Chapter 262 – Demonstration

“It seems Elliot-san was told to serve as Princess Stephania’s escort.”

“That’s good…”

Elliot was already en route on Saphir. When I briefly explained the situation over there, Ashley let out a relieved sigh. The tension among everyone seemed to ease as well.

“In this case, would that make him a spy from Zadias?”

“Probably. He’s supposed to report any unusual developments to Zadias, so we’ll need to coordinate our stories.”

I responded to Claudia’s words. If we’re going to use misinformation, the intelligence we feed them needs to be just right – not too much, not too little, with natural moderation. Since the risks are significant, we should avoid it unless absolutely necessary.

From our perspective, we can never be too cautious. If this is all an act and they’ve already detected Elliot’s defection while ordering him to monitor us, that would be quite impressive. Even if things are going well, we’re still in enemy territory, so we should assume that even a surprise attack wouldn’t be enough.

“Well then, Sister. Over here.”

“Yes.”

Rosemary, Princess Stephania, and Ambrum headed together to the adjacent room.

They were going to change Ambrum’s clothes to make him a shadow clone and send him to the inn. Though Ambrum was wearing servant’s clothes, transformation would cause issues with clothing sizes and other problems, so they needed to change him beforehand, which required some effort.

When they returned, there were two Princess Stephanias, but one of them was Ambrum… Probably the real one is the one wearing servant’s clothes and looking happy. It seems Princess Stephania has something like admiration for lifestyles other than that of royalty.

“Your Highness Stephania, your hand please.”

“Thank you, Ashley.”

Blood was needed for Ambrum’s transformation. Ashley used healing magic to seal the wound on her fingertip.

“Well then, let’s move.”

When the treatment was finished, I nodded at Grace’s words, and almost all party members moved to the inn where we planned to stay. However, the real Princess Stephania, Seraphina, Lavigne, Ignis, and Tephra were too conspicuous, so they remained at the villa.

“Once we secure rooms, I’ll connect the underground passage.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Seraphina and Tephra waved us off.

It would defeat the purpose if Marquis Zilbolt’s villa became underprotected. Though I feel bad for the innkeeper, we’ll connect an underground passage from Marquis Zilbolt’s villa to the inn room with the understanding that we’ll fill it in once we’re done.

“This is Her Highness Stephania. I’ve heard from the Marquis’s messenger. Please, this way.”

The innkeeper guided us to our rooms. To make it easier to connect to the underground passage, we took three rooms on the first floor. Ambrum would be in the middle room, with escorts staying in the rooms on either side to secure the area.

“These rooms don’t face the main street – will that be acceptable?”

“Yes.”

Ambrum, controlled by Rosemary, nodded.

Being on the first floor makes it easier to escape if something happens, and facing the back alley means that if they try to surround the inn, personnel deployment would be delayed and the encirclement would be thinner.

“I’ll be using this room during my stay in Vinesdora. Please take care of us.”

Ambrum paid a rather generous amount as an advance. Well, it includes what you might call inconvenience fees. The apologetic innkeeper initially tried to refuse, but when Ambrum said it was for taking care of us, he respectfully accepted.

It doesn’t hurt to make a good impression on the innkeeper and staff. Combined with Zadias’s lack of popularity, it might work to our advantage in various ways.

Hmm. So we’ve finally prepared for our stay in Vinesdora.

Zadias arrived the following day, in the afternoon.

Elliot was staying in a room facing the main street. Caduceus, who was waiting in the same room, kept watch on the main street and was the first to spot the group arriving in a carriage accompanied by knights.

“He’s here, it seems.”

Everyone nodded at my words. Though they were dressed as servants as part of Princess Stephania’s escort, everyone was armed with swords or wore dragon scale equipment under their clothes, maintaining full combat readiness. Since they appeared lightly equipped, they probably just looked like ordinary security.

That said, the military force Zadias brought with him was also small. At this point, we probably had enough leeway to disguise our equipment. I had a rapier, Grace had a staff – we switched our usual weapons to different ones, keeping our cards hidden until actual combat begins.

Even if they stormed our room, it would only create a scandal with no benefit.

Ambrum was waiting at a sunny table in the inn’s dining room, pretending to enjoy post-meal tea. Myself, Grace, Sheila, and Elliot were standing by as escorts nearby.

The others were with the real Princess Stephania in the inn’s basement. Caduceus would serve as the liaison between both groups.

“Sir Benedict. May I have a moment?”

“What is it?”

An inn employee called Elliot over and whispered to him. Elliot nodded and reported to Ambrum.

“Your Highness Stephania. His Highness Zadias has arrived.”

“Please show him in.”

