Volume 4, Chapter 77 – A Strategy Against The Sovereign

“Welcome back, Your Highness the Eldest Princess, Your Highness Liti.”

Seeing Fia and Liti arrive at the door, Colita, her petite frame adorned with a side ponytail of shoulder-length golden hair, immediately bowed in salute. Then her eyes met Erin Slate’s—in that instant, Fia seemed to see sparks fly in the air—before her gaze returned to Fia.

“Captain of the Guard, Erin Slate, this is…”

“My Father has asked her to protect my safety,” Fia said, waving a hand. “Have Mizuki’s things been moved over?”

“They have all been moved. The Maiden has very few personal belongings, so the servants in the palace finished in just an hour or two. There is just one problem at the moment. Do we need to absorb her maids into the palace as well? The Maiden seems embarrassed that she has to dismiss those two maids.”

“It’s fine as long as you think it’s alright, Colita.”

Fia remembered Anastasia mentioning that as the number of people living in the palace increased, the original number of maids was already stretched thin.

Besides Anastasia and Colita, the other maids in the princess’s palace had clearly defined roles. Those who cleaned the rooms and washed the clothes were in one category, those who served the princess’s daily needs were in another, and there were also maids who managed the other maids and those who trimmed the flowers and plants. Unless it was a special situation, the maids could not overstep their bounds and do others’ work.

Originally, only Fia was in the palace. Even though it was frighteningly large, over thirty maids were more than enough. But now, not only had Milu and Liti been added, but also Claire and Mizuki. Even if these four didn’t need four people to help them get up like Fia did, the maids’ workload would increase greatly.

Therefore, it was necessary to expand the number of maids. With Colita’s personality, she would probably take this opportunity to insert those idle people from the organization. If the number was still not enough, she would go and ask Friede and Lianne if they could send over those apprentice witches who were unwilling to participate in combat. Although the work in the palace was tedious and repetitive, both the working environment and the salary were quite considerable, and it also included food and lodging. Even the maid uniforms were provided by the royal family. From a purely money-making perspective, it was definitely a well-paid job that one couldn’t find even with a lantern. By helping in her own palace, she could also ensure that they would not be bullied by the nobles and ministers outside.

She had been busy with all sorts of things recently and hadn’t been to the Witch Sanctuary’s farm for a long time. She wondered how things were there.

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At this thought, Fia asked.

“How are things at the Witch Sanctuary?”

“Everything is on track. Their identities have not been exposed, and with the gem coins you provided, the originally complicated work has become exceptionally simple. They have disguised themselves as a merchant guild that plans to set up a base in Blossom. A few days ago, their leader told me that Byrne City has already sent out the first batch of witches, and they will be arriving in Blossom before long.”

“As long as it’s on track, that’s good. Send some people to meet them, so they don’t run into any unpleasantness on the road.”

“You need not worry. I have already sent people to meet them in advance.”

As expected of the princess’s intelligence officer, she did her best without needing to be reminded. Fia praised her internally. She smiled and gave a light wave to the long-gowned maid.

“Let’s go in. It’s too cold outside.”

“Yes.”

Colita gave Fia a slight nod in salute. However, just as Fia and she passed each other, Colita suddenly and quietly tugged on the corner of her dress. This made Fia half a step slower than Liti, causing the latter, who had started walking at the same time, to enter the main gate first.

“Sister?”

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Liti naturally turned to look at Fia, who had suddenly stopped. Fia, in turn, gave Erin Slate a look, signaling her to go in with Liti first. Colita surely had something important to say to her that Liti couldn’t hear. It was best to send her away first.

Understanding, Erin Slate quickly found an excuse and led Liti into the palace, leaving only the two of them in place. Almost instantly, the maid’s elegance that had surrounded Colita vanished, replaced by a coldness and decisiveness. Her cold, deep green eyes, in particular, sent a chill down one’s spine.

“Lord Thanatos, the race of the demon who attacked you last night has been confirmed. It is a dragon-type great demon under the command of The Sovereign. She may have been trying to monitor or assassinate you. During your time in the Milcandis Holy Kingdom, The Sovereign has been active in various parts of Silvar. It’s just that the intelligence we’ve gathered recently has become less and less. I think they have already achieved their goal and are preparing to leave Silvar. In addition, I have also discovered a suspicious matter.”

No wonder she had to send Liti away. So she wanted to talk about these things.

Fia put on a solemn expression befitting Thanatos.

“Speak. What is it.”

“After Aldrich’s death, I have been investigating whether there was a connection between him and The Sovereign. This was originally just a guess of mine, but as the investigation deepened, I gradually discovered that this guess was becoming a reality. First of all, on the day of the coup, Aldrich and his confidant, Herian, broke into the Royal Castle together. However, when the bodies were counted later, there was no mention of Herian’s body in the report, nor did we find any of his related belongings. He disappeared as if he had evaporated. I suspect that he is not as simple as he appears on the surface.”

