Chapter 740: Chaos

An isolated safe house, about 5 kilometers away from the palace.

Inside the empty house, something unexpected occurred.

The empty air began to shake, and a mirage seemed to appear. Soon after, three figures tumbled out of the mirage.

One was bulky and fat, another was tall and muscular, and the last was small.

These unique figures were none other than the gambler Edith Locke, the Royal Army Lieutenant General Philip Roar, and Prince Albert of the kingdom.

Despite their differences in rank, all three were considered part of the kingdom’s upper class.

It went without saying that Prince Albert of the United Kingdom held one of the highest statuses. Lieutenant General Philip was also highly respected.

Besides his position as a Lieutenant General, he was the head of the Roer Family, an esteemed Military Mage family. He also held titles such as Honorary Grandmaster of the Tower of Magic, and Principal of the Royal Magic Academy.

Compared to them, Edith was rather unremarkable.

All he had to his name was the wealth he gained from gambling and a noble wife he bought with that money. Still, he had enough status to be granted entry to the royal palace.

In any case, they had used a teleportation magic item to escape from the palace, a move that clearly didn’t fit their usual status.

And not just as a metaphor, but literally. The reason was–

“Now, tell me. What in the world is my brother–the Crown Prince–preparing to do with his hands clasped with the Puppet?”

Prince Albert, still gasping for breath after barely escaping with the help of Edith and Philip, demanded to know.

Lieutenant General Philip interrupted.

“Your Highness, wouldn’t it be best to take a moment to rest?”

Despite his lion-like appearance, Philip spoke with kindness. However, Albert shook his head.

“Thank you, Sir Philip. But I must know the truth.”

Philip had no choice but to back down, as he could sense both youthful recklessness and a sense of duty intertwined in Albert’s words.

In fact, the reason Philip chose to save the prince was precisely this sense of determination. He couldn’t ignore it.

“Hoo… Your Highness, are you sure?”

Edith, the overweight man, approached a nearby wooden box as he spoke.

He grabbed a crowbar from the side and pried open the sealed wooden box inside, revealing axes, guns, grenades, and other weapons. He stuffed them into his cloak.

Thanks to his large body, the weapons didn’t show at all under his clothes.

“What do you mean? Weren’t you going to explain?”

“No, I thought you’d ask him instead.”

Edith pointed at Philip, whose body was the complete opposite of his own.

“Why not ask him? He’ll explain it much more kindly than I ever could. I’m just too lazy, so don’t take it personally.”

His tone was shockingly arrogant and disrespectful considering he was talking to a prince.

Philip intervened.

“Edith… I know I appreciate your unfiltered attitude, but this is still the prince.”

“That’s exactly why I’m telling you: it’s better if you explain it.”

As Edith’s words weren’t necessarily wrong, Philip hesitated for a moment.

“Enough!”

Albert spoke with authority. Or at least he attempted to.

Now that the world he once knew had crumbled, maintaining his dignity required even more effort than before.

A moment of silence followed before Albert spoke again.

“Sir Edith.”

“There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Your Highness. I may have married a noblewoman, but I’m no noble. Besides, I don’t see how nobles are any different from me.”

“Then I’ll just call you Edith… In any case, I need you to explain this to me.”

“Hooooo. Alright, if you insist.

“Because you’re being insolent.”

“Ehh…?”

“Thus, I trust you’ll be the most straightforward with me.”

Edith’s eyes opened slightly wider.

“Well, well. I guess I should apologize. I thought you were just a kid pretending to be an adult, but I see you’re more grown-up than I gave you credit for. You’re right. Insolence and irreverence are the best ways to grasp the truth. Love and admiration only cloud it… Very well, then. Good.”

Reluctantly, Edith turned on an old radio with a click before stepping closer to Albert.

A faint sound from the radio drifted in softly like background music.

“As you wish, I’ll tell you everything, Your Highness. But on one condition.”

