Running Away From The Hero! Chapter 151.2 Side Stories – A certain imperial princess’s r

< Running Away from the Hero! Side Stories A certain imperial princesss reminiscence (14) >

Side Story A certain Imperial Princesss reminiscence (14)

The first emotion I felt after receiving the report was sheer dumbfoundedness. Its... already finished?!

Apparently so, Your Highness.

Already? Finished?! Seriously?

Y-yes. I heard that Sir Ast played a significant role in it...

Even Reia was making a very,very, sour face during her report.

Even Reia was making a very,

very

, sour face during her report.

If Im being honest, I didnt have high hopes of Ast taking care of this situation. All I did was handing him over to the military bigwigs and magicians as a sacrificial lamb so that they could vent so stress.

But to think that he actually resolved it...

Could it be that the militarys brass was incompetent? Or maybe Ast was just too capable?

I couldnt figure this one out at all.

What a conundrum.

Indeed it is, Your Highness. A conundrum.

Even Reia could tell that there were so many suspicious aspects to this situation.

Despite the geniuses of the empire working together, they couldnt co up with a solution to this problem. But Ast alone managed to deal with it during one single eting?

Honestly, itd be more convincing to say that this whole thing was staged, that everything unfolded according to the plan.

aning, stories of Ast being a spy from another kingdom or even a villainous organisation would have sounded more convincing.

But for that spy nonsense to be true, the worth of this new strategy was just too great.

I an, this strategy was so good that even the empires magicians had to rack their brains to co up with a way to defend against it.

So good, in fact, that the army even said the only way to prevent this attack was to patrol the airspace 24-hours a day with several Griffon, Drake, and Wyvern Knight Orders.

In such a scenario, a knight order would have to be constantly deployed to one military base at a bare minimum to take into account necessary breaks for the knights in question.

However, these werent so regular knights but the most valuable combat force of them all, the aerial knights!

Unsurprisingly, the military had to shelve this idea since it was impossible to put to practice.

Here was a problem that the empires geniuses of magic theory and military operations couldnt deal with. Was there a reason for a spy to find a solution to such a problem, then?

Th sourc of this conte/nt n/o/v/(l)bi((n))

Reia. Contact the military and tell them to reward Ast with a dal or plaque of appreciation at the very least.

Our opponent was Ast.

Ast the crazed dog who was gradually spreading his infamy within the imperial court.

Thats why I decided that, instead of racking my brain agonising over this, itd be better to test Ast at least once.

And the result of this test was...

Kuwaaaaahk! Mister Chief Magician! How could you do this to ?!

...I decided that he couldnt be a spy.

Y-your Highness, Sir Ast seems to have gone completely insane...? What should I do, maam?

Reia, Ast was already insane, to begin with. You know, dont you? His emotions have gone a little out of control right now. Leave him be for the ti being.

The sight of Ast desperately hugging the plaque while shedding a flood of tears went beyond the realm of insanity and straight into freakish.

Soooob, waaaaah... Mister Chief... How could you stab in the back like this... I trusted you!!!

What if this was all an act? In that case, itd be only polite for anyone to fall for it.

I was born in the imperial court filled with nefarious sches running amok. I had to bear witness to countless many instances of falsehoods and pretences as a result.

The only person of the imperial court who didnt lie or put on a facade was probably Reia and nobody else.

Ah, wait. In a way, Ast was qualified to be included in that category, too.

Only hed be ballsy enough to behave like a lunatic in front of without a single hint of worry, after all.

Still, that did help figure out instinctively who was putting on a facade and who was lying to .

When rookies lie, they often display a noticeable tick.

When mid-tiers lie, they often obsess over the idea of a perfect lie, which makes them easily noticeable, instead.

But when masters lie, they lie to themselves first before spewing their lies. Since they believed it to be the truth, their lies would often go undetected.

And Ast was currently displaying a figure of a man who exceeded the level of regular emotions and let his actual soul wallow in despair.

If a person could put on an act where their soul was wailing out in sorrow, then well, that person would surely claim to be the greatest scamr in the entire world.

Your Highness, this... This is verging on the realm of frightening. P-please, do sothing.

Youre supposed to be a swordmaster, so stop getting scared of things like this, Reia.

Weve been watching this scene for around ten minutes already, but Ast displayed not one hint of stopping his sorrowful wailing any ti soon.

No, wait. His sobbing had gotten even worse instead, evolving into sothing frightening enough to scare a bona fide swordmaster.

At this rate, another weird rumour might start within the imperial court. Before that happens, I better put a stop to his shenanigans. Ast, if you dont put a lid on it, Im going to upgrade your title to the viscount.

Do you wish to kill that badly, Your Highness?!

A hollow chuckle leaked out of my mouth on its own after I saw how he jumped back up to his feet while freaking out.

A normal person wouldve been ready to put their life on the line for the sake of upgrading their title, yet this man...

This fool started making a face of a dying man as soon as I threatened him with a better noble title.

Still, it seed that Ive stumbled onto another good threat besides the one about us getting engaged, so theres that.

