『WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-!』

Cheers echoed through the Imperial Capital.

They were all directed at Mercurio’s army as it marched through the city.

There was also cheering for Mercuiro and Frizione as they advanced alongside the army.

While Mercurio had been the one to request the victory parade, it was Prime Minister Pesche who had seen to the lavish preparations.

Considering it had been a civil war, a victory parade would normally have been impossible.

Mercurio had been the traitor after all and the army led by the traitor had won by defeating the Empire’s punitive force.

In fact, Pesche had originally intended the victory parade to be fore the punitive force, led by Kabajid and Shurus.

When his master, Emperor Tragist, had heard the results of the final battle, it had exceeded his expectations so much that he couldn’t help but burst into roaring laughter that echoed through the entire audience hall.

While it may have appeared to be a civil war, it was really a war to decide on the heir to the throne.

No, in fact, it could be said that it had been the whole point of the war.

That was why a victory parade had been prepared, regardless of who had won.

(Still, it is a bit strange for father to be so nonchalant about so many deaths.)

Mercurio kept his true feelings to himself has he rode down the main street on horseback while waving to people.

The people seemed excited as he waved at them.

Many cheered loudly as they hoped for the prince to wave back at them.

「Theorem, did Shurus and the rest of the punitive force make it into the Imperial Capital safely?」

Smiling as he waved, Mercurio asked Theorem, who was close by him.

「Yes. They all entered through the north gate.」

「……I see.」

With how big the Imperial Capital was, there were naturally many gates around it.

There was of course the largest one, the main gate, and the gate close to it for nobles.

However, among all the gates, there were also a few special gates.

One of those gates was the gate at the north end of the Imperial Capital.

That gate was primarily used by those with shady backgrounds that couldn’t be made public, and it was through that gate that the defeated punitive force entered the Imperial Capital.

It was at this time that the adventurers, mercenaries, and volunteer soldiers who had participated in the war paid their fines. Some were able to pay immediately while those who didn’t have the money on hand were asked where they lived and told to pay the fine at a later date.

Naturally, some people tried to avoid paying the fine entirely, but considering it was only a few silver coins and the fact that they wouldn’t be able to work in or around the Imperial Capital if they didn’t pay the fine, most paid up.

Also, depending on who the noble was that hired them, some had their fine paid on their behalf……but such nobles were extremely rare.

The whole point of the fine was formal, even if symbolic, punishment after all.

The majority of those who had been paid in advance had no issues paying the fine.

For those who had already spent the money they had been paid, it was still possible to pay up with just a few days of work.

Of course, there were still those who absolutely didn’t want to pay the fine.

Many of those people were overly confident in their own strength, insisting that they still hadn’t lost even after the end of the civil war.

Those people had two options, they could either stubbornly refuse to pay the fine, be captured by the guards, and forced to pay an even larger fine, or escape from the Imperial Capital.

But, even if they could escape, they only place they could go to was away from cities.

Soldiers wouldn’t be sent out to pursue them over a few silver coins, but if it was ever found out that they had run away without paying their fine, they could receive a much heavier fine……or worse, be arrested.

In other words, their only real option would be to hole up in the countryside, out of practical reach from the government.

If they really didn’t like the countryside, leaving the Bestir Empire was also an options.

But, how many people would go that far just to avoid paying a fine of a few silver coins? ……It wasn’t that they didn’t exist, but such people were not common.

「I still need Shurus to be in service of me. I’ll leave the groundwork to you.」

「Yes. I will be sending one of my men to Prince Shurus.」

「Is that so, that’s good to hear. As for the nobles who were part of the punitive force……」

「Everything there is fine as well.」

Mercurio and Theorem continued to smile and wave at people as they exchanged words like that.

Another such person receiving cheers was Frizione, who also smiled and waved at people from her carriage window.

「Oh? What’s going on over there?」

「Y-Yes. Well……Princess Frizione is interested in these sorts of things, right?」

The maid riding in the carriage alongside her as her attendant was taken by surprise as she replied.

However, Feizione just nodded in agreement as she smiled and waved at the people they passed by.

「For a woman in the castle, the love lives of others are the ultimate entertainment. This is regardless of whether they are a maid, a noble, or royalty.」

「I certainly won’t deny that, but……」

「Then tell me. Besides, it’s related to the White Rose Knights, so it’s not unrelated to me, right?」

「That is, well……I guess you are right. No, but……」

The maid hesitated at Frizione’s reasoning.

「Come on, just tell me. You saw it, right?」

「……I understand. But, Princess, you should be more concerned about your own love affairs, not the love affairs of others. Being single at your age isn’t good for many reasons. You’ve received marriage proposals from nobles in the Bestir Empire, royalty from neighbouring countries, and even from the Mireana Kingdom.」

「What are you talking about? Love affairs are interesting because they involve other people. Come on, hurry up.」

The maid sighed in resignation before speaking, unable to believe that Frizione was saying such words as she smiled and waved at people.

「Justina was talking to the gatekeeper. They had a lot going on between them at first, especially when we were leaving the Imperial Capital. But, as they continued to talk, they became more comfortable with each other. You wouldn’t have been able to tell from just Justina’s behaviour though.」

「I see. Well then, she’ll have to try a little harder. But, since she went all the way to the noble gate, it’s impossible that she doesn’t hold any feelings, right?」

As Frizione spoke with her maid, the memory of her own escape from the Imperial Capital came to mind.

