Chapter 215

The Princess's Madness
Father broke his promise. I immediately became aware of it. At the same time, Anon’s charm activated, but as long as she has that armor, the charm should be sufficient. Keena and Sharon’s devices are also equipped with functions to create giant golems, so they’ll probably be fine.

If something serious had happened, I would’ve received a message by now—but there’s been no contact. I decided this means everything’s fine. That armor is a heavily modified prototype of a future knight’s armor—one of a kind. A few issues are no problem. Even against someone of Helios’s caliber, it should be able to finish him off in an instant.

“Princess, we’ve received word from the fortress.

The kingdom’s army has been completely defeated. His Majesty and His Highness are seriously injured, but their lives are not in danger.”

“I know. I made arrangements to ensure their survival.”

I had prepared charms to keep Father and the others safe.

“The fortress is currently under a full-scale assault from the Imperial army, but it still stands. It seems they’ve been unable to break through the barrier... However, we’ve lost over half our forces.”

I hold my head in my hands. The original plan had the training corps under my command and Father’s army working together to repel the Imperial forces, but that plan has already collapsed. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve accelerated the installation of ammunition production facilities.

The troops I currently have are limited to my royal guard and the secondary royal house’s security forces. The capital’s military strength is only about a hundred knights. That, and the training corps. It’s nowhere near enough. Even if the fortress is still standing, it’s surrounded—there’s no way out.

That naturally limits the cards I can play. This is what you’d call piecemeal deployment. I remember that’s considered a bad move. Still, I’m in a situation where that’s my only option.

I made my decision. I will retaliate against the Empire using every means available.

“Alicia. Under the wartime provision of the Royal Succession Act, I will assume the role of Acting Sovereign. Take command of the royal guard and secure the royal castle.”

Acting Sovereign.

That is the legal position invoked when the king and crown prince are incapacitated during wartime—granting temporary command to a royal with succession rights who is still able to fight. Naturally, once a higher-ranking royal recovers, the authority is immediately returned to them.

And currently, I’m the only royal who can fight. Mother is pregnant and unable to engage in combat. To swiftly repel the Imperial forces, I must take command of the kingdom.

“... Wait, Princess, you will?”

“Summon the ministers immediately!”

“Understood!”

Alicia ran off.

Now then, what to do? First of all, peace talks or surrender are out of the question. Even if Arland surrendered to the Empire, the people would never accept it, and doing so would mean abandoning the very purpose of the kingdom’s existence. Therefore, Arland must defeat the Imperial forces by any means necessary.

I must not have fully understood the importance of preemptive action. When a kingdom becomes wealthy, others begin to target it. I had overestimated the kingdom’s military power. Still, I thought we’d be fine until we were ready.

That’s why I will cast aside all mercy. There will be no more carelessness. I’ve probably grown too soft from living a happy life for too long.

I headed for the royal castle’s seized goods storage room.

“Princess, please wait. You need His Highness’s permission to enter—”

“Under the wartime provision of the Royal Succession Act, I’ve assumed authority as Acting Sovereign. Open the door immediately. There might be something useful in there.”

The seized goods storage.
That place stores dangerous items created by copies of me that escaped the moment they were created and has been beyond my control ever since, acting purely on instinct. They conducted research as they pleased until they ran out of mana and vanished. My brother stored the leftover results to lecture me later.

After all, Lost Numbers only create dangerous things. However, all the data is encrypted, so they can only say it’s “presumably dangerous.” Without proof, “presumably dangerous” is the best they can do. That alone isn’t enough to get me scolded. But I can read the encryption.

The knight understood the situation and opened the door. I closed it behind me and looked around inside.

“You really made all this in the castle without permission...”

Looking through the documents, there were blueprints for intercontinental ballistic missiles and several weapons. These were from the time when Iris was still alive. Right now, the best I can manage are weapons from the late WWII to postwar era. The reason is simple: maintenance is far too difficult. Even now, our engineers are crying from the strain. No one but me could maintain something like this.

There were also some computer-related devices—though no OS. It probably disappeared mid-development. Then I spotted a small bottle.

That’s what the label said in code. What exactly grows? Breasts, maybe? People with large ones always complain about shoulder pain and such, but I still envy them. Or maybe it means my height, which is slightly below average?

