Little Hero Anon (2)
Bandits infiltring the royal castle—this was a rare incident, even in Ostland.
“Your Majesty, an armed group is rampaging inside the castle!”
“Send the Sheffields' enforcement unit at once! The knights currently stationed at the castle can’t handle this!”
The Chancellor hurriedly issued orders. Most of the knights had already been dispatched to the border. The only ones remaining in the castle were the security detail and a portion of the royal guard. With the scale of the enemy unknown, they had no choice but to deploy Ostland’s elite shadow force.
“Most of the enforcement unit is already at the border. Evacuate the families immediately and fortify our defenses.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knight saluted and ran off to relay the message.
“This timing is too convenient…”
The King of Ostland pondered at the unnervingly perfect timing.
However, messengers continued to arrive one after another, reporting that part of the royal castle had already been taken.
“Judging from their equipment, it seems they disguised themselves as adventurers to infiltrate the kingdom.”
“Using the adventurer system for warfare is forbidden… Such vile tactics—it must be the Empire.”
Abusing the adventurer system for warfare was forbidden across the continent and would be universally condemned. Even this world had at least some established rules for war.
If adventurers were used as spies, then the Adventurers’ Guilds could no longer remain neutral. Therefore, the guilds offered no support to the rampaging attackers. In fact, the Ostland Adventurers’ Guild had already begun mobilizing to apprehend the assailants.
A brutal purge had begun among adventurers in the royal capital, but the guild’s forces were few and overwhelmed.
Erase everything. Leave no evidence. The Empire’s intentions were transparent.
“Father! Please use this escape route.”
A prince appeared. It was Ridimas, the fifth prince—more accurately, the former prince, who had been slated to be sent to a monastery.
Though no longer a prince, he had remained in the castle while a suitable monastery was being selected. Sending him to the wrong place could cause trouble.
The King of Ostland had once had high hopes for him. He had believed Ridimas would someday assist his brothers and contribute to the kingdom’s prosperity.
At first, Ridimas had worked hard to live up to his status. But as his concubine mother and her family began to interfere, he became arrogant and was eventually cast aside by the king.
Ostland was entering a period of reform. All unstable elements had to be removed. It was a painful decision for the king. Still, even if they would never meet again, Ridimas would live a normal life at the monastery—so he had believed.
And now, that very son had come in a panic to help him. If only he had realized sooner what it meant to be royalty…
As Ridimas approached, any knights nearby might have stopped him. But the knights were watching the situation outside the audience chamber, wary of the windows and hallways, not suspecting Ridimas of aiding the attackers.
“Come, Father!”
“V-Very well…”
The King of Ostland took Ridimas’ hand for the first time in ages. But the moment he did, a burning pain erupted in his chest.
“Y-You…”
A hidden dagger pierced the king’s heart. As his consciousness rapidly faded, he glared at Ridimas, who wore a grotesque grin.
“I did it! I’m king now!”
“You bastard! You stabbed His Majesty!”
A prince stabbing the king—this was also a first in Ostland’s history.
“He’s a traitor! Call for reinforcements immediately!”
Just as the knights realized something was wrong and tried to summon help, an explosion rocked the hallway outside the audience chamber.
The blast blew away the knights stationed there.
“You lot, look! I’m the king now. We attack Arland immediately!”
The ones who appeared were nobles who had been cozying up to Ridimas. Naturally, they were accompanied by men dressed like adventurers.
The knights inside the audience chamber moved to protect the fallen king and crown prince, but the adventurer-like men cut them down one after another.
“Your Highness! At least you must escape through the rear corridor!”
“You would have me abandon Father?!”
The crown prince objected. But the surviving knight shook his head. With his heart pierced, the King of Ostland was already dead.
“If we bring him to Master Ignace, maybe…”
“Your Highness, Master Ignace’s healing magic is indeed powerful, but he cannot raise the dead.”
Master Ignace, Ostland’s famed mage, specialized in healing magic. However, he could not perform resurrection.
At the time, he was with the provincial forces outside the capital. Because of the sudden deployment, many soldiers had been injured while traveling to the capital—mostly due to panic, falling from horses, or other foolish mishaps. Truly pitiful.
Anon’s father was also among those outside the capital, organizing the provincial forces.
