After sending Sylvia back to her room, Alice stood up and began changing her clothes.

Under her school uniform, she still wore the bunny girl outfit.

Once she removed the uniform, putting on what was now, embarrassingly, nothing more than her bunny costume, Alice glanced at herself in the mirror, her cheeks turning red.

Even now, the outfit felt mortifying.

She could hardly believe she’d actually chosen to wear it herself.

But...

At the same time, she felt oddly relieved.

It was as if something she had long repressed deep inside her had finally been released. Perhaps she was able to feel this way because she hadn’t gone alone, but had friends like Sylvia and others who happened to be caught up in the moment with her.

“...”

It was as though Sylvia had known Alice would wear this outfit to the event; she had come to Alice’s room without a hint of surprise.

Alice hadn’t mentioned anything to Sylvia on purpose.

But she had thought Sylvia might show up. Alice believed Sylvia somehow had a grasp on the future.

That belief had solidified when Sylvia had returned victorious from the battlefield.

How many soldiers could march into a war zone alone and come back without a single serious injury?

It was already a remarkable feat to infiltrate enemy lines. The area between the battlefronts was known as “no man’s land” for a reason—all who entered there met their end. Even those who survived were quickly spotted and killed by bullets. Yet Sylvia had crossed that barren, deadly ground alone, wreaking havoc on the enemy’s base.

And not a single scratch on her was the bonus.

To accomplish such a feat, she would have had to know the enemy’s base layout, the positioning of their forces, the type of weapons they wielded, and even the trajectory of incoming bullets. Even Jennifer Winterfield couldn’t achieve such a thing. If she could, she would’ve done so already.

So, guessing what Alice intended to do wasn’t difficult for Sylvia.

In truth, Alice felt reassured that Sylvia had come of her own accord.

Whenever Alice was about to act stubborn, Sylvia would always support her. This time, Sylvia didn’t even say a word—just quietly staying by her side, as if to say she could do as she wished. She stood by, setting the tone for Alice to take the lead in the situation.

Of course, if Verati had made any moves, Sylvia would have stepped in...

“This way, you’re the one who seems unfit to be the older sister.”

Alice let out a deep sigh.

To anyone watching, Sylvia wouldn’t seem like the younger one at all.

“Even so...”

A smile quickly spread across Alice’s face.

She had seen Sylvia smile.

Alice was startled at first, and though the smile vanished just as quickly, she was certain she had caught a small smile on Sylvia’s face.

Alice had always been able to sense Sylvia’s feelings, and while she knew Sylvia wasn’t some emotionless monster, it was the first time she had openly smiled at her.

A smile so natural, Alice almost missed it in that fleeting moment.

Seeing that smile, Alice had a sudden thought.

Perhaps Sylvia’s belief in her as the next emperor wasn’t just a matter of practicality.

Perhaps it wasn’t because Sylvia had glimpsed something in the future, but simply because she was loyal to Alice Fangriffon.

Because, perhaps, she trusted her.

“It’s neither foresight nor calculation.”

Alice reflected on Sylvia’s words.

Could it be that Sylvia had lived through the future before?

But that should be impossible.

Reversing time was scientifically inconceivable. Even the followers of the goddess and mystics would scoff at such an idea.

If it were possible, people could erase their sins, meaning that proper divine judgment on human wrongdoing would be impossible.

Even hinting at such a possibility would stir outrage among the goddess’s followers as blasphemy.

“No, that’s not it.”

Alice chuckled to herself.

On the contrary, would they choose not to treat Sylvia as a goddess to maintain their own contradictions?

She wondered how Verati would react if she said that to him.

Feeling amused by the thought, Alice chuckled to herself while changing clothes.

---

“What do you think of my younger sisters?”

This place could well be a safehouse.

After blindfolding Verati, she’d brought him to this basement room with no windows. Though he’d tried to memorize the route as the carriage swayed and turned, he doubted it was any ordinary path.

Even if it had been, the carriage’s turns were likely intended to disorient his sense of direction.

Still, if it was within Northwood’s estate, he was confident he could find his way.

The past few months hadn’t been wasted. He’d made his presence known, scoured the forests, and even infiltrated Northwood’s estate a few times without being caught.

But he hadn’t yet pinpointed where the relic was stored. He had a rough idea of its location, thanks to some equipment brought over from the kingdom, though he hadn’t searched every spot.

Thinking of that “equipment” sent a chill down Verati’s spine.

The best way to find the relic would be to search while holding another relic made in the same way. Since they were part of a matching set, their resonance would help pinpoint each other’s location.

Could his allies retrieve the relics on time?

“You seem lost in thought.”

A grating, high-pitched voice broke through, almost mocking him. Verati glared at his captor.

The face was hidden completely behind a mask. Likely, even the hair wasn’t their own. The ears were concealed, and even the neck was covered by the clothes, leaving not a hint of skin visible.

Quite fitting, in a sense, for someone in this area.

“...Yeah, you could say that.”

He had realized the operation had failed as soon as he’d seen the princess. If even the two princesses had been notified, then the entire Imperial command must be aware of it.

But who would’ve thought that the seemingly insignificant princess was capable of pulling the strings for all the imperial princesses?

Even the emperor couldn’t ignore his blood ties?

“I don’t know what you’re assuming,”

The masked woman—another princess—interrupted Verati’s continuous stream of thoughts.

“But the emperor’s successor hasn’t been decided yet, you know? Sylvia could end up as empress, or I could take that position. Or perhaps, as tradition holds, one of the princes might be crowned instead?”

“...”

“Today, I simply wanted to help. It was a request from my cute little sister, you see? Hard to ignore, being the big sister and all.”

“How noble of you, Your Highness.”

Verati gritted his teeth.

“Well, apart from that, there’s only one person with ambitions for the throne. That doesn’t mean our father will necessarily place him there.”

“Would the empire function properly if someone who doesn’t want the throne sits on it?”

“The empire has a council, doesn’t it?”

“Ridiculous.”

Verati scoffed.

“That council is full of puppets. They wouldn’t dare go against the emperor’s will.”

“They’re only subservient because the imperial power is so strong. Should the power weaken in future generations, maybe the council would have a say.”

“The emperor? Well, if you, claiming to be the emperor’s daughter, say so, you’d know better about his intentions, but…”

Verati shrugged as if indulging her before speaking.

“At least, the emperor we see in the kingdom isn’t someone who’d do that.”

“Do you trust your kingdom’s intel?”

“More than I trust yours.”

“Impressive. I thought you became a cathedral knight because you just liked killing people, but maybe you’re quite devout?”

“...”

Verati fell silent.

And silently, he glared at the fox-masked woman before him.

“Well, even if you don’t want to talk now, it’s fine. Soon enough, you’ll want to.”

“Ha.”

For the first time since entering, Verati relaxed.

“You’re planning on torture?”

He could handle torture. In fact, he could withstand a fair bit of pain.

As long as he didn’t die, his kingdom would fix him up somehow. They had the relic, after all.

Provided they found no evidence of his betrayal.

“No. We’re gentlemen—or rather, I should say, ladies.”

After that lame joke, the fox mask shrugged with feigned casualness.

“You seem to have plenty of questions about the Imperial family. Why not ask someone at the very top?”

“What—”

But before Verati could react, the basement door opened, and a blinding light flooded in.

Squinting upward, he saw a figure standing against the light.

The face wasn’t visible, but...

That build—Verati had seen it more than once before.

“I told you, you’d want to talk.”

Perhaps it was the black clothes.

In the darkness, it looked as though only her white fox mask floated in the air.