No Getting Through to Him

Secretary Crispus of Military Affairs.

The highest-ranking official in the kingdom's military, and in wartime, he would assume the role of marshal.

That was the man who had arrived, leading a company of knights.

A menacing atmosphere dominated the scene.

This did not look like a rescue party.

"You don't seem to be here to rescue me."

"Oh? What makes you say that? Perhaps I rushed here as soon as I heard of Her Highness's peril…"

"Then why are your knights surrounding the building?"

Yes.

Knights currently encircled the area.

With their swords drawn, no less.

"Well, well, I must say I'm impressed. I thought you were just playing at investigation, but you raced to Tazula so quickly. That initiative is admirable. I'll admit I underestimated you. Thanks to that, I had to reveal myself like this… and I needed to retrieve this from Yupe."

"I see. Thank you for the compliment. I'm just as surprised. To think a man holding one of the kingdom's most important offices would draw a sword on a princess."

They moved closer to Princess Tianis and formed a circle around her.

Princess Yupe seemed to be unconscious, so they left her where she was.

"When did it start? When did you abandon the kingdom?"

"… From the very beginning. The Church of the Sun God put down roots in this country long ago. We had all the time in the world. Though I admit I had doubts whether they truly possessed the power to rule the continent, until I saw that meteor. It was even more devastating than I'd been told."

"You knew it was coming?! If you knew, you could have stopped it!"

Princess Tianis flared with rage.

The Royal Capital had a barrier.

If they had known in advance, they could have reinforced it and prepared.

A fully strengthened barrier might have withstood even that apocalyptic attack.

Even if it had been breached, the damage would have been far less than this.

"Why would I stop it? Without lifting a finger, the incompetents set to inherit the crown were eliminated, and a future enemy's forces were depleted. Princess Tianis, your coming through unscathed was… unexpected."

"Do you have any idea how many people died in that meteor…? How many lost their homes, were injured, suffered?! Now that I think about it, not a single member of your faction was harmed. That was part of the plan too, wasn't it? After all, your faction grew relatively larger as a result."

"Heh heh. How tragic. Oh, we must save them. Through the Church of the Sun God."

Secretary Crispus continued to drop one bombshell after another.

All of this was information they would never have discovered otherwise.

The fact that he was talking so freely meant he had no intention of letting them leave alive.

Azu and the others could probably break through the knights' cordon.

But if Secretary Crispus possessed the power of an Apostle…

"Princess Tianis, we need to escape somehow. Can you mount a counteroffensive if we make it back to the capital?"

"Secretary Crispus's faction controls the military's core, but they don't have total control. There are rival factions too. I don't know how deep the betrayal runs, but if we return to the capital, there should be enough forces to fight back. Unless the entire military itself has turned traitor, then it's over."

The word "coup" crossed his mind.

The position best suited to pull off a successful coup was precisely that of Secretary of Military Affairs.

Could their plan have been to wipe out the entire royal family…?

That would explain why they had constantly undermined Princess Tianis after she survived.

She hadn't been meant to live, so they'd worked to weaken her.

A cold sweat trickled down his cheek.

The encirclement was slowly tightening.

Staying here would get them nowhere. They had to break through by force and reach their allies.

"I don't intend to let my reign be the end. You know what the Church of the Sun God has done until now. Did your faith never waver?"

"It's all trivial. In the end, the Sun God's flames will deliver everyone to paradise. What does the process matter?"

"Anyone who trusts the result after distrusting the process is a fool. That's called being a sucker."

Would people who deceived others actually keep their promises?

The Church of the Sun God had thrown off all pretense.

They could not be trusted.

"Princess Tianis. You are to be pitied. You think that way only because you have not met our god. That overwhelming power, that divine authority! One glimpse and you would understand. That serving God is the optimal choice."

"… I can't get through to him. What do we do, Yohane?"

It was less faith than fanaticism.

Or perhaps "brainwashing" was the better term.

The stage where words could make any difference had long since passed.

"Mmm…"

Princess Yupe was waking up.

Still groggy, she rose to her feet, but unable to grasp the situation, she wore an expression like a pigeon that had just been shot with a peashooter.

Then she spotted Secretary Crispus and her face lit up.

"Crispus, you came to rescue me?! I was waiting! Hurry up and do something about Tianis!"

"… You didn't finish her off? Ah, that voice is as grating as ever, it gives me a headache. And here I thought I was finally going to be free of it."

"Why would you say that…? D-didn't you come to save me?"

"Why would I come for that? You're finished. Done. You were easy to fool and pleasant to look at, so I approached you and made use of you, but I don't need you anymore."

Princess Yupe looked at him in disbelief.

She had trusted Secretary Crispus from the bottom of her heart.

Honestly, she had no eye for men, or rather, she should have been a bit more suspicious.

"Tianis, can you believe what he's saying? Isn't that awful?"

"You've got some nerve clinging to me after all this, Nee-san… You've always been like this, saying whatever suits you."

Princess Tianis wore a wry smile.

It was like watching a comedy that made all the tension drain away.

"Hey, can you take down just the knights?"

"If it's only the ones here, yes. I'll make absolutely sure Master escapes."

"I'd like to escape too, you know… Anyway, lend us your strength to get to where the horses are."