Clôture of Yellow: The Daughter Of Evil

CHAPTER 2, SECTION 1-THE TWINS' CRUSHES; SCENE 8

♠ Germaine ~In the Kingdom of Lucifenia, "The Forest of Bewilderment"~

I hadn't gone near the Forest of Bewilderment much since that incident that had occurred in my childhood.

But lately my feet have been frequently carrying me to this forest.

Unbelievable, that we'd end up using this house...

A deserted house deep in the forest. This place had once been used as a stronghold for a band of thieves. Even now it was still in complete shambles, but surprisingly enough there was a number of new furnishings and tableware left in it. There were remaining traces of life, as though someone had been using it just recently. And there were signs of upkeep on the walls and bedding.

Nevertheless it still wasn't very suitable for making into a base, so everyone had to get together and pile on reinforcements to make it usable.

I made the knock on the door that had been arranged beforehand.

First, two knocks...Then five, after a pause...then again, two knocks...five...

"Who's there?" I heard from inside the house.

"It's Germaine. Open up."

The door opened slightly. After confirming it was me outside,

"...Alright, come in."

The door opened all the way, and a large one-eyed man was there to greet me.

"You've done well, York."

"Yeah, everyone's here. How 'bout having a drink first?"

"...I will when the report is finished. How's the situation looking?"

"...Ain't too good."

There were four other men and women in the house apart from me. York, Minage, Sekka, and Marc. The core members of the resistance I had formed to overthrow the princess-"The Daughter of Evil".

I didn't have the influence or the status to oppose the princess publicly.

The daughter of the former captain of the royal guard-What could I do with only that to my name?

Protest regarding my father's death?

It would just end with me being executed. There wasn't even any clear proof that it was the princess who did him in.

So then, what about stealthily sneaking into the palace and assassinating her?

That, too, was unrealistic. The palace guards weren't soft enough for a novice like me to be able to sneak inside. If I was able to do it, then surely someone else would have offed her a long time ago.

I needed to accumulate some power. Power that would let me fight directly against the princess...no. The country. In a way that would be behind the scenes, beneath the notice of anyone in the palace.

"First, recruit numbers. How's that going, Minage?"

Minage answered my question while scratching his head, "There are a lotta people who have animosity towards the palace. So we've got them reasonably gathered together. But they're mostly amateurs, hardly anyone among them who can use a sword. York and I plan to train them and use them as is, but..."

"So we can't hope for much...Right? What about materials, Sekka?"

Sekka spoke while straightening out her petite body as much as possible. "The merchant reactions haven't been favorable. Especially the ones who trade with colleagues of the nobles. I think maybe we ought to be dealing with their boss instead."

"Their boss...You mean the merchant Keel Freezis? I hear he's a treacherous man. Well, let's deliberate a little bit more regarding that issue. And now..."

Before I could ask York responded, shrugging, "Information on the palace, right? Completely hopeless. No chinks in their armor to take advantage of. Germaine, you got friends and your adoptive brother there in the palace, don'tcha? And your dad's former underlings...the royal guard. Can't you get some information out of them?"

"I think there are people who would aid us if I told them everything...but I can't, it isn't the time."

"I see your point. If the ones heading the palace caught wind of this resistance, we'll lose everything," York sighed.

None of it was enough. Not yet. None of it.

But I couldn't give up.

Surely my chance would come.