Chapter 175
The Hawks' Gov-er-nor-Gen-er-al! As-sas-si-na-tion! Plan!
Uwaaah.
"Save me!"
Pastel trembled.
To think I'd face an assassination crisis when I haven't done anything wrong! This is the worst terror of my life!
But-But.
Exercising my brilliant intellect and thinking about it carefully, I concluded that the Hawks didn't do anything, and it seems the Spy Mr. Penguin fabricated the data.
No matter how many radical remarks the people of the Hawks make, Surely not, surely not, would they try to kill the Governor-General who carries His Imperial Majesty's Sword at her waist?
I am His Imperial Majesty the Emperor's Plenipotentiary Ambassador.
I'm practically Emperor Pastel.
Long live Emperor Pastel!
May your reign be eternal!
Gasp.
Anyway, it's unlikely they really planned such a terrifyingly consequential assassination with the Church, which means the Spy Mr. Penguin is ruthlessly framing the innocent Hawks.
Uwaaah.
A Professional without blood or tears.
Pastel, who had both blood and tears, couldn't help but tremble at the killing of the innocent Hawks.
So she just trembled.
"Uwaaah! Save me!"
Shiver, shiver.
From the seat next to the table, Ellie examined the Governor-General Assassination Plan with a darkened face.
"This isn't a fake?"
The hand holding the document trembled slightly.
Even if she wasn't someone's Self-proclaimed Emperor, killing a Governor-General who had visited the Demon Realm with delegated full authority was not a matter to be taken lightly.
The Emperor's Sword is a Delegation of Authority, and killing a Plenipotentiary Ambassador is a Challenge to Imperial Authority. It wasn't exactly on the level of an Emperor Assassination Plan, but it was enough of a scratch to his pride.
It would be highly problematic even in peaceful times. It was even more so in a situation where the atmosphere was becoming ominous due to the Appearance of the Demon King (fake, but not fake).
Bluntly speaking, it was a good pretext for war.
The Emperor, who was preoccupied with the Traitor within the Empire, wouldn't make a self-destructive move like a war with the United Kingdom, but inducing a War Atmosphere was easy.
If a war crisis suddenly struck the United Kingdom, which was busy taking on debt and scraping together all its finances for national land development, the market would freeze, cash flow would freeze, and it would only be a matter of time before bankruptcies cascaded starting from somewhere.
From the Emperor's perspective, it would be a good pretext to effortlessly ruin the United Kingdom at its weakest moment with the strongest justification without even lifting a finger.
Mr. Penguin took on a dark expression.
"It is a Verified Document. When Governor-General Pastel handed it over, I didn't want to believe it either, but when I checked, it turned out to be true."
Uwaa.
I never handed it over at all, but somehow it feels like I might have.
Pastel carefully fabricated a memory.
—Gasp, Mr. Penguin! Mr. Waddle-Waddle Penguin-Penguin! This is my assassination plan! Uwaaah! Save meee!
—Oh, really?! I'll verify it!
—Instead of verifying, how about a Forced Dissolution of the Council?!
—Ah, that won't do.
Uwaaah!
Thinking about it again, I feel like I might have handed the data over to Mr. Waddle-Waddle Penguin-Penguin, or maybe not, but I also feel like it might be true!
Gasp, doesn't that mean it's practically true?
Pastel trembled and took out a white handkerchief. She began writing a letter on it with a fountain pen.
"Alcier, I finally understand how you felt when you faced an assassination crisis. Just breathing is such a terrifying thing. I don't think I can sleep alone tonight. Wouldn't I feel better if I took my pillow and went to the Demon Lord's Room?"
Oing.
Oing-oing.
Her Pink Eyes rolled for a moment.
The fountain pen scribbled quickly with a different tension than before.
"I think that's right!"
I'm a total genius!
Ellie, who had been skimming the document over and over, stole a look at the handkerchief letter, glancing sideways. Her expression became devastated.
"I'm sorry."
Ehh?
Looking back, her face was tinged with uncharacteristic guilt. The Diplomatic Issue was one thing, but since her friend was facing an Assassination Threat, she must have had complicated feelings.
Ehh.
Pastel's conscience flinched.
No, this is a fake.
Her Pink Eyes subtly glanced at her Accomplice.
Mr. Penguin wiped his face and looked gloomy.
"It's a relief that the Governor-General showed us great favor by informing us first. If this document had been handed straight to the Imperial Family, I don't even want to imagine how the situation would have turned out."
Uwaaah.
Mr. Penguin has no conscience!
The naive Princess Ellishita infiltrated the Academy with a fake identity and made friends, eventually suffering from Identity Confusion between her True Identity and fake identity, and now she's reached the point where she worries about her friend more than the national interest, and instead of fixing that, he's encouraging it!
This totally means being a wicked Spy suits Mr. Penguin perfectly!
Shock.
Shock.
However, since Pastel was also doing the exact same thing by not giving the bad-at-Acting Ellie a heads-up that her close aide Mr. Penguin was the Emperor's Spy, she just stayed quiet.
Besides, since Pastel was also the one who declared "We're friends!" to the naive girl suffering from Identity Confusion and ultimately tied her down as the Student Council Working-level Staff, she just stayed quiet.
Gasp, I feel like Governor-General Pastel's Malicious Scheme was just belatedly revealed, but it must be a misunderstanding.
Yeah, yeah!
