Chapter 57

The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 57

EP.57 Interlude

“So, is Sylvia doing well?”

At the Emperor’s question, Lucas made a very perplexed expression. It wasn’t that the Emperor’s question was strange, but rather the memories of his unrelated younger sister that surfaced in his mind seemed quite bizarre. To be honest, he even wondered if he had seen things wrong.

“Oh?”

Noticing Lucas’s odd expression, the Emperor leaned forward slightly, looking at him with great interest.

“Has something interesting happened?”

“Rather than something interesting…,” Lucas frowned slightly, organizing his thoughts before slowly beginning his report.

“I suppose you could say I saw a more human side of Sylvia…”

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

The Emperor smiled as he spoke, clearly entertained by Lucas’ murmuring.

Sylvia was always expressionless. She gave off the impression that not a single drop of blood would come out even if she were pricked. Of course, on second thought, one would have to wonder if pricking her was even possible. Because of that, there were times when it didn’t seem like Sylvia was quite human.

That perception didn’t change even after seeing Sylvia training at the academy.

The mock battle was a stacked deck against the nobles, designed to break their spirit. Even though there were rarely situations where two trenches face each other across an open field, and despite having machine guns and tanks, it was impossible to completely stop advancing enemies. After all, machine guns could only fire in one direction at a time, and even if they sprayed bullets in all directions, they wouldn’t be able to wipe out tens of thousands of enemies charging all at once.

Thus, barriers were usually placed between the trenches, and mortars and artillery were fired over the heads of the charging enemies, creating craters on the battlefield. These craters served as cover, whether advancing or retreating.

In this particular scenario, the attacking side had fewer troops than the defending side. What’s more, the attacking side mostly relied on long-range weapons. Although the distance was relatively close, it was broad daylight, making the attackers easily visible, and there was no cover to hide behind.

It was, without a doubt, an unfair battlefield.

…However, Sylvia led her side to victory in that battle. She obscured the view of both sides—her own included—yet managed to pick off enemies with precise shots, each one lethal, while completely dismantling the defense line and perfectly supporting her close-combat troops, ensuring that none of them perished.

Of course, not everything was entirely clear. Telling someone to run in a zigzag pattern in the face of gunfire only gave the enemy more opportunities to aim. In such a situation, speed was key—the goal was to sprint at full speed to reach the enemy as quickly as possible.

Was she simply showing off her skills?

“But still, it’s not every day you see Sylvia dozing off.”

Lucas added, his brows furrowed in disbelief.

“Oh?”

The Emperor raised one corner of his mouth in amusement.

“Do you think she was looking serious about it?”

“…….”

Lucas pondered seriously.

“…I don’t think so?”

He wasn’t certain. Sylvia’s performance was too perfect to be just an act. However, thinking back, it wasn’t impossible for Sylvia to pull off such an act.

“Were there any unusual circumstances? Something that would make Sylvia act that way?”

“……”

Lucas thought for a moment.

“There was a tail.”

He answered briefly.

“A tail.”

“It was the daughter of Count Crowfield.”

“Oh.”

The Emperor’s expression showed genuine amusement. He didn’t bother to hide his clear interest as he continued speaking.

“Did Sylvia have any reason to be involved with the Count’s daughter?”

“There was one time. During training…”

“Yes, I recall. You mentioned that she approached Crowfield and managed to get her cooperation during training. And how was Crowfield at that time?”

“She seemed rather reluctant… but she did eventually follow Sylvia’s instructions.”

“I see.”

The Emperor paused for a moment before speaking again.

“Then Sylvia must have known she was being followed, didn’t she?”

“Probably. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for her to go out at such an odd hour. It seemed like she was intentionally exposing that awkward tailing to confirm her suspicions, waiting until there was no one around.”

“I think so too.”

The nights in the capital were never truly dark. Streetlights were always on, and occasionally, city guards would patrol the streets. Especially near the academy, where even carriages passed by, the safety was relatively decent.

However, it wasn’t exactly a place of leisure. Just because it was safe to walk along the main roads at night didn’t mean the alleyways were free from danger. The narrow paths remained dangerous, with few people to help, and police patrols weren’t frequent.

So, if someone suspected they were being followed and wanted to reveal their stalker, venturing out late at night wouldn’t have been the worst idea.

“Then doesn’t that give us the answer?”

“…You mean she was luring an attack?”

“Precisely.”

As the Emperor nodded, Lucas fell into serious thought. Sylvia had appeared quite vulnerable at the time, as if Lucas himself could have easily cut her down in one swift stroke—

“—Ah.”

“Exactly. If you thought you could ‘cut her down,’ imagine what her enemies would think.”

“…That’s true.”

In order to draw out the enemy, Sylvia had to make herself appear weak enough that they believed they could injure or kill her. Only that level of confidence would embolden someone to attempt to assassinate a princess of the Empire.

