The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 10
EP.10 Children of The Emperor (4)
Even so, escaping wasn’t all that difficult. With the count blown away, there was significant confusion within the command structure of the count’s territory. Moreover, since the count had moved with his underworld associates without informing anyone, and since the explosion had left the bodies in pieces, the initial assumption was not that he had “died” but rather that he had “gone missing.” While the count’s closest aides might have known where he went and what had happened, there were few who could openly speak about it.
As a result, the search for the count’s killer within his territory only began in earliest three days after the explosion, when his death was confirmed. They had deduced this from scraps of clothing and fragments of the count’s facial skin found among the shattered remains.
“……”
And I was reading all this in the newspaper.
“You chose a very grand method.”
Lucas commented as I silently turned the page.
As expected, right after the count’s death, I had changed my clothes and slipped out of his territory. The wider the territory, the more people lived in it, which meant higher productivity. Even though the Industrial Revolution had ushered in an era of mass production with factories being built everywhere, numerous workers were still required to run those factories. And most of those workers were residents of the land.
No matter how wealthy a commoner—known as a bourgeois—might be, they couldn’t match the starting point of a noble. Nobles, who originally possessed both land and money, established their own companies and built factories. Even if a commoner wanted to build a factory, the land on which that factory would stand usually belonged to a noble.
Therefore, nobles with extensive territories, like the count, were often incomparably wealthier than even the richest commoners.
“A chain of explosions involving carriages, not cars. It’s obvious he was murdered.”
Of course, Lucas didn’t say this with a hint of accusation towards me. This madman didn’t really care how people died. If Lucas ever had to kill someone, he’d almost certainly choose to do it with a sword.
For a count to be murdered, it typically implied that the person responsible had backing so powerful that even the count’s family couldn’t dare to challenge or suspect them. And there were only two people with more power than a count: a duke and the Emperor.
Even a duke didn’t always have a better political standing than a count. The difference between a duke and a count mainly stemmed from whether they were of imperial blood or not; in terms of land size or real power, a count could sometimes surpass a duke. While “generally,” dukes wielded more power, it’s similar to how, on rare occasions, a baron might have more power than a count.
However, a duke wouldn’t have the kind of social standing necessary to easily kill a count. A duke, after all, was just another noble of the realm. In these times of fierce rivalry between the Emperor’s faction and the nobility, killing a count without attempting to bring him to their side would only strengthen the opposition.
Given these circumstances, the only one who could plausibly have ordered the murder of this count was the Emperor himself.
The issue was, of course, that this was just conjecture with no concrete evidence. Since the days of the previous generation, the emperor’s power had been unshakable. He could afford to make a statement like, “Defy me, and only death awaits.”
However, without solid evidence, blaming the Emperor based solely on suspicion wasn’t an option, especially given the solid position of the emperor’s faction.
In truth, only the nobles who harbored extreme hatred for the Emperor would believe such a thing. When the Emperor ordered me to eliminate the count, he likely already had evidence of the count’s corruption. If the count’s associates tried to confront the Emperor, he would only need to present that evidence. If they didn’t want to face a fate “more humiliating than death,” the Crowfield County would have to keep their mouths shut, at least for the next few years. Even the count’s own daughter wouldn’t know why her father had died.
“A boiler explosion looks very different from an explosion caused by a bomb. Even if there was an explosion in a car, it would be immediately obvious if a bomb had been used.”
All steam-powered vehicles had boilers installed inside. Since they carried coal mixed with magic stones or pure magic stones, there was always a risk of explosions. In fact, such incidents did happen from time to time. The car Lucas and I were riding in also carried that risk. However, the nature of a boiler or magic stone explosion differed from that of a conventional gunpowder bomb. Not that I had any professional knowledge about it.
Feigning indifference, I answered, and Lucas shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I wasn’t trying to say that… Anyway, forget it. Father probably wanted something that could serve as a ‘warning’ in that way. Now I understand why Jayden is so fond of you… Though, just listening to him talk can be a bit unsettling.”
Lucas raised his hand, seemingly intending to pat my head, but I quickly swatted it away.
*
“Impressive.”
The Emperor spoke as he looked at me.
“I didn’t specify how you should kill him, yet you managed to carry out my intentions well. I believe that, no matter how I had instructed you to kill, you would have followed through just the same.”
“…Thank you.”
What the Emperor said was both true and false. Given my ability to try as many times as needed until I succeeded, I could theoretically kill in any way the Emperor commanded. Moreover, I could escape safely and ensure no one found out.
“Indeed, you are my daughter. I am proud.”
“…”
Praising a twelve-year-old for completing a murder mission.
