Cold sweat dripped from the hand gripping the sword. Cyrus opened his eyes wide, reddened from taking a direct hit from the smoke bomb, and swept the intersection. He had definitely seen him come this way. However, until he reached the dead end, there was no sign of Cider Claiborne.
"Oh my!"
A lady-in-waiting to the queen, walking with a book, spotted Cyrus and stopped. What was her name again? The young countess, whose name he couldn't remember, tactfully pretended not to notice Cyrus's sword.
"You're His Majesty's guest, aren't you? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No."
Cyrus brushed past the countess's elaborate dress hem. The countess, who swayed slightly, tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Why does His Majesty associate with such people?"
While the countess, who had brushed off her dress hem, headed toward the study, Cyrus searched every room in that corridor. He swept through rooms that had been unused for a long time, where old dust rose up, without hesitation.
Cyrus, who had returned to the corridor after throwing open all eight pairs of doors, let out a slightly labored breath. Belatedly, he clutched his throbbing shoulder.
"He's not here."
Where did he go?
He couldn't have gone far. It wasn't enough time for that, and given the circumstances where he couldn't move conspicuously, the places he could go were limited. So why couldn't he be seen? Could he have gone downstairs?
The sound of hurried footsteps going down the stairs gradually faded away. A quiet sigh came from inside the wall.
Cider Claiborne swept up his damp hair.
Who would have thought he'd end up entering the royal palace's secret passages.
He knew Esperanza had used them, but he hadn't wanted to enter them himself.
The interior, which some architect must have painstakingly created, was narrow and dark but spacious enough for someone of Cider's height to walk without bending at the waist.
He was lucky. There happened to be a secret passage entrance nearby, allowing him to hide just before encountering Cyrus.
Of course, he hadn't opened and entered this secret passage himself. Cider turned his head toward the man leaning against the opposite wall.
"I didn't know you knew even the royal palace's secret passages, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."
"There are ways to know everything."
Raymond Tempton gave a meaningful smile.
How did the Prime Minister, who rarely entered the royal palace due to the queen's wariness, know about secret passages that only royal family members would know?
It made sense. He didn't particularly want to ask. Thanks to the Prime Minister knowing about the secret passage, he had survived, so that was enough. Cider tapped the communicator in one ear with his fingertip. The signal was barely connecting.
"Let's go down."
Cider, who had stepped back as if to say lead the way, followed the Prime Minister through the secret passage.
"Avondale. If you're caught, you'll die, won't you?"
"I suppose so."
"Then can the lady you're waiting for save you?"
"Probably, yes."
"I see."
Tempton, who seemed to be organizing his thoughts for a moment, didn't speak until the signal began to connect to Cider's communicator.
"I didn't want to tell you since it's not a good story, but you seem to have a similar disposition to me."
"It really isn't a good story."
Cider took advantage of the noisy corridor outside to press the handle of his cane. The mechanical device turned and revealed a gun barrel. He then opened the inside of the cane to take out simple tools and an unidentifiable small mechanical device.
Tempton gave a hollow laugh. Despite being under threat of death, despite someone with inhuman strength currently searching for him to kill him right outside, he was so composed.
"It's not a grand emotion. It's bound to fade with time."
"Is that so?"
After connecting the device to the communicator, he confirmed the signal was reaching and cutting out.
"Let's go this way."
Outside, they still seemed to have no idea where Cider was. They just needed to occasionally look outside and avoid paths where they could see Cyrus's back.
If it were Cyrus or Esperanza from the future that Cider knew, they would have suspected the existence of secret passages, or at least ventilation shafts, but the young Cyrus didn't seem to think that far. Perhaps he had no leisure due to his injury. At some point he was no longer visible, and though he didn't know where he was wandering, he didn't seem to be in this vicinity.
Meanwhile, the signal reaching his ear was gradually becoming clearer.
Cider, who had turned right at the intersection and was going down the stairs, suddenly looked back. Tempton, who was two steps above, shrugged his shoulders.
"Are you finished speaking?"
He was paying attention despite pretending not to. The experienced Prime Minister made a low laughing sound.
"The conclusion is, you'll be fine too. Of course, if you bear good fruit, there would be no better ending than that."
He hadn't told the Prime Minister anything, so he couldn't understand how he knew. Did it show? Cider unconsciously touched his cheek.
"Your Excellency doesn't seem to be fine."
"I'm better than ever. That emotion belongs only to that person at that time, and I probably won't feel such a thing again, but that's not bad either."
Cider, who had tapped the communicator twice to temporarily disconnect, said:
"That's something I can relate to."
"I thought you would. Of course, bearing good fruit would be best."
