New Character Appearance!
"An incredible number, huh? If you hadn't helped me, I would have been caught by now. Thanks, Sonia."
Rebecca, who was looking outside from the inn in the imperial capital, spoke to Sonia, who had entered the inn with her.
Sonia, who was called, removed her hood and showed a smile.
"No, don't worry about it. We help each other when we're in trouble, right? Besides, I had business in the imperial capital too."
Sonia, with her hood removed, was a beautiful girl.
She had skin as white as snow, and her light purple hair was cut evenly around her shoulders. Her purplish-red eyes emitted a mysterious light.
And Sonia's ears were pointed, though not as long as an elf's.
Neither an elf nor a human, she was considered a half-breed and was quite disliked outside the empire.
Despite this, Sonia wore a bright and cheerful smile, showing no sign of the difficulties she faced.
"Since we showed Rebecca's presence in the outer layer during the day, the pursuers will probably search there for a while. We can buy some time, but it won't solve the problem fundamentally."
"That's true... We need to get to the castle soon."
"You were asked to deliver a letter from the lord you served, right?"
"Yes. I need to deliver it to His Majesty... so that the lord's death can be avenged..."
Rebecca lowered her eyes sadly.
On the way to the imperial capital, she had heard from merchants about the events in the south.
A demon had appeared, turning Bassau into a battlefield, and the anomaly was resolved by Leo, Lizard, and the adventurers.
Hearing this, Rebecca gave up hope of Dennis's survival.
It was hard to believe he could have survived in such a chaotic situation with a demon appearing.
Still, Rebecca didn't stop walking. It would have been easy to be overwhelmed by grief and stand still, but then Dennis's death would have been for nothing.
"I need to deliver this letter to His Majesty and expose the corruption of the southern nobles. The lord was coerced into participating, but in the end, he tried to do the right thing. If no one knows this, the anomaly in the south will be blamed on the lord."
"You really cared about that lord, didn't you?"
Rebecca nodded quietly in response to Sonia's question.
She had thought of him like a real father. She became a knight because she wanted to do something for Dennis.
But in the end, she couldn't even die with him.
"I will... clear the lord's name and take revenge on the southern nobles who threatened and cornered him."
"I don't intend to say anything about what Rebecca is doing, but for now, we should focus on getting to the castle safely."
The imperial capital, shrouded in darkness, was filled with assassins.
The imperial succession dispute, the most important political struggle in the empire, made Rebecca's letter, which was directly related to it, something every faction desperately wanted.
Until now, they had been dealing with a few pursuers, either fighting them off or avoiding them, but now that they were in the imperial capital, things would be different.
"We need a plan. By the way, is there a prince we can trust?"
"I don't know much, but I've heard that Prince Leonard is a person of character."
"The hero prince of legend. But it won't be easy to contact him directly. He was the inspector investigating the south. Rebecca is the most likely to encounter him, and the pursuers are probably wary of that. If we get too close, we'll be discovered immediately."
Sonia thought deeply as she analyzed the situation.
She had tried to gather as much information as possible about the imperial succession dispute. It was necessary for her.
She knew which dukes were connected to which factions and what their movements were. Sighing, Sonia continued her thoughts.
"For now, we have no choice but to run. Prince Leonard is probably looking for Rebecca too."
"There are so many opposing forces moving around, so that's probably true. The problem is what kind of movements they are making and how many skilled people they can mobilize. The imperial capital is full of assassins. If we're found, we could be killed immediately."
"Do we have the power to protect ourselves?"
"That's the question. We need to assess the situation for a few more days. As a last resort, I have a trump card, but it might not be a favorable outcome for Rebecca, so it's better not to use it."
Rebecca tilted her head at Sonia's words.
Sonia, whom she had met on the way to the imperial capital, was full of mysteries but had always helped Rebecca.
She had supported Rebecca with magic and used her intelligence to evade pursuers, bringing her to the imperial capital. The idea that Sonia's trump card might lead to an unfavorable outcome for Rebecca was hard to believe.
Rebecca opened her mouth to ask for more details, but Sonia smiled and cut off the conversation.
"Let's get some sleep. Who wants to keep watch first?"
Sonia lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.
Soon, regular breathing could be heard. The ability to fall asleep quickly was a necessary skill for soldiers and adventurers.
However, Rebecca didn't think Sonia was either. Her many comments about tactics and strategy suggested otherwise, and Rebecca couldn't quite figure out Sonia's true identity.
