Chapter 247
Having teleported to the upper levels, we reached the vicinity of the throne room, where Mia and the others were waiting for Fiene.
"Fiene-sama!!"
"Mia-san."
Seeing Fiene, Mia rushed into her arms.
"Oh, thank goodness...! I was so worried—I wouldn't have known what to do if anything had happened to you, Fiene-sama~!"
"I'm fine. Al-sama came to my rescue."
"If he rescued you, that means he was hiding nearby, doesn't it!? I wish he'd come to our rescue sooner!"
"Don't be unreasonable. There aren't hidden passages everywhere."
Even as I answered Mia, I bowed to Mother.
"I'm glad you're safe, Mother."
"Yes, thanks to Fiene-san and the others. I told the two of you to escape on your own, but... What troublesome children."
"That's true. But... it always ends up helping me."
Unlike me, who acts based on calculations, Fiene acts according to her own values.
She acts when she believes something is right and refuses when she believes it is wrong.
That sometimes runs counter to my intentions, but precisely because of that, she brings about results I could never have achieved myself.
This time, too, I had ranked Mother lower on my list of priorities. But Mia and Fiene had made straight for her.
Sister Therese had been the highest priority, but if those two had gone to Sister Therese instead, their search would have been fruitless—and there was no guarantee Mother would have been safe, either.
In the end, that's just hindsight. But when human lives are at stake, the result is all that matters.
"Y-Your Highness... Rupert...?"
"Don't worry. He's already in the throne room."
"Ah... Thank you..."
Having learned Rupert was safe, Jianna's eyes filled with tears.
Mother quietly went to Jianna's side.
I asked Mother.
"Aren't you going to ask about Christa?"
"Traugott is with her, after all. She'll be fine."
"Well, that's true enough."
I sighed, struck by the strangely high regard in which Brother Trau was held.
Anyone familiar with Brother Trau's childhood generally acknowledges his abilities.
That's because they know he grew up alongside the Crown Prince and received the same education.
The problem is his personality.
He's about as fickle as they come. No matter how capable he is, he almost never puts those abilities to use.
His talents are utterly wasted, but that's also one of Brother Trau's good points.
"Then shall we go? This is the last group."
Saying that, we headed for the throne room.
■■■
"I'm glad you're safe, Your Highness."
"I'm glad you're safe too, Commander. How are things?"
"After Your Highness went below, we were attacked several times, but they've stopped completely since then."
"Zandra must have come to the middle levels. That probably threw their chain of command into disarray."
Saying that, I entered the throne room with Alida.
Inside were Third Consort Camilla, Sister Therese, Rupert, Christa, and Brother Trau, along with a large number of guards, dignitaries, castle servants, and others.
"Rupert! Oh, thank goodness you're safe...!"
"I'm glad you're safe too, Mother..."
Spotting Rupert, Jianna rushed over and embraced him.
It was a moving reunion between mother and son.
It wasn't quite as dramatic, but Christa also ran over to Mother.
"Mother, I'm so glad you're safe..."
"You too, Christa. Thank goodness. You're not hurt, are you?"
At any rate, everyone in the castle who could be taken hostage had been gathered here.
Judging from the situation, the dignitaries from the Banished Kingdom and the United Kingdom were probably on the enemy's side. They had not been in the castle, either.
"Oh, Mitsuba-san. You're safe too. I'm so glad. I was worried about you."
"Thank you, Camilla-sama."
In the midst of the emotional reunion, Camilla addressed Mother with a smile.
I'd like to ask her what gave her the nerve to say that, but we didn't have time to call her out on it now.
"Brother Trau. Have you told the Commander about the situation in the castle?"
"Of course I have."
"I see... Then you've heard that Raphael betrayed us, too?"
"Yes. He doesn't seem like the sort of person who would betray us, but I can't imagine Oliver would lie, either."
