The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 247: What I can do

When I arrived at Christas group, Trau-niisan spoke to me.

What are you planning to do? Arnold.

I will leave the real jewel to Trau-niisan. The problem is the dummy

Entrusting it to Finne is a good plan.

But if I want a convincing decoy, a member of the Imperial Family is better suited.

When I thought so, Rupert stepped up.

I willtake it.

Rupert

If it was the previous him who offers to do such a thing on the spur of moment then I would never consider it an option.

I have to do something.

If he only does it because of such an ambiguous determination then I will be troubled.

However, Ruperts eyes didnt show any such ambiguity.

I asked Grau..to take care of Aniue and Aneue. Since he accepted my request, he is still in the castle, right?

Yeah, he is lurking on the lower floors.

Then I will do what I can. It is.too cowardly to only ask someone else to help me. I will do what I can too. If thats being a decoy.I think I am perfect.

Saying so, Rupert showed me a bitter smile.

The timid Rupert is certainly a perfect decoy.

I glanced at Trau-niisan.

He then gives me a small nod.

After seeing that, I smile and look back at Rupert.

Alright, Rupert. Listen to me carefully.

Yes, Arnold-aniue.

The most important part of being a decoy is for you to think that you are not a decoy. No matter what anyone says, you have to think like you are the real target. Right now, the most important thing in the capital is inside the bag you have. Thats why you must think about your safety as a top priority. You have to run. Just run and meet up with Father. That is your duty.

Yes..I will keep it in mind.

Do you really understand? Even if someone is in danger right in front of you, you mustnt help them you know?

Eh..?

Even if Trau-niisan is in danger, even if Christa is in danger, you must head straight to Father. That will attract and mislead the enemy. You understand that right?

But..if the real thing is in danger, even if I take the dummy and run away.

If you come back to help them you will reveal that you are holding the dummy. Think only about your own safety. Trau-niisan will not be able to help you either. It is exactly because both of you act as if you are holding the real thing that the enemy gets confused. It will be hard, it will be painful, even so, can you do it?

Rupert is a little hesitant.

What I am asking him to do is to be ruthless. Even I have to ask myself if I can do it myself.

When it seems that he arrived at his answer, Rupert raised his face up.

I understand. I am holding [the real one].

Good. I will trust you with it okay.

Saying so, I stroked Ruperts hair.

Then I handed the other bag to Trau-niisan.

Please take care.

I understand.

Trau-niisan will take care of Christa. Mia and Finne will take care of Rupert. For Mothers group, please act together with Finne and Mia.

Saying so, I took a step back.

Seeing that, Finne raises a question.

What about Al-sama..?

There is something I have to do. The plan I and Grau have to enact together.

Finding the last jewel huh?

My mother sees through my goal.

I quietly nodded, thinking that I cant get anything past her at all.

I think that the Prime Minister hid the last one in a place that wont be discovered so easily but if it is inside the castle the enemy will eventually find it. If that is the case then the enemy will have four jewels in their hands. I dont know if the holy sword can break through the barrier if that is the case. I want to take every single one of them away from the castle.

Will that be okay? What if they capture you after you find it? You would have done their work for them you know?

I have a plan. For that sake, Knight Commander Alida, Im sorry but can I ask you to cause some diversion.

I originally planned to make a move myself, Your Highness. Will me heading to retrieve the other Rainbow Celestial Jewel be enough?

Right. That is the most natural course of action. If possible, I want you to take down the Celestial Sphere too.

Taking it down is impossible, Your Highness. Only a member of the Imperial Family can remove the jewels. With the enemy solidified defense, it would be difficult to break through them. Escorting Your Highness there would even be more difficult.

I understand. Sorry. If Im Leo I could go with that idea though.

When I apologized, Alida slowly shook her head.

Then she said something that I very much didnt expect.

No, the fact that Your Highness remains in the castle has helped us enough as it is. To be honest, I never expected that we would be able to evacuate this many people. This is probably the result of your actions, Your Highness.

I never expected that I would see the day I received such praise from the Knight Commander herself. This is the first time right?

If Your Highness did something good, it is natural for you to be praised. It is exactly because Your Highness only gets serious in an emergency like this that you are considered a lazy person after all. Please continue to get serious like this from now on as well.

That would be impossible.

When I laughed it off, Alida frowned at me.

While shrugging at her, I turned my gaze toward Trau-niisan.

The second group that will be heading out is Trau-niisan and Christa. They will be guarded by my eldest brothers aides, the Raiffeisen brothers, and their men.

They probably dont require any additional men from the Imperial Knights.

Well then, Arnold. Take care of yourself okay.

Al-niisamasee you later.

I nodded at Christa.

Seeing that, Christa entered the secret passage.

Following her are Trau-niisan, Rita, Wendy, and the guards.

Then after a while, it was Ruperts groups turn.

Then, Arnold-aniue..please tell Grau to take care.

Yeah, I will tell him so. Alois, I leave Rupert to you okay?

Yes, Your Highness. I will definitely protect him.

Saying so, Rupert, Alois, and the knights entered the secret passage.

After that, it is Mothers group.

Al. Do push yourself but dont die okay.

That is quite a difficult order though.

Mother smiled and entered the secret passage and Gianna bowed at me then followed her.

Just in case, several Imperial Knights went with them as their escorts.

And the final group is Finne and Mia.

Mia, take care of Finne alright.

You can leave her to me. But will it be okay on your side? I dont think that suspicious strategist is that reliable though.

When you are working behind the scenes, it is better to act with only a small number of people.

Then I will teach you the move that will definitely help you survive. Listen okay? When you are in danger, scream your lungs out. Im sure that someone will come to help you.

Thats quite like you, Mia.I will remember it.

Saying so, I turned my eyes to Finne.

Finne herself doesnt say anything extra.

She just said the usual words.

I wish you luck.

Yeah.

After that short conversation, Finnes group entered the secret passage.

The remaining are the castles servants.

However, I will leave their evacuation to the Imperial Knights to carry out.

Alright, Im heading out.

In truth, I do not want Your Highness to act alone but..as long as you can produce the result, I can not complain.

I dont have any worth as a hostage after all. Besides, I can move around freely. That is my strength.

Even so, please do not be overconfident. If Your Highness gets caught, they might kill you immediately. If you find it impossible to proceed, please immediately come to me. I will definitely protect you.

Got it. I will do so.

Giving a nod to Alida, I leave the throne room with a smile.

Then I walk to the mountain of corpses Alida swept aside.

I picked out a still intact military uniform and tore it off from the corpse.

Its an unpleasant thing to do but this is the only way I can get my hands on the military uniform so it cant be helped.

Holding it in my hand, I move away from the throne room.

Then, when I entered the secret passage, I used magic to clean the uniform and put it on.

With a hat as the finishing touch, my disguise is perfected.

Now then, I guess its time to begin infiltration huh.

I walked through the secret passage with a grin on my face.

No enemy would expect a prince disguising himself as a soldier.