NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57
“So, how’s Sylvia doing?”
Lucas made a very odd expression upon hearing the Emperor’s voice.
Not that the Emperor’s question was wrong, but because it triggered strange memories of his untainted sister. Frankly speaking, he had almost wondered if he had misseen something.
“Hoo.”
Seeing Lucas’s expression, the Emperor leaned forward slightly, appearing quite intrigued.
“Did something interesting happen?”
“More like… ”
Lucas frowned slightly, organizing his thoughts before slowly beginning to report, “I saw Sylvia’s human side…”
“What do you mean? My daughter has always been human, hasn’t she?”
In response to Lucas’s mumble, the Emperor smiled.
It’s as if she has a face that wouldn’t bleed even if you poked it. Of course, thinking again, one might wonder if she could even be poked. That’s why sometimes Sylvia didn’t feel like a human at all.
And that remained the same even after witnessing her training at the academy.
That mock battlefield, created to openly crush the elite class, was actually a battlefield heavily skewed to one side.
No matter how many trenches are arrayed against each other, it’s almost never just an open field in between.
Even with machine guns and tanks, you can’t perfectly stop the enemy from advancing. The machine gun can only fire in one direction at any given moment, and you can’t hope to take down thousands swarming from all sides.
So barricades are installed between the trenches. And all kinds of artillery and mortars rain down on the enemy’s heads, creating craters big and small in no man’s land. This means that there arises a “space to hide” that can be used by both allies and enemies whenever they advance.
The attackers are fewer than the defenders. In fact, most of them are armed with long-range weapons. While the distance was relatively close, the bright daylight made the enemy too visible, and there weren’t any cover points to hide in.
It was an absurd battlefield, no matter how you looked at it.
…However, Sylvia led them to victory on that battlefield. Concealing the sight of both parties—she even obscured her own vision—and casually picking off one enemy at a time, she ravaged the very defensive line, perfectly covering her allies specialized in close combat, ensuring they all survived.
Of course, it didn’t all make sense. Asking someone to zigzag while being fired at only gives the enemy a better chance to hit. In those situations, the crucial point is to run as fast as possible and get to the enemy as quickly as you can.
Was she perhaps trying to prove her abilities?
“Still, one hardly ever sees Sylvia dozing off, right?”
“Hoo.”
The Emperor raised one lip in amusement.
“Do you think that was sincere?”
“….”
Lucas pondered seriously.
“….I guess… that doesn’t seem right, does it?”
He wasn’t sure. That behavior of Sylvia seemed too perfect to be acting…
Yet now that he thought about it, he also didn’t think she wouldn’t be capable of such acting.
“Weren’t there any unusual occurrences? Something that would make Sylvia show such behavior?”
“….”
After a moment’s thought, Lucas answered briefly, “There was a tail on her.”
“A tail?”
“Count Crowfield’s daughter.”
“Hoo.”
The Emperor wore an expression of genuine delight. He didn’t even bother to hide the interest clearly revealed on his face as he continued speaking.
“Was there an opportunity for Sylvia to have any association with the Count’s daughter?”
“Once. During training…”
“You said she struck up a conversation during training to coax cooperation. Right, I remember. How was Crowfield then?”
“Crowfield had a look that didn’t indicate much. But still, ultimately followed orders.”
“I see.”
The Emperor fell into thought momentarily before speaking again.
“Then, surely Sylvia must have known that she had a tail following her.”
“Probably, yes? She wouldn’t have gone out in such a late hour without a reason. Isn’t it rather suspicious to let that awkward tail reveal itself when there’s no one around to notice?”
“I think so too.”
The skies above the Imperial Capital were bright. The streetlights were always on, and sometimes the police patrolled the area. Especially near the academy, there were carriages going around, so you could say the security was decent enough.
But that didn’t mean it was a fun place. Just because it felt safe to be on the avenue at midnight doesn’t mean the alleys weren’t dangerous. There were hardly any people around to assist, and the patrols weren’t all that frequent.
So, if someone were to think they were being followed, and wanted to reveal that tail, coming out at midnight wasn’t a bad idea.
“Then wouldn’t that lead to an answer?”
“….Are you saying she provoked an attack?”
“Correct.”
Seeing the Emperor nod, Lucas contemplated seriously. At that time, Sylvia looked exposed enough that Lucas felt he could have sliced her apart in an instant—
“—Ah.”
“Exactly. If you thought ‘I could slice her apart,’ how do you think the enemy felt?”
“….That’s certainly true.”
To draw out the enemy, Sylvia herself would have to be in a position to be attacked or injured—only with such conviction could anyone dare to attempt to assassinate the Empire’s Crown Princess.
But for some reason, the Countess’s daughter didn’t take the plunge, whether out of fear or extreme caution.
“We can be certain that Sylvia wasn’t attacked, so what happened next?”
