I’ll Eat First

It must be said, Flora Haggia’s performance these past days had been incredibly deceptive.

Mainly, her behaviour was so much like a naturally foolishly adorable girl that Flax Mounten found it difficult to harbor any suspicion.

After all, his Marquis could neither transform into a girl nor be so silly and cute.

Moreover—

“Cough.”

The Crown Prince reacted to the previous remark, giving Flora Haggia a fierce glare.

The blonde girl quickly and obediently shrank into a corner, pretending to be a quiet, well-behaved maid.

This kind of interaction between master and servant… even Flax Mounten, an outsider, could discern a vague relationship between them.

Flax Mounten didn’t believe his Marquis would have such an intimate relationship with the Crown Prince.

(Seriously, my lord, where have you gone?)

Unlike what the world knew, the renowned Marquis Leonardo Champion had disappeared.

Of course, even within the Azure Knights, everyone saw the Marquis daily.

But that fake Marquis was actually their vice-captain, Earl Brighton Champion, impersonating him using a guardian spirit.

He could fool others, but not them, the Four Azure Knights.

When questioned, Vice-Captain Brighton explained that the Marquis had gone on a vacation for recuperation and had hidden his whereabouts to avoid disturbance from malicious individuals.

Flax Mounten didn’t know what the other three thought.

But he didn’t believe the Marquis would hide such a minor matter from them, leaving without a word.

Conspiracy, the Marquis in danger, the vice-captain seizing power… Flax Mounten thought of many dreadful possibilities.

For this, he began a secret investigation, but after more than a month, he was still at a loss.

Just then, the Azure Knights received a letter from Ryan Rowland.

Learning that someone here was slandering them, and in keeping with their policy of not overlooking any unusual circumstances, Flax Mounten took on the investigation task.

He hadn’t expected to meet a young maid who felt so much like his Marquis… But after a few days of interaction, Flax Mounten felt he was grasping at straws due to desperation.

The worst part was that his arrival had attracted the attention of His Majesty the Emperor.

As a result, he was involuntarily drawn into the matter that the Marquis had repeatedly emphasized they should not get involved in—the imperial succession dispute.

Yes, His Highness Ryan Rowland was indeed the Crown Prince.

But before him, there had already been six Crown Princes.

Currently, most of the upper and middle-class nobles supported another candidate.

And from an outsider’s perspective, the Azure Knights’ stance should also be to support the other side.

(This is truly terrible.)

Flax Mounten somewhat regretted coming to the imperial capital.

Therefore, he only hoped that His Highness Ryan Rowland could complete his mission as quickly as possible and not do anything extra.

Baron Isaac Fate’s territory was located in the southeastern part of the central empire, near Duke Jefferies’s domain.

Normally, it would take two days by horse.

To save time, Ryan Rowland and the accompanying mages took turns casting weight-reduction spells on the carriage and vitality spells on the horses.

They ultimately reached their destination in just two days.

Baron Fate’s territory lay on the essential route from the imperial capital to the ducal domain, but the scenery within the territory was quite ordinary.

The populace didn’t appear impoverished, yet they clearly weren’t benefiting from the advantages of a main road to become wealthy.

To say the populace was overly exploited… at least Flora Haggia saw no such signs in their morale or physical condition.

Combining this with Baron Fate’s history, Flora Haggia speculated that he intentionally made his territory appear mediocre.

For this visit, besides the coachman and Flora Haggia, His Highness Ryan Rowland openly brought sixteen riders, three mages, four knights, eight knight attendants, plus a military physician who also seemed to possess some combat ability.

This was the minimum configuration for a Crown Prince’s journey.

If His Highness Ryan Rowland were more extravagant or cowardly, he should actually bring at least three times that number, making mountain bandits and petty thieves turn and flee at a distant glance.

But to better lure the snake out of its hole, and to make it seem like an ordinary visit… the Crown Prince did not do so.

(Is His Highness too confident in his own strength?)

Flora Haggia was very worried.

An awakened Guardian Spirit user might be stronger than ordinary people, but no matter how strong, they were still flesh and blood. They would die if besieged by hundreds or thousands of soldiers, and perish if hit by numerous magic spells.