As White Rose Knight, Justina had had a rather confrontational exchange with a gatekeeper at the noble gate.

But, no matter how it had started, it seemed that the two of them were now on what could be considered friendly terms.

「But, the boy is of noble descent, right? I imagine his partner would need to be of suitable standing as well……the fact that he is a gatekeeper at the noble gate would suggest he is a noble?」

「Yes. However, as he is the third son of Baron Ashdan, there might be some issues with regards to status.」

「……I see. If anything happens, please be prepared to help.」

「Is that okay? I wouldn’t think Baron Ashden would be happy about it.」

Even as a noble of the lowest rank among nobles with land, it wasn’t strange for a baron to consider a political marriage to further the family’s development. ……No, in this case, it was precisely because he was a low ranking noble that he would be greedier for higher status.

The rank of knight was a title valid for only a single generation, typically awarded to commoners who had made some level of achievement. So while Justina was a knight, she was a knight with regards to title but not in the military sense.

With further achievements, a knight could become a baron, the difficulty of that was vastly greater than that of becoming a knight in the first place.

「Justina’s father, like Baron Ashden, is extremely ambitious. Isn’t that why Justina joined the White Rose Knights?」

While Justina didn’t have the skills to become a unit captain, Frizione’s impression of her was that she had a good heart.

Of course, those with bad personalities or character were usually rejected before they could join the White Rose Knights.

「In any case, there aren’t many opportunities to meet new people within the White Rose Knights, so let’s just support Justina’s encounter……while making sure that everyone understands the situation, of course.」

「……If anything, aren’t you just looking forward to the whole thing?」

Frizione pretended not to hear the maid’s suspicious tone as she waved to the people outside.

Deciding that there was no point in saying anything more, the maid changed the topic abruptly.

「More importantly, Princess Frizione. With the end of the civil war, it has been decided that Prince Mercurio will be the next in line to the throne. Are you happy about that?」

「Well, who knows?」

「I was thinking that if Princess Frizione had been a little more determined, you could have been next in line instead of Prince Mercurio.」

「……That’s impossible. With Rei at his side, there would have been nothing we could do. That is, unless we had Noiz with us. And……while it is true that I once wanted the throne……I now believe that assisting Mercurio is enough to achieve my goals.」

「Everyone’s……happiness?」

「I wouldn’t go that far. The truth is that many people died in this civil war. It’s impossible to say that everyone will be happy. But……even so, I want to make as many people happy as possible. To achieve that, we need to build friendly relations with the Mireana Kingdom, not a hostile one.」

Of course, Frizione knew that building a friendly relationship with the Mireana Kingdom wouldn’t be easy.

As a land locked empire surrounded by mountains, gaining access to the sea was essential.

Up until now, they had hoped to gain access to the sea by occupying the Mireana Kingdom with their superior national power and military might.

Of course, it wasn’t just about the sea.

While the Mireana Kingdom wasn’t as strong as the Bestir Empire, it was still a powerful nation.

That much was evident from the fact that it still existed despite being at war with the Bestir Empire for so many years.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how much benefit the Bestir Empire would gain from annexing such a country.

Adding on to that, there had been past attempts to establish friendly relations with the Mireana Kingdom, but those efforts had all fallen through.

It was because of those failed attempts at establishing friendly relations that had led to the Bestir Empire current stance of occupation and annexation instead.

「But……if we fight to forcefully annex them, it will undoubtedly spark a fire. Especially now that Rei is with the Mireana Kingdom and it is highly likely that Vihera will side with Rei in the event of war. Rei managed to defeat the S ranked Noiz and Vihera also defeated the A ranked Digma. In addition……Digma has hinted at leaving the Bestir Empire. I don’t think we can achieve much by fighting the Mireana Kingdom.」

Though she was still smiling, Frizoine’s words carried an opposing feeling of melancholy.

 

 

「Wow……that’s impressive, Captain Rei.」

Near the rear of Mercurio’s army.

There, the guerrilla soldier spoke in surprise as the people cheered for them.

They had never been treated like this before and excitement began to form in their eyes after the initial surprise.

「That’s true. I definitely didn’t expect them to have made such extensive preparations.」

For Rei, this had been a civil war, so while they had won, he had even considered the possibility that they could be attacked as soon as they entered the Imperial Capital.

However, they hadn’t been greeted by soldiers upon entering, but by cheering crowds.

「I’m sure there are various behind the scenes arrangements, political dealings, and so on……」

「Guru~?」

Set turned around to look at Rei with head tilted.

「No, it’s nothing. Anyway, our top priority right now is to finish this victory parade.」

Rubbing the back of Set’s neck, Rei took off the hood of his Dragon Robe, at Theorem’s request, as they joined the procession in an unfamiliar manner.

Those familiar with the fighting tournament cheered loudly at Rei’s appearance, and even those with untrained eyes couldn’t help but sigh in admiration at Rei’s feminine looking face.

……Of course, the latter also included admiration for Set, who Rei was riding.

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