Chapter 461: Lord Protector’s Visit

Editor: Tseirp

“Excuse me.”

With those words, a man entered the room.

He was dressed in the formal attire of the First Lord of the Navy of the Suje Kingdom, exuding perfect decorum.

He was the current Lord Protector of the Suje Kingdom, Kabui Somal.

The moment he entered the room, he took everything in.

The butler, Ronk, had opened the door.

Princess Iliaja was seated directly in front of him.

Behind her, slightly to the side, stood a swordsman and a robed figure, likely a magician.

Kabui Somal found this puzzling.

None of Princess Iliaja’s attendants matched those two individuals.

Of course, he didn’t know all of her subordinates, but he was familiar with her personal guards.

Yet those two were not among them.

(Are they overseers sent by the Principality?)

He reached a plausible conclusion.

If the Principality had requested it, Princess Iliaja would have been unable to refuse.

He likely couldn’t demand that these two leave the room either.

(Well, it’s fine. In that case, I just won’t let them leave the room. As long as they don’t report back to the Principality government, it won’t matter if they hear a few things here…)

Maintaining a calm expression, Kabui Somal considered this internally.

As he approached Princess Iliaja, he crossed his arms, fists clenched, before his chest, and knelt on one knee.

That was the deepest bow of respect toward royalty.

“Lord Kabui Somal, please raise your head.”

“My thanks.”

Princess Iliaja spoke, and Kabui Somal responded.

“I wish to discuss several matters, but not here, so let’s go to the terrace.”

With those words, the princess stood and led the way to the terrace.

The swordsman followed her.

Kabui Somal stood and made his way to the terrace.

The robed man trailing him.

It appeared the swordsman and robed man were acting as bodyguards.

On the terrace, a table had been set up, with two chairs placed on either side.

Princess Iliaja sat in one, the swordsman and the robed man stood behind her.

Kabui Somal took the other seat.

“Your Highness, thank you for making time to…”

“Please, get to the point.”

Princess Iliaja raised a hand, cutting off Kabui Somal’s polite introduction, urging him to continue.

Surprised, Kabui Somal glanced at the two individuals standing behind her and spoke.

“Forgive me, but I would like to speak with Her Highness alone.”

He stated it plainly.

However, neither the swordsman nor the robed man moved.

Not even their expressions changed.

Instead, Princess Iliaja responded.

“These people are trustworthy. They are here because I wished for their protection.”

“But, Your Highness…”

“Lord Kabui Somal, I have placed my utmost trust in these two. Is that not enough?”

“Of course… Forgive me.”

The moment Princess Iliaja spoke, Kabui Somal was convinced.

His actions had been correct.

He had never felt such pressure, not even from his late master…

“To be direct. Our wish is for Your Highness to return to the country and reign as queen.”

“Queen?”

Princess Iliaja frowned in suspicion at Kabui Somal’s words.

The two standing behind her, Ryo and Abel, were also surprised but remained still, keeping their expressions neutral.

“Yes. Everything we’ve done has been for that purpose.”

“For that… you executed my family…?”

Princess Iliaja’s face turned pale.

Though it was more from anger than sorrow…

“I do not expect forgiveness. If Your Highness becomes queen and wishes it, I will step down. I am prepared to offer my life…”

“That’s not… that’s not what I’m talking about… why me…”

As Kabui Somal declared his readiness to sacrifice himself, Princess Iliaja struggled to find words, overwhelmed by emotion.

At that moment, Kabui Somal raised his head firmly, meeting her gaze with determined eyes.

Then, he spoke clearly.

“It was by the direct imperial command of His Majesty, the King.”

Those words were filled with deep respect.

They were words offered to the one to whom he had devoted his entire being.

They were words that brought back memories of words he wished he had never heard… even if they were imperial orders.

“This entire matter was by the direct command of His Majesty, the King.”

“My father’s…”

Once more, Kabui Somal spoke clearly, though his eyes closed as he did so, tears beginning to form.

Princess Iliaja answered in a daze.

“This is His Majesty’s final command.”

With those words, Kabui Somaru took out a document from his pocket and handed it to Princess Iliaja.

‘This is an imperial command. By any means necessary, ensure that Iliaja ascends to the throne as queen.’

That was what it said.

“My father’s… handwriting…”

Tears fell from Iliaja’s eyes.

Her father had been strong and strict, yet also kind.

Over the past two years, he had been bedridden more often, his eyesight failing, and he had ceased inspecting the castle grounds.

