Of course, Mr. Penguin!
As a subject of the Empire, it’s absolutely natural to respect and follow His Majesty the Emperor!
His Majesty’s radiance not only inspires the Empire but has also influenced the Governor of Sky Island, reaching the Demon Realm and persuading Mr. Penguin!
Every hour, every second, Pastel thinks only of His Majesty the Emperor, and she can’t help but be moved once more in front of this most rightful miracle!
So!
“I have doubts about your sincerity. I had considered the possibility that the Governor might harbor resentment towards the royal family. However, given the circumstances of the past, I thought it would be difficult to realize, which is why I extended the hand of reconciliation. But if you’ve been secretly building rapport with the Demon King all along, it’s a different story.”
Hwaaa!
I did nothing wrong!
Pastel became a white mouse in front of the cat. Since she was already a money-loving mouse, nothing much had changed.
“It’s a misunderstanding! My heart has always thought only of the future of this Empire and the well-being of His Majesty the Emperor! In the past, present, and future!”
Mr. Penguin looked down at her more suspiciously.
Uaaah!
Maybe my flattery was a bit excessive!
What do I do? What do I do?
This was something that anyone could judge as having ulterior motives.
Knowing the identity of the Demon King and not reporting it when meeting His Majesty, how audacious!
This impudent Pastel!
Might as well turn into a cherry blossom bun!
Uaaah!
I don’t want to be a cherry blossom bun!
Please, make me a cherry blossom salad instead!
Just match the character count…!
Pastel fell into a panic. Her head spun around in a whirlwind of confusion.
Emergency escape! Emergency escape!
In a situation where she was under solid suspicion, no excuse she made would land well. Furthermore, since Mr. Penguin had stumbled upon her identity by chance, it was only natural to be highly suspicious.
Ugh!
Excuses are based on exploiting the gaps and blind spots in the opponent’s logic.
In a situation like this, where the gaps and blind spots have become irrelevant before established facts…
You just need to dismantle the opponent’s premises!
Pastel switched to a clever expression.
Now that’s real intelligence!
One! Two!
“Actually, the Demon King is a fake!”
Mr. Penguin paused.
“Excuse…?”
Seeing that reaction, Pastel instantly became elated.
Hee hee hee!
Because Pastel is extremely smart, she would never fall victim to such a crisis!
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means exactly that. The Demon King that was discovered is actually a fake. It’s just something that Elly and I came up with.”
It is true!
Elly believes so!
And even if Pastel isn’t entirely convinced, since the princess said so, it can’t be denied!
“Really?”
Mr. Penguin looked bewildered.
Pastel slyly crossed her arms and raised her chin. She gazed down arrogantly at Mr. Penguin.
“I’m disappointed. From your reaction, it seems you were unaware. Is the Empire’s information network this limited? How can you serve His Majesty and protect the Empire with such capabilities?”
Mr. Penguin felt a mix of suspicion about whether this was truly a lie, but couldn’t find a rebuttal.
“Use your head, use your head.”
Pastel lightly tapped her temple. Elly made a disdainful expression towards Dustin.
“His Majesty has already hinted that there is a Demon spy. Even if I didn’t hear who it was, there’s a high possibility that they attended the meeting, so I just threw out some bait.”
Pastel let out a big sigh.
“What should we do if we respond right away like this? After the meeting, enough time should have passed, and under the pretense of a proxy, you should have first confirmed my stance and position. Then you could interrogate, arrest, or do anything else. Otherwise, everything gets revealed.”
She casually lifted a finger.
“First, coming right after the meeting means there was no secondary information network to cross-verify the betrayal.”
Another finger went up.
“Second, this means that the only likely trusted information network surrounding the princess and the governor is mostly just you.”
Another finger went up.
“Third, still, you have sufficient backup forces ready to counter Governor Craft if he rebels or tries to escape.”
Mr. Penguin was left speechless.
Pastel paced leisurely around the inner room with her hands behind her back.
“I understand. With a limited budget, you can’t expand the information network freely, so you make a direct gamble with the resources you have to fill the tight annual performance metrics and protect the budget you have.”
Mr. Penguin rubbed his face with one hand.
“That speculation is a bit excessive, Governor.”
“Perhaps.”
Pastel grinned.
She just turned her head to look at Mr. Penguin.
“To check for mice, you first have to stir up the mouse hole. If you still haven’t found the hidden Demon King, it’s much better to announce that the Demon King is here and investigate the onlookers.”
She smiled slyly.
“When the princess was anxious about developing the railroad, I pushed her a bit to create a fake Demon King. The princess is under pressure. If discovered, she can rationalize her sacrifices for the Demon Realm as something necessary.”
Mr. Penguin thought for a moment, then his expression hardened.
“I can’t believe that. A type of excuse for evading danger could easily have been prepared by the Governor.”
