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Chapter 141: Assassinating the Emperor ①

~Princess Luna’s Perspective~

After several hours of running along the long escape route, Nelfie-san and I arrived at our destination, the entrance to the imperial castle. We will only proceed from here after Aun-san or His Highness Ruzark contacts us. When I turned off the magic lamp and held my breath in the darkness, I could feel my heart beating louder than usual, coupled together with the aftermath of the previous attack.

That said, the real thing starts from here on… I don’t want to be so foolish as to lose my composure and narrow my outlook. As I quietly closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my heartbeat, I was reminded of what had happened up until now.

——I was born and raised as a member of the royal family in the Ibrudia Empire.

My family consisted of four people: My father who was the Emperor, my mother who was the Empress, my older brother who was the Crown Prince, and myself. Originally, an Emperor was supposed to have a concubine, but my father didn’t do it.

The heir was decided as soon as my brother was born. When I was a child, I badgered him about wanting a younger brother and a younger sister. He said that he wanted to reduce the chances of a civil war for the throne as much as possible and that this was a secret between the two of us, with a shy smile on his face.

I don’t know if it was true, but it is the undeniable truth to me.

Although my father was strict with himself and others, he was always thinking of not only the people of the Empire, but of the Sphin continent as a whole, and was trying to build a system of cooperation with other countries. One of them was the development of magic airships.

By developing air routes, we will be able to move much faster than before and will be able to transport large amounts of goods. If that were to happen, not only will trade between countries be revitalized, but it will also be possible to trade with the island country Bukyo and the country of Ordila, which is surrounded by mountains. He always said we can not only enrich the lives of our people, but the lives of all people.

Five years ago, however… My father, who was a reasonable and rational pacifist, suddenly changed and steered toward emotional and absurd militarism.

Naturally, there were many who opposed it, but after most of them were purged, the imperial capital was ruled with fear.

What’s more… The targets of the purge included my own mother and brother.

Garnet, my mother, was kind and wise. She taught me everything I wanted to know. From an early age, she arranged a tutor in magic and swordsmanship for me, and thanks to that, I was able to achieve outstanding grades at the academy compared to my contemporaries. She was also the one who showed me the way forward, saying, “A woman of the Imperial family should never yield.”

Although my brother Roy was 5 years older than me, he always cared for me and possessed both the kindness inherited from our mother and the rationality inherited from our father. The new star of the Ibrudia Empire who would lead the next generation… That was my beloved older brother. My father said “I could die in peace now” because of my brother’s excellence.

My wise mother and brother stated their honest opinions against my father’s new militarism. They stated that even the Emperor shouldn’t not go too extreme.

However, the result of that was the “purge”.

The reason why I was the only one in my family to survive was probably because the demons thought I would be the easiest to manipulate if something happened to the Emperor. Simply put, I was a “backup puppet”.

Perhaps the demons even knew that I wasn’t brainwashed. I think I was able to move around freely thanks to the demons underestimating me as an insignificant little girl.

In the first place, I am not a devoted enough woman to risk my life for the Empire. However, I continue to move with two goals driving me forward now.

One of them is revenge. I have to pay back the demons who manipulated and killed my beloved family members and ruined the honor of my respected father.

The second is to stop my father’s violent behavior. There is only one way to prevent my father from suffering any more…

When I looked back on the past and thought of my family, the feelings in my heart tightened up again.

Five years ago, when there was nothing but despair, I thought of ways to overcome the current situation. Even though I was at a loss many times, I continued to move forward.

When I defected to the Arto Kingdom, I even had to say goodbye to my fellow adventurers who had been my trusted friends since my school days. Today was the result of numerous sacrifices.

…I’ve finally come this far. All that’s left now is to bring an end to this with my own hands!

≪Your Highness Princess Luna, Nelfie-san. Two demons have appeared in the Imperial City Conference Hall. Commence the operation!≫

≪Roger. Commencing the Imperial Castle infiltration now.≫

A telepathic message from His Highness Ruzark pulled me back from my deep sea of thought.

I have made up my mind. It is clear what should be done.

I slowly opened my eyes, clenching the ring I wore on my left hand before pushing it into the depression that was the keyhole. And the door leading to the imperial castle’s dungeon slowly opened.

Please wait for me, father.

I will definitely release you from that pain.