Before that, he had gone into town twice a week to meet with the people.

Three times a year, he would take a small entourage and tour the country by ship.

He was a king beloved by the people.

But everything changed two years ago.

“Regarding the king’s accident, it has been revealed that the Crown Prince and the Grand Duchy of Atinjo were involved.”

“My brother and… the Grand Duchy? Are you certain?”

“Yes. At His Majesty’s command, I personally led the investigation. Based on the findings, His Majesty issued the imperial command…”

“…”

Despite Kabui Somal’s explanation, Princess Iliaja couldn’t find any words.

The Crown Prince… her eldest brother had always been kind to Iliaja.

True, he had a strong desire for power, an obsession with wealth, and a particularly bad relationship with their other siblings, especially the younger ones… but even so, she couldn’t believe he would go so far as to harm their father.

“Even if my elder brother… the Crown Prince, was involved, there was no need to kill all my other siblings as well.”

“I apologize… that was due to my failure.”

“Failure?”

“Originally, the plan was to capture the Crown Prince and all the other siblings, and then have His Majesty pass the throne to you, Princess. However, during the capture of the Crown Prince… he passed away.”

“Passed away…?”

“It wasn’t under normal circumstances… it was likely an assassination by someone. However, the fact remains that it was our failure. Furthermore, at the same time, His Majesty the King also passed away. And all the princes and princesses we had captured as well…”

Kabui Somal explained with a tone of regret.

“That’s absurd… the King, the Crown Prince, and the other princes and princesses? The most stringent security measures should have been in place to prevent such assassinations. Who could have possibly bypassed all that…?”

“It wasn’t a matter of ‘who’, but ‘where’. A nation with expertise in such matters…”

“Eh… Could it have been the Atinjo Grand Duchy?”

The Atinjo Grand Duchy was said to be in alliance with the Crown Prince.

They swiftly eliminated the Crown Prince, who had evidence linking him to them and even finished off the ailing King.

“The reason they went to such lengths…”

“They aimed to plunge the entire nation into chaos. Not only the royal family but also the central government and the navy’s leadership were decimated. In fact, I was targeted… and due to poison, I hovered between life and death for three months.”

“Was that why the central government was so inactive while I was in Tamako Province?”

“Yes…”

Hearing this tale, which perfectly fits the term ‘clandestine struggle’, both Ryo and Abel were shocked.

To superimpose an event like this on the timing of a coup d’état, completely paralyzing the nation’s governance abilities.

Although such things have occasionally occurred in Earth’s history, doing so with such perfect timing is extraordinarily difficult.

Usually, these actions would occur days or months after a coup.

Destroying everything completely once and then infiltrating the new regime during the reconstruction phase…

The infiltrators would not be politicians but civil servants.

In other words, they would already be embedded in the bureaucratic machinery.

As for whether that happened in Suje Kingdom, it’s unclear.

“I understand.”

Princess Iliaja raised her head as she spoke.

“I also understand that it was a decree from my father… His Majesty the King.”

She paused for a moment.

Before continuing.

“Lord Kabui Somal, it must have been painful for you. Serving my father since your youth… and then receiving such an order as his final command.”

“…”

“I do not blame you.”

“Your Highness?”

“There are others who are truly to blame. Recently, I’ve heard that the Ghegish-Lu Federation in the southern continent has also plunged into civil war. The timing is far too convenient. Perhaps the Atinjo Grand Duchy is behind this, seeking to swallow not only Ghegish-Lu but also this entire archipelago region.”

After saying this, Princess Iliaja closed her eyes.

A few moments later, she opened them again.

Her expression and gaze filled with determination.

“Lord Kabui Somal, I shall return to the kingdom and take the throne as queen.”

“Oh…”

“Will you support me?”

Kabui Somal clenched his fists with both hands, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and knelt.

He then declared firmly.

“This Kabui Somal will devote everything to Her Majesty the Queen.”

Upon hearing Kabui Somal’s words, Princess Iliaja nodded.

Then she turned around to face Ryo and Abel.

“This is how things have turned out.”

“Yea…”

“Hmm…”

At Princess Iliaja’s words, Ryo and Abel responded vaguely, unsure of what to say.

There were still many parts of the situation they didn’t fully understand.

But the situation was already in motion.

And it wouldn’t wait for them to catch up.

“I intend to return to the kingdom quickly and stabilize the situation. My honest hope is that both of you would come with me.”

“Huh…”

Ryo and Abel were at a loss for words at Princess Iliaja’s unexpected request.