“…What is it?”

“Can I talk casually? It grates on me having to speak formally to a kid who’s younger than my own children, not to mention I want to speak informally to royalty.”

“Hah…”

“Are you serious?”

Philip, who had been quietly listening, reacted as if he had just witnessed something outlandish. Albert, too, was so stunned that he asked again.

“Yes, I’m serious. When else would someone like me get the chance to speak informally to royalty? I’m betting my life here, so I’m asking for my reward. If you don’t like it, then forget it.”

Though this was a situation where anger would normally be expected, perhaps due to the gravity of the moment, Albert wasn’t upset.

“Do as you please.”

“Kids really are easy! Alright then. Let’s get to it since time is money. Oh, little prince… Your bastard of a brother is getting ready to cause the End of Times hand-in-hand with the Puppet.”

“What… the? Wait… Nevermind. Did you just say the end of the world?”

Albert, confused, turned to look at Lieutenant General Philip. Philip nodded slowly.

Edith also nodded.

“Yeah, the End. That unpleasant rumor that’s been floating around recently. What, is there a problem?”

“Of course there is. Why would my brother…?”

Albert’s confusion seemed genuine as he asked again.

For him, the question was only logical.

Because according to Edith’s claim, Prince Edward and the kingdom’s leaders were teaming up with the Puppet to bring about an end of the world. A notion that defied common sense.

After all, they already wielded more than anyone else in the known world.

Wealth, power, fame…

So what could these people manque for that they would join forces with such an entity to bring about the world’s end?

However, the answer was surprisingly simple.

“Oh, little prince, human greed never has an end.”

Albert looked at Edith as though he were some other creature entirely.

Still, Edith chuckled indifferently, the kind of smile meant to tease an innocent child.

“I don’t care if you ever become king or not, but remember this: human greed never has an end. No matter how much someone has, they always want more. Why? Because they want to be better than others!”

Edith’s voice was firm. It carried with it a hint of conviction.

“This isn’t some joke. There are plenty of people out there making a fuss over wanting more than others just for that reason alone. Look right here in front of you if you don’t believe me. And even if they already have more, they’ll still feel it’s not enough. Why? Because they want it forever! I’m no different.”

“Then–”

“–yes, little prince. Your esteemed brother, along with the leaders of your proud kingdom, is causing all this ruckus for the same reason—this piggish greed. Let’s call it what it is: selfish and utterly banal.”

As absurd and illogical as Edith’s words seemed, Albert found himself wanting to believe them.

After all, it made sense that a nonsensical reason would explain an otherwise impossible betrayal—like how the entity he trusted with all his heart turned out to be a Zombie Puppet.

“Hold on… There’s something that doesn’t make sense. Actually, a lot of things don’t make sense, but there’s one thing that bothers me most.”

“A good sign.”

“How exactly does causing the End of Times benefit them? It doesn’t make any sense. The end means… well, the end, right?”

“That depends on your perspective on the end, doesn’t it?”

“A perspective?”

Philip spoke up again.

“The End of Times is a result of accumulated human sin, according to some scholars.”

Before Albert could ask whose sin, Edith added a clarification.

“Specifically, human sin.”

“Human… sin?”

“Yeah, human sin. It’s the idea that humans have become so despicable that they deserve to be wiped out by none other than the Almighty Father in heaven.”

As Edith said the phrase ‘the Almighty Father in heaven,’ Albert suddenly recalled a moment when Holy Power vanished, causing him to stumble momentarily. Could it be…?

Philip quickly caught Albert before he could fall, while Edith laughed heartily at the sight of the prince faltering.

“Hahahaha! Live long enough, and you’ll see it all. Imagine! Seeing a prince stumble this close up!!”

“Why are you helping me instead of siding with them?”

Albert, looking straight at the laughing Edith, asked the question suddenly.

“Huh? What is this now?”

