The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 127
EP.127 Revenge (3)
“Yes, I called you my ‘friend’ a moment ago.”
Alice’s tone turned sharp as she addressed Mia Crowfield, who remained frozen, her mouth slightly agape, unable to form a proper response.
“Or… do you not consider me your friend?”
“Uh, no, I mean, that’s not what I—”
Watching Mia stumble over her words, Alice lifted the teacup still in her hand and gave it a slight shake.
“At the very least, your hesitation in pointing out something about this teacup suggests that, unlike your mother, you don’t see me as purely a target for revenge. Or perhaps your sense of friendship just slightly outweighs your desire for vengeance.”
Mia clamped her mouth shut at those words. However, she failed to maintain a convincing poker face—her lips quivered, her eyes darted about nervously, and her entire face flushed a vivid, carrot-like red.
“Let’s talk. While the main reason I came here today was, of course, because of Sylvia… this matter also concerns you—or rather, your family.”
I couldn’t help but stare at Alice.
A matter related to me?
Had Alice uncovered the truth about my past?
…Thinking about it again, it wasn’t impossible for her to have done so. If Alice decided to dig into my background, there was little she couldn’t unearth. Though few people could access that information directly, she had connections to the emperor’s children, Bella and Jayden, who could easily tell her where I came from.
But still…
“If you’re implying there’s some connection between where I came from and this place, then I think you’re mistaken,” I said.
Mia Crowfield turned her cautious gaze toward me, as if seriously debating whether to interject. Her expression seemed to say she’d decided not to, though.
“Is that so?”
Even after hearing my words, Alice didn’t appear shaken. Instead, she calmly placed the teacup back on the table with an elegant motion.
“When I last investigated, there was no such connection,” I added.
Before I killed the count, I had scoured every document I could find. None of them provided any evidence linking that orphanage to this estate.
After all, the orphanage I came from wasn’t the only one selling children. The empire was vast. Transporting children from the capital to here would be far more bothersome than simply purchasing orphans from nearby regions. Crowfield’s territory surely had its own share of orphans, and being near the border, they could have even brought in children from overseas.
Claire had done her own investigation but couldn’t find anyone tied to that orphanage either. That’s why I concluded that it was likely a small, independently run operation. One that was eradicated when I burned it to the ground.
I never did manage to track down the man and woman who had visited the orphanage back then.
“If that’s what you believe, then there must be something you overlooked,” Alice said, fidgeting with her fingers as though she missed holding the teacup. It was as if she thought discussing this topic would be more fitting over tea.
“No matter how fragmented or covert an organization is, there’s always some link that ties it together.”
I remained silent, watching her as if urging her to elaborate. She shrugged slightly before continuing.
“It’s like this: no one shops exclusively at a single store. If one shop doesn’t have what they need, they’ll scour nearby stores until they find what they’re looking for. Especially if the item is custom-made.”
“Um, excuse me…”
Mia Crowfield, who had been determined not to interject earlier, finally gave in. The incomprehensible conversation unfolding before her must have been too much to bear.
“What exactly are you talking about? Are you saying… this ‘item’ is somehow related to my family’s estate?”
Alice and I both turned our gazes to Mia Crowfield. The time I spent staring at her was shorter than Alice’s. I briefly glanced at Mia’s flustered expression before turning my eyes back to Alice, staring at her intently.
Was Alice trying to make it clear that I had killed Count Crowfield?
“Yes, there’s a connection. It’s related to the business the Count was involved in before his death.”
But Alice didn’t say outright that I had killed him. The situation was still precarious, but… upon reflection, Mia Crowfield already knew that I had killed her father. She might not have known all the details, but she had likely concluded it on her own.
So, the more I was kind to her, the more flustered she became. It must have been confusing for her to realize that I didn’t intend to kill her, and the anger she had toward me was fading. If the person she had considered a lifelong target of vengeance suddenly didn’t seem like an enemy, it must have felt like a void.
“……”
No matter what Alice said, I had no intention of stopping her.
There were two reasons for that. First, it was difficult to stop Alice when she was being stubborn. And second—though I wasn’t sure if it was right to admit it—I found the situation somewhat intriguing.
I was witnessing a shift in the dynamics between characters, not through my own actions, but through their own evolving relationships.
“What kind of business was it?”
Was Mia Crowfield genuinely asking because she had no idea?
She might not have known when she was a child, but after her father died and her mother prepared for revenge, dragging Mia into it, didn’t she start to pick up on some clues? Maybe she’d tried to look the other way.
“I’ll finish explaining.”
But Alice didn’t answer Mia directly. She simply continued her explanation.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Mia wasn’t reckless enough to argue with the princess, who had practically stated that she wouldn’t answer.
“So, it’s pointless to search the lowest-level shop that’s already burned down. It was reduced to ashes ten years ago. Instead, we should be looking at the level above, where things are still active.”
Alice exhaled softly, as if in a brief sigh of frustration.
“From the top, we search for the nobles addicted to opium, pick out the debauched ones, sift through the opium dens, and so on. We’ll find it out more easily than you think.”
“Did you go there yourself?”
I asked, a bit teasingly, and Alice furrowed her brow.
“Of course, I didn’t go in person. Regardless of my abilities, I don’t exactly give off a threatening vibe. It’s much more intimidating to send a knight with an imperial decree under the Emperor’s authority.”
“Did His Majesty give you permission for that?”
“I didn’t exactly get permission. I just borrowed the format for the decree. I already knew how my father’s signature looked. I’m his daughter, after all. It’s not unusual that my handwriting resembles his quite a bit.”
“……”
I did my best to hold back the “ugh” that was threatening to escape. In fact, Alice’s face looked so pleased as she said those words that I couldn’t even think of anything to say for a while.
“Are you saying you forged the Emperor’s decree?”
“Well, the great Emperor must have known about it, so I consider it essentially authorized.”
No, even so, the Emperor doesn’t know everything.
This time, I had to tighten my arm to avoid slapping my forehead.
“Anyway, there are a few things I’m certain of now.”
Alice leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“You see, members of the nobility are often trapped in their own world. They’re so used to being in power that they can’t imagine a life outside of it. And even when they do try to escape, they’re often too proud to admit it.”
“……”
“And sometimes, they’re so used to being coddled and protected that they think it’s normal to be treated like that.”
Mia Crowfield’s jaw dropped, and she seemed to seriously consider the statement.
“Mm.”
After saying that, Alice, with a slightly regretful expression, picked up her teacup again. She looked at her reflection on the surface of the tea.
“…But, do you think there’s really something in here?”
Alice asked with a rather serious expression.
“……”
Well, being cautious probably wouldn’t hurt. There might be a trace of drugs in there, though it was hard to imagine that Countess Crowfield was that crazy. It might have just been Mia Crowfield freaking out on her own.
But really, does that matter right now?