The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

A day had passed since Alice’s visit, and there had been no new developments.

The Emperor’s order for me still stood. It seemed Alice hadn’t been able to meet with the Emperor yet, as I had heard he was away.

The things Alice had unpacked... well, I hadn’t repacked them yet. I simply returned the items she had taken out of the bag to their original places.

Since Alice had personally unpacked them, I figured it was better to wait a bit before packing them back up again.

No matter how determined Alice was, she wouldn’t easily convince the Emperor. He was the kind of man who, despite loving his daughter, always prioritized his goals above all else.

On the surface, it was always “for the Empire,” but in reality, he was a man obsessed with ruling, almost like a governance addict. If he thought something would harm his control over the Empire, he wouldn’t hesitate to discard even his own daughter.

The Riecland Autonomous State hadn’t appeared in the main story yet, but it existed in the game’s lore. There had been hints that it might play a significant role in a sequel... but that was just a theory.

By the time I arrived in this world, the game’s sequel was probably still in development, so I hadn’t even seen any previews.

Fans speculated that the protagonist, who had retreated to the unstable Riecland Republic due to the presence of warlords, would help stabilize the region and gain their trust, potentially finding a new base of operations.

Of course, if I wiped out the warlords before that, those speculations would become irrelevant... but I doubted the Emperor intended to eliminate them all. He’d likely leave enough warlords to keep the autonomous state in a state of reliance on the Empire, ensuring they’d need the Empire’s support.

If the Emperor really wanted to destroy the warlords, he would’ve just sent the army.

But sending the army would have likely been met with resistance from the autonomous state.

What country would welcome foreign troops coming in to “solve” their internal problems, even if it meant dealing with criminals? That’s a clear violation of sovereignty. It’s too obvious a move.

"...Wait a minute."

Could it be that the Emperor was sending me for that reason?

Sending the Empire’s military would surely be rejected by Riecland, but sending one assassin might not raise the same objections.

In fact, the Emperor might not even intend to send me as a soldier. He could disguise me as a diplomat or even send me as a princess on a formal mission.

...I could create gaps in my official duties to move around the autonomous state and carry out assassination missions in secret.

Uh...

Is the Emperor overestimating me a bit too much?

Did Claire in the original story receive this much trust? I don’t recall her being sent alone on missions, no matter how skilled she was.

I pressed my hand to my forehead, lost in thought.

If I had blindly gone to the autonomous state and started taking out warlords left and right, the future could have changed drastically.

Then again, Millennium Studio was known for pulling unexpected twists on players. They wouldn’t have made the storyline so simple that it could be easily predicted.

Should I refuse?

I seriously considered it.

If the Emperor truly trusted me, and if he genuinely believed in what I said, I could go there, do nothing, and return. Even if I lied, the Emperor would likely think, “There must’ve been a good reason.”

The problem was whether the Emperor trusted me 100%, without even a shred of doubt.

And the conclusion to that question wasn’t something I needed to think about for long.

The Emperor never trusted anyone completely. The only thing he believed in was his own conviction. If I returned without completing the mission, he would undoubtedly be suspicious.

He might accept that “there was no choice,” but he wouldn’t believe that the reason was purely physical. He’d start to speculate politically.

And once that happened, the Emperor’s actions would stray too far from my predictions.

That would be a problem.

I’ve been trying to minimize casualties by controlling the future, but if the Emperor starts acting unpredictably, it could prevent me from using my foresight-like ability.

I haven’t assassinated the Emperor yet or outright defied him because I’m trying to minimize variables and create a favorable situation for myself. If I break that balance, new opportunities might arise, but the more time between opportunities, the harder it becomes to line everything up.

"...."

I sat quietly in my chair, resting my chin on my hand, deep in thought, but no clear solution came to mind.

Even if I blamed Alice, the fact that I had already agreed to the mission meant that changing my mind now would only arouse the Emperor’s suspicions.

Hmm.

There’s no good answer.

As I was pondering this—

Suddenly, the door swung open.

"...."

It wasn’t that surprising. Over the past ten years, this had happened quite often. Honestly, nothing could surprise me anymore, not even getting sliced by Lucas’ sword.

It was probably Alice again.

If she had met with the Emperor, she would’ve been rejected, no doubt about it. She would’ve opened the door looking incredibly dejected.

So, most likely, she had come to get me to accompany her to meet the Emperor, as she always acted confidently before facing him.

“I’ve got it!”

“Huh?”

However, hearing Alice shout that made my mind go blank for a moment.

Got what?

I turned my head to see Alice standing there, grinning triumphantly. Her hair shimmered like gold in the sunlight streaming through the window.

With her hands on her hips, she looked like a victorious general as she spoke.

“You don’t have to go to the north!”

"...."

I stared at Alice for a moment before responding.

