“Prince, don’t you have a new robe?”
As we exited the Colosseum, Acella abruptly picked a fight with me.
“Why the robe?”
“It’s all wrinkled here. His Majesty the Emperor is coming. Attire must be neat.”
“I can’t help it. My working hours are always long.”
“Then am I supposed to be in my dress at night?”
Well, Acella always looked flawless.
“You have maids, don’t you, Your Highness?”
“Hmm… That’s true. Lucy.”
Though Acella didn’t give any particular orders, the head maid and her team quickly adjusted my outfit under her lead.
They worked deftly, and in no time, my robe was clean and crisp. Is there an ironing artifact or something? Quite convenient.
“Thank you, Head Maid.”
“Please direct your thanks to Her Highness.”
The head maid replied stiffly—she never dropped her business tone during work.
“Much better. I was a mess just a moment ago, dying from a hangover.”
Seems like I finally satisfied her. I blew my bangs up with my breath.
“I’m just an unnoticed attending physician, so what does it matter? You just need to look perfect, Your Highness.”
“But the prince is my betrothed.”
“Well… that’s true.”
I do stand out more than other attending physicians, after all.
Winning an argument against Acella is tough, indeed.
“Your Highness, His Majesty will be arriving soon.”
The head maid informed Acella.
While other royal family members have separate secretaries, the head maid fulfills that role at the Moonlight Palace.
Several hundred knights were forming a path in front of the teleport gate.
They were bustling around waving flags.
Acella neatly positioned herself at the end of the path created by the knights, where members of the royal family gathered. Lau was also there.
I stayed a bit further back with other attending physicians, escort knights, butlers, and maids.
“Outdoor activities always drain your stamina, don’t they? Am I right, Gothberg-sensei?”
“Hello, Sir Falkenhayn.”
Palda, the attending physician for Prince George, greeted me, and I returned the greeting indifferently.
“Haha, even being in the Inner Palace makes it hard to see faces. I’m hearing good things. I knew you’d shine like this since I brought you in.”
“You’re overestimating me. I’m just diligently doing my job.”
Formal conversations consume stamina even more.
Since Falkenhayn had previously helped me, ignoring him felt a bit rude.
“His Majesty is arriving!”
Just as I was about to yawn out of boredom, fortunately, the emperor’s secretary shouted.
The hustle and bustle in the air disappeared, replaced by a solemn atmosphere.
—Fwoosh!
Light rippled from the teleport gate, and the empire’s elite guard knights advanced.
Behind them, a grandiose old man made his appearance.
He exuded a strong aura, but his physical strength seemed depleted as he walked slowly, supported by his attending physicians.
—Toot toot!
The trumpet sounded, tearing through the clear sky and cloud.
The orchestra played a welcoming tune, and members of the royal family presented their respects in order.
Even children of the bloodline found it hard to meet the gaze of such a figure.
They had no idea how much preparation went into making that fleeting impression.
The Emperor smiled warmly at them, waving his heavily ringed hand in greeting.
“On this clear morning, I bow to the countenance of my beloved father.”
“You’ve grown a lot, Acella.”
Their meeting, prepared for a month, ended in an instant.
—
The Emperor drifted around the cherry blossom-filled mountains as if wandering freely.
Primarily chatting with his siblings, the topics were surprisingly ordinary.
Tales of hunting giant wild boars or acquiring new fishing rods for the principality.
Nobles waiting to meet the emperor had appointments piled up for months, so they appeared to relish this rare family banter.
Among the three empresses, only the first empress engaged in the conversation.
It was easy to understand why the timid first prince was effectively deemed the next emperor, considering the good rapport he had with the emperor.
Even the royal family living above the clouds seemed rather ordinary during such moments.
Of course, there were far more incomprehensible facets from a typical perspective.
“Teacher, be cautious of the footsteps.”
The head maid whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
The problem was, we had to remain tense and silent all this time to avoid interrupting their chatter.
All members of the royal family accompanied the Emperor wherever he walked, along with hundreds of knights and attendants moving in unison.
Of course, I was squished in between, turned into a squished sandwich in my bag.
We had to avoid being spotted in his line of sight and make no sound.
Still, we had to remain within a certain radius for emergencies.
If that’s the case, they could have cast an invisibility spell on us.
Being stuck among the escort knights made my forehead sweaty.
Family gatherings during holidays usually turn out to be boring for kids while the adults chatted away.
The princes and princesses, including Acella, and even the Emperor’s nephews remained silence, holding their positions.
It was only after the Emperor’s enjoyable banquet concluded that he headed towards the martial arts tournament venue.
