Chapter 244 - Brewing Tempest for the Imperial Throne (2)

The sturdy, twin-horse-drawn carriage rolled briskly along the well-maintained cobblestone road, the wheels clattering rhythmically.

Outside the window, the townscape flew by in near silence. It was so devoid of people and noise that one might mistake it for a painted backdrop on a stage. Hmm, or was it? Without thinking much of it, I spoke. 

"...The carriage is truly impressive. Or maybe, because it's the ride of an esteemed imperial princess, eh?"

At first glance, the carriage appeared oddly under-guarded for a vehicle transporting someone of such high status. I tried to probe a bit with my wind magic, and sure enough, in every possible blind spot, one that would make perfect for an ambush, it caught the lurking presence of trained individuals. Staying out of the plain sight, they'd completely hold on to the situation. 

Perhaps, the stillness was but a sign of control, the route could've been cleared beforehand to ensure it. 

"Impressive? If you may, what exactly is so impressive, Allen-sama?" 

Arichi asked in obliviousness, the luxury a dream to any commoner might just be a piece of wood to her. Catching the curious outlook on her face, I offered honest praise. 

“This security detail, and how tactfully it's been arranged. It's all so seamless, each potential danger spot covered without drawing attention. It's a perfect circle! Just look over there, past that rooftop, you see the archer? Already has an arrow nocked, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. I am not one of them, but even I felt their tension. Incredible."

As I said this, I casually waved toward the rooftop. The poor guard, who’d have the top half of his face peeking over the ledge, quickly ducked back out of sight in a panic. But, to my surprise, Grayfia and Arichi's expressions grew visibly tense, pushing them to look at each other. 

"......Just how're you detecting them, you bastard! Ari!"

"I know. They... are not guards. I fear we have assassins lurking around, and their target can be you two. Albeit, I am not sure if I am also on their target, or to paint me as the preparator behind..."

"Pfft, hahaha!" Their joke really got me, not gonna lie. "Come now, in which world assassins act in military-esque command fashion? . And we’re not talking about a dozen or two, there are far more than that. I am not royalty, but even I know you don’t deploy this many troops in broad daylight, right in the middle of a city, just to carry out an assassination. Not with the imperial princess in the carriage, no less.”

Brushing off their joke, and lips still curled in a smile, I flashed a thumbs up to their leader (?), who had been watching us from the window of the nearby building. 

He didn’t return the gesture. Maybe I was a bit too stright-forward. 

In contrast, this served to further darknen Grayfia-san's expression, her murmur coming out in soliloquy.

"Tch! And it's that pain-in-arse Girai's faction! Still as slimy and underhanded as ever… makes me sick. What do we do, Ari? If they’re indeed planning to make a move, it’ll likely be—”

"Martin Square, just right ahead. And since it's under Big Brother Girai's jurisdiction, it's just a matter of command to close up the place, and do whatever he wants. If he truly is out for... we would be completely trapped there. It's an emergency, so take a detour through the commercial district!”

When Arichi-sam announced her decision, the coachmen promptly veered the carriage sharply to the side. What should've been a tranquil air suddenly grew palpable like tense wire at the change of plan. 

And, a moment later, a fireball hurled toward the carriage from a blind spot. 

With a wry chuckle, Justin-senpai shifted to the front passenger seat, and warded the magic off with the Knight Order's mantle. 

"Man, it's never a dry moment with you, eh, Allen. After all that promise you made to Mujikka-san, to keep your head down, yet you're right at the epicentre of the Empire's succession war. Terrific. ...Just out of curiosity, have you actually learned the meaning of keeping your neck out of trouble?"

Haa… I don’t even know what to reply here. No, I really don't know what to say... like, it's just barely half an hour since I stepped in the empire. Why was my simple trip to greet His Majesty turning into a rollercoaster ride?

"Oh please, I amn't thrill-seeking junkie who can't leave without putting myself into jeopardy. If anything, you should be feeling sorry for me since I am dragged into this against my will. And anyway, what the heck is that succession war? I am hearing it for the first time."

