“Isn’t it said that a foolish ally is scarier than an enemy?”

The Second Prince thought of that saying while chewing on a cigar.

Looking at the current situation, it was truly a fitting remark. A foolish ally was worse than having none at all.

It was a presence that should be eliminated immediately.

But unfortunately, that was impossible.

Sadly, this foolish ally was…

“Are you deaf?! When a person speaks, you should listen!”

It happened to be his own blood relative.

In a strategy room that everyone had left.

A space fully equipped with soundproofing spells to prevent eavesdropping and recording.

It was truly pathetic to see his younger sister yelling at him without a care because she thought there were no eyes on her.

To think that such a creature was his kin.

It was hard to believe, but…

Unfortunately, that was how the world worked.

Wherever there’s an outstanding individual, there’s bound to be a lackluster one.

Just like having a brilliant strategist, there are also fools overflowing with confidence but lacking any ability, driving the nation into the ground.

“Hah, so you plan to ignore me completely, huh?”

The girl in front of him.

The one grumpily pouting—Princess Three—fit right into that fool category.

“How childish. You really want to act like this?”

His sister asked him.

Certainly.

Treating a person like they were invisible was a rather low response, but there was a reason for it.

If that girl had made a logically sound argument, he would have graciously listened, free of personal feelings.

But all she babbled about were ridiculous tales.

– One witness mentioned pointy ears several times; there were hints about using dark magic, but…

Just because you’re an elf doesn’t mean you can contract with demons, right? There are always heretics out there.

Why not give the elf chief a call?

Everybody knows they’re like those ridiculous fish that die if they get too far from the World Tree.

To doubt elves when you have the Black Fangs running wild everywhere—that’s truly a regrettable deduction.

– I told you that potion business was suspicious. Just give me a bit of help. The way they’re desperately concealing their identity… it definitely means something!

She even demanded support with no logical basis, just throwing out her gut feelings.

In such a situation, what kind of mad commander would listen to her drivel?

“I see. So this is revenge, right? For what happened last time.”

As the girl said that, a flicker of disturbance crossed the Second Prince’s face.

“Were you that upset about almost losing command?”

“It’s not about losing command. The real issue is that if a fool like you steers the helm, this ship will sink!”

The Second Prince glared and responded.

It had already been some time since he entrusted matters regarding the Black Fangs to his father.

While taking down the Black Fangs wasn’t an achievement that could be accomplished overnight, it was also true that progress had been sluggish.

Taking advantage of that, this self-important girl was dreaming of insurrection.

She grumbled to his father, trying to seize his command.

If it had actually succeeded…

The Empire’s future would’ve been even darker.

There’s nothing worse than an incompetent person having command.

But thankfully, that disaster didn’t happen.

“Truly, divine intervention.”

The goddess of victory must surely be smiling down on the Empire. That was the only way to think about the miracle that had occurred for the Second Prince.

Karon had suddenly handed over the hero’s corpse and then died.

Having that achievement recognized allowed the Second Prince to keep his command.

The girl in front of him shot him a glare.

She had spent quite some time showing off her bad manners and rudeness, but was she tired? She opened her mouth again.

“Fine, think what you want. What matters now isn’t that.”

With a loud thud, the Third Princess slammed both hands down on the desk.

“The Holy Church! We need to uncover the Holy Church. There’s no one more suspicious than them right now.”

Dramatic theatrics aside, her words turned out to be the same nonsense as always.

My sister continued her rant.

The video distributed by the Black Fangs.

It was suspicious how the Holy Church was reacting so lukewarmly.

Not denying the video’s content yet declaring they would reflect on and correct their misdeeds—that was pretty bizarre, wasn’t it?

“The Black Fang leader must be manipulating the Holy Church’s upper echelons somehow!”

The girl boldly shouted.

The sight was utterly comical.

“How could she come up with such speculation?”

There’s a limit to leaps in logic.

What mechanism would allow the Black Fang leader to recruit the Holy Church members?

Mind control?

