As Meredia followed Whitney into the carriage, she was shocked to see the prince's fiancée tied up with ropes, having been kidnapped.
Even after the situation had somewhat settled, a heavy atmosphere still lingered at the scene.
"I believe that's enough investigation for today. You may leave now."
"Hey, do we have any leads on Lady Hestia's whereabouts?"
"…I cannot disclose the details, but for now, I can only say that the situation looks grim."
To be more precise, the knights who had arrived at the scene found themselves facing the sky-high anxiety and complaints of the guests who had been held captive for a long time.
"I see. Thank you for your hard work."
"I appreciate the words."
However, Mayer Embergreen, who had been excluded from the investigation for nearly the same reasons as Meredia, simply smiled at the investigator in encouragement and turned away earlier than the others, leaving the engagement hall.
"…Damn it."
Yet, as he turned his back on the ballroom and walked toward the carriage he had arrived in, his face twisted with anxiety and irritation—completely different from the gentle expression he had shown to the investigator.
'How did things end up like this?'
It was understandable that he would be frustrated, considering he himself was one of the masterminds behind the disaster that was supposed to unfold at today's engagement ceremony.
'Everything should have gone perfectly.'
He was the one who had subtly persuaded the prince's white mages not to attend the ceremony, using his close friendship with the prince as leverage.
He was also the one who had personally arranged for the maids and attendants, secretly inserting dark mages among them.
'If things continue like this, my standing in the Union will decline…'
Though he himself was not a dark mage, Mayer had long been associated with the 'Shadow Union', a secret organization of dark mages spread across the world.
This was the perfect opportunity to solidify his position within the Union, which was why he had taken the risk.
But now, with the plan falling apart so spectacularly, there was even a chance that he would be held accountable for the failure.
'Could this be the work of that crazy woman, Meredia?'
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Mayer's thoughts drifted back to the moment a few hours ago when his sister had directed a murderous glare at him.
He loathed Meredia so much that he even avoided looking at her, yet he had never underestimated her skills.
If she hadn't possessed dazzling talents, including her 'Jewel Eyes', the ducal succession issue would have been settled long ago.
'Now that I think about it, she brought along some suspicious-looking noble from a count's family as her partner, didn't she?'
As Mayer followed this train of thought, another person who had irritated him just as much as Meredia came to mind.
The one who had dared to speak about his most painful weakness in front of him.
The one who had openly sided with Meredia.
And the one who, despite his incompetence in remembering even the names of his own subordinates, had the implicit protection of that fool of a prince.
"What was that guy's name again…?"
Although not as significant as Meredia, he was still an unpredictable variable in Mayer's plans, so he tried to recall his name.
"Whitney Lingard."
Suddenly, a low voice spoke beside him.
"Yes, that was the name…! What the—?!"
Startled, Mayer instinctively responded in agreement, only to snap his head around in shock.
"Do you know where that young man has gone?"
A figure, cloaked to the point where their face was barely visible, ignored Mayer's reaction and posed another question.
"W-Who the hell are you?"
"Judging by your attire, you must be with the security forces. Then, shouldn't you be over there getting questioned by the knights? Why…"
Mayer, momentarily thrown off by the stranger's indifferent demeanor, scowled when he caught sight of the mask they were wearing.
"Just tell me whether you know or not."
"...!"
The figure, still staring at him impassively, slightly lifted their mask.
And in that instant, Mayer froze in place.
'…T-The Emperor?'
He had just realized that the most revered person in the empire, who had not appeared in public for years due to health reasons, was standing right beside him.
'Why… Why is someone who should be bedridden here…?'
"Tch."
The very reason why Mayer and the 'Shadow Union' had dared to execute such a bold plan in the heart of the imperial capital was precisely because of the emperor's absence.
Now, he was so overwhelmed that he even forgot to bow in greeting, merely staring in stunned disbelief.
"I would prefer not to repeat myself."
Whether it was out of mercy or sheer indifference, the emperor merely muttered this in a disinterested tone.
"Hmm?"
Then, all of a sudden, the emperor's gaze shifted toward a carriage speeding past the checkpoint with little inspection.
"Well, I suppose there was no need to ask you after all."
Observing the insignia of the Meredia family engraved on the back of the carriage, the emperor blandly murmured before pulling the mask back over their face.
"It would be wise for you to keep quiet about seeing me here today."
Then, just as the emperor was about to pass by, they suddenly tilted their head slightly and addressed Mayer once more.
"…I shall obey."
Thankfully regaining his senses just in time, Mayer immediately fell to his knees and bowed deeply in response.
"Oh, but you may tell that toy of yours."
The emperor's offhand remark sent a chill down Mayer's spine.
"The only other person who knows I was here today is the prince."
"Ah…"
"Well, now you know too."
With that, the emperor strode away without looking back.
"Haa… Haa…"
Only after quite some time had passed did Mayer finally lift his head, exhaling shakily.
'Was that truly the presence of someone who wasn't even exuding killing intent…?'
If not for his status as the duke's heir…
Or rather, if the emperor had simply deemed it necessary…
He might have already disappeared from the world without a trace.
"…Whitney Lingard. I don't know who that bastard really is, but…"
The fact that the emperor, the only person in the empire who could make such a thing possible, had personally given the prince a warning about Whitney only made Mayer's evaluation of him rise significantly.
'It seems I'll have to start treating him as an equal to Meredia from now on.'
