Value

Having dealt with the enemies, Mia immediately looked toward Fiene.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, thanks to you. Are you all right, Mia-san?"

"That was easy. I'm used to taking on large groups at once."

Fiene gave a wry smile at Mia's casual declaration of something outrageous.

As a righteous bandit in the Banished Kingdom, Mia was always outnumbered.

It was hardly unusual for her to face a large group at once.

Not only did she know how to defeat large numbers, she also knew how to maneuver so their numerical advantage could not be brought to bear.

She was exactly the sort of person suited to this situation, with enemies all around them.

Fiene once again understood why Al had spent a fortune to bring her into their camp.

"Mitsuba-sama, Jianna-sama. I'm glad you're both safe."

"Fiene-san... What brings you here?"

"To save you, of course."

"We have no value as hostages. We're a burden. You two should leave at once. You need to recognize your own value."

What Mitsuba said was true.

The Emperor would not be shaken even if Mitsuba and Jianna were taken hostage.

If Leo had been in the Imperial Capital, Mitsuba's value as a hostage would have been higher, but Leo was outside the Imperial Capital. Al was not even thought to need a hostage.

That was why the two of them had little value. Fiene would be far more valuable as a hostage.

That was why Mitsuba had told Al not to protect her, and was now telling Fiene to escape with as few people as possible.

Fiene thought it was just the sort of judgment Al's mother would make.

She could view herself objectively and assign herself a value. She could remain calm and make the right judgment on the spot.

Some might call that admirable, but it saddened Fiene.

Whether it was Al or Mitsuba, Fiene wished they would value themselves more. It seemed unfair, in a way, that they were kind to others but not to themselves.

And Fiene was not the only one who thought so.

"Like mother, like son. People who love themselves and will do anything for their own sake are a problem, but aren't people who don't value themselves a problem too?"

"...We should be looking at the bigger picture right now. Go."

"I refuse. We've come this far, so I'll take you with us no matter what. If you insist on deciding your own worth, go ahead. We'll help you whether you like it or not! I just said the same thing to your son!"

Hearing Mia's words, Mitsuba wore a troubled expression.

She looked as if she were wondering how best to persuade them—and lamenting that there was no time to waste on it.

Fiene smiled sweetly at Mitsuba and made a suggestion.

"I think it would be better to discuss it while we walk."

"...It seems so."

Mitsuba gave up on trying to persuade them there.

She did not want to keep Fiene there for long.

Then everyone present began moving.

Naturally, moving in such a large group brought them to the soldiers' attention.

However, the moment Mia spotted those soldiers, she blasted them away with her magic bow.

In fact, Mia spotted them before the soldiers could spot her.

"Good grief! It's too vast! Can't we use a secret passage!?"

"We can't without Al-sama. We'll have to run through."

"What is that prince doing at a time like this!?"

Getting through the vast, labyrinthine rear palace was a difficult task.

Fiene did not answer Mia's complaints.

Al was surely making his moves in the castle by now.

As they talked, Fiene and the others reached the one straight passage leading to the castle.

"The castle is just beyond here! But don't let your guard down! There should be even more soldiers in the castle!"

"Understood!"

Mia said that and tried to run ahead, but stopped when she noticed something.

Then she quietly announced:

"They're curses set in place. There must be more than ten or twenty of them..."

Magic filled the straight passage.

It was a curse that should have been classified as a forbidden art.

Having seen through the trap, Mia slowly turned around.

"You really are rotten to the core, aren't you?"

"Do you think so? Since you're bound to come through here, setting a trap was only natural."

"That's not what I mean. I'm talking about the way you're laughing behind us as you watch us fall into your trap."

Saying that, Mia glared at the figure who had appeared behind them.

A woman with distinctive green hair.

Seeing the woman, Mitsuba murmured:

"Zuzan..."

"Good day, Mitsuba. Where do you think you're going? Shouldn't you apologize first to me, since I was confined because of your son?"

"You were confined because of your own actions. It had nothing to do with my sons."

"Is that so? I see it differently. If your son hadn't captured my brother, I wouldn't have had to suffer such humiliation, and my daughter could have drawn closer to the throne."

"If that's how you see it, then we'll never understand each other. Your brother's rebellion failed, and now you've joined Gordon's rebellion? You have no principles."

"Silence. This is all your fault. You raised them badly. You should have taught them that, since your own status was lowly, your sons were lowly too, and that their value was fundamentally different from that of the other members of the imperial family. You never taught them that, and this is what happens."

Fiene frowned at Zuzan's words.

It was because Zuzan's tone made it clear she genuinely believed what she was saying, rather than merely making a snide remark.

Fiene disliked people who treated nobility as something special.

From a young age, she had been taught that nobles were people whose ancestors had achieved deeds worthy of such a position. A noble's duty was to strive not to tarnish those achievements and to leave behind achievements worthy of that station.

If being a noble meant taking pride in one's privileged status, Fiene felt that such nobility was better off not existing at all.

"What's with that frightening look, Princess Azure Gull? Actually, you can make a face like that too? Honestly, that's a surprise."

"If I could... I would always want to smile. How wonderful it would be if my life consisted only of things that let me smile... But the world isn't so kind. I came to understand that very well after coming to the Imperial Capital. And I learned something. If I want to keep smiling, sometimes I need to fight. Zuzan, the Fifth Consort, I will not acknowledge you. Nor will I acknowledge your daughter, Princess Zandra. As a member of House Kleinert, I cannot accept a future in which someone who thinks that way becomes Emperor."

"You have quite the fine speech. What will you do if you refuse to recognize us? Will you fight?"

Saying that, Zuzan raised one hand slightly.

Then the many soldiers who had been lying in wait emerged.

Since they could not pass through the passage, there was nowhere to run.

Even so, Fiene did not waver.

"Mia-san!"

"At once!"

Saying that, Mia fired an arrow toward the passage.

The arrow divided into multiple arrows, striking the magic traps one after another and destroying them.

Zuzan was shocked that every trap she had prepared was destroyed in a single shot, but she quickly frowned and issued orders.

"Charge! Don't let them escape!"

"Run! I'll hold them off!"

"No! Up above!"

As she ran down the passage, Fiene pointed upward to indicate the ceiling to Mia.

Mia understood Fiene's idea from that alone.

"What a clever plan!"

Mia immediately began firing countless arrows upward.

The ceiling could not withstand the attack of countless arrows and gradually began to collapse.

Even so, Mia did not stop attacking.

And then.

"I-it's collapsing!?"

"R-retreat!"

The soldiers closing in on Fiene and the others were forced to retreat to avoid being crushed beneath the collapsing ceiling.

Then the ceiling came crashing down with a clatter.

The rubble sealed off the exit of the passage leading to the castle.

Seeing that, Zuzan flew into a rage.

"What are you doing!? Clear it away at once! I won't let them escape! Mitsuba!"

"She sure is shouting..."

"This should hold them up for a while. Mitsuba-sama, Jianna-sama. You'll have to keep running from here on. Are you all right?"

"If you're asking about stamina, I'm worried, but we can't afford to complain. I'll do my best."

"I-I'll do my best too."

After hearing Mitsuba and Jianna, Fiene turned toward Mia and nodded.

"The stairs are probably blocked off. Let's force our way through."

"That's a straightforward enough plan!"

Saying that, Mia cheerfully readied her bow.