Vihera’s group……or rather, Mercurio’s group, advanced through the castle as knights and soldiers appeared one after the other to stop them.

However, many of them naturally knew what Vihera was, and while they couldn’t disobey orders from their superiors, they attacked in a half-hearted manner and were easily taken out.

「Looks like our brother wants us to escape.」

Mercurio muttered as he followed after Vihera.

「Yeah. His intention is obvious at this point. Even the knights facing Vihera-sama don’t seem to be that capable.」

「……Is this all just to provide a reason to kill me? It’s an unbecoming plan for my brother. If this continues into civil war, the national power of the Bestir Empire will only decline.」

As Mercurio muttered with a sigh, Theorem nodded in agreement.

His master was under house arrest in the castle……and he had broken him out. Theorem had predicted from the beginning that there might be a civil war. That was why he had relied on Vihera to gather more strength.

However, if that was the other party’s goal……

「Theorem-sama, I think we should focus on escaping the castle for now rather than thinking about unnecessary things.」

As if she couldn’t bear to seem Theorem like this, Cyanus spoke with barely a change in her expression.

Next to her, Keuken nodded as she kept an eye on the surroundings.

When told that by his two subordinates……as well as the rest bringing up the rear, Theorem gave a slight smile.

「You’re right. ……That said.」

Saying that, he turned to look at Vihera, who was advancing in front of them.

There, she touched her palm to a knight and sent a shock directly through their body, knocking them out as they fell to the ground.

「I don’t think there’s anything to worry about since Vihera-sama is here.」

As soon as Vihera’s name came up, Mercurio’s eyes grew slightly sharper.

Even the smile on his lips, which always appeared calm, seemed slightly distorted.

「That’s right. Sister and Crimson, so……」

Mercurio was hesitant, but Theorem must have guessed what he was thinking and gave a slight nod as he spoke.

「Yes. There’s no doubt she holds feelings in the sense of a man and a woman.」

「……However, I thought she said before that she’s not interested in men who are weaker than her. If that’s the case, does that mean that Crimson has defeated my sister?」

To Mercurio, his older sister was close to the strongest. Of course, he knew that there were people stronger than her, but Vihera was still special to him.

Why did his older sister end up with such a man? That was what he was thinking when he asked that question.

Normally she would have just said what she had said before,『I’m not interested in men who are weaker than me』.

However it seemed like she had either accidentally or deliberately forgotten that she had said those words.

In any case, no matter what Mercurio was thinking, the truth came out of Theorem’s mouth the next moment.

「From what I heard, Vihera-sama fought one on one and lost.」

「……What? My sister lost?」

He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it, but it was still true.

「According to what I heard from Vihera-sama, it seems like it was a pretty flashy battle. However, she wasn’t as strong as him…… This isn’t a direct result of that, but I feel like Vihera-sama developed feelings of admiration for Rei, which turned into this.」

Ahead of Theorem’s line of sight, Vihera touched another knight’s full plate before passing a shockwave through it.

She didn’t punch, much less kick.

Despite her gentle touch, the knight still collapsed to the floor unconscious.

「That skill she’s been using for a while. That’s also a skill she created after her fight with Rei. For when they have their rematch. She hasn’t been practicing it for long, but it looks like she’s already mastered it, it’s quite amazing.」

「That’s right. Her rich talent is definitely one of Vihera-sama’s charms.」

Tilleyle interrupted Theorem’s words. However, the way he spoke to Mercurio didn’t have the same level of respect as Theorem.

He seemed to be expressing that even if he was Vihera’s younger brother……or rather, because he was Vihera’s younger brother, he wouldn’t be given any special treatment. Mercurio understood that and didn’t speak out about it.

Being Vihera’s younger brother, Mercurio had naturally known Tilleyle for some time and his attitude had been the same since then.

「Viscount Bugle? Is it fine for you not to follow my older sister?」

「Yes. Vihera-sama’s ability is so great that I don’t need to do anything. ……But, that’s why I’m even more curious about Crimson, Rei, who defeated Vihera-sama. I heard you were talking about it, so I thought to join in.」

Mercurio understood what Tilleyle meant.

With Tilleyle being infatuated with his sister, there was no way he wouldn’t be interested in topics regarding Vihera.

「From what I hear, Viscount Bugle has never met Crimson?」

「Yes. It seems they were still working together when Cyanus joined with Vihera-sama, I only joined up with Vihera-sama later after that. ……Cyanus, what did Crimson, Rei, look like from your perspective? How was he as a person?」

When the topic came up, Tilleyle asked Cyanus and her response included a small frown on her usually expressionless face.

「Well, I don’t think there are any issues……as far interacting normally goes. We didn’t have much time to talk, but I understood the principles of his behaviour. He’s friendly to those who are friendly to him and hostile to those hostile to him.」

When he heard Cyanus’ words, Mercurio turned to Theorem for confirmation and Theorem nodded back.

「Indeed. That is what I had heard from the reports of the people hiding in Gilm. With regards to hostility, there was a merchant company who told him to hand over his magic items and tamed monster……it was one of the largest companies in Gilm, but it was driven to a state of semi-collapse as a result. Eventually the brother of the chairman took over and they managed to get by.」

Keuken breathed a sigh of relief at Theorem’s words.

