Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 86

86. Bart Side Story

The guards serving Prince Leo de Yeriel, including 'Barin,' rushed to the captain of the guards.

The young Bart, in his mid-thirties, shouted in fury.

"Captain! This is a rebellion! How can a prince attack the royal palace just because the king is bedridden?"

The capital of Conrad Kingdom, Lutetia, was in chaos.

King Caderyk de Yeriel of Conrad Kingdom had been bedridden for just a year, and Prince Eric de Yeriel revealed his ambitions.

He claimed that since the king was gravely ill, they needed to appoint a successor. As a son of a concubine, he had been pushed out of the line of succession by Leo de Yeriel, the queen's son. However, he persuaded the nobles to his side, arguing that Leo was too young.

With the help of his maternal grandfather, Duke Lappert Tertan, Eric finally caused a commotion.

He mobilized the private soldiers of the nobles to surround the royal palace. The captain of the guards, watching the army encircle the palace from the watchtower, could only sigh and hesitate to make a decision.

Bart urged.

"Captain!"

"The role of a guard is to protect the royal family, not to get involved in disputes between successors."

"Then are you going to let the prince die like this?"

"Unfortunately, we must protect the king first. Besides, their demand is only to hand over the prince..."

The knights serving Prince Leo de Yeriel sighed. Bart, loyal to the core, protested in disbelief.

"Do you think they will spare the prince? We were ordered to protect Prince Leo! That was the king's last command to us. We cannot hand him over!"

"..."

"If you insist, at least open a path for us to escape with the prince. We will return to seek the king's judgment once he recovers. The matter of succession is for the king to decide!"

Without waiting for the captain's reply, Bart turned around and shouted.

"Anyone willing to protect the legitimate successor, follow me! How can a knight abandon his lord?"

He strode forward, unconcerned with how many would follow, and fifteen knights joined him. Barin, steeling his resolve, followed as well.

In front of the prince's room, a steward cluelessly blocked their path.

"How dare you! This is the royal protocol! What are the guards, who should be a model, doing in a group like this?"

"Out of the way!"

Bart snapped and pushed him aside, opening the door.

Inside, the prince's cheerful voice could be heard.

"There you are, my princess!"

Perhaps playing hide-and-seek, the six-year-old prince had found Princess Lena de Yeriel hiding behind a scarlet curtain and was twirling her around in delight.

The knights prostrated before the prince, and Bart spoke on their behalf.

"Prince! We have urgent news."

"What is it?"

The prince asked, putting down the giggling princess.

"Prince Eric de Yeriel has attacked the palace. You must flee."

"Attacked? By Eric?"

Barin, still bowing his head, clicked his tongue inwardly. In such a dire situation, it seemed no one had warned the prince.

It was understandable, though. The prince had no true protectors. He was too young to engage in political activities, had no noble friends, and the queen, who should have been his supporter, was absent, leaving the king as his sole guardian.

"I'll explain the details on the way. Time is of the essence."

Bart urged anxiously, but the prince looked around as if seeking advice, his eyes questioning whether to trust these words.

The maids hesitated, mute, leaving the young prince to decide on his own.

The knights debated whether to forcibly take the prince, but fortunately, he made a quick decision.

"I'll follow your lead. What should I do?"

"Please excuse us."

As soon as permission was given, Bart picked up the prince. Though the maids were appalled by the rude behavior, it was not the time for etiquette.

Barin was the one who lifted the princess. As he carefully held the young princess, she squirmed and complained.

"Let me down! I want to go to my brother."

"I'm sorry."

Barin repeatedly apologized to the four-year-old princess as he hurried along with his comrades.

With the princess's whining continuing, the knights followed a secret passage out of the palace. They had prepared for a desperate fight, knowing Prince Eric was aware of the passage's existence, but fortunately, it was unguarded.

Why hadn't Eric blocked the secret passage?

Though the question arose, there was no time to ponder it.

