A Happy Life in the Empire - The Princess Once Called a “Failure” Becomes the “Most Important Person” as a Hostage in the Empire - Chapter 9

“Alto…?”

When I opened my eyes, an unbelievable sight spread before me.

“Huh?”

The bandits, who had been grinning wickedly just moments ago, were now lying on the ground.

There was no bl00d. They had collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

It seemed they had lost consciousness.

“Eek! M-Monster…!”

The only one still conscious was the bandit leader.

He had fallen on his backside and even wet himself.

“What just happened…!?”

I couldn’t understand the situation at all and was completely stunned.

“As you can see, I turned the tables on them.”

“Amazing…! You took down all of them in an instant…!”

Alto’s strength was on another level.

His famous reputation that reached even the kingdom was not just for show.

“Are you alright, Sophia? Sorry if I scared you.”

“I-I’m fine. But what exactly happened? They seem to be unconscious, but…”

I asked with a trembling voice, and Alto shrugged and smiled.

“I just cut them down with my sword.”

At those words, I finally realized that Alto had drawn his sword.

Yet, not a single drop of bl00d stained it.

Looking closely, the unconscious bandits also had no wounds or bl00d.

“Why didn’t they get cut even though you used your sword?”

“I used magic to remove its killing power.”

“There’s such magic…!?”

“It probably exists in the kingdom too. It’s a common spell, usually used for training in simulated battles.”

“I see.”

It was a magic I had never heard of, but Alto’s explanation made sense.

“Now then…”

Alto lightly swung his sword before sheathing it, then glared at the bandit leader.

“Eek! P-Please spare me…!”

The bandit leader fell to his knees at lightning speed.

He pressed his forehead against the rocky ground, shouting, “Please, I beg you!”

“You want me to let you go?”

Alto asked in a calm voice, and the bandit desperately nodded.

“Y-Yes! I swear I’ll never do anything like this again! Please, I beg you, have mercy!”

“Then I have a condition. First, return the stolen medicinal herbs.”

“Of course!”

“Next, tell me honestly who hired you.”

“Hired…?”

I was shocked and looked at Alto.

“That’s right. These guys were hired by someone.”

Alto confirmed, “Isn’t that right?”

“W-Well…!”

The bandit leader hesitated, but when Alto reached for his sword’s hilt, he panicked and spoke.

“Y-You’re right! We were hired! But we don’t know who hired us! I swear I’m not lying!”

The bandit pleaded desperately.

Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be lying.

But not knowing who their employer was made no sense.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You must have received part of the payment in advance, right? You should have seen their face then.”

Alto voiced exactly what I was thinking.

“W-We did see someone! But that person wasn’t the real employer! They were forced by the real employer to contact us!”

“I see.”

Alto seemed convinced.

Meanwhile, I thought, “Does that really happen?”

But seeing Alto’s reaction, I assumed it must be possible.

“Your story is probably true. But why accept such a suspicious job? Someone like you would normally just take the advance payment and run, right? Especially for something this shady.”

That made sense.

“You’re right! But the payment was too big! It wasn’t an amount some regular rich person could afford. And the success reward was ten times the advance payment!”

“I see. So you got greedy?”

“No!”

The bandit denied it forcefully, then quickly corrected himself.

“Well, that was part of it… but the job was to assassinate His Highness. It was obviously dangerous. If we took the advance and ran, we’d be killed. But if we failed on purpose, they’d find out.”

“But even if you succeeded, they would have killed you afterward, right? Someone like that wouldn’t let you live.”

“That’s why we planned to finish the job but escape before collecting the final payment!”

The bandit said, still bowing his head to the ground.

His reasoning made sense, and both Alto and I understood.

“One more thing—when did you take this job?”

“Two days ago! A scrawny guy came to our hideout while we were drinking, trembling as he made the request! He said that stealing the herbs would make His Highness and the knights leave the village!”

“Two days ago… when we were in Levan.”

“At the very least, they knew about the ritual. If I hadn’t met you in Rockwell, we would’ve already left this village.”

I spoke up, feeling calmer after some time had passed.

“That’s true. The enemy likely has knowledge of magical rituals. It could be rebels within the empire or foreign spies… either way, we probably won’t catch them.”

Alto seemed to reach his own conclusion and nodded quietly.

“I understand the situation. So, where are the herbs?”

“In Harmene Village!”

“What?”

Both Alto and I reacted at the same time.

“Moving them would’ve been too much trouble, and selling them would be difficult. Plus, the risk of getting caught by guards was high. So we dug a hole in the warehouse’s basement and buried them! If you remove the floorboards, you’ll see!”

“I see.”

Once again, Alto and I spoke at the same time.

Surprised, we looked at each other.

“Sophia, don’t copy me.”

“You’re the one copying me, Alto.”

We both laughed.

“Alright, I have no more questions.”

Alto sighed and looked at the bandits.

“We’re truly sorry! We’ll never do this again! I told you everything truthfully! Please, forgive us!”

“Alright.”

Alto answered immediately.

“I’ll let you go this time. But promise never to do evil again.”

“Y-Yes! I swear, Your Highness!”

