“What’s up? You said it was just a formality, so why do you look so exhausted? Did that guy give you some kind of tough questioning under the guise of ideological verification?”
Nathaniel approached.
“Ah?”
Pastel’s pink eyes widened. She covered her mouth with both hands.
“Are you worried about me?”
Does he like me, perhaps?
Well, it’s understandable to like someone as popular as Pastel!
It can’t be helped!
Nathaniel looked incredulous.
“Do you think I’m worrying about you because of something that happened to me? I’m just wondering if that guy disregarded my dignity.”
Oh?
What bad thing did I do to Nathaniel?
Think, think.
Nothing is coming to mind!
In the first place, Nathaniel is a secret agent who infiltrated the radicals on Ellie’s orders. It’s impossible that Pastel, who is Ellie’s friend, did something wrong!
“Now that the membership is over, we’re done for today, right? Let’s go. Since we’re here, we might as well play a game of poker. Was it called card counting? I should give it a try. Now that this noble Presley clan leader Nathaniel knows the techniques, I can’t possibly lose, right?”
Nathaniel smacked his lips and rubbed his hands together.
Ah! That’s right!
Since work is over, we can have fun!
Pastel looked at her winter dress. It was a neat and pretty outfit complemented by Melissa’s advice. She quickly dusted off the dirt that had gotten on the hem of her skirt.
I got so focused on work that I forgot, but I came here for a date!
Of course, once work is done, a date should follow!
She subtly moved closer to Nathaniel.
“Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel flinched and took a half step back.
“What? Why’s your voice like that?”
He looked like someone startled by an abductor pretending to be friendly.
With her usual calmness, Pastel felt quite wronged. Her cheeks puffed up as she pressed them with her fingers to release air and asked her question.
“Do you happen to like dates?”
Nathaniel looked astonished.
“Why would I hate that?”
“Ah! Really?! Really?!”
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“Wow! I love them too!”
Pastel threw her arms up and jumped up and down.
It’s like we totally get each other!
A match made in heaven, right?
Nathaniel frowned slightly.
“But it’s been a while since my fiancée stopped coming, so it’s been quite some time since I’ve had a date.”
Oh?
Pastel froze in her bouncing position. Her pink eyes rolled as she repeated the word she just heard.
Fiancée.
Gasp.
Her pink eyes trembled.
“Nathaniel, do you have a fiancée?”
Why?!
“Of course I do. What age do you think I am?”
Nathaniel looked incredulous.
“Ordinarily, I should have been married by now, but she said she wouldn’t do it until she quits gambling, so it’s been postponed. Well, it is what it is.”
The current gambling addict Nathaniel looked a bit shy.
“Even so, I’m the leader of the Presley clan, so breaking off the engagement now wouldn’t be good for either of us, so I’m keeping it going. I believe things will work out one way or another.”
“Why?! Why an engagement?!”
Ahh!
Despair!
Complete despair!
Pastel grabbed her head. Her pink pigtails swished as she hit Nathaniel.
“Ugh! What?!”
This is something I only heard about in legends…!
First love rejection!
Aahh!
My pink, sweet love life…!
Pastel’s life was supposed to have no failures in romance, yet she had just achieved a record of being rejected.
Even though she hadn’t confessed, she was still heartbroken. Her eyes glistened with tears.
“You’re a demon!”
Please punish this bad person who flirted with someone while having a fiancée!
Just as Pastel was about to shout, she suddenly realized and froze.
In truth, there were no tears streaming down her face, and she wasn’t particularly sad.
“Oh?”
Her pink eyes widened.
It doesn’t feel as significant as I thought.
Thinking about it, it’s only natural for someone like Nathaniel, the leader of a clan and of age, to have a fiancée.
Pastel felt bewildered.
Oh dear.
This feeling shouldn’t have emerged unless it was romantic.
If this happens, then what the demon said becomes true.
It turns out that popular Pastel can’t even define her own feelings correctly and is confused.
This is completely disqualifying as a popular person.
Pastel felt slightly sweaty. She hastily fixed her tousled hair which she had been grabbing onto.
The girl’s expression turned serious.
“What if I said I like you?”
“What?”
Nathaniel almost swore but stopped himself.
“What kind of preference is that?”
Hmm.
“Well, that’s true, isn’t it?”
“That’s true?! What kind of rude thing is that?!”
Nathaniel got excited and started jumping around.
But Pastel, who had no time to care, trembled as she took shallow breaths. Her pink eyes sneakily peeked back at the door where the demon might be.
A moment later, as Nathaniel calmed down from his excitement, the girl asked in a trembling voice.
“What if I admire the guardian who takes care of me? Not a blood relation!”
The last part is important!
Stars, stars!
“What’s that supposed to mean since earlier?”
Nathaniel frowned. Still, he seemed to want to answer the benefactor who had helped out his butler.
“Is he a major figure of authority or something? You’re admiring him.”
Is the demon a significant power?
“Not exactly. He’s my sword master.”
“Sword? You use a sword? Isn’t it enough to just call a knight? Why would you bother fighting with such a frail body?”
Oh dear.
Now that I think about it, that makes sense.
