Book 19: Chapter 41
“Did you say Troy’s daughters are over there?” asked Ikana, cup nearly slipping out of her hand. It was probably the first time she revealed such a shocked gaze in front of her advisor. She looked at the compilation before her in shock. She then pinched her chin and, in a muffled tone, mumbled, “Can’t that be considered Troy declaring his stance? Has he decided to assist Vera?”
“I do not think so; otherwise, King Troy would not have sent someone here. You saw Miss Tanya in the afternoon, did you not? King Troy has not made his stance clear as of yet. Perhaps his four daughters were merely there by coincidence. I believe he would never explicate his daughters are here; else, his daughters would definitely be in trouble if he made his stance clear.”
After calmly analysing it, Ikana let out a small breath of relief.
The advisor followed up: “Miss Tanya didn’t explicate their stance, either. Miss Tanya is not an experienced diplomat. She is a general, but she is closest to King Troy. I think King Troy wants to sit and observe from the sidelines. He wants to see which of us can gain the upper hand before he truly takes action. I would say Miss Tanya is an observer as opposed to a diplomat, which is the same as the four Princesses.”
“No, it’s not the same,” mumbled Ikana. “We don’t know how the four Princesses came here and what their goal is. Whatever the case, the four Princesses presence forces me to be cautious. If our plans affect just slightly more than intended and hurt the four Princesses, I’m absolutely certain we won’t get off the hook. Perhaps King Troy didn’t send his four Princesses, and they sneaked out. Even if that was true, that would still be extremely disadvantageous to us.”
“What is your plan?”
Ikana resolutely gave her order: “Our original plan to strike during the coronation is cancelled, right? That’s no longer the best opportunity for us to strike. This operation will destroy all of the spies we sent. Have everyone stop all operations for the meantime. Also, get rid of any documents and weapons that will expose them.”
The advisor recorded Ikana’s orders then responded, “Are we just going to spare Vera, then? Although she managed to escape once, the truth is that there are a good number of people who support her succession, which is why we should do something now. Even if we do not personally act, we do have to instigate them, do we not?”
“No, the problem with that as it currently stands is it’d be too obvious we’re trying to provoke them. Lots of people bore witness to Vera’s composure during the incident. I doubt there’d be many people who’d believe our instigations. With that said, we do need to slander and mislead the masses. Make sure to not insult and oppose her in an apparent manner. Avoid obvious approaches. Oh, one more thing. I haven’t given up. I’ll never spare Vera regardless of when. She’s my biggest threat. The only way to eliminate the threat is to kill her. Don’t worry; I’ve already sent others. Not only do I want Vera but also the four sisters. The four Princesses may have limited my actions, but if they’re with me, then they’ll be the best bargaining chip to prevent Troy from interfering.”