episode_0057

“So, is Sylvia doing well?”

At the Emperor’s voice, Lucas made a rather peculiar expression.

No, it wasn’t that the Emperor’s question was wrong, but rather that the memories of his pure-blooded younger sister that came to mind after receiving that question were extremely strange. To be honest, he even started to think that maybe he had seen things incorrectly.

“Oh.”

And noticing Lucas’s expression, the Emperor, as if greatly intrigued, slightly bent his waist and looked at Lucas.

“Has something interesting happened?”

“Rather than something interesting… ”

With a slight furrow of his brow, Lucas organized his thoughts and began to speak slowly.

“I saw Sylvia’s human side… I suppose.”

“What do you mean by that? My daughter has always been human. Isn’t that right?”

The Emperor smiled at Lucas’s muttering.

Always expressionless. A figure that seemed like not a drop of blood would come out even if pricked. Of course, upon further thought, one would have to consider whether they could even be pricked. That’s why Sylvia sometimes didn’t seem quite human.

And that was the case even after seeing Sylvia training at the academy.

The mock battlefield, seemingly created to break the spirit of the noble class, was actually a battlefield heavily skewed in one direction.

Even if two castle walls faced each other, there were hardly any situations where the space between them was wide open as the characters suggest. Even with machine guns and tanks, they couldn’t perfectly block the enemy from advancing. Machine guns ultimately fired bullets in one direction, and it was impossible to take down thousands or tens of thousands of enemies who were rushing from all sides simultaneously.

So, barricades were set up between the castle walls. And various cannons and mortars were fired over the heads of the advancing enemies, creating large and small craters in the no man’s land. This meant that there was a ‘breathing space’ that could be used by both sides when advancing or retreating.

The attacking side had fewer people than the defending side. Moreover, most of them had long-range weapons. Although the distance was relatively close and the bright daylight made the enemy clearly visible, there were no proper coverings to hide in along the way.

It was a battlefield that seemed illogical to anyone.

…However, Sylvia led that battlefield to victory. Blocking the sight of both sides— even covering her own sight in that situation— she casually took down one person at a time with a single shot, breached the defense line itself, and perfectly protected the close-combat specialists, ensuring everyone survived.

Of course, it wasn’t completely understandable. Telling someone to zigzag while they were holding a gun was just giving them more opportunities to be hit. In such a situation, the key was to run as fast as possible at full speed and reach the opponent as quickly as possible.

Was she trying to prove her abilities?

“No, even so, there’s hardly a reason to see Sylvia dozing off, isn’t there?”

“Oh.”

The Emperor raised one corner of his lips.

“Do you think that was genuine?”

“….”

Lucas pondered seriously.

“…I don’t think so?”

It wasn’t a certainty. To say that Sylvia’s act was just an act… it was too perfect.

However, upon further thought, it didn’t seem like Sylvia wouldn’t be able to act to that extent.

“Was there anything unusual at that time? Something that would make Sylvia show such a side.”

“….”

After a moment of thought, Lucas briefly answered.

“There was a pursuit.”

“A pursuit.”

“She was the daughter of Viscount Crowfield.”

“Oh.”

The emperor’s expression seemed genuinely joyful. Without bothering to hide the clear interest on his face, the emperor continued speaking.

“Was there any connection with the daughter of the viscount, Sylvia?”

“There was once. During training…”

“You approached her during training to solicit cooperation, right? Yes, I remember. What was Crowfield like back then?”

“Crowfield… had an expression that didn’t reveal much. But he still followed orders in the end.”

“I see.”

The emperor paused for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking again.

“In that case, Sylvia must have known that Mina was following behind as well.”

“Probably, right? Otherwise, there would be no reason to go out at such an awkward hour. It’s not like anyone would be around to witness the awkward follower trying to gain confidence when there’s no one else around, right?”

“I think the same way.”

The night of the capital was bright. The street lamps were always on, and sometimes the capital police patrolled as well. Especially near the academy, there were even carriages roaming around, so one could say that the security was decent.

But that didn’t mean it was a pleasure district. It was just safe to be on the streets late at night, but the alleys were still dangerous. There were hardly any people around, and police patrols were not that frequent.

So, if someone thought they were being followed, and wanted to expose that follower, coming out in the middle of the night wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Doesn’t that lead to no answer?”

“You mean provoking an attack?”

“Yes.”

Seeing the emperor nod, Lucas pondered seriously. Sylvia at that time seemed very vulnerable, and if it were Lucas, he could have easily—

“—Ah.”

“Yes. If you think you can ‘easily handle it,’ how do you think the other party feels?”

“Indeed, you have a point.”

To expose the enemy, Sylvia had to be attacked and possibly injured or killed. Only with that certainty could one have the courage to harm the empire’s princess.

