We left the dining room at a fine pace, encountering my servants on the way as they stood waiting by the wall outside the dining room. Seeing that I was with my family, both Mera and Vernon hesitated to follow. I was thinking about bringing them with me inside my father's office since they could potentially help.

However, it was unlikely. Vernon on the other hand would also surely learn of the information later on. Mera meanwhile… hm, I cannot think of how she could help with this, with her being just my maid and all. But that was fine, she’ll do fine just assisting me in my daily life, no need for her to be involved in matters beyond her abilities.

Besides, we family were gathering and considering the information, my request of letting them inside would definitely be denied. That being said, after my father shared it with me, I could just tell them, no trouble.

I gestured to them with a tilt of my head while wearing a sweet smile, prompting them to follow behind us. Along with them, I saw another man around the same age as my eldest brother. No, perhaps a little later, maybe a year older.

He had light brown hair tied into a short ponytail and his skin had a fair complexion, his eyes bore the color of leaves on a healthy sturdy tree. Tall and walking with a straight back while donning a fine coat and trousers with dark boots. A bit handsome with all that getup, but he was nothing very special.

I remember him, he’s the assistant of my dear eldest brother. He had been helping Eleden since they were little kids, might as well call them childhood friends. Our family and his family were quite close, he hailed from a remote demesne under the rule of an earl.

When we made eye contact while I was looking at my servants, I faintly smiled at him. What? Is it wrong to act all cute? Come on.

He, on the other hand, returned a wide smile. Truth be told, we have a pretty decent relationship, but not very close, I think. The term “friends” could be used, but friends who never talk much. Hehe, I don’t know if you could even call that friendship. Well, not that it mattered much anyway.

In contrast, I could see that he looked plenty confused about us royals suddenly going out together and ascending the stairs.

I was feeling a bit excited to be honest, expecting that everything went well. I’m sure no one would be stupid enough to just kill everyone, surely they caught at least one. With this, I can get closer to learning the reason why they were targeting an innocent and peace-loving beautiful girl like me.

What if it failed though? Come now, don’t be all negative. Only think of the negative side if the stake was too high and imminent, or the current situation could cause your immediate elimination… Okay, I just want to be positive, okay? It’s so stressful to keep thinking about this when I could instead spend my time in leisure without worrying about anything.

…. Yes, hope. That was what I was feeling.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination, locking the door after having the staff leave. Needless to say, my servants and Eleden’s assistant remained outside a bit distant from the office’s door. Although the walls and doors prevent sounds from going out, I suppose it was for the sake of certain security.

I wonder if there were spells that could do that that I could cast.

In front of father’s desk, we all sat down with Mother by my side, and my brothers in front of us, while Father sat down at his usual seat. I clasped my hands together as I waited.

“F-Father, how was it?”

He gazed at me before sighing.

Ah, what… What's with the sigh? Shit.

“The circumstances were shocking…” he then pulled out a scroll from the pocket of his coat and offered it to me. “Here, as the one who made it happen, I’ll have you read the report first.”

I timidly took the scroll from his hand and opened it up. As time passed, after reading it, I almost crumpled the paper in my hand and had to compose myself before letting my emotions show on my face.

My efforts were basically in vain. Shit!

“As you can see, dear daughter, the trap worked,” he said as he looked at everyone. “It didn’t go as we wanted, but I wouldn’t go to say we completely failed.”

What? What do you mean, father? This was an utter failure. This was an utter disappointment.

“We have discovered and confirmed that our enemies aren’t humans, not just Oryn. With this occurrence we can prepare more appropriately in case something happens.”

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But don’t we know that already!? Don’t we already assume that? That’s why it’s a failure. It’s feeble compared to learning what their motives were. Why the fuck they are targeting me!?

And was Father saying this so I wouldn’t be too angry or distraught?!

Calm, calm down. Aren’t I getting impatient… but who wouldn’t? A good life was already within my reach, but they would get in my way? Unforgivable.

“So father, they are indeed ‘elves’?” Estevan asked.

“Not just elves like Oryn, but there’s another type of creature…”

“Beast-like beings who appeared mostly human but with the exception of animal-like ears on their heads. They also have the ability to transform into complete beasts but can stand on two feet,” I said, speaking out loud the description of the new creature I had just read.

I had imagined that there would be other kinds of inhuman enemies, but to be honest, I’m still a bit shocked reading their description. What, are they some kind of werewolves?

Like for fuck sake, there’s dog-like, tiger-like? Then there’s a wolf.

“Are our enemies truly not human? This… this is hard to process,” Estevan said as he massaged his temple.

