The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 111

“…They said to come in.”

About ten minutes after the guard heard Prince Robertze proudly reveal his identity, he returned with the same nonchalant attitude and said that.

“Alright! Shall we go then?”

As always, Prince Robertze took the lead with great assertiveness. The rest followed him into the castle.

“For a report stating the Crown Prince has entered my chamber, the reception is terribly lacking. Not even the Lord has come to see us.”

As they walked behind the soldiers who were guiding them, Esmela suddenly spoke up.

“Indeed. When Lady Esmela first visited Pedina City, the mayor came out to greet her himself.”

“Well, you can’t really expect such formalities in a remote area like this, can you, Lanit?”

However, Prince Robertze continued to march forward, as if it were no big deal.

The village within the castle walls looked rather grim.

Not to mention the villages in the northern lands, it seemed far more impoverished compared to Pedina City, in a general sense. That was Lanit’s impression.

The Lord’s residence that the group arrived at was merely a small three-story building, far smaller than the mayor’s in Pedina.

The soldier who had brought Lanit’s group chatted for a few moments with a man who seemed to be a staff member waiting at the entrance before he left without saying anything.

“I’ll guide you from here.”

With an awkward smile, the staff member led the group inside the residence.

Without a word of explanation, he brought them to a room that seemed like a reception room and went out again, saying he would fetch the Lord.

“…Something feels odd.”

After hearing the staff’s footsteps fade away completely, Lanit spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Though the hospitality is rather poor, it’s not entirely unexpected.”

“No, Your Highness. If it were simply a matter of being neglected, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, both the soldier who escorted us from the gate and the staff member who received us displayed an oddly unnatural demeanor. They kept casting furtive glances our way and seemed perpetually on edge…”

“Hahaha! You’re worrying for nothing! Let’s just relax and take it easy…”

*Bang!*

“Everyone freeze!”

*Bam!*

“?!”

Suddenly, a dozen soldiers burst through the reception room door.

“What is the meaning of this? Do you know who I am?!”

At Prince Robertze’s panicked shout,

“How could we not know, Prince Robertze.”

Blocking the entrance to the room, the soldiers aimed their weapons at them.

Forcing his way through the soldiers, a bald man stepped up to the group.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Kalton Cotere, the lord of Litem Castle.”

“In that case, it’s all the more serious, Lord Kalton. You must know that using force against the royal family amounts to treason!”

Despite Prince Robertze’s accusation, the Lord simply gave a cryptic smile without a hint of panic.

“That’s something we should be saying.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s see…”

The Lord produced a piece of parchment from his bosom.

“A few days ago, a royal edict was issued. The contents are… that you attempted a revolt against the royal family and fled after failing to assassinate His Majesty.”

“That’s nonsense!”

Prince Robertze exclaimed.

However, the Lord continued reading the contents of the parchment, unfazed.

“Moreover, it states that the Crown Princess suffered a serious injury during that process. Therefore, with deep sorrow, a warrant for the arrest of Prince Robertze for treason has been issued. Furthermore, your title as Crown Prince is also to be stripped away… this is what it says.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no way such an edict could be real! It’s clearly a forgery!”

The sight of Prince Robertze desperately shouting was utterly pitiful.

“A forgery, you say…”

The Lord flipped the parchment over and held it up for others to see.

The group’s gaze was drawn to the distinctly embossed red seal on the paper.

“However, here it is, the royal seal, clearly imprinted. At first, I had doubts regarding the authenticity of the document, so I showed it to an appraiser… and their appraisal confirmed it as the undeniable royal seal.”

“This is absurd…”

Now, Prince Robertze could only stare in shock at the parchment held by the Lord, his words strangled in his throat.

“Thus, while I truly regret such circumstances, I must, by royal command, arrest you, Prince Robertze. Furthermore, those who assisted your escape will also be held accountable.”

The Lord raised his right hand and threw it towards the group.

“Capture Robertze alive! The rest can be killed without concern!”

“What in the world…”

The reception room was littered with unconscious soldiers.

Prince Robertze sat in the center on a sofa, still in shock.

