At Alicia’s royal residence,

  a faction gathering hosted by the Ninth Princess was underway that day.

  "Truly impressive. Alicia, you used to be forced to attend others’ parties, but now you’re hosting your own grand gathering."

  Looking out at the sea of nobles below, Hulim sighed in admiration.

  "Haha, such praise makes me a little embarrassed. To be honest, I still don’t quite get used to handling scenes like this."

  "But you’ve pulled it off, haven’t you?"

  "Uh, I suppose I have."

  "Mm, amazing. Alicia’s such a mature adult now~!"

  Hulim reached out and ruffled Alicia’s hair.

  "Hulim...... I’m already fourteen. I won’t be far from coming of age."

  "Ah, that’s right."

  Come to think of it, she’d be turning fourteen soon too......

  "By the way, did we get any results on that matter from before?"

  "Yes, we did."

  Alicia nodded, but there was no trace of relief on her face—no sign that the problem had been resolved.

  "?"

  "Did something go wrong?"

  "I’m not sure if I should call it a problem...... Anyway, after digging deeper into that noble, we did confirm that while he’s ostensibly connected to Third Brother, he’s actually had unexplained financial transactions with certain members of Crown Prince Drehack’s faction."

  Hulim was slightly surprised. They’d actually found something?

  "If only I’d uncovered this, it could be dismissed as luck. But Fourth Sister found it too......"

  "......"

  Hulim fell silent.

  "This complicates things."

  "It does......"

  Alicia replied.

  Just then,

  "Hulim! Alicia! This cake is so good! I’ve never had anything like it before! You guys have to try some too!"

  Miko walked over holding a plate of pastries, her cheeks stuffed full with a piece she was already eating.

  "Thanks, Miko."

  Hulim picked up a piece of cake and took a bite.

  It really was delicious!

  As expected of a pastry crafted by the imperial palace’s chefs!

  "By the way, what were you two talking about just now? Oh, if it’s something complicated, don’t bother explaining it to me!"

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  "......"

  After indulging in the sweet treat, Hulim felt her mind clear a little.

  Alright, back to the topic at hand.

  First off, both Alicia’s and Fourth Princess Felena’s factions had initially been targeted by attacks seemingly orchestrated by Third Prince Theodore—but that scenario had never made sense. So both sides had dug deeper into the matter, and both had uncovered evidence pointing to Crown Prince Drehack as the true culprit.

  But Drehack was no fool. If only one side had found the evidence, it could be written off as a coincidence. But for both sides to find it? That was definitely intentional.

  It felt as if someone had deliberately planted the clues to point the finger at the Crown Prince.

  So who exactly was this someone?

  Could it be Third Prince Theodore? But that would just circle back to the original question—why would the weakest heir recklessly stir up conflict in the first place?

  Then again, could this all be an elaborate ruse staged by the Crown Prince himself, designed to muddy the waters?

  It was possible.

  But that raised another fatal problem......

  In the end, the investigation had led them into a complete dead end.

  Was Third Prince Theodore or Crown Prince Drehack the true instigator of this conflict? It no longer seemed like a question of uncovering the truth—it had become a psychological game.

  The real mastermind was gambling.

  Gambling that he would be the one to come out on top in this wager.

  Hulim gazed out at the gathering below, and the answer clicked into place.

  "Alicia...... So this is why you’re hosting this gathering?"

  Alicia smiled and nodded.

  "That’s right."

  "Fourth Princess Felena will probably host a similar gathering too, won’t she?"

  "She definitely will."

  The reason Hulim and Alicia were so certain?

  This gathering was a pre-war rally—held by the faction before declaring war......

  ......

  At Fourth Princess Felena’s royal residence,

  a gathering much like Alicia’s was also taking place.

  "Your Highness Felena, there are still some doubts surrounding this matter. Shouldn’t we proceed with more caution?"

  A trusted mage advisor urged.

  "Why are you suddenly spouting all this nonsense?! There’s no question that this was all Drehack’s doing!"

  He’s still your older brother, you know......

  The advisor silently sighed, then said:

  "Your Highness, I’m worried that by acting now, we’ll be playing right into the hands of whoever’s really pulling the strings behind this conspiracy."

  "Conspiracies, conspiracies—stop overcomplicating things! This was definitely Drehack’s doing! End of story!"

  "......"

  How is this definite at all?!?

  "Oh, come off it! Why are you being such a stick-in-the-mud?! Do you really think I don’t realize there’s something fishy going on here?"

  "Huh? A stick-in-the-mud? I......"

  The advisor was left tongue-tied, suddenly feeling drained.

  "If you know there’s something off about this, then why are you still......"

  "Because——"

  Felena stood up, her voice ringing out across the hall with unshakable authority:

  "Anyone who dares to lay a hand on my people must pay the price! Listen up, all of you——! No one gets to bully my people except me!!! Do you understand me!!?"

  "......"

  The hall fell silent for a heartbeat, then erupted into thunderous cheers.

  "Yes, Your Highness Felena!!!"

  "Listen carefully! Starting tomorrow, we launch our counterattack against my dear older brother, Crown Prince Drehack! Is that clear to all of you!!?"

  "Yes——!!!"

  The room roared with approval once more.

  Ah——!!!

  The mage advisor stared in stunned disbelief.

  What in the world had she done?!?

  She was definitely going to be summoned to the Emperor’s presence tomorrow and chewed out within an inch of her life!

  "Oh, what’s with that look on your face? You look like you’ve been poisoned."

  "Your Highness...... Why do you think?"

  The advisor replied with a long-suffering tone.

  "Relax! I’m not just acting on impulse here. If I’m not mistaken, I won’t be fighting this battle alone this time. I’m sure Ninth Sister will follow suit......"

  The advisor froze, staring at Felena in astonishment.

  "I’m genuinely surprised...... Your Highness, I never thought you’d see it this way. I was afraid you were just rushing headfirst into things like you always do."

  "Huh? What are you rambling about? When have I ever acted impulsively?"

  "......"

  The advisor smiled helplessly.

  For all her flaws and quirks, this was exactly why they were willing to follow her.

  ......

  Back at Alicia’s royal residence,

  "The mastermind is Third Prince Theodore."

  "That’s right."

  Alicia nodded.

  "Huh? Wait, what?! Why is it Third Prince Theodore?"

  Miko, who’d been enjoying her pastries, perked up at their cryptic conversation, her head filled with question marks.

  "The answer’s simple," Hulim explained. "Because whoever wins this gamble is the true instigator—and Third Prince Theodore has won the bet."

  Most importantly, even now that they knew the truth, the fact remained that Alicia and Felena would still join forces to take on Drehack.