“By the way, do you know about adventurers?”

“I’ve heard of them, but…”

The bandit didn’t seem to know much.

“Adventurers…?”

I tilted my head as well.

“They hunt monsters for a living.”

“Oh! You mentioned that before, Alto!”

“Yes. Now that the war is over, the empire has increased its budget for adventurers. Because of that, monster hunting rewards are higher. Many skilled people are becoming adventurers.”

“What…!”

The bandit looked surprised.

“This time, it was just Sophia and me, but you planned to take me out along with the entire knight order, didn’t you? And with only a few dozen men at that. That means you must have some confidence in your skills. If so, instead of turning to crime, why not work honorably as adventurers?”

A spark of light appeared in the bandit’s dull eyes.

Maybe they became bandits because they had no other way to survive.

Alto had taken that into account and was showing them a way out of their criminal life.

“We… we tried to kill Your Highness…! And yet, not only are you forgiving us, but you’re also giving us another path as adventurers…! Thank you, Prince Alto! And we sincerely apologize!”

Overcome with emotion, the bandit began to cry.

“Next time, show me how you can contribute to the empire as adventurers.”

“Yes!”

Alto nodded, then said, “Let’s go,” and started walking.

I quickly caught up to his side.

“Alto… um…”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not very familiar with the empire’s laws, but isn’t letting them go a bit too lenient? Even if you forgive them, wouldn’t it be better to capture them and hand them over to the guards…?”

I asked hesitantly.

Regardless of their circumstances, the bandits had tried to kill Alto.

In the kingdom, this would be an unquestionable capital offense.

Letting them go could even make him guilty of the crime himself.

“If I handed them over to the guards, they’d be executed for sure. I wanted to avoid that. If their target had been you or someone else, it would be a different story. But this time, they only aimed for me. In that case, I should have the right to decide their fate.”

“That may be true, but…”

“I understand what you’re trying to say. My decision was purely emotional. Letting them go is a huge problem, and if this keeps happening, the law loses its meaning. But still, I didn’t want to take their lives. In the end, it was my selfish choice.”

His words filled me with warmth.

He respected the law, yet he valued his own heart even more.

And that heart was not driven by personal gain but by a desire for peace in the empire.

This is what it means to be a true ruler.

Even the royal family of the kingdom couldn’t compare.

◇

Back in Harmene Village, we handed over the medicinal herbs to the villagers working at the clinic.

Then, we explained the situation to the village chief and, along with several villagers, headed to the storage house.

Alto did most of the talking, but he altered the story regarding the bandits.

He claimed that they had unfortunately escaped.

However, anyone listening could tell it was a lie.

A bandit who reveals the location of stolen herbs before fleeing would be utterly ridiculous.

“It seems what he said was true.”

When the villagers removed the wooden planks from the storage floor, a large number of wooden crates appeared.

Inside, they found dried Elphonia grass.

“Your Highness, thank you so much! You’ve saved us!”

The village chief bowed deeply.

“If you’re going to thank someone, thank Sophia,” Alto replied immediately.

The village chief blinked in confusion.

“Huh? But why Lady Sophia…?”

I was surprised as well.

Alto was the one who retrieved the stolen herbs.

His achievement was obviously greater.

Even without considering status, Alto was the one who deserved the gratitude.

“Sophia was the one who gathered the herbs in the first place. All I did was make the bandits confess where they hid them.”

Alto spoke matter-of-factly.

I couldn’t accept that reasoning and instinctively spoke up.

“But if you hadn’t stopped the bandits, the stolen herbs wouldn’t have been recovered… No one would have thought to search underground.”

The villagers nodded in agreement.

“No, they would have found it eventually. When new herbs arrived from another town, they’d be stored here again. Sooner or later, someone would notice the odd feel of the floorboards, and the stash would be discovered.”

“But still…”

I was about to argue further when Alto interrupted me.

“Think of it the other way around. If the bandits hadn’t attacked, I wouldn’t have been any help at all. That’s an undeniable fact. And the village desperately needed those herbs. That means you were the one who laid the foundation for this success. I only added the finishing touch. So the one who deserves praise is you, Sophia.”

“Alto…!”

The village chief fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply.

“Lady Sophia, thank you! Thanks to you, many lives have been saved!”

“N-no, it wasn’t that big of a deal…”

I looked down, my cheeks flushed.

A mix of pride and embarrassment swelled inside me.

“Now then, Chief, may I see the report?”

“Y-yes! I’ll bring it immediately! Your Highness and Lady Sophia, please wait at the inn—it would be far too rude to keep you standing here!”

The village chief spoke nervously before running off without waiting for Alto’s response.

Another villager stepped forward and said, “Please, allow me to guide you.”

Leaving the storage house, we headed toward the inn.

“My legs are sore from all that walking in the mountains,” Alto said with a chuckle.

“Same here!”

I smiled back at him.

(Alto really is incredible…!)

Even just now, he showed his humility.

His kindness and consideration for others were unmistakable.

The more time I spent with him, the more I admired him.

(I’m truly grateful to have met Alto…)

Walking beside him filled me with happiness beyond words.