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–––Magna’s viewpoint

Leaving just a few guards behind, the knights quickly left the room. They were heading to help their comrades that had been knocked unconscious by the two girls. The ones left did not seem to harbor any enmity towards the girls, but their wariness had not been dispelled. That much was expected, compared to them, we were like helpless herbivores tied in front of a carnivore. They could easily slice our guts open to satiate their hunger on a whim. Such was the gap in strength between us.

I also felt nervous, though I refused to let it show. I am still a prince, so I have a reputation to maintain.

After the knights left, the owner of the mansion, Marques Bilargo, entered in their stead. His body was stiff with nerves as he sat down next to me. I could not really tell if that nervousness was because of me, or because of the two girls.

“Well, what did you want to talk about?”

Putting up a fake smile, I ask Ciel, one of the two girls who were sitting in front of me. This was just my initial assessment of them, but Ciel looked like she was in charge. It looked like she was in control of Karin, who could go on a wild rampage with her sword if left unchecked. That was why I decided it was best if I spoke to her.

Ciel glanced at Karin, and then cleared her throat with a cough before talking.

“There actually isn’t much I have to talk about. Luvias asked us to do two things. Gather information about the capital, and search for your location. We used some contacts to gather information about the capital and its surroundings already, so all we really needed to know was whether you were still alive before we could go and report back to Luvias.”
“…I feel like my subordinates went through way more pain than necessary just to figure that out though?”
“…”

After everything that happened, I felt like complaining a little. That seemed to be a sore spot for the two, as their eyes began to wander nervously. But just that… Usually most people would go pale with fear being told off like that, but they did not even seem like they were putting up a strong front. Just how strong willed were they.

“Anyway, let’s put that aside for a bit.”

They seemed to think I had forgiven them, as they sighed and patted their chest. Complaining to them would not heal my knights, so doing that was a waste of time anyway.

“I still have some things I’d like to tell you though.”
“Things…to us?”
“Yes. There were some things going on here too, many things, before you came.”

I started telling them what we had been preparing for before they stormed the mansion. An outline of our plan, the manpower I had gathered, and the scheduled date for it all. With each word, their brows seemed to gather more sweat. They had started to understand just how important the mission they had ruined was. Their heads hung in shame, while their bodies seemed to recoil and get smaller, making them look like completely different people.

“…And that’s the gist of it. If I had to put it bluntly, you two ruined everything.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry…”
“I’m sorry…”

They apologized with weak voices. Hmm…I guess that’s enough for now. It was true they had ruined my plans, but I was not actually as angry as my words made it seem. An unexpected but powerful ally had essentially landed on my lap after all. Only an idiot would ignore such a chance. If they had gotten all the way here with such ease, infiltrating the castle and taking Stied’s head would be no difficult task for them.

“If you really want to make up for it, why don’t you help me then? I’m sure the plan can still work if you join me.”
“I don’t mind helping, but I think it’s better if you reconsider that mission.”

I told them in a patronizing tone, but she was against the plan out of all things. I was dumbfounded for a moment, but I composed myself quickly.

“…What do you mean?”
“It’s just that Prince Stied isn’t in the palace.”
“What?!”

I sprung on my feet, hearing something I was not expecting. Those were alarming news, if they were right. It meant that either he had predicted I would attempt something like this, or in the worst case, I had a mole in my ranks.

“Marques Bilargo, I believe you told me Stied’s movements were all being monitored?!”

I ended up glaring at Bilargo who sat next to me. He was my spy here in the capital, so if he had missed Stied leaving the palace, it was more than a simple mistake on his part.

“N-None of my subordinates told me anything about Prince Stied leaving the palace. Are you sure these two girls aren’t just making stuff up?! A-Also! How would they know that kind of information!”

Marques Bilargo sounded rather desperate. But he had a point. If they were Luvias’ friends, they probably had not been in the capital for too long. That made it virtually impossible for them to know what was happening inside the palace, or around Stied of all places.

