The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 128
EP.128 Revenge (4)
“Sylvia, calm down,” Alice said, her voice firm but gentle.
“I am perfectly calm,” I replied, trying to sound convincing.
But Alice’s eyes betrayed me. She had seen the faint tremble of my hand, the slight movement of my fingers as I tried to still them.
I was not calm. I was far from it.
“You don’t look calm to me,” Alice said, her eyes narrowing.
I knew I had failed to deceive her. Alice’s eyes were always sharp, always perceptive.
It was only natural that I was not calm. After all, I had been trying to gather information and manipulate the situation to my advantage, all while the Emperor’s guards were searching for us.
” Don’t worry too much,” Alice said, her voice dripping with amusement. “I’ve taken care of it. I’ve arranged for the guards to be dealt with before they even report back to the Emperor.”
“……”
I felt a surge of unease, wondering if Alice had somehow managed to reset the time itself. But that was impossible.
Or was it?
“I’m going to be the Emperor, right?”
Alice spoke to me.
“Then I should be able to do something like this. Don’t you think?”
“……”
Mia’s face was pale, her eyes wide with fear. She was starting to realize the implications of what was happening.
“…So,”
After about 30 seconds, I was finally able to speak.
“So, you’ve found something, then?”
“Yes.”
Alice nodded.
“There wasn’t a direct connection between the smaller networks, but there were some thin, web-like lines leading up. Obviously, I don’t know how the drugs are transported, but they must come from somewhere to reach the Empire. There aren’t many places in the Empire that could grow poppies on a large scale.”
Mia Crowfield flinched at her words.
“Well, I know why it’s hard to get rid of the source of poppies. No matter how advanced magic is, we can’t stop producing painkillers. There are plenty of situations where people have no choice but to use them, even if they’re not good for the body.”
Especially for the commoners who don’t have access to magic. Or, in the worst-case scenario where all the mages are wiped out, emergency supplies for soldiers to survive.
“Are you saying that it’s coming from our estate?”
Mia Crowfield finally mustered the courage to speak.
Her expression was stiff, and she seemed unnerved.
“……You seem to trust your parents, huh? Just a moment ago, you thought there might be something in my teacup.”
“……”
Alice’s words left Mia Crowfield speechless.
“Well, fine.”
Alice exhaled quietly and stood up.
“You probably don’t know everything that happens in your estate. Until recently, I didn’t know everything either—”
Alice bit her lip slightly.
“—There were things I never could have imagined. I’m not blaming you for it.”
“……”
Though Mia Crowfield was now pale with fear, she still maintained her rigid expression and stood up with Alice.
“If you want, I’ll show you. I’ll let you see what’s been happening here.”
“……If it’s to disgrace the honor of the Crowfield family…”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Alice said with a bitter smile.
“To be honest, the imperial family isn’t exactly spotless either.”
I couldn’t help but silently agree with her words.
*
“Are you going for a walk?”
As we stepped out of the parlor, the Countess, who had been sitting by the window in the living room, stood up. Her expression naturally drew admiration. The soft smile on her face was so convincingly fake that it was almost impressive. Is this what it means to be a noble?
Although, it’s not that her face always radiated positivity, but perhaps that was because I knew her true feelings to some extent.
“Yes. Would it be alright if Mia joins me for a walk around the estate?”
“Of course.”
At Alice’s words, the Countess glanced toward Mia. Mia’s face, following us out of the parlor, was still pale. Seeing her expression, the Countess turned her face toward Alice, as if unsure. Yet, her face was still the picture of a gracious noblewoman.
“Our estate—”
The words the Countess was saying as she followed Alice were cut off abruptly.
The door of the mansion we were headed for was suddenly flung open, and a knight stepped inside.
He wasn’t one of the knights accompanying us. He wore armor with the distinctive crow emblem of the Crowfield family.
A knight from the Crowfield estate.
“My lord…”
However, the moment the knight burst in through the door, he froze stiff as he saw Alice and me standing next to the Countess.
My gaze immediately shifted back to Alice.
But Alice, still with a smile on her face, remained unmoved. She didn’t even flinch.
Her expression suggested that she knew exactly why the knight had come.
“What is it?”
The knight’s behavior was rude enough to warrant a rebuke in front of a princess, but considering how well-trained knights usually behave, his actions must have been a sign that something urgent had happened. Perhaps that’s why the Countess furrowed her brow, but didn’t place the blame on him.
The knight removed his helmet. The middle-aged man had a well-groomed face, though his forehead was sweaty and his hair clung to it.
Having regained his composure, he cautiously walked over to the Countess and raised one hand to his mouth.
Seeing the Countess turn her ear toward him, Alice turned to me and said,
“Well then, let’s go take care of what we need to do.”
It wasn’t until we were about to leave the mansion that the Countess finally lost her composure.
“Your Highness!”
At that shout, Alice, me, and Mia Crowfield, who had been hesitantly following us, stopped walking.
“What is this…?”
Despite the grimace she had shown to the knight earlier, the Countess rushed toward us, her behavior noticeably improper.
“Your Highness.”
Before I could even react, our knight approached us.
There were already several of our knights waiting at the entrance of the mansion, which wasn’t unusual. It’s normal for the guards to be waiting at the entrance when their master steps out.
However, the atmosphere felt off.
Although the swords weren’t drawn, the imperial knights and the Count’s knights were glaring at each other as if they were about to unsheathe their swords. If I were able to sense the danger, my back would’ve been drenched in sweat the moment I stepped out.
“As per the orders, everything has been arranged.”
“Good.”
Alice nodded at the knight’s words.
Then she turned around and glanced at me, who was standing just behind her, and Mia Crowfield, who was lingering further behind. Without paying any attention to the Countess, she spoke to me.
“Do you want to come along? If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. After all, I just want to know the truth.”
“…”
I didn’t say anything. There was no point in saying something like, ‘What would happen if His Majesty finds out about this?’ It would only cause the knights to get agitated.
Moreover, when I thought about it again…
Wouldn’t it be stranger if the Emperor didn’t know about this?
At first, I thought I could kill the Emperor. Not even half a year ago, I had believed that, if needed, I could reverse time countless times and assassinate the Emperor, making the story unfold the way I wanted it to. But strangely, the more time passed, the more it felt like every potential way to kill the Emperor was disappearing from my mind.
No matter what I did, it felt like he would know about it… and even if I were to prepare a foolproof way to kill him, I had this unsettling feeling that he wouldn’t even be there when it happened.
I began to fear that I might be caught up in the Emperor’s schemes as well.
Alice was watching me in silence.
“…Alright.”
I answered her like that. A faint smile appeared on Alice’s lips.
“I, I…”
Mia Crowfield looked uncertainly toward her mother. The Countess was trembling, her shoulders shaking, as if she were ready to kill the two princesses standing here at any moment.
However, the knight who had spoken to the Countess was likely under the impression that it was the Emperor’s orders. The command must have come in the Emperor’s name.
Refusing such a command in front of the Imperial Army, now fully centralized with enormous military power, was effectively asking for death.
Of course, from a long-term perspective, solving matters in such a crude manner would cause complications for the Imperial family as well.
What would happen to the next Emperor after the one with such immense power dies?
I looked at Alice once more.
Seeing Alice’s confident smile…
Well, I briefly thought that maybe it wouldn’t be a problem after all, and it annoyed me.