In the Imperial Palace, somewhere deep inside the grand structure, there was a room where Iris el Devhart, the only princess in the Empire, normally lived.
In the middle of a splendid room, boasting a dignity and grandeur that was not lacking at all for a direct member of the imperial family, Iris el Devhart was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed.
“…..”
Her eyes were closed, but she was not sleeping. She had something to think about. Or, to be more precise, there was something she had to think about. She was thinking over and over again. Because she had to act carefully. No matter how careful she was, it wasn’t enough.
In order to perfectly achieve what she set out to do, everything had to be flawless. She was given only one chance. When the prey didn’t notice anything and was off guard, it had to be done perfectly. Failure was not tolerated.
Seruk!
It was then.
The air flow in the room changed instantly. Even though there were no knocks or signs of presence, Iris realized that a guest had arrived at her room. However, it wasn’t surprising. Because it was none other than Iris herself who ordered him to come here secretly without anyone being aware of his whereabouts.
“…is it Kris?”
“…yes, Princess. As you commanded, we have been investigating the activities of Aria Thier, Kyrie el Denaris, and Bianca del Castana over the past two months.”
Saying that, Kris handed over several documents to Iris.
Iris murmured in surprise as she took the documents from Kris’s hand.
“Hmm, you were earlier than expected? I thought it would take at least a week.”
She knew that Kris’s ability was exceptional, but she didn’t think that he would find out their whereabouts in only three days.
“Those three were also on the main monitoring target in the Ministry of Information. Thanks to that, it was an easy task just to collect the accumulated data.”
“Oh, were they included in the Empire’s main surveillance target?”
Heck, there was no need to discuss 10 years later. Even at this point in time, all of them were women with extraordinary powers. The intelligence department, suffering from paranoia of having to gather all the information of the empire, must have been paying attention to them.
“…the trail?”
“I used the secret route, so no one will be able to find out. As long as His Majesty doesn’t directly check it, I’m confident that it’s safe.”
“Good work, Kris.”
Iris nodded, very satisfied with Kris’s clean job.
“It is my duty.”
Even under Iris’s congratulations, Kris only lowered his head as if he was happy, but did not show any sign of great joy. He was the sword of the princess. It was only natural for him to do what he was told to do. The princess’s congratulations seemed undeserved to him.
“Hmm…”
Iris flipped through the first page of the document. The first page contained a record of the last two months of the world tree’s guardian, Kyrie el Denaris.
“…during the past two months, Kyrie el Denaris hasn’t left the World Tree even once?”
“Yes. According to the eyewitness accounts of merchants who are allowed to interact with the elves, she is faithfully fulfilling her role as a guardian. In fact, even the intelligence department has not confirmed that the surveillance target came from the territory of the elves.”
“That’s true. She a woman who likes to hide. Well, that’s what I like, though.”
Iris looked at Kyrie’s whereabouts and involuntarily smiled bitterly. She thought that she herself was not very flexible, but Kyrie seemed to be a bit more inflexible than she was.
‘Is it because she has lived so long that she can’t change her way of life now, or is she simply ignoring what state she is in? If that isn’t—’
“Well, I guess I won’t have to worry about that woman for a while.”
Iris shook her head and turned the paper over. The person written on the next page contained enough effect to make Iris’s mood drop in an instant.
“Ariel Thiers.”
Iris frowned as she recalled the woman’s face. Iris didn’t like her at all. No, to be precise, she didn’t like any of the girls in the expedition, but Ariel Thiers was uniquely unlikable.
There was no reason. She was a harmless woman who always smiled and never quarreled with others, but for some reason, Iris didn’t like her. Maybe that was because of that enigmatic relaxed expression she always had on her face.
It was purely her speculation, but the girl Ariel seemed to look down on the others in the expedition as below her.
‘Really, she was a bad b!tch.’ Iris thought to herself, ‘To think such a woman would be called a ‘Saintess’, it’s no different from a bad joke.’
Iris swallowed the rising displeasure and calmly read the words written in the document.
“…about two months ago, she acted as if she had suddenly changed?”
“Yes. It is said that from one day on, she showed signs of not being able to control her emotions. And after about a week of praying alone, refusing contact with others, she suddenly strongly hoped to be dispatched to a temple in the capital.”
“…hmm”
Indeed, it was no coincidence that they met at the banquet hall. The girl must have attended the banquet with a clear purpose. The purpose was so blatant that it only made Iris laugh.
‘Yeah, she must’ve wanted to get a head start.’
Competition must be fierce to increase the value of the product at stake. Stealing prey by overtaking ignorant vultures was a despicable act on par with hyenas. It was neither elegant nor classy.
But…
Destroy everything that stands in your way from the front and win the victory with confidence—that was the philosophy of a woman named Iris el Devhart.
However, at the same time, it was only up to that point.
‘Hehh…really.’
It was funny.
‘So she came up with a plan to meet him face-to-face at the banquet hall after struggling for days and days? It was too cute a trick to be called a ruse devised by the sinister woman. Or should I say she was arrogant?’
The race hadn’t even started yet, but Ariel, who was already pretending to be the winner, was considered ridiculous.
Iris smiled involuntarily and calmed her mind.
One woman didn’t even make it to the starting line, and the other woman was below expectations. It seemed to her that a fierce battle full of urgency wouldn’t happen.
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