“Even if you’re the next Empress, your rank still doesn’t supersede the current Emperor’s orders.”

At my calm voice, Alice huffed.

“I know that! Even I’m aware of that much. But if you don’t believe me, take a look at this.”

She raised her right hand, which had been resting on her hip.

It was only then that I noticed the Emperor’s order in her hand.

[By my decree as Arthur III, Emperor of Azernia, I hereby rescind the order for Sylvia Pangryphon’s dispatch to the north.]

It wasn’t an official document. It was written hastily on a random scrap of paper with a fountain pen, barely worthy of being called a decree.

But I recognized the handwriting.

And the Emperor’s signature.

“...Forging or impersonating official documents is a serious crime. If you’re using the Emperor’s name—”

“I’m not!”

Alice yelled in response to my words.

“If you don’t believe me, check it yourself! Even I wouldn’t lie about something like this!”

"..."

If Alice was that insistent...

Could this really be true?

If it was, how on earth had she managed it?

Although I kept my face expressionless, Alice must have sensed my confusion because she smirked at me confidently.

"See? Now we’re going to the academy together! Of course, I won’t start packing right away, but still!"

Her smile was radiant as she added that she would definitely outperform me academically.

Uh...

I honestly had no idea what was going on.

How?

Even though I was bewildered, a part of my brain silently cheered, clenching a mental fist in victory.

A few minutes earlier—

Crash!

The sound of something shattering was rarely heard in the Emperor’s audience chamber. All the maids who worked in the palace were noblewomen trained in the highest etiquette, and breaking something by accident was practically unheard of.

And no one would deliberately break anything either. After all, meals weren’t usually served in the audience chamber.

But this time was different.

The sound had come from a small glass bottle shattering on the floor. A clear liquid splattered from the broken shards, though it wasn’t enough to reach the Emperor’s clothes.

“...What do you think you’re doing?”

The Emperor asked, staring at his daughter, who had just committed such an outrageous act right in front of him.

Lucas, who was standing by as a guard, looked equally dumbfounded, but Alice paid no attention to him.

Normally, Alice would have shrunk in front of her father, the Emperor. Especially considering that the mood today was far from good.

But Alice was furious.

And when a Pangryphon gets angry, nothing can stop them.

Alice was a Pangryphon too.

She had never been this angry at her father before. While she wanted to surpass Sylvia, she had never wished for Sylvia to be kept from competing on an equal footing.

“This is morphine. I found it in Sylvia’s room.”

“Hm?”

The Emperor’s expression changed instantly from one of displeasure to one of intrigue.

“Sylvia... using morphine?”

It wasn’t a strange reaction. The Emperor had been the one making the best use of Sylvia’s abilities in all sorts of ways. While there had only been one assassination mission so far, Sylvia had proven invaluable in gathering information.

It was hard to imagine Sylvia needing morphine. After all, she had never been seriously injured by bullets or swords.

Lucas, too, looked shocked. His usual smirk had disappeared, his eyes wide in surprise. Despite the tense situation, Alice couldn’t help but feel a bit satisfied at that.

“She said it was for emergencies. In case she needed to fight without any time to heal her injuries.”

“...Ho.”

If Sylvia had said it, it couldn’t be taken lightly. If Sylvia was talking about getting injured and needing to fight without time to heal, that implied some significant danger.

What could she have been planning for?

“...Your Majesty.”

Normally, Alice would have addressed him as “Father,” but today, she was speaking to him as a princess addressing her Emperor. What she was about to say wasn’t just from a daughter; it was a statement from the next Empress... or at least, a candidate for that role.

“Sylvia told me I would be the next Empress.”

“...”

The Emperor listened quietly.

“If she ever became a candidate for that position, she said she would do everything in her power to give it to me.”

“Hm.”

The Emperor was watching his daughter carefully.

“So, Your Majesty, Sylvia belongs to me. Not to you.”

Alice smiled as she spoke.

It wasn’t a confident smile but one tinged with nerves. Her lips trembled slightly from tension.

But a Pangryphon doesn’t retreat.

Because she was a Pangryphon.

“Sylvia might be a griffon, but the first Emperor, Pangryphon, wasn’t a griffon. He was the griffon’s master. He subdued the griffons and rode on their backs. He led the flock. He didn’t need to be stronger than the griffons.”

That’s right. Pangryphon wasn’t a griffon, but its leader. The one who controlled the griffons.

Leading doesn’t always require brute force, especially when leading humans.

“So, Sylvia belongs to me. Of course, if you ever need her, I can lend her to you. But not this time.”

Sylvia—that Sylvia—had pledged her support to the true princess as the next Empress.

And the princess had realized the significance of that.

Now she was telling the current Emperor.

The Emperor, upon hearing this, smiled.