The Rendezvous Point

"The noon bell, huh?"

"Come at me anytime!!"

"I won't be making a move right away."

As Fiene's guard, Mia had come to my room and was raring to go.

Mia already had her bow in hand and was ready for battle. There was nothing wrong with being prepared to act at any moment, and it was reassuring, but it would be a problem if she worked herself up now and then ran out of steam when the real action began.

"Why not?"

"Because the martial arts tournament has only just begun?"

"Exactly."

I nodded at Fiene's words.

But Mia tilted her head.

"Now that it has begun, shouldn't we make our move? The castle's defenses are considerably thinner than usual."

"We aren't moving because the martial arts tournament has begun. We're moving because everyone's attention is focused on it. It's only just started. We need to act when the excitement is at its peak and the eyes of many people are fixed on it."

"Underhanded operations are best carried out where no one can see them. That's what you mean?"

"It wouldn't be underhanded otherwise."

When I gave a short laugh at Fiene's words, Mia muttered that I had a wicked smile.

Fiene had become quite the schemer herself if she could read my thoughts well enough to recognize the wicked smile I was making.

She was my partner in sharing secrets, after all.

"So we're supposed to sit quietly and do nothing?"

"We'll do what we can. Alois went to Rupert's place, and Trau is probably with Krista by now. Our guard arrangements are in place. What we do from here depends on how the enemy acts, but there are some things we can predict."

"This is too roundabout! What am I supposed to do!? Can't I just find the enemy and go boom!?"

"Oh, come on!" Mia pounded on the desk.

Mia had always fought by finding obvious villains and punishing them, so our current approach must have felt painfully roundabout to her.

Mia was a righteous thief. She found bad people, attacked them, and punished them. Every one of her actions was proactive.

But now, we were always reacting to the enemy. She probably wasn't used to it.

"Mia-san. Please calm down."

"Even you, Fiene-sama!? The battle has already begun, hasn't it!? Shouldn't we get moving and defeat the enemy as quickly as possible!?"

"We need to determine who the enemy is first. If we attack someone without any evidence, we will only cause even greater confusion in the castle. That would be exactly what the enemy wants."

"But..."

"Don't worry. Al-sama is thinking it through properly. Isn't that right?"

Fiene smiled and tossed the question to me.

I nodded and immediately began to explain.

I didn't want to be interrupted again.

"The enemy's primary objective will be to seize control of the entire castle. After that, they'll secure hostages and activate the Celestial Sphere. However, there's a serious problem with that plan."

"What serious problem?"

"Activating the Celestial Sphere requires gems of the highest purity. They're also known as Rainbow Sky Orbs. They're national-treasure-class gems with several colors, like a rainbow, and the magical power sealed inside them is tremendous. The Celestial Sphere requires at least three of them to be placed in specific locations."

"Does 'national-treasure-class' mean they're hard to obtain?"

"Even Gordon, an Imperial Army general and a candidate for the throne who has the military under his control, could probably obtain only one on his own."

"Then it wouldn't activate, would it?"

"The Celestial Sphere is the Imperial Capital's most important defensive mechanism. Of course the Rainbow Sky Orbs are in this castle."

It went without saying that they would keep them ready for activation at any time.

The important thing was where they were kept.

"I know one place where they're definitely kept."

"Oh? Where is that?"

The existence of the Rainbow Sky Orbs was practically a state secret.

Ministers and generals might have access to such information, but it was not something Fiene could obtain personally.

That was why her confidence intrigued me.

"I know too! The treasury, right!?"

"They wouldn't keep them somewhere that obvious."

"Why not!? It would be easier to keep them all together!"

"Their value is on another level, both as treasures and from a strategic standpoint. That's why they'd be kept near the Emperor. I'm certain there are some in the throne room."

"What's your basis for saying that?"

"If that weren't the case, I doubt the Chancellor would have hurried Orihime-sama into repairing the barrier."

I nodded quietly at Fiene's words.

Fiene's ability to read the situation had clearly sharpened.

I could safely leave Mia in her hands now.

"That's right. There are two Rainbow Sky Orbs in the throne room. Though I don't know exactly where they are."

"Then we just have to protect the throne room!?"

"We don't need to worry about guarding the throne room. The strongest swordsman is already protecting it."

"So the reason the commander of the Imperial Guard isn't at His Majesty's side is to guard the throne room after all."