But whether Crowfield was scared, or just very cautious, he did not harm Sylvia.

“It’s certain that Sylvia was not attacked. So, what happened after that?”

“She took the carriage back to the station, completed a simple request, and returned. In the process, she received Marmauros and gave it to friends who were about to perform the request early in the morning.”

Returning with friends who came to the station even at a slightly later hour, Sylvia completed the request with them and simply handed over the Marmauros she received as a reward.

“In that case, it’s more accurate to see her completing the request as a way to dispel suspicions of the entity following her. There must have been a reason for her to come at that time.”

“But the other party hasn’t completely dispelled their suspicions.”

“We don’t need to intervene in that. Sylvia probably knows that you were following her anyway.”

Lucas nodded at the emperor’s words.

Although it was an order to observe Sylvia from a hidden place as much as possible, where others wouldn’t notice, Lucas never once thought that Sylvia would be unaware. If Lucas had suddenly wielded a knife even in a moment when she seemed off guard, Sylvia would have effortlessly evaded it.

“Then, we should look into why Sylvia is trying to involve Crowfield.”

“Is it because she’s on guard?”

“Who knows.”

The emperor pondered for a few seconds before slowly speaking.

“Sylvia is emotional. She may not show it outwardly, but she is clear about what she likes and dislikes. And as the next emperor, she has already chosen Alice, whom she ‘likes,’ as her future empress. That’s not a bad thing. I did consider Sylvia’s thoughts, but if Sylvia continues to follow Alice until the end, there shouldn’t be a big problem from the empire’s perspective. No, it might even be better.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Rather than Sylvia ruling with an iron fist, it might be better for Sylvia to have the person she desires ascend to the throne while she remains in a position to give orders. After all, putting someone who is unwilling in the position of emperor would not bode well for the country.

“So, who do you think would be the most obstructive presence when Sylvia tries to elevate her sister to the throne?”

“Of course—”

It wouldn’t be the other imperial children. Those excessively free-spirited individuals would likely flee in terror if asked to take the throne. Even Lucas.

But there were no other siblings who would shed blood for Alice.

“Do you think there are any families with the potential for rebellion?”

“Indeed. In fact, that’s why I assassinated Crowfield.”

There were several family names listed in the death list, but the emperor had not assassinated members of other families since then. This was because every time he tried, Sylvia would make an unpleasant expression.

Not everything was done according to Sylvia’s wishes. But in such situations, it was better to leave it to Sylvia to handle directly.

There were various methods besides assassination, so the emperor decided to take a different approach. And the parts where he followed Sylvia’s advice went smoothly.

As if he could see the future.

No, he actually thought he might be able to predict the future accurately. He had considered conducting experiments related to this, but he had put them on hold for fear of the consequences.

For now, it would be best if Lucas was satisfied with using the sword.

“Do you think there is a ‘possibility’ for that young lady?”

“What kind of possibility?”

“The possibility of conversion.”

The emperor said with a smirk, as if he found it amusing.

“Perhaps she thought that if she became the head of the Crowfield family instead of the current Countess of Crowfield, it would benefit the royal family. If she moves for the sake of Alice, who will become the future empress, isn’t there a possibility of that happening?”

“Ah…”

In that case, it made sense for her to show such a tempting appearance at that time. If the other party had tried to kill Sylvia, they would have failed. Young Ae probably faced the same future as her father.

“It seems plausible.”

At Lucas’s words, the emperor shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, that’s just our speculation. Sylvia is emotional, but her mind is overly complex, so we can’t even begin to guess what’s going on inside her.”

The emperor looked at Lucas quietly and said.

“So, let’s observe her closely and try to understand her properly.”

“I understand. But…”

Looking at the emperor with a slightly less flustered expression than usual, Lucas asked.

“What about the story regarding the goddess?”

“We are still investigating. The prophecies are quite vague. There is still no evidence that Sylvia herself is the goddess.”

“Is that so?”

“What do you think?”

The emperor asked with a smile, looking at Lucas as if he were asking his own son.

“Would it be good if Sylvia were the goddess?”

“No.”

Lucas said bluntly, his face contorted in disgust.

“Just being the younger sibling is better, right? She swung a sword at the goddess when she had the chance, isn’t that hellish?”

“Indeed. I share the same opinion.”

The emperor shrugged his shoulders as he responded.

*

By the way, that prophecy, isn’t it all completely wrong?

I opened my notebook where I had written down my game knowledge and pondered for a while.

There was nothing about the prophecy written in there at all.

…If the contents of the prophecy in the game are just as they are, wouldn’t they be useless at this point in time?

“….”

Well, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important now is whether Mia Crowfield will end up telling the others about my story, or if she’ll just keep it to herself.

I covered the notebook again, feeling a bit anxious.