...Ah!
This is the royal palace, right?
If I recalled correctly, in the setting, wasn't I supposed to have sworn to Celes that I would not enter the royal palace?
No, I was walking while thinking, so I completely forgot about the setting and walked into Royal Palace, not just the Royal Palace, but the central part of it, His Majesty the King's office!
No, I have to make up some random reason and deceive them...
Should I wait until someone points it out?
No, if I do that, it will seem like I rushed to come up with an excuse after it was pointed out to me.
Hmm, what should I do...
Okay!
"It's been a long time, You Majesty the King. I thought something like this might happen, so I told Celes, 'I swore that I wouldn't enter the royal palace, but if there was an emergency and I judged that it was really necessary, I would be exempt. Is that okay?’ I’m glad I asked!" (Kaoru)
Yep, no problem!
"Ah... ah, that's right..."
As expected, the king was probably embarrassed to have cried to his brother in front of others, and his face turned a little red as he gave an appropriate blow to his brother.
Roland treated him as he saw fit, but the king didn't have anything special to say about it, and since he was His Majesty the king of this country, I would treat him accordingly. Otherwise, rumors would spread that "The messenger is in a higher position than His Majesty the King," and that would be a problem.
I had long since given up denying that I was not a messenger.
"So, what is the situation in Brancott Kingdom?" (Roland)
When Roland asked this while pushing away the king who was still hugging him in annoyance...
"Yes, I'll explain right away. First, please take a seat." (King)
The king said as he pointed to the sofa for customers and sat down there himself.
Well, unless the king sat down, the guests couldn't sit down first. Unless the guest was the king of another country. And the kings of other countries would not welcome them in a place like this.
After the maid brought drinks, everyone else cleared out, leaving just the king and us.
Then, I heard a detailed story from Roland's younger brother Serge, His Majesty the King.
According to that, as I heard from the messenger's royal guard, the king of the neighboring Kingdom of Brancott suddenly passed away, and there was a dispute over the successor that everyone was familiar with.
Normally, the eldest son, the first prince, someone like Fernand, who was a bit of a dork, would have been the king, but the second prince, Ghislain, got in trouble...
Both were the children of the official consort, so there was no problem with the first prince being born to a lower-ranking concubine and the second prince being born to the official consort, who was the daughter of a marquis, but there was no problem with having a strong and decent first prince. It seemed that there were people who would be better off having a second prince who was selfish and faithful to his own desires inherit the throne than the first prince.
That guy named Fernand was a stalker to me and a terrible pestilence god, but surprisingly, he seemed to be pretty decent in everything other than me. Surprisingly...
Well, that was why the previous king suddenly passed away, so there was no formal nomination of a successor... There was no need for that, it was taken for granted that the first prince would inherit the throne. However, it seemed like there were some people who used that as an excuse to make a fuss about him and plotted to put the second prince on the throne.
One of the reasons given was, "The first prince had incurred the displeasure of the angel. So, if the first prince becomes king, he won't be able to receive the blessings of the goddess Celestine, and the country will perish," or something like that.
Furthermore, apart from the priests of the temple, there were some "self-styled high-ranking priests" who had penetrated the royal palace, threw money around, made connections, and carried the easy-to-handle second prince on their shoulders to suck the sweet juices. It seemed that he had joined the Second Prince's faction.
The temple didn't accept such suspicious people, but they couldn't deny that the first prince had displeased the angel, and apparently they didn't say anything about it... ….
Then, the previous king suddenly passed away.
Rumor had it that although he seemed to be in good health, he suddenly died from an illness, and there was a possibility that he had been poisoned...
The first prince was originally the crown prince, and since he was superior and more popular than the second prince, there should be no problem with succession to the throne. However, the second prince's faction, which unilaterally claimed that "the former king appointed the second prince as his successor," and pretended to be the new king, was opposed to the first prince's faction, which denied this. They raided the mansions of the nobles and took control of the royal palace by force.
However, the first prince disappeared from the royal palace along with his confidants using a secret escape route known only to the king and crown prince, and his whereabouts were unknown ever since.
"That's a common story..."
"Ah, that's a common story."