The knights, emerging from the passage on the outskirts of Lutetia, requisitioned horses and a carriage from a nearby rental shop. With the prince and princess in the carriage, the knights mounted their horses, escorting the carriage northeast.

They planned to flee to the Kingdom of Aisel.

The Kingdom of Aisel was the home of Queen Ainas de Isadora, who had died giving birth to Princess Lena, making it an ideal place to seek refuge.

However, pursuers soon followed.

It was as if they had anticipated the escape route. Startled by the pursuit, Bart devised a plan.

He would later deeply regret this plan, but that was for the future.

Riding on his horse, Bart shouted.

"Let's use a decoy tactic! Two will drive the carriage to the Kingdom of Aisel, and twelve will flee to the Kingdom of Orun!"

"What about the remaining two?"

"The remaining two will hide with the prince and princess! The enemy's attention will be divided between the larger group and the carriage."

The knights relayed Bart's plan to their comrades. One knight rode close to Bart and asked.

"It seems like a good idea, but the two who stay with the prince and princess will have a heavy responsibility. Do you have anyone in mind?"

Bart looked around at the knights following him and replied.

"Don't ride horses! They're too conspicuous. So, Barin and Nil, I think you two would be best! Although Rudy and Wendy are the best swordsmen, it would be better for someone with fast legs to take the prince and princess and escape!"

The knights nodded in agreement with Bart's suggestion. After all, the slow carriage would soon be caught if they continued fleeing like this.

Barin and Nil also raised their hands to signal their understanding.

Shortly afterward, they began the task of transferring the prince and princess from the running carriage to horses. To avoid any harm to the royal children, the knight sitting in the driver's seat clambered over to carefully hand them over. The princess, terrified of moving from the running carriage to a horse, burst into tears.

Bart approached and said,

"Barin! Nil! Please take good care of the prince and princess. If you hide near the border of the Bellita Kingdom, we'll come and find you!"

"Don't worry about us, just take care of yourselves! From the looks of it, those going with the carriage won't be seen again! Ha ha ha!"

The small-built knight, who sat the prince in front of him, laughed loudly.

It was Nil, who often got misunderstood due to his sarcastic tone. He tried to lighten the tense atmosphere with his usual manner.

Thanks to his efforts, the knights smiled and bravely volunteered to follow the carriage.

Once those who would follow the carriage were decided, Bart shouted,

"We're heading west!"

With that, he and eleven knights veered off and disappeared.

"Take good care of the prince and princess! Let's meet again alive! Nil! If you die, I'll kill you again myself!"

"Look who's talking!"

Wendy, the only female knight in the guard, waved dramatically to Nil, with whom she'd formed a close bond through bickering, and then disappeared northeast with Rudy, escorting the rattling carriage.

Barin and Nil rode hard for a while, then looked around to ensure no one was watching before dismounting. They struck their horses' rumps with their sword sheaths, sending them running off, and each hoisted the prince and princess onto their backs.

They hid in the plains stretching northwest.

Late at night, hidden in tall grass, Barin desperately tried to amuse the princess. He had to do something to stop her from crying.

But, having no experience in soothing children and being inarticulate, he struggled. Next to him, the prince, exhausted from a full day of walking, was sound asleep.

Nil was dead.

He died fighting off dozens of pursuers, and Barin had to watch from the grass, hiding.

The pursuit continued.

"I'm scared."

Having dozed off on Barin's back, the princess couldn't fall asleep, terrified of the surrounding darkness.

If she cried, it would be disastrous. Her wails would spread across the quiet plains, and they would be caught immediately.

"Look, Princess."

In a pinch, Barin showed her the ring he was wearing. The silver ring gleamed in the moonlight, catching the princess's attention.

"...What's this?"

"It's an engagement ring."

In his early twenties, Barin had gotten engaged last year. He'd met his match late because he spent day and night honing his swordsmanship to become a royal guard. They exchanged rings blessed by a priest according to the laws of the Holy Church and planned to marry next spring.

'She's probably worried sick about me leaving without a word...'

