“Know thyself, and know thy enemy, and you won’t need to worry about a hundred battles.”

  Quite frankly, that was the main guiding light to Wilhelm’s philosophy in all warfare. Whether it was on the frontlines with the Demon Horde, during a massive gamble in the center of the Imperium, or now, in the ballroom of the Grand Academy, he followed that religiously.

  [Azure Eyes] made many things possible. He knew practically everyone’s movements, intentions, and plans in the Grand Academy. Even those that his domain skill couldn’t touch—Henry and Alexa—were under heavy monitoring by Wilhelm.

  He was the Empress’ eyes, her most trusted tactician, and most effective strategist. Therefore, he left absolutely not a single thing up to chance.

  He even accounted for the fact that he’d miss a few pieces of intel, but he would receive it at the last moment from Alexa. And he did. That was why the entire poisoning plan was now foiled in advance.

  He had combat teams throughout the Grand Academy, knights, and even the Academy’s guards were under his de facto control. Even the headmaster, who still believed he had control over the halls of his domain, was nothing now.

  Wilhelm had already bribed, blackmailed, and forced countless officials inside the academy to follow his whims. They were all his goons now. And he placed them in the perfect places to respond and prevent the assassination of Alexa Theresa.

  Whether Henry tried to poison her, use an explosive in the ballroom, attack blatantly in a head-on strike, summon monsters out of nowhere, use some type of curse spell, or whatever other countless methods in his repertoire, Wilhelm was sure that he would be able to foil it.

  Well, unless luck wasn’t on his side, and luck was a factor that he simply couldn’t control. But even then, Wilhelm believed that in two hundred different scenarios, Henry would only have the chance to win one of them.

  And even if he managed to get there, Wilhelm believed that he would be able to force a stalemate of some sort. He was sure of it all. His plans and schemes were now ready.

  All that was left was to wait—and prepare for the eventuality that was most likely to happen.

  This is your true test now, Henry.

  Let’s see how it goes.

  And so Wilhelm waited and waited. He kept tabs on what was happening while waiting at the ballroom. He was a bit of a scary face with his eyepatch and demeanor, so rarely did people approach him.

  All he did was drink, listen using his [Azure Eyes], receive body signals from his scattered agents, and occasionally talk to his brother, Alfred, who was quite shifty.

  He didn’t blame him. Unlike Wilhelm, who had a bird’s-eye view of what was happening, and beyond that, Alfred was just one strong asset. He was essentially just an extra bodyguard for Alexa should Phoebe fail in her task, which was highly unlikely.

  Later on, Wilhelm was approached by the even more nervous Phoebe. She was currently wearing a white gown, resulting in practically every man staring at her in awe, while the girls and women stared at her with jealousy and ire.

  “S-sir Wilhelm,” Phoebe squeaked. “How’s—”

  “You really should just enjoy a few drinks while we wait,” Wilhelm said, smiling lightly. “Don’t worry about anything.”

  “Just do my part?”

  “Yep. Seems like you know what to do already; just keep on doing that.”

  “Hmph. I don’t feel good at all. I can’t ‘enjoy’ drinks. I’m worried about Alexa Theresa.”

  “Right. You do have a point. Hmm, try those chocolates then.”

  “O-okay.”

  And so, Wilhelm escorted Phoebe to a nearby stall that presented various chocolate pastries. The servers on the stall all smiled brightly, excitedly trying their best to entice the saintess to eat their offering.

  Which she did, shyly. Wilhelm ignored her, preferring to drink whiskey from his canteen. Damn it, his canteen was now down to a quarter of its contents; he was drinking far too much.

  He intensified his usage of [Azure Eyes], scanning the academy further, all while he walked strategically throughout the ballroom to find a refill. He emptied his canteen halfway through, when suddenly…

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  He noticed something.

  He looked around.

  Where is she?

  Elisabeth?

  A small smile began growing on his face.

  Henry?

  It seemed that there was also a growing list of contacts in his mental map that was slipping out of the Grand Academy.

  One of the noblemen around him bumped into Wilhelm.

  “Hey! Would you watch it—oh,” the man immediately spluttered upon realizing it was Wilhelm. “You’re Her Majesty’s knight. S-sorry, Sir Wilhelm!”

  “Don’t mind it,” Wilhelm laughed a bit at the young student, who was now on the verge of tears because of the terror he felt.

  Especially when Wilhelm’s voice turned icy.

  “It’s fine. Go on, I’ll overlook this.”

  You failed the test, Henry.

  A tactical retreat, I see.

  Which meant all of his plans must have worked. Enough that the bastard had no choice but to turn tail and run.

  Not even control over time will save you against a perfectly prepared trap, you rat bastard.

  He gave a signal to his men.

  Pursue and observe.

  +++

  A red flare flew up high in the sky a few blocks away from the Grand Academy, a signal given by Henry’s men. They would now retreat and execute Plan B.

  Damn it. Damn it all!