“Alright you two. Who’s your informant? I’ll judge how reliable your info is depending on your answer.”
“I don’t mind revealing that. There is something I wish to ask for regarding that organization too anyway.”

I had asked them to reveal the identity of some mighty sleuth that even sniffed out the location of a missing member of the royal family, but Ciel did not seem concerned at all. Did she really have no concerns for the cover of spies? I tilted my head trying to wrap my head around that, but her answer ended up being something far more unexpected.

“I hired the Thieves’ guild. With their help, I found out Prince Stied is no longer in the palace.”
“The Thieves’ guild?!”

The name implied enough, but that was an organization of bandits and criminals. While they had thieves in their name, they did far worse things than just stealing. They started with stealing, then went to extort and blackmail people, form smuggling rings, and ended with prostitution and murder, commiting every evil known to man. I could not believe any sane person would ask them for help. But it was true they might have ways of obtaining information we did not know about. It is said they have members scattered in every imaginable place after all…

“A-Are you not ashamed of joining hands with such vile people?! You’re basically enabling their atrocities by convening with them!”

Marques Bilargo tried to accuse them, but they remained calm. Or rather…Karin looked like she could not comprehend what was wrong about that, but Ciel was fully aware of who they were, and that was the very reason she employed them. She was leisurely sipping black tea, as if Marques Bilargo’s screams were not audible.

“If I may, do we really have the luxury to afford judging their crimes in this situation? We should employ whatever means possible. Don’t you feel that overlooking past squabbles and shaking hands to cooperate wherever possible is necessary to survive?”

That was pragmatism pushed to the extreme. But she was actually right, we could not afford to be particular about our cooperators in this situation. Though…

“Still, the Thieves’ guild of all places… That’s so unexpected I don’t even know what to say. How did you even get them to work for you though?”
“Money, obviously. And that’s what I wanted to request from you, Your Highness. Will you listen to my plea?”
“…I know I won’t like it, but I’ll listen. Tell me.”
“Okay, so we agreed to pay them a thousand gold coins for their services.”
“A thousand gold coins?!”

Before my brain could register that sum, Marques Bilargo’s loud voice pierced my ears. His lips kept parting and closing, like a fish getting close to a lure. Somehow his extravagant reaction made me remain calm.

“A thousand gold coins is quite a steep fee. I guess we can’t afford not to pay though. I don’t have such a sum in my possession, but I’ll get it arranged later on.”
“Your Highness!”
“Why so shocked, Bilargo? If we betray those people, their next move will be to sell us out to Stied. Not even ten thousand gold coins would save us then.”
“Ugh…!”

That was no exaggeration. They had found my location way faster than I imagined after all. While they had no definite proof until Karin and Ciel got in here, I still preferred not to take any chances with them.

“I’ll keep their payment in mind. Let’s talk about our next move then.”

I quickly glanced at both of them.

“I want you to remain between my ranks to make up for all the knights you incapacitated.”
“We’re okay with that. Should we relocate into this mansion as well then?”
“No, we’re leaving the capital. I don’t know how we lost track of Stied, but I believe there’s a high chance info is leaking somehow. I’m thinking of getting out of here, and freeloading in the territory of a noble in my faction. We’ll start planning again after that.”

I was worried for my allies still fighting against Stied’s army, but there was nothing I could do. We would need to limit ourselves to some good old fashioned sabotage. It would only have a small effect, but at least it was something.

“You should just talk to Luvias then…”

After being silent thus far, Karin muttered that in a low voice. I did have a magic communications device, but I heard Surfour was under Stied’s control too. If I tried using it and Stied’s men heard it instead, it was likely they would figure out my location, so it was best to refrain from trying.

“I doubt Luvias will lay low for long. She’s also royalty after all, I’m sure she’ll do something in her own way eventually.”
“…That’s true. I’m sure Luvias will end up doing something.”

Ciel agreed with me instantly, she seemed to trust my sister. I felt a bit jealous of having friends like that, who would place blind trust on her. I stood up after that to get things ready to leave.