The guest seats for the Emperor and his siblings were on the top floor, while the children occupied the middle level.
Finally, Acella could step away from the crowd to prepare for the martial arts tournament.
“Is there no change to the schedule?”
“No. The first match is the individual battle of the representative knight as scheduled.”
At the head maid’s reply, Acella called over the commander of the Moonlight Palace knights.
“Are you prepared?”
“Just give the order.”
The knight commander bowed respectfully.
Wait. Is Acella planning to send him out?
I checked my status window.
[No. 012: The Empire’s Ruin 52%]
The chance of a bad ending has increased.
The Empire’s Ruin.
A rebellion breaks out first within the imperial family rather than against the people, leading to an enraged Acella annihilating the imperial palace.
It’s not a metaphor; the imperial palace grounds will literally end up with a massive hole.
This incident effectively dismantled the empire.
The Demon King subjugation force lost its power, and the hero party isolated and starved.
‘If Acella creates an opportunity to attack the imperial palace today…’
It implies that Acella has a substantial reason to harbor great hatred towards the royal family at the martial arts tournament.
Wouldn’t it be a case where all the hard preparations for the tournament go to waste, and we become the laughingstock in the end?
‘First, let’s aim to win.’
That’s not a bad thing for me either.
To win, our Moonlight Palace faction must achieve high rankings in all the events.
‘The knight commander’s ability seems a bit lacking for an individual battle.’
I proposed to Acella.
“Your Highness, may I suggest something?”
“What is it?”
“I think it would be better for my escort knight, Commander Tanya, to participate in the individual competition.”
“The escort knight of the prince?”
Acella glanced over at Tanya.
Tanya stepped forward boldly without any sign of tension when her name was mentioned.
“It’s difficult to suddenly change the competitors. The commander has trained for the individual battle.”
“I’m not doubting the commander’s abilities, but Commander Tanya is excellent as well. She has indeed reached the level of Sword Expert.”
“Is that true?”
Acella showed interest in the term “Sword Expert.”
“Tanya, show her.”
“Yes.”
She stepped back a bit and drew her sword, focusing.
With that, energy surged from her body, and heat began to emanate from the sword as if shimmered with a mirage.
This was the sword energy that could be used by a swordsman who reaches the level of Sword Expert.
Acella seemed quite satisfied watching Tanya. She then addressed the Moonlight Palace commander.
“What do you think?”
The commander replied immediately.
“I have had numerous duels against Commander Tanya.”
“What were the results?”
“I lost each time. I’m confident that Commander Tanya is among the top tier among the entire imperial knight corps.”
The Moonlight Palace commander stated the fact calmly.
Setting aside personal feelings or bias allows Acella to make the right judgment.
Truly, an admirable loyalty.
After some deliberation, Acella made her decision.
“Gothberg’s escort knight, Tanya. You shall enter the individual competition.”
“I’ll follow your order.”
Responding crisply, Tanya, hailing from the North, immediately donned her armor and got ready to compete.
I spoke to Tanya as she readied her sword.
“Commander, since you’re representing the Moonlight Palace, you must win without fail. Are you confident?”
“Who am I speaking to?”
“Confidence is good. But you must remember that the imperial knight corps has the advantage in practical strategy.”
“Strategy, you say?”
“Exactly. While our marquisate hasn’t infiltrated fully, it’s common sense in the system that ‘results matter.'”
“What are some examples?”
“Right now, Commander, you think it’ll be a battle of swordsmanship since it’s knights dueling, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“Take that mentality into the match, and they will immediately throw sand in your eyes. If there’s no rule against bringing sand into the arena, you better carry some in your pocket.”
After hearing my advice, Tanya nodded.
“I see. The only rules for the individual battle are that one must drop their sword or get defeated first without seriously injuring their opponent.”
“That’s right. You can do anything else with your other hand.”
I’ve seen enough of the imperial army’s fighting methods during the Demon King subjugation.
Though the imperial army values honor as if it were their life, their tactics are quite… crafty, to say the least.
I don’t think that’s a bad approach, though.
For instance, when battling one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Death Dragon Wilhelm, it proved to be significantly helpful.
The adamantium armor stuck to that guy could only be removed by the illegal mana bomb prepared by the imperial army.
“Don’t worry. I’ll slice through any despicable tricks with my sword.”
“Traditional methods are good, but having tools makes it even better.”
I pulled out items from my medical bag.
“Take these. I’ll explain their uses, so make sure you remember.”
I placed them in Tanya’s hand.
The sound of glass clinking echoed.
They were vials containing potions of various colors, sloshing around inside.
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