“Im-impossible…”
The man who had been meeting with Mia just the other day muttered those words in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him. His companions were being driven back by Razek Amamiya’s soldiers.
He could tell they were in chaos, trying to escape the sudden intrusion of the soldiers. Everything had been going so well up to that point. They had even managed to get Princess Mia’s approval, which would serve as their banner to justify their actions. And just as their plan was progressing, all their companions had gathered, and they were about to have their discussion with Princess Mia, this commotion broke out.
Mia, standing right beside him, looked at the stunned man and said with a bored expression, “Why are you so surprised? We’ve already gathered the evidence, so it’s only natural that this would happen, isn’t it?”
The man lashed out at Mia’s words. “B-but, if it comes to this, you won’t get away with it either!” He already understood that Mia had orchestrated this situation. The presence of Towa right next to her confirmed it. However, what the man still couldn’t understand was Mia herself. The reason he had trusted Mia until this point was that she herself had gone so far as to accept her own punishment. He didn’t know if she had intended this from the beginning, but he never imagined that Mia would stop their plan by sacrificing herself.
To the bewildered man, Mia smiled and said, “You know, I have to thank you for that.”
“…What?”
To his unexpected words, the man tilted his head. He didn’t understand what she meant.
To the man, Mia shrugged and said, “Because of you, I can stay away from troublesome things like politics for a while. …Right?”
Her last words of confirmation were directed at Towa. Towa, seeing his younger sister’s gaze, nodded with a pained expression. “Ah. Unfortunately, that will be the punishment. …It’s a shame I won’t be able to rely on my capable sister’s help.”
“Oh, dear. It can’t be helped. After all, I lent a hand to wicked and depraved individuals.” Mia said with a look of sadness, to which Towa returned a wry smile. Of course, he could see through Mia’s expression as an act.
“Well, setting aside whether these people are wicked and depraved, the crime of inviting foreign enemies is certain,” Towa said, waving a document in his right hand. It was part of the document that the man and Mia had been exchanging until just before. It clearly contained content that suggested they were colluding with foreign powers. It was undoubtedly a decisive piece of evidence.
“I see. So? How much will my punishment be?” To Mia’s question, Towa replied with a grimace.
“Let’s see… You’ll probably be confined to a certain place in the tower for a while.”
“Oh! That’s too bad.” Mia’s expression was sad, but Towa didn’t look disappointed at all. He could tell she was rejoicing internally.
Upon hearing their conversation, the man finally understood the situation and his face turned red. “No way, from the very beginning…!?” He realized from their conversation, which seemed to be going according to plan, that Mia had approached him with this in mind from the start.
To the man’s indignant look, Mia looked at him and shrugged. “Who knows? What do you think?” With an attitude that clearly indicated she no longer cared about the man, his face turned even redder.
“Y-you!” The man reached for the sword he was holding, but he was immediately stopped by the surrounding soldiers. Crown Prince Towa was present, and naturally, his personal guards were with him.
“That’s enough. Take them away quickly.” Towa said, and the personal guards immediately led the man to the soldiers who were taking away the others. The man had been acting as the leader, so they had given him special treatment to observe him. Since that was no longer necessary, he was rounded up like the others.
Mia, watching this, said softly, “With this, unfortunately, I can no longer show my face at the castle.”
Towa, looking at Mia’s face as she said this, sighed and replied, “If possible, I’d prefer it if your words and expressions matched.”
“Oh dear, Brother. It must be your imagination.” Mia said, holding her hand up to her mouth with a mock laugh.
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Several days after the capture in the Northern Town.
“Im-impossible.” King Evgeni of the Sarani Kingdom was trembling, holding two sealed letters. The two letters had arrived from different sources, but their contents were almost identical: they stated the cessation of trade with the Sarani Kingdom. The letters were from the Razek Amamiya Kingdom and the Crown. The Crown had sent it as an organizational response, while Razek Amamiya’s was a diplomatic communication prohibiting trade with the Sarani Kingdom as a nation. For the Sarani Kingdom, which had profited greatly from its trade with the Crown during the time the Northern Town was taken over by Razek Amamiya, this was a significant blow. While the exact figures would require his subordinates to calculate, he knew from a quick mental estimate that the number would be substantial. Furthermore, it was compounded by the fact that not only was trade being halted, but the Crown was also planning to establish a branch of the Crown in another nation on the North Continent. This meant that both Razek Amamiya and the Crown would be completely unaffected by the trade suspension. Previously, trade had been conducted by sea, but with teleport gates, the constraints of time and distance would be eliminated, potentially leading to even greater results. This was an unforeseen situation for King Evgeni. He had to act immediately to address this crisis.
At the same time.
At the Blue Church, the Primate was also trembling, holding a letter just like King Evgeni. This was a joint letter from the primates of the other churches on the North Continent. “Im-impossible.” The Primate of the Blue Church uttered the same words as the King, but his shock might have been even greater. The content of the letter demanded that he either cede his position as Primate of the Blue Church or the Blue Church would have to secede from the other nine churches. In this completely unexpected situation, the Primate of the Blue Church’s mind went blank. However, even in this state, he could guess why this had happened. “Razek Amamiya… and the Crown, huh…” He didn’t know if they were superior as individuals or as organizations, but he had never imagined they would exert enough influence to mobilize all nine churches other than the Blue Church simultaneously. He pondered where he had miscalculated, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t figure it out. He only knew that he was cornered to a point of no return. The fact that they had sent a joint written statement meant that it would eventually be officially announced. Even if they managed to suppress information within the church, he knew it would eventually spread as rumors. In that case, even if the Primate of the Blue Church clung to his current position, it was obvious he would be overthrown. In either scenario, he was trapped. The Primate of the Blue Church slumped his shoulders in defeat.
They were dealt with easily. Some might say that it’s not right, especially considering everything the Primate of the Blue Church had been doing behind the scenes, but it’s fine this way! lol
