“Even if these are sent by families who have sworn loyalty to the empire, we must examine them all. There may be something strange among them.”

The spy incident seven years ago.

At that time, the Vlady Akkad Tzepes family took the lead in eliminating forces that threatened the royal family and the empire. However, human affairs are unpredictable.

Because I had come to realize that, in this life, there were more people harboring strong resentments against the emperor than I had imagined, both within and outside the empire.

At first, I thought it was simply a matter complicated by vested interests. However, when the truth came to light through subsequent investigations… I couldn’t understand immediately.

All the deeds I had committed when I was the emperor were decades old, and it was strange that the descendants of the victims of those wars still harbored the hatred of their ancestors and colluded with rebels to defame me.

Emotions tend to dull or be forgotten as time passes, like rocks eroded by water, and whether it was good or bad, it had always been that way. I had never imagined it would be so terrible.

Feeling the sense of crisis from the spy incident, Jeff and Hecate dispatched more spies, maintaining their vigilance as tightly woven as meticulously crafted fabric, and located and eliminated the suspects who were hiding.

It was a decisive display of will, ensuring that no trace of the remnants should remain on this land.

“Darjeeling, Mom will never put you in danger again.”

“Dad feels the same.”

They are kids who always tease me with smiles and make my skin crawl with their kisses, but when they show the stern face of a ruler, I feel proud of how well I’ve raised them.

It’s because they’re always so carefree that they can be so serious when they need to be. I could feel that my judgment had not been wrong, and I was more proud of my excellent discernment than grateful for their consideration.

Ah, speaking of which, I had asked about the intelligence system before the imperial succession ceremony.

Even with the cooperation of the Vlady Akkad Tzepes family, it would have been impossible to apprehend those involved in the spy incident who had fled far to foreign countries without the power of the ‘Intelligence Office,’ a direct organization of the emperor that I had secretly created in my previous life.

“It was difficult to select personnel, as even the nobles should be kept in the dark.”

The reason I hastily established such an organization following Ulrica in my previous life was the desire to accomplish something that my close friend Ulrica couldn’t.

Because it was a force that moved only for the emperor, only those with strong loyalty were selected. Jeff and Hecate were members of the ‘Intelligence Office’ in my previous life, but they had not been able to engage in proper activities due to their positions as military commanders.

“Alright, let’s begin!”

“Yay!”

Meanwhile, after sending Ulrica, Carlisle, and Sasha off to one side, I came alone toward the room with fewer boxes.

I randomly picked up a box, untied the ribbon, and tore the wrapping paper as I pondered.

Perhaps everything is interwoven by the law of causality, leading to one outcome.

According to a more complex theory, there is something called ‘the law of causality,’ which a scholar I met during my twelfth life, where I became convinced I was reincarnating, had rambled on about.

He said that even minor actions could cause effects that would last into the distant future, and I remember running away as he tried to explain it from various academic perspectives.

Anyway, unless it’s something like the aforementioned ‘law of causality,’ it’s difficult to logically justify the motives of those who were trying to defame me.

But if I analyze it this way, doesn’t it mean that I’m suffering like this because I committed sins or major wrongs in the past? It’s unpleasant.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Misfortune can occur simply by being born into a noble family, so I’ll just cancel all the thoughts I’ve had up to this point.
Even if one wasn’t born into the royal family, just being reincarnated as someone from a wealthy family often led to death by poison or out of someone’s envy and jealousy.

Especially when I lived as a noble young lady, my life almost fell apart because of an engagement issue.

“Why does your body respond honestly, even though your words are reluctant?”

Ironically, I was now reminded of my fiancé from that time. Was his name Bandiore? He was that brat I barely remembered from when I was one.

A knight whose appearance suited my picky tastes just enough.

“Getting cocky. You think you’ve achieved something just because you’re a man?”

A knight who even enjoyed it when I slapped him several times. Bandiore, who had been acting like a lowlife for some reasons, had been completely smitten with me and kept hovering around.

For one, I was more concerned with using my family’s wealth and power to pretend to be interested in archaeology and seek divine answers than to pay any attention to my fiancé.