The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 133
EP.133 Secret (1)
How did the Emperor manage to find and gather such capable children from all those orphans?
The Emperor’s children weren’t in the hundreds or thousands, and it wasn’t as though knights were dispatched to search for them.
There had been speculations from the players that the Emperor must have gathered these talented children using some ‘method,’ and that ‘method’ was likely related to Claire or the bloodlines of the Emperor’s other children. I had entered this world before I could uncover the truth behind it though. But I hadn’t expected that the ‘method’ would be to mix his own blood.
If that were the case, the Emperor would be incredibly confident—no, more than that, he’d be outright arrogant. He probably assumed that his children would inevitably inherit his ‘extraordinary abilities.’ He believed that they would take after him, as if it were a given.
Spreading his blood as far as possible… Without mixing with nobility, which could be politically troublesome, he’d scatter his blood in places where it would go unnoticed and then take only the ‘capable’ children to use.
Hah.
By the time I reached that conclusion, I let out a bitter laugh.
The idea of ‘Emperor’s children’ was not something the current Emperor came up with out of nowhere. There were previous emperors who had such children, and even emperors who were known not to have had such children had elite personal guards.
The Emperor’s arrogance about blood wasn’t just his—it was an arrogance shared by the entire imperial family.
But if that were the case…
Then I, who wasn’t originally part of the story, couldn’t possibly have been the ‘child’ the Emperor was aiming for. The person who should have been in my place was Claire.
If the Emperor was just intending to spread his seed, he probably wouldn’t have cared much about the other party. He would have sent someone he trusted to keep an eye on where the children from that woman ended up, regardless of whether their hair was blue or black. To the Emperor, that wouldn’t matter.
“Wow…”
Sitting in the chair, I stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought, and marveled at the conclusion I’d reached.
If someone had planted me in this world, they certainly chose the right place. Of all things, to entangle me with a birth secret.
And then the ability I was given. Rather than some uncertain talent like swordsmanship that could take a lifetime to master, I was given the gift of infinite opportunities to correct mistakes intuitively.
Moreover… the Emperor knew that my fighting style relied on that ability, and yet he still thought of me as his daughter.
Yes. The Emperor confused me with Claire.
And the reason was simply because Lucas brought me, not Claire.
…I need to find Lucas.
*
Lucas probably doesn’t even know he could be the Emperor’s true son. In fact, there wasn’t much about him that resembled the Emperor. Furthermore, given the circumstances, Lucas’s time as an orphan was likely just as miserable as Claire’s.
He wouldn’t have thought, ‘Of course, the Emperor’s blood runs through me,’ right? Who in the world would think that, even if they were a bastard child, they’d be left to wallow in such conditions?
So, I needed to go to Lucas and find out why he chose me, what his past had been like. Only then would I be able to have some certainty about the situation.
Damn Emperor—he threw that bomb at me and then just laughed, leaving me to ‘figure it out.’
The problem was, I had no idea where Lucas was.
Bella and another person had already been assigned their missions. In fact, those two were among the Emperor’s children whose faces weren’t widely known, making them particularly useful and always busy. If Bella hadn’t been given a separate task, she wouldn’t have had time to see us.
So, I went looking for the only ‘sibling’ I could meet immediately.
And that person was—
“Lucas?”
As soon as Jayden heard the name Lucas, his brows furrowed sharply.
“How would I know where Lucas is?”
Fortunately, Jayden didn’t seem angry with me, though. His frustration was directed at Lucas. From Jayden’s perspective, it was a betrayal for Lucas to leave without informing the Emperor, especially considering Jayden’s status as the Empire’s strongest knight.
I quietly looked up at Jayden’s golden hair, which was split into an 80-20 ratio.
Seeing it this way, the color of his hair was quite similar to the Emperor’s and Alice’s. Of course, it would be hard to use that as evidence. It wasn’t uncommon to find blondes in the Empire.
