The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 187: Secret Maneuverer’s Speculation

-that concludes the report. After that, I shadowed the man who fled from Vermillion until he entered a certain building, sir.

The Next Morning.

I made a big frown after receiving the report from Sebas.

What is the chivalrous thief of the Dominion doing in the Empire?

Apparently, she has been tracking the movement of the Organization.

Hm..what kind of organization is Grimoire anyway? I think that you have mentioned it before.

I dont know many details about it either. As far as I am aware, they were originally a gathering of mages who wish to study magic, sir.

Why did such a research group like that turn into a crime organization? Are they studying the forbidden arts?

That seems to be one of the reasons, sir.

Forbidden arts fall under the category of modern magic. However, their property is close to that of ancient magic. Those arts were forbidden by the sages of the past because the techniques involved are simply too dangerous.

Each nation adheres to the teaching of those sages and bans the study of forbidden arts in their country. Some people like Zandra can legally study it with permission from the country but if you are studying it without said permission you will be arrested.

That is why Zandra was supported by the mages. Although it seems that Grimoire and similar organizations didnt do the same.

They are those who wish to master the extremity of magic and no longer choose their means to do it, sir. Researching forbidden arts and collecting magic items is one thing but they are also willing to go as far as murdering people with innate magic for their research as well. They are the worst of the crime organizations led by mages, sir.

Government and adventurer guild are not doing anything about them?

They are at their root, a research organization, sir. They dont appear at the front stage that often. They are the kind of people that will lock themselves up in their room as long as they have what they want to study after all.

I see. So you are saying that we have to strike the moment they crawl out of their hole huh.

Or we can catch the people that are connected with them. In that sense, it is reasonable that they chose the Dominion as their base of operation, sir. Corruption is rampant among their nobles and it is exactly because of that the adventurers have a hard time against them.

As long as they dont bother the Empire then I couldnt care less about them butthe problem now is that they are trying to start something in the Empire. Even if they dont have any plan to harm the Saint we cant leave them alone. Well,. the user of one of the four sacred treasures like the Saint would serve as an excellent subject of study for them huh.

Its not impossible to think that she would be more vulnerable inside the Empire rather than inside the Kingdom.

The Kingdoms security details for the Saint is strict. However, it is not like the protection the Empire is giving her is weak.

They should be able to predict that the Imperial Knights would be guarding her but they still decided to aim for her nonetheless?

If it is me, I wouldnt do it. If I am aiming for her life then I would choose the moment where she is on the move, sir.

But aiming to do something to the Saint while she is riding her griffon would be difficult.

Yes. it would be impossible without any sort of special trick, sir. However,..if Arnold-sama were to conduct such a plan, how would you do it?

If its me huh..

I think about Sebass question for a moment.

I am not thinking about how to use ancient magic to break through her defense. After all, that was not Sebas was asking.

He was asking how Arnold would do it, not Silver.

No matter how troublesome a crime organization is, it would be difficult for them to get past someone strong like Elna. In that case, they would need to gather up a moderate amount of force.

Hm, that would be impossible. So.if its me I would create a hole in her security. An inside job.

In other words, they would need to make a collaborator, correct?

Thats right. It may be impossible from the outside but an inside job is another thing entirely. If they look at it from that point of view then this country is perfect. We are in the middle of the Succession War. There are many separate factions in our country right now. Depending on the conditions, some may choose to cooperate with them. Judging from what happened so far that is.

If the Saint died in the Empire, it will cause a liability issue.

If that is the case, the Empire will be at a disadvantage. Normally, no one in their right mind would do that.

However, it is better to drop that mindset.

Normally, thinking that someone from the Empire is considering assassinating the Saint would be unrealistic..but it has become a little more plausible now.

Do you think that the Saint herself also noticed? If that is not the case then she wouldnt use the word until the end after all.

She said that she was only talking to herself, it means that she thinks of it as her personal matter. I know her personality well. She will not change her mind. She is super stubborn after all. If she didnt want to talk then that means she doesnt want to bother me. If its like that then it would be useless for me to ask her myself. If someone can do it then it would be Leobut I dont think that things would go well unless I explain the situation to him.

So we have no choice but to put our hope on Leonard-samas skill. Well, if its him then dont you think that it would be fine?

If its the usual Leo then he might be able to naturally pull it off butits her we are talking about after all. Well, I guess I will have to let him do his best then.

This is not a problem that can be solved with a secret maneuver alone.

He must get through it with his own power.

I will tag along with you tonight. I am interested in that masked thief.

Are you sure, sir? Your appearance will be exposed.

Its not strange for a prince to move for the Empire right?

That is certainly true but will it not affect your reputation as the Dull Prince?

She came from another country. Moreover, she is a shady person hiding her identity under a mask. Theres no problem for me to show her my serious side right?

I feel that this will come back to bite you later, well, I understand. Am I correct to assume that you will be going all out, sir?

Thats right. Father said that the succession war is on hold but the opponent this time is a crime organization so that shouldnt be a problem. In the end, even if the candidates are involved, this will be a battle to protect the Empire. He should be able to let me off.

That is true. But what would you do if Grimoire is truly aiming for Saint-sama, sir? Wont this prove to be a bad development for us in case the threat to Saint-samas life can not be averted?

I think about Sebass words for a while.

Certainly, that will be most troublesome. If that is the case then we can not leave it alone. However, if the two are not connected, both problems can not be solved.

I will have to divide our force huh.

Using the force on Leos side, they should be able to strengthen the protection around the Saint.

However..

Since the Imperial Knights are already escorting her, a certain degree of protection is already guaranteed. If they are trying to do something from the inside then.adding one or two more guards would not be able to prevent that. Lets leave that to Leo as well.

Will that be all right? Being so vague like that.

We have no hand left to play. And Leo will be able to pull it off somehow. A large-scale assassination plan involving a large crime organization, not to mention, the possibility of a traitor inside the Kingdoms ranks. Hes my twin brother, Im sure that he already felt that something was off about her.

We twins are like each others alter ego.

There may be a difference in our ability, there may be a difference in our personality.

However, there are some things that we have in common that are unrelated to those things.

Just as how I have a bad feeling about Leticias words, Leo must have felt that something was off about her behavior as well.

This is our strength.

We know each other well.

There is no need for us to exchange words.

I will pursue the crime organization and Leo will remain at the Saints side. Lets go with that.

Understood, sir. Do you want Sieg-dono to help us out again?

No, I will recruit that masked thief. I cant have Sieg leave Christas side after all.

Saying so, I smile.

Grimoire might be conducting a secret maneuver but I will teach them that its not just them that are capable of lurking in the shadow.