Ambrum smiled and replied as if everything had been arranged. When Elliot conveyed Ambrum’s response to the inn employee, the employee bowed respectfully and returned to the lobby where Zadias was presumably waiting.

The flow is fairly smooth. If things got bogged down here, Elliot would probably be criticized for poor arrangements.

“Your Highness Stephania. You’re looking well.”

Zadias entered the dining room and bowed with a cheerful demeanor.

“Your Highness Zadias. It’s been too long.”

Ambrum stood up, gathered her skirt, and returned the bow.

“My, you’re as beautiful as ever.”

Zadias said things like that… but we already knew from his interactions with Elliot that he didn’t hold even a shred of respect for Princess Stephania.

“Thank you. Please, over here.”

Zadias was prompted to sit opposite Ambrum.

We had no intention of deliberately adopting a hostile stance to raise their alert level.

“My apologies for the delayed greeting. I’ve been rather busy, you see.”

“That’s unavoidable. As fellow royalty, I believe I can understand.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

After exchanging these diplomatic pleasantries, Ambrum spoke.

“Thank you for dispatching Sir Benedict. Thanks to him, I’ve felt secure both during the journey and since arriving in Vinesdora.”

“It’s nothing significant. Since he wears a mask, I thought you might be somewhat confused.”

“Marquis Zilbolt is someone of confirmed identity.”

“Was that so? However, arranging accommodation like this commoners’ inn… One might call that man lacking in refinement. The royal castle would be far safer, wouldn’t it?”

We anticipated he would suggest we check out of the inn and stay at the royal castle instead. Rearranging the structure to set up a security system to our advantage would be impossible in the royal castle. Even if it’s just a shadow clone staying there, we have no intention of moving from here.

“No, no. This is what I wanted. Sometimes I wish to stay at inns like this and enjoy the travel atmosphere and foreign air. Besides, this inn is quite high-class, and with Your Highness Zadias and the Marquis providing escorts, I have no complaints or concerns.”

Ambrum returned a smile with a rather Princess Stephania-like explanation. Apparently, it’s actually quite a high-class inn even for Vinesdora. The staff’s attentiveness is thorough, and I don’t feel any dissatisfaction either.

“Hmm. Then the lack of refinement was on my part. Since the escorts accompanying Your Highness are quite young, I became somewhat concerned about the possibility of something happening. I know this might sound misleading, but please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Ah, I understand that intimidation is necessary for escorts. While they’re quite skilled, they don’t cause tension with their appearance, making them perfect for visiting an allied nation.”

“I see. So that was your reasoning.”

“Mathius.”

“Yes.”

When Ambrum called my name, I stepped forward. Though my hair was dyed, I wasn’t wearing a disguise ring. Well, it’s a pseudonym anyway.

“Since it’s a good opportunity. As entertainment during our tea, why don’t you demonstrate your martial arts for His Highness Zadias?”

“Oh?”

Zadias narrowed his eyes with interest. If he came to probe us, he’d probably want to gauge the extent of our combat capabilities.

“Though just a child, a Verdgar military officer. And serving as Princess Stephania’s escort at that… This is quite interesting…”

“Then, please excuse my poor display.”

I bowed in response. What I would demonstrate was rapier skills, not staff techniques, and fighting spirit, not magical power.

We moved together to the terrace seating facing the main street.

“Sheila. When I give the signal, could you toss some small stones to an appropriate height?”

“Understood.”

Sheila responded. I drew my rapier and sliced through the air several times, demonstrating rapier maneuvers referencing both the rapier movements Mihaela taught me and the movements of BFO players I remembered.

Occasionally, I showed thrust-based combat skills adapted from staff martial arts, stepping in simultaneously. When I signaled Sheila with my eyes, two, then three small stones were thrown upward.

“Hah.”

I exhaled briefly, bisecting one stone, then skewering two more stones in midair consecutively with my blade wrapped in fighting spirit.

“This is splendid. I didn’t expect someone of that age to move so well.”

“Right? I’m also looking forward to his future.”

Ambrum and Zadias applauded, and I bowed in response.

Zadias’s smile showed composure. Though my abilities exceeded what he expected based on my age, he probably thought this level wasn’t threatening.

After all, I was only applying staff martial arts and martial arts to rapier handling – I wasn’t using circulating ki or demonstrating even a single aerial combat technique.

From Zadias’s perspective, he has Elliot too, and he probably thinks rapiers are disadvantageous against the armored Black Knights.

Well, that’s fine. It’s more convenient for us if Zadias underestimates the military force Princess Stephania brought. Let’s have him keep underestimating our combat capabilities until just before we reveal our hand.