The street was empty.
Two people were walking down the street.
But even though the bright sunlight announced the start of the day, the street was quiet.
It was the time of day when it should have been crowded with people focused on their livelihoods, but it was hard to find any.
Most of the small shops, surrounded by old stone walls on the edges, were also closed.
A few merchants with open shops were there, but they were few.
“Even the merchants who are open don’t look happy.”
But their faces were filled with despair rather than expectation.
The atmosphere was heavy, no matter who looked at it.
The two cautiously moved forward, reading the heavy atmosphere.
The one who had just spoken was wearing leather armor and had a sword at her hip.
Beside her, her face was hidden by a hood and veil, so her appearance couldn’t be seen.
However, the one with the sword kept talking to the person next to her.
No, it was more of a report than a simple conversation.
On the surface, they looked like an ordinary adventurer party. But their destination was not the Adventurer’s Guild.
In a way, it was natural to say that.
“What should we do? Princess.”
They were not adventurers but the Princess of the Sail Kingdom and her escort knight.
“…….”
Lennon, the Princess’s escort knight, spoke, but Princess Irena remained silent.
Then she closed her eyes for a moment.
Yes, the streetscape used to be lively and full of energy.
She remembered the streetscape she had walked on occasionally, though not often due to her status.
Antique shops held items with various stories, and the blacksmiths hammering weapons with flames from their roaring furnaces looked like they were dancing.
The traveling artist painting his pictures along the street in front of the shops was a clear sign of happiness.
However, the current scene was unfamiliar.
The expressions of the people were all anxious and uneasy.
It felt like there was no future.
As Princess Irena and her escort knight Lennon stopped for a moment and looked around.
Someone appeared.
A figure wrapped in a dark cloak.
His eyes were as cold as ice.
As he appeared, the people around him began to stir as if the air had frozen.
Some trembled violently, leading to an unfortunate accident in their pants.
They wished it was just a baseless fear, but the figure began to swing the whip in his hand.
“…….”
Princess Irena clenched her fists as she watched the scene.
And then she heard the desperate screams.
“Please, my lord! Save me!”
“I don’t know anything! Please forgive me!”
Those being whipped pleaded their innocence with desperate voices. Despite their earnest pleas with endless grief and tears, the man’s whipping did not stop.
“Princess, just give me the order! I will resolve this!”
Lennon, who was beside her, called out to Princess Irena at the brutal sight.
As the Princess’s escort knight, he intended to do his best to resolve the current situation if only he received the order.
But Princess Irena shook her head.
“We will do nothing.”
“But, Princess…!”
Lennon tried to say something at Princess Irena’s words, but she raised her hand and stopped him.
“The opponent is an Inquisitor. You will only get into trouble if you step in rashly.”
The man who was whipping was an Inquisitor belonging to the White Church.
This was why Princess Irena could not directly intervene while watching the people being oppressed.
What if she gave the order to stop the man?
It would not be a fundamental solution, even if it seemed so for now.
There was a risk that not only Lennon but also the Princess could fall out of favor with the Church.
The Sail Kingdom was in such a state of turmoil.
‘But do we have to just watch.’
Princess Irena felt her powerlessness at being unable to do anything.
There were several reasons for the current situation.
First, the White Church’s unreasonable demands.
‘They planned this from the beginning.’
Princess Irena’s understanding of the White Church’s claim was simple.
‘Priests and Paladins have been continuously going missing in the Sail Kingdom, so they want to investigate it themselves?’
But their claim was truly ridiculous.
‘Missing in the Sail Kingdom?’
Such a thing had never happened.
Perhaps they went missing in the mountain ranges near the Sail Kingdom?
Or maybe they had an accident and were trying to shift the blame to the Sail Kingdom?
Princess Irena’s deduction was quite plausible.
After all, it was something unknown to herself, let alone her father, the King.
In short, the White Church’s claim was easily debunked.
However, the situation did not unfold so smoothly.
‘This is what’s holding me back again.’
There was an unexpected obstacle.
It was the nobles.
They were a force that belonged to the Sail Kingdom but sided with the Church’s claims more than anyone else.
They did not side with the Church’s claims from the beginning.
However, the Aristocrats, who desired the weakening of royal authority, saw the current situation as an opportunity.
Of course, Princess Irena was not just standing by.
She had spoken to her father and asked for help from nobles who were not part of the Aristocrats.
But nothing improved.
Ultimately, she realized that she needed to be strong on her own.
As the frustrating situation continued, she eventually resorted to a taboo.
It was the summoning of a demon.
‘Lady Celia…’
Thus, she summoned a being named Celia.
It was a being with truly immense power.
She even caused discord among the Aristocrats by borrowing the demon’s power.
She manipulated the Count who led the Aristocrats into a bloody conflict, but that was all.
The Aristocrats put forward another leader and still desired the weakening of royal authority.
Initially, they tried to appease the Aristocrats by discussing development rights for the mountain ranges, but it didn’t work.
Finally, with the support of the Aristocrats, the Church’s envoy entered the Sail Kingdom and had been causing outrageous disturbances ever since.
Of course, their actions were just a vent of frustration.
It was okay that they gained the support of the Aristocrats, but the Church’s investigation was sluggish.
Naturally, there was no incident of priests and paladins going missing in the Sail Kingdom in the first place.
If there were any evidence, it would be even stranger.
Yet, the Church continued to conduct intensive investigations.