Thinking of her made Barin's heart sink heavily. He wouldn't be able to return for years. She would be waiting for him, lonely...

Princess Lena de Yeriel fiddled with the ring she was handed. She tried it on her finger as Barin had done, but it dangled loosely on her slender finger.

The princess held the ring to her lips and asked in a lisping voice,

"What's an engagement?"

"It's a promise to get married."

"What's marriage?"

"Um, well, it's when you spend your whole life with someone you love."

"What's love?"

The princess's questions continued in a chain. Faced with the monumental question of "What is love?" Barin forgot his situation for a moment and pondered.

"Um... Princess, you like Prince, don't you?"

"Yes! I like my brother."

"That's love."

Thinking he gave a wise answer, the princess blinked her pretty eyes and asked again,

"Then will I marry my brother?"

Uh oh? How did it come to that?

Though it wasn't unheard of for royalty to marry close relatives, marriages between siblings were taboo even among royals.

"Not quite..."

Just then, Barin's head whipped around.

In the distance, torches were approaching.

Pursuers.

Barin rudely covered the princess's mouth with a "Shh!" and shook the prince awake.

Worried he might make a sound upon waking, the prince merely opened his eyes and looked at him, remaining silent.

'Thank goodness the prince is so mature.'

Barin signaled to the prince to move, pointing to the torches.

The prince nodded, understanding, and Barin carefully carried the princess, moving stealthily. They had to get off the path of the approaching torches.

They were playing hide-and-seek on the vast plains.

The tall grass provided excellent cover, but it also left traces easily, so they had to be cautious.

Carrying the princess, Barin tried not to trample the grass, and the prince followed his lead, treading lightly.

When his back began to ache from tiptoeing, they managed to evade danger once more. Barin put the prince and princess to sleep and sighed.

'At this rate, we'll be caught.'

It seemed Bart's diversion plan worked, as no knights pursued Nil and Barin. Since no pursuers had shown up yet, it appeared the enemy had fallen for the decoy and followed the other two groups.

Instead, soldiers were after them.

At first, there were only a few, easy to kill and escape from, but their numbers quickly increased.

Listening to the prince and princess's soft breathing, Barin thought.

At first, he wondered how they had been tracked after splitting off secretly. Suspecting they had left traces, Nil sacrificed himself.

When Nil threw himself into the pursuers, Barin erased their tracks and fled.

But the pursuit didn't end.

More soldiers meticulously searched the path they had taken, pressing them steadily.

Finally, Barin concluded, 'They know how many of us there are.' The enemy must have confirmed the number of knights fleeing in two directions and ordered the soldiers to find the remaining two.

So, to break the pursuit...

'I have to die.'

Otherwise, the pursuit would continue relentlessly.

Barin closed his eyes.

The moonlight pierced his eyelids, vividly painting the image of his fiancée on his retina.

I want to go back. But...

Barin squeezed his eyes shut tighter, erasing her image. He sprang up, resolved.

If he had feared death, he wouldn't have followed the prince in the first place.

If personal matters took precedence, he wouldn't have become a royal guard.

If he died, the pursuit would likely end.

No one would imagine the young prince and princess left alone on the plains without a guard.

Though worried about leaving them behind, staying meant a predictable future. Even now, there was no certainty for tomorrow.

'Can the prince escape with the princess...?'

The prince was more mature than expected, so perhaps it was possible.

Despite his young age, the prince had shown composure in crisis without complaints.

Barin woke Prince Leo de Yeriel again.

Still half-asleep, the prince cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Barin pointed to the northwest and said,

"You must go to the Bellita Kingdom. Hide in a village near the border, and the guards will find you."

When the prince asked why he was saying this, Barin deflected, saying it was just in case, and put him back to sleep.

Barin placed all the food he had by the prince's head and carefully moved away.

Towards the torches.

Amidst the clamor of shouts and the sound of weapons clashing, the princess's hand clutched the silver ring tightly in her sleep.