Of course, if Whitney had known about this while he was sighing deeply in the carriage, enduring Meredia's sharp interrogation and the groans of the saintess he had no choice but to kidnap, he would have looked utterly aggrieved.
'…At least I have an excuse ready for the next Shadow Assembly, so that's a relief.'
The wheels of fate were already spinning rapidly, completely beyond his control.
***
The tumultuous day of the engagement ceremony passed, and finally, morning arrived.
"Sigh."
But instead of feeling the weight of having survived the prologue, I spent the night wide awake in my room with Runiel.
'I managed to bring her here, but now what?'
After all, the prince's fiancée and future saintess, Lady Hestia of the Viscount family—who had likely thrown the empire into chaos with her disappearance—was now lying asleep in my bed instead of me.
'She struggled so much yesterday, but now she's sleeping so peacefully…'
Originally, I had planned to explain my reasons for doing all this once I had secured her, but the situation had been too urgent to allow for that.
The moment we got into the carriage, Meredia had relentlessly interrogated me, and from then on, I had to devote all my energy to stopping her, who insisted on staying the night at my house.
"The acupressure point I used was precise. She's simply in a deep sleep, so there's no need to worry."
"Haha…"
Leaving behind Meredia, who clearly had a million questions, I secretly entered my mansion.
To prevent further complications, I had asked Runiel to put Hestia to sleep for a while, then sneaked over the mansion wall like a thief.
Unfortunately, I ran into Sasha, who was returning from a memorial visit, but aside from her, only Runiel, Meredia, and I knew that the missing saintess was in this house.
'I've cleared the first hurdle. Now I just need to set up a meeting with Meredia and explain everything…'
"…"
'I wonder if Lady Hestia will understand any of this.'
I had already been incredibly rude to her, so even if she refused to trust me, I couldn't blame her.
But it wasn't as if I had wanted to resort to such an unsophisticated method to take her away.
'Right now, she's basically a walking time bomb, so I had no choice.'
If my memory was correct, Lady Hestia was currently under a curse that made it nearly impossible for her to resist on her own.
Originally, she was supposed to meet a playable character in the prologue, awaken her saintess powers, and free herself from the curse.
However, since the talent selection event had been canceled for some unknown reason, she remained in danger even after surviving the engagement ceremony.
Fortunately, as a white mage, I could at least neutralize her curse for now.
If I hadn't intervened, another crisis as dangerous as the prologue would have occurred within just a few days.
'In the end, I have to make sure Lady Hestia meets a playable character.'
The problem was that my curse-neutralization was only a temporary measure until the fundamental issue was resolved.
Handing her over to the imperial family would expose her to the emperor's grasp.
Turning her over to the strictly dogmatic Holy Order would mean forcing her into excruciating trials without even meeting the playable character.
That left me with only one option: keeping her safe until the talent selection event reopened.
Of course, even without the dark mages, there were plenty of people after her, so it wouldn't be easy.
But for the sake of world peace—and, more importantly, my comfortable future—I had to see this through.
Once Lady Hestia awakened as a saintess, the playable characters and she could handle world peace on their own without me lifting a finger.
'Once she wakes up, I need to explain everything as kindly as possible. And then…'
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Whoa!"
Just as I was organizing my thoughts and waiting for the future saintess to wake up, a thunderous pounding echoed from the door.
"B-Brother! Are you in there? Answer me!"
"…Cecil?"
For a moment, I panicked, wondering if I had been tracked down by dark mages or the imperial knights.
Luckily, the voice outside the door belonged to my younger sister.
"When did you get back? No, that's not important right now—just open the door!"
Feeling a brief sense of relief, I let out a sigh.
Then, as the knocking grew louder—enough to shake the door—I glanced at Runiel, who had been halfway drawing her sword, and signaled her with my eyes.
"I will follow your orders. Though, given your sister's skills, she certainly does warrant a real blade…"
"No, I meant hide Hestia. Preferably with you."
After a small misunderstanding, Runiel lifted Hestia onto her back and disappeared into my wardrobe.
Only then did I adjust my expression and open the door to greet my sister.
"Haa… Haa… Why did you take so long to open the door?"
"Haha… I just wanted to make sure I welcomed my dear Cecil in perfect form…"
Come to think of it, she had been avoiding me lately, so I was genuinely touched that she was talking to me again.
Since we were here, maybe I could take this opportunity to bond over academy stories or friends—strengthen our sibling relationship a little…
"Forget that! What the hell is this?!"
Just as I was having that thought, she suddenly raised her voice and shoved something toward me.
Feeling slightly deflated, I took the newspaper she handed me.
"I'm getting messages from everywhere—people are freaking out!"
"Huh?"
The next moment, my mind went completely blank as I stared at the headlines.
[The Prince's Fiancée Disappears from the Engagement Ceremony—Her Whereabouts Unknown.]
[Unprecedented Disaster: The Imperial Capital Engulfed in Dark Magic.]
Those articles were expected.
But what I saw beneath them made my jaw drop.
[Count Lingard's Heir, Sir Whitney, Risked His Life in a Noble Sacrifice!]
[A Young Hero—The Silent Emperor Takes Action Because of Him.]
[Special Feature: The Man of the Hour, Sir Whitney—Is He Secretly Lady Meredia's Fiancé?]
"…What the hell did you do at the engagement ceremony?!"
"…?"
Why the hell am I a hero?