“Secondly, the reason Aldrich’s men were able to use magic in the Royal Castle was because they had obtained a magic item called the ‘Domination Amulet,’ and this amulet was obtained through Herian. I do not believe that an ordinary person can create a magic item that can crack the [Citadel of Silence] barrier. Assuming that Herian was an undercover agent of the Darkborn planted by Aldrich’s side, with the purpose of inciting him to a coup and tripping you up, then everything would be logical, including Greyan’s death. It was all to drag you into the various complicated affairs of the Royal Castle, leaving you no time to deal with The Sovereign’s revival ceremony. As a result, they succeeded.”

Fia had learned a lot about The Sovereign’s revival ceremony from the report submitted by Erin Slate. In the past, the princess had traveled to various places with Erin Slate and the others to stop his revival. Take the demon Balor she had met in the Witch Hall for example. The reason he had recognized her was because the princess had appeared to stop his revival ceremony, which was why the two had met once.

It was just that since a few years ago, the princess had gradually reduced the number of times she had stopped his revival. Erin Slate did not know the reason for this. Even when she had boldly asked, the princess had not given an answer, but only had a look of a frown and deep thought, as if she were struggling with a profound problem. Sometimes, Erin Slate could even hear whispers like “it’s too late.”

If, as Colita said, Prince Schain’s confidant, Herian, was the one who had killed Greyan, then she might have indeed missed him. When she had used [See Through] to screen the suspects, she had only checked the people within the Royal Castle. The workload and time did not allow her to check the noble district. And Schain had always lived in the noble district, and his confidant had almost never set foot in the Royal Castle, which was how he had managed to evade her screening.

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Colita looked at Fia, her eyes full of inquiry.

“Shall we continue to track down Herian’s whereabouts?”

Fia thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“No need. Since he is likely a member of the Darkborn, and now that their pawn, Prince Schain, has been abandoned by them, it is impossible for them to show their hand again. To continue to track them down will only be a fruitless effort. For now, let’s focus on searching for Clark. As for investigating the whereabouts of The Sovereign, we can relax the intensity a little. The Darkborn last night was at least an Eighth-Rank practitioner. To investigate too deeply, if we are discovered by them, our own people will be harmed. I am no longer the me of the past. You no longer need to put yourselves in danger as you did before.”

“But what if The Sovereign grows stronger…”

“A tall tree attracts the wind. Once they have grown stronger, they will no longer be able to hide themselves so easily. You only have one life. I wish to see you alive and whole, not for you to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good. I will eliminate The Sovereign sooner or later. Do not worry too much.”

At this, Fia glanced quietly at Colita. Her brow was tightly furrowed, as if she were struggling with something.

Colita must be confused by the sudden change in their course of action. But what she had said was indeed her inner thoughts. She was no longer the Seventh-Rank princess of the past. Now, with just a spell like [Thunder Spear], she could make an Eighth-Rank demon retreat in defeat, not to mention that she still had [Mind Blast], [Hellfire], and other magic from the Human Alliance that she had not used.

Of course, arrogance leads to destruction. It was a foolish thought to arbitrarily think that she could easily defeat existences like The Sovereign and Absolute Evil. But to be overly cautious and humble would also cause her to suffer unnecessary losses.

To have them investigate the Darkborn alone was to have them dance on the tip of a knife. They were at risk of being discovered and isolated at any time. In the past, the princess had to obtain enough intelligence to gain the upper hand because she was not strong enough herself. Now that she was terrifyingly strong, the priority of intelligence could be slightly lowered. She just needed to have them adopt a conservative strategy of traveling in groups and retreating when they encountered danger. Most of them had already died once; there was no need to pay with their lives again.

Even if saying so would confuse them, if, because of worrying about this and that, someone ended up dying because of her indecision, it would all be for naught.

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Fia puffed out her chest, a look of everything being under control on her face.

“Since The Sovereign has targeted me, he will surely stand before me one day. Work hard to strengthen your own power, and then help me in the final battle, so that I do not have to fight alone. This is what you should be doing now. I will also emphasize these words to Erin Slate. Do you understand?”

“Mmm…” A hint of wavering appeared in Colita’s deep green eyes. She bit her lip and lowered her head. “…Yes.”

“As long as you understand. You are dismissed.”

Waving her hand lightly, Fia walked into the palace alone, leaving only Colita staring at her departing back.

“I have to tell Erin Slate… so she’s not saying we’re useless, is she? But if we are to aim for Lord Thanatos’s strength, we can’t possibly catch up even if we spend our entire lives. Her thoughts are as difficult to understand as ever… Do I have to ask Erin Slate to understand her true meaning? Tsk.”

If Erin Slate hadn’t been by her side earlier than her, the person in her position should have been her. Colita clicked her tongue in frustration. To have to ask Erin Slate for advice on something other than work, especially a question like what Lord Thanatos was thinking, would make her unable to hold her head up. It would make her seem as if she didn’t understand her as well as Erin Slate, and then she would be laughed at, covering her mouth and saying, “Colita is nothing special after all.”

Dammit.

I’ll have Loca ask Erin Slate for me instead.

With such thoughts, Colita patted the snowflakes from her golden hair and maid’s dress, squeezed out a gentle smile befitting a maid, and stepped into the palace with elegant steps.