“My brother did what?” Adel asked, astonished.
Roselia nodded as she read through the report she’d received once more.
“As I said, he stopped a dungeon stampede in the region he was visiting as a negotiator.”
“This is the third time he’s done something like this. Last time, he got rid of a horde of orcs that attacked a village he was inspecting, and before that, he ran into a large-scale bandit organization by chance and dismantled it,” Adel said, recalling Friede’s recent achievements. Needless to say, there wasn’t an ounce of admiration on her face. “This is incredibly fishy. I refuse to believe that these are lucky coincidences.”
“And I refuse to believe that Friede could have truly solved these incidents under his leadership,” Roselia replied.
“Yet regardless of our beliefs, my brother’s popularity is rising.”
“We cannot let this continue,” Roselia said. “I doubt he has truly changed his ways, and even if he has, that does not erase everything he has done up until now.”
“I agree. What happened during the Sarjan conflict can never be forgiven.” Adel reached out for the cup of tea Maoran had brought her. She took a sip and placed the steaming cup on her desk before picking up a document. “We also have this other issue.”
“I’m terribly sorry. The responsibility falls upon us,” Roselia said with an apologetic bow.
Adel gestured for her to lift her head. “No, this isn’t your fault, Roselia. Neither Eiwass nor you could have imagined there would be an attack. If anything, the terrorist may have purposefully waited for the delegation to leave before striking.”
“You think he tried to frame us?!”
“That’s just a theory.” Adel crossed her arms and her gaze sharpened. “After all, don’t you think it’s a little too convenient that evidence supposedly implicating the kingdom was found in the terrorist hideout?”
“I do,” Maoran chimed in. “The empire and the kingdom were at war not too long ago. What better scapegoat could there be?”
“So they timed the attack based on our departure...” Roselia whispered.
“It’s still nothing but conjecture at this point,” Adel insisted.
“But who would want to frame the kingdom? Don’t tell me... Elizabeth?!”
“The magic contract you got her to sign only stipulates that she cannot intentionally harm the citizens of the kingdom. Harming imperial citizens and putting the blame on the kingdom, on the other hand, is something she can do,” Maoran said.
The contract between Roselia and Elizabeth had some loopholes. By committing a false flag terror attack in the empire, Elizabeth could start a war—and thus harm the people of the kingdom indirectly.
“Elizabeth may act in cold blood for the sake of her goals sometimes,” Adel said, “but deep down, she’s soft. She’s always been that way. That’s why she refused to give up on my idiot brother for so long and kept supporting him.”
“That’s... That’s true,” Roselia replied.
“It is. People can’t live all alone. Even if she likes to act above it all, Elizabeth must have made some connections with the people of the imperial capital after living there for so long, especially as a merchant. Traitre’s employees are ‘her’ people, and, by extension, so are the people of the empire. Obviously, there must be some people she dislikes in the empire, but I believe she’d never plan an attack of this scale in a city she views as her own.”
“What should we expect in the coming days?” Roselia asked.
“First of all, I doubt we’re headed for immediate war. Many in the empire have realized that the evidence seems fabricated. Naturally, they’ve lodged an official protest to keep the bellicists in check, but the document reads more like a question than an actual accusation.”
“I see,” Roselia said. She let out a sigh of relief.
“The best course of action is to avoid provoking the empire in any way until they have completed their investigation. At the moment, my brother’s sudden change in demeanor spells more trouble than this matter does. If we leave him be, he’ll gather more and more support both among the people and the nobility.”
“What do you propose we do?” Maoran asked.
“That’s the tricky part,” Roselia said. “Regardless of any hidden agenda Friede might have, his recent actions have benefited the people. If we try to sully his name right now, we risk being exposed. We’d have to bear the consequences, then.”
“Exactly. We can’t do that,” Adel agreed. “If lowering his standing isn’t an option, I should try raising mine instead.”
“But how will you do that, Your Highness? Your existence has been kept secret from all but a select few. Under these circumstances, there aren’t many ways we can influence the commoners, not to mention there’s a limit to the number of nobles we can win over.”
“You’re right. That’s why...” Adel paused and took a deep breath. She looked into Maoran’s eyes and then into Roselia’s. “The time has come for me to step forward publicly.”