“Silvia, just calm down for now.”

“I am perfectly calm right now.”

Of course, my hands, which I had neatly placed on my lap, had lifted slightly, about 3 mm off the surface. Just before they could slap my forehead, I managed to calm them down and put them back on my knees, but judging by how Alice’s gaze momentarily fell downward, I couldn’t claim I had completely hidden it.

Honestly, I was not calm at all.

“I don’t see you as being calm at all.”

Alice’s eyes were as sharp as ever, just as they had been throughout this year.

It was only natural that I couldn’t be calm.

Wasn’t it Alice who executed a plan that the Emperor wouldn’t even consider? While I was turning back time dozens of times to gather various pieces of information, the Imperial Army had been flipping over some of the nobility and bourgeoisie.

“You don’t have to worry too much. I coordinated everything so that we can turn it all upside down before a report goes up to Father.”

“......”

For a brief moment, I suspected Alice might have the power to turn back time.

This was the state of Alice before she turned back time.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one who will become the Emperor?”

Alice spoke to me.

“If so, I should be able to do this much. Right?”

“......”

Mia Crowfield’s face now displayed not just anxiety but almost pure fear, as if she felt she shouldn’t learn anything more here.

“...So,” I finally managed to speak after about thirty seconds of calming myself.

“So, you have found out something.”

“Exactly,” Alice replied.

“Although the underground organizations are not connected, there were fine threads like a spider's web above them. It’s only natural. I might not know much about the children moving about, but drugs are produced somewhere and come into the Empire. There aren’t many places within the Empire where poppies can be grown extensively.”

At her words, Mia Crowfield flinched in surprise.

“Well, I understand why we can’t eliminate the poppy’s origin. No matter how developed magic is, we can’t stop producing painkillers. There are many situations where people have no choice but to use them, even if they’re not good for their bodies.”

This was particularly true for the common folk who could not benefit from magic. Or perhaps in the worst-case scenario where all the mages were wiped out, emergency supplies for soldiers returning home.

“Are you saying that it’s flowing out from our territory?”

Mia Crowfield finally mustered the courage to speak up.

Her expression was rigid.

“...You seem to trust your parents, huh? Just a moment ago, you thought there might be poison in my teacup.”

“......”

Mia Crowfield had nothing to retort to Alice’s statement.

“Well, that’s fine.”

Alice exhaled softly and straightened her posture.

“You probably can’t know everything that happens in your territory. Until not long ago, I didn’t know either—” Alice bit her lip.

“—there were things I couldn’t even imagine. So I won’t blame you.”

“......”

Mia Crowfield paled but maintained her rigid expression as she stood up alongside Alice.

“If you want, I’ll let you see what’s happening here.”

“...If it’s to tarnish the honor of the Crowfield family…”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

Alice smiled bitterly.

“To be honest, the Imperial Family isn’t that clean either.”

I couldn’t help but silently agree with her words.

*

“Are you going out for a walk?”

As we exited the reception room, Lady Crowfield, who had been seated by the window in the parlor, rose. Her expression drew a gasp of admiration. That gentle smile is remarkable, as if it’s a performance. Is that what being noble is like?

That said, her expression didn’t always look positive. Perhaps it was because I had a certain understanding of this person’s inner thoughts.

“Of course. Is it alright if I walk with Mia around the territory?”

“Of course.”

In response to Alice’s words, Lady Crowfield glanced at Mia. As Mia exited the reception room alongside us, her face still looked pale. Seeing that expression, the Lady turned her face toward Alice, seemingly suspicious. Of course, her expression was that of a benevolent noblewoman.

“Our territory—”

Lady Crowfield’s words were abruptly cut off as we approached the mansion’s door, which swung open with a bang, revealing a knight entering.

He wasn’t one of the escorting knights. He wore armor adorned with the distinct Crowfield crow emblem.

“A lord…!”

However, the knight who barged in became rigid upon seeing Alice and me standing beside Lady Crowfield.

My gaze also shifted back to Alice.

But Alice remained with a smile on her lips. She didn’t even flinch.

It seemed she knew exactly why the knight had come.

“What’s the matter?”

The knight’s behavior was sufficiently rude to be shown in front of the princess. However, if a well-trained knight showed such behavior, it indicated that the information he needed to convey was urgent. That was likely why Lady Crowfield frowned but didn’t blame him.

The knight removed his helmet, revealing the sweaty forehead of a handsome middle-aged man with hair sticking to it.

Having regained his composure, he carefully approached Lady Crowfield. As he raised a hand to his mouth, he watched Lady Crowfield tilt her ear toward him, and at that moment, Alice spoke to me.

“Then, let’s go do what we need to do.”

It was just before we exited the mansion that Lady Crowfield lost her composure.

“Princess!”

At that cry, the steps of Alice, me, and even Mia Crowfield, who hesitated behind us, came to a halt.

“What is happening right now—”

The expression that had previously been on the knight transformed into one of unease, and Lady Crowfield hurried toward us with a demeanor that was quite contrary to etiquette.

“Princess.”

Before she could finish, the knight who was with us approached.

By now, the entrance of the Crowfield mansion was filled with our knights. That wasn’t particularly unusual. It was expected that knights would arrive ahead of their lord when they were going out.

However, the atmosphere was distinctly odd.

While they hadn’t drawn their swords, both the Imperial Knights and the Crowfield knights were on edge, ready to draw weapons at any moment. If I could sense hostility, I would have been drenched in sweat the moment I stepped outside.

“Everything has been taken care of as per the commission.”

“Good.”

At the knight’s words, Alice nodded.

Then she turned back, looking at me, who was standing just behind her, and Mia Crowfield, who was hesitantly hovering behind us. Ignoring Lady Crowfield, Alice said,

“Do you want to follow? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. After all, I only wanted to know the truth.”

“......”

I said nothing. There was no point in saying something like, “What if the Emperor finds out about this?”

Besides, thinking it over again...

Isn’t it more strange that the Emperor doesn’t know about this?

Initially, I thought I could kill the Emperor. Not long ago, anyway. If necessary, I thought I could turn back time repeatedly and assassinate the Emperor to steer the story in the direction I wanted, but strangely, the longer time passed, the more it felt like the methods to kill the Emperor were fading away one by one.

It felt as if he knew everything I did...

And even if I prepared a way to ensure I could kill the Emperor, I strangely felt that the Emperor wouldn’t be present at the moment.

Was I also caught up in the Emperor's schemes?

Alice was silently watching me.

“...I understand.”

I replied to Alice. A small smile crept onto Alice's lips.

“I, I…”

Mia Crowfield turned anxiously toward her mother. Lady Crowfield was trembling, as if she might kill the two princesses standing here at any moment.

However, the knight who spoke to Lady Crowfield likely believed that it was ‘by the Emperor’s command.’ The commission must have been issued in the name of the Emperor.

In front of the imperial army, which had nearly completed its centralization and wielded immense military power, rejecting that command would have been akin to asking for death.

Of course, from a long-term perspective, handling things in such a clumsy manner would also be problematic for the royal family.

What would happen to the next Emperor after the one with such immense power was dead?

I glanced at Alice once more.

Seeing Alice’s confident smile...

Um... 

For some reason, the fleeting thought that everything would be fine irritated me.