If there were a mage powerful enough to mind control dozens of high-ranking archbishops, the Black Fangs wouldn’t need to struggle at all.

They could just brainwash the entire citizenry and call it a day.

And above all…

“The truth behind this incident is somewhat different from what’s known.”

He had met with Cardinal Dominic to receive the lowdown on this incident.

It turned out the situation wasn’t due to the Black Fangs but rather a blunder by Cardinal Karon.

Some kind of experiment had gone haywire, leading to all those horrific deaths.

The Black Fangs cleverly used it to stage a scenario that made it look like they delivered judgment.

“When I first heard it, I had a bit of doubt.”

He did go through the cross-verification.

Through Asmodeus, he confirmed that during the last ten days, the Black Fang leader hadn’t stepped foot out of their hideout.

He also got a confirmation that their subordinates hadn’t approached the temple.

So it made sense that a minor informant from the Black Fangs happened to sneak into the accident scene to film that video.

It’s impossible for someone who isn’t the Black Fang leader or an executive to carry out such a massacre.

It seemed more natural to think of it as an unexpected accident during an experiment rather than a deliberate crime.

“Dominic is suspicious too. Didn’t you see his gaze? It’s just like a Black Fang zealot you see on the street.”

His foolish sister accused Cardinal Dominic.

But the Second Prince was not someone who could be swayed by such accusations.

Having spoken with him in person, he found Cardinal Dominic quite decent.

He understood that the balance of power had shifted and that he no longer had an equal footing with the Empire.

He wouldn’t dare to challenge them.

He merely wanted to be employed as a subordinate.

He was undoubtedly someone knowledgeable.

“It’s a pity that the manufacturing of the Holy Grail is impossible because of outside scrutiny…”

But being able to wield the Holy Church as a subordinate wasn’t a bad outcome at all.

If a battle broke out with the Black Fangs, the Holy Knights would definitely step up for the Empire and play a significant role.

“You’re really trying to ruin the Empire, aren’t you?”

His sister was exasperated, banging her fist on her chest.

Upon reflection, it wasn’t all that strange.

After all, this information hadn’t been shared with her.

Why would he share information with someone who had the audacity to try and stab him in the back?

“If I were really in command, I could wipe out the Black Fangs in a day!”

His younger sister shouted that.

Her voice was so loud it nearly sprayed spittle everywhere.

The urge to tell her to shut up if her brain wasn’t working was rising inside the Second Prince.

“If you can’t think, then just be quiet and stay put. You want to show off your incompetence?”

He couldn’t help but let those words slip out.

The Third Princess clenched her fists in irritation.

But she didn’t say anything more.

If she had even slightly more than the IQ of a monkey, she’d have realized he had no intention of listening to her opinion.

She stomped out of the strategy room in annoyance.

…Well, she was trying to leave.

But the Second Prince’s intuition, bestowed upon him by the gods, told him something.

“What are you planning this time?”

That silly girl was about to pull something again.

At his question, the Third Princess paused, scowling as she spoke.

“I’ve found that potion businessman. Of course, it’s my people who found him, and I’ll be handling him with my people. Stay out of my business.”

As expected.

The royal guards directly under the royal family.

Using such a powerful force to waste their efforts on a bizarre investigation seemed absurd.

In this situation, it was clear what he needed to do.

“Wait a minute. I have something for you to do.”

“What? You just said you wouldn’t trust me with anything…”

The Third Princess’s face twisted as she spoke.

She had caught on.

She sensed his intent to distract her with meaningless work.

But whether she noticed it or not, it made no difference.

“Father entrusted me with command. You wouldn’t want to prioritize your private investigation over your father’s will, right?”

If that fact were exposed, it was only natural he would report it, and with that, the Second Prince smirked.

His sister gritted her teeth.

She screamed and slammed the door as she left.

That sight was just utterly pitiful.

“It’s tragic, really.”

That she was dying to help the Black Fangs.

In reality, one might even say she was a spy for the Black Fangs.

With a foolish ally running rampant, the Empire’s future looked incredibly bleak.