Inside a room that was used as a quarters for knights. They saw another door in the room other than the one they had entered through and, when they asked the knight about Mercurio’s whereabouts, he had glanced towards the door on reflex. The answer was obvious.

「Cyanus.」

「Yes.」

With just those words, Cyanus understood her superior’s instructions and swung her sword down at the neck of the still conscious knight.

Looking at the now unconscious knight with momentary disdain, she then went over to Theorem, who was waiting by the second door.

The reason for her disdain was likely the contents of the knights’ discussion they had overheard before breaking into the room.

The same went for Theorem’s other subordinates that he had brought along. They snorted as they tied up the unconscious knight.

The first knight to be knocked out already had their hands and feet bound, so even if he did regain consciousness, he wouldn’t be able to move.

It took them less than two minutes after breaking into the room to subdue the two knights, showcasing their skill.

After that, everyone gathered with Theorem in front of the second door……and handed over the key that one of the knights had been holding onto.

There was no need to question what the key was for.

「……Hm?」

Receiving the key, he glanced towards the door they had entered through.

The only one who immediately understood his meaning was Cyanus, who gave a small nod.

「That was some shaking.」

「Do you think it’s Vihera-sama?」

「Probably. ……No, definitely.」

「There’s no doubt that there’s a big commotion over there. In that case, someone will check up on here soon. I guess we should hurry up a bit.」

Everyone nodded at Theorem’s words and one of his subordinates spoke up.

「Theorem-sama, him and I will wait here just in case. If someone comes to check on us, we’ll also need to deal with them.」

「Huh? Me too? Well, that’s fine.」

The knight who was suddenly asked to stay back as well was confused for a moment before quickly nodding.

It was true that this place needed to be secured.

Even if they rescued Mercurio from house arrest, they wouldn’t be able to withstand an ambush from a large number of knights and soldiers the moment they stepped out.

Theorem understood this and nodded as he spoke.

「Please, I’ll leave you to guard this place until His Highness Mercurio is out.」

『Yes sir!』

After hearing both acknowledgements, Theorem left the two knights there and, with Cyanus following after him, inserted the key into the door’s keyhole.

There was a sound of a lock opening with a click.

Then, as the door opened……what they saw wasn’t a room where their master was under house arrest……but a hallway.

They could see another door installed at the very end of that hallway.

(I see, it’s to prevent escape.)

Theorem’s face twisted in displeasure as he realised the purpose of this passage.

It was because he understood how his master had been trapped.

However, thinking that his master was at the end of this hallway, he managed to put up with his unhappiness.

Reaching that conclusion, Theorem walked down the hallway with Cyanus, Keuken, and the rest of his subordinates in tow.

About a minute later, they reached the door at the end, which was also locked.

Fortunately, the lock seemed to open with the same key, so that wasn’t a problem. Theorem and Cyanus looked at each other in silence……before giving a small nod at each other and reaching for the door.

「Oh, I thought it was quite early for meals……is it Theorem?」

In the room on the other side of the door, a man who looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, sitting on a sofa reading a book, looked up as he spoke.

Judging by his facial features and hair colour, he looked very similar to Vihera. It was only natural to think of them as siblings from the same parents, but the impression he gave off was completely different.

While Vihera gave off a flashy and aggressive impression, the man here seemed a lot more gentle.

The dynamic Vihera and static Mercurio.

There was a deep light of intelligence in her eyes as he turned to look at Theorem with a hint of small smile on his face.

It might not be the most accurate description of Prince Mercurio, but compared to Vihera, who was a large rose, he was a flower that blended in with the others while never losing his own presence.

「Your Highness Mercurio……」

Seeing his master, Theorem was at a loss for words.

There was no doubt that the person sitting there was the one he wanted to meet……and the one he had sworn loyalty to.

「It looks like you’ve put in a lot of effort.」

「No. ……I’m glad Your Highness is safe.」

「For me, even though I was under house arrest, I was able to read at my leisure. In fact, you could say it was quite a nice break. You guys have been through a lot since I’ve been here, haven’t you?」

「If Your Highness is safe, this level of hardship is nothing.」

It was such a peaceful conversation that it was hard to believe they were deep in enemy territory.

However, a voice interrupted the conversation between master and servant, who hadn’t seen other in a long time.

「Your Highness Mercurio, Theorem-sama, I’m sorry, but we can’t stay here like this forever. I think the first thing to do now is to escape from here.」

Cyanus’ words seemed to bring him back to his senses. Theorem nodded at Cyanus before speaking.

「Your Highness Mercurio, Vihera-sama is currently rampaging around as a diversion. They won’t be paying attention to us yet, so let’s escaped from the castle as soon as possible.」

「……My sister?」

Theorem’s words must have been quite unexpected. Mercurio’s words eyes widened, an unbelievable changed from his previously calm demeanor.

「My sister should have run away from the Bestir Empire……」

「Yes. It was selfish of me, but I requested her help in order to help Your Highness.」

「……Is that so, I got my sister involved. Maybe it’s fine to just rot here then.」

「Your Highness.」

In response to Mercurio’s words, Theorem spoke reproachful on reflex.

But, before Theorem could say anything else, Mercurio nodded.

「I know. But it just occured to me that if I remained here, I wouldn’t have to think about fighting against my family. ……Well, let’s go.」

Mercurio muttered as he stood up from the sofa he was sitting on.

There was no tension in his movements and he seemed so easy going that it was hard to believe they were about to escape an ‘enemy’ castle.

It was probably because he trusted Theorem, his subordinate……and Theorem’s subordinates.

He left the room where he was kept under house arrest and spoke as they walked back through the hallway.

