Chapter 237
We were making our way toward the throne room, which was on the castle's highest floor.
We had started on the middle floors and made it quite far up, but so far, we hadn't encountered any enemies.
The enemy must have been busy taking control of the lower and middle floors. Not every soldier would obey their orders, either, and there were the Imperial Guard knights as well. They might be fewer in number than the enemy, but every one of them was the cream of the crop.
Considering that the castle itself was a maze, it would hardly be strange if the soldiers were being toyed with by the Imperial Guard knights.
Even so, given the situation, the commander of the Imperial Guard must have betrayed us. Some people would surely follow their former superior into betrayal. If that happened, it would be Imperial Guard knights fighting Imperial Guard knights.
Both sides were elite. But the traitors had the advantage of surprise. That difference should be significant.
"We might want to hurry."
As we reached a corner, Alois peered around it cautiously and muttered those words.
Rupert spoke up from behind Alois.
"Even though things are going so smoothly? We haven't run into any enemies on the way here."
"But we haven't encountered any allies, either. There are plenty of butlers and maids in the castle. They are needed to maintain this enormous castle. And yet we haven't encountered a single one. No matter how high up we are, there couldn't possibly be no people here."
Not encountering any enemies would have been fine by itself.
We could assume they were having trouble down below.
But having no allies around was suspicious. Where had they gone?
"M-maybe everyone evacuated..."
"To where?"
"That..."
"There are only two options: down or up. They would realize that the enemy was below. Anyone with good hearing should be able to hear swords clashing and angry shouts ringing out below. That means they would evacuate upward. But we also started moving exceptionally quickly. It would be strange if we hadn't encountered them, either."
Evacuating wasn't easy.
People would hesitate, wondering whether they were safe or where they should go.
Out of every ten people, two or three would inevitably turn out that way. So it was strange that not a single person remained here.
So why was no one here?
The answer was simple.
"If I were the enemy, I would send an elite force to the throne room first. Quietly, too. Since there are so few people here, we should assume that the enemy's elite force reached the upper levels before us."
"Then the throne room could be in danger too!?"
"Normally, it would be. But the commander of the Imperial Guard should be protecting the throne room. In that space, where magic cannot be used, it would be nearly impossible for a master swordsman as skilled as the commander of the Imperial Guard to be defeated. We can consider the throne room safe."
"Then why are we hurrying?"
"If they hear that the elite force can't secure the throne room, the enemy will send reinforcements. From where we are now, we would be caught in a complete pincer attack."
"Exactly."
Alois had given a textbook answer, and I deemed it correct.
We had to enter the throne room no matter what. At present, it was the safest place in the castle.
However, the enemy would also apply pressure to break through that position.
The longer we took, the less freedom of movement we would have, until not even Arida could do anything.
"There don't seem to be any enemies here. Let's go."
After Alois thoroughly checked the corridor, we started walking.
Then, as another corner came into view,
soldiers wearing Imperial Army uniforms came around it.
They looked surprised to see us for a moment, but they quickly smiled and addressed us.
"There are still people here who are unharmed? That's a relief. We're allies. Could you please remain calm?"
Seeing the knights reach for their swords, one of the soldiers stepped forward.
Seeing their friendly manner, Rupert let out a relieved breath.
But I grabbed Rupert's hand and pulled him toward me.
Something about them was incredibly suspicious.
"There's no way I can stay calm."
As I spoke, I put one hand behind my back and signaled to Alois to fall back.
Understanding my hand signal, Alois pretended to tell the knights to stay calm while having them fall back.
The corridor was a one-way passage. There were five of them and six of us. Rupert was not a combatant, and I didn't count myself as one, either. That put us at a numerical disadvantage.
Alois had apparently honed his swordsmanship considerably in the castle, but it was better not to expect too much.
I would have to use a stratagem.
"Given the circumstances, it's only natural that we would be suspicious. We're confused as well."
"Then tell me whose orders you're acting on."
"We are acting on the orders of Arida-sama, commander of the Imperial Guard. Our mission is to escort the noncombatants on the upper levels to the throne room."
"The commander of the Imperial Guard is giving orders to soldiers?"
"We did not join the rebellion. We defected."
"Your story sounds plausible, but it doesn't hold together. Everything you're saying is only superficial. You have no proof whatsoever."
"I'm sorry. All I can say is that we want you to believe us."
As they spoke, the soldiers slowly approached us.
We backed away in time with them.
I gave another hand signal, telling everyone to enter a nearby room, and began buying time.
"If you want us to believe you, why don't you stop first?"
