Side Story – Memories of a Princess (53)

#68 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Villain

**Top of the List: Karian Empire Royalty**

At the top of my list is the Karian Empire.

What list, you ask?

Of course, it’s the list of people I should never deal with. For the record, second place goes to the Karian Empire nobility, and third to the Karian Empire soldiers.

However, I have come to realize that I was a frog in the well, not knowing how vast the world truly is.

After all, from a very young age, I was educated and raised by Howling after my hometown was burned down.

Howling is one of the most infamous dark organizations on the continent, and it has its base in one of the two most powerful empires—the Karian Empire.

That’s right. Howling operates secretly within the Karian Empire.

I have spent most of my life in the Karian Empire, so I was unaware of how wide the world is and how many insane things exist out there!

Today, I realized how vast the world is and decided to update the top of my list.

**New Top of the List: Church of Peace**

That’s right. The Church of Peace has now taken the top spot on my “People Never to Deal With” list, even pushing the Karian Empire royalty down to second place.

“I’m not guilty! The real villain is that person over there!”

I looked at the Saintess of the Church of Peace, who was glaring at me with an expression of sheer injustice.

“Although I look like this now, I haven’t given up! I will reveal your evil deceit and bring justice!”

Look at those eyes filled with conviction.

The Saintess, who speaks of followers of evil gods and apostles of evil, was clearly a formidable opponent. One that should be dealt with immediately before she grows any more dangerous.

But for now, it was more beneficial to play defense than to attack.

“It seems the Saintess still does not trust me.”

In this manner.

“I apologize, I apologize, I apologize.”

A priest with a good impression bowed his head and began to apologize to me.

Taking advantage of the moment when the priest lowered his head, I forced tears into my eyes.

“It’s not her fault. The Saintess must have her reasons. It’s all my fault for being lacking.”

Lowering my head slightly so others might see, I squeezed my eyes until they were moist but didn’t let the tears fall—forcing them to fall would seem too artificial. The key was to make my eyes appear tearful without actually crying.

Once I felt my eyes were sufficiently teary, I looked up at the Saintess with a sorrowful gaze.

“The Church of Peace works tirelessly for world peace. The Saintess, Merina, must be doing incredible work for the world’s peace.”

“That’s right. Lady Merina always works hard for the peace of the world.”

“This is part of her work, you idiots! That’s why we need to capture him!”

The Saintess screamed in frustration.

She was the strongest Saintess, capable of fighting at the level of a holy knight. When she wielded the bat, she would pummel both holy knights and priests alike.

The description alone was reminiscent of an invisible dragon.

But now, the Saintess was unable to do anything.

“She must be exhausted from working too hard.”

“Yes… She needs to be taken somewhere to rest for a while.”

I knew that place well. I had spent several days there myself.

“Yes. The floor is a bit hard. Should we provide some straw?”

Thinking about the special wagon made of sturdy iron bars, I decided to show some generosity.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“How long do you plan to keep me locked up?”

“Until we reach the main branch.”

“The main branch of the Empire?”

“No, the headquarters.”

“No way…”

“Yes. By wagon only.”

The Saintess’s pale face gave me a sense of satisfaction that felt like a weight being lifted after ten years.

“Traveling by wagon will take almost a month, won’t it?”

“That’s right. Enjoy a good rest.”

“Wait a moment! What about the bathroom?”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that…”

There was a glimmer of hope in the Saintess’s eyes.

Having trained with and observed many people during my time with the dark organization, and having experience as an interim and full-time instructor, I could tell.

That was the look of someone planning to escape under the pretense of using the bathroom.

“Oh, we’ve already prepared for that. I spent several days in that same place myself.”

But I couldn’t let the person who put me in jail escape.

“Bring it here.”

“Yes, sir.”

I ordered a soldier, who brought over the prepared item.

Ting! Tingting!

I threw the item under the wagon, creating a clear metallic sound.

“This is…”

“Ah, this is a chamber pot, Saintess.”

Made of iron, it was heavy and silver in color, but it was perfectly functional as a chamber pot.

It worked well when I used it.

“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know what it is?”

The Saintess, her face flushed, shouted, but her tone had changed.

Incredible, the power of the chamber pot.

It managed to bring the Saintess, who had been furious, back to her senses.

“Do you expect me to use this?”

“If you can get out of that cell, then no. But if you plan to stay there, you’ll need the chamber pot.”

“But I’m wearing magical restraints! You could at least let me use a proper bathroom! Right?”

With a desperate look, the Saintess turned to the priest in front of me.

“We appreciate the Empire’s consideration. Thank you.”

But the priest, named Hastel, seemed not to hear the Saintess’s plea, bowing to me in gratitude.

“Hastel, priest!”

Calling his name with a desperate look, the Saintess’s voice seemed unheard by Hastel.

“With this, the Saintess will have a comfortable journey.”

“It’s an honor for the Empire to assist the Church of Peace, which always works for the world’s good.”

