The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 99
EP.99 Proof (5)
“Well, should I say Your Highnesses instead?”
As expected, Chiara Verratti knew our identities. Someone capable of infiltrating deep into the Empire would undoubtedly have access to such information.
Before we even had the chance to sit, she casually chose one of the terrace seats, crossed her legs, and settled in.
Her demeanor toward me was starkly different compared to when I had approached her alone.
Well, it made sense. Back then, I wasn’t wearing this kind of outfit. Instead, I’d confidently walked up to her, without hesitation, and slipped a bill between her chest.
There was nothing subtle about my actions, and I acted as if I already knew her identity. Such boldness likely left little room for her to look down on me. Even now, despite her seemingly relaxed posture, her gaze kept drifting in my direction.
If she had received a report on how I handled myself during the tripartite meeting, it would make sense why she couldn’t underestimate me.
Alice, however, seemed slightly irritated by Verratti’s frequent glances my way.
Alice took her seat—on the far end of the crescent-shaped bench directly opposite Chiara Verratti. She crossed her legs and folded her arms confidently. While this posture made her look… let’s say, a bit too bold to comfortably watch, it seemed her pride was currently outweighing her embarrassment.
I sat next to Alice, leaving a small gap between us. Claire sat on my other side, and beside her, Leo—his face visibly tense—awkwardly took his seat.
“How about you, big guy? Why don’t you come sit over here?”
Chiara Verratti said, patting the seat next to her as if to take control of the atmosphere.
“You may look a bit naive, but I don’t dislike men like you.”
“Can a knight and nun like you desire men?”
Alice retorted coldly.
“Well, the Goddess did encourage us to diligently bear children. I doubt She’d be pleased if all Her creations holed up in some corner, refusing to procreate and dying alone.”
Verratti replied with a casual shrug.
“I guess you’re not entirely wrong. But are you really keeping your vows of chastity right now? If not, wouldn’t the knight order kick you out?”
“Hah! Even if I didn’t keep my vows, do you think they’d kick me out? They’d prefer to let me eliminate the men I slept with to secure my position.”
“Killing the future head of the loyal Grace family would surely please His Majesty.”
“Who knows? Even the Empire wouldn’t rashly wage war against the Papal State, would it? The death of one noble might just get swept under the rug.”
Of course, it’s just a bluff.
The alliance between the Papal State and the Kingdom itself was born out of their shared inability to face the Empire alone. On top of that, both were wary of the Empire’s recent surge in military power and its subtle troop movements near their borders.
I glanced over at Alice.
Her expression remained utterly unchanged—not just because she was maintaining her composure, but because she understood the geopolitical situation. I had provided her with a detailed report after the meeting that day.
“Don’t spout nonsense. My father would use that as a pretext to invade the Papal State without hesitation.”
“……”
Exactly.
In war, the most important thing is justification. No matter how powerful you are, without justification, the people under you won’t follow. Whether it’s something intangible like inflated patriotism or pride in one’s nation, or something tangible like the fear that if they don’t act now to crush the enemy, they might meet the same fate—the soldiers need a “reason” to fight. An Emperor, if nothing else, would be the type to stir up the entire nation over the death of a single noble. The autonomous states, even when requesting assistance, made sure to pay a price to limit the number of Imperial troops allowed within their borders, precisely because they understood what kind of man the Emperor was.
“So? From what I’ve heard, the Emperor has both sons and daughters. If you’re thinking of using his authority to threaten me, I suggest you reconsider. A mere princess of the Empire, especially one without a designated crown prince, holds no leverage that would benefit us. Unless, of course…” Verratti smiled slyly. “Would you like me to help you become the next Emperor? If we can be on friendly terms, sharing information wouldn’t be the worst idea. After all, having a genuine friend ascend the throne could be quite advantageous.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Alice reacted immediately.
“Do I look that naive to you? The matter of imperial succession is strictly a concern of the Imperial family. Neither foreign nations nor even the parliament can meddle with that right.”
“Then this conversation is over. You’re not the next Emperor, and—”
Verratti’s gaze swept over me.