A baron in the empire would typically have ten knights, each with two attendants and eight ordinary soldiers…

In other words, a barony had at least a hundred soldiers.

Any enemy daring to attack the Crown Prince in a barony would have to deploy close to or more than a hundred troops…

Flora Haggia thought His Highness Ryan Rowland was being somewhat overconfident.

Of course, in real danger, the Crown Prince himself could break through and escape; he had that capability.

But the others responsible for protecting him and covering his retreat would surely die.

This was also why he didn’t bring Assistant Morris and gave Flora Haggia a precious magic item.

But were the subordinates other than Flora Haggia and the assistant not people?

Indeed, they had sworn loyalty to the Crown Prince, even at the cost of their lives.

But unfortunate sacrifices in brave combat were different from foolishly throwing one’s life away due to carelessness and arrogance.

The latter would undoubtedly be a dishearteningly stupid move for subordinates.

It was also what those corrupt nobles constantly did.

Flora Haggia did not want the Crown Prince to become such a person.

Although she had once thought the Crown Prince was that kind of person…

As she was thinking, the carriage had already stopped.

Flora Haggia could only temporarily push these thoughts aside and disembark with the Crown Prince and Flax Mounten.

It was dusk. The Baron’s manor was an unremarkable villa, neither overly modest nor luxurious.

However, the staff within the manor was excessively sparse; Flora Haggia sensed only nine people, and only three came to greet them.

At the forefront was a middle-aged man who looked kind and amiable, his eyes almost narrowed into slits.

“Teacher, it’s been a long time.”

Seeing the middle-aged man, the Crown Prince stepped forward, displaying a slightly eager expression.

“Greetings, Your Highness Ryan. It truly honors me that Your Highness deigns to grace this place with your presence.”

Baron Fate, however, bowed respectfully, then turned to Flax Mounten behind him and gave a slightly less formal bow.

“This must be Earl Flax Mounten, I am very pleased to meet you.”

The Crown Prince slowly retracted the eager expression he had shown earlier, while Flax Mounten gave a proper nod in return.

The two parties then entered the Baron’s manor.

Out of similar considerations as the Crown Prince, Flax Mounten had not brought anyone with him.

Apart from Flora Haggia, all the others brought by the Crown Prince waited outside the manor.

But Flora Haggia noticed that they quickly positioned themselves as if attacking a fortress, preventing anyone inside from escaping.

(Could it be…)

Flora Haggia looked at Flax Mounten’s expression again; he consistently showed a lack of interest in Baron Fate’s polite demeanor.

Especially his eyes… based on Flora Haggia’s understanding of him, it wasn’t hard to tell that he already considered the man dead.

When Baron Fate led them all the way to the dining room, and Flax Mounten saw the table laden with a dazzling array of dishes, he instinctively clenched his fists, ready to flip the table at any moment.

After entering the house, Flax Mounten had already confirmed that the personnel inside the manor definitely did not exceed twenty.

He didn’t believe the Baron only had so few people.

If such a situation arose, either news had leaked and the other party planned to cooperate internally and externally to surround them.

Or the other party planned to show weakness, make them relax their guard, and then poison the food.

But conversely, this was also the best time for them to take down the opponent in one fell swoop.

Although he was only responsible for surveillance, if a fight broke out, he wouldn’t mind helping out in self-defense…

After all, he just wanted to conclude this matter quickly and leave.

He didn’t want to get involved in the succession dispute or anything like that.

However, the Crown Prince silently sat down in the spot arranged by Baron Fate and picked up his eating utensils.

Flax Mounten paused, and a possibility occurred to him.

The Crown Prince could very well team up with Baron Fate to kill him here.

This sounded insane, but rumors claimed the Crown Prince was exactly that kind of madman!

Even if it would inevitably lead to a reprimand from His Majesty afterward, it was a clear way to weaken the Azure Knights!

Flax Mounten began to regret not bringing anyone, having been overly confident.

What to do? Strike first? Or sit down and observe the situation?

But he had no intention of eating any of this food—

“Please wait!”

Flora Haggia exclaimed loudly, running in front of the Crown Prince and saying with slight anger.

“Your Highness, have you forgotten? Whatever you eat, I must taste it first!”