With the knights now working at a mere swipe of a finger, why go through that trouble…?
Oh dear.
“Then why am I feeling this way?”
If I’m going to argue, there’s the title of the great demon that sounds impressive…?
But honestly, watching the demon whip cream and don an apron every morning, I really can’t feel the greatness of being a great demon.
“Why are you asking me for a reason? I’m sure you have some reason.”
Nathaniel looked incredulous.
Then, as if he had hit on something, he grinned.
“Oh, could it be? I see it now! I didn’t realize you’d have such childlike feelings for that governor, right?”
“What?”
“It’s not just admiration!”
Nathaniel showed his adult deduction.
“It’s common for someone who closely interacts with their guardian to develop romantic feelings! And since there’s no blood relation, it’s naturally not odd for the feelings to go there!”
The girl’s mouth fell open.
Huh?
Huh?!
A small room echoed with the sound of a typewriter.
With every key pressed, the typeface moved, imprinting ink letters. The mechanical sounds coupled with the change of lines filled white paper with black ink.
Redmond, who for some reason was called Mr. Penguin by someone, wrote a report to be submitted to the Empire.
The report reflected the efforts invested by the Empire and thoroughly analyzed and organized the secrets of the United Kingdom.
“Congratulations on your completion. You will now have to infiltrate the inner depths of the United Kingdom under the name Redmond. Casually approach Princess Elisita and build a personal connection to become a trusted aide.”
“Yes.”
A calculated approach and prepared lies.
As high-rise buildings went up around the royal palace, the United Kingdom’s ridiculous hierarchy worried about sniping and even banned construction, making it easy for a common boy to randomly encounter a younger princess.
Despite countless infiltration operations having failed, Redmond’s approach, which struck at the fundamental weaknesses of the Republic, was excellently successful.
A republic, buried in the ridiculous pride of being a system attentive to competent commoners, was inherently weak against espionage.
“Is this the power of culture?”
If, as Governor Craft said, this is a war of systems between monarchy and republic, it will serve as evidence of the monarchy’s superiority.
Ultimately, the internally contradictory republic will crumble starting from espionage, and only the monarchy will survive.
The typewriter made a period.
A completed report was in hand.
The analysis detailed how much of a military threat the railroad invested in by the United Kingdom could pose to the Empire.
While feigning ignorance about the ideological verification in front of the governor who seemed to be probing if he was still republican, the military explosiveness of the interconnected education, media, and transport was thoroughly analyzed.
Plans were put together to forcefully halt railroad construction without spending a single coin due to treaties from the time of the great war and to lead the United Kingdom to bankruptcy, which abruptly poured financial investments.
The report was placed aside.
“Is this the power of culture?”
Then this must be the superiority of the republic.
Redmond began drafting a new report.
“Why do you disregard social status? With the hierarchy collapsed, your highness almost faced assassination, didn’t you? In another country, royalty would be too afraid to act like that.”
“Risk and return. In exchange, we obtained a talent pool that disregards social status. While the Empire is bound to the population of nobles and merchant families, we built schools. When many are able to speak and express themselves, cannibalistic customs were discarded, and steam engines pulsed with life.”
The typewriter echoed.
“Is this the power of culture?”
Manipulation, reduction, expansion, bias.
Just as I manipulated reports on Governor Craft so far, the reports were manipulated.
The United Kingdom’s grand strategy is idealistic.
The military value of trains is limited.
The internal strife within the parliament makes it difficult to project national power abroad.
When analyzed comprehensively, the fundamental contradiction of the republic, which cannot consolidate national power, remains unresolved.
What the United Kingdom can do is, as Governor Craft advised, rely on the republicans to create chaos within the Empire.
The completed report sat beside him.
A new report began to take shape.
The betrayer of the Empire they had worried about is presumed to be a republican.
Since resources monitoring the aristocracy cannot be reduced, it is believed that the intelligence resources intended to be additionally deployed to Sky Island and the United Kingdom should be redirected to the republicans.
Redmond meticulously manipulated Governor Craft’s suggestions.
Reducing the risk posed by the United Kingdom and focusing on the republicans stirs up unrest within the Empire.
The intelligence resources intended for Sky Island and the United Kingdom must be redirected into the Empire’s interior, broadening Governor Craft’s maneuvering space while maintaining Redmond’s monopoly over overseas espionage networks.
Though Redmond couldn’t yet grasp why Governor Craft had to earn the Emperor’s trust at the expense of the republicans…
I will stake my ambitions on this.
For this beloved country.
“Equality, was this not the reason?”
“Rights are only valuable when you seize them for yourself, not when granted by others. Like when a building made of gold can pierce the life of a princess. Look, the guilds that tasted power have begun ambitious investments in the military industry that they previously avoided due to perceived investment risks. All of this will enable us to leap forward.”
That smile was beautiful.
The boy decided to tread the path of a double agent without persuasion, persuasion, or coercion.
If, as the governor said, this is a war of systems between monarchy and republic…
This will serve as evidence of the superiority of the republic.
I will make it so with my own hands.
The typewriter echoed.
The key pressed the period.
