The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 100
EP.100 Proof (6)
“……”
“……”
After Bella took Verratti away, we sat there for a while, frozen in place. Alice, who had been tense, let out a deep sigh as if relieved, and Claire and Leo, who had been swept into an unexpected situation, still wore blank expressions.
Unable to stand the silence that had lasted for some time, Alice finally spoke up.
“Ugh, seriously!”
She shouted, spinning toward me.
“Say something!”
“What would you like me to say?”
I asked sincerely, and Alice, looking frustrated, replied.
“You know, how it was too dangerous for the princess to be there, or why we chose that strategy when it could’ve been resolved without me being there.”
“Do you want me to scold you, princess?”
“No, not like that…”
Alice looked around, blushing slightly, then added.
“Of course.”
I couldn’t help but pour cold water on Alice’s thoughts.
“Well, even if it wasn’t the princess, someone else could have done it. But with the unexpected variables, the princess could have been gravely injured, and that’s a given.”
“……”
Hearing my words, Alice’s shoulders slumped.
It was probably just me, but her white rabbit ears, still perched atop her head, seemed to droop slightly.
“However, that doesn’t change the fact that what happened today was something only the princess could have done.”
With my added words, Alice lifted her head, and her ears perked up just a little.
In reality, for a situation like this, there was no one other than Alice and me who could have made it happen.
Lucas was on the run. Well, I don’t know if he’s truly fled or if he’s just been absent for a long time, but regardless, asking someone who isn’t present to do anything is impossible. Even if he were available, Lucas’s face was well known, so Verratti would have run at the first sight of him.
Jaden was the same, unable to help for the same reason.
Bella might be able to extract information, but her face couldn’t be revealed. So, if anyone was to make the arrest, it had to be someone else. To catch Verratti in an area crowded with civilians, we’d need to lure her to a location with fewer risks to civilians.
But if Bella took care of that task herself, Verratti would recognize her. While killing her could solve the problem, that would only lead to more boundaries being drawn by the Papal State.
The last remaining sibling was in a similar situation as Bella and had already been gathering intelligence in another country.
That left just me and Alice.
I was a figure the Papal State would be extremely cautious about, so they couldn’t afford to ignore me. On the other hand, Alice was seen as insignificant, someone they’d easily try to lure.
The Papal State had directly witnessed my appointment as the Emperor’s full representative, surpassing Alice in rank. And they probably made a critical misjudgment in the process. They likely thought Alice would never ascend to the throne…
…Which, I suppose, wasn’t entirely wrong.
The current Emperor was clearly an odd individual. Although there was no blood relation, by law, the status between the princess and the prince was the same. One of them was even the commander of a knightly order, and the other was a child entrusted with full imperial power at such a young age.
Anyone who hadn’t heard the ‘personal stories’ shared by the Emperor and his children might be confused by such an arrangement.
At the very least, Alice was the perfect bait to draw attention.
Even without Alice, Verratti would have been captured, but what the Imperial family truly wanted was to sneak the information out without Northwood’s knowledge.
To extract Verratti without the Duke of Northwood finding out, things had to go smoothly. If Alice hadn’t acted as bait, it would have complicated the plan further. The Imperial family probably didn’t fully understand what the Papal State truly wanted yet.
“Good job. Bringing about results is also a skill.” I said to Alice.
“Really…?”
“Yeah. Although I’m a little bothered that you were dressed as a bunny girl the entire time you were threatening her.”
“……”
At the sound of our conversation, Claire, who had just snapped out of her daze, commented, perhaps out of jealousy, causing Alice to realize how embarrassing her outfit was. She quickly uncrossed her legs.
“Well, the other side was also dressed as a bunny girl, so it’s not a big deal!”
Still, Alice hurriedly stood up as she spoke.
*
“Yeah, there weren’t any other soldiers.”
Back in our lodgings, I discussed a few more details I couldn’t share in front of Leo and Claire.
“So, it was just a bluff, then.”
Alice said confidently, and I nodded in agreement.
Even if the Emperor’s power was immense, stationing soldiers inside Northwood was an entirely different issue. Requesting Northwood’s forces to mobilize would be an even bigger problem.
It wasn’t that there weren’t any soldiers following the orders, but having them actively moving around inside Northwood was a different matter entirely.
It was a good thing that Verratti never fully revealed the reason for her visit.
Though Leo and Claire had heard it, I doubted they’d go blabbing to others, but it was still safest if no one else heard it.
“…You actually know a lot, don’t you?”
When I didn’t respond, Alice cautiously asked me.
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Alice just made a hum of acknowledgment but didn’t push for more questions.
“You don’t seem to want to tell me how you know all this.”
Alice remarked, pointing to the small round table at the center of the large room. Four chairs surrounded it.
Even if this room was just for guests, it seemed to be well-prepared to receive them.
Well, if it were a luxury hotel, this level of readiness would be expected.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. Alice took the seat opposite me.
“If I ask you how you knew, you probably won’t tell me.”
“……”
I paused, thinking about how to respond.
“The way I find out things is my greatest talent. I can’t just go around telling people.”
“Right, I get it. We all have one or two secrets we’d rather not share.”
Although I was curious about her secrets, I decided not to ask. If it were something Alice needed to reveal, she’d tell me when the time came.
“Still, I’d like to know, even just a little.”
Alice stared at me intently. Her expression was calm, and her clear eyes gleamed brightly. It wasn’t the kind of look someone would give when they’re trying to threaten you.
She simply—
“I want to ask you not as a princess, but as your sister.”
Alice paused for a moment.
“Is the ability you have ‘prophecy’?”
“Are you referring to something like the prophecies written by those who record the royal family’s predictions?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
I could give a definite answer to that.
“Then, is it a precise calculation to predict the future?”
“No.”
Again, I could answer with certainty.
I had heard that no matter how much someone may want to, it was impossible to perfectly understand and predict the future with something like Laplace’s Demon, or through “perception” alone. In this world, at least the laws of physics would still apply the same way.
“Not calculation, not prophecy… but does that mean you can still know the future?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Could Alice figure out my ability from this exchange?
She might, or she might not.
If it’s neither prediction nor calculation, it could only mean that I’ve experienced that future directly. And if I deny even that, it would imply that ‘things just happen as I want them to,’ which would be as if I were a god.
I didn’t think Alice would mistake me for a god, so it was likely she could still make an educated guess about my ability, even if I hadn’t directly confirmed it.
Therefore, if I had wanted to hide the truth about my abilities, it would have been better to avoid responding in this way altogether.
But for some reason, I wanted to answer like this.
It wasn’t a conclusion reached through logical thought.
I just felt like doing it.
“……Alright. I won’t ask for more details.”
Seemingly having come to a conclusion in her mind, Alice responded. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and then said,
“You’re tired, right? You’ve been with me until late tonight. You’ve worked hard.”
“No, it’s fine. I only followed because I wanted to.”
I answered with a slight bow of my head, addressing Alice’s words.
Well, even if I hadn’t followed, I had planned to go on my own.
So, Alice didn’t need to apologize to me.
If anything, it was I who nearly ruined Alice’s plan.
“If you need me again, call me.”
“……Okay.”
At my words, Alice nodded without hesitation.