Her request to have them accompany her was entirely unforeseen.

“We need to return to the Central Countries…”

“Yes, I understand. Of course, I’m not asking you to stay forever. Just until I ascend the throne… It seems that elements capable of easily taking the lives of the King and Crown Prince have infiltrated the kingdom during the chaos. So…”

“You want us to protect you?”

“But you have the royal guard, don’t you…?”

“Even with the royal guard, the previous King and Crown Prince were still killed.”

“Hmm…”

Ryo and Abel couldn’t easily reach a conclusion.

At that moment, a voice interrupted them.

“Forgive me, but what kind of people are these two?”

It was the voice of Kabui Somal, the Lord Protector.

It was only natural.

While he was grateful that the Princess had decided to return to the kingdom, she was asking for the two people behind her to come along as well.

Her trust in them seemed genuine, and there must have been something that earned that trust in the past.

That part was not something Kabui Somal would question at this point.

However, he did want to know who these people were.

He didn’t even know their names.

“This is Abel-san. And this is Ryo-san. Right, they are my comrades-in-arms.”

As Princess Iliaja said this, she smiled.

A smile so dazzling to Kabui Somal.

At the same time, the names of the two men sparked a memory within him.

“I see. Sir Ryo, who built the ice bridge in the recent naval battle, and Sir Abel, who crossed that bridge to take control of the flagship.”

“Wha…”

“Impressive, you know a lot.”

Ryo was surprised at Kabui Somal’s explanation, while Abel nodded.

“And recently, in the Second Central Plaza, you were the one who called out to me in a loud voice just after I returned.”

“Yes, that was Ryo.”

“Abel, it seems everything has been uncovered. At this rate, your schemes will be exposed as well.”

“Don’t say things that could cause misunderstandings.”

“Abel is the villain, and I’m the good guy. It’s crucial to establish that perception from the start.”

Ryo, the schemer, was already making his moves.

But first, there was something that needed to be discussed.

Between Ryo and Abel.

“Abel, what do you think of the Princess’s proposal?”

“Even if you ask me what I think… We can’t return to the Central Countries until the civil war in the Ghegish-Lu Federation ends, so we can’t move to the continent yet.”

“That’s right. And the Grand Duchy that has been causing trouble for the Suje Kingdom is located north of that federation, correct?”

“From the conversation, that’s what it seemed like. A powerful nation trying to seize both the Ghegish-Lu Federation and the archipelago region…”

Ryo and Abel were conversing in hushed tones.

“I’m inclined to help the Princess.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

“Not just emotionally, but logically as well.”

“Logically?”

“Yes, helping the Princess and getting her to send us to the continent from the Suje Kingdom seems like a viable option.”

“Oh, I see. That could work, but… are you okay with that?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll lose the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink deal at the ‘Blue Jade Inn Wannya’, you know?”

“Ugh… that is indeed a sad loss… but abandoning the Princess at this point feels too harsh.”

“She’s our comrade-in-arms, after all.”

Abel grinned in response to Ryo’s words.

He had intended to help as well, just like Ryo.

“Of course, we’ll need a promise that they’ll send us to the continent afterward.”

“Indeed. And we’ll need to withdraw the money we deposited with the Blue Jade Trading Company before we leave.”

“Right. I once heard about a water-attribute magician who forgot to withdraw their money from the guild and ended up in a terrible situation after leaving the country.”

“Yeah… that was quite a mess. I ended up having to destroy a village run by an assassin’s guild because of it.”

Abel spoke, and Ryo shook his head slightly, recalling the bitter past.

That experience had helped Ryo grow.

The two of them then stood before Princess Iliaja.

“If you can guarantee that we’ll be sent to the continent afterward, we’ll help.”

“Leave it to us! Consider it done!”

Abel and Ryo said with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Princess Iliaja crossed her arms in front of her chest and bowed deeply, showing the most respectful bow reserved for royalty.

Kabui Somal watched this with a slight tilt of his head, but when he opened his mouth, it was to say something else.

“First, we need to make arrangements to leave this country.”

“Indeed. Even though I requested asylum myself… the Principality might not easily grant permission for me to return to Suje Kingdom. After all, I’m a kind of hostage.”

Princess Iliaja nodded slightly, her expression showing some concern.

She understood that her actions had made the situation more difficult.

“Leave that to me. I’ll make sure the Principality asks us to leave.”

“Is that really possible?”

“Yes. Admiral Gus will handle it for us.”

Kabui Somal’s expression was mischievous, like that of a prankster…

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