In any case, Ast? Youve done well to resolve that situation.

But, nothings been resolved for , Your Highness.

Thats your problem. I sipped my still-hot tea and stared at Ast. He started making a face with no hidden intentions while staring at . And whats the aning of that disgusted expression of yours, Ast?

Oh, Im so sorry, Your Highness. It seems that I couldnt control my expression at all just now.

...At least you didnt try to deny it.

I wouldnt dare to lie to Your Highness whos as great as the sky, after all.

Reia was quietly muttering, Itd been better if he denied it, though... right next to . Honestly, I was in agreent with her, too.

This fool, were his balls cast out of solid iron or so such?

He didnt even hesitate to insult the imperial family mber, yet he deeply hated the idea of being granted nobility?

Our itinerary has gotten so much simpler, all thanks to you, Ast. We now have the luxury of free ti on our hands, I said.

Wait, you couldnt possibly be saying that I should take responsibility for making you bored since I was the culprit in the first place?

I am not that incorrigible, though?!

...Ah, is that so?

Ast looking at like that is one thing, but Reia, why are you staring at like that, too?!

When I furrowed my brow a little, Reia fake-coughed softly and hurriedly avoided eting my gaze.

As for Ast...

Your Highness, Da Reias expression was seemingly saying, Ah, is that so? I had no idea, my lady, or sowhere there about...

Sir Ast?! There is absolutely no need for you to explain that to her highness! Reias scary glare was oh-so nicely explaining that to Ast.

She tried to block Asts mouth physically, but he nimbly dodged that and continued to explain how disappointed Reia was with my conduct. However, I completely ignored the two and shifted my attention over to the intel provided by the intelligence division.

Hmm... Hoh-oh... Heh-eh?

I made Ast join this military division so he could do so work for there. Whatever the case might be, however, it was still acknowledged as a totally separate entity on its own right from the rest of the military.

When considering his age or speciality, this certainly was a rather destructive job posting but well, thats how us the imperial family operated, anyway.

This move allowed to peek at the information from various sources collected by an independent entity that not even the commander of the imperial forces could easily interfere with.

The report contained information on military exercises of other kingdoms, border skirmishes of varying scales, as well as movents of monsters.

But what grabbed my attention the most was a story coming from two minor kingdoms located in the centre of the continent.

Did sothing happen, Your Highness?

Ng. For the sake of peace, two minor kingdoms found near the centre of the continent were trying to form an alliance by marrying off their prince and princess, or so it says.

That sounds like wonderful news, Your Highness, said Ast.

Wow, you said sothing that doesnt suit you at all, Sir Ast, Reia retorted.

Uh-huh! Let tell you sothing, you wont find a more peace-loving pacifist than in this whole world! Da Reia, do you even know what it feels like to watch your carefully cultivated fields going up in flas?!

If it wasnt for that event, I wouldve remained as a regular farr and not having such a hard ti like this!

M-my apologies.

Ast wouldve usually smiled and brushed her remark aside or co up with a cheeky counter of his own. But at least this ti, he was getting angry for real.

Reia looked flustered by his reaction judging from how quickly she apologised, but it wasnt enough to quell Asts rage.

It seed that the event of his farm burning down beca his lifelong trauma.

Do you know how it feels like to watch the crops you spent a whole dang year cultivating going up in flas?!

M-my apologies... Im sorry that I dont know what its like! I never fard before, so I dont know!

At this rate, even Reia might develop a trauma or two. I should stop this nonsense right now. Excuse , Viscount Ast?

...Its baron, Your Highness! Baron! No, wait! A baron whos about to beco a commoner!

On one side, Ast was glaring at while looking pale as a sheet. On the other side, Reia was gradually regaining her calm.

Hah-ah... Why are none of my direct subordinates normal?

For so reason, I felt this stinging glare on my skin, but I didnt spare much thought to that.

Your Highness. When you were talking about the attempted alliance earlier, were you trying to imply that it didnt succeed?

Ng, thats exactly it.

The one who couldnt endure the silence and asked first was Ast.

You really do have quick wits, Ast. Although the kingdom initially tried to hide it, the truth was that the princess was assassinated.

Oh my goodness! Reia gasped.

It must be pandemonium over there, then, said Ast.

Yup, it sure is.

Although Ast summarised that situation rather succinctly, according to the intelligence division, the positions of the two kingdoms were very complicated right now.

While the prince was travelling from his kingdom for the engagent, the princess was assassinated. Not only that, all personnel who couldve served as witnesses were slaughtered, as well.

Except for the princess that died a clean death, others were left in such a grueso state that their remains couldnt even be properly identified.

Not a single clue about the assassins could be found.

As this engagent was already a source of internal political strife, itd be safe to assu that the forces from the princesss kingdom that opposed the marriage were responsible for this act.

And on top of that, even the prince himself got assassinated later, too.

Wow...

Clap, clap, clap...

Ast making a stunned face began clapping his hands. Thats like pouring oil into a raging inferno, then.

