The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 17: The Abandoned Prince’s Request Gets Denied

Chapter 17: The Abandoned Prince’s Request Gets Denied

“…Seriously?”

I was completely stunned after hearing the news from Rosemary.

For some reason, the Kingdom of Agarham had declared war on the Dragoon Empire.

They were calling it a “retaliation war,” but the empire had already reached a ceasefire with the surrounding nations.

In fact, several of those agreements were not only relatively favorable toward the empire but also close to being equal, resulting in a peaceful resolution.

From an outsider’s perspective, the kingdom’s actions were like deliberately provoking a snake that had already retreated into the grass.

It just didn’t make sense.

“W-Why would they do something like this?”

“There are three main reasons.”

Rosemary spoke with a serious expression.

“The first reason is that Mother went on a rampage and nearly destroyed the imperial capital. That information reached the kingdom. They probably assumed the empire was weakened.”

“Eh? But the capital’s already been fully restored.”

“They likely assumed that the empire wouldn’t have the resources to recover so quickly.”

However, that prediction was completely off the mark.

The empire was a massive country, rich in all kinds of natural resources.

Its agriculture was also highly developed, thanks to the use of earth dragons, so there was no risk of running out of food.

Not to mention, the empire’s wyverns and the dragoon knights who rode them were still fully operational.

What surprised me after arriving at the imperial capital was what Rosemary told me—that only about thirty percent of the empire’s dragoon knights and wyverns were currently deployed on the frontlines.

In other words, if you wanted to take down the empire for real, you’d have to fight at least three times as many wyverns as the ones currently stationed at the frontlines.

Speaking as someone who’s actually been on the frontlines… that’s impossible.

Wyverns are the kind of existence that can flip the tide of a battle with just a handful of them.

If there aren’t any mages capable of anti-air combat on the battlefield, the enemy would get roasted to ashes by fire from above.

“That’s pretty reckless. What are the other two reasons?”

“The second reason is probably revenge. The empire has waged war against several nations in the past, so it’s only natural that those nations would hold a grudge.”

“Ah, yeah. But that’s just how wars are, right? Holding grudges is part of the deal.”

“That… might be true.”

That’s why war is terrifying.

Even after it ends, the resentment can last for decades—or even hundreds of years in the worst cases.

It makes me wonder why Alcarion started those wars in the first place.

From my perspective, Alcarion doesn’t strike me as the type to be overly aggressive.

I don’t think her reasons were anything as barbaric as wanting to kill her enemies or conquer other nations.

But if it was for some big wish or goal… that doesn’t seem likely either.

Honestly, the idea that she did it just out of boredom seems more believable.

After all, since meeting me, Alcarion seems to have lost interest in war.

Maybe that’s just my ego talking—thinking she stopped being bored because she met me.

“What’s the last reason?”

“You remember how Mother went to the kingdom when dealing with Eliza’s registration?”

“Ah… yeah, I remember.”

“Well, apparently, she provoked the King of Agarham at that time.”

“Hecton?”

I pictured my cocky younger brother in my mind.

It’s been five years since I last saw him. He’s probably grown up quite a bit since then.

“From what I heard, Mother said something like, ‘You made a mistake by not putting that boy—Reyshel—on the throne. The state of your country is laughable,’ with a completely blank expression.”

“She even stays expressionless when she’s provoking people…?”

“…Anyway, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“W-What’s with this outfit?! Why am I being forced to wear this?!”

We were having a serious conversation—but at the same time, Rosemary was wearing a certain outfit.

It was… a bunny suit.

The kind you’d see on women working in casinos or risqué bars.

But this one was modified—it was basically a reverse bunny suit.

It was way too sexy. Definitely something that would make the night more exciting.

“I actually wanted to get Alcarion to wear one too, but she’s busy preparing for the war…”

“I’m not exactly free either, you know!?”

Yeah, I knew that.

Even Eliza, who usually says yes whenever I invite her, was busy with the new imperial unit that was being established.

Since I tend to get lonely when I’m left alone, I just wanted Rosemary to spend some time with me.

After I told her how I felt, Rosemary gave me a slightly troubled smile.

“Honestly… you’re such a handful. But yeah, I guess I have been too busy to spend time with you lately. Fine then. Tonight—I’m not letting you sleep.”

“Just as planned.”

And so, I spent a long night with Bunny Rosemary.

It was amazing.

Cosplay really is a wonderful cultural achievement.

Next time, I’d love to get Alcarion and Eliza to dress up as cheerleaders too.

“Wait… the kingdom’s coming by sea?”

“Our intelligence reported that the kingdom might attack using their navy. It could be misinformation, though.”