The guide nowhere mentioned you could end up in such a *thrilling* event!

I complained, shooting down an arrow rustling in our direction with my own. Justin-senpai laughed off at my protest. 

"Hahaha! You're right, the tourist guide never mentioned it. But anyway, I am truly surprised you just shot down a flying arrow so easily. ...Did you level up your skill?"

Well... I wouldn't say I snapped a flying arrow. I happened to hear the assassin's 'target the horse' whisper, carried to me by wind magic, so I just took my aim with a guess. A trick, in short. It was a monumental task to bring down even a slow arrow. As of now, I was incapable of performing the same feat once the arrow had been shot outside of perception. 

"...It's just a fluke."

However I cut short my reply. I couldn't bother to explain everything right now. Besides, It's a matter of time before I trained myself to this degree. 

Afterward, the troops made an attempt to surround us, but it didn't appear they'd intention to chase after us.

"I'm Fourth Imperial Princess Arichi. I am escorting a guest on an inspection of the Commercial District. Open the gate.”

Arichi-san announced in a solemn voice. With that, the heavy gate dividing the sectors of the city slowly began to creak open. Before the gate had fully opened, the carriage surged through, slipping into the Commercial District beyond.

◆

We left the carriage and luggage in the hands of the coachman and continued on foot.

Unlike the noble district with its quiet stillness, the commercial quarter was lively, filled with a respectable number of people. Still, compared to the royal capital, it felt rather sparse.

According to the travel guide, this district was only freely accessible to servile class—the commoners, in other words, and C-rank or above adventurers. For everyone else, they would either have to pay hefty fees, or have some special means. 

"Are they pursuing us?"

"No, I think, we do not have to worry about this."

To avoid standing out, Justin-senpai had tucked away his mantle, too. 

"I have no words to describe how sorry I am to pull you into our political strife. ...An explanation is required for this, I presume."

She said quietly after we’d walked a while through the crowd, keeping a low profile. “A princess shouldn’t be apologizing so easily,” Grayfia, walking just beside her, gave a grumble of disapproval.

Arichi-san, however, shook her head at her remark, and then began a crash course on the empire's political strife for the throne. 

To summarise the whole exhausting scenario; Each of the reigning Emperor's children had equal right on the throne, regardless if they're the oldest sibling of the bunch, or the youngest. And only the mightiest among them would be recognised as the emperor candidate. 

To claim the authority to rule this vast empire, a contender must demonstrate a strength so undeniable that it earns both fear and respect from all. And once the new Emperor is chosen, the purges begin.

After all, even after a successor is officially named, there’s no guarantee someone won’t try to seize the throne through assassination or other underhanded means. The empire's history was filled with such examples.

Faced with the grim fate awaiting those who lose the succession struggle, it’s no wonder that the princes and princesses vying for the throne fight with no room for mercy or morals, even if it meant their hands were dyed in blood.

Those, who had no caliber to succeed, often choose a different path to their inevitable fate; Many withdraw from the struggle the moment they graduate from the Olympus Academy of Magic, pledging allegiance to a more capable sibling instead. 

The current Emperor, Raul, had ten children—six sons and four daughters. Among them, three have emerged as the leading contenders for the next Emperor; Prince Girai, the eldest son. Prince Fabio, the third son. And Princess Katharina, the second daughter.

Girai, the eldest, was already 38 years old. As a member of the military, he has considerable clout and influence. In that sense, the older siblings who had more time to build their own factions naturally have the advantage. 

Overall, it was a nauseating plot, a brutal, bloody rivalry between siblings.

"I see... And since you belong to another faction, Imperial Prince Girai has already regarded you as a target to purge." 

I made a guess of the current situation we just had, but unexpectedly, Arichi-san expressed in a negative gesture. 

"No, I am of no faction. But, I had forced my way into the succession war."

She explained, her eyes, brimming with determination, trained on me without a tremble. 

"Hmph, and it's not like she had any other way..." Grayfia added. 

