Ginger rode up to us on the horse with a desperate look.
I wonder what's going on.
As soon as Ginger sees us she cranks her neck in our direction and proceeds straight at us.
The soldiers form a wall to protect us.
Then Zanoba cried out,
"She is my imperial guard! Open the way!"
With those words from Zanoba, the soldiers give way quickly.
Before Zanoba can make a move Ginger falls from her horse with a relieved expression.
"Ginger, what happened!?"
"Ha.... haa..."
Zanoba picks up on it as well, Ginger's deep distress.
She isn't hurt, but has the dark complexion of sever fatigue.
Perhaps she has been riding her horse for 24 hours straight.
"Oh, there is trouble in the imperial city Latakia.
The former warlord Jade has become the focal point for an uprising in the name of the 11th prince.
They have surrounded the Imperial castle with their forces...."
As she said that, Ginger began to choke and then fainted.
"The 11th prince? Ridiculous, that boy should have had only 10 people within the Shirone royal guard... Ginger! We need a more detailed description... oi!"
"Calm down Zanoba, let her rest first."
I get Zanoba to stop shaking Ginger.
Then, for the time being, we carry her into a room.
Part 2
11th Prince Haruha Shirone
Three years of age
He is the child that former king Palton Shirone sired in his later years.
His mother was the daughter of farmers and, as such, he wasn't originally in a social position where he could become king.
Therefore Haruha was treated as if he did not exist.
He was given an estate in the corner of the Shirone kingdom with his mother, and had been living quietly under the name of a local feudal lord.
There was externally little to know about his existence.
The former King Palton Shirone, at the same time, had a sister who is the warlord Jade's mother.
Both of whom were killed during Pax's great purge.
That only leaves the warlord Jade.
He had formerly sworn allegiance to the king.
Jade, in spite of only possessing farmers, was able to raise them up. Because of his talent with tactics in this regard he was allowed the position of warlord.
Thanks to Jade becoming a warlord, the family is no longer hungry; a wealthy life was possible.
There was one important factor.
The king expected this position to be repaid with Jade's younger sisters when called upon, it was that kind of obligation.
At the time of Pax's coup, Jade had been stationed at Fort Karon.
At that time their were nearly 1000 people defending Fort Karon.
Jade led 500 of those and went to the capital Latakia.
However, it was too late when he arrived. The king had already died.
The royal family was waiting with reports of that massacre.
The forces defending that capital at that time numbered 2000.
As he marched forth with his soldiers, Jade's force swelled to 1500 with reinforcements from local feudal lords.
Factoring in Jade's repute as a tactician, fighting and winning would be possible considering the numbers.
That is if you only looked at the numbers...
The army of Jade, with it's increasing number of commanders, split in two.
The reason is that Pax had promised to treat the local lords in the same manner as always.
Some of those local lords had rushed in at the spur of the moment. Some were not happy with the former king, some lost their nerve, and some actually agreed with King Pax.
Looking at the noble's disagreement, Jade realized that he could not win.
He surrendered to Pax and swore allegiance.
Of course even though Jade took such an action, there was dealings behind the scene.
His sister's child, the 11th Prince Haruha Shirone, was alive and he had learned of it. He would endure it for now.
Under the banner of Haruha, he would wipe clean his regrets towards the deceased previous king.
This was his vow.
Then, under the surface, Jade began to move.
He collected dissidents behind closed doors and shored up his forces.
He organized the rebels who had been eagerly awaiting a chance since Pax's uprising.
Now there was a chance for success.
And then the time came.
The northern country showed signs of invasion and Pax was forced to move military power into the north to meet them.
Because of Jade's head hunting and the after effects of the coup, the Shirone kingdom's troops had dwindled.
There would be no reinforcements from the KDK.
I do not know if it would fall, but Shirone's strength would now be inferior to the northernland.
If Fort Karon is penetrated then Pax will be forced to send away his treasure, the Death God.
This is what Jade was thinking.
He had miscalculated; the third prince Zanoba Shirone had returned.
He had also brought with him the return of Roxy Migurudia who was once court magician, and Rudeus Greyrat who had overthrown the Water God Reida and North Emperor Auber at Asura kingdom.
Jade had also planned to contact Zanoba in the event that he had returned to have vengeance upon Pax.
However, Zanoba bowed down to Pax and headed to Fort Karon.
Jade's calculations went amiss.
Fort Karon fought off the enemy with a historic victory and so the Death God never had to leave for the front.
The declining military power was also on its way to a full recovery.
The force gathered at the north would also likely return to the capital soon.
This may have been his last opportunity.
Considering this, Jade launched his coup.
He gathered up all of the soldiers he had left in waiting and took up to occupy the capital.
He surrounded the royal capital.
This was the summary that Ginger, who woke up after several hours, told us.
Ginger was in town at the time, but escaped by taking advantage of the confusion caused by the revolt.
She came straight to Zanoba without stopping.