“Hmm… I don’t know about that. The kingdom’s army is strong, but their navy is all about numbers.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Both the kingdom and the empire have territories that border the sea, so they each have a navy.

But the difference in quality is huge.

The empire uses magically powered sailing ships equipped with something called a magic engine, allowing them to sail at more than double the speed of regular ships.

Meanwhile, the kingdom’s navy only uses traditional sailing ships.

Some of them have oars for rowing to increase speed, but they still don’t even come close to matching the empire’s magic-powered ships.

Thanks to aid from other countries, the kingdom’s navy outnumbers the empire’s fleet—but it’s just a numbers game.

Even the large ballistae mounted on their ships don’t have the range or power to match the empire’s.

The empire might suffer some damage—but taking on the empire at sea with those odds is beyond reckless.

“What’s Hecton even thinking?”

“Still, numbers are a hassle. Wyverns can’t fight over the ocean, so we’d have no air superiority.”

“Wait… really?”

I blinked in surprise at that unexpected information.

Rosemary chuckled, as if it were obvious.

“Wyverns need a runway to take off. You can’t exactly set up a runway in the middle of the ocean, right?”

“Oh… so there aren’t any aircraft carriers?”

“Air… craft carrier? What’s that?”

“Uh, like… an aircraft carrier? No, I guess it’d be a wyvern carrier instead… A ship with a runway on it for wyverns to take off and land.”

I explained my rough idea to Rosemary, and her shoulders started shaking.

“I-I’ve never even considered something like that!!”

“Huh?”

“If we could do that, we’d be able to deploy wyverns even over the ocean! The problem would be whether we can actually build a wyvern carrier, though…”

“Ah… So it’s not really possible from a technical standpoint?”

“No, it’s possible—but if we build a runway on the ship, we wouldn’t be able to equip sails. That means we’d have to build a fully magic-powered ship that runs solely on a magic engine. But… if it’s Yelona, she could probably make it happen. Either way, this would be a revolutionary way to deploy wyverns! Impressive thinking, Reyshel!!”

“Uh… glad I could help.”

I couldn’t exactly admit that I was just drawing on vague memories from my previous life.

Still… the concept of a wyvern carrier didn’t exist in the empire?

If they managed to build one before the kingdom attacked, it would give the empire a huge advantage in battle.

The kingdom would never expect wyverns to show up on the battlefield from the ocean. Without mages capable of anti-air combat, encountering wyverns in that situation would be a death sentence.

This could give the empire complete control over the battlefield.

“The problem might be the shortage of magic stones. Maybe we could put out a request to the adventurers’ guild and buy them at a higher rate?”

“Magic stones?”

“Ah, right. You probably don’t know about them, Reyshel.”

It seems like the empire relies on magic stones to power just about everything.

Magic stones are produced from three mines under strict control by the imperial family and from large dungeons that adventurers explore.

About seventy percent of the empire’s annual supply of magic stones comes from the mines controlled by the imperial family.

The remaining thirty percent comes from adventurers who sell the stones they find in dungeons.

Apparently, if they increase the buying price for dungeon-produced magic stones, more stones tend to show up.

It’s a common tactic when the government needs more magic stones for public projects.

“Dungeons… That sounds kinda awesome.”

Agarham didn’t have any dungeons.

As someone who grew up with a bit of a fantasy-loving side, I’d always dreamed of trying out dungeon exploration at least once.

…Hmm.

“Rosemary.”

“What is it?”

“I was thinking… maybe I could try exploring a dungeon—”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!!”

Request denied.

Yup—didn’t even get a chance to argue.

Well, considering I’m technically about to marry into the imperial family, I guess it was pretty obvious how that would go.

Not that I’m disappointed. 

Nope, not at all. 

Definitely not.

“Sure.”

“Wait, really!?”

I asked Alcarion for permission, not really expecting much—so I was shocked when she casually gave me the green light.

Seriously!?

Just as I was processing that, Alcarion pulled a piece of paper from between her cleavage.

I had no idea who it was for, but it looked like a letter.

“I need you to deliver this to someone at the deepest level of the dungeon.”

“!?”

Rosemary turned pale the moment she heard the words “deepest level of the dungeon.”
But I was too excited about actually getting to go to a dungeon to notice.

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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “Bunnies, cats, dogs, cows… Which one do you like?”

R: “All of them.”

Author: “Same.”

If you thought, “Wait, Rosemary actually agreed to the bunny suit?” or “I love that Rosemary ends up wearing it anyway,” or “Animal cosplay really is the best,” don’t forget to leave a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, and review!