“It’s not sudden… Helping me offers fewer gains than siding with them, right? I understand why Sir Philip helps—he’s loyal to the royal family. But what about you?”

Albert’s suspicion surfaced. It was a legitimate one.

It made sense for the Roer Family, who had sworn loyalty to the royal family for generations, but Edith? Absolutely not. His personality didn’t fit such behavior.

“You’re not wrong. I’m not loyal or trustworthy. But my instincts are good.”

“Instincts?”

“Yeah, instincts. Do you think I’d have survived the rough gambling world without them? I have an unshakable gut feeling that your brother’s plan is going to fail.”

“Do you have any proof…?”

“Well, the info came from my in-laws, for starters.”

Edith, who had purchased a noble family’s young daughter with his wealth, grinned.

“They don’t like me one bit but love my money. And when I turned my Prometheus Corp stock into a pile of cash by selling at three times the value, they came running with a big tip-off. Worms, all of them.”

“…”

“The issue is that these worms are so bad at business that doing the opposite of whatever they suggest has always worked best.”

Edith pulled out a small pill container from inside his sleeve.

Inside were pills so dark red they almost looked black.

Edith swallowed one.

“Sigh… Plus, I just feel like helping you. It’s amusing to think that the royal family’s prince might owe his life to me.”

An utterly twisted and sinister reason.

Nonetheless, it made Albert feel like he could trust Edith’s words.

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

“Is there another reason?”

“Uh? Another reason?”

“I’m sure you mentioned something about a sad story.”

“Huh… You’ve got a good memory. It was just an offhand comment. Did you take it seriously?”

Edith smoothly brushed off the topic.

But it didn’t work on Albert. He clearly remembered, and it hadn’t felt like a light-hearted remark. It seemed as though a foolish woman might be the reason Edith saved him.

Just as he was about to speculate who that woman might be, the air trembled, as if a mirage had risen. From that rift, two more figures appeared.

One was a brawny man with slicked-back hair, while the other was a beautiful woman with striking pink hair.

The two looked disheveled, as if they’d just escaped from somewhere. The moment Lieutenant General Philip saw them, he reacted immediately.

“Of course. Terence! I knew you would come through!”

“I’d never want to do that again. It barely worked.”

It appeared that Terence, one of the Roer family, had left to bring back the woman.

But who was she?

Albert wondered as his eyes fell on the woman. At that moment, their eyes met.

“Prince?”

Though Albert didn’t recognize her, she immediately identified him. Her sharp intuition was notable.

Just as Albert was about to return the greeting, she gasped again. This time, her eyes were on Edith.

“…Edith?”

Seeing Edith, her surprise visibly deepened, almost like she was terrified.

Edith looked at her with disdain and openly mocked her.

“Stupid woman… You really crawled all the way here just to bother me, huh?”

***

Edith’s biting words, laced with contempt, disgust, and hatred.

It was obvious, even from a glance, that their relationship was far from ordinary.

Clap-!

Just as the atmosphere between the two grew tense, Philip broke the silence with a clap, redirecting control of the situation.

“Now—! Everyone’s here. It’s time to evacuate.”

“Understood.”

“I agree with that.”

Terence and Edith responded to Philip’s command, each nodding.

The pink-haired woman was still too shaken by Edith’s presence to speak.

Albert, though also wary of Edith, managed to find his voice.

“What do you mean, Sir Philip?”

“Exactly what I said. We’re leaving the capital.”

“Leaving the capital?!!”

Albert exclaimed in disbelief.

It was one thing to escape the palace, but abandoning the capital was an unthinkable action.

Could it be? What royalty abandons the capital and runs?

“Oh, heavens. I take back what I said earlier. You really are just a kid. What plans did you even make before this?”

Though both Terence and the pink-haired woman were taken aback by the way Edith spoke to the prince, Philip managed to calm them down for the moment.

“I… I thought surely Sir Philip had made some preparations…”

Albert’s voice wavered. As he finished speaking, he felt meek and small. Yet, he couldn’t change his mind now.

