This is absolutely the worst.
I can confidently say the last twelve hours have been the worst part of my life. My life was probably already over once, but who cares.
The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself plunged into some kind of water. I swam for dear life to get out, and then I was greeted by the torture express. It was no joke.
I was tortured without a clue what was going on. Even when I pleaded and begged for mercy, for forgiveness, for them to at least tell me why they were ripping and tearing at me apart, the men didn't even twitch an eyebrow.
"Who was backing you from the shadows!"
"You met with Director Erci last Wednesday. Isn't that right?"
They just spouted gibberish I couldn't understand at all.
For some reason, my survival instincts were screaming that I absolutely must not say 'yes' or 'no'. The moment I answered definitively, I felt like my life would truly be over. I just kept saying I didn't know anything, and they just kept on torturing.
The surprising thing was that. It was a potion. Some blue liquid flowed, and all my wounds healed. It was then I realized I had completely fallen into another world. The chat I had with VenusPants before dying, and a world where potions actually exist...
The final blow was Princess Johanna. She barged into the prison and took me away. She acted so recklessly that she apparently got into a huge fight with the guards.
I say "apparently" because I had passed out at the time. The interrogation was so painful that I fainted.
If Princess Johanna hadn't saved me, I probably would have died... I would have eventually caved under torture and agreed, yes, yes, to everything, about Director Erci or whatever, and been convicted of some absurd charges and executed by slow slicing. I am truly grateful to Her Highness the Princess.
"Are you feeling any better?"
As I was resting in the bedroom, Sebastian entered. This man was also my benefactor. Though it was Princess Johanna who gave the order, I heard it was Sebastian who actually convinced the guards. He was also the one who secured this bedroom for me.
"Yes, thanks to your care, Sir Sebastian."
"Nonsense. I merely followed Her Highness the Princess's orders."
Sebastian said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He was a First-Class Attendant of the Empire, while I was a foreigner with absolutely no connections. Our social standing was as far apart as heaven and earth. Yet Sebastian did not lose his politeness toward me. That alone was enough to gauge what kind of person this man was.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but..."
"A problem has arisen. What should I do?"
I spoke quickly, and Sebastian looked slightly surprised.
"Calm, for someone who just broke out of prison an hour ago."
It was only natural from my perspective. Regardless of the circumstances, a princess of the empire had unilaterally extracted someone sentenced to torture. There was no way a problem wouldn't arise. Thanks to the item called a potion, I had recovered my stamina. All that remained was mental resolve.
"They say even if you walk into a beast's den, you'll survive as long as you keep your head. I'll do whatever I can."
"A fine attitude. Now, where should I start explaining..."
Sebastian told me the current situation within the imperial palace. His explanation was concise and clear, making it easy to follow. Truly, if those bastards who tortured me had possessed even half of a fraction of Sebastian's character, I would have willingly confessed.
"That's roughly how things stand. The Head Maid and the Captain of the Imperial Guard are united in denouncing Her Highness Princess Johanna."
Sebastian let out a sigh.
"Even now, Her Highness is meeting with the Head Maid. There's a limit to how long she can hold out stubbornly, so I'm worried."
"I see."
Departments with their pride on the line, and a reckless princess. It certainly didn't look good. And my position was even more precarious.
But the Inner Court and the Imperial Guard, huh...
"Sebastian. Are any of the other royals particularly close to the Inner Court?"
"Hmm. I'd say Crown Prince Rudolf is the closest to the Inner Court."
Originally, the person who oversaw the Inner Court and its maids was the Empress, the most exalted woman in the palace. Crown Prince Rudolf was the Empress's firstborn son. Naturally, he was closer to the Inner Court than the others.
"Then, is there a royal who has the Imperial Guard's support?"
"Ah. The Imperial Guards generally support Her Highness Princess Elisabeth. She is the most skilled in martial arts of any royal in several hundred years, after all."
And the chivalry-revering Imperial Guards supported Elisabeth, the greatest genius in history. I lowered my head for a moment in thought.
Johanna von Habsburg. That was definitely Elisabeth's older sister's name.
She doesn't appear directly in Dungeon Attack. Johanna von Habsburg is already dead by the time the game begins.
The cause of death was suicide. The Crown Prince and the other princes — her own brothers, in other words — had been taking turns with her for years until she could endure it no longer and hanged herself. It wouldn't be wrong to call it murder, in truth...
To put it in the best light, she was a victim. To put it in the worst, she was a loser.
I had only heard a brief account from Sebastian, but one thing was certain: this place was a living hell of power struggles. Being weak in such a place was nothing to be proud of.
No — it was precisely because she survived that hell that Princess Elisabeth became the winner in Dungeon Attack. Strength was virtue, and weakness was sin. Johanna von Habsburg belonged to the weak.
Coldly speaking, she was ultimately a person of no great consequence — an infinitely pitiful figure compared to that future Elisabeth who unified the continent and defeated the Demon Lord... But it was that very person who had saved my life.
"Sebastian. Please help me secure an audience with Her Highness the Princess."
"Have you come up with some clever idea?"
Perhaps he sensed the firm confidence in my voice. Sebastian couldn't hide his anticipation. I liked that he didn't waste time asking pointless questions like why she had saved me.
"Yes. The situation is quite dire, but I may just be able to land a heavy blow on those guys."
