26. The Aristocratic Movement of High Society

[Bang]

The desperate gunshot rang out! But the next moment, to my relief: Reiti did not continue her earlier unusual behavior, but instead shot at the back of the chair the criminal was sitting on, genuinely scaring the boastful criminal, who, despite his bravado, was now visibly shaken. With wide eyes, he kicked over his chair and fell, then turned to stare at me expressionlessly.

Her attitude towards me remained exceptionally hostile, but at least… Reiti had finally taken in what I had just said, proving that there was still room for communication!

“This Emperor gives you one chance.”

Then, Reiti tucked the firearm into her belt and, in the coldest voice, issued me an order, “Make him speak! Remember, this Emperor hates those who deceive me the most!”

“I did my best…”

I exchanged a bitter smile with Sister Rasputin, who was gaping at me.

The crisis had only been alleviated by a tiny fraction, just the size of a “fingernail”—Leiti had reluctantly listened to my advice once, but her current sullen and violent demeanor clearly indicated: if we couldn’t find any results, no one would come out unscathed.

Under normal circumstances, I would never wade into this mess without Kefir around; one misstep could lead me to a deadly script where I might lose my life. But this time, I simply couldn’t ignore it: the attack was aimed at Leiti, and I had no choice but to get involved. Leiti looked so “strange” right now, and I had just begun to piece together some clues; in the end… I couldn’t really let Leiti turn into a bloodthirsty “tyrant,” could I?

The script wouldn’t conveniently lay out the causes and effects of the attack, nor the motives of the perpetrators, but it wasn’t without hints.

“Sister Rasputin.”

I looked at Rasputin, and this time she finally didn’t have the guts to give me the finger.

“All the attackers were wearing uniforms from the Lubyanka Academy. Have you investigated their identities?”

“Of course, I’ve investigated them all!”

Sister Rasputin was momentarily taken aback, then immediately began to cooperate with me one hundred percent. “The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already investigated their identities at the academy! Lady Leiti, although I find it strange too, the people we’ve captured are indeed genuine students of the academy!”

“Sister, there must be more, right?”

“Shut up… don’t steal my words!” Sister Rasputin shot me a surprised glare. “There are indeed more… while investigating their identities, we also found that these captured criminals, aside from being students, seem to be… children of various noble families in Rosia! The Wolf Knights and Bear Knights have already surrounded the families of all involved students, but for confidentiality reasons, we haven’t conducted a direct search yet; we only indicated that we were setting up for the criminals, Lady Leiti.”

As Sister Rasputin gradually revealed the information, Leiti’s expression softened slightly.

However, I couldn’t feel happy at all. With the revelation that “the criminals might all be children of nobles,” the entire attack suddenly took on a bizarre purpose. Why would these young elites of Rosia, who had no worries about food and clothing and even had bright futures ahead, choose to abandon their good lives to engage in such a foolish act as “attacking Leiti”?

I decided to set that aside for now, as there were more important matters at hand.

“Then, Sister…”

“Just call me…”

“Do the heads of these noble families know what their children have done?”

Sister Rasputin shook her head, too busy to argue about whether to call her “Sister” or “Miss.”

“They don’t even know what we’re here to do; I personally believe they have no idea. But this speculation is really…”

“Very well, let’s assume they don’t know.”

“Suka Burete! Are you looking for trouble!?”

Looking for your sister! It’s just that Sister Rasputin, when it comes to Leiti, can always shed her current “evil villain lackey” image, acting decisively and even cooler than the side characters. Of course, her words carry some credibility; I’m complimenting you, Sister! Don’t you Rosians understand compliments!?

After gathering the information, I smiled at Leiti.

“So, Your Majesty, if you really go ahead and kill them, there will definitely be a lot of trouble afterward, right? Even if it’s just to let the parents of these noble children know what idiotic things their kids have done, or to continue the investigation to avoid letting any fish slip through the net, could you please refrain from shooting people at the drop of a hat?”

“Hmph!”

Probably feeling like she had been put in her place, Leiti huffed and stopped responding to me.

The noble children, living without worries, secretly committed the act of “attacking the Emperor of the Rosian Empire.” If this were merely a game for the upper crust to pass the time, it would be too foolish. Moreover, the meticulously prepared attack plan by these noble students, which even included escape methods, indicated that there was indeed a clever “leader” among them who… knew Leiti’s activities and habits!

If I hadn’t seen the danger in advance from the script and had Sister Rasputin prepare countermeasures, leading these young people into an “unknown territory,” Leiti would have been in grave danger. Even if the attack failed, they would likely have escaped without a trace!

This was definitely not a trivial matter, so… for Leiti’s safety, I absolutely couldn’t distance myself from this situation. After all, Leiti’s current state had become “dangerous” in another sense.

“Empress Letty, although I’m not clear why these people are targeting you, I have a bit of an idea about this matter. As for how to deal with the captured criminals, you can handle that as you see fit. I will act on my own to find the remaining criminals and their organization as much as possible.”

After a pause, I looked at Letty, no… I was looking at “Letty.”

“So, may I ask ‘you’ to temporarily ‘leave’?”

“Okirid.”

Letty gave me a deep look, and ultimately, perhaps due to the current situation… or maybe she had calmed down, she nodded.

“This Empress does not like to wait, and there isn’t much time to wait.”

“Don’t worry.”

After all, I felt the same way; I didn’t want to wait another moment regarding what was happening to Letty.

With Letty’s consent, I turned to leave and quickened my pace!

That was Letty, but not Letty! Although she maintained the appearance of Letty’s little midget body, I was certain: the one committing those dangerous and domineering acts was the Thunder Fairy, Jousi! And for some reason, this time Letty hadn’t transformed, and her consciousness was even present, it was as if…

【Jousi and Letty were sharing the body!】

But this couldn’t go on; I feared that Jousi might “take over” Letty’s body if she became “unhappy,” and… not switch back! So even though I had no confidence in resolving the attack, I had to grit my teeth and agree to calm the Thunder Fairy Jousi down, letting her temporarily give the body… even the consciousness back to Letty.

If I didn’t do this, before Kephiel and I could find a way to negotiate for Jousi’s help, Letty would likely fall into danger regarding her “body”!

——

Recently, the illustrations have improved a lot; I feel like next month I can hold a mouse pad raffle for the monthly tickets.

I wonder if the mouse pad will be practical?