
Kardin, watching him with faint amusement, recalled the moment just earlier when he had left Anette’s room.
It had already been difficult to pull himself away, but when she had reached out to stop him—he had very nearly collapsed right there.
Anette might think he teased her too much, but in truth, just one word, one glance, one small action from her made his heart pound and sent him swinging between heaven and hell.
It had been that way for a very long time.
Even when he thought she didn’t notice him at all, if their eyes happened to meet by chance, his heart would drop into his stomach.
Then, he’d dare to hope—Maybe she’s at least a little interested in me—only to watch her moments later speaking to another man…
Crunch.
The report Samuel had painstakingly compiled and was awaiting approval for was suddenly and mercilessly crumpled in Kardin’s hand.
While Samuel let out a strangled scream and scrambled to flatten the paper again, Kardin recalled, with a displeased expression, an image from the past.
〈We should call the hunt off here for today.〉
〈If you stay in the barracks, I’ll have your meal brought to you.〉
〈…You’ve got blood on you. Wipe it off.〉
As the only female knight in the Hayworth Royal Knights, it was natural for Anette to be surrounded by men—but there had been one in particular who stuck to her more than most.
The vice-captain, Zeon Millard.
While the other knights hovered nervously and never dared approach her, he had slyly used his position to get close.
Of course, Zeon had never spoken to her about personal matters or shown her any overt signs of favor, but in Kardin’s eyes, it had looked that way.
Perhaps, in truth, Zeon had been just as unable to strike up a real conversation with her as the others—but that didn’t lessen Kardin’s dislike.
He couldn’t help it. At the time, he had been concealing his identity, and with a false name, he had deliberately kept his distance so as not to grow too close to her.
If she were to discover the truth later, she might feel deceived—so watching her from afar had been enough for him.
That was why seeing Zeon approach her without hesitation and chat with her had been unbearable.
Of course, things are different now.
In just a few days, Kardin had spoken with Anette more than anyone else ever could, and they had shared affectionate moments together.
He was now, without question, her fiancé—and soon to be her husband, bound by sacred vows. From now until the end of their lives, he would be the one closest and dearest to her.
A deep, almost overwhelming satisfaction filled him… but only briefly. His voice turned sharp.
“Her name… was it Lala? The princess’s personal maid. I heard Hubert submitted her profile.”
Still looking mournfully at the wrinkled document, Samuel jerked his chin toward one side of the desk with uncharacteristic disrespect.
“Not Lala—Larisa. I reviewed her file myself. Nothing unusual. She’s only got her mother, who also works here at the castle, and in the past, the ducal household once saved her from being sold into slavery.”
The Harzent ducal castle thoroughly monitored all connections with the outside—people, goods, documents—and especially took care to prevent any internal matters from leaking out.
For that reason, all servants who worked close to the Grand Duke had undergone full background checks.
Not only the employees themselves, but their dependents as well, were carefully vetted, to prevent any temptation to sell information due to family circumstances.
By that measure, Larisa’s status was solid. Samuel explained briefly, then added:
“She’s always been a hardworking girl, eager to repay the kindness she received. I recall Your Grace once being quite pleased with how she’d arranged the young lady’s room…”
Kardin remembered that too.
He’d offered a single word of praise, only to be met with such a flustered, babbling reply that his ears had almost rung.
“And yet lately, is this how she repays her debt?”
“…Pardon?”
“In just the few hours I was away, that maid managed to completely win over the princess’s heart.”
“…Pardon?”
Samuel could only parrot the same question in bafflement.
He truly couldn’t see what the problem was.
“And really, Her Highness… how could she come to rely on a maid she’s only just met more than she relies on me…?”
Hearing the wounded, almost pitiful tone in Kardin’s voice, Samuel could only shake his head.
Jealous of women now, too?
The poor young maid had only been doing her utmost to serve Anette, yet she was the target of his envy. Samuel decided to change the subject for her sake.
“By the way, Martin came by just now. He also conveyed the message from His Majesty via the communication sphere.”
In truth, while today had been busy with catching up on work, more time had been consumed by an urgent meeting after an unexpected contact from the imperial palace.
Among the topics was—
〈It seems uncovering the one in league with Bayendor will not be easy.〉
They had spoken of the Bayendor Empire, which had attacked Anette on her way to the Arcan Empire.
〈Judging from the circumstances, Kardin, I think your suspicion is correct. The problem is there’s no way to find conclusive proof. If we could identify Hayworth’s collaborator, that might help.〉
A collaborator in Hayworth…?
That was something he hadn’t expected.
Before Anette’s achievements, Hayworth had been an unremarkable small kingdom—ignored even during continental wars of conquest. That they might have a Bayendor agent embedded within them was surprising.
Anette had nearly been lost to Bayendor.
If she hadn’t been so special, then she would have…
“But, Your Grace—why did His Majesty give Martin a book from the Imperial Secret Archives about the royal authority?”
Samuel finally voiced the question that had been bothering him ever since the meeting, and that had grown stronger when he’d just seen Martin off.
The Arcan royal family’s authority sometimes allowed them to command water and fire, call down lightning from a clear sky, or foresee the future—powers beyond human limits, which had saved the empire countless times.
This incredible power was proof that the empire’s founder had been beloved of the gods.
Samuel knew the Emperor had been conducting research into these powers, working with the Mage Tower and the Temple.
“Martin already has his hands full trying to restore the princess to her original form. Why give him material about royal authority as well…?”
He stopped mid-sentence, gasping, his hand flying to cover his mouth.
A sudden thought had occurred to him—so outrageous he could hardly believe it.
“Th-that’s… impossible…”
But unlike Samuel, who had gone pale, Kardin remained calm.
“Don’t make a fuss.”
“Your Grace—surely you’re not… thinking what I think…?”
“First, we’ll investigate whether there’s anyone in the Hayworth royal family, court, or frequent visitors to the palace connected to Bayendor.”
He had once investigated Hayworth before, but only to learn about Anette—everything else had been only lightly covered.
“Whether it’s a collaborator or a spy… they dared lay a hand on our princess, so they will pay the price.”
With that order to keep a close watch on his future in-laws, Kardin’s eyes gleamed with a predatory light as he smiled.
The next morning—
The atmosphere in the great hall of the Hayworth royal palace was grim and tense.
Like thin ice ready to crack, danger hung in the air.
And the reason was clear: an imperial messenger from the Arcan Empire had arrived early that morning.