Chapter 176: Returning to the Imperial Palace

"Robin-sama, I am all right now."

The Queen raised her face and spoke to me. Was she truly all right? I thought so as well, but did she have some basis for declaring it so firmly? Her expression was filled with certainty, so I believed her.

"Thank goodness~~~"

I sank weakly to the ground right there. If something had happened to the Queen here, I would have had to take responsibility and die, right? We had not yet returned to the Rear Palace, so it was not time to relax completely, but I wanted to believe nothing like this would happen again.

"But it was more than I had imagined..."

the Queen murmured in a small voice. Huh? More than she had imagined? Did that mean she had known about today’s attack?

"Your Majesty, what did you mean just now?"

"Robin-sama, please do not ask. Even if you knew, I do not think it would lead to anything good."

"...Yes."

Pressed by the force of the Queen’s gaze, I fell silent.

At last I had some composure and looked around. Browning-sensei... where the arrows had struck, the color had turned purple. It was clearly an abnormal shade — the color of being invaded by poison, right? I seemed to recall seeing on television dramas that when someone drank potassium cyanide their body turned blue?

Other escorts who had fallen had probably been hit or grazed by arrows. There were hardly any visible external wounds. The attackers were also dressed as commoners, so perhaps the distinction between enemy and ally was that those with no external wounds but arrow wounds were allies, and those cut by swords were enemies? I didn’t know if that was accurate.

There was no point in me worrying about such things, so I took the Queen’s hand and helped her stand. The Queen was also dirty. The remaining maid approached and cast Purity. Even so, there were places where the Queen’s skirt was torn, and she had not remained completely clean. After all, she had been pressed against the ground.

I thought we would walk back to the gate like this, but a royal carriage arrived. It felt as if everything had been decided in advance. The Queen boarded and beckoned me to come as well. Then she said Lily and Stevie could also enter the passenger compartment. The maid would, as expected, sit beside the driver. Lily and Stevie were of knight-baronial family origin, so that was probably why they were called; or perhaps it was a deep calculation so that I would not get carried away and beg for rewards. Simply thinking, it meant that Lily, Stevie and I were to serve as escorts.

Silence continued inside the carriage. Unless the Queen said something, there was nothing for us to say.

Once we passed the gate separating the Noble District and the Commoner District, the Queen released a little of her tension and exhaled,

"Hau."

Then she said,

"Robin-sama, set your departure for the Mainz Kingdom for tomorrow. I actually thought it would be fine a little later (was that so she could drink more youth-rejuvenating medicine?), but after what happened today I think it is better to leave quickly. I will inform Queen Doreen myself. I believe preparations have already been made."

She said. I wondered if it was all right to arbitrarily delay the Mainz Kingdom departure like that, but I remained silent. Since Lily and Stevie would accompany me, their expressions were serious. I could not look the Queen directly in the face, so I looked around her stomach area. Ah, the fabric around the stomach of her clothes was torn.

"Understood. Then I will do so. For my part there is nothing I need to do, so I would like at least to greet Lord Richelieu, but...?"

When I said that, the Queen thought for a moment and replied,

"That may be a little difficult. Because of what just happened, settling the situation and investigating the perpetrators is Richelieu’s work. When something this serious occurs, even if Richelieu is an able official, it is not something that can be finished in one or two days. Rather, I think it would be better for Robin-sama to depart unnoticed while this uproar is still going on."

"I see."

That meant there would probably be no grand departure where many people saw me off, I boarded a carriage amid cheers, and left the Royal Palace to the voices of a large crowd. It looked like I would leave secretly... Well, I was only the eleventh useless prince, so that suited me. I had been a fool for expecting a grand departure ceremony. Perhaps my self-evaluation had been too high. Well, it was fine.

When the carriage arrived at the Rear Palace, many maids were waiting at the entrance. Even though the events had only just happened, they all called out,

"Your Majesty, are you injured?"

"Your Majesty, are you all right?"

"Your Majesty..."

Everyone was repeatedly calling the Queen. When the Queen stepped down from the carriage the maids surrounded her and a great uproar began. There was not even a fragment of the "Ro" of Robin here. Neither Mother nor Cass had come. Surely it was a difference in the speed of information transmission. The Queen’s safety was a major incident that could shake the nation, but I was only the eleventh prince... uuu, sniff...

I stepped down from the carriage and, while glancing sideways at the circle of people centered on the Queen, began walking toward the Rear Palace. From deeper inside I saw Mother and Cass running toward us. Mother, you mustn’t run! What if you fall with the child in your belly!?

Seeing me, Mother stopped. Then she began walking with quick little steps. I could see tears starting to spill from her eyes one after another.

"Robby..."

Mother clung to me.

"Thank goodness, you’re safe..."

I could feel how worried Mother had been. Looking back, what happened earlier had been dangerous, hadn’t it? While fighting, adrenaline was pouring out and I never even thought it was dangerous, but now that I thought about it, it made me shudder.

I hugged Mother and said, trying to reassure her,

"It’s all right. I have returned safely."

But she said,

"Word came that many people had died, and I was extremely worried, Robby."

"A maid attached to the Queen contacted us that the Queen had been attacked. We knew Robin-sama was accompanying her."

Mother and Cass said.

"I felt as if I were not truly alive."

Mother’s tears would not stop.

"Mother, thank you. But once I go to the Mainz Kingdom, you will not be able to say such things. The Queen told me to depart tomorrow."

Hearing my words, Mother and Cass were surprised. But Mother said,

"I see. Still, it is later than the day His Majesty the King had said, so I must be grateful for the time I was able to spend with Robby. Tonight let us take a leisurely meal together. I cannot keep crying either."

She wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers as she spoke. Cass also said, "That’s right, Queen Doreen," and put her arm around Mother’s shoulder, encouraging her.

I didn’t know, but once I went to the Mainz Kingdom, would there be a way to contact Mother? Even if I wrote and sent a letter, wouldn’t the cost be extremely high? In that case I would rarely be able to send letters, and returning home would be impossible. Perhaps I would never be able to return even once while I was alive. Tomorrow’s farewell might become the final parting with Mother in this life. I could only hope that the Queen and the mysterious old man of the Anderson Ducal Mansion would work the political scene so that I could be brought back. I would hope that the Queen’s obsession with beauty bore fruit!

Even so, would I be able to manage in the Mainz Kingdom?