“Brother. There’s no way I’m letting you get away. I’ll kill you, just like these guys.”
Ridimas pulled several round objects from his storage pouch and threw them at the crown prince. They rolled across the floor and stopped before him.
Seeing them, the crown prince’s expression twisted in rage.
“You… you even killed your own family?!”
What lay on the floor were the severed heads of the other royals.
“If I kill you, there will be no one left above me in the line of succession… Oh right, that girl’s still around. But she should be dead by now.”
The crown prince gripped the sword of the King of Ostland.
“You were indeed foolish. But… Father waited for you all this time.
He believed that one day you would understand the importance of your royal duty. That’s why he left your royal status intact until now!”
“So what?! My succession rights were revoked, and I was being sent to a monastery!”
“That’s because you were too foolish!”
If Ridimas had come to his senses, the King of Ostland might have forgiven his past misdeeds. The nobles wouldn’t have forgiven him so easily, but he would at least have been given a chance to atone.
But Ridimas didn’t care about any of that. He believed that as a prince, he had the right to do as he pleased.
“It’s not just that. Even if you kill me, who would recognize you as king? A king is only a king when acknowledged by the people.
A usurper can never be a true king. Even if they manage to sit on the throne, it would be a temporary illusion—fragile and bound to collapse.”
Ridimus didn’t meet any of the conditions under which a usurper might be forgiven. If the King of Ostland had been a tyrant who brought suffering upon the people and Ridimus had been a wise and just prince, then perhaps it might have been possible.
But in reality, it was the opposite. The people had no reason to forgive Ridimus’s actions. This coup d’état would only throw Ostland into chaos. Even if it succeeded, it would merely lead to the rise of a different royal family. That was how low Ridimus’s reputation was. No matter how weak Ostland's forces were, they would never kneel to Ridimus. No one wants to live in a country ruled by a tyrant.
“Shut up! If I become king, I can restore relations with the Empire!
And right now, we could launch a surprise attack on Arland! That way, I can win back the trust we've lost!”
“You fool… they’re not so naïve as to overlook betrayal. Haven’t you learned from the fate of the Federation?”
There had once been a multiracial federation between Arland and the Empire. It had collapsed due to the betrayal of the royal family that had led it. And naturally, that royal family also met its end. Officially, they were said to be alive, but in truth, none of them remained.
Even so, Ostland had chosen to part ways with the Empire. There was no going back. The same applied to the other allied nations.
“I-I have nothing to do with that!”
Ridimus’s face had gone pale. The crown prince could only sigh. Anyone who could be shaken this easily was clearly unfit for the throne.
“That’s enough. Kill them all!”
Those who had been surrounding Ridimus drew their bloodstained swords. Reinforcements wouldn’t make it in time. There wasn’t even a chance to flee.
The crown prince braced himself for death.
(At the very least, I’ll take Ridimus down with me.)
No matter how many wounds he suffered, he resolved to kill his foolish younger brother.
The attackers, the crown prince, and the few remaining royal guards all inched toward one another. Ridimus, having stabbed the King of Ostland, was now hiding behind them.
At that moment, the floorboards suddenly burst upwards.
“… Looks like I didn’t make it in time.”
It was Anon who emerged from the floor. She had come through a long-forgotten underground passage, but sensing bloodlust from above, she kicked through the floorboards. A feat impossible without armor.
And just behind Anon, barely peeking out, was Marianne. Anon had happened to save her on her way here.
“Oh, Miss Anon. You’re safe! And Marianne too.”
“Father, why are you not worried about me first?”
“Of course I was worried. Why did you come here? If you’re safe, the royal bloodline won’t die out.
Miss Anon, I want you to take this girl and escape at once.”
“I’d prefer it if His Majesty and the others could survive too, though…”
Anon answered, looking troubled.
But to the crown prince, his daughter’s survival meant the continuation of the royal family’s legacy.
“Don’t worry, Father. Anon is very strong now.”
“It’s mostly thanks to the armor, really…”
Anon replied, a little bashfully. Then she drew her knight’s sword and pointed it at the attackers. In an instant, her expression changed, and the air turned frigid.
“If you kneel right now, I’ll be kind enough to take your head off in one blow.”
What do you think about this chapter?
