Chapter 17: Next Time, You Won’t Have a Life to Spare

“Well then, the horses are ready.”

“Yeah, boss.”

“Hmm!?”

The next morning.

The bandits were all mounted on horses and getting ready to travel.

“What’s wrong, princess? You’re looking pale.”

“Scared to leave the capital, huh?”

“Mmm-mmm-mmm! Mmmmh!”

My mouth was gagged and I’d been tied up like a package, strapped to the back of a horse.

These bastards really plan to transport me like this! Like cargo!

“Hey there, princess, is this your first time outside the city?”

“Mmmmmm!!! Mmmmh!!? MMMM!!!”

“Sorry. But this is important.”

The quiet girl climbed onto the horse I was dangling from.

This is bad. If this keeps up, I really am going to be transported on horseback.

“Everyone ready?”

“Yep.”

“Then let’s move out!”

“Yeah!”

At the boss’s signal, the horse I was tied to neighed.

Then it began to walk slowly across the vast open plain.

“To our hometown—Byuredesto!”

At this rate, I... I’m going to—

—I’m going to be in big trouble!!

---

“Olorolololoooo…”

“Big bro. The princess puked.”

“Hmph. Motion sickness? How pathetic for royalty.”

When a horse walks, its rear bounces up and down a lot.

Which means that, as the cargo tied behind it, I bounce too.

“Boss, the princess is choking on the gag.”

“Tch. Fine, take it off. But don’t let her talk.”

“Ugh, nasty.”

And when it’s a long journey, you don’t gallop like in the movies.

If you run the horses, you have to stop frequently to rest them, which ends up being less efficient.

So it’s actually better to travel at a steady pace.

“Hurgh! Guhhh! Gwehh!”

“Big bro. The princess lets out a scream every time the horse jolts.”

“Ignore it.”

Even at a slow pace, this was absolute hell for me.

Every time the horse moved, my body slammed into its rear over and over.

...Basically, it was non-stop damage the whole way.

“Father, Mother. Rishali was truly blessed in life.”

“Big bro, the princess is muttering something weird.”

“Shut her up. If she won’t stop, threaten to kill her.”

“Please forgive me for passing on before you────”

And then, five minutes after the bandits set off—

My body, pummeled dozens of times by the horse’s backside, finally reached its limit.

“BLEEERGGGGHHHHH!!!”

“Wha—”

Rishali, second princess of the Kingdom of Saripa.

She lived a life of luxury as a royal, but was kidnapped by bandits and went missing.

The very next day, she was repeatedly smashed against a horse’s rear and met an untimely end.

“B-Big bro. The princess just coughed up a lethal amount of blood.”

“Why the hell!?”

This life has been awfully connected to butts.

I finally got reincarnated, and this is how my life ends?

Ahh… Next time, I hope I get a more dignified death…

“BLEEERGGGH SPLAAT”

“She’s seriously gonna die! Boss, emergency treatment!”

“We went through the trouble of kidnapping her—save her!”

“Why the hell is this happening!?”

---

“It’s a matter of life and death, so I’d like you to reconsider the transportation method.”

Thanks to one of the bandits being a healer, I narrowly escaped death.

Phew… I really thought I was a goner.

“I’ll concede, just this once, to being kidnapped. I mean, what’s done is done.”

“You’re seriously okay with it…?”

We had stopped in the middle of the plains, cleaning the blood off the horse.

It looked like a crime scene.

“Still, I’d appreciate a bit more consideration. Transporting a princess with such brute force—isn’t that a bit much?”

“The problem is your frailty.”

“Shockingly weak.”

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Even a normal person would suffer fatal injuries after being beaten that many times.

In my case, it just happened to be a horse’s rear that did the job.

“I am weak. A fragile life, easily snuffed out by the wind.”

“A hopeless weakling princess.”

“...This isn’t just an act to make sure you get rescued, is it?”

“If you think I’m joking, go ahead and try it again. Heh… Next time, you won’t have a life to spare.”

“Why the hell are you the one doing the threatening!?”

Well, after saying all that, the bandits should’ve gotten the message.

That if they don’t handle me with care, I’ll seriously drop dead.

“Big bro, what do we do?”

“...Hey, princess. Ever ridden a horse before?”

“Never in my life!”

The boss scowled at me like I’d insulted his ancestors.

I don’t know why, but for some reason they want to keep me alive while abducting me.

Which means they have no way to transport me from here without risking my life—

“What do we do? Our plan doesn’t hinge on whether the princess lives or dies.”

“...We’re only sparing her ‘cause it’d leave a bad taste otherwise.”

“Excuse me!?”

Or so I thought.

The bandits, acting like they were giving in, started strapping me back onto the horse’s rear.

Wait, are you serious right now!?

“Well, if she dies, she dies. Let’s just move her like this.”

“We’d rather keep her alive for what comes after, but I guess we’ve got no choice…”

“H-Hold on!!”

The bandits were seriously treating me like I was already halfway in the grave.

Wait a sec—am I not as important as I thought!?

I’m a princess, you know!? A hostage! Ransom! Political leverage! There are tons of ways my life could be useful!

“K-Killing me would be premature! Once it’s gone, life doesn’t come back, you know!”

“...Hah. But if we can’t move you, then we’ll be the ones getting caught.”

“L-Let’s reevaluate the transportation options! I don’t want to die yet!”

Sensing the shift in tone, I quickly started groveling.

These guys probably see themselves as idealists, like terrorists with a cause.

If push comes to shove, they’ll just kill me and move on—cold, pragmatic villains.

“But what other transport methods even exist besides horses?”

“In a few years, a revolutionary method should be completed! (Top secret, of course.)”

“If we can’t use it now, it’s useless.”

“Th-Then why do you even need to transport me in the first place?”

If this keeps going, I will be killed.

Think, damn it. I need a path to survival.

“If you’re unhappy with the government, I can pull some strings. Rishali doesn’t lie.”

“...We just want to protect ourselves. That’s all.”

Alright. This is a negotiation now. If I can win over the boss, maybe I can survive and even go home.

First, I should find out why they kidnapped me in the first place.

“Our hometown, Byuredesto, is on the brink of destruction.”

“...Byuredesto, you say.”

Trying to plead for my life, I leaned in to hear their story.

And the boss, with icy eyes, revealed the truth of their origins.

---

Byuredesto was a city located along the border with the enemy nation, Yaiban.

As the frontline of the ongoing conflict, minor skirmishes broke out there on a regular basis.

“That’s the city governed by Count Zister, isn’t it? A fortress city that’s been fighting off Yaiban year after year.”

“...Yeah. The one defending it is someone named Berka—he serves as the captain of the city guard.”

However, Count Zister, the lord of Byuredesto, was a noble renowned for his skill in warfare.

Every year, he repelled waves of invading forces without fail, never once losing a defensive battle.

Even the king held him in high esteem, believing the border would remain secure so long as it was in Zister’s hands.

“...So why would the captain of the guard kidnap royalty like me?”

“To protect his homeland. He’s fully prepared to face execution for the crime of abducting a royal.”

I’d actually met Count Zister once, long ago…

At first glance, he just looked like an ordinary, chubby middle-aged man.

I remember wondering how someone like that could be considered a military genius.

“This winter, Yaiban is planning a large-scale offensive.”

“...Oh? And where did you get that information?”

“Luri snuck in and overheard it at Count Zister’s manor.”

According to this man named Berka—

The real reason Count Zister had been able to fend off Yaiban’s attacks all these years was—

“Count Zister is in league with Yaiban.”

“...Oh wow.”

If that were true, it was a catastrophic scandal that could very well bring down the entire kingdom.