I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

“Counterfeit currency is a trick. It makes no sense that the Alpensia family, with the Crown Prince on its back, does not have the funds to purchase sulfur in large quantities. The use of counterfeit currency made people think that the purpose of this incident was to upset the balance of the country. Yes. And at the same time, they bought time by framing me. Maybe calling me to the imperial palace was a means of diverting attention from the Piero estate.”

 

“I feel truly pathetic if I was caught up in their plans.”

 

I shook my head calmly. There was nothing pathetic. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I almost forgot about this incident. Moreover, it was difficult to accurately understand the intentions of Beralt and the Crown Prince, who had been preparing for this event for a very long time. I bit my lip, looked up slightly at the ceiling, and closed my eyes.

 

“Oh, now that I think about it, there’s something I haven’t been able to report to you yet.”

 

A man wearing a red cape who appeared to be Ian’s lieutenant broke the silence and opened his mouth. He took a ring out of his pocket and handed it to Ian. It was a quite luxurious ring with a subtle emerald color. Ian took the ring he gave him and looked around, narrowing his eyebrows slightly. What is that?

 

“Where did this come from?”

 

“…This is a ring taken from a man who was already dead next to the discarded corpses. It looked pretty precious, so I took it, but the other devastation was so bad that I forgot about it. I’m sorry.”

 

Ian shook his head slightly at his lieutenant, as if to tell him not to worry, and then looked at the ring again.

 

“What is that?”

 

“…The ring worn by the Marquis of Bepis, the seal worn by the heads of the family.”

 

The family’s seal? Then…

 

“The man wearing this ring must have been the son of the Marquis of Bepis. Could it have been the corpse of the eldest son?”

 

I quietly looked at Ian’s frowning face. The eldest son of Marquis Bepis was dead? why? Wasn’t he an important person? He thought he was a key figure in this matter, but he wasn’t at all…

 

“In the end, this means that for them, the Bepis family was a simple tool to divert our eyes and blind our thoughts. I guess they wanted us to think of it as revenge or treason from the Marquis of Bepis.”

 

“Actually, we thought about it that way.”

 

He lamented softly and bit his lip. We need to find out what the relationship between the crown prince and Beralt is and whether the crown prince knows what Beralt is doing. In a situation where there was a lack of information in many ways, I did my research thinking of the worst case scenario, but when I actually came to a conclusion, the answer was too simple.

 

“The target would be the Verdian family, and furthermore, the Safeldric family, one of the two major dukedom families. And if they are afraid of being connected to this inner circle, the small territory of Ajstain will also be a target.”

 

My head was confused and I was also worried.

 

“I don’t even know what shape the bombs were made in or what they look like. There’s no way to know what size they are, what color they are, or how many they have.”

 

“The essence of fire actually produced by the imperial family is the size of an adult male’s fist. The color is blue, but there is no guarantee that they produced it in the same shape.”

 

“It could be a little bigger, or it could have been made smaller with less explosive power.”

 

Ian nodded his head and then snapped his fingers. The adjutant quickly left the position.

 

“Ajstain Territory, Safeldric Territory, and Berdian Territory. Were there enough bombs manufactured to attack these three territories at once? Probably not.”

 

“Then, the deputy governor who had targeted the main building laid out three maps side by side on the table I was leaning on. It was a military map that clearly showed the geography and characteristics of each territory of the empire.”

 

Ian walked up to the table holding a pen and checked the areas that would most likely be damaged if the bomb exploded. After checking major government offices, nobles’ mansions, squares and markets where many people gather, he muttered lowly.

 

“Twenty-three places.”

 

“The twenty-three bombs are ready, right?”

 

“I should think so.”

 

“How to install…”

 

“If you’ve already planted a spy, bringing in a bomb won’t be a big problem. But since the installation hasn’t been completed yet, if you start preparing now, it might be a bit…”

 

Ian ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Not only that, but many people present exhaled lowly or narrowed their eyes. Everyone had no idea where to start or what to point out. I muttered quietly with a sigh.

 

“Should we evacuate the permanent residents?”

 

In the worst case, the entire territory might have to be vacated. Ian bit his lip. Even though he said it, I knew it wasn’t realistic. He is not a hundred or two hundred. There are hundreds of thousands of residents in the Berdian Principality alone, so there is no way to relocate them all.

 

“I can’t ask for help from the imperial family because I don’t have physical evidence. Moreover, as long as the crown prince stands still, he will cause all kinds of interference.”

 

“We raided to secure evidence, but the other party was a little more quick-witted.”

 

Ian frowned at the adjutant’s explanation. This is a situation that makes you sigh. How should I deal with this? Is it really the first priority to evacuate the residents as Ian said? Everyone in the room lowered their heads, unable to say what to do. Silence filled the room. It was frustrating to wait and see, not knowing what to do in a situation where I didn’t know when and where the bomb would explode.

