Sion’s Decision 3 ~Her Highness, the Princess, Left Behind~
Sion asked Abel to duel him.
Mia was…confused!
Huh? I don’t understand—what’s going on? Are they duelling for me? What does that mean?
Absolute confusion, in fact!
She had no idea how to make sense of the quick change of events.
Okay, so Sion challenged Abel to a duel for me… But for that to make sense, Sion would need to have feelings…
While she struggled to keep her worries in check and keep her mental skills in check, things kept getting worse.
“Okay, then. Father, please get some more rest. I’m going to comfort our hall guests now.”
“All right. Sion, I’ll let you handle it. Also, Miss Rudolvon, I’d like to talk to you for a minute. Is that all right?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Tiona gave a meek nod.
So, Mia, her friends, and Sion went to the hall, leaving Tiona with King Abram.
“Milady, are you alright?” Concerned by how uneasy her mistress looked, Anne asked.
“I’m not sure. Right now I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Ha ha ha, I see that the Great Wisdom’s knowledge doesn’t reach the hearts of young men,” Dion joked with a laugh. “Also, don’t say that to Prince Sion. I don’t want to kill him with a KO before the fight even starts. And to answer your question,” he shrugged and said, “It was a confession of love. That’s a pretty clear one.”
“That’s not possible. Sion of all people, how can… He must be planning something! I’m sure he is!” Mia argued while she was half-dazed and worried that she was going to pass out.
Soon, they got to the hall, where Sunkland nobles started asking Sion questions right away.
“Your Highness, just how is His Majesty?”
“Is His Majesty back to normal?”
“Who is to blame for this terrible crime?”
He looked at them and told them in a strong voice, “Still yourselves. His Majesty is relaxing in peace and quiet in his bedroom. He is conscious and coherent. The physician told me that he will get better with rest.” After that, he bowed low enough so that everyone could see him to Citrina. “And it’s all because of you, Miss Yellowmoon. On behalf of Sunkland, I want to thank you very much and say we’re sorry for the rudeness you experienced earlier.”
Following his lead, the nobles who were accusing her apologized in turn.
“Forgive me, I lost my composure. My behavior has inexcusable.”
“We are very thankful that you helped save His Majesty’s life.”
Citrina smiled at them. She was about to make fun of him when she caught a glimpse of Bel.
After giving it some thought, she gave up her snark for politeness and stepped back. “Don’t worry. It’s totally normal for you to lose your cool in that set of circumstances.”
“That’s amazing, Rina! You did that?” asked Bel, who was shocked.
She looked at her friend, blinked, and then smiled. “Hey, it’s not much.” The smile wasn’t as sweet, but it came from the heart.
Meanwhile…
“So, do we know scoundrel who poisoned His Majesty’s drink?”
“We are looking into the matter right now… There have been reports, though, of a strange person sneaking into the castle. We think this person is the one who put the poison in the drink,” Sion said.
“A suspicious person?”
“This person was seen going in and out of the open market more than once… This is also something I’d rather not have foreign people hear…” Sion took his voice down. “But the suspect is linked to the group that broke into our intelligence agency before.”
“Sun, have mercy…”
The nobles couldn’t say anything after this last admission. They were very aware of what had happened to the Wind Crows, and just bringing up that event was enough to make them realize how skilled the killer was. At the same time, foreign leaders who didn’t know much about the situation could only frown in confusion at what wasn’t said.
“But that means the killer got into the castle… Is that really possible?”
A man ran into the hall before anyone could answer.
“Excuse me, Your Highness. I have an urgent message.”
He quickly whispered something into Sion’s ear because he was short of breath. The prince looked at Keithwood with wide eyes for a moment.
“Ah, I see…” as if he had come to a personal understanding. With a nod, he turned to speak to the crowd again. “I just got word that one of the castle guards was found unconscious. It’s likely that the intruder we’re talking about knocked them out.”
“What?!”
Within the crowd, many shocked voices rose up. Not only Sunkland lords were shocked, but also guests from other countries. It was no secret that Sunkland had very high standards for its troops. Furthermore, these were house guards, whose devotion to the king could not be broken. Because of how strong Abram’s character was, these people felt a personal loyalty to him and trained hard and with all their heart to protect his health.
