How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending

Tristan spoke in a low, heavy tone. I had been staring blankly at the salt fields, but only then did I come back to my senses.

“…So it was not merely a base or a supply point. Rather than plunder, it seems the salt operation itself was their primary source of income.”

“So it appears. However…”

Tristan suddenly furrowed his brow and continued, as if talking to himself.

“I was under the impression that the salt industry is a state monopoly. It should be under strict control of the Sar imperial family, so how did this happen?”

“Mm…”

Do you really not know? I know. But I could not bring myself to say it aloud, and only stroked my chin in silence. I knew the rough flow from having read the original work, but even without that, judging from what I had experienced in Ashurana, the answer was practically obvious.

“Surely the Sar imperial family cannot be that corrupt.”

“Well… yes.”

Tristan was not asking because he truly did not know. It was simply difficult for him to believe that the most advanced empire of the age, one that surpassed even the Rubierre Empire, could be so thoroughly rotten.

“What shall we do now, Your Highness?”

Sir Mildred asked Tristan for instructions in a firm voice. Tristan, who had been silently overlooking the salt fields, soon hardened his expression.

“There are not many pirates managing the salt fields. The knights alone should be sufficient to capture them alive. We will attack immediately and rescue all prisoners.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

No sooner had the concise order been given than the knights led the soldiers charging down below.

“W, who are you… gah, hngh!”

The pirates gathered near the entrance of the salt fields had been assigned the easy task of guarding prisoners who were weakened by prolonged hunger and forced labor, and who could not escape due to the harsh terrain.

There were few of them to begin with, and they lacked proper combat capability, so they could not even respond effectively to the sudden assault. A few fumbled to raise their weapons, but they were no match for the merciless attacks of knights hardened through mercenary work, and they fell with screams. The one sided brawl, hardly worthy of being called a battle, ended in less than an hour.

After the brief commotion ended, just as the knights began searching the salt fields to free the prisoners, they discovered something. Behind a heap of bone dry salt in one corner of the fields, a small boy was crouched down, trembling. His entire body was nearly blackened from the sun, and rough rope marks were clearly visible around his wrists. Yet unlike the other prisoners, his body was plump, which drew the eye.

“H, help me, please! Th, this one is Hi… Hiprian…”

His voice was hoarse and cracked, but his archaic and elegant manner of speech was unmistakable. He continued speaking in Sarian, then, realizing we could not understand him, began shouting in the language of the Rubierre Empire.

“A, are you foreigners? The pirates, have those wretches all been dealt with…?”

“If you mean the remaining pirates, they are all lying over there, and the pirate fleet has already been subjugated.”

Gehardt replied in an awkward tone, as if it could not be helped. At that, the boy’s complexion brightened noticeably and his voice rose.

“Is, is that so? Then… foreigners. I, I command you to re… rescue this one. I am a descendant of the great one, His Majesty Hiprian al Hut Sar the Twelfth, Emperor of the Sar Empire. I am Safrah, the Thirteenth Prince of the Sar Empire!”

Silence fell. The knights and soldiers nearby all turned to stare at him at once. The boy glared back at us with bloodshot eyes.

“Wh, what are you all doing? Foreigners! Attend to me at once. Hurry!”

Flustered, I turned to look at Tristan. He, too, remained silent for a moment. Then he slowly turned his head and spoke a single line.

“…Bring the prince.”

“Yes…”

A soldier answered with a dazed expression and cautiously stepped forward to support the boy. At that moment, a translucent status window appeared before my eyes and sent a notification.

[☆Star of the Lost Empire: Find the Thirteenth Prince!☆ Event]
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the event.
Captured pirates: 38
Pirates killed in combat: 12
Calculating rewards: Computing increase in imperial trust rating (…).
Mission details: Confirm survival of Thirteenth Prince Safrah and rescue him.
※Warning: Even now he is still a brat you want to smack, but your opponent is the precious youngest prince of the Sar Emperor. Do not lose your temper and throw a punch, or you will ruin everything at the last moment.