But after hearing that story, seeing this golden hair made me reconsider, and it was hard to ignore those thoughts.
Though Jayden had thoroughly learned and mastered the Imperial swordsmanship, just like Claire and Bella, he must have had a dark past as well.
Perhaps his obsessive fixation on elegance stemmed from that.
“Is that so?”
“Why, is something wrong? Did he do something to you?”
“No.”
At my response, Jayden shrugged and continued packing. The large trunk was packed with such precision, the items fitting together like a puzzle. I couldn’t help but marvel at how neatly everything fit.
With admiration, I asked, “Are you being dispatched somewhere?”
“That’s right.”
Jayden nodded, still packing his things.
“I’ve been sent north. Thanks to your efforts—”
As he spoke, Jayden glanced at me with a look of open pride. For a moment, I felt a chill run down my spine, but I held back.
“—We managed to wipe out a warlord, but there are still plenty of similar-sized warlords out there. We can’t afford to send troops to fight a war with the autonomous states, but just having one reliable irregular would be a huge asset in battle.”
With that, Jayden shut the trunk with a sharp snap.
“North…”
For a moment, the thought that I might be the only Emperor’s child left in the palace made me feel despondent, but suddenly a thought flashed across my mind.
“Do you happen to know how you’ll be traveling?”
“They’ve asked for me to get there as quickly as possible, so I’ll probably be traveling with the supply ship.”
A supply ship wasn’t a regular ship. If there were nearby seas or a giant lake, that might be what he meant, but on land, a supply ship referred to an airship.
The speed of the transport ship couldn’t compare to that of a flying battleship like the Dreadnought. It would be lucky to reach 100 km/h.
However, since it was an airship, it would fly straight to its destination without any stops. The time it took to arrive would actually be faster than a train.
“Is it possible for me to board that transport ship with you?”
With only about two weeks left until the end of the vacation, every day was crucial for me.
“Hmm? Even so, it’s a military supply ship… I’m not saying I doubt you, but there are procedural issues with boarding something like that. I already secured my spot about a week ago, but for you…”
Jayden’s refusal to allow me on the transport ship despite his status clearly showed his commitment to his upright, disciplined nature. The Emperor probably relied on him precisely because of this—because he was the kind of person who would act decisively and correctly.
“I… have an urgent matter.”
“An urgent matter.”
Jayden’s expression grew slightly more serious as he asked, “Is it related to His Majesty’s orders?”
Well…
It wasn’t, but…
I could make up another excuse, but Jayden, as an Imperial knight, was particularly meticulous in these matters. If I lied and claimed it was related to the Emperor’s orders, he would definitely check with the Emperor. Not out of suspicion, but simply to verify things and make sure the orders were properly understood and executed.
“……”
“Sylvia?”
Jayden tilted his head, noticing my sudden silence.
…Alright.
In that case, it was better to take advantage of Jayden’s blind spot.
I took a deep breath, then steadied my mind and clasped my hands in front of my chest.
I then looked up at Jayden. This wasn’t too difficult since he was taller than me.
But the real challenge came next.
“Oh…”
“Oh?”
I paused halfway through my sentence, and Jayden looked at me, slightly confused.
“Oh… Brother.”
With Jayden frozen stiff in front of me, I took another deep breath and said, “Brother… please?”
“……”
Jayden stood there, staring at me with his mouth slightly open, for what felt like a long while. Then, finally, he raised one hand to his forehead.
Just as I thought it might be a failure, Jayden wiped his face with that same hand, then rubbed his forehead again.
A smile tugged at his lips.
His eyes, however, held the expression of someone thinking, “What kind of troublemaker is this?”
“Oh my.”
I immediately regretted what I had said and seriously considered resetting the time.
“If my little sister says something like that… I suppose I have no choice. Don’t worry, Sylvia. This ‘brother’ will figure something out for you.”
…I really did consider it for a moment.