“Well, it was a surprise when they burst in so suddenly… but if you think about it, it was entirely predictable, right? With Yuria having taken control of the royal family, it would make sense for her to make use of that authority.”

“I agree. This is turning out to be quite troublesome.”

Esmela said, nodding at Iiergo’s comment.

“It would be impossible to officially enter an area governed by nobles or request their cooperation. Even in this remote area, the royal edict has made its way here, so we can assume that the rulers of every territory we pass on our way to the palace will treat us as enemies.”

“Then we’re in big trouble… I was planning to restock supplies here immediately.”

Arit spoke concernedly as she began checking the conditions of the soldiers who were still down since the battle.

“Well… thankfully, it seems no one has suffered any serious injuries.”

“Of course not. I only gave them a good knock on the head until they fainted.”

Dion replied with a triumphant expression, fists placed confidently on his hips.

As she said, immediately after the battle, 80% of the soldiers had been knocked out by her fists and divine magic.

“Hey, Robertze! Get a grip! How long are you going to just sit there?”

Esmela admonished Robertze in frustration.

However, it seemed his ears were deaf to her voice, as he continued to mumble in a daze, softly and to himself.

“How utterly pathetic. Let’s leave him be for now and start brainstorming what we should do moving forward. As Arit said, there are plenty of items we need urgently right now. Not only food, but given the climate change, we’ll need new clothes as well… But this way, getting cooperation from the Lord will be impossible. What should we do?”

“That’s true… Well, the Lord is subdued for now, so how about heading to the market directly to buy the necessary items? We do have some monster byproducts we’ve hunted along the way, which could fetch a decent amount.”

Iiergo shook his head at Dion’s suggestion.

“I doubt it will be that easy. The glances from passersby as we came here were infused with a strange wariness. As if they were looking at criminals… Perhaps the content of the royal edict has already spread across this entire castle…”

“What should we do then?”

The other four seriously discussed the situation, while Lanit observed them silently.

They were racking their brains, unable to find alternatives when their two options seemed effectively blocked:

1) Request cooperation from the local noble.

2) Buy what they need with money.

However, Lanit had already thought of a very simple solution.

‘Why can’t they come up with a method that I can think of? Perhaps it’s because their consciousness as nobles has been ingrained in them…’

“I have a very simple and quick solution.”

At Lanit’s declaration, the others turned their gazes towards him.

“Really? What is it?”

“Well, it’s something like this…”

*Splash!*

“Guh!”

The Lord, splashed with cold water in the face, finally opened his eyes.

“Cough, cough…”

As he choked on the water that had suddenly entered his mouth, a dark shadow loomed over him.

“Finally awake, I see.”

“Eh?”

Realizing his surroundings, the Lord lifted his head. His arms and legs were tied to the chair he sat in.

“What is the meaning of this… Untie me! Do you think you can get away with doing this to me?!”

“Hmm…”

However, Lanit merely observed the Lord with a narrowed gaze as he stroked his chin, appearing amused.

“That’s something we should be saying.”

As Lanit’s gaze swept through the reception room, the Lord unconsciously followed his line of sight.

Every soldier in the room was tied down with shimmering golden ropes, sitting on the floor.

“W-what is the meaning of this?!”

The Lord shifted his gaze forward again.

In the back, a blonde woman avoiding his gaze with an awkward expression.

A burly man with black hair casting his eyes down in apparent guilt.

A petite woman wearing a sheepish smile, as if sincerely apologetic.

The former Crown Prince, still unable to comprehend his current predicament, frozen in shock.

“And…”

“What are you looking at, my lord? You should be looking this way.”

A brown-haired man dressed as a butler had approached him unexpectedly.

“Wh-what’s going on? What do you want?!”

The Lord’s voice trembled lightly, strained by the pressure emanating from the butler standing in front of him.

“Oh, it’s excellent that you’re being so cooperative! This should make things faster.”

The butler said, squatting down to meet the Lord’s gaze.

The eyes staring back at him were filled with ruthlessness and malice.

“We need something from you, so we’d appreciate your cooperation, if you would?”

In a short time, they had inscribed an unforgettable memory on the lords of the lands they passed through, giving birth to a band of traitors and robbers.