Laying the groundwork all around

“………I see.”

The next morning, the day after Anne was arrested, me and Maya explained all the events to Liz.

At first, I thought Liz would get angry for basically being excluded from all that happened but, she simply listened to us till the end quietly.

“Right now, the Madam is probably handling the interrogation but, Anne is not the kind of girl that would break that easily.”

“Hmm…..”

Liz simply looked at Maya, who was explaining it all, with a gaze that seemed to sympathize with her hardships.

I’m sure Liz too understood just what kind of emotional turmoil must be going inside Maya’s heart.

After all, Liz and Maya had been beside each other for a very long time now.

“Lord Rudy, what will we do next?”

“Of course, we need to figure out what Wilhelm and Oscar are planning behind our backs, and then aggressively back them into a corner. And for that………..Maya, can I make a request?”

“Ask anything. I will do whatever it takes to bring justice to Anne.”

With her resolve hardened, Maya knelt in front of me.

“To prepare for whatever may happen, me and Liz will gather and share as much info as we can, and lay some groundwork for the future. That’s why, go and inform the academy that we’ll be taking a holiday for a while……….oh, and yeah, send a message to Lady Sheila that I would like to have a meeting with Lady Andersen as well.”

“Understood.”

And so.

“ufufu……..to think we’ll meet again so soon. I never would have imagined.”

Having arrived at the Cancer Palace, me and Liz were greeted by a smiling Queen Alicia.

No, I mean, I didn’t think I’d end up coming here so soon either to be honest.

“Actually, I needed some advice in regards to Brother Oscar and Wilhelm, from you.”

“Prince Oscar, and Wilhelm…….Aah, the heir of the Svalier family, right?”

“Yes.”

And thus, I explained all that had happened between us to Queen Alicia as well.

The fact that Oscar and Wilhelm had joined hands in the background, and were making some suspicious moves. Especially the fact that Svalier family was offering support to former Robin faction nobles through Wilhelm.

“……….right now, all that the former Robin camp nobles are doing is making their noble kids try and  raise Wilhelm’s popularity inside the academy but, as for whatever they might do next, I think we need to be a bit more cautious about it.”

“I see………”

Queen Alicia brought her hand to her chin, and seemed to be pondering something.

“Very well. I’ll investigate the Svalier family from my side as well.”

“Thank you very much. Next, in regards to the alliance between Oscar and Wilhelm but………”

Just as I was about to talk again.

——-*knock**knock*

“Pardon me. I heard Rudolf was here.”

The one who appeared was Brother Fredrik.

The fact that he came out of his way here just to meet me means that he really has dropped his overly pragmatist and egoistic façade for good it seems.

“Fredrik, how rare of you to show up here.”

“Rudolf is my greatest supporter, as well as someone who truly understands me at a personal level, it’s only polite for me to show up to meet him, no?”

Queen Alicia seemed to have a sarcastic tone but, she also seemed genuinely happy to see Fredrik here, as she clearly had a smile on her face.

Let’s just hope that Fredrik continues to show up every now and then here even when I’m not present. I’ll be praying for the best as well.

“Actually, I had a request to make to you too Brother Fredrik, so you just saved me a lot of time by coming here. It’s in regards to the issue with Brother Oscar and Wilhelm.”

“Oh?”

Fredrik sat down beside Queen Alicia and leaned forward with interest.

“A couple days ago, I was solicited by Oscar to join the student council………although he said that it was only because to do so was a duty of all Imperials, he also called Wilhelm there and tried to put us together. From the way they were acting, I have a feeling they have been connected for quite some time now.”

“Hmm………meaning, Svalier family is in Oscar’s camp eh?”

“I’d assume so.”

While Fredrik pondered over it, I washed down my throat with some tea.

“And so, I was just here asking Queen Alicia to investigate the Svalier family. You too Brother, should be extra careful around that Wilhelm. Above all………he managed to make even one of our precious spies to double cross us as well.”

“!?!……..I see. In that case, I’ll need to double check to make sure if we have any traitors in our midst as well.”

“……..I’ll be extra careful as well.”

Alright, I managed to a fruitful conversation as well warned them properly for the future. That should be all for now.

“Then, we’ll take our leave here. I wouldn’t want to ruin the rare chance for mother and son to spend some time to themselves after all.”

“mu………..”

“Oh my.”

As I said that in half jest, Fredrik showed a bitter smile, and Queen Alicia laughed happily.

Here’s hoping the gap that had been created between these two can continue to be filled back up like this.

While praying for such a thing, me and Liz left the Imperial Palace.

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