“I took the hired carriage that arrived and completed a simple request before returning. The Marmaros I received in the process, I ended up giving to friends who were up early to complete a request.”
Having come back with friends late after taking a carriage to the station, Sylvia simply handed off the Marmaros she received as a reward to her friends.
“Then, it seems reasonable to assume that fulfilling that request was meant to dispel suspicions regarding someone following her. There must have been a good reason to venture out at that time.”
“However, the enemy hasn’t completely dismissed their doubts.”
“We don’t need to concern ourselves with that. After all, Sylvia presumably knows that you’re following her.”
At the Emperor’s words, Lucas nodded.
For now, they were ordered to observe Sylvia in a way that wouldn’t be detectable to others. But in reality, Lucas had no thought that Sylvia wouldn’t figure something out. If he swung the sword during one moment of her seemingly careless demeanor, she would dodge it without a second thought.
“Then, we need to look into why Sylvia is trying to involve the Countess’s daughter.”
“….Isn’t it because she is wary?”
“Perhaps.”
The Emperor fell into thought for a few seconds before slowly speaking.
“Sylvia is emotional. She doesn’t show it openly, but she has clear likes and dislikes. And she has named Alice as the next Empress, which isn’t a bad thing. I had thought about Sylvia too, but if Sylvia were to follow Alice to the end, both situations wouldn’t be a huge issue from the Empire’s standpoint. In fact, it might even be better.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
Rather than Sylvia ruling with an iron fist, it might be better for her to place someone she desires on the throne while she follows orders. After all, a ruler who doesn’t want the throne won’t be able to run the country properly.
“Now then, what would be the biggest obstacle to Sylvia putting her sister on the throne?”
“Well, naturally—”
Other imperial children are out of the question. Those free-spirited individuals would probably run away in terror if offered the throne. This includes Lucas.
Moreover, Alice had no sisters or brothers with a different bloodline.
“Those clans with a potential for rebellion, maybe?”
“Exactly. That’s actually why I assassinated Crowfield.”
While there were several names of clans written in the kill list, the Emperor hadn’t assassinated anyone from other clans since then. Every time he tried, Sylvia had given him a disapproving look.
He didn’t do everything precisely as Sylvia wished. But in a situation like that, leaving it to Sylvia to handle directly seemed like the best course of action.
There were various methods aside from assassination to choose from, so the Emperor decided to take a slight detour. And he often followed Sylvia’s advice without fail.
As if he could read the future.
Well, he thought that maybe that was genuinely the case. Perhaps it’s not far off from actually reading the future with how accurately he could see what lay ahead.
He wanted to run experiments related to this but put that on the back burner, fearing too drastic trials could lead to complications.
For now, it was best to be content with Lucas wielding a sword.
“Wouldn’t you think there’s a ‘potential’ in that noble lady?”
“What kind of potential?”
“The potential for conversion.”
The Emperor spoke with a smile, as if he had just thought of an amusing joke.
“Not the current head of the Crowfield clan, Countess Crowfield, but rather if that noble lady were to become the head of the clan, it would benefit the imperial family. If she were to move for Alice, who would be the future Empress, wouldn’t that be a possibility?”
“Ah…”
In that case, it also makes sense why she went out of her way to lure her in with such behavior.
If the opponent had aimed to kill Sylvia, that would have been game over. The noble lady would likely have met the same fate as her father.
“That seems quite likely.”
In response to Lucas’s words, the Emperor shrugged.
“Well, that would just be our speculation. Sylvia is emotional but has a mind that’s overly complex, so we can’t really grasp her intentions.”
The Emperor looked at Lucas, saying this.
“Thus, we are observing as diligently as we can to get a proper handle on things.”
“I understand. However…”
Lucas gazed at the Emperor, a slightly more serious expression than usual crossing his face as he spoke.
“What about the story regarding the Goddess?”
“I’m still investigating. There are many unclear parts in the prophecy. We haven’t yet found any evidence of Sylvia being the Goddess.”
“Is that so?”
“What would you like it to be?”
The Emperor asked, smiling, as if he was asking his son.
“Would you prefer Sylvia to be the Goddess?”
“No.”
Lucas frowned outright and replied.
“Isn’t it better just for her to be my little sister? If she was a Goddess wielding a sword at every opportunity, it would be a one-way ticket to hell.”
“That’s true. I share the same opinion.”
The Emperor casually shrugged in response.
*
By the way, is that prophecy book all messed up?
I flipped through my game notes for the first time in ages, getting lost in thought.
Nothing was written in the prophecy book for me.
…If the content of the prophecy book were to follow just what’s in the game, wouldn’t it simply be worthless kindling at this point?
“….”
Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. What’s important right now is whether Mia Crowfield will tell others my story or just keep it to herself.
I shut the notebook again, feeling a bit restless.