That's right. Reasons didn't matter. She had saved me. That meant what I needed to do was already decided...
A short while later, Sebastian brought me to the princess's reception room. Either the title of Second Princess wasn't all that impressive, or the reception room was simply tiny. Sebastian politely knocked on the door.
"Your Highness, it's Sebastian."
"Come in."
An unmistakably bored voice came from the other side. It was a far cry from the impression of someone capable. A sudden unease crept over me. And my fears were confirmed the moment the door opened.
A girl with striking silver roll-bun hair sat in an opulent chair. Sat might not be the right word — she was practically sinking into it. She radiated an aura of "I'm incredibly bored right now."
"Waaaah! You're already awake!"
But the moment she looked our way, she suddenly let out an enthusiastic shout. I couldn't quite tell, but for an imperial princess, she seemed remarkably unladylike. Honestly, my first impression was terrible.
I kept my composure and knelt down.
"It is my humble privilege to first behold your gracious countenance, the beautiful honor of the House of Habsburg."
"Yes, indeed. My face is rather good-looking, I'll admit."
The girl flashed a beaming smile as she boasted. There wasn't a shred of doubt in her eyes. Perhaps the first impression had actually been the best of it after all…
"Now, come closer! I'm very curious about you. So — how did you breach the imperial palace's absolute defenses? Are you truly a commoner who knows nothing of martial arts or magic? What's your objective? Your methods? Were there really accomplices inside?"
Princess Johanna fired off questions in a rapid-fire barrage. When I hesitated, unsure how to respond, Sebastian stepped in with supporting fire from the side.
"Your Imperial Highness. He escaped from the interrogation room barely an hour ago. Perhaps the questions could wait a little longer…"
"Mm? Hmm. I suppose that's true."
Princess Johanna fiddled with the hair beside her ear.
"But we don't have much time. Two hours at most, I'd say. After two hours — right, your name was Lolita? — Lolita is going to be dragged off to either the Inner Court, the Royal Guard, or possibly both."
Just two hours… My throat tightened. It felt like someone was strangling me from behind.
Princess Johanna smiled. A genuine smile.
"First, let me apologize. Lolita, I'm sorry. You seem to think of me as your savior, but I can't save your life. All I've done is postpone your death by about three hours."
"……."
"But I can at least give you a small measure of revenge. Because I kidnapped you, every single person in the Inner Court — not to mention the court nobles — has now heard about this incident. When the Inner Court or the Royal Guard punishes you, everyone will know that you were unjustly made a scapegoat."
The prestige of the Inner Court and the Royal Guard would plummet to rock bottom. That, the princess said without pretense, was a small but real form of revenge — the utmost courtesy she could offer.
"So then. We don't have much time to get acquainted. I need to ask what I want to know first. How did you end up here — this place that no ordinary person can ever reach even if they want to, and no prisoner can ever escape from?"
"Your Imperial Highness."
I bowed deeply.
"Your Highness has undoubtedly saved this one's life."
"Hm?"
Princess Johanna tilted her head.
"No, wait. Even if you flatter me right now, I really can't do anything for you. It's a waste of time."
"What if this one had a way?"
"Oh my."
The princess's gaze shifted.
"Fine. I'll humor you with some interest. But Lorita, you'd better be careful."
Until now, her eyes had been those of a mischievous child, but now they were... the gaze of someone sizing up an opponent. The innocent curiosity had vanished, replaced by the haughty bearing of one who had ruled from the moment of birth.
"If you can't come up with a convincing plan, I'll lose even the interest I had in you. That means you'll forfeit even the two hours you were guaranteed. You'll be sent right back to that hellish interrogation room."
I bowed my head. I had steeled myself for this.
"While I was being interrogated, the Head Lady-in-Waiting and the Captain of the Royal Guard both paid visits to the interrogation room. At first I didn't know who they were, but I figured it out from conversations they had with the Warden."
"Hm? So what? Both the Head Lady-in-Waiting and the Captain of the Royal Guard have their pride on the line. Of course they'd be concerned."
"Even if they came once every hour?"
The malicious expression on Her Highness Johanna's face disappeared.
"...Once every hour? That's excessively abnormal."
"Yes. They seemed overly anxious."
"They said an intruder fell into the pond last night. Barely half a day has passed, and people as high-ranking as the Captain of the Royal Guard and the Head Lady-in-Waiting are wringing their hands over it?"
Here was my assessment.
Crown Prince Rudolf had seized control of the Inner Court. Meanwhile, Third Princess Elisabeth, despite her young age, had demonstrated extraordinary martial talent and won the hearts of the Royal Guard. That these two would become the fiercest rivals in the succession was already common knowledge in the political world.
"In other words, this political conflict is very likely a prelude to the battle for the throne."
"There's a superior pushing them... is that what you're saying? And that superior would be none other than Rudolf and Elisabeth."
Her Highness Johanna swallowed hard.
"Rudolf and Elisabeth have made their move. Whoever wins will determine who holds power within the palace. Ugh, I only meant to satisfy my curiosity, but it looks like I've stepped on a snake's tail."
"What if it's not the tail of a snake, but the head, Your Highness?"
"Huh?"
Princess Johanna shot me an inscrutable look. I smiled.
Don't worry. You saved my life. I will stop the future where your own brothers would rape you into taking your own life. Even if it means earning the enmity of the Empire's crown prince and the future absolute ruler……