episode_0099

“No, should I say princesses?”

As expected, Chiara Verratti knew our true identities.

He is a person capable of infiltrating the empire. He must have known that much information.

Before we even sat down, she grabbed one of the terrace seats and sat down, crossing her legs.

I think there’s a big difference between how you treat me when I’m alone and how you treat me when I’m alone.

Well, if you think about it, it makes sense. At that time, I wasn’t dressed like this… … and I just walked up to her without asking any questions and stuffed the bill between my chest.

It didn’t even look like he was trying to infiltrate, and he acted as if he knew my identity from the beginning, so it couldn’t be underestimated.

And it was the same even now. At first glance, I looked relaxed, but eyes kept turning back to me.

If I had been briefed on what I did at the three-party talks, it would have been difficult to underestimate it.

But Alice seemed a little concerned that his gaze was directed towards her.

Alice sat down. At the end of the long, semicircular chair, facing Chiara Verratti. She crossed her legs and folded her arms with a confident air.

Thanks to that, the appearance is a bit more… … Well, it’s embarrassing to look at, but at least for now, it seems like pride takes precedence over shame.

I sat down a little bit next to him, Claire sat next to him, and Leo sat next to him with an incredibly nervous expression.

“Hey, why don’t you come and sit here?”

As if to take control of the atmosphere, Chiara Verratti tapped the spot next to him and spoke.

“He may seem a little immature, but you don’t hate him, do you?”

“You’re a nun and a knight, so can you covet a man?”

“Well, the goddess told us to work hard and have children. If all the children she created were locked up in a room and died alone without having children, wouldn’t she be very pleased?”

Having said that, Verratti shrugged.

“That’s not wrong. I’m still chaste. But, will the Knights cast me out just because I’m not chaste? Rather, I’d rather choose to eliminate the damn man and preserve my position. ”

“His Majesty will be very pleased if we kill the person who will become the head of the Grace family, a loyal family.”

“Well, what do you think? Even if it’s an empire, it can’t just start a war with a law country, right? Maybe they’ll just bury a dead noble?”

Of course it’s a bluff.

The reason the law and the kingdom tried to form an alliance in the first place was because they could never defeat the empire as a nation. In addition, they were wary of the empire greatly increasing its military power over the past few years and continuing to secretly move troops toward the border.

I looked at Alice.

Alice’s expression didn’t change at all. She wasn’t just maintaining a poker face. Alice also knew about the situation in the kingdom and the puppet state. I had gone to the meeting that day and had told her in detail.

“Don’t talk nonsense. My father would rather use that as an excuse to invade the country.”

“… … .”

yes.

The most important thing in war is a justification. No matter how powerful you are, if you don’t have a justification, the people below you won’t follow you. Whether it’s intangible things like inflated patriotism and pride in your nation, or the real fear that if you don’t step forward and crush them all, you too could die like that. Soldiers fight because they have a ‘reason’.

If he were an emperor, he would be the kind of person who would turn the death of a single nobleman into a national issue.

The reason why the autonomous nation was paying a price in advance to prevent a certain level of imperial forces from entering while requesting help was similar. At least those people knew what kind of person the emperor was.

“So? I heard that the Emperor has a son and a daughter. If you are thinking of using the Emperor’s power to threaten me, you better not do so. It won’t be beneficial for us to hear what a princess of an empire that hasn’t even decided on a crown prince says. Otherwise… … .”

Verratti said with a smile.

“Would you like to help me become the next emperor? If we can be friends, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to share information. It’s also a good thing when a true friend becomes the next great emperor.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Alice reacted immediately.

“Do I look that naive? The right of succession to the Imperial throne is entirely up to the Imperial House. No other country, not even the National Assembly, can touch that right. ”

“Then that’s the end of the story. He’s not the next emperor—”

Verratti’s gaze swept over me again.

“—We have no intention of joining hands with a princess who doesn’t have any great abilities like other princesses or princes, and who only has a good bloodline. In that case, why don’t we just use this information as is and go back with what we want? ”

“… … It looks like what I want is here.”

