--A corridor in the castle.

　Conrad A. Eastwood was in a hurry.
　The Order, stationed with the King's permission, is currently on a mission to find the murderer Aria in the capital.
　But the results are not good.

　It's not that the opponent is just hiding in plain sight, or that we have no idea where she is, or that we're stuck from the start.

　Rather, it is the opposite. It's precisely because we're cornering them that we're seeing so much damage.

　Of the 200 knights brought in as a strike force, 74 have already been killed. All of them died in battle.

　The deaths were so horrific that even Conrad, who was used to seeing dead bodies, was sickened by them.

"...... Why are you doing this? I told you I don't mind killing you.

　He clenched his fists.
　You should have brought Conrad's personal knights with you, who had plenty of war experience.
　At the very least, there is no way that they will fall behind in a platoon battle. It should be impossible.

　He gritted his teeth, wondering why he couldn't kill the one woman he had once captured right away.

　We'll get this done quickly.
　Otherwise, the whole plan falls apart.

We can't let the guards get her.

　"We can't let the guards get him," Conrad muttered to himself as he headed toward the destination.

　It was a secluded room in the royal castle.
　The sunshine is poor, and it's not a room where royalty would like to stay.

　However, for some reason, the "wicked" girl set up her own office in that place.
　I have also heard that she was depressed because she had been warned that she was a "wicked man" since she was a child.

　It was just a "rumor," but I felt a little pity for him.

　I would not take the risk of taking pity on him, though.

　I don't think the king's politics are particularly good, but at the moment he is trying very hard to rebuild the country, and I don't sense any rebellion.

　Besides, I think.
　Even though she is in charge of the government, she is just a little girl who was raised to be a butterfly and a flower.
　I don't think she's much of a conspirator.

"We don't want to put ourselves in a worse position than we already are because of the festivities in the arena.

　It's just a princess's game.
　I've heard that she's very skilled. I've also heard that she's going to compete herself.
　Her fickle selfishness is troubling, but it seems that the wind blew in her favor at the right time without her knowledge.

　How about the execution of her maid during the alliance with the legal nation?
　I had heard such a story from my brother who was in King's Landing at the time.

　It was a nuisance to my younger brother, Conrad, who had come to King's Landing to replace my brother.

　There were no more expeditions to the neighboring countries, and the relationship with the legal country had almost been severed.
　In such a situation, the royal capital arena seems to further decorate the portable shrine that lifts up the princess.

　We don't want the princess to grow up like this.
　I'm going to have to ask her to be as quiet as the king and listen to us warlords.

"You wanted to see me, Your Highness Lilac? I'm Eastwood.
Please come in.

　Following the voice of the gentle princess who hated war, I entered the room.

　She smiled when she saw Conrad, stood up and offered him a sofa.

　Oh, she is so kind. It had been about four years since I had seen her before, but she hadn't changed.
　He may be smart, but that doesn't hide his soft, boxy personality that seems to have seen only the best in people.

"So, Your Highness, what can I do for you?
Yes, ....... It's about a murderer.
The guards have joined in the search and we are doing our best.
...... Yes.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　Conrad cleared his throat involuntarily.
　I don't care if you're boxy or naive.
　As long as she was beautiful to look at and only kind.
　If she could keep her mouth shut about politics, she would be the best wife ever.

　She calmly swallowed down the small amount of lust that leaked out.

"So, you're talking about holding a fighting tournament?
"Yes. It's only two days away. Everyone came all the way to King's Landing looking forward to it, and now it's cancelled.
But that doesn't change the safety of the citizens. Please understand.
Please, can't we capture him in two days?
I hope so, yes. But it's a long shot, Your Highness.
"So ......?

　The princess looked dejected, and Conrad pondered.

　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a number of things you can do.

　She really wants to hold a martial arts tournament, but it's not good for us.

"We'll do our best, Your Highness.
"......

　When I smiled at him, his eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks flushed as he looked away.
　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.

　It is a man's nature to want to take a beautiful, colorless thing and dye it his own color.
　When Conrad was trying to suppress his desire to possess the beautiful princess in front of him right now, Lilac looked up at him as if she had made up her mind.



Oh, my God!
How can I help you?
I understand that you can't hold a martial arts tournament with a murderer in the room.
Yeah.
So let me help you with that!
What do you mean ......?　I've had a lot of help from the guards.
I...

