As the knights were about to be captured, I appeared on the scene ready for a cool confrontation."Oh, so you didn"t want any witnesses huh? How selfish are you, first you order these poor knights by hostaging their families and now you want to kill them? There should be at least a limit to your foolishness"
"P-P-Prince Walter! How come are you standing there!"
"Oh, so you recognized me huh? Also, you lot are quite familiar... those faces… are you knights of my brother Zack"
"Huh?! No way"
They seem fl.u.s.tered as if I wouldn"t recognize those faces and those stares, did they underestimate my memory? Or maybe that"s just how n.o.bles are expected, to not care about anything that isn"t their equal.
"So these knights lied to us! Say goodbye to your family then! As for you prince Walter, don"t expect you"ll come out alive from here!"
"Oho, so you are still going about that, you must have gone insane, do you think you could win against me?"
"That"s right! That"s right! He"s been trained by prince Heinrich himself!"
"Yes, and also that old man with him is a sword master!"
My knights interjected.
Okay, it"s going well, the enemy seems fl.u.s.tered after hearing that bluff, Gavin also showed up with a grim expression as he showed a glimpse of the sword in his cane with his wobbling knee.
This old man really knows how to act the part, he looks like an old mafia boss or something, anyway we need to capture them immediately.
I whistled using my hands, and the street rats that I hired showed themselves. Unlike knights who are expensive to hire, they are easy to hire and are loyal as long as you feed them. After I arranged the plan, the first thing I did was to spread rumors about my vegetative state through them, as they know the most crowded bars and streets to do it.
There"s only one thing I promised them, that they wouldn"t starve ever again, with the food and liquor I will provide them as long as they will serve me. I plan to give more perks as I learn more about them, who knows they may have made unforgivable crimes. Shaking hands with the underground world may be unacceptable for a prince, but as the third prince, I can"t be picky with my choices.
The street rats were in various sizes and ages numbered up to 23 using crude weapons, and ragged clothes, for some reason why do I feel like I am the villain here.
"Capture them!"
The street rats immediately surrounded them, together with the five knights in case the enemy fights back, they would be the only ones who are in equal strength with them.
"For a prince, you are hiring street rats?! First thing I"ve heard of it!"
"Well, if I hire another group of knights you are just going to take their families away and blackmail them again right?
That"s why this is the most optimal solution.
Just a warning if you choose to resist, we"ll seriously have no problem about killing you, I hope you are ready to die after involving the innocent with this your foolishness"
"Shut up! Do you think you could do this to us? Prince Zack will take your head off"
He shouted the name of his master, and immediately regretted his decision as he covered his mouth and looked at his irritated comrades. Wow that was easy, I can"t believe that it just takes a bit of provocation for them to make them spit out Zack"s name.
"Checkmate," I said as I checked the surrounding abandoned buildings.
I went closer to him to whisper.
"Prince Zack huh? Just so you know we are being watched by the townspeople, hah! And now your prince Zack"s reputation in this town is finished, and he will lose the support of the people because of you, do you think he will need someone like you who has defiled his name in front of the citizens?
No! Much more you will be likely to be killed and thrown in a ditch somewhere, together with your family, just like what you are doing to my knights now"
"Huh? What the h.e.l.l are you talking about? There"s no one… "
He scanned around the district and saw the abandoned buildings were all closed but for some reason, we could hear small murmurs coming from them, and it"s not just one or two, there are many.
"N-No way! There shouldn"t be people here!"
No there are, I may be tight-lipped and have no skills whatsoever in human relations.h.i.+ps, I can plan out things but people would be unpredictable.
However, there"s someone here who knows how to reach the hearts of the ma.s.ses, the only daughter of the president of a conglomerate in my old world. Who is highly adept in social and management skills.
In general, she has what I lack, and I have what she lacks, together with my ex we are an invincible duo.
"What are you saying? Haha, there are people, right? Tiffania!"
TIffania then appeared from one of the windows at the same time appeared the townspeople who are hiding from the supposed to be empty district, some appeared from inside the wooden barrels, some from the pull carts, some from the hidden alleyways.
The empty district instantly became full of people.
"No way… w-w-what have you done! "
"You have shown you and your master"s true colors and the townspeople are the witnesses, from n.o.bles to commoners, children to elders.
Now drop your swords!
or will you fight against everyone here?"
Zack"s knights who were unable to say a word dropped their swords, the sound of metals. .h.i.tting the ground one by one was heard.
"Tie them up and make them confess where they have taken your families," I told my knights who made a solemn bow towards me.
The knights tied them up and took them away, meanwhile, Tiffania went down from the house and came to me, while the townsfolk applauded. Maybe due to the fact that we were able to save the precious lives of the knights and their family. n.o.bles and commoners alike have their own families perhaps they were able to feel empathy for them.