“I guess so.”
Pastel walked towards the door.
Before opening it, she glanced back at Mr. Penguin.
“Your Highness, you know you aren’t good at acting, right?”
She received a puzzled look.
Without explaining, Pastel opened the door, peeking her upper body out to check left and right.
Elly stood on one end of the corridor, tapping the ground with her flats. Elly turned around.
“Are you done talking?”
Having nearly died, Pastel was ecstatic to see her friend unscathed, but her expression instantly transformed into a pout.
“Elly!”
Hug me!
“What’s up? Did Redmond annoy you without apologizing?”
“Uh-huh!”
He completely tormented me!
“Really?”
Elly walked over. As they approached the door, Pastel eagerly pulled Elly in and stepped into the inner room. The soundproofing magic circle activated again.
“I’m sorry, Elly!”
“Why suddenly?”
“Because Mr. Penguin wickedly interrogated poor Pastel, which made me accidentally let slip that the Demon King is a fake!”
Elly’s jaw stiffened.
Even though Pastel couldn’t see Elly’s expression while hugging her tightly, a different kind of fear began to creep in.
She won’t be angry, will she?
“You…”
Elly moved her hands, trying to escape from the hug. It was her way of saying ‘lets face each other because I’m angry.’
Uh oh.
She seems really mad…!
Uaaah!
Pastel tightened her embrace even more.
Elly, the scholarly newcomer, struggled and eventually gave up, whispering in Pastel’s ear.
“Not letting go?”
Such a chilling voice.
Pastel froze in place.
Ahahaha.
She gently released the hug and slowly backed away.
Then, instead of the scary Elly, she glanced over at Mr. Penguin and pointed nervously at the finger-wagging Elly.
Look, look at the angry Elly.
The fact that the Demon King is a fake is absolutely true.
Please believe me!
If you don’t believe it after seeing this, I will cry buckets!
Mr. Penguin observed the princess, his expression becoming grim. He rubbed both sides of his face.
Elly, still unaware of the gravity of the situation, opened her mouth in an irritated tone.
“Pastel, is that something you should say-”
“Your Highness.”
When her words were cut off, Elly flinched. Her anger began to dissipate, morphing into a growing expression of horror.
From being the one to scold, she transformed into the one getting scolded!
Pastel cheered silently!
“What on earth were you thinking to cause such nonsensical trouble?”
Mr. Penguin’s cheeks trembled, showing signs he might really be angry.
Uh-huh!
That’s right, that’s right!
Elly is bad! Elly was fully intending to scold Pastel, totally bad!
Scold me! Scold me!
Pastel subtly stepped back, opening the door. She retreated with an “I don’t know anything~” attitude and quickly closed the door behind her. The suspicious Mr. Penguin and the angry Elly faded from view.
Pastel, with a bright smile, raised both arms high.
“Yay! I survived!”
To survive such an ultra-crisis!
Could it be I’m a super-genius?
Hee hee hee!
Pastel bounced happily down the hallway.
“I am the great Governor Pastel~.”
Clap, clap!
“But since it’s too wordy, just Pastel the Marquis~.”
She twirled!
Striking a pose, she pointed dramatically toward the now distant inner room.
“With Crisis! Response! Crisis! Response! Nothing can stand in the way of the Empire’s greatest schemer!”
Hahaha!
Pastel sped away.
Emerging from the not-so-secret building where the secret meeting was held, she hopped into a carriage.
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Escape!”
She shouted at the coachman and then flopped back on the carriage sofa.
Elly should be all better by tomorrow, right?
Still, she’s a bit scary, so I’d better say that the fragile Pastel caught the flu and will take a day off!
Governor Pastel will be coughing and sneezing tomorrow!
Is this what it means to be a powerful person who can decline visits from unwelcome guests by pretending to be sick?
Boo boo~.
Pastel felt the tension release. Her whirl of confusion cleared up, becoming more relaxed.
Ugh.
Mr. Penguin is a spy for His Majesty the Emperor?
During that meeting, he hinted at having close ties with Duchess Nastasha—
A Demon secretly favored by the Republican Party leader (traitor aspirant).
But wait, was he a spy for His Majesty the Emperor~?
Uaaah.
Duchess Nastasha!
You’re being read…!
Pastel trembled at the dread of the control in central politics.
Having tasted it somewhat, she wouldn’t want to be in such a spot!
Slamming the carriage door open, she cried out again.
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Escape!”
The coachman turned around, looking puzzled.
“Governor, other people haven’t arrived yet. Are we really departing?”
Huh?
Thinking back, she realized she was with Elly.
I can’t leave Elly (who’s really angry) behind, so I’ve got to take her along.
Uh-oh.
The great Governor Pastel soon found herself face to face with Elly.
Elly was seriously, seriously mad.
The word count is doubled…!
Uaaah!
Save me!
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