"Indeed. If it had gone to the Imperial Family, I don't even want to imagine it."
Ellie covered her eyes with her arm and leaned back in her chair as if collapsing. Then her body tilted to the side, and she leaned weakly against Pastel's shoulder.
"Thank you. The risk must have been huge from your position."
Faint, wistful eyes looked up at her.
Pastel's conscience suddenly hurt. Her expression became awkward.
"Something like this is nothing! It's an easy task for me! Aha! Ahaha!"
Ellie shook her head. Her black hair fluttered against her shoulder.
"I know very well how difficult a choice it must have been. I can't even guess how important it is for you not to be caught at fault by the Emperor who ruined the Kraft Family."
Ellie opened and closed her mouth as if hesitating for a moment.
Then she spoke slowly.
"Since you usually act so strangely towards me in various ways, I was a little suspicious that you were doing it because you enjoyed my reactions. Based on what you often do to the Archdemon, it seems you secretly have a sadistic hobby, just like a kraft. So I even had doubts about whether this was a proper friendship..."
Gasp.
Ellie gave a faint, apologetic smile.
"I lacked faith."
Her quiet, gentle voice echoed softly.
"I guess that's a Friend Disqualification."
Pink Eyes met her gaze.
Ah, for that reason?
I thought her guilt was excessive, but it was because she, unlike the usually cold Ellie, thought she was bad for needlessly suspecting her good-natured friend.
Pastel was very happy.
"No way! Ellie has always been a special friend whose classification is managed separately! And you always will be a special friend!"
Ellie, who was carefully mulling over the words, looked up blankly.
"When you say it so openly all of a sudden, my suspicions come back to life, but that's just my overreaction, right?"
"Yeah, yeah! Of course!"
Ellie, who always kept a wall built up in her heart, had finally unlocked the padlock.
Now I can go in and out of Ellie's heart whenever I want!
But unlike the good news, things like the assassination plan were fake, so Pastel was crying on the inside.
It felt like she had obtained a super ultra awesome building, only to find out it was a 100% pure concrete building with no rebar inside.
Concrete Friend: I like earthquakes!
Earthquake Friend: I like earthquakes too!
Uwaaah!
You guys, don't do that!
Hic.
I've become a bad kid who deceives her friends.
This is the first time I've achieved the worst accomplishment in my Popular Person life...
Mr. Penguin organized the messy documents. Melissa, who had been there but was just looking at the documents with absolutely no presence, took her hands off them.
Ellie suddenly stared intently at Melissa.
Melissa looked puzzled.
"What is it?"
"You're a friend too, right?"
Perhaps caught up in the mood, Ellie brought up a sentimental question she had only been thinking about.
"Pardon?"
Melissa's head tilted.
"Given your position, you've never actually chimed in on Political Talk, even though you listen whenever you get the chance."
Oing.
Melissa rubbed her cheek in embarrassment.
"Did it feel like I was eavesdropping? I didn't realize. I'm sorry."
Her finger rested on her chin as if in thought.
"Mother told me not to add my words to things I cannot take responsibility for. The topics are a bit too heavy for me to chime in on, as I am still merely a successor."
Melissa smiled softly.
Her hand gestured to them one by one.
"Pastel is a Governor-General and Ellie is a Princess, but I am merely a successor. The weight is different."
Yeah, yeah!
"That's right, that's right! We're all friends together!"
Even if something is suspicious, you should only think about it internally and do a background check first so the other party can't respond, but seeing how she hastily mentioned her inner thoughts, Ellie's mind must be in a moist, sentimental state right now.
"Ah."
Ellie lightly bit her lip, as if she had belatedly realized her misjudgment.
Then, perhaps realizing she was still leaning on Pastel's shoulder, she flinched slightly.
Hehe.
Pink Eyes Banjjakbanjjak~.
Ellie avoided her gaze in embarrassment and straightened her body.
"Anyway, thank you for notifying us of the Hawks' irreversible judgment. This means it's okay for us to make a Preemptive Response faster than the Imperial Family can find out, right?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
If His Imperial Majesty the Emperor acted first, that would be an even bigger problem. Ellie, who must have become more rational than ever as a rebound from her sentimentality, picked up the Expected List. It was a list g the Emperor acted first, that would be an even bigger problem.
Ellie, who must have become more rational than ever as a rebound from her sentimentality, picked up the Expected List.
It was a list gathering the personnel suspected of having contacted the Church. It was mostly the Radical Faction, but perhaps to supplement objectivity, the Moderate Faction was also mixed in a little.
The Moderate Faction was just put in for show, so it could be removed from the suspects and the investigation could begin.
"What will you do?"
Thump-thump.
Pit-a-pat.
Ellie's gaze swept over the list.
After checking all the personnel, she opened her mouth.
"Execution of All."
Ehh.
Execution of All?
Everyone on the Expected List?
Ehh?
"If they were going to do it, they should have done it properly, and if they were caught, they should have run away properly. If they stood in the wrong line, they should have stood in the right one."
The document was tossed down carelessly.
"Since ancient times, incompetence has been a crime punishable by death."
Princess Ellie was ice-cold.
I thought I was in the South Pole.
A penguin was frozen solid.
Pastel's mind, which had briefly run away from home, slowly returned.
Her Pink Eyes grew round.
"Uwaaah! Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"
Is this the Demon Realm Vibe?
It's a problem if we suddenly return to the Age of Barbarism...!