“...” Mother remained silent with a troubled expression.

Eleden on the other hand seemed confused, but he still listened, giving us the freedom to discuss.

“So, we discovered our enemies, how did it fail? Did they escape?” Estevan asked.

I sighed before returning the scroll to my father.

“They… they…” I tried to explain what happened…

“The enemies killed themselves, and each other.”

“What?”

“...”

Estevan and Mother both had expressions of shock. I mean, it was a bit hard to believe that they were capable of such action.

Conviction was such a hard thing to encounter. Gathering from the report, elves were the extremist ones, one killed itself, and one other killed his own allies just so they wouldn’t get captured and extract information from.

“We failed to capture anyone. But, at the very least, we have uncovered what kind of enemies we’ll be facing.”

I wonder. If one elf managed to kill his own allies amidst the church members, then how strong was that elf? Oryn sure did struggle with just Estevan and Vernon, this could mean their strengths vary. What a pain.

On the other hand, how strong were the church members? I’m completely clueless.

“But, tragically, we lost a few priests in the process. I might need the knights sooner or later for improved security, not just the palace but the entire city.”

Then father turned to me.

“Estelia, I’m sorry it ended not like we hoped after you gave us the opportunity.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it, father…” I said with a smile. “I will put my faith in you that you will solve this problem.”

“Of course…”

“Ah, by the way, father, how strong are the church members?” I asked.

“Hm? Why do you ask?”

“I just want to know.”

“Well, it’s… how do I describe it?” he muttered before glancing at Estevan. “An average member is a little below the strength of our elite knights.”

“What?!” exclaimed Estevan, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Father! Are you serious?”

Wow, his pride might be damaged there a little.

“Yes.”

“...’

This was a surprise for me also, that may be why Father let the church handle it. If I were to guess, the church was somewhat the trump card of our nation. However, they still failed to accomplish the mission, meaning that our enemy was not to be severely underestimated.

“That being said, my son, I get to say that because the church fighters are flexible with all the spells they can cast. Your knights can still put up a fight against them.”

“Even so...… Looks like I have to harden our training.”

I wonder though if I train them, how will that turn out? I’m not exactly good at holding back when it comes to giving people a hard time when I want to, hehehe. But of course, they wouldn’t just listen to a fragile princess, so let’s leave it to Estevan. But how would I train them? Eh, it wouldn’t be easy to think of with magic in the picture. But I shall make them experience hell. In any case, I have no intention of doing that, too difficult for now and a bother. I’ll focus on myself first.

“Have your knights prepare for my orders, Estevan. We might need to enhance our patrols at night.”

“Understood.”

“Meanwhile, I will leave it to the church to track down our enemies.”

It definitely wouldn’t be easy if our side required my intervention just to encounter our enemies. Now that our enemies have realized that we knew of their presence, they would be more careful from now on, even though they were already careful from the beginning.

“Now, can I chime in?”

We all shifted our gazes towards Eleden.

“Alright, what’s going on?”

Father went on to explain what the situation was. Someone was out trying to get to me and kill me, then the betrayal of Oryn, then the imprisonment of my newly appointed personal chef.

Meanwhile, I contemplated my predicament. The mission was a failure, however, my other goal was fulfilled. The enemies walked into the trap that I initiated while there were others with me in Oryn’s room. Meaning, there was no betrayer among them.

Well, I was not testing out Mera and Vernon, but specifically the knight Rogan. The trap worked, therefore, Rogan wasn’t feeding information to the opposition. So it was safe to conclude that Rogan wasn’t colluding with the enemy.

Good, I would need another asset just in case, and he’ll be fine.

As for the enemies, their strength sounded troublesome. I need to ramp up my training, tomorrow I will start training on my physical enhancement so I wouldn’t be flicked away with a single finger.

On the other hand, now that my initial hope and expectation failed, I don’t know what to do. What could be useful… There is a certain chef in the dungeon, but I guess she wouldn’t have much use anymore.

I’m stuck.

Haaaaah.

For the time being, I’ll focus on gaining strength while taking baby steps on the other I’m thinking about.

“All of that happened while I was away…?”

They had finished their recap and Eleden was aghast at everything that he missed. Yeah, a lot of things did happen while he was gone.

“To think Oryn was a… and that girl…” Eleden looked at me. “I’m glad you’re safe, Estelia.”

“Brother…”

“I will put my all into this, don’t worry, I’ll help where I can, for you.”

I smile proudly at my sweet brother.

“For the time being, I need time to wrap my head around this.”

Maybe understandable, shit just got hammered into his head after all.