“—you don’t possess any extraordinary talents like some of the other princes or princesses. All you have is your esteemed bloodline. We have no reason to align ourselves with a mere princess. If anything, we’d be better off simply using the information we’ve gathered to take what we want and leave.”
“…So there is something you want here.”
Alice said, making me stifle a laugh. She really did seem like she’d been studying hard.
“It means there’s something you wish to take from here, doesn’t it? And judging by your actions, you haven’t managed to secure it yet. If you had, you’d have disappeared long before we caught on. I’m relieved—it means it’s not too late.”
“So what?”
Verratti shrugged nonchalantly, her expression unchanging. The back-and-forth between the two was so intense that the heads of those sitting between them turned side to side as though watching a tennis match.
“As long as I keep my mouth shut, you won’t have any clue what it is we want to take.”
Alice straightened her back. Though her legs were still crossed, she clasped her hands over her stomach in a pose strikingly reminiscent of the Emperor.
“It seems you’re under some kind of delusion”
Alice said calmly.
Her demeanor revealed nothing—no hostility, no intimidating aura.
Well, not that I would’ve sensed such things even if she had them. I wondered about the others. Did Claire or Leo feel anything from Alice? Judging by their slack-jawed expressions, at the very least, they noticed something different about her. Both of them were staring at Alice with wide eyes.
“I am a princess of the Empire, destined to become the next Emperor. I don’t care how you perceive my abilities. The fact remains that I alone carry the bloodline of the Imperial family, and I alone will inherit its legitimacy.”
Alice’s expression remained unwavering as she continued.
“And this is the Empire, not the Papal State. No matter how many forces you’ve brought with you, the best you can manage here is to operate in the shadows. There’s no way you smuggled an entire battalion of knights into our territory.”
“……”
Verratti seemed to sense something from Alice’s relaxed demeanor. As if judging Alice, Verratti stared at her, and Alice declared.
“You knew I was a princess and still dared to follow me. Or was it because you looked down on me so much that you followed me all the way here? Either way, it doesn’t matter. Thanks to you, I can cut you down without worrying about harming any civilians. And most importantly, I managed to lure you out into such an open space.”
“If you’re trying to threaten me—”
“Threaten you? Do I look that stupid?”
Alice tilted her chin slightly upward, her blue eyes glimmering brightly under the moonlight. She directed her words at Verratti, who had previously spoken of Alice as though she were a mere princess.
“This isn’t a threat; it’s a plan. A plan I devised two weeks ago when I first heard that you were here.”
Two weeks ago—that was when we were sitting in the café, gathering intel from Bella.
“From the moment you decided to follow us, you walked right into the trap. Now you have only two choices: survive and cling to your faith or attempt an escape that would be no different from suicide.”
Ah. So that’s how it all came together.
No wonder I hadn’t seen Bella earlier.
Verratti, finally grasping the situation, jumped up from her seat. But before she could fully rise, there was a sharp sound, schraaak, as the curtain tore. Something resembling a toy—a contraption with a glove at the end that would spring forward when triggered—came smashing onto the table.
Of course, it wasn’t really a toy. Each segment of the unfolding mechanism was lined with deadly blades, and its movements were far too fluid to be mistaken for anything playful.
With another schraaak, the weapon retracted to its original form, transforming with a click into a single sword. Its previous appearance—like a two-sided steel saw—had now shifted into a long, slender sword.
Standing behind it was—
“Hello~”
Bella waved cheerfully at Leo and Claire. Leo stared at her in stunned silence, his mouth agape.
But there was no way they would recognize Bella.
Her face was concealed behind a fox mask, the kind you’d see at a Japanese festival. Her hair, which was naturally a different color, was now dyed black.
She wore a tight, body-hugging black outfit that revealed her silhouette while leaving no skin exposed. Her voice was high-pitched and youthful, far from her usual tone, likely altered deliberately.
Considering Bella’s anonymity was one of her greatest assets, this disguise made perfect sense.
The fox mask was undoubtedly a touch added by the creator’s preference. Here, it would be considered a souvenir from the East.
“Chiara Verratti. Baptismal name, Eliza.”
At those words, Verratti shot a glare at Alice.
“Congratulations. Meeting all the princesses of the Empire at once is an honor no one else in the Empire has ever experienced.”