“……”

However, whether it was due to fear or extreme caution, the young lady of the Crowfield family did not attack Sylvia.

“It’s certain that Sylvia wasn’t attacked. So, what did she do after that?”

“She took the carriage, completed a simple task, and returned. The Marmaros she received as a reward was given to her friends, who were also out early to complete their own tasks.”

“So, it seems she took on that task to shake off any suspicion from those tailing her. There must have been a solid reason for her to be out at that hour.”

“But the stalker hasn’t completely dropped her suspicion.”

“That’s something we don’t need to worry about. Sylvia undoubtedly knew you were following her as well.”

Lucas nodded at the Emperor’s words. While he had been ordered to observe Sylvia without being detected, and had hidden himself in places that few would notice, he never truly believed that Sylvia wouldn’t notice him. Even during the moments when she seemed completely unguarded, Lucas knew that if he had drawn his sword, Sylvia would have dodged it effortlessly.

“In that case, we should look into why Sylvia is trying to draw in Lady Crowfield.”

“…Isn’t it because she’s wary, Your Majesty?”

“Well…”

The Emperor thought for a few seconds before speaking slowly.

“Sylvia is emotional. She may not show it openly, but she has clear likes and dislikes. And she’s already positioned Alice as her favored candidate for the next Emperor. That’s not a bad thing. I had considered Sylvia herself, but if she remains loyal to Alice, it’s a win-win for the Empire either way. Perhaps even better.”

“That’s true.”

It might be more beneficial for the Empire if Sylvia placed someone she favored on the throne, rather than Sylvia herself ruling with an iron fist. Forcing someone into the Emperor’s position against their will would likely only cause problems for the nation.

“Well, then who would be the biggest obstacle when Sylvia puts her sister on the throne?”

“That would be—”

It wouldn’t be the other children of the Emperor. Those too free-spirited individuals would likely run away if offered the throne, including Lucas. And Alice didn’t have any other blood-related siblings.

“Families with potential for rebellion, right?”

“Exactly. That’s why I assassinated Crowfield.”

There were other names on the kill list, but the Emperor hadn’t assassinated members of other families since then. Sylvia had shown displeasure every time he attempted to do so.

Not everything was done in accordance with Sylvia’s wishes, but in such cases, it was often wiser to let Sylvia handle matters herself. There were various methods besides assassination, and the Emperor had decided to take a detour. So far, every decision made with Sylvia’s input had unfolded precisely as she predicted—almost as if she could see the future.

No, it really did feel like that. It was as if Sylvia truly had the ability to see the future and return with the knowledge, given how accurately she predicted events.

They had considered running some experiments to verify this theory, but such a drastic move might cause unnecessary complications, so it was put on hold for the time being. For now, it was better to let Lucas be content with his own sword.

“Don’t you think Sylvia saw some ‘potential’ in that young lady?”

“What kind of potential, Your Majesty?”

“The potential for reformation.”

The Emperor smiled as if he had thought of an amusing joke.

“Not with the current Countess of Crowfield, but the young lady—when she eventually becomes the head of her family, Sylvia might think she could be an asset to the imperial family. If she aligns herself with Alice, the future Empress, wouldn’t that be beneficial?”

“Ah…”

If that were the case, it would explain why Sylvia went through the trouble of luring her out like that. If Lady Crowfield had tried to kill Sylvia, it would have been her downfall, leading her to the same fate as her father.

“That seems likely.”

At Lucas’s words, the Emperor shrugged.

“Well, it’s still just our speculation. Sylvia may be emotional, but she’s also incredibly complex, to the point that we can hardly grasp what’s going on in her mind.”

The Emperor looked at Lucas intently.

“That’s why we’re observing her so carefully, to understand her better.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. But…”

Lucas looked at the Emperor, his expression more serious than usual.

“What about the story of the goddess? Any progress there?”

“We’re still looking into it. The prophecy is full of vague sections. As of now, there’s no solid evidence that Sylvia herself is the goddess.”

“Really?”

The Emperor smiled warmly, almost like a father speaking to his child.

“What do you hope for, Lucas? Would you want Sylvia to be the goddess?”

“No.”

Lucas frowned openly.

“I’d prefer her to just be my sister. Swinging a sword at a goddess whenever I get the chance would be a ticket to hell, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed. I feel the same.”

The Emperor answered, shrugging his shoulders as if joking.

*

Still, that prophecy… was it all just nonsense?

I opened the notebook where I had scribbled down my knowledge from the game, and pondered for a while.

There was nothing about me mentioned in the prophecy at all.

…If the prophecy was just a copy of the one from the game, didn’t that make it a useless firestarter at this point?

“…”

Well, it didn’t matter. What really matters now was whether Mia Crowfield was going to spill my story to others or keep her mouth shut.

I closed the notebook, feeling a bit anxious.