As a result, their situation worsened to the point where a war can break out at any second now.

The intelligence divisions report stated that the royal courts of each kingdom had already lost control of their own incensed nobles by now.

It seems that war is imminent, then. Ah, aaah... those poor peasants and farrs, Ast sorrowfully muttered.

You dont feel sorry for the dead prince and princess?

But, Your Highness, isnt that the fate of the royalty? If your political life works out, then you will be in the lap of luxury for life. But if it doesnt, then you get banished in the blink of an eye or worse, lose your life.

S-Sir Ast?! Reia gasped again.

You actually said that straight to the face of an imperial, I see. I was left almost speechless at how brazen he was. Alright, fine. Oh, dear Sir Ast who pities the poor farrs. Tell , how do you think this situation will play out?

Even if the scale of the operation was small, the one who sent this info through to was the head of an independent military division.

Since that person allowed this info to reach , a rather annoying task of giving my opinion on the matter would surely follow.

Well, it wasnt like they would seriously consider my opinion on the matter just because I gave them one, but still.

Hmm... This bit about minor kingdoms in the centre of the continent is bothering , Your Highness. Can you tell the nas of the kingdoms in question?

Ones the Madesen Kingdom, while the other one is Halkas.

Smack dab in the middle, is it... Not only that, two kingdoms known to be the weakest of them all, too.

Thanks to that, they got beaten up pretty good by the others around them rather often in the past.

Is there any advantage of two such kingdoms joining hands, Your Highness?

As they are two weak kingdoms, they generously spread around bribes in several places to survive. Their military might is poor, so they chose diplomacy as a ans to their continued existence.

When I told him the information I knew, Ast began making a rather serious face. Your Highness? This incident... might balloon into sothing a bit more troubleso.

Even though their military is so weak that a single division of ours can easily wipe them out?

If its only those two kingdoms bickering, then yes, itd end after a little bit of back-and-forth. However... if not, this matter can potentially beco sothing a bit larger.

Can you be more specific?

Well, how about a continent-wide war where the majority of this continents kingdoms has to participate?

Haaah?

They were talking about two minor kingdoms in the centre of the continent here. Small, trifling nations with territories and armies so pitifully small that they could be overrun in a single day.

But because of those two small kingdoms, a war spanning the entire continent might break out?

Its just a maybe, Your Highness. But, if this war devolves into a fight of ones pride, then Id wager that all the friendly nations of those two kingdoms will join the war.

Will that really happen, though? If pride is enough to instigate a continental war, then well, it shouldve started back when your old kingdom was destroyed.

That one didnt have a suitable pretext, Your Highness. A stupid feudal lord from my old kingdom invaded first, after all. But in this case, both sides can easily manufacture pretexts for their own convenience.

Indeed, since both the prince and princess lost their lives in very questionable circumstances, after all.

There was no tangible information on the assassins. All thats left behind in their wake were the cold corpses of a prince and a princess.

Even so, a continent-wide war? The scale you speak of is just too big.

Its just my opinion on the matter, Your Highness. I an, Im your butler and all, so shouldnt my thoughts match the grand-sounding job title?

Whats your take on this, Reia?

Uh... mm... well...

I turned my head slightly and glanced at Reia, only for her to start panicking and stare openly at Ast. She then said, I, I also think what Sir Ast is saying is correct, my lady!

And what was Ast talking about, then?

Uhm, a continent-wide war?

Ast chid in. Lets be honest here, werent you trying to ride my coattail since you couldnt think up of anything, Da Reia?

Urgh...

Reia clamped her mouth shut at Asts teasing. The sight of her shooting daggers at him was rather adorable to see.

Reia, this is your new howork. You must organise your thoughts logically and present with your opinion tomorrow.

Since thats the case, let make her even more adorable.

B-but, Your Highness?!

Ast isnt my only direct subordinate, after all. Reia, youre also one. No, wait. You have a bigger say in this since this matter involves military affairs.

Y-your Highness, I...

The way she stared at with just a hint of resentnt was also rather adorable.

Im going to submit your thoughts to the armys brass in your na, so you better not be sloppy with it, alright? If its not up to snuff, theyll probably report it straight to Marquis Areis, too.

Y-yes, my lady...

Just as Reia began to sniffle away quietly, Ast next to her began running his mouth to rub it in. Like a man dumping salt on his enemys wounds, his glib tongue digging rcilessly into her psychological wounds was sothing to behold, indeed.

Reias sniffles eventually turned into a full-on wail in the end.

Alright, so. This... should do the trick, I guess?

I finished my report while listening to the background music of Asts rciless taunting and Reia trying to fight back only to scream at his unexpected counter.

As for the content of my report, I simply added a few additional aspects to what Ast told just now.

Well, it seems passable.

Our influence on the army was already negligible, to begin with. As such, even I failed to imagine the extent of devastating ripples that this little report, written without much care, would go on to cause.

Thats because... after half a year of warfare between Madesen and Helkas Kingdoms, a continent-wide war really did break out as predicted by this report.