The Last Rainbow Celestial Orb

"Found it."

In Zandra's room, where I'd been searching for the Rainbow Celestial Orb, I discovered a hollow beneath the bed.

And inside it, I found the Rainbow Celestial Orb.

You can tell just by holding it. Compared to the fake, it has a completely different depth. This is unquestionably the real thing.

"But that took a little work."

With that, I looked around the room.

Since I'd left everything out as I searched instead of putting anything away, the room was a complete mess. Clothes, cosmetics, and all sorts of other things were scattered everywhere. Anyone could tell at a glance that someone had been here.

It would be a pain to clean up now, so this should be fine.

Even so.

"Good thing I was the one searching. What a frightening room this is."

Saying that, I looked at the box I'd deliberately left untouched.

The ominous box was unmistakably cursed.

And it wasn't the only one. There were several similar boxes. Who knows what would have happened if I'd tried to open them.

"She even has magic tools like this."

Saying that, I looked at a spherical magic tool.

At first glance, it was just a sphere, but I could feel magic power inside it. It was probably a prototype magic tool, something meant to be thrown at an enemy.

While searching, I found heaps of things like this. For a moment, I almost mistook the room for an armory.

After slipping several of them into my pockets, I began preparing a teleportation gate.

"Well, then. That means the castle is of no further use to me."

I'll let them keep desperately searching for something that isn't there.

Thinking that, I started to step into the teleportation gate.

However, the instant I muttered that,

a voice echoed throughout the Imperial Capital.

'Imperial Marshal Lieselotte, can you hear me? If you can, hand over the Emperor at once. Otherwise, Christa will be executed.'

My foot, which had been about to enter the teleportation gate, stopped.

The words were idiotic, but the fact that they had been spoken meant that Christa had been captured.

"I can't imagine Brother Trau making the blunder of being found by Gordon, but..."

Even so, the reality was that Christa had been captured. Something had undoubtedly happened.

I changed the teleportation gate's destination.

If she'd been captured, I couldn't just leave her. Zandra was near Gordon, too.

It wouldn't be right to use her as a decoy and then wash my hands of her once she was captured.

As I pondered this, I happened to glance north.

Then I grinned, put on a hat, and entered the teleportation gate disguised as a soldier.

■■■

Thanks to General Estman, we had managed to retake the castle's upper levels.

The generals inside the castle were desperately trying to take them back. Otherwise, they would probably be branded incompetent.

Alida, meanwhile, seemed to be continuing her assault on the pedestal. She couldn't break through the thick defensive lines, but thanks to that, one of the enemy's greatest assets, Raphael, was being kept occupied.

Keeping track of the situation in the castle, I headed toward the castle plaza.

There were four key figures in the plaza.

Gordon and Zandra, along with Christa and William, the Dragon Prince of the United Kingdom.

"There's no point waiting for the enemy to make a move! We're going to kill the Emperor right now!"

"I said shut up! If we move now, taking Christa hostage was pointless!"

"I've been telling you from the beginning that it serves no purpose! Foreigners understand how terrifying Imperial Marshal Lieselotte is better than you do! No matter how much she loves her younger sister, Princess Christa, she isn't the kind of person who would forget her duty!"

"You wouldn't understand. I do. Lieselotte dotes on Christa. There are things you understand only because you're related by blood! Shut up!"

"Tch... Then my Dragon Knights will handle this on our own!"

"What? Are you planning a suicidal charge?"

"I'm only saying that if there's any move capable of turning this around, this is the only way. Taking Princess Christa hostage will drive the neutral forces to their side. Your reputation has hit rock bottom. We have to kill the Emperor while the Celestial Sphere is deployed. Whether it's possible or not, we have to do it."

With that, William left Gordon and the others and headed for the Dragon Knights who were waiting nearby.

How pitiful.

He clashed with Gordon precisely because he had such a clear view of the situation.

Gordon believed that taking a hostage would force Sister Lieselotte to make a move, while William had judged that it would not.

That was the decisive difference between them.

He was far too short-sighted. He embraced baseless confidence and believed only what he wanted to believe.

I remembered the words of Sonia's father, Kevin.

His Majesty the Emperor isn't so lenient that he would make a son who charges headlong like a boar into a general.

That's right. Gordon had been appointed a general by Father. If he'd always been like this, Father never would have appointed him a general.

There had to be something more behind it all. But it didn't matter now.

Whatever his reasons or circumstances, Gordon had started a rebellion and taken his own sister hostage.

