The Princess Wants to Live (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 102

“Does an empire that already has no rivals really have a reason to stage a show of force?” Her expression seemed to ask just that, yet the reason was exceedingly simple.

She tapped lightly on the continental map she had already spread out.

“Deterrence. World peace.”

At that, one of Cryer’s eyebrows, which had been slightly raised, shot straight up toward the sky.

“The Kingdom of Norden—meaning me—won’t start a war, though.”

“Of course you won’t. Nor would the Kingdom of Norden without you. But the continent isn’t composed of just the Empire and the Kingdom of Norden, is it?”

Olivia shrugged her shoulders.

“Right now, even the tiniest provocation—say, just enough to anger those already at odds with each other—would have them tearing at each other’s throats in utter chaos.”

“Hmm, wouldn’t that kind of squabble be just that—a squabble?”

“True. But there’s no guarantee such a minor dispute won’t ignite into full-scale war, is there?”

Olivia glanced at the mountain of documents stacked beside her and swallowed a sigh.

Most of those papers bore the hand of the Empire, the sole power mediating peace across the continent.

No metaphor—be it spiderwebs or ant colonies—could capture how meticulously, intricately, and firmly the Empire had woven its peacekeeping mechanisms.

“They’re not that meticulous, though.”

“‘Purification for the Ancient God’? Hmm. Given that Marquis Bonita Heinder is involved, we must also consider political scheming or intrigue. Of course, the Marquis has been in seclusion so long he likely has no external connections, so it’s admittedly a remote possibility.”

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