Apparently, Arichi-san was simply too gifted to ever play second fiddle to anyone.

Ever since her mana organ awakened, her mana had surged to astonishing levels. Some even whispered she might be the reincarnation of the great Matias Rosemeiur, the legendary fire mage, and their founder.

She was also every bit as sharp as her mage's prowess, and had hailed from a noble maternal line.

Among all her siblings, she was the only one to have won the Rising Dragon Cup, earning her lavish praises from the current Emperor himself. 

"The people of the empire seeks a strong ruler. And even if Ari seeks subordinacy under someone else, the hope for her to succeed to the throne would never be quelled. She would be a hindrance to any ascending Emperor. So, once she fulfilled her purpose under another candidate, she would be assassinated. There's no forgiveness in the bloody war."

Uh-huh. So regardless of her will, she would remain a target to snub out. And the Emperor's balant favouritism to her was only fuelling the fire. So scary. 

I fear the Emperor had deliberately played his move to keep Arichi-san in the race for thorne, hoping for her to inherit it. I guess I would never come to like this one aspect of parents; to force their ambitions on their childs. It's nothing but a burden to them. 

Had it been me, I would have long channeled into my rebellious phase... then again, it's not about me. 

"...I think I have a good grasp of the situation now. Nevertheless, this is the Empire's capital. Wouldn't it incur the Kingdom's wrath regardless of who caused our death? This can easily kick start a war."

At least, my uncle, and commander of Royal Guards, Randy-san would definitely go ballistic. Then, this incident would also cancel the Rising Dragon Cup on the spot, and His Majesty would flee the country without delay.

And if, heaven forbid, something actually happened to His Majesty… I don’t even want to imagine what would come next.

“Tch. That’s exactly what Girai is aiming for. That bastard’s part of the military, he’s itching for a war. He’s a prick with neither talent nor popularity, so this is the only way he can rack up points. By blaming the mishap with you guys on Arichi, who was personally assigned by the Emperor as your escort, he can eliminate her from the succession race.

Then he would gladly join the war. If he wins, he gets all the glory. If he fails, he’ll just pin the blame on Arichi. Truly an epitome of a sneaky, spineless little rat, always hedging his bets. If he wants to be seen as the next Emperor, he should have the guts to say he’ll crush the Yuglia head-on!”

Grayfia spat out her words, not even trying to hide her killing intent.

“…Well, I’d rather not be on the receiving end of that crushing, to be honest. Are you sure you should be spilling all these ‘state secrets’ so freely?”

"Hmph, not even a fragment of that bastard's detail would qualify for state secrets. It's just my personal perspective, that's all."

Well, I certainly didn't know that Girai or whatever, but if all he amounts to is petty tricks and clever smoke screen, he would become another corpse in the battlefield. 

Alas, the world is full of schemers like him, however. Short-sighted fools who only care about the next step in front of them. Man, it would suck to live in the world driven to insanity by that coward, leaving nothing but misery to everyone.

"I have yet to completely cement my win outright. My own strength is lacking, supported only by Grayfia's Indina family, one of the 12 flag-bearers of the Empire. I can count my other supporters on one hand. But even so, I’ve no intention of losing.”

She remarked with a fierce grin tugging on her lips. 

"...Just to be clear, the Knight Order is forbidden from intervening in any sort of succession war, regardless if it's the Empire or another nation. You're not getting any exception for this either, Allen."

Justine-san reminded me, though his eyes were oddly gleaming with some sort of expectation. 

I mean, I was indeed incensed for their assassination attempt, but that wouldn't make for a valid ground to interfere in Empire's politics. I immediately cut him short. 

"And why would you think I will willingly exhaust myself over something that has no benefit for me...? And Princess Arichi would be bothered, too. Plus, she can be branded a traitor if her rivals caught a whiff of her receiving support from the kingdom."

After listening to my denial, a look of realisation appeared on his face. "Hmm, you're right. There's just pitfalls everywhere if we do it straightforwardly, even if there might be something for us."

...Hey, there's no backhand either, alright......