 

“Shall we push out the Alpensia family…?”

 

Everyone looked agitated when they heard Ian’s quietly flowing voice. Ian looked at me. The look in his eyes as he bit his lip insisted that what he had said was not just a sigh. And I also thought that if evacuating the residents was not the answer, the best way to solve this incident was most definitely what Ian mentioned. Although radical and violent,

 

“If there is an armed conflict, how long will it take to wipe the Alpensia family off the map?”

 

This time, the eyes are focused on me. Unlike the gaze that Ian received, the gaze that was focused on me seemed to be asking if I was sincere. Did you think I was going to stop Ian? you’re welcome. I also valued my people. I didn’t want the permanent residents of my territory to lose their lives because of someone’s dirty purposes. If it is necessary to mobilize violence to protect them, we must do whatever it takes.

 

“A day.”

 

Ian answered simply.

 

“If you want, you can erase the Alpensia family from the map as soon as tomorrow. No matter what intervention there is.”

 

Even if the imperial family intervenes. Everyone in the room stiffened their expressions because they knew the weight his next words carried. Suddenly, I remembered Duke Safeldrick’s words, asking me to think about what the power structure of the empire would be like. The balance between external and internal power is maintained by two duke families. As if the weight of a scale was located in the center, neither side collapsed nor shook. The imperial family did not exist on those scales. It was truly a famous office. The imperial family, the center of the empire with the noblest bloodline, was just watching, dividing its power between two sides. Even if a rebellion breaks out right away, there is no power to stop it. The only deterrent was ultimately the founding myth. The balance of this country, which was supported only by the legitimacy of being a descendant of heavenly people and a symbol of faith, was infinitely fragile. On the surface, it seems that anything will be accomplished under the solemn rule of the imperial family, but in reality, even when the imperial family threatened the Berdian family with financial pressure, a rebellion could have occurred if Ian had wanted to. Ultimately, it was the issue of legality that held him down. It wasn’t because he said superficial things like loyalty, loyalty, and the knight’s oath. There was only so much the Silver Imperial Family could do. The imperial family was unable to exert influence through force, and the only thing they could do when putting pressure on the principality was to create a situation of political isolation and suppress it with money. But even that was resolved safely just by me intervening and providing money. Perhaps, if Ian had been a little more flexible, he would have sought aid from House Safeldrick, reduced the size of his forces, or whatever. The imperial family, which had no choice but to apply such soft pressure, found it difficult to stop the Berdian family. If Ian decides to erase the Alpensia family from the map, no one can stop him. Unless you make thorough preparations.

 

“What if a bomb is used in the process?

 

“I guess we should consider that fortunate. If bombs are used on the battlefield, at least innocent residents will be safe. Although the lives of the soldiers cannot be guaranteed.”

 

Ian’s sighing voice wandered around, lost. In the end, is it back to square one? He bit his lip. As time passed and no suitable alternative was found, I wondered if the conversation would end in the direction of disbanding the personnel for now and rebuilding the policy later.

 

“Hey… Miss?”

 

The door opened and Fievel appeared. He shuffled in and rolled his eyes. Why are you like that? Since he had never shown himself to be intimidated by many people, he looked at me in confusion.

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

Fievel smiled awkwardly.

 

“…A guest has arrived.”

 

“A guest?”

 

There are a lot of customers since morning.

 

“Who did you say you were?”

 

“…”

 

Fievel hesitated. I tilted my head at the sight of him that I had never seen before. Fievel glanced behind him and spoke quietly.

 

“Have you ever heard of Trukal’s alchemist?”

 

Trukal’s Alchemist? Damn…

 

“…The man came?”

 

The timing is perfect, how did you know to come here now? When he asked me to find his wife, he regretted not saying he knew. I wasn’t worried about him being so huge and causing trouble. Because Ian is there and his knights are there, subduing them is possible. However, handing over someone’s death report and seeing them sad was not a pleasant experience. Besides, the situation was complicated, and I wanted to avoid making myself even more confused by telling him this. It’s also selfish. He smiled bitterly and tapped his chin.

 

I glanced behind me and stepped away from the door. What should I say? I would have high expectations. It was Dermin who wanted to know more than anyone else about his wife’s fate. She couldn’t decide whether to say something hopeful about the unknown fate of her wife when she was almost certain to be dead, or whether to draw a line. You have to see that face. He adjusted his posture and silently watched the girl enter. But… Oh?

 

“Hello. Long time no see. Next lord Lawrence Ajstein.”

 

Dermin came inside holding a woman’s hand. A woman with a clear look of hesitation was led by his hand and slowly lowered her head to look at the people in the room. Who…?

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: