Chapter 101: Solving the Puzzle


    Morning.


    I was waiting for Sebass return without any sleep.


    I have something that I need to find out no matter what.


    You have been up all night


    Yeah, I cant sleep.


    After that exchange, Sebas gave me a bunch of documents.


    They are confidential information of the military.


    ording to Rebas story, Sonia rarely left her alone. Its hard to think that she would contact anyone.


    The only exception for that is the day she met me. She did say that she might run into us when she went out to buy the supply but considering the time I was with her, it was unlikely that she made contact with others. She was with me almost all the time after all.


    If she didnt contact anyone, how did shemunicate with her unit.


    There might be a special method in the army for that.


    Right.


    While saying that, I look through the documents. Sonia was involved with Gordon. She must have some record inside the military. The hint must be hidden in here.


    After looking through them for a while, I noticed a certain document.


    This one huh


    Let me see. Emergency n in case the imperial capital falls into the enemys hand huh.


    Its information that only some of the upper crust of the army know about. And that ce was the meeting point in case the imperial capital got invaded.


    What was written on the next page was a map. The circled area corresponds to the spots where Reba was sighted.


    Not only one or two spots, all of them concise with the n except thest one. It was not a coincidence.


    The sighting areas ovepped with this. I didnt notice it back then but themon point of all these ces is that they are suited to be an assembly point. The fact that Reba was witnessed at these ces was the cause of my difort.


    Only thest sighting report was not ording to the n huh.


    Yeah, the supposed meeting point was..the clock tower that is visible from the southern gate. In case the sighting information doesnt match with the nned assembly point, the people in the area who know of this will gather up at the supposed ce.


    I see. So thats the reason there were so many pursuers.


    Sebas convincingly nods.


    Normally, Sebas and Sieg should be able to break through the enemys surveince. I was counting on that but there were a lot more enemies than we expected.


    It was only natural. The other side was gathering all their force and headed there.


    Gordon naturally knows about this but even Zandra too huh


    Her Highness Zandras faction also has someone in the upper crust of the army. She must have gotten the information from there.


    Even if thats the case it was information that wouldnt normallye out unless she asked. In other words, she is interested in sieging the imperial capital. At worst, she might be nning an attack on the capital herself.


    I let out a small sigh and leaned back on my chair.


    I can see the big picture now.


    Leos faction doesnt have anyone in the upper crust of the army. The imperial garrison belongs to the army but theyck the general who takesmand of them. That was why such information didnte to us.


    They wouldnt provide such information to someone who mightter be their enemy after all. Now we know that the number of our enemies is higher than we expected. But I still dont know the meaning of that womans time limit.


    That 5 minutes time limit.


    At first, I thought that she couldnt stay because Zandras men might have found them.


    Thats why I went ahead. In case of emergency, I was thinking of using magic to elude their pursuers.


    But that wasnt the case.


    It was written on this. In case of a night attack from the infiltration force, it was decided that 12 oclock would be the time they would carry out the n. Sonia read that the covert unit would move out at exactly 12 oclock and probably anticipated that they would take at least five minutes to arrive.


    She is quite thorough. She used us to buy time for her by letting us distract their pursuers. But what would she do if we decided not to go there.


    I sigh again at Sebass words.


    Sonia was also considering the possibility that Zandra might know the secret n. In other words, she knew that the meeting ce might be read by them.


    In that case, she has to fortify the ce and defend the meeting point.


    Thats why she called us out to serve as a decoy.


    she should already consider that we might note but she still bet on us. She did probe me for information and got what she wanted after all.


    It seems you have been thoroughly used werent you.


    I nod to Sebas. The reason Sonia went out was probably not to contact the covert unit but to look for a decoy.


    Maybe she might contact Leo if she didnt meet me.


    Right. Butit was a risk for her to give us five minutes to reach them.


    Yes, if the covert unit arrives behind us then they will lose both Reba and the letter after all.


    It was the finest bait but Sonia was probably considering handing her to us with the letter as well.


    It would be good if we can make it but if we cant she can just stick to her n.


    Sonia moved in a way that she can adapt no matter the oue. Still, in the case of the former, Sonia herself will fall into a dangerous position.


    Despite knowing that, she called out to us. We were certainly a decoy but we are also an insurance for Rebas protection.


    So she went all-in for Reba huh.


    That was quite splendid on her part. His Highness Gordons troops wouldnt be interested in Reba-donos safety after all. They wont kill her but they will not do anything to protect her either. In that case, she needs to entrust Reba-dono to someone that will protect her. Her Highness Zandras assassins and the organization will never let her live after all. Even if we didnt make it in time, she will probably convince them to protect her anyway.


    .we really got done in this time huh.


    Please dont worry about it. Our odds were unfavorable from the start. Unless you are nning to attack the capital, you wouldnt know about such information. We dont have a chance of winning this time.


    We were defeated because of theck of intel. Theres no excuse for thatmoreover, I didnt even make use of my hidden hand.


    I didnt use the power of Silver this time.


    The reason is that if I use such power in a situation where there are assassins spreading out all over the ce, it will lead to an actual exposure of my secret. Within the range of my barrier is one thing but I have no way to notice a gaze that came from beyond that.


    That was why I ran without using any magic.


    After that, I could steal the letter away from Sonia but I didnt. I didnt want to expose my secret.


    But was it the right choice?


    Gordons aim is definitely a war. As soon as he gets the letter, he will be one step closer to it. The war with the South, in other words, he wants to start a civil war. Considering that..should I use my magic back then?


    I have told you this before. There is a huge difference between a disclosure and being exposed. His Majesty, the nobles, the ministers, and the people around their age have seen the Mad Emperorid waste to the capital as a child. There is no doubt that they will have someplicated feelings about ancient magic. However, Silver is allowed to use it because he is an ally of the Empire. Still, the story willpletely change if you add an imperial family member to that. Everyone will think that the Mad Emperor has returned. That is why it is an information that must be published in the right ce and the right time. Recklessly revealing it would be a bad move. If you get exposed, it will lead to wild spection from the people and at worst you might get arrested without any trial at all.


    I know that.


    If thats the case then the answer is clear. Even if the chance of exposure was low, it was the right choice that you didnt use your magic back then. It is meaningless to bother yourselves with the civil war as well. Even if we obtained the letter, the possibility that a civil war might happen still exists after all. If you insist then there is also a possibility that you tell His Highness Leonard everything and use transfer magic to go there together with him though.


    I cant do that. This is not a secret that can be kept forever. Eventually, my identity will be exposed or I will make it public myself. At that time, the result will be different depending on whether Leo knows about it or not. Leo must not know about it. It wont work unless that is the case.


    It would be fine if he is good at pretending but if Father asks him, Leo will surely not be able to fool him. And then it will be the worst-case scenario where the two of us will get punished.


    However, if he doesnt know about it then there will be no cause to punish him. If they are going to punish him because he is my younger brother then the entire imperial family must be punished as well. Father will not do such an unreasonable thing.


    Then please settle that as there was no other way. The letter didnt go to Her Highness Zandra. This is not the worst oue. We should look ahead rather than regretting the past here.


    I know. This time the letter was taken from us but there will be no next time. I will definitely outsmart Sonia.


    Thats the feeling. Then, please get some sleep first. What His Highness Gordon aims for is a war. He will probably keep the letter to himself to make time for the South to make their war preparation. For now, we still have time.


    I give Sebas a nod.


    Gordon obtained the letter but the Southern Investigation is still Leos job. Having Leo submitting that letter is the most effective way to do this.


    If he immediately submitted the letter then the South will not have enough time to prepare. I was impatient because the letter was taken away but it will be sometime before the South will finish their preparation. Gordon will definitely wait for them to be ready and hand that letter to us. Then he will be able to take the central role in the war against the South.


    That must be Gordons n.


    But that was it.


    We still have a chance to recover. If a war breaks out, Leo will be able to make an achievement and if he does well, he will be able to restrain Gordons movement.


    The problem is Sonia.


    An enemy huh..


    I remembered the sadness on Sonias face.


    I dont think she serves Gordon willingly.


    When we met Gordons men, she said that she is one of his men but she also said that she didnt consider herself one before that.


    She has some reasons to cooperate with Gordon huh.


    There are a lot of things to worry about.


    However, as Sebas said, now is the time to get some sleep.


    I thought so and went to bed.