And eventually, it extended to the common people.
She, who did not want to see the Church’s rampage, wanted to break through the current situation.
So she asked Celia, whom she had summoned and contracted with, but the only instruction she received was:
“Wait quietly.”
‘How long do I have to wait!’
Naturally, various instructions, big and small, had been given so far.
If they told her to prohibit access to the Silent Mountain Range, she prohibited it, and they secretly deployed unknown knights into the kingdom and placed them in the mansions of nobles.
But no further instructions were given.
It was all just to wait quietly.
She followed those instructions well.
As a princess, there was nothing she could do on her own, so it was an unavoidable choice.
Yes, there must be a reason why they told her to wait quietly.
She comforted herself with that thought.
She was just a human.
Despite her status as a princess, she was merely a weak human.
‘In a way, even Father is a weak human.’
She felt sorrowful that even her father, who ruled the Sail Kingdom, could not do anything about the Church’s reality.
“…Let’s go back.”
Princess Irena said in a weak voice.
For now, she could only watch her people suffer.
Lennon also turned his steps at her command.
* * *
An alarm rang from the smartphone after a long time.
“What is it?”
– Special Mission Occurred!
It was a special mission.
As usual, she immediately checked the mission details.
– Princess Irena’s Wandering.
– Princess Irena of the Sail Kingdom is sighing about the current situation. Assign her a mentor.
– Reward: Princess Irena’s Loyalty greatly increased.
“What is it?”
It was a mission related to Princess Irena after a long time.
But why wandering?
Is there a reason for Princess Irena to wander?
Not knowing her inner thoughts, she had no way of knowing.
But she thought she knew one thing.
“It’s probably something like Noblesse Oblige.”
Perhaps the status of a princess is by no means light, so she must have her own concerns.
Come to think of it, she remembered the first special mission for Princess Irena.
“Back then, she clearly wanted a contract with a demon.”
At that time, Celia was dispatched for the special mission.
She recalled that the special mission had been successfully completed.
But this was also a mission related to Princess Irena.
“Well, the answer is already decided for this one.”
It would be a waste of time to ponder over who to dispatch for this mission.
Princess Irena and Celia were already acquainted.
In the end, Celia was the most suitable mentor as mentioned in the special mission.
“Please do your best again this time.”
Celia would surely listen to Princess Irena’s troubles.
“This mission will also be easily resolved.”
She immediately dispatched Celia for the mission.
* * *
Princess Irena, having finished her short outing, entered her room.
And as usual, she waited quietly.
Princess Irena’s routine was to always wait in her room, as she didn’t know when Celia’s instructions would come.
Thanks to that, there were many rumors about her, but she didn’t care now.
“…….”
As she waited endlessly, she felt an unusual presence behind her.
Princess Irena quickly turned around.
There was a dark shadow there.
It was not her shadow, but a being like another life form.
It was Celia’s messenger.
“You’ve finally come.”
Princess Irena knelt down and received the paper from the shadow.
She immediately checked the contents.
“Finally…!”
It was an instruction to proceed to the next plan.
The time spent preparing and waiting had been long.
Princess Irena’s eyes widened at the thought that she could finally do something.
However, on the other hand, she also felt some concern.
Afraid of failing?
No.
She did not doubt that the plan prepared by a demon with immense power would go wrong.
Rather, she was filled with confidence that it would succeed.
But Princess Irena felt something was lacking now.
“What could that be?”
The anxiety that the Sail Kingdom would not change much even if this plan succeeded?
As she thought that, impatience and worry came before the expectation of success.
“What should I do now?”
In her frustration, she muttered to herself.
And a moment later, someone answered her mumbling.
“Why are you hesitating?”
The being Princess Irena had summoned and contracted with.
It was Celia.
“Isn’t it too simple? You just need to restore the kingdom to normal yourself.”
Celia’s words made Princess Irena shake her head.
“Me… myself?”
She could not fail to understand what Celia meant.
For a mere princess to restore a nation to normal?
It might not be impossible with the power of a demon, but Celia’s meaning was not that.
The true meaning was to ascend to the position of being able to rule the kingdom.
However, the current King undeniably existed.
If she, as a princess, were to directly ascend to the throne, surpassing her father, what would the people think?
Even if her father directly abdicated, the nobles would strongly oppose it, and the current situation of the kingdom was not good.
“Why are you hesitating?”
But the devil’s whisper continued.
“Wasn’t that Princess Irena’s will? It’s not good to take such a roundabout way when there’s the simplest path.”
That was true.
The kingdom was too weak now.
The weakness of the kingdom also meant the weakness of the ruling King.
It ultimately meant that her own father was incompetent.
It was an undeniable fact, though she didn’t want to admit it.
“I will help you. You haven’t forgotten your promise to serve the Great One, have you?”
The Great One…
Princess Irena nodded.
“Yes, I remember…!”
Thinking about it, what was she hesitating about?
It was important to restore the kingdom to normal now.
Wouldn’t that create an opportunity to serve the Great One that Celia mentioned?
That was the condition of her contract with Celia.
“Why did I forget that simple fact…?”
It was strange.
As she remembered that simple thing, the frustrating feeling disappeared.
Princess Irena’s heart fell into the devil’s sweet words.
It didn’t matter if it was a swamp she could never escape from.
Because she had clear goals to pursue as a princess and as a queen.
Those who stand in the way of her goals must be removed.