I agreed with you, Roland.
"There are some brothers who push each other to take the throne because it’s troublesome…" (Kaoru)
"Hahaha..." (King)
Hearing my words, the king slumped his shoulders and laughed weakly.
Well, there are a lot of things going on in this world! Let's cheer up!
"That's why Ghislain, who was the second prince, is now in control of the royal palace, but it seems that not a single person believes in his legitimacy. The people who carry the second prince on their shoulders even inside.
They are either silent because they are afraid of being wiped out on the spot if they confront them, or they are only thinking about riding the winning horse and sucking the sweet juices, and it is said that if the situation changes a little, it will easily fall apart. It is nothing more than a tower on the sand. Therefore…"
"They really want to get rid of the first prince who is the source of their greatest anxiety as soon as possible..."
"Yes. That way, the second prince will be the legitimate successor in terms of the order of succession.
Whether or not a usurper who killed his father and brother is qualified to inherit the throne is another story..."
There was no way such a person had the qualifications to become a king. Even if the first prince died, he should be passed on to someone else with royal blood. The late king had a daughter, and there were also children of the late king's younger brother. Even if the second prince was disinherited, it did not mean that there would be no heir to the throne.
And, of course, they wouldn't be able to kill all of them, all the members of the royal family.
The king then began to explain this country's response status.
"The 'Four Walls' have been placed on the eastern border. The Asheed Kingdom to the south and the Alligot Empire to the west have been judged to pose a low threat, so they remain in their normal position. Just in case, we will send troops from there. I haven't tried to extract it, but...
The rest of the standing army and conscripts moved to the eastern border. In addition, the Asheed Kingdom has gathered troops on the border with the Brancott Kingdom, and is also concentrating its troops closer to our country, and is planning to march across the border as soon as they receive a request for reinforcements from our country."
"Hmm, that's perfect. We can't do anything about it, so we'll just have to wait for the other side to declare war, or for them to cross the border without one."
"Yes. Since it will be an interception battle, the battlefield will be our country's land, and it's frustrating that the land will be devastated, but there's no other way..."
Although he seemed timid, he seemed to be doing exactly what he needed to do.
Well, if he was that incompetent, wouldn't Roland have given up the throne? I feel bad for always being compared to Roland, but if it wasn't for Roland, I think he would be a fine enough king.
That's it, "There is no younger brother who is better than the older brother!! "...
For that reason, the Kingdom of Balmore couldn't move until there was action from the Brancott Kingdom, and for that reason, we had no choice but to take a backseat. It couldn't be helped, since one's own country couldn't be the one who started the war, but as King Serge said, it was a big disadvantage that the battlefield would be within his's own country.
But that was because of the Balmore Kingdom's "status and appearance as a country." So, I couldn't help it.
...But that had nothing to do with me.
My name was used without permission, things that I didn't say were fabricated, Layette-chan was attacked, and then I was attacked.
Yes, war had already been completely declared.
In that case, it was okay to fight back, right? ……Personally.
"Then we're out of here!" (Kaoru)
"Wha-?"
Roland, Francette, and the king widened their eyes.
"No, we just came to drop off Roland. We're done with our business, so we're heading home. ....Something like that?" (Kaoru)
"Whaaaat!!"
I wonder if you thought I would help in the war somehow?
"No, I won't help you fight a war between humans." (Kaoru)
"…………"
Roland and the king's faces looked as if something had gone wrong.
Francette seemed surprised when I told her I was leaving, but she didn't seem too surprised when I said that I had no intention of helping with the war effort. Of course, Emile, Belle, and Layette-chan were driving normally.
Is Roland the only one who didn't understand me at all? We had been together for quite some time.
...And he was supposed to be the smartest among them.
After all, being "smart" and "understanding people" were two different things.
Then, leaving Roland and the King with a somewhat complicated look on their faces, I headed to my nostalgic home, the house where everyone from "Eye of the Goddess" lived.
...That's right, I won't help others in their wars.
This was my war.
I was not a helper; I was a host. And the one who attacked from here.
...But that was fine.
Francette, why do you come with us instead of staying there?
She also looked very happy...