「So, what are you plans for the future?」

「First, we will escape the castle. When we do that, Vihera-sama will stop her rampage and diversion to escape. After that, we will leave the Imperial Capital and join up with our allied forces.」

「……I see. Will there be a civil war?」

Mercurio had a sad expression on his face, but his thoughts quickly changed as he turned his attention to Theorem.

His ability to do that was as expected of the royal family.

「So what is our military strength?」

「The military strength of the Third Prince’s faction and the nobles that Her Highness Vihera personally brought in. And……」

Mercurio was a little puzzled at Theorem’s hesitation.

As they conversed, they continued walking and returned to the room where two knights had been left to keep guard. The two knights knelt down immediately as they saw Mercurio.

「No need for such exaggeration. I was saved by you after all.」

「No, we’re glad Your Highness is safe.」

Mercurio smiled softly and gently extended his hand to the knight’s shoulder as he knelt down.

「I’m glad to have such talented, brave, and above all, honest, knights like you as my subordinates. Now, stand up. For now, rather than rejoicing at our reunion, it is better to escape first.」

「Yes!」

Mercurio smiled the knights as they stood up, but the next thing he saw was the two knights, bound and lying on the floor. In other the ones who had kept him here.

They were knocked out earlier, but perhaps because they were elite knights, they had since regained consciousness.

「I won’t forget you either.」

Mercurio said that with a soft smile on his lips, but his eyes were emitting a sharper light than usual.

「Mmm-! Mrhgggg!」

「Mrhg-Mrhggg!」

In order for them to not cause a fuss, the knights had been gagged.

However, Mercurio had already taken his gaze away from the knights as if losing interest. He once again looked towards Theorem.

Seeing that, Theorem gave a signal with his eyes and his subordinates swung their swords at the knights’ necks, knocking them out again.

「So, our conversation was still in progress. What was our military strength?」

Mercurio spoke to Theorem and they continued their conversation without seeming to the care for the two knights anymore.

「Yes. Actually, when I was searching for Vihera-sama, I met an unexpected person again and succeeded in gaining their cooperation. Also, although not a direct supporter, Margrave Rowlocks, a noble from the Mireana Kingdom, is also working with us. We made a promise and here we are now.」

Hearing the name of the Mireana Kingdom, Mercurio’s movements suddenly stopped.

The way he looked at Theorem was mixed with sharpness.

「Did you ask the Mireana Kingdom for cooperation in the civil war that will occur in the Bestir Empire?」

「I’m sorry. We can’t do anything with just our military strength……if it was just rescuing Your Highness, we might have managed, but if it turns out to be a civil war……」

Theorem groaned as he shook his head.

Seeing that, Mercurio let out a small sigh as if it couldn’t be helped.

It was true that if only himself, the Third Prince, and his supporters were to start a civil war, they would be hopelessly outmatched.

Mercurio’s reaction was because he understood the reality.

「So, what kind of force did you bring in?」

「The man who played the biggest role in the Spring War and triggered the defeat of the Bestir Empire. You know who I’m talking about?」

Theorem’s reply was unexpected. Mercurio turned to look at him on reflex.

「It’s not Crimson by any chance, is it?」

「Yes.」

「……Well, what to say, he’s on our side now. Even though he was our enemy during the Spring War.」

「Also……」

As Theorem was going to continue, the door swung wide open as a person walked in.

She had an aggressive beauty, a seductive smile, and was wearing clothes that one might mistake for a dancer or prostitute. When her eyes landed on Mercurio, she smiled like a large flower.

「Mercurio, I see you’re fine.」

Vihera went over to her younger brother and hugged him with all her might.

Against his sister, Mercurio was quite stiff.

It went without saying what the reason was.

「Ah, sister!? What are you doing?」

Mercurio, whose face was buried in his sister’s huge twin mounds from her hug, managed to pull away and shout.

「Oh, it’s just a greeting. It’s been such a long time since we’ve had a reunion, right? I thought that you would be more than happy about it.」

However, Vihera continued to talk to Mercurio with a smile on her face, as if it didn’t matter.

Mercurio wanted to ask where her earlier calmness had gone, but eventually decided that it wasn’t the time for that right now. Letting out a small sigh, he spoke up.

「I have a lot to say about your outfit sister……I really want to say something right now, but let’s talk about it later. Moreover, I heard that you were rampaging around as a diversion.」

「Yeah. However, I thought it would be a good idea to join up with you guys. I was also given information about where you were being held, so I came straight over.」

「……They told you?」

「Yeah. They told me obediently after I sliced apart their armour with the claws on my gauntlet.」

I wouldn’t call it obediently, was the momentary thoughts of all those present, but before anyone could bring that up, a new face appeared.

「Vihera-sama, it seems about 15 knights and soldiers are heading our way. What should we do?」

The person who showed his face through the door was Tilleyle.

Seeing his that sister here, Mercurio wasn’t surprised to see Tilleyle as well as he turned to face Vihera.

As expected……or rather, as expected for Vihera, she was looking happier than ever, her body radiating with anticipation for battle.

「Theorem, it would be pointless to try and stop here. Let’s just break through the front like this.」

「I agree.」

Hearing those words, Vihera gave Mercurio a look that made him shudder as she left the room.

While watching his sister leave, Mercurio spoke up, as if giving up on something.

「So, why did Crimson cooperate with us in the end?」

For a moment, Theorem wondered if it would be okay to tell the truth. But, deciding that Mercurio would find out eventually, he replied.

「One reason is that we promised him a magic item. And……well, it’s a little hard to say, but Vihera-sama actually seems to have an unusual relationship with Crimson……or Rei.」

「……What?」

Mercurio couldn’t help but stop and pause at the words of his trusted confidant.

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