"At this point, why he betrayed us doesn't matter. The fact that he betrayed us is what matters. We don't know how many of Raphael's subordinates sided with him, but we'd better assume that the entire Tenth Knight Order is on the enemy's side. If that's the case, this place isn't secure, either."
"I agree. If I have to deal with Raphael, I won't be able to move freely, either."
"If they overwhelm us with numbers in the meantime, we're finished. There are too many people here who'd only hold us back."
Saying that, I looked around the throne room.
The servants who had somehow managed to flee into the throne room all looked anxious.
That was because I had declared that this place was not safe, either.
Alida looked at me, asking with her eyes what I intended to do.
"So—we're getting out."
"That's all well and good, but we don't have an escape route."
Alida pointed this out.
From her tone, I gathered that she had no intention of telling me about the Emperor's escape route.
Well, that was only natural. Once used, the route would no longer be safe.
If the castle were taken, infiltrating it through a hidden passage leading outside would be an effective move.
Alida couldn't eliminate that option on her own authority.
Given her position, I couldn't blame her.
Besides, I had known that already and wasn't counting on her to tell me.
I gave Alida a sly grin and headed for a corner of the throne room.
Then I activated the mechanism there, causing a hidden passage to appear.
"If it's an escape route you're looking for, there's a perfect one right here."
"...W-where did you learn about it?"
It was the first time I had seen Alida lose her composure.
Seeing the mixture of surprise and bewilderment on her face, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Father told me about it eleven years ago. I thought I'd never have to use it, though."
"His Majesty himself...? Even if you are a prince, why would he tell you...?"
Alida put a hand to her forehead and sighed.
As the Commander of the Imperial Guard, this must have been giving her a headache.
What troubled her was that he had told me of all people. Once this incident was over, she would probably begin checking what other secrets he had divulged, and to whom.
"...If you already knew about it, there was no point in hiding it. That passage does indeed lead outside. Then, are we agreed that everyone will escape through it?"
"Yes. The problem is that the passage isn't very large."
It had originally been intended for the Emperor and his close attendants to escape.
It had not been designed for large numbers of people.
Moving this many people would require us to split into several groups.
"Then Therese-san and I will go first. Please assign us Imperial Guard escorts as well."
Camilla announced this as if it were only natural.
I frowned at that.
Since we were all using the same route, it went without saying that the first people out would be less likely to be found.
"Wouldn't the imperial family normally go first?"
"What matters here is their value as hostages. It would be a problem if Therese-san were taken hostage, wouldn't it?"
"Then Sister Therese and Christa should go first."
"It would be unwise to have the two most valuable hostages together. They should be separated. I have no objection to going with Princess Christa, though."
Saying that, Camilla stared at Christa with snake-like eyes.
Christa instinctively hid behind Mother.
Personally, I wanted Camilla to go last more than anyone, but as a consort, she was the highest-ranking person here.
I couldn't do that.
Reluctantly, I sighed and agreed.
"Very well. You two and those accompanying you may go first. I'll make sure you have plenty of Imperial Guards to escort you."
"Thank you."
"Not at all. However, there is something I need you to do."
"What would that be? I'll do anything I can."
Camilla smiled pleasantly as she said that.
In response, I gave Camilla an ominous grin.
I'm the sort who pays people back when they wrong me.
I won't forget that you used Mother as a decoy.
"Commander. The Rainbow Sky Jewels displayed behind the throne are dummies, aren't they?"
"Yes. They're dummies."
Two rainbow-colored jewels were displayed behind the throne, as if to show them off.
Anyone who didn't know better would assume they were the Rainbow Sky Jewels. But even if this was the throne room, there was no way the real ones would be left out so brazenly.
That's why they were dummies.
The soldiers, however, would not be able to tell the difference.
"Then take those dummies with you. If a group escorted by a large number of Imperial Guards carries them, the soldiers should be fooled."
"What...?"
Camilla looked at me as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
After all, I had just told her to serve as a decoy.
But she had brought this on herself.
So she'd get what she deserved.