CH 97

Alice’s face blossomed as the door closed.

“So, what do you want from me?”

Alice thinks for a moment and then glares at me.

“I only have business with you!”

It was the first conversation after my vacation, and I was fed up with the usual way things were going.

It was still early in the day and there was no one else around, so I thought it would be a good idea to keep her company. I hated myself for what I had just done.

“I’m not here for Alice. I think you’re mistaken.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What is it?”

“I’m talking about the trip!”

Ohhh. Come to think of it, Alice was supposed to come on Mist’s trip too. But what does that matter?

“That’s not what it’s about!”

“Huh.”

“I was so excited, I was ready to go on vacation the first day!”

“I see.”

“I’ve been excitedly waiting for you to call me every day, but you haven’t shown up, so people have been looking at me like I’m some poor kid! Plus, they started being unusually nice to me!”

“Wasn’t it good that they were nice to you?”

“Not good!”

Alice shouted in anger, gasping for air.

I’m not responsible for what happened. The contract says that if Mist wants to come on a trip, I’ll take her. Alice’s anger should be directed at Mist.

“Even so, Mist has the right to decide the date. I thought she’d come during the vacation but she didn’t, so you can complain to Mist.”

Alice made a bland face and diverted the conversation.

You can talk tough to me, but you can’t say anything to Mist? What a petty little princess.

“What’s with the white eyes? Let’s talk about the mock battle! Yeah, let’s talk about the mock battle!”

I knew that Alice was this kind of person, so I thought it was too late and stopped arguing with her.

Now, Alice wanted to talk to me about the mock battle, but why did she want to go to the mock battle in the first place? Alice is a girl, even if she is a princess. There was no reason for her to participate in the mock battle.

I’ll ask her why.

“Speaking of which, why did Alice want to participate in the mock battle?”

When Alice hears my question, she turns over and mutters something with a shadow on her face.

“It’s not like she’s going to try to get involved with you unless you do something about it.”

What does it mean? The words were so fragmented that I couldn’t make sense of them. I don’t know if it’s something she wants to talk about too much, or if she’s just sad, and I don’t want to get too deep into the situation.

“No, don’t worry about it. I was just asking because it’s unusual for a girl to participate.”

I said to myself and then realized.

Wait. It’s Alice’s stupid father. He is the king who only uses his power to get Alice to do what he asks. There’s no way he would stop Alice from participating. Something bad might happen again.

I grabbed both of Alice’s shoulders.

“What?”

Alice shudders and shrinks back. I look her straight in the eyes and ask.

“Did you tell your father that you’ll participate?”

“Yes, um…”

“Please answer me.”

“Hyah!”

Alice, perhaps impatient with my desperation, blushed and raised her voice and then, she began to talk in whispers.

“I didn’t say I was going to be in the mock battle, but……”

I guess that’s why the teams were divided this way.

Damn it, the teachers need to stop this! It must have never occurred to them that the princess would participate without consulting the king.

In fact, it’s normal to think that the princess wouldn’t have participated unless the royal family had some kind of intention. If there was a purpose for the princess to participate in the event, then making a complaint to the royal family about the princess’s participation would be an act of trying to block the royal family’s plans. That’s why the teacher couldn’t say anything.

The worst part is the guards. The guards should have known that the princess was going to be there and reported it to the king, but they didn’t, did they?

I was really annoyed by the carelessness of the guards.

“Chris, your face is scary.”

Alice looked a little frightened and said, I apologized to Alice and removed my hand from her shoulder.

I looked at Alice with a slightly disappointed look in my eyes.

The King will soon know that Alice is going to compete. And what will happen when the King finds out?

To be honest, once she announced her intention to participate, withdrawing would be a blow to her reputation. It would be fatal to the reputation of the royal family under the current circumstances. That’s why she can’t cancel her participation.

Then I’ll have to put Alice in a situation where she can’t compete. However, judging from Alice’s attitude earlier, it’s clear that there are extraordinary circumstances surrounding her participation. So I don’t think Alice will simply back down.

This means that Alice must have a safe way to compete. How can I be sure that Alice, the general, will be safe? It’s a loss for the enemy team, Claire, but it’s a gain for me.

Then I won’t have to worry about Alice. I breathed in the relief that had suddenly come over me and then a new desire rose.

I wonder if the information about the mock battle will spread throughout the royal family. At the very least, they should have information on where it will take place.

This information is priceless, as I still don’t have a clear idea of how to defeat Claire. It is better to take the risk and go for it than to delay here and regret it at the end of the day.

“Alice! I need a favor!”

“What is it now……?”

Alice takes a couple of steps back and looks at me suspiciously.

“Help me sneak into the royal castle!”

“Chris! Do you understand what you’re saying?”

Sure enough, Alice jumped up and down in surprise at my insane request and asked me worriedly if I was out of my mind.

“Yes, I know! Please Alice! I’m not going to do anything wrong!”

“No, that’s definitely the line of someone who would do something bad!”

“Please! I’ll do anything if it works!”

“Really?!”

Alice, who had been shocked and distraught, became joyful all over again. Feeling uncomfortable with Alice’s state, I became a little calm. Then I realized why Alice looked so happy.

Oh no. I just said “anything” in the heat of the moment. I have to take it back but before I could open my mouth, Alice patted her poor chest and replied.

“All right, all right! I’ll take care of it! Besides, I’m nervous about me and Chris sneaking in together!”

“No, anything is too much…….”

At that moment, my words were drowned out by the loud sound of the door opening in the middle of my speech, and I felt a strong wind pressure.

I turned around in a panic to see what had happened. There was Mist, holding the door with one hand and a big smile on her face.

“I’ve heard so much about this! I must be a part of something that sounds so interesting!”

I looked at Alice’s face, unsure of what to make of this sudden turn of events, and saw that she had a very reluctant look on her face. I’m sure I look like that too.