"We're in a hurry. The enemy is closing in."
"Then show us proof. Proof that you're on our side."
"We have no proof."
"Then answer this question. What is the blood on your clothes?"
It wasn't just their attitude that was suspicious.
Their uniforms were spattered with blood.
"This is from when soldiers who had joined the rebellion attacked us and we cut them down."
"I see. That's an interesting story."
As I said that, I bent my knees and prepared to run.
They were definitely enemies.
"What's so interesting about that?"
"Did a soldier who had joined the rebellion really attack you head-on? More importantly, there's no way the commander of the Imperial Guard would immediately trust men like you and order you to protect noncombatants. Her priorities should be defending the throne room and protecting the imperial family. If she were giving you orders, she'd tell you to protect the young members of the imperial family."
They had not reacted to Alois or Rupert.
If it had been Arida, she would definitely have made that clear.
When the soldiers heard my words, the smile vanished from the soldier's face.
At that moment, I scooped up Rupert and ran.
Alois and the others were already by the room, and its door was open.
As I slid into the room, the knights closed the door.
We heard pounding on the door from the other side.
"How did you know they were enemies...?"
"Even if everything they said was true, their attitude told me everything I needed to know. We were cautious when we turned the corner because we didn't know where we might encounter the enemy. But they walked toward us without even checking ahead. That showed which side they were on. They weren't the ones being hunted. They were the hunters."
"You saw all that in an instant...? As expected of you, Grau."
"They were simply careless. They must be a detached unit from the force sent to seize the throne room. Their real mission was probably to capture anyone headed there."
Even if they couldn't capture us, they had to at least slow us down; otherwise, the main force couldn't concentrate on the throne room.
If we moved as we were, the main force could be caught in a pincer attack.
"I understand that, but now we're trapped too, aren't we?"
"That's not a problem. Prince Rupert, it's your turn. Try opening the drawer of that desk."
As I instructed him, Rupert opened the desk drawer.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary drawer, but it had a false bottom.
"Take out the board fitted into the bottom."
"A board? Like this?"
When Rupert removed the false bottom, a key appeared inside.
I had him bring it over, then had Rupert slip into the wardrobe.
"There should be a keyhole. Can you find it?"
"Um... There!"
Rupert immediately inserted the key and turned it.
The wall shifted slightly, revealing a hidden door.
"What is this...?"
"Apparently, this castle is full of hidden rooms and passageways that no one knows about. Prince Arnold gave me that information. That prince seems to know this castle exceptionally well."
"I had no idea... But now we're safe!"
Rupert said that and started toward the hidden door.
But I stopped him and put a finger to my lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.
Then I told the knights and Alois's group to hide in the room.
The castle's rooms were filled with all kinds of things.
Even an adult would have plenty of places to hide.
I took Rupert with me and hid behind the curtains.
While we were doing that, the door to the room was smashed open.
"Where did they go!?"
"They're not here!?"
"No! Look at that! It's a hidden door! It's slightly ajar!"
"They rushed inside and forgot to close it! After them!!"
The soldiers eagerly opened the hidden door and went inside.
Once they had all entered, I came out from behind the curtains and closed the hidden door.
"Lock it again, Prince Rupert."
"Amazing! We trapped them! How did you know they would go inside?"
"People believe what they want to see. If they assume someone escaped or hid, people naturally pursue whatever traces seem to support that belief. And I didn't merely trap them. I sent them to hell."
"Huh?"
Seeing Rupert tilt his head, I placed a hand on his head.
"Most of the hidden passages and rooms in this castle were built by successive emperors. Naturally, they are equipped with plenty of traps to prevent intruders. Only members of the imperial family are immune to those traps. I had you open and close the door just to be safe. That's what that was about."
"Then what about the people who went inside...?"
"Who knows? I don't know what kind of traps are in there. At any rate, they won't be able to get out anytime soon, and rescue is unlikely. Maybe they died instantly, or maybe they're suffering. Either way, it's undoubtedly hell."
At my words, Rupert's shoulders began to tremble.
He must have felt the reality of a person's death.
"I'm not going to tell you not to let it bother you. But once someone's life is threatened, they have the right to resist desperately. You and I only exercised that right. So remember this: when you kill someone, you may be met with retaliation like this. The enemy has that right too."
Rupert quietly nodded at my words.
That was probably too much for a ten-year-old.
But the situation wouldn't allow us to treat Alois as a child, let alone Rupert.
"Let's go. We're almost at the throne room."
Until now, the enemy had been having things their way, but that was over.
From here on, it was our turn to strike back.