“Haha! I will not forget the Empire’s grace.”

“Grace? The Empire will always support the Church of Peace.”

“Haha! Hoho!”

The priest and I exchanged warm smiles.

“Why… why is this atmosphere so warm? Can’t anyone hear me? Is there a soundproofing spell on the wagon?”

Why? Because the priest wants to leave as soon as possible, and I want to send them off quickly.

Since our goals align, we work well together.

“We’ll be leaving now…”

“Sorry we couldn’t escort you further. We’re still at war…”

“No need to apologize. We understand it can’t be helped.”

“Ah, well then… May peace be with you.”

“Yes. May the blessings of the God of Peace be with you too, Ast.”

“No! Please!”

“It’s fine.”

“Please forgive me, Hastel!”

“Move out!”

“Hastel, priest!”

Neigh!

As the Saintess’s scream and the sound of horses filled the air, the departing wagon and the Saintess’s fading cries made me feel it was really over.

“They’ve gone?”

“Yes, they’re finally gone.”

“The Church of Peace…”

Even the princess watched the retreating wagon with a complicated expression.

“I’m not well-versed in religion, but surely not all religions are like that.”

“If all orders were like that, it would be better to believe in the evil god.”

“Indeed. I never imagined they would drug their own Saintess.”

“Indeed.”

Traveling can be noisy or quiet, depending on the people you encounter.

What’s the reason?

The reason is simple.

If you go to a place when noisy people are there, it’s noisy. If you go when quiet people are there, it’s quiet.

There’s no significant difference. In places where people live, there are all kinds of people.

You might encounter ordinary people or insane people by chance.

You don’t judge a group based on one person.

So if only the Saintess had acted out, I wouldn’t have put the Church of Peace at the top of my list. I would have just noted the Saintess of Peace.

“They even put the Saintess to sleep with a sedative when she dismissed the elves’ testimony.”

The Saintess was a person of great faith and magic.

Putting such a person to sleep so quickly must have involved a strong sedative.

“They wouldn’t carry such sedatives around normally… They must have brought it while verifying the elves’ testimony.”

“It was a remarkably swift action.”

“It means they knew the Saintess well.”

Even if they knew her well, considering sedating the Saintess was not normal.

Their ability to think it and then execute it was terrifying.

Not only that, but they also anticipated her escape and shackled her with magical restraints.

“Be careful. Next time, it could be you in her place.”

“Yes. I’ll run with all my might if the Church of Peace appears nearby.”

I should have known when the Saintess experimented on herself with the bat.

Seeing the Saintess persuade by beating holy knights and then watching the church take her away, I was sure.

These people will use any means necessary for world peace.

They were zealots willing to charge for the God of Peace, a total opposite to someone like me from a dark organization!

“Should I sprinkle some salt…”

“Why use expensive salt?”

“It’s a tradition from my hometown to ward off evil spirits with salt.”

“It’s the God of Peace, not an evil spirit. Wasn’t your hometown an ordinary village? Did they have enough wealth to use expensive salt?”

It’s possible because it’s my past life’s hometown.

I couldn’t say that, so I had to dodge the

question.

“Sometimes, just a little bit.”

“Really?”

The princess didn’t seem suspicious.

“Thanks to the church, our plans have been delayed. We need to prepare. If we delay too much, our plans will fail.”

The Church of Peace had significantly delayed our operations.

We needed to prepare for our plan to execute against the Marquis of Laisha.

Laisha was reckless and could jeopardize our plan by acting unpredictably.

We had to act swiftly.

“Yes, it’s late. I never expected the church to get involved.”

“Yes.”

The report was anonymous, but we could guess who was behind it.

The Merdea Kingdom.

To buy time to counter our plans, Merdea Kingdom must have reported us.

“They caused quite a headache.”

“Yes. We need revenge.”

For our revenge, we needed to proceed with our plan and deliver a blow to Merdea Kingdom.

“Your Highness!”

A soldier rushed over with an urgent expression.

“Is it an enemy attack?”

“Yes!”

“Were they watching the church leave?”

They wouldn’t attack while the Church of Peace was present. Attacking us would mean attacking the church.

“That’s not it. They attacked before the church left.”

“They’re insane.”

No commander would attack with the church present.

“Who commanded the attack?”

“Marquis Religius of Laisha!”

“No way!”

Even the princess was shocked.

Damn it! We were doomed. He was moving.

“What are the enemy’s casualties?”

“Huh?”

“The enemy’s casualties?”

Usually, one worries about their own casualties, but not in this case.

The opponent was Laisha.

We needed to worry about their casualties.

And as expected…

“We sustained no losses. We defended well and achieved a great victory. And Marquis Laisha…”

The Marquis Laisha was fleeing after a defeat.

“Damn it!”

“Move, Ast!”

Our plan was at risk, and we needed to act swiftly to save Marquis Laisha.