A member of the Imperial Diet silently talked to another representative, both of them discussing the topic of another no-confidence vote in hushed tones outside the Diet's chambers.

  It was between a ‘reformist’ member of the Imperial Diet, a merchant hailing from one of the districts of Perlenstadt, and a member of the ‘old guard’, a nobleman from the provinces.

  The reformist representative slipped to the old guard representative a simple white envelope as their discussion ended.

  The old guard representative took a glance at its contents—it was a simple check that detailed a substantial amount of money.

  While the nobleman was indeed a noble, he wasn’t that rich. The merchant in front of him was most likely richer, even.

  So the prospect of money made the man salivate.

  The reformist representative laughed a bit, before pulling the old guard representative to another corner, whispering to him the possibility of a new position in the ‘next standing committee’ should he be able to recruit more votes to oust Ludwig.

  The old guard representative cringed a bit, but otherwise did not make any protest. The two soon parted ways.

  In a few hours, the Imperial Diet’s business for the day was adjourned after a member of the reformist faction called into motion a censure of Ludwig’s regency.

  While the censure meant nothing even if it passed, a striking result emerged that nearly shocked the chamber to the core.

  Two hundred representatives of the Imperial Diet approved the censure, just shy of eleven votes for a simple majority.

  Considering that a no-confidence vote was brought just a few weeks earlier, it wasn’t allowed for another three months.

  Regardless, those who had shifting loyalties saw the winds truly changing. It was, most likely, just a matter of time before the reformists could gain enough defections to oust Ludwig and the old guard.

  +++

  This is so expensive!!

  Alexa racked her brains as she looked at the costs that Wilhelm was spending on her plan. The Imperial Family’s coffers weren't exactly unlimited.

  But now, she was spending at least a good ten percent of it just to bring in enough representatives on her side.

  “This kind of money would have been enough to feed hundreds of thousands of people,” Alexa said, horrified by the scale.

  Not to mention, Wilhelm told her that he wasn’t just using direct money injections from the Imperial Family to ‘persuade’ people.

  He was also apparently ordering the representatives he bought and the agents he sent to the diet to sweeten every deal by offering appointments, new lucrative positions, and cuts to ‘future projects’.

  “I didn’t imagine Wilhelm is a red-blooded crook too,” Alexa deflated. “It’s like there’s no tactic he wouldn’t do.”

  Well, what could Alexa expect? He was the kind of man who was willing to sacrifice an entire city, alongside Alexa and Phoebe, just for a gamble to save all of mankind.

  Of course, the bastard was making a massive gamble again this time. All while Alexa railed and criticized Ludwig for his crooked behavior, in the rear, Wilhelm was doing the same.

  She remembered Wilhelm’s conspiratorial tone earlier.

  “It shouldn’t be easy to track it to you too.”

  Indeed, the Imperial Family was officially only sending its money straight into ‘churches’ or ‘charity’, but in reality, it was being siphoned straight into the pockets of Wilhelm’s agents.

  Then, it would be moved into the pockets of the representatives they were buying. All in all, not only was it shady, it had the air of a backdoor conspiracy.

  Alexa wasn’t a fan of it. She proposed it, but this was truly disgusting business. It felt beyond slimy that she was being a hypocrite to her subjects.

  But, as Wilhelm said, there weren't a lot of options. It was either this or they would have to directly confront the Regency Council in the field of battle.

  If corruption were what was going to reduce bloodshed, then Alexa would choose it. There was no point in being morally superior if her subjects died en masse in a power struggle.

  Done with checking the paperwork for the morning, she burned them with a spell one by one, before proceeding out of her office and intercepting Adele and Phoebe.

  They went straight into the day’s classes. She’d have to meet the student council too later, because a festival was soon to happen in the Grand Academy.

  And that meant, she’d have to meet the Vice President again, Elisabeth von Kassel.

  +++

  The Founding Day Festival, a special day of festivities in the Grand Academy, commemorating its founding hundreds of years ago, was soon to commence.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Elisabeth only had three weeks before that. As Vice President of the Student Council, one of the organizations most directly involved in the upcoming occasion, she was tasked with coordinating the various clubs in the academy.

  That alone placed a heavy burden on her day in and day out. She had to talk, negotiate, and oversee the arrangements between the clubs, all of whom were vying to secure either funding or space for the festival.

  Most of all, she had to begin planning and executing Henry’s plan for the occasion. She needed to find a way to poison Alexa Theresa.

  I have no choice.

  That was what kept playing again and again in Elisabeth’s mind. She had received news earlier that a censure motion against her father had passed with two hundred votes in the Imperial Diet.

  It is likely that within three months, someone from the reformist faction of the Imperial Diet will push a motion for a vote of no confidence.

  They would debate it, then they would vote for it. It was extremely likely for them to vote in an overwhelming majority to oust her father.