  That man, Wilhelm, was simply too difficult to crack. Even when Henry managed to kill him, the damned bastard’s little chessboard pieces all moved perfectly like clockwork to counter Henry’s assassination plans.

  It was simply impossible, not with the manpower and strength that Henry brought to the table. Indeed, sometimes, the odds would simply be so stacked against you that it would be impossible to win a battle.

  That was where Henry was now. With enough repetition, he realized this problem. Wilhelm was simply too difficult to defeat; whether it be underhanded schemes or direct battle, the damned bastard had a card lying in wait.

  It was like he was sixteen steps ahead, even if he had no control over time. It made Henry bitter. Without his cheat ability, he essentially would flounder immediately from Wilhelm’s strategic and tactical genius.

  He could still remember one of his worst loops, where Wilhelm, quite literally, blew the entire ballroom before he could even touch Alexa. He absolutely had no moral lines he wouldn’t cross;he had planned in advance to sacrifice every nobleman and civilian in the Grand Academy just to win.

  “Let go of me!” Elisabeth struggled in Henry’s grasp. He was carrying her like a pathetic sack over his shoulder. “I can’t breathe! I can’t! Ah, how dare you!? How dare you!?

  “Shut the fuck up if you don’t want to die.”

  “Unhand me at once! My father, he’ll make you regret this!”

  “You and I are on the same page now, pipsqueak.” Henry rushed through the sewers faster. “We’re criminals from now on.”

  “Damn it! Damn it! You make no sense! Why call it off? We agreed to finish this no matter what!”

  And I did just that.

  I tried.

  Again and again.

  He felt bitter, truly bitter.

  But this is Alexa Theresa’s stronghold. She cannot be defeated.

  The thought that such a little brat managed to acquire both Wilhelm and Alfred and Phoebe in her employ, all of whom essentially act as an uncrackable shield…

  It pissed Henry off.

  “From now on, all cards are off,” Henry declared. “You’re coming with me, Elisabeth. You won’t see the light out of this tunnel until I win.”

  “Y-you can’t be serious. I’m the heiress of the House of Kassel. You can’t do this to me,” Elisabeth began crying.

  You were just a tool to me, yes, but I’m not such a bastard that I won’t feel bad about this.

  Quite frankly, he hoped that even if this alliance was temporary and likely to be broken, once he took power, he could sign a truce with Elisabeth and the House of Kassel and create stability.

  Unfortunately, it came to this.

  “You have no other choice,” Henry continued. “Fight, fight, fight. That’s the only way forward, and unless you want to die, you’ll have to do this with me.”

  “Curse you! Curse you! You’re a stain on this Empire, Henry!”

  +++

  “Looks like they got away,” Wilhelm said, sighing as he looked up at the sky. “At least you’re not dead.”

  “I…”

  Alexa was slack-jawed. She was expecting to drop due to poisoning during the initiation;while speaking, she was practically bracing like a constipated person would for a worst-case scenario.

  Instead, nothing happened. She was pretty sure she drank the one laced with poison, but no, Elisabeth didn’t activate it. At all.

  It didn’t make sense!

  “They retreated? But for what reason?”

  “Because I beat ‘em, that’s why,” Wilhelm cockily answered. “Anyway, with that signal up there, it looks like we’re staring down the barrel of a hot conflict.”

  “...Are you saying?”

  “I’m moving the troops loyal to us quickly. I’m awaiting your orders about how to proceed.”

  “But, you have a plan already, right?” Alexa narrowed her eyes, staring at Wilhelm’s singular blue eye. He smirked. “I knew it.”

  “Well, I can hardly leave anything to chance. Not when it comes to you, Your Highness.”

  “I…pfft, I refuse to believe that you act like a proper knight now.”

  “Why so? You wound me. I take this job seriously.”

  “I know.”

  Alexa mumbled a tiny scoff. She was getting annoyed by all of this, but, then again, there was no reason to dump this all on Wilhelm. After all, for someone as powerful as Henry to retreat, something that Wilhelm did must have worked out well.

  “The problem about the 4th Group Army remains. We need to deal with them,” Alexa said. “I can’t let this boil over into something worse.”

  “I’m with you on that.”

  “Therefore…I…I need you to mobilize the 2nd Group Army. Try to counter Henry, or at least slow him down. But don’t try to do battle.”

  “That’s a hard thing to do, Alexa.”

  “I don’t wish for actual war. I don’t want anything like that. I just…I want you to create a standoff situation.”

  “...Hmm, a prolonged stalemate that doesn’t lead to battle?”

  “Exactly.”

  Wilhelm seemed to consider Alexa’s words seriously. Then, he placed his hands on his back, confidently smiling.

  “I can do that. But you will have to do something about the time I’ll buy.”

  “There’s no reason for Henry to fight if he knows he’ll fully lose,” Alexa said, as she felt a strange surge of confidence in her chest. “We proved that today. If we overwhelm him—there’s a chance.”