One of these elite soldiers had been hurt, not killed, but rendered totally harmless. That alone shows how skilled the trespasser was, but they also managed to avoid being caught; no other guards saw even a shadow of this mystery agent.
Sion said, “There were actually four intruders, and we have no idea how they got into the castle.”
He said this as if he didn’t already know who they were.
“They might have put on disguises to look like guests for this event. It’s important to look into this further anyway.”
“That means we need to get one of the dukes back from the border?” nobleman who was worried asked.
The Kingdom of Sunkland had a different balance of political power than the Tearmoon Empire. The structure of this balance was set by the kingdom’s basic rules. The king’s good rule was meant to make sure that his people lived peaceful and successful lives. With this idea in mind, what was something that couldn’t happen? Persistently bad leadership in areas that had joined the kingdom on their own because they were promised a good leader. Those kinds of events would shake Sunkland to its very core. Because of this, the most trusted and skilled leaders had to be sent to the kingdom’s newest lands, which were right next to its borders.
In Sunkland, it was common for people who were loyal to the king to live in areas near the city, while royal relatives and more skilled members of the peerage guarded the kingdom’s borders. In case of a problem for the king, this also meant that the powerful nobles had to be called back to the capital.
“No, you won’t need to do that. As I already said, His Majesty should be able to get back to normal government work after a few days off,” Sion said, giving his audience a wolf-like grin. “Also, getting revenge in person tastes better. I believe it would be best for His Majesty to personally oversee the investigation and the punishment that follows. Don’t you all agree?”
They nobles got excited about the idea.
“Yes, yes, yes! Your Highness is right!”
The message also calmed down the foreign guests, who were glad that things would not get worse for now. Seeing that the mood in the hall had changed, Sion said, “Now then, with things the way they are, we can hardly continue the ball as is. But we would be doing our guests a huge harm if left in such a bad way. To do that, I’d like to suggest a closing event. Think of it as both an apology and a show to send everyone off on their way.”
The prince went over to his fellow prince from Remno. “In fact, my friend Prince Abel of Remno is here with me today.” He told everyone about Abel and then put on a stage actor’s smile. “Together, we plan to show off our sword skills by fighting each other. We hope that this will be entertaining for you.”
People in Sunkland looked at this with some confusion at first. But soon, they understood what they thought the performance was all about. Usually, now wouldn’t be the time for break. There were many things that needed to be done, and even though the king wasn’t in any immediate danger, it wasn’t right for his people to start having fun right away. Protocol said to be sober, but there was a concern about how that would appear to others. An attitude of over-caution would make the guests feel uneasy instead.
Sion’s act was meant to have the opposite effect—to make Abram look calm and sure of himself, giving the impression that he was not only healthy but also smart enough to make sure his guests had a good time. That’s what the nobles thought. In this light, the prince’s strange behavior was actually a smart one. Also, they thought that his lack of concern must have been based on the fact that the king was actually in pretty good health. So, they might as well take it easy and enjoy the show that the future king was about to put on for them.
The hall’s air started to buzz with life. Abel looked at the people who were watching and shook his head. “I know you want to end this for good, and this is a great spot to do it.” He joked, “You’re more of a show-off than I thought.”
He took off his coat and started rolling up his sleeves.
“I think there is some showmanship going on here, but mostly I thought this would be a great chance to show everyone how great you are with the sword, my friend,” Sion said.
“Goodness. That means this stage is made for me. Now I need to work twice as hard so I don’t lose and look bad.”
Abel swung his practice sword around a few times, then walked to the middle of the hall. The big open space that had been set aside for dancing was now the perfect place for a ring.
“Hah, as if you were planning to lose in the first place.” This made Sion laugh out loud and point his own sword at his friend. “Okay, then. Let’s settle this for good, as you said.”
So, the curtains came down again, making way for the last scene. The big fight was starting…
“Huh?”
…but the princess, the heroine, is left behind…
