Chapter 120
Fillemas, the Empire's Second Prince, had plotted a rebellion. If Raiz-sama and Das-san's predictions were correct, Fillemas would have died in an "accident" on the way to being transferred between the two countries.
Even if the Empire had its own reservations about him, taking Fillemas into custody would be more trouble than it was worth, so that would be the best solution.
"What do you mean, circumstances changed?"
"Apparently, the official in charge, who had been coming frequently regarding the handover until then, suddenly stopped showing up. And when we investigated what had happened..."
"The Battle of Zetta Plain, huh?"
"Yes. After hearing about Zetta Plain, the emperor sent a secret envoy to Golbel to ask what had happened."
Raiz-sama's expression turned slightly bitter again. Fillemas aside, he presumably wasn't happy about enemy personnel moving freely through Rudek territory.
Fillemas had been traveling with a group, as the people left behind made clear, so it was a problem that we had failed to spot him. Secret envoys and spies, however, travel disguised as ordinary people, making them difficult to identify.
In fact, spies from other countries operate covertly in ours, while our own spies do the same abroad.
And although I didn't say it aloud, Lufa's abduction may well have played a significant role in why Fillemas's ship went unnoticed.
When Lufa was abducted, Zackhart-sama took action to sweep Gadeland's back alleys clean. As a result, the back alleys became as chaotic as a beehive someone had poked.
Apparently, many people fled from the back alleys to the sea, and there was no end to the reckless people attempting to sail into the open ocean in small boats.
That would inevitably produce shipwrecks, and it was dangerous to leave people at large when they were desperate enough to flee by sea in the first place.
It wasn't hard to imagine the navy being tied up dealing with such people. If a ship disguised as a merchant vessel from another country happened to pass through at a time like that...
If we trusted our country's navy, it seemed this was the only opportunity Fillemas would have had to slip through Rudek's security net. If so, perhaps Fillemas really had just been lucky.
Or was he? If he had been caught by Rudek's security and fled to the Southern Continent, he might actually have had a better chance of survival.
In any case, Golbel's response changed drastically after the Battle of Zetta Plain. The official who had been handling things stopped showing up, and when it came to handing over the prince, Golbel said it had no objection but asked us to make the arrangements ourselves.
The previous official had said Golbel would handle everything itself. This was the exact opposite response. In other words, Golbel had no intention of causing an "accident" during the handover. That meant the Empire would have to escort him all the way back to its own territory, inconvenient as that would be.
If no accident was going to occur, the emperor couldn't simply leave the mastermind of the rebellion at large.
But then another problem emerged: our country, Rudek.
Although there was currently a lull, Rudek and the Empire were still at war.
Moreover, this differed from the recent drifting-ship incident. Back then, the compromise we found concerned how to handle Lururia, someone from a third country. This time, however, it was entirely the Empire's problem.
Even if they said, "We're taking a rebel with us, so let us pass through your country for a little while," Rudek wouldn't readily agree—and couldn't. It would amount to saying, "Don't underestimate us."
But the emperor couldn't humble himself more than necessary before an enemy he was at war with. The Rifrea Holy Nation was in the same situation. It had allied with Rudek and declared itself opposed to the Empire.
Still, it wasn't as though there were absolutely no room for negotiation between Rudek and the Empire.
Given the current state of both countries, to be honest, neither side wanted to get into a dispute over something like this.
The Empire's war with Tsanadefor was gradually turning into a quagmire.
Indeed, in the future I know, the Empire was unable to expand into the Tsanadefor region. It was also blocked by Rifrea, which would swallow Rudek and grow into a major power, and even forty years later, the Empire's territory remained unchanged.
As for us in Rudek, although we had won a victory over Golbel, the Sixth and Fourth Knight Orders were still being rebuilt. The Second and Tenth Knight Orders had also suffered significant losses, so we didn't want to provoke the Empire while our forces were exhausted.
So what we needed was a compromise—a mutually acceptable way forward.
At last, I could see where this was going.
In other words, by sending his own son, Fourth Prince Tsetsedora, as an envoy to negotiate, the Empire meant to save face for the King of Rudek.
From the Empire's perspective, it would be an acceptable scenario for the Fourth Prince, who had prevented the Second Prince's rebellion, to take the lead, negotiate with Rudek, and bring the traitor back home.
For Rudek as well, having the emperor's own son, the Fourth Prince, come to bow his head as an envoy would be enough to preserve its dignity.
It was under these circumstances that Das-san visited the Empire.
...And in his hands was my letter.
For Prince Tsetsedora and Lururia, my letter had been a godsend. From my perspective, though, I had sent it at an unbelievably opportune moment. Well, at least I now knew that Lururia was doing well—perhaps a little too well, given how freely she was carrying on—so I suppose it was fine.
"I see... I understand everything. Then I'll obtain permission for an audience with King Zeurasia. Das-dono, I'm sorry to make you repeat yourself, but could you explain everything once more before the king?"
"Of course."
Once Raiz-sama and Das-san had settled the matter, I let out a sigh as some of the weight lifted from my shoulders. Seeing this, Raiz-sama looked at me as if to ask why I was letting my guard down.
"Naturally, Roa, you're coming too. You were the one they specifically named, weren't you?"
...Well, I had figured it would turn out that way.