Either way, I didn’t care. Without hesitation, I drank it all.

“This taste… It’s just fruit au lait!”

I slammed the bottle to the floor. From the impact, the label peeled off, revealing another label hidden underneath.

“I will never forgive them.”

What monsters. Of course those clones have to be disposed of—they’re dangerous pranksters at heart. I felt a surge of anger toward the vanished Lost Numbers. Don’t even think about escaping next time.

The vault contained many research items. However, none were decisive. As I examined them, I began drafting a plan.

A counteroffensive against the Empire is possible. But there's a chance of failure. And if that happens, I probably won’t survive. So I need insurance—at all costs.

A weapon that will prevent the Empire from continuing the war. It must already be fully developed and operational.

And the Lost Numbers seemed to have predicted that. Stored deep in the vault was a capsule, with magic tools mounted top and bottom. Inside floated something I recognized—not visually, but through Iris’s memories.

Sweat beaded on my forehead. Something that should never be stored so casually, as if it were garbage, was lying there.

I immediately opened the Treasury and had a clone check for contamination in the area. None.

“I see… they distorted the space inside the capsule, separating internal and external zones… that alone is more impressive than what’s inside… still—”

From the leftover materials and equipment, the purpose was clear.

Iris had worked on this project, focusing mainly on miniaturization and increasing destructive power. The higher-ups had demanded a portable weapon for infantry, more powerful than existing ones. But because of the risk Iris posed, they gave her no prior data, essentially sabotaging her.

So Iris figured, how could she proceed without test data? In the end, she stole data from the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K., France, and more.

It was a tough job, but with Momoniku II’s help, she managed to acquire it.

I inherited that technology, so I could theoretically recreate it. I have an excessive amount of experimental data. However, the core materials haven’t been mined in this world. They probably exist, but remain undiscovered—or mistaken for trash.

The Lost Numbers solved that with alchemy. They bypassed the need for mining and refinement, directly synthesizing high-purity material.

According to the remaining records, the resulting product was cheaper to make than on Earth. Naturally, everything required to weaponize it is stored here in the vault.

“I thought this was something that should never be used…”

Even for peaceful use—or military use—it wasn’t necessary in this world.

“But… but if I had this… if I can’t afford to lose, if everything would be gone if we lost…”

(Then burn it all. If there’s no one left, there’s no ‘enemy.’ Once everyone is gone, there will be no more enemies.)

A voice echoed from somewhere. Right. Even if we win this war, we must stop the next one. The Kingdom has lost. The army is shattered. We have to show the world we’re not to be trifled with. And this matches exactly the insurance I sought. Even if I die, this can still protect the Kingdom.

So I’ll choose. To never lose. To never let anything be stolen again. If that means becoming a demon… then so be it.

“Princess, the ministers have been assembled and the palace secured—…huh?”

Alicia looked confused. Her face twisted in fear.

“… Good. Then let’s begin the war. We’ll annihilate our enemies and etch into their very souls the folly of crossing Arland.”

Yes, I’ll show them. I am a demon. I’d long since resolved to be hated for eternity. That’s why I made these weapons. This is nothing compared to that.

---

---

---

“If only I were Iris… I wouldn’t have hesitated.

If I were Iris, I would’ve known what to do right away.”

A giggle echoed in the room. It was unbearably delightful. At last, she was changing—no longer the weak, resigned Alicetia. She had no use for that. The girl laughed, vowing to become Iris and bring her family back.

“I’ll definitely come to the front. I’ll destroy everything. Maybe then I’ll find Papa and Mama’s souls. And if not, I’ll just destroy the next world. If I kill everyone, I’m sure I’ll get them back someday.”

She hadn’t given up. She had seen through Teth’s lie. She believed it was possible to get them back. She whispered that over and over.

Teth had lied—he’d said there were no souls. But then, what is Iris? And what were those souls Iris saw, like miracles? Earthlings, like people in this world, do have souls. And like Iris, they too cycle through countless worlds. So if she kills everyone in every world… someday she’ll recover her family’s souls.

The technology to copy flesh and memory already exists. And if she can’t create souls, then she’ll just retrieve them—she knows she can. The girl had gone mad, and continued to poison Alicetia with her madness.

What do you think about this chapter?