“Sir Philip, I am the prince. Even though I’m not directly in line to inherit the throne, I can’t just abandon the capital while it faces disaster!! And the Queen is still here. Isn’t there any other way?”

Albert pleaded earnestly.

His desperate plea was a thinly veiled request to mobilize the Magic Corps from the Roer Family, known for producing exceptional Military Mages.

Philip apologized as he shook his head solemnly.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. That would be difficult. I don’t even know if I can trust my own family at this point.”

“What…?”

“Do you think the Puppet’s influence somehow missed my family, the Roer Family? Truly, the only person I can fully trust right now is Terence.”

Ah… In retrospect, it was a painfully obvious statement, and Albert found himself speechless.

Philip continued his persuasion.

“It would be best to leave the capital for now. There aren’t just bribed soldiers lurking in the city, the Puppet’s followers and Pinkman are here too. The capital is essentially enemy territory… The reason I saved you wasn’t to protect the kingdom as it currently is, but to preserve the royal family for the future.”

Philip finally explained why he had chosen to rescue Albert, of all people.

The heart of the kingdom had already fallen into the Puppet’s grasp.

Thus, Philip wasn’t saving the royal family in its current state but ensuring a potential comeback someday by keeping Prince Albert alive.

“If we’re going to leave, we should do it quickly. They’ve probably been looking for us by now.”

Edith urged, and Philip continued to persuade Albert.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. But you need to be strong for now.”

“Or, how about broadcasting the current situation through the radio?”

“You want to publicly announce that the Crown Prince teamed up with the Puppet?”

“Wouldn’t that be better than just waiting around like this?!!”

In response to Edith’s cynical remark, Albert unknowingly raised his voice.

He was growing more and more agitated. Philip tried to calm him down.

“There’s almost no chance of success. Taking over the radio station isn’t as simple as it sounds, especially given that the enemy is both numerous and powerful, while all we have on our side is who’s here. Right now, the safest option with the highest chance of success is for you to evacuate. That’s the only way to save the royal family.”

“Even if we do evacuate, where exactly are we going?!”

Pressed by the situation, Albert shouted.

Philip replied calmly.

“Randa.”

“Randa?”

“Yes, we have a trustworthy friend there.”

A trustworthy friend. That phrase summoned an image in Albert’s mind.

The man who had saved him from the Pied Piper.

The one who claimed he helped because Albert was just a boy, not a prince.

The man who had made Albert laugh by joking that the white streaks in his hair made him look even cooler.

“Sorry, but I need to speak with you, Lord.”

“Unless it’s urgent, let’s talk later.”

“It’s urgent.”

While preparing the teleportation device that would lead them outside the capital, Terence called out to Philip urgently.

Sensing something was wrong, Philip approached Terence. Soon, his expression grew serious as well.

“What is it? What’s wrong now?”

“…The teleportation magic device isn’t working.”

“What?”

“To be exact, the device connected to locations outside the capital has jammed. It’s not working at all. This has never happened before.”

Just as they feared, things weren’t going smoothly. And to make matters worse, it didn’t stop there.

Zzzzt–!

The radio that had been broadcasting outside events suddenly crackled with static before going silent, only to be replaced by an emergency broadcast.

Albert braced himself, thinking they were about to hear shocking news about his kidnapping, but the announcement that followed shook them to their cores.

Even Edith, known as the madman king of the gambling world, and Lieutenant General Philip, couldn’t hide their shock.

The news was none other than the fact that Crown Prince Edward X was cooperating with the Puppet to conduct a ritual of some sort.

[The following information is accurate. Crown Prince Edward is currently planning to sacrifice the entire capital in exchange for eternal life, wealth, and glory. Once again, this information is true…]

The weight of the silence that followed was so heavy it felt unnatural. Finally, a soft curse was heard, its source unknown.

“Shit…”