Chapter 254
Because Zandra went on a rampage downstairs, the castle was in complete chaos from top to bottom.
In the midst of that chaos, General Estman and his men arrived near my room.
I dispelled the illusion on the general and waited for them in my room.
The door slowly opened, and General Estman appeared, supported by one of his aides.
"You made it."
"Your Highness..."
"That was quite an ordeal, General."
Hearing me, General Estman released his aide and dropped to one knee, bowing deeply.
"I'm terribly sorry...!! Everything was my responsibility...! Not only did I fail to fulfill the great responsibility His Majesty, my great benefactor, entrusted to me—the protection of this castle—but I was taken hostage, and the soldiers ended up raising their swords against the members of the imperial family...!"
With tears streaming down his face, General Estman apologized.
As I opened the hidden passage in the room, I spoke.
"The responsibility lies with the imperial family. Gordon started the rebellion, and Zandra is his accomplice. Father and Brother Erik are responsible for failing to keep those two in check, while Leo and I are responsible for driving them into a corner. So don't worry about it. You don't need to shoulder the imperial family's responsibility as well."
"Your Highness..."
"But you will fulfill your responsibility as a general. There are soldiers who have been forced to participate in a rebellion they never wanted. You have a responsibility to them. Stop them. This is something only you can do. If a general's job is to give soldiers direction, then one could say that's what a general exists for. I won't let you say you can't do it. The lives of many innocent soldiers are at stake. You will do this."
Hearing my words, General Estman clenched his teeth and got to his feet on one leg without relying on any support.
"Leave it to me... I will see it through."
"Good. Then let's go."
With that, I led General Estman and the others into the hidden passage.
There wasn't much time. Dawn was already beginning to break. Alida and the others had probably left the throne room by now.
The longer we took, the more needless casualties there would be, and the needless burden on Alida and the others would grow.
That was why I kept up a brisk pace. It must have been grueling for General Estman, who had lost a leg and could not walk without his subordinates supporting him, but he did not utter a single complaint.
His eyes burned with a sense of duty.
I was sure General Estman intended to die in this castle. He had the unmistakable air of someone who had made that resolve.
I wasn't saying that was wrong. Everyone had the right to decide how to use their life.
That said.
"General, there's something I want to tell you."
"Yes, Your Highness. At your command..."
"I won't allow you to die for nothing."
"?!"
General Estman's eyes widened in surprise.
Then he slowly lowered his gaze, and his expression grew wistful.
"Your Highness has... grown so much."
"I'm eighteen already."
"Has it really been that long...? The prince I remember was always running around and playing, a mischievous boy constantly scolded by His Majesty... But now you're just like His Majesty in his youth."
"Spare me. I'm not good with that kind of assessment. And for the record, I've done a lifetime's worth of work today. Once this is over, I have no intention of leaving my room for a while. Whatever you do, don't mention that to Father, all right? He'll saddle me with more troublesome work."
"You're like him in that respect, too."
I gave General Estman a sour look as he laughed wistfully.
General Estman smiled at me.
"I thought I would never be able to face His Majesty again... but now I'm actually looking forward to having a little conversation with him. It's thanks to you, Your Highness."
"Give me a break..."
Muttering that, I drew closer to the exit now in sight.
I kept watch on our surroundings and used magic to confirm that no one was on the other side of the exit before opening the hidden passage's door.
"This is one floor above my room. The soldiers around here are probably mostly your men, General."
"Indeed... Leave it to me. First, I will secure this floor."
"Count on you. Also, Knight Commander Alida is going to launch an attack on the enemy. Don't get in her way."
"She doesn't need support?"
"Badly timed support would only hinder her."
"I see. Quite right. Understood. What will you do, Your Highness?"
"I'll use the confusion to search for something."
"You have a lead?"
He didn't ask what I was searching for.
There were only a limited number of things someone could be looking for in a situation like this.
"Of course. That's why I caused this commotion."
I had a place in mind. But it was somewhere I couldn't approach unless a commotion broke out.
Now I could definitely get close.
"Are you going alone?"
"Grau will come with me. It won't be a problem. You take care of your duties as a general."
"With Grau... then I have no worries. In that case, I wish you good fortune."
With that, General Estman left the room together with his aide.
After seeing them off, I returned to the hidden passage, assumed Grau's form, and teleported.
I teleported into a room.
As befitted a room belonging to a member of the imperial family, every item in it was of the finest quality.
Someone had probably been sleeping there until moments ago. The bed was in disarray.
Seeing it, I found myself wearing an expression I couldn't quite describe.
"I never thought I'd end up rummaging through my sister's room."
This was Zandra's room.
Zandra must have been resting here while under the illusion.
I had caused the commotion to draw Zandra downstairs. Zandra, still under the illusion, would rest here, and even if she recovered, she would use this room as her base as long as no commotion broke out.
To give myself enough time to search, I had to lure Zandra away from here.
To begin with, whether the celestial sphere was even in a place like this was another question, but the Chancellor was good at outsmarting people.
Zandra had too much pride to tolerate soldiers rummaging through her room.
Doing that would bring the conflict between Gordon and Zandra to a head.
Besides, no one would normally think to hide something they absolutely wanted to keep concealed in the room of someone who might become an enemy.
If it wasn't here, it was probably in Gordon's room. But this was the most likely place.
Zandra had been confined to the inner palace for some time, so hiding something in this room should have been easy.
Even if Zandra wasn't cooperating with Gordon, Gordon would never imagine that it was in Zandra's room, making it a good hiding place.
Since the potential enemy was a member of the imperial family, even hiding it in one of the castle's mechanisms wouldn't stop them from opening it. It was better to hide it somewhere beyond their awareness.
The question was where in this room it had been hidden.
"I suppose I'll just have to search methodically..."
The rooms of the imperial family were spacious.
Regretting that I hadn't brought someone with me, I sighed and began the painstaking search.