But she was definitely an ally.
Rebecca said this and began her watch, alert to her surroundings.
"Prince! Prince Leonard!"
Al, with a dazed look, apologized.
In front of Al was Count Langheim, who was leading the nobles in the imperial capital for Leo's faction.
Still in his early thirties, he was a young man who had been captivated by Leo's character and, along with General Dominic, was trying to support Leo.
He looked like a young noble with glasses, and his well-built body made him appear more rugged than other nobles. Al thought he wasn't a bad person and wasn't incompetent, but his inflexibility was a flaw.
"Really, pull yourself together. Prince Leonard is searching for Rebecca. It's too careless to be dozing off. At least pay attention to the reports."
Al rubbed his sleepy eyes and smiled wryly at Count Langheim's displeased expression.
The search for Rebecca had been going on for three days, and no faction had been able to pinpoint her location.
The reason was clear. The scattered sightings were problematic.
Many people gathered based on the few pieces of information, leading to battles rather than searches.
In the end, the search for Rebecca had become secondary.
Al believed the scattered sightings were decoys, intentionally allowing sightings to prevent the hiding place from being narrowed down.
To counter this, Al had been giving orders to Sebastian and Sieg at night, leading to his current state of sleep deprivation.
"Baron Borman, who we tried to persuade, is not swaying to our side. He was originally moved by a large sum of money from Prince Gordon, so we need to offer a much larger amount."
"Is that all you have to say?"
Count Langheim sighed, disappointment evident in his eyes.
Al muttered, "What do you want me to say?" Al had no decision-making power, and it was inappropriate for him to speak up.
Count Langheim then asked Al a question.
"Prince Leonard, I have a question."
"How do you think we can persuade Baron Borman? Just your thoughts are fine."
"Just my thoughts, huh?" Al thought to himself.
Count Langheim's eyes clearly showed his frustration. It was a look Al knew well.
The frustration of someone who couldn't handle their own anger and was trying to vent it. And that frustration usually ended up being directed at Al.
Al sighed inwardly, knowing that whatever he said would be rejected and used as a way to vent frustration. The worst part was that Count Langheim didn't realize this.
"Can't we just offer more money?"
"Really... use your head a little."
After a dismissive sigh, Count Langheim entered lecture mode.
Al pretended to listen, finding it troublesome.
"Do you understand? We have a funding gap compared to Prince Gordon's faction. The number of merchant guilds backing us is different. We can't win a simple money game. Understand that. You are Prince Leonard's twin brother. In his absence, you would be the temporary leader of the faction."
"Sorry, sorry. I'll be more careful."
"Do you really understand? I bet your sleep deprivation is from partying. Stop living carelessly and start properly supporting your brother."
With that, Count Langheim bowed and left the room.
However, the moment he stepped out, he tripped spectacularly.
There was nothing to trip over, and Count Langheim, with a question mark over his head, stood up in frustration and left.
"Sieg, stop messing around."
Al warned Sieg, who had entered the room.
Sieg, climbing onto the desk, said without a hint of remorse,
"Come on. His insults were audible even outside the room. A little payback is fine, right?"
Sieg had entered the room just as Count Langheim left, and in the process, had made him trip.
"Since he's part of the faction, it won't be a big problem if he's seen, but don't draw too much attention."
"Got it. I'll be careful. So, have you thought of the next move?"
"I'll decide after hearing today's sightings. Rebecca definitely isn't near the reported locations. I'll work backward from there."
"What a hassle. Your brother gets praised for leading his subordinates to search the imperial capital diligently, while you get ridiculed for using your head. It's a tough job."
"Searching for Leo is also necessary. Since the clues are unreliable, searching like that is a good approach. Plus, if Rebecca knows Leo is searching personally, she might be more willing to make contact."
He knew exactly what to do.
Handling things behind the scenes was Al's job, and he shook himself awake.
"We need to find her soon. It's not fair to the two of them to keep them in meaningless battles."
"Right, count on me. The lady is good at hide-and-seek. If you narrow it down, we'll find her."
Nodding at Sieg's words, Al took out the map of the imperial capital from his desk.
It showed all the sightings of Rebecca so far, scattered without any clear pattern.
"It seems Rebecca has an excellent strategist. It's frustrating that even we are being manipulated by them."
Al sighed and began to identify the likely hiding spots for Rebecca.