BXBX NOVEL Vol. 8 - Chapter 400 - Bek's whereabouts (1)
(Hmm, the knights are watching us like always.)
"They don't seem to be suspecting us, Alec."
Shea had planned that escape together with Allen, and said that watching the knights marching outside the garden. Their attitude was the same as always, meaning they did not suspect a thing.
"You're right. I guess we'll be safe for a while."
"Mhm."
Allen looked out the window, seeing the knights protecting the magic device like usual. It was safe to assume they were all loyal to Ignomas.
Ignomas was sitting on the throne now, but considering what he had just done, he felt like the rebellion had not fully accomplished its goals yet.
"Are you feeling any better yet, empress?"
The empress had freshened herself up and had changed into a new set of clothes. Allen approached her with his head lowered, speaking with a gentle voice. He had rescued the entire imperial family, the empress' children sitting nearby. The children seemed confused about everything, looking around anxiously.
Duke Drescalay was sitting next to her as well. As a duke, it was very likely he also had some imperial blood.
"Y-yes, thank you very much. Your name is Alec, right? I promise Prostia will repay this favor."
Saying that, the empress instructed the servants that had been released with her to take her children to another room. Seeing Allen's face was enough to know he did not simply save her out of kindness.
"Try to calm down first. We'll deal with everything."
She had not agreed or refused to answer his question.
(Well, I guess I'll have to do something about this rebellion. I've gotten embroiled with yet another country's politics. But it's all for my goal, so no way around it. At least I'm glad I rescued those children.)
Allen had been born as a serf in Latash. There were very clearly divided social ranks there, with serfs, and royals. His parents were the serfs Rodan and Theresia, and while poor, he felt he had a fun life as a serf. While in his past life essentially everyone was born on the same playing field, he understood that just his memories were not enough to change the culture of this world.
And his birth did not change the fact that he leveled up as a Summoner, met strong friends, gathered an army of 5000, and now even started affecting the politics of various countries. All of those countries had a long history, emperors or kings with authority, and their own populations.
He still had no interest in politics.
But it was something he needed to do to defeat the Demon King's Army. Just like how making Shea the next Beast King would increase the party's power.
The only other reason that would push him to politics would be to repay favors for friends, or for children like those that just left the room.
When he told Princess Carmin and Knight Commander Iwanam that Duke Drescalay was imprisoned, they begged him to rescue him. They had already given him Makris' Sacred Bead before, so he felt it was fair to oblige.
(I couldn't find Bek after all. I wonder what's going on?)
He had no interest in Prostia's situation, but he could not mention that openly.
Allen had spent three days searching the palace, but there was no trace of Bek, who was said to have left Alabahar together with mermen. At this rate he would need to extend the radius of his search to the lower reaches of the city.
Allen's group had started by convincing Clebeur to send them to Prostia. It took them three days to get a ship ready, and then many more days of travel.
Bek had made it there faster than that, then it was very likely he was staying in the palace. But after a thorough search, there was no trace of him.
There was also the possibility that Allen's theory was completely wrong, and Prostia had never been involved. To verify that, he decided to rescue Duke Drescalay, who had been captured by Ignomas.
"You aren't mermen? That's hard to believe, but I guess nothing is really impossible. And you said there was a coup in Albahar?"
Allen realized the conversation might not get anywhere if he continued masquerading as Clebeur's ambassador. He wanted them to know the reason why he went to rescue Duke Drescalay.
"Yes, and we got here chasing after Bek. Please tell us if there's anything you know."
They sounded only half-convinced, but Allen decided it was up to them to believe everything.
"Let me think…it's already been three months since Ignomas rebelled, you see."
At least they were willing to talk about Prostia.
(Oh? That's quite a long time ago. That's around the time when the Alliance had that meeting.)
With that preface, Duke Drescalay detailed what happened during the rebellion.
General Ignomas was in charge of the Imperial Knights. So his authority in the army was limited to them. Three months ago, he used all the Imperial Knights to seize the capital.
There were three armies stationed in Patlanta and the three neighboring regions. The Imperial Knights defended the palace, inferior in number, but superior to the other two in terms of Talents and equipment. Then there was the First Imperial Army, defending Patlanta, and the Second Imperial Army for the rest of the empire. In numbers, the Imperial Knights had 3000 members, the First Imperial Army 12000, and the Second Imperial Army 25000.
Relying on the Imperial Knights' superior skills, they seized the palace in an instant, and executed the emperor. The rest of the imperial family and those allied to them were captured soon after. Duke Drescalay was related to the imperial family by blood, so he was captured as well.
"...So he only got control of the palace because he was the leader of the knights."
"Yes. All of this could've been avoided if he had not been in charge of them. He was extremely capable, so the populace supported him as well."
(So he came from the common folk. I guess it was still his abilities which let him succeed.)
Allen was slowly understanding who Ignomas was. He was the person who could kill the emperor the easiest, and he lived in the palace.
But if the First and Second Imperial Armies turned on him, it would be a rather hard battle to win, even with an advantage in Talents and equipment. It was common to split the army's power equally to fight back in such situations.
"Do you know anything that happened after that?"
They had been thrown in jail after that, so it was harder to stay updated there.
"I heard Ignomas asked the First and Second Armies to surrender."
(So he basically took the throne, since there was no emperor to fill it anymore.)
According to Drescalay, Ignomas and his knights remained in the palace, and convinced the other armies to treat him like the new emperor.
Ignomas had been rather reasonable with them, telling them there was no need for more bloodshed. The two armies realized it was hard to reverse the death of the emperor and incarceration of nobles, so their stalemate was quickly resolved and they surrendered to Ignomas.
Thanks to that, both armies were under Ignomas' control now. Now the remaining soldiers in other territories were slowly pledging their allegiances.
(So the empire fell with minimal bloodshed. Does that really work so easily?)
Allen started feeling something was off while listening, though he was grateful to learn so much.
"You seem rather knowledgeable about things that happened after you were captured, do you have an informant in the palace?"
Drescalay seemed to know too much.
"Of course, there's many ministers who served Prostia for years there."
Apparently they had a lot of insiders, which is how he learned so many details. Allen nodded hearing that, it made sense.
Many of those who resisted Ignomas had been thrown in jail, but many others still worked freely. And not just ministers or nobles, but also knights, officials, and even servants. Thanks to them, Drescalay learned what was happening even while inside his cell.
Many people had served Prostia for generations. Their loyalty still burned strong, even though Ignomas had seized control and killed the emperor.
Duke Drescalay was still in his twenties, his father had been killed during the rebellion.
Ignomas had little mercy for those with bloodlines tied to the imperial family.
"I see, so there's a chance the palace's situation might get overturned?"
Shea had revealed her identity as Albahar's princess, and unlike Allen, spoke much more directly with Drescalay.
The empress and Duke Drescalay who had been essentially held hostage were free. That would surely rile up many knights.
Shea asked if they thought the palace would get even more noisy than it already had gotten.
"No, most of them are on Ignomas' side. Our men won't do anything unless we tell them to."
Apparently most were supporting Ignomas already. That was why there told to not do anything strange unless asked to, though it was hard to say whether they would remain still now that Drescalay and the empress had escaped.
Maybe they would turn on Ignomas hearing that the empress was gone.
Most of the strong Imperial Knights supported Ignomas. Those opposing him were mainly ministers and nobles, so it was hard to think they would try something.
"I see, I understand the situation with the rebellion now. Also, we're actually trying to find Bek."
Allen asked Duke Drescalay about Bek.