That probably wouldn't happen. Cider turned the communicator back on without answering. The static signal finally became clear.
"Esperanza."
―Are you safe?
A whispered answer came.
"I'm fine."
―Any injuries?
"None. Where are you?"
There was no answer for a moment.
―What should I call this? So I just came out of a secret passage, ah, please be a bit quieter.
"Who are you with?"
The answer cut out again. He chose a more mundane question.
"So where are you?"
―They say it's the music room on the second floor. But do you know where that is if I say it like this?
How would he know? Cider silently turned his head.
"She says the music room on the second floor."
―Who are you with right now?
The same question came back. When Cider closed his mouth, a triumphant laugh came from the other side.
"I'll guide you."
Tempton laughed quietly. His face was like watching a child's antics, making Cider's cheek stiffen momentarily.
Soon, the end of the passage where light was faintly leaking began to be visible. Cider walked past Tempton, staring at that light. He didn't even realize his pace was quickening. And the moment he opened the frame-shaped door.
His body swayed. Soft hair filled his vision completely and then settled down. Somewhere, it felt like something that had been empty was being filled.
Esperanza's arms wrapped around his neck. As his shoulder became damp, Cider, who had been habitually stroking her back, hesitated.
"Are you crying?"
"I'm not crying!"
Though there were actually a few tears. Esperanza bit her lips tightly and rubbed her eyes against Cider's shoulder. They had only been separated for a few hours,
When their eyes met, Cider lowered his head. The brief kiss melted away all the anxiety up to that point. Whose it was, the irregularly beating heart gradually subsided.
Esperanza hugged Cider tightly once more before lowering her arms. She had much to say, but now wasn't the time.
"We can't be doing this, we need to get out quickly. Can we get outside through the secret passage?"
The question wasn't directed at Cider. Only then did Cider turn his head. He saw a child sitting on the piano bench, dangling small feet. Though covering his eyes with both hands, it was definitely a familiar face.
"You received help from His Royal Highness."
"We were lucky."
There was some guilt about bringing a child to a dangerous place. But it wasn't like she had dragged a child who was staying quietly in his room; she had just caught a kid who was already wandering around the secret passages and asked him to guide them. It was probably better than wandering alone at this point. Esperanza looked down at Prince Louis, who had come down from the chair with a sullen face.
"Your Highness... it would be better if you returned now."
"By myself?"
At that exact moment, thud, the sound of heavy furniture falling over came from right upstairs.
"He's not here either!"
It was Cyrus's voice. He seemed to be shouting to Daria in the distance, loud enough to be clearly heard even downstairs. Her heart sank. Since soundproof walls were installed, the sounds from here wouldn't reach there, but the music room wasn't far from the stairs. There was no time.
In this situation, she couldn't send young Prince Louis alone. Daria probably wouldn't kill Prince Louis of all people, but even so, it wasn't something an adult who had dragged a child into this dangerous affair should do.
"Let's hurry inside for now."
After hastily pushing Prince Louis inside and closing the passage, Esperanza checked the man standing next to Cider.
"...Tempton?"
"That's correct, though I didn't expect to be called that."
"Ah, right. Your Excellency the Prime Minister."
"Either is fine. I came because Avondale called me, and after accompanying you to the exit, I'll take His Royal Highness back to his room."
Answering before being asked was quite similar to Cider. Esperanza looked back and forth between the two.
"You're just like Avondale."
Prince Louis said in a resentful tone.
"Exactly."
Esperanza also whispered. Cider, who had just been embraced when she ran to him, glanced at Esperanza whispering hand-in-hand with the little prince.
"You seem quite relaxed."
"Since I found you, I've put out the urgent fire. Ah. But what about Cyrus?"
"Which one?"
"Ours, of course!"
When her voice got louder, Tempton warned by putting his index finger to his lips. Esperanza quickly closed her mouth. Watching this, Cider smiled broadly.
"Right. 'Our' Cyrus is probably blocking Daria right about now."
"Can't we contact him at all? We can't leave him behind."
"He should have taken a communicator, but I don't know if communication will work. Let's try."
It wasn't like the one given to Esperanza where entire conversations could be heard; it was just something that could send vibrations from a distance. The other end of the communicator was in Esperanza's inventory.
"Would he understand if we send military code?"
"I wonder."
Now they had no choice but to try. If he was in the middle of combat, they might not get an answer. Esperanza took out the communicator from her inventory.
"Someone came in!"
At that moment, Prince Louis, who had been looking outside through a small hole in the frame, whispered. Esperanza, who had handed the communicator to Cider, checked the hole.
It was Cyrus. But not "their side."