Delia left the conference room, and the door closed.

The conference room, tainted with the cursed blood of the princess, was enveloped in silence.

There was a need for a presence to blame and pass on the vague anxiety.

The members, who had been silently observing each other, seemed to shake off the ominous atmosphere and began blaming the princess for her mistakes.

“Ha, how can this happen in the world?”

“The princess of Ioleti selling out Ioleti. It’s the end.”

“People don’t know how scary the world is because they live comfortably.”

“She’s so clever.”

“Being intelligent leads to such actions. Because the world seems easy and manageable.”

“Then the defeat in the Kabat Plains…”

“It’s clear that we leaked information to the Empire.”

“That’s why the Empire easily agreed to the peace treaty.”

Alfredo, who had been listening to the members’ resentful comments, felt a tingling sensation in his chest.

He had always been a bright younger brother.

His energetic and proactive younger brother, who had the attention and love of everyone, including their grandfather.

While Alfredo was weighed down by the heavy sense of duty and responsibility as the crown prince, Delia trampled on him and seized the spotlight alone.

As Delia brightened, Alfredo darkened.

When he removed the obstructing younger brother, sunlight poured onto him.

When Delia passed the blame for the defeat at the Kabat Plains to him, the accumulated sense of defeat washed away in an instant.

Is this what it feels like for sunlight to tickle the heart?

While Alfredo was immersed in a pleasant reverie, Giuliano cautiously brought up the conversation.

He was the only member who didn’t raise his hand to drive out the princess.

“If the peace treaty is broken, the Dominion won’t stay quiet. Can we withstand the Empire on our own?”

Afran responded firmly with a decisive tone.

“Resistance forces are organized throughout Ioleti. We won’t stand idly by like we did back then.”

“But on our own…”

Alfredo clenched his fist and lightly tapped the table.

“Juliano, we are not alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“To drive out the Imperial forces that have occupied our land, we will form a new alliance and unfold a united front.”

“A new alliance?”

“In fact, right after the Kabat Plains, I went to the allied countries for negotiations.”

Alfredo looked around with a determined expression.

He was just waiting for an opportunity, hiding in the shadows.

It was not that he was scared and ran away from the Empire’s weapons.

By repeatedly telling himself that, it started to feel real.

Alfredo, chewing on the truth-like lie, confidently looked at the members.

“Is there a country willing to help us confront the Empire?”

“The Kingdom of Pheber.”

For a moment, a eerie silence covered the conference room.

After searching all over Ioleti to find the missing crown prince, the king and the commander couldn’t find a single strand of hair.

To find someone who was not in Ioleti within Ioleti…
The Crown Prince had hidden in Pheber, waiting for the day of return. Giuliano expressed his opposition with a stern expression.

“Crown Prince, no. Not Pheber.”

Alfredo’s fist trembled at Giuliano’s opposition.

“Why can the Empire be, but not Pheber?”

Even young members, including Afran, were stunned by the Crown Prince’s words.

One is clever enough to betray the country, and the other is asking for help from an enemy because of cowardice.

There had never been a time when the country was so precarious.

Members, burning with a sense of duty to protect the country, protested vehemently.

“Do you not know how ruthless they are?”

“The places they passed through were left with not a single blade of grass.”

“We sacrificed so much to stop them.”

“Even the former king died in the war against them.”

“No, Ioleti will become a battleground between the two great powers.”

“We must drive out the Imperial forces and protect Ioleti with our own strength.”

Alfredo gnashed his teeth, looking at the fierce resistance of the members.

Why can the Empire brought by the princess, which made a peace treaty, be accepted, but not Pheber brought by me?

Alfredo was irritated by the opposition of the elders from the advisory council.

It had been enough to endure until now.

He would not allow any further interference.

“Members, Pheber is not on the agenda. There is no need for discussion.”

“What are you talking about?”

“As the Crown Prince of Ioleti and the Commander in Chief, I have already made a pact with Pheber.”

Alfredo proudly raised his shoulders, which had been hunched until now.

There was no reason to cower like a coward when there was a powerful supporter behind him.

Looking at the members, Alfredo declared in a loud voice.

“They promised to help me drive out the Imperial forces from Ioleti.”

Members were shocked.

To bring in an external force to prevent external forces.

Moreover, the barbaric Pheber.

Eventually, Afran rose from his seat.

“We cannot accept an agreement that does not go through the assembly. We must immediately annul the agreement.”