(That’s good……I’ve talked with Crimson several times already, I’m glad it was all friendly……)

Keuken had been dispatched to Daska as a messenger and spoke with Rei several times.

There hadn’t been anything special at the time, just ordinary conversation, but if she had mentioned the bitterness of the Spring War or that Mercurio was under house arrest because of Rei, she might have already lost her life.

Thinking like that, she gave a sigh of relief.

That said, Rei didn’t just go around killing people at random. If he were to hear Keuken’s current thoughts, he would probably be outraged by them.

「Huh……then, does he maintain that attitude even if the other person is a noble?」

「From what I’ve heard, there’s information that a noble from the Mireana Kingdom attacked Rei during the Spring War and lost his limbs as a result.」

「……That’s unexpected. To say that was harsh isn’t enough.」

Perhaps surprised to hear dismemberment had occurred, Mercurio spoke after several seconds of silence.

Keuken, who hadn’t heard the story before, praised her past self even more for treating Rei in a friendly manner.

Dismemberment. In other words, their arms and legs had been cut off, only leaving their head and body behind.

Normally, they would have died from excessive bleeding and severe pain, but magic and magic items existed in this world. Among them included healing magic and healing magic items. There were also anecdotes that a potion of the highest quality would even be able to regrow limbs.

……However, even as a noble, there was no way to obtain such a top quality potion easily.

What could he do then? Living without limbs was inconvenient to say the least, and it was difficult to obtain the required potions as an alternative. So in the end, the result was……

「It seems the noble is currently living his life using magic items as prosthetic arms and legs. However, as a result of his involvement, he was kicked out of his mansion.」

Tilleyle, who was listening to the story, opened his mouth in shock.

「I understand that you were wary of Crimson, but even so, to learn the fate of a noble in the Mireana Kingdom. I can’t help but be surprised by your information network.」

As an artist, Tilleyle had his own information network, so he couldn’t help but admire Theorem’s skill.

However, as for Mercurio, he seemed to be thinking about something, staying silent as he continued to walk without stopping.

After about 30 seconds, he eventually looked at his sister with a worried expression on his face……and muttered something as he watched his sister happily knock out knights and soldiers alike.

「Does that Rei maybe hate nobles?」

「Well, what do you think? It’s true that there are many nobles who act in a domineering manner, pretending to be a privileged class. Rei would hate such nobles……isn’t something I would go as far to say, but he definitely wouldn’t like them.」

Saying that much, Theorem wondered if he should speak any further.

Theorem had information that made him confident that Rei didn’t hate all nobles. However, if he said it, it would mean that his master would definitely hold no good feelings towards Rei.

(His Highness Mercurio really loves Vihera-sama. If that love were to go in a strange direction towards Rei……but, would it be better than for him to hear about it in a strange way from someone else?)

Theorem hesitated for a moment before continuing.

「Also, Rei’s lover is Elena Kerebel, the General Princess of the Mireana Kingdom. She’s the daughter of Duke Kerebel, the leader of the Aristocratic Faction.」

「……Wait.」

After hearing Theorem’s words, Mercurio spoke in a low voice.

His eye held cold intention in them.

Next to him, Tilleyle had a similar expression.

「That man called Rei, while keeping his hands on my sister, has other lovers?」

So is this going to happen after all? Thinking like that, Theorem shook his head.

「No, it seems the two of them had already met before Vihera-sama met Rei. If anything, it seems Vihera-sama is in a situation that could be called a one-sided love for Rei.」

「……It seems like I need to hear from my sister in more detail later. If possible, I would like to see this person called Rei with my own eyes. If he’s the kind of person who’s playing around with my sister……」

I will not forgive him.

Even though he didn’t say those words out lound, it was clear what he was thinking in his mind.

「Heh, hehehe. Even though Vihera-sama likes you, you’re with another woman?」

Tilleyle had an even wider smile than Mercurio as he muttered out loud.

When Theorem saw that, he wondered if he had been too hasty after all. That was what he thought, but he felt it was still better to hear it from him rather than Vihera or someone else.

「Your Highness Mercurio, Tilleyle as well. Just to be clear, it’s only Vihera-sama who has those feelings, it doesn’t mean Rei did anything.」

「I see.」

Mercurio, who had been smiling eerily just before, simply nodded.

His thoughts seemed to have disappeared as he returned to his usual calm expression.

In comparison, Tilleyle seemed to have a lot on his mind as he muttered about various things with a fixated look in his eyes.

What should I do, Cyanus? Theorem seemed to be asking as he glanced at her. The rest of his subordinates, including Keuken, averted their gazes, not wanting to get involved as they kept their eyes on the surroundings.

「Mercurio, it’s about time to leave the castle. Are you ready? I think you will probably be chased and it will be close to civil war. I wonder what our brother is thinking.」

「Hehe, I already made up my mind since I left that room. More importantly, sister. I’d like to hear about your relationship with Crimson, Rei.」

While saying that, their group left the castle.

About 10 new knights showed up near the gate to stop them, but they were all overrun by Vihera’s attacks and they succeeded in escaping the castle safely.

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