Afterward, the headmistress exited the room and took down the soundproof barrier.
I got the confirmation I needed. While I wasn't a professional detecting lies, I knew Alesia wasn't lying when she said she took no side. There was also another reason why I believed her earlier. Using the tense atmosphere, I secretly used my 'Requirement Appraisal' so she didn't notice the Mana ripple.
It worked, and she didn't suspect a thing. From that description, I managed to find out what this dream she muttered about. And I confirmed she wouldn't go against me.
The meeting she talked about must be the one she attended in the Capital City when she was gone for a few days. Something that I didn't know must've happened at that time, causing Alesia to make this decision and preventing King Cassius from making a move.
'I think it's time to make a move against the royal family. Seeing how passive King Cassius' movement is, he might have already realized that the Princess is planning something and preparing for countermeasures.'
Unfortunately, that crazy Princess chose to try to 'use' me instead of asking for my cooperation. If she asked nicely, then I would help her get that beloved father of hers in exchange for something I wanted from the Royal Castle.
Truly unfortunate.
"Well then…" I heaved a long sigh and turned to Emilia. "How long are you going to pretend, Emilia? I know your hand has stopped since earlier."
Emilia's body jolted slightly. Slowly, she raised her head and pretended she had just woken up.
"Arthur?" She called me with a weak voice, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you doing here? I thought I heard the headmistress' voice…"
Yeah, she had woken up and saw me talking with the headmistress. But she didn't hear anything because of the older elf's barrier that separated the space around us from the outside, not allowing sound to escape or enter.
As I smiled and approached her, I replied honestly. "The headmistress just stopped by earlier and talked to me."
I stopped before her and leaned closer for a kiss. Emilia smiled slightly and gave me a little, loving peck.
Leaning closer, Emilia said, "The headmistress probably is searching for me. I really shouldn't sleep here. The Annual Tournament is only a few days away, just right after the morning prayer, so I will be quite busy."
"Do your best, Emilia." I encouraged her. "If you need something, just go to my mansion. Lisa and Lara will allow you to pass the gate, and you can just wait inside the mansion if I am not home yet."
"Hmm… Yes." Emilia nodded. "I won't be able to visit for 7 days, though. But…"
She looked up at me and reached out, circling her arms around my neck.
"I might want a reward for doing a great job."
"Of course." I smiled at her and held her waist, pulling her closer. Her breasts were crushed against my chest, and our faces were close to each other. "While you are helping with the preparation, I will be happy if you help me look into something."
"Anything for you, Arthur."
"Then…" I leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "Watch what the other teachers do for this tournament's preparation, will you? If they do something strange, please tell me, no matter how small their action is."
And as I pulled my head away, I gave her a light kiss on her nape, causing her to moan softly.
"Yes…"
Emilia enjoyed my light touch and answered vividly. Then she backed away and fixed her suit.
"I need to go and help with the preparation again now. See you later, student Arthur."
It had been a long time since I saw her teacher act. Her sharp eyes and the strict image were nostalgic even though it was only a few days since I had seen it, so I put up an act of an innocent student and smiled brightly.
"Yes, teacher Emilia."
Emilia left the room after laughing a little at my act, leaving me alone. This place was perfect for sitting in silence and gathering my thoughts.
I went to the soft chair behind the desk and sat on it, putting my hands together and closing my eyes.
"Lucy will definitely stop the Princess from crossing the border, so I don't have to worry about it. That Vampire girl is a strong fighter, after all. And she has my blood to use her skill and enhance her status further. No one in the Border City except for Level 100 Beatrice will be able to beat her."
The Knights accompanying her were probably Royal Guard. They were Elites among the Kingdom Knights, and their Level averaged between 30 to 45. For now, I hadn't seen someone that managed to achieve a Level above 60 naturally, except for Alesia, because the feeling of danger wasn't present.
That was why Alesia was dangerous, and I put her highly among other people who could. Fortunately, she took a neutral position, which was the best, and only cared about her Academy.
Of course, I could beat her with no problem in a fight, but I wanted her to take my side instead of being my enemy. I only confronted her earlier because I wanted to confirm something, and she knew that. That was why she didn't really mind and just walked away after we were done.
I also planned to show Princess Carissa she shouldn't mess with me in this tournament and get back what she did to me that night. But it might be a little hard with an unexpected addition of a guest, Duke Blacktomb.
"Meeting, huh?" I muttered, remembering Alesia's words once again.
The meeting was held by the government right after I became a Paladin. No matter how I looked at it, it was clear that this meeting was to talk about me. That was held for a few days with Alesia as an observer of the meeting.
What a coincidence. The assassins that attacked me and the Duke Blacktomb came to this kingdom. And after that, Duke Bluerose's movement became apparent, though that was also part of Beatrice's fault.
Someone with just a little brain could guess why the Duke came all the way from the Sin Kingdom with those clues.
His goal was probably simple, "Either to recruit me or deem me dangerous. In other words, scouting."
The assassin was used to collect information and judge my abilities. And if I wanted to know more about this Duke Blacktomb, I needed to ask someone from the Sin Kingdom.
"She probably will arrive tomorrow."
My gluttonous little assassin. Sandra would arrive from her long journey from Rose Barony alongside Linda and Jane tomorrow at the latest.
"Hmm, let's prepare something good for her and let her rest first. It was really a good idea to spread my influence everywhere."
If I didn't take over Border City, the Princess would easily gain access to the Sin Kingdom with her influence. The other underground city would also be cautious of nobles and would definitely know that I was the Border City's new leader. That way, they wouldn't try to do anything that could oppose me.
Then if I didn't spare Sandra, I wouldn't be able to get a precious source of information.
Rania helped me to monitor the Kingdom Knights as she still had influence as a former Commander. Sana was the Archbishop of the Castitas Church who could command many nuns, church knights, and even the hidden group Lisa and Lara belonged to.
I hadn't seen them yet, but I knew that they were truly capable of spreading the news, probably even better than the Kingdom secret service, which specialized in dirty work.
Yesterday, I asked Sana to spread the news about me saving Lima Port City from Scylla, and it should spread all over the Kingdom tomorrow.
Alesia was also in a neutral position. She wouldn't help me, but she also wouldn't help Princess Carissa, as we were both students here. The headmistress would just do her job as an observer, just like her title.
But I had Emilia on my side; she would be my eyes in this Academy. Alesia already knew that but didn't stop me, meaning that I was free to do that as long as it didn't hurt the Academy's reputation.
"Sorry, Princess." My lips rose in a wide grin. "But I am already a few steps ahead of you."
Making a move against the Princess was useless. I didn't need to do that.
Depending on how the situation proceeded… This might open the path for me to go to the Sin Kingdom as a guest.
"Duke Blacktomb, huh? I hope he's not as stupid as Duke Bluerose."