I almost laughed without realizing it at Alice’s words.

I’m telling you, it looks like you studied hard.

“There’s something you want to take away from here, right? And, it also means that you haven’t gotten the exact information yet. If that was the case from the beginning, you would have run away with what you wanted before you got caught like this. It’s not too late, so don’t worry. ”

“How about that?”

But Verratti shrugged his shoulders without changing his expression.

Every time the two people talked, the heads of the people sitting between them moved back and forth as if they were watching a game of ping-pong.

“If I don’t open my mouth, you won’t know what we want to take anyway.”

“… … .”

Alice sat up straight. Her legs were still crossed, but she had her hands clasped together and placed them on her stomach, looking just like the Emperor.

“I think you’re mistaken about something.”

Alice’s calm attitude as she spoke made me feel nothing. Salgi or aura.

Well, it’s true that I’m the type of person who can’t feel that kind of thing.

What about the other kids? Did Claire or Leo feel something from Alice?

At least, it seemed like they could sense that the atmosphere was different from the usual Alice. Because both of them were looking at Alice with their mouths open.

“I am the princess of the empire, and I am destined to be the next emperor. It doesn’t matter what you think of my abilities. After all, I am the only one with the imperial blood, and I am the only one who will continue the imperial lineage.”

Alice continued speaking without changing her expression.

“And, this is the Empire. Not the Monarchy. No matter how many troops you brought, all you can do is move stealthily. You wouldn’t be able to infiltrate the entire Monarchy’s Knights here. ”

“… … .”

Veratido seemed to sense something in Alice’s relaxed attitude.

Alice spoke as if making a judgment to Verratti, who was quietly glaring at her as if to judge her.

“You followed me well knowing that I am the princess. Or did you really look down on me and follow me all the way here? Well, it doesn’t matter which one. Thanks to you, I was able to cut you down without causing any civilian casualties. And most of all, I was able to bring you to such an open place. ”

“If you are threatening—”

“Threat? Do I look that stupid?”

Alice lifted her chin slightly. Her blue eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.

Alice spoke to Verati, who had been looking down on Alice as a mere princess just a moment ago.

“It’s not a threat, it’s a plan. I heard you were here two weeks ago, and I made a plan. ”

It was two weeks ago, when we were sitting in a cafe and hearing the information from Bella.

“You were already caught in a trap when you followed us. Now there are only two ways. Either live and maintain your faith, or attempt an escape, no different from suicide. ”

aha.

So that’s how it happened.

I thought I hadn’t seen Bella for a while.

Verratti, who had just realized the situation, tried to get up from her seat, but before she could even fully raise her body, the curtain tore with a horrible sound.

Something that looked like a toy with a glove on the end that would come forward and hit the opponent when the trigger was pulled came in and slammed the table hard.

Of course, it wasn’t really a toy. Each and every one of its openings had a vicious blade attached to it, and it was incomparably flexible compared to a toy.

With a “Clang,” the sword returned to its original position and with a “Clang,” it became a single sword. The double-bladed hacksaw-like shape transformed once more into a thin, long sword.

The people there,

“Hello~”

Bella waved happily to Leo and Claire. Leo opened his mouth and stared blankly at Bella.

But the two of them won’t recognize Bella.

On her face, she was wearing a fox mask that looked like something you would wear at a Japanese festival, and her hair was black, not Bella’s original hair color.

She was wearing a black outfit that clung tightly to her body, revealing all of her figure, but no skin was exposed at all. She must have intentionally strained her throat, because her voice was high-toned and youthful, unlike her usual voice.

Bella’s strength was that no one knew her face, so she must have dressed like this.

It is clear that the production company’s preference was to put a fox mask on her. In this case, it is set as a souvenir from the East.

“Chiara Verratti. Baptismal name Eliza. ”

At those words, Verratti glared at Alice.

“Congratulations. It is an honor that no one in the empire has ever experienced before, meeting all the princesses in one place at once.”