Princess Principal Crown Handler: Chapter 1

It is the turn of the 20th century.

The Kingdom of Albion's new royal air force, commonly known as the Air Fleet,

has created a dramatic shift in the balance of global power.

With its monopoly on Cavorite and the Air Fleet at its command,

the Kingdom of Albion became the greatest world power since the Roman Empire.

However, revolution split the kingdom into East and West,

with the London Wall separating the Kingdom of Albion from the Commonwealth of Albion.

Ten years later, London became the front line of a secret war fought between the nations' spies.

Pardon me.

You are Francis Hamilton, correct?

Yes...

Seize him.

Yessir.

What is this?! Why are the police...?

What are you-?! I haven't done anything wrong!

Stop resisting.

Come quietly.

Unhand me!

Let go! Why am I being detained?!

Don't make a fuss.

Get your hands off of me!

Let me out of here!

This is absurd!

Where is this smoke coming from?!

Come with me.

The keys!

Who on earth are you people?!

Antique book enthusiasts who were merely passing by.

What?!

We're making a getaway. Hop in.

Hold it!

Right on cue.

Have we broken down...?!

This is our stop. Get ready.

Excuse me?! Here?!

There's no time to explain.

W-wait a minute!

Recovery mission: Complete.

One on board below.

Leave it to me.

Chise?!

H-hey-!

What on earth-?!

Watch it, Chise!

It's over.

O-over? Then take me home!

Not possible.

As of now, you're in the custody of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth? But why?!

I'm not at liberty to say.

I-I don't believe you! I haven't done anything wrong!

You were arrested by the police for trafficking illegal publications that criticize the Crown.

A number of persons cited in the books that you sold had ties to the Commonwealth.

Preposterous... I had no idea!

That has no bearing on your situation.

All that matters is that you can't go home.

Forget it.

In that case...

In that case, will you at least allow me to retrieve my belongings?

Dorothy, change of plans.

Head back into town.

Isn't that a little too generous?

The Black Lizard people have a soft spot for the elderly.

Didn't you say that we came here to pick up his luggage?

He wants to give a book to an old friend of his.

For Pete's sake... Could he be any more obvious?

Time's up.

Let's get out of here.

His friend never showed...

Nope.

Shall we wait a little longer?

Chise.

He's accused of being a spy. It's too dangerous for him to remain in the country.

As long as they're both alive, they'll meet again.

Alright, I'm headed back to the car.

According to our operatives' report, all of the extracted personnel have been delivered to the Wall Team.

And how many times does this make?

How long do you intend to let the Crown do as they please?

This happened as a result of the military's aggressive attempt to incite a revolution.

That incident gave the Duke of Normandy an excuse to begin hunting down our spies.

The top brass made that decision.

I had absolutely nothing to do with it.

The kingdom itself is in quite a tizzy.

One wrong move while they're on high alert could be disastrous.

I am well aware of that!

My point still stands that we must take immediate countermeasures.

It's true that they've been much more successful in their efforts to expose our spies lately...

Especially their most recent operation targeting our informant close to the royal family.

We ought to assume that there's a leak.

Get in touch with our mole in the royal household.

Take into account the possibility of a double agent and investigate the situation.

Select the appropriate operatives.

Understood.

This concludes the report.

We were unable to identify the imposter posing as the Princess amongst the captured enemy spies.

Hm. A fake Charlotte, eh?

Too convenient, if you ask me.

"Convenient"...? What do you mean?

Our enemies extend beyond the Commonwealth.

Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam...

The list is neverending.

Furthermore, Her Majesty's health is on the decline.

There's the matter of succession to consider. Any hint of an uprising must be suppressed.

But of course, milord.

The rat population has grown unusually large as of late, and tensions are running high in the royal household.

By the way, have you ever gone fishing?

Fishing, milord...?

Oh, we made it onto the front page.

"A Midnight Car Chase: Double-decker Bus Found at the Bottom of the River Thames."

Sounds rather mysterious, doesn't it?

That was my first time riding a "double-decker bus."

It was an enjoyable experience.

Just so you know, it isn't normally like that...

That aside, we've had more urgent missions than usual lately.

I can't help but feel a little uneasy about it...

Me, too. I wish there was more that I could do to help...

No, Your Highness! You mustn't let this interfere with your studies!

The fact that the Princess has a look-alike was brought to light during the attempted revolution.

For the time being, it would be best to stay out of the public eye.

Well, Ange makes a very good point, but...

...to be honest, we've already received new orders.

A double agent?

Yes.

Have you noticed that the Crown has ramped up their efforts to oust spies from the kingdom?

Control believes that their spy in the royal household may have turned traitor.

What?! There's a spy in the royal household?!

Does that really surprise you at this point?

So then, we are to infiltrate the grounds and launch an investigation?

Nope.

We're taking over a vacant liasion position. We'll monitor the situation for now.

Our target is a spy lying low in the palace. L's direct report.

And the rendezvous point that he chose is inside the palace walls.

I get the feeling that our skills are being put to the test.

Then, are we accompanying Her Highness today?

Not for very long.

After all, we're here as her schoolmates on a tour of the palace.

Yet another large castle...

New Windsor Palace. My grandmother is staying here while she recuperates from her treatment.

Her Majesty will be positively delighted to see you, Lady Charlotte.

Will your companions be joining you?

They're relaxing in my room at the moment.

Quite right.

Shall I prepare tea or other refreshments for them?

No need. I trust Beatrice will handle that.

Wait a minute! What are you doing?!

Adding that much brandy basically makes it a cocktail, doesn't it?!

Huh? I don't see the problem.

That tea is of the highest quality, you know!

What is stopping you from drinking the brandy by itself?

Oh, good idea!

It most certainly is not!

She can't help it. Dorothy was born from liquor, after all.

'Scuse me?

Come in.

Good afternoon, Grandmother.

I'm so happy to see you, Charlotte.

It must have been a long journey from your dormitory.

Oh, no. Not at all.

Do you think Ange will be alright?

Knowing her, she'll do just fine.

Bishop, yes?

You're right on time.

Those eyes are the spitting image of your mother's...

Princess Charlotte.

That takes me back...

It's been ten years, hasn't it? Since we last spoke with one another.

Is this some sort of test?

I was ordered to come here by Control.

I see.

Which begs the question: Who was visiting with Her Majesty earlier this afternoon?

I don't understand what you mean.

We'll leave it at that, then.

Let us cut to the chase.

Here.

"Shakespeare. King Lear, First Folio. 1623"?

It was in my possession long ago.

I found myself in the mood to read it again.

Please make arrangements.

This is something of an employment exam.

To determine whether or not you are trustworthy.

I had my previous liasion do this as well.

I'll be in touch with you.

How'd it go?

It went fine.

Let's head back.

Charlotte.

So this is where you were.

I was looking all over for you.

Princess.

Is something the matter?

Not really. Everything's fine.

There's no use in lying. I know you far too well for that.

Our identities have been exposed...?

Yes...

The spy in the royal household was Winston, the Grand Chamberlain.

Mr. Winston...?

When I was a child, he would often look after me.

He must've remembered my facial features.

I never would have guessed that he was a spy...

At first, I felt sentimental and considered telling him the truth.