"There can be no other reason. Father will be lightly guarded, but I'm sure the Chancellor has something in mind."

At present, Alida was the strongest fighting force in the Imperial Capital.

With Alida in the throne room, where the barrier had been restored, we could be certain that at least two of the orbs were protected.

There were three left in the castle. Even if Gordon had prepared one on his own, that made four. The most dangerous possibility—full activation—could be avoided.

The Chancellor must believe that the remaining Rainbow Sky Orbs could be protected by the Imperial Guard as well.

As proof, in addition to the First Knight Corps, two more knight corps remained in the castle.

At the Emperor's side, only five lower-ranked units remained. They were woefully few, and the arena was hardly easy to defend.

To be blunt, its defenses were the thinnest they had been since the vampire attack.

Even so, the Chancellor had allocated men to the castle's defense because if the Celestial Sphere were activated, no reinforcements could come from outside, and they would have no way to flee in an emergency.

A practical plan, just as one would expect from the Chancellor.

"So there's nothing for us to do?"

"Of course not. We'll protect the Rainbow Sky Orbs as best we can while evacuating the people in the castle who might be used as hostages. We'll start by securing an escape route and ensuring those people's safety."

"Are there still people here who could be used as hostages?"

"There are. They probably wouldn't sway the Emperor himself, but there are plenty of people who would be enough to throw his associates into turmoil..."

"The ladies of the harem?"

"That's right. My mother, of course, as well as his other consorts. And my elder sister-in-law, the Crown Princess. She's Alida's older sister, while my mother, a consort of common birth, is popular with the people. If it became known that the Emperor had abandoned them, even more retainers and citizens would lose faith in him."

"Good grief! You're being roundabout again!! Why can't you just say you want to save your mother!?"

Mia slammed her fist down on the desk.

Fiene gave her a wry smile.

"That's simply how the imperial family is. We have a duty to protect the Empire's future before our families. No matter what we feel, we can't put personal feelings first."

I had decided to protect the Imperial Capital in Leo's stead.

That's why I hadn't assigned guards to Mother.

I wondered whether the ladies-in-waiting in the harem alone would be able to make it through this.

As I was thinking that, Mia slammed her fist down on the desk.

"Stop saying such cowardly things!! Anyone who can't protect their family has no business protecting a country! Isn't that right, Fiene-sama!?"

"Yes. I think so too."

"See!? If you can't say it yourself, fine! I'll save her on my own! You'll approve of it, of course!?"

Mia declared firmly.

She was the sort of righteous thief who could take on an entire country.

She had a strong sense of justice and the will to stand by what she believed was right.

Mia, too, was someone worthy of respect.

I hadn't wanted to put Fiene in too much danger, but even if I tried to stop them, they probably wouldn't listen.

I was grateful.

"—I'm counting on you."

"Consider it done!"

"We'll head to the harem first. Once we've rescued the consorts, we'll rendezvous with you."

"Yeah, that'll work. The rendezvous point is the throne room."

"The throne room!? Are you insane!? It's at the top of the castle, so there'll be nowhere to escape!"

"The ordinary entrance will probably be sealed off, and the farther down we go, the more enemies there'll be. With Alida guarding the throne room, breaking through will be nearly impossible. Gordon won't send additional forces there, either. That's precisely why it has to be the throne room."

"I understand it will be lightly guarded, but even the commander of the Imperial Guard can't overcome sheer numbers. If all the primary hostage targets gather in the throne room, won't they send a commensurate force there?"

"That won't be a problem. There is a secret escape route in the throne room. Only the Chancellor, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and I know about it. Father is probably the only other person who does."

"Isn't that the Emperor's escape route!? How do you know about it...?"

"Father told me about it eleven years ago. I had to hide in a corner of the throne room."

Once, when Father was meeting with an ambassador from the Imperial State, he told me to watch from a hiding place.

But if I was discovered, it would have been a serious matter. After all, I was a prince who was supposed to be in prison.

So Father hid me at the entrance to the secret escape route.

He hadn't even told Leo about it.

Because Father told me it was a promise between men.

But that promise ends today.

"I'm sure Father will forgive me."

Muttering that, I rose from my chair.

It was about time the enemy started making its move.

If I stayed in the room, I'd be captured in no time.

"Well then, time to act."

With that, we left the room.