  She’d investigated her classmates and peers who had relatives in the field about it. Many of them weren’t exactly that interested in anything outside of cultivating their magic, keeping up with their lessons, and whatever else they did in the academy.

  She’d received snippets and clues from them, and the news wasn’t looking good. Unfortunately for her father, a lot of his allies were now being swayed to vote against Ludwig.

  “And it’s all because of that girl,” Elisabeth couldn’t hold off a huff as she walked through the hallways with a book in her hand.

  If she’s gone, all of our problems will end.

  She has already gathered enough allies

  No matter what happened, something had to be done. Even if she had to make a deal with the devil, she did it, just for her house and her father.

  Should things go perfectly, Alexa Theresa’s death would allow her father to consolidate power, and declare himself Emperor.

  Elisabeth was sure that she would be duly rewarded for that kind of service. While her father wasn’t the kindest person outside of their family, he was fiercely protective of Elisabeth.

  A little gamble, and our future should be secured.

  She soon reached the office used by Henry, the Defense Forces instructor she was collaborating with. With a knock, she was allowed inside immediately, then she dropped the book on his desk.

  “Here it is,” Elisabeth coldly said. “That details the setup of the event. It’s preliminary though, and subject to change.”

  “Wonderful,” a smile appeared on the instructor’s lips as he opened the book and sifted through its pages. “And so fascinating. Especially the schedules of the events. I see that Her Highness will conduct a speech at start of the evening ball?”

  “And she will be drinking wine to end it,” Elisabeth said. “As is customary.”

  “That will certainly give us a good show.”

  Elisabeth studied Henry. This man was extremely elusive, hard to understand. Her father kept most information about himself to a minimum, except for warning Elisabeth to avoid him.

  Most likely, Ludwig knew of Elisabeth’s tendencies. If she knew more about him, she’d try to manipulate him into collaborating with him.

  But, I’m sorry Father. Whether I have enough or limited information, I will still make a deal with the devil.

  Because she knew Alexa, Phoebe, and the Eisen brothers were all wary of Henry. Not to mention, Henry considered them an enemy, and Elisabeth researched his combat records.

  While he was nowhere near Wilhelm in terms of victories in major battles, he had killed every opponent he faced in the war up north.

  And that, father, is exactly the man I will need to eliminate Her Highness from here.

  Diplomacy already failed. I have to make do with the best that I have.

  Still…

  She couldn’t trust Henry. They were only in an alliance of convenience. She expected him to backstab her at any time, and for her to backstab him at any time.

  In fact, it was even her plan. Once Alexa was dead, she was planning to pin it on Henry.

  “Make sure that it’s a fast-acting poison,” Henry instructed, as he closed the book. “I’ll be making arrangements with my men. They’ll make sure that the tracks of you and your friends are well-covered.”

  “I see…”

  I certainly can’t trust him with this. I need to find out more about his men in the Grand Academy.

  She smiled brightly.

  “Let’s do our best, Sir Henry. I hope that once this is all over, we’ll continue to cooperate well.”

  “You certainly will make a fine lady one day,” Henry smiled too. “Maybe even a major figure in the Empire’s government. Of course, I wish the same.”

  And, as their meeting ended, he gave one last remark.

  “It’s good that we have a common understanding, Lady Elisabeth.”

  +++

  And so, Alexa’s copy of the Iron Saintess novel was finally updated.

  It now contained the details of the upcoming festival.

  It was now lunch time, so she decided to return to her room to give the book one last check before she met the Vice President of the Student Council later.

  It definitely paid off.

  So she finally fully gave up on diplomacy.

  Alexa remembered that day, with the tea party with Elisabeth.

  While she certainly didn’t invite Alexa into that party with good intentions, Alexa still felt that Elisabeth somewhat hoped that the conflict between Alexa and Ludwig would end.

  It didn’t. Wilhelm insisted on doubling down, and Alexa agreed, because it was Wilhelm’s ruthless strategies so far that had managed to keep her in the lead in this power struggle.

  But now, she’d have to face the consequences of that. A peer of hers, and a fellow student of the Grand Academy, was now Alexa’s mortal enemy.

  I do not intend to die.

  There was very little chance that Alexa would die. The book assumed after all that Alexa wouldn’t give Phoebe advance warning. No matter which poison Elisabeth placed on Alexa’s drink, Phoebe, if close by, would be able to heal her instantaneously.

  Hell, she could even go to Wilhelm and prepare a healing glyph made using the blood of the Sin Archdemon of Sloth. She remembered that he knew healing glyph designs that would activate should its user’s health suddenly decline.

  That would have nearly the same effect as having Phoebe close by, and Elisabeth wouldn’t have a chance to take account of this.

  The true problem lies in the aftermath.

  Alexa furrowed her brows. Could she perhaps use this to finally corner Henry?

  He definitely was using Elisabeth as a proxy after all.

  But how would she do it?

  She needed to make a plan for this one soon.