...
I headed home while Gavin rewarded the rat leader, and handed out snacks to the townsfolk as a celebration.
"See it worked right?"
Tiffania proudly puffed out her chest, as if telling me to praise her. To think that a pure and kind looking girl can have this haughty and childish like the expression on her face.
"Yeah, thanks to you... in the old world, in the new world, you"ve always had my back"
"Call it the privilege of being my OBLIGATORY fiance! Just so you know I still haven"t forgiven you for dumping me in the past life so we haven"t made up yet, but yeah… thanks for trusting me"
When I started off the plan, I only betted on the possibility that the rats alone could stop them, but still, it wasn"t a foolproof plan and could become b.l.o.o.d.y, however, it didn"t bother me, as the end justifies the means.
But suddenly Tiffania, while munching on her favorite cookie suggested about getting adding the power of the ma.s.ses for additional pressure to make them give up, it was an idea I haven"t thought of if it wasn"t for her it would have become a b.l.o.o.d.y battle.
"Weren"t you the one who dumped me? But yeah thank you, truthfully you saved the day, my fiance"
"Creepy… are you really the old Kazu? Since your confession, you have been very creepy nowadays"
"Really? I think I have just grown to love you more though?"
"Uwah, you"re really saying that with a straight face, anyway I"m resting now, whew convincing those people was really hard you know! It"s not as easy as singing, "do you hear the people sing" and people would follow you"
"Hahaha what is this a revolution? Your jokes are lame, but I like it"
"Uwah stop it stooop, you are so creepy! Don"t forget that I haven"t forgiven you yet, and just so you know this fiance thing is just a political thing, right now we are just FRIENDS okay FRIENDS!"
"Don"t be so cold to me, my FIANCE"
"AHHH Mou!!! FORGET ABOUT IT! I"m sleeping! Bye!"
As Tiffania went inside her room with a bang, once again I stood up and rode the carriage, now that her safety is secured, now onto the next step, I have to meet him directly, my dear brother Zack.
...
"Hey brother Zack"
"Hey, Walter come in, what brings you here"
I arrived at his mansion and through his knights confidently, okay, it seems that they don"t know anything yet, as expected their friends aren"t there yet. His servants then brought us to the parlor room used primarily for conversation or the reception of guests. We sat in front of each other
"It"s about succession… are you planning to overtake brother Heinrich?"
"What do you mean? Overtake in what? Ladies?"
"I am not in the mood for it Zack, now tell me, why do you want to become King? If you said so I would have supported you, and you know that, then why are you going as far as sending death threats to us and doing it?"
Hearing my directness he slightly opened his smiling eyes. He stood up and looked at the window as he put his hands behind him.
"So you knew it huh? I thought something was strange about you coming here by yourself"
"Tell me, quickly or I will end you here"
I didn"t come here unarmed, although I don"t have any fighting skills, simply having a weapon is enough to give off a threat in a private parlor, and I"m not hesitating to bury this in his neck if he orders my capture.
"Oh, so now you are the one giving me threats hahaha, I can"t believe it! That useless prince is actually standing up for something right now?"
"Threats? Weren"t you the one who started this? I would have forgiven you if you had just gone after me, but threatening the people around me? I"m sure you understand why I am so furious right now"
"Okay I"ll tell you, but first, let me tell you, I don"t intend to become the king, but this country needs a reform, to establish a nationalistic government, and strengthen this country through absolute control by iron fists. Only this way the nation could expand and stop relying on its neighbors, this is the only way our people could be happy"
"What the h.e.l.l are you saying?"
"I"m telling you why I need you to die, we need a country not about the royal family, but about the nation"
"Surprising, are you really saying that? Aren"t you forgetting that you are a prince in the first place? Then you are not needed after all, so are you gonna commit suicide after you killed us both?"
"Huh? Who would? Who would then become the supreme ruler?"
"You are insane, do you think people would follow you? You who abuse your power to kill those who are a threat to your ideals?"
"I am quite confident about that brother, while you are wimping yourself in the corner I have been preparing myself for this for years, and right now no one can stop me, the kingdom would certainly fall"
"You are a dangerous person to be kept alive"
"Really? I am just caring for our people, you wouldn"t understand the burden I am carrying, this country needs a true leader, someone like me!"
And then, that was the trigger.
The country will then be embroiled in a three-way war, between myself who just wanted a daily life of peace in my second life, my brother Zack who wants to be a dictator, and my brother Heinrich who wants to be the King.
Seriously... you can"t be kidding me... I came here for a second life not to let go of the woman I love - to reconcile with my ex, and not to fight a war!