　Lilac stood up and picked up the conch.

I can do it!　I can do it!
Wait, wait, wait!　You're not going to join the search?
Yes!
No, I don't think so. What if something happens to you?

　No kidding, Conrad shook his head.
　The skill of that murderer is beyond the common sense of the kingdom.
　I know that the princess is very skilled. But it's impossible to trust her with that.

You should feel the same way, Your Majesty.
"But, ......!
"Take care, Your Highness.

　She hugged Kontse and let the words fall out.
　Conrad looked up. She was sobbing, and he couldn't help but react to her voice.

　She was crying.

"I called you, and you called me, and you called me back. ...... Isn't that ...... too much? ...
"Your Highness .......

　Conrad swallowed his saliva.
　I'm not sure why women with pathetic expressions are so attractive.

"Conrad......
Yes, what is it?
I'll do anything. I'll do anything. Can't you somehow, someway make it happen?
Anything at ......?

　Anything.
　That means anything.
　It's the kind of thing that comes to your mind for a moment, but you quickly brush it away.
　"That kind of selfishness" comes later.

"Anything at ......, again and again?
Is there anything you can do?
If I say there is, will you do anything I say, over and over again?
Yes!
............ I see.

　Putting his hand over his distorted mouth, Conrad thinks .

　It is true that it is difficult to rush to kill a murderer in this situation.
　But this woman said she'll do anything now.
　Then there's no problem.

　Yes, even the holding of the tournament itself shouldn't be a problem.
　If we can make it all about the warlords, and she can say it out in the open, then there will be no problem.

"All right, sir. I'll do everything in my power to take care of the murderer right away.
...... Really?
Yeah, really. Don't worry.

　I smiled again. He had been so embarrassed earlier. And Conrad was confident about his mask.

　As expected, or perhaps even more so because he was being rescued from a tight spot, his cheeks turned vermillion and his eyes moistened as he stared at Conrad.

It's just...

　So, he gently took Lilac's hand.
　It's a good idea to take a look at the actual information on the web.
　It's easy enough to think of it as one girl.

"In return, please do us a favor. It's something only you can do.
"Yes, sir!　You said you'd do anything. You said you'd do anything. ...... But...

　Lilac stares at her entwined hands in confusion.

You're not even ...... a companion yet.
I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure what to say, but I'm not going to resist.

　That was the moment I told her.

　There was a knock at the door and a girl's voice.

"Princess. May I come in?
"......

　Lilac took her hand away as if in a panic, and Conrad shook his head in disbelief.

I'll be back in a few minutes.
No choice. I'll see you next time. I'll bring back good news.



　Conrad smiled one last time and turned gracefully on his heel.

"Ah, .......

　Conrad left the room in a very good mood, with Lilac's breath on his back.
　I don't know if it was a chamberlain or what, but he took one look at the hooded girl waiting for him in front of the room. She left as if she was not interested.

　The hooded girl, who had come in to replace her, closed the door behind her and said at the top of her voice.

"You were really creepy.
"Well, you couldn't have done it better yourself.
Die.

　Lilac wiped her hands on her handkerchief as she took off her hood, annoyed.

"So, you said you'd do anything for me.
"How can you be so reckless when you haven't even signed a contract? "It's a good thing we only have her name, Aria.
What's convenient? You're the only one who knew her real name.
Yeah. So it's mine.
"Oh, yeah.

　The girl stared at Lilac, poking the back of her cheek with her tongue in annoyance.

So?
The man seemed to have a taste for women. Now he'll get a double for Aria and the serial killer case will be closed for good.
"I'm not asking such an obvious question. What are you going to do with it?

　The thumb indicates the door behind you.
　I mean, what do we do with the guy who left?

　Lilac said boringly.

The Count's second son can always be replaced, can't he?
You're just like that, aren't you?
I don't care. What about you, Futa?
I can't do anything about it, so I'm thinking about it. Well, I'm going to meet up with him later.
I see. I'll let you know when I'm done with the case. Please take care of Futa for me.
Yes, yes. You're a rough woman.

　With a wave of her hand, the girl also turns away and leaves.

　In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at the particulars of the particulars.


"Well, next.


　A description of Aria was attached to the document.