Recalling the Emperor character I had seen in the game, I knew his words were genuine. The Emperor was not the kind of person to lie unnecessarily.
“Thank you.”
So, I merely offered my thanks.
“You’ve worked hard traveling such a long distance. I will hear a detailed report once you’ve had time to rest.”
“Understood.”
I bowed deeply once again, then turned and left the room, walking with a military-like precision I had practiced countless times. Every movement was crisp and graceful. My speech was always formal, my expression perpetually blank. This was the “character” I
had chosen. Surrounded by monsters who could read emotions from facial expressions and body language as if peering straight into one’s mind, this was my way of protecting myself.
For the first few years, it was difficult, but for the last few years, I felt I had managed fairly well.
Although the Emperor had openly orchestrated the count’s death, he apparently had no intention of boasting about it to others. Not a single guard or maid could be seen in the audience chamber. Well, it was hard to imagine anyone in this capital who could fight the Emperor one-on-one and win. So, those of us who regularly visited this ‘family-only’ audience chamber were used to opening and closing the doors ourselves.
“Ah, move aside! I need to see Father.”
“Whoa, calm down, Your Highness. Sylvia is having a private audience with His Majesty right now—”
“I am His Majesty’s daughter! I have every right to enter, no matter who’s inside!”
“His Majesty has ordered that no one else be allowed in.”
“…Oh…”
Just as I was stepping out, that conversation unfolded before me.
” Your Highness.”
I gave a slight bow toward the ‘princess’ standing before me. She looked somewhat flustered as she met my gaze. To explain once more, both Lucas and I are ‘Children of the Emperor.’ Officially, we hold the titles of Princess and Prince. However, not all of these ‘children’ were treated as true princesses or princes. Even though we were officially adopted, we did not have the right to inherit the Empire.
The true heir to the Empire, the one who genuinely carried the Emperor’s blood, was the real ‘Princess’ standing before me now.
Children like Lucas and me were essentially the Emperor’s personal assassination squad. Although he might consider us his real children, our roles were different.
Unlike me, with my completely black hair and eyes that couldn’t even be falsely claimed to carry the Emperor’s blood, this real Princess had long, dazzling golden hair with a slight curl at the ends, giving her a noble appearance.
Well, my appearance was somewhat noble too. But a princess who was born into royalty had a drastically different aura. Despite being under the emperor’s care since I was five, I had memories of adult men; I could only barely mimic a soldier by recalling my past as a military recruit. However, I could never hope to match Princess Alice, whose royal bearing shone through even when she threw childish tantrums.
Her skin was so white that it seemed like it had never seen sunlight, and her eyes were a clear, deep blue. Looking at her, I couldn’t help but think, “Yes, this child truly is the emperor’s daughter.”
“……”
The Princess, Alice Fangriffon, who was the same age as me, stared at me with eyes full of jealousy. It was understandable.
Even though she was a princess, she was still just a child. At an age where she should be showered with love from her father, she had to share his attention with a bunch of other ‘children’ who didn’t even share his blood. Moreover, these other children spent far more time with him than she did. Not feeling angry would be abnormal.
In fact, I, who could casually assassinate someone and come back without a care, was probably the one who was truly abnormal at this age.
“…Now I can go in, right? Since your private audience is over.”
Alice asked, her tone especially sharp toward me.
We were the same age, and both female. Yet everything else about us was the complete opposite. Alice occasionally got scolded, but I never did. It made sense for her to feel jealous in her young heart.
…And this situation closely resembled the relationship between Claire and Alice in the original story.
Hmm…
“Yes, of course.”
I replied politely to Alice, stepping aside to give her room to pass. While I was at it, I held the door open for her as well.
My actions seemed to only further irritate Alice. Naturally, when you were upset and the other person remained calm, it tends to make you even angrier. It was similar to why those complex villains in subcultures often irritate people.
If you think about it, I was playing the villain right now too.
The girl who was so hostile now would grow up and eventually reconcile with Claire. At least, that’s what the story said. But that reconciliation happened during Claire’s death event.
… Did that mean I would die, too?
“……”
Alice gave me one last glare, lifted her chin defiantly, and walked past me. Once she was inside, I carefully and slowly closed the door. Just before it shut completely, I thought I heard her shouting, “Father!”
“You’re so cold to the other siblings, but you go all soft when it comes to her.”
Lucas grumbled.
…Were you really, at twenty-two years old, feeling jealous of a twelve-year-old kid?
“It’s pitiful.”
I said simply, finding it too bothersome to go into a long explanation.
“Huh…”
Lucas let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a scoff, as if he couldn’t believe what I’d just said.