No matter how admirable a person he might once have been, repeating foolish acts now had made him a fool.

He refused to listen to or acknowledge anyone else's opinions. He fantasized about things proceeding as he wished and charged straight ahead. Gordon had become a calamity.

If Gordon was a calamity――then he had to be purged.

"Messenger!! We've captured the Seventh Prince Arnolt!!"

"So what!? Arnolt is of no concern to me! Capturing him has no effect on the course of the battle! What can that has-been prince do? If you have time to waste on that, hurry up and take the upper levels!"

Once William had put enough distance between himself and Gordon's group, I approached Gordon and Zandra disguised as a soldier.

Changing my voice and the way I carried myself, I went unnoticed by both Gordon and Zandra.

I threw the magic tool I'd taken from Zandra's room and told them,

"That's unfortunate. I thought I could at least slow you down."

"What's that?!"

"What?! Cough, cough! What is this...?!"

"It's cursed smoke! Inhaling it will paralyze you!"

Perhaps because she'd made it herself, Zandra recognized it immediately.

She got away from the smoke leaking out of the spherical magic tool before Gordon did.

Gordon, who had taken the full blast, was still trapped in the smoke.

In the meantime, I took Christa by the hand and led her to the edge of the plaza.

"You bastard...! How dare you pull a stunt like that!!"

"No, no. I only did it because you said I was of no concern to you. Do I have your attention now, Brother Gordon?"

With that, I removed my hat and revealed my face.

Seeing me, Gordon spoke, his voice dripping with murderous intent.

"Arnolt!! I'll never forgive you!!"

"Big Brother Al!"

"Are you hurt, Christa?"

"I'm all right... But I'm worried about Rita..."

"I see... I wronged Rita as well. And Prince William, you'd better not move, either."

Saying that, I took out the bag and showed Gordon and the others the real Rainbow Celestial Orb.

Zandra immediately furrowed her brow.

"Sister Zandra would know, wouldn't she? This is the real thing. You need it, don't you? Then stay put. If you make a rash move, my hand might slip. The Rainbow Celestial Orb is a sturdy jewel, but even it would crack if I dropped it from this height."

"I could cut off your head before that happens."

"Then why don't you try?"

For an instant, Gordon and I locked eyes.

William slowly approached Gordon and warned him in a low voice.

"Don't do anything rash. It's too soon."

"I know! Arnolt... you gave Christa and the others a fake?"

"Correct. I've had the real one from the start. Including the last one hidden in the castle, there are three. I have all three now."

"Even the last one... Why do you have it!?"

"Because I searched for it. I figured the Chancellor would hide it somewhere irritating, so I guessed it would be in Sister Zandra's room. And there it was. Oh, I borrowed that magic tool from there, too."

"So you ransacked my room...? This is unforgivable! I'll make you pay for this...!"

"You're the one being ridiculous. What were you thinking, taking your own sister hostage? Still, I thought Brother Trau would be able to escape... Judging by this, Prince William must have intervened."

The Dragon Prince of the United Kingdom.

I'd heard the rumors, but he seemed quite shrewd.

I raised my opinion of William a notch as I patted Christa on the head. She stood beside me with a dissatisfied expression.

"Sorry for deceiving you."

"Big Brother Al, you're awful..."

"Harsh. But they say that to deceive the enemy, you should start with your allies, so forgive me."

As I said that, I put the Rainbow Celestial Orb back in the bag.

Seeing that, Zandra stepped forward.

"Arnolt. You're getting awfully cocky, aren't you? You think you're holding the Rainbow Celestial Orb hostage, but if you drop it, I'll kill you."

"Yes, I know. That's why I came to negotiate. I'll hand over the Rainbow Celestial Orb in exchange for the safe release of Christa and me. How about it?"

"Not a bad deal. But a deal only works when the parties' positions are reasonably balanced, you know? We can manage without the Rainbow Celestial Orb. In other words, your plan has failed."

"I see. Then I don't need this."

"What?!"

"You're lying!"

Saying that, I let go of the bag.

Gordon and Zandra's eyes widened, and they each took a step forward.

But I immediately caught the bag, stuck out my tongue slightly, and teased them.

"Just kidding. You do need it after all. Lying isn't nice, you know, Sister Zandra."

"Tch... I'll never forgive you...!"

"Oh, how scary. Now, shall we negotiate? I don't want to be killed, after all."

With that, I gave them a bright smile.