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Although they'd already followed Emilia's instructions and done their part, Jasper and Ginny obviously had no way of knowing the reaction of the politicians and officials. Even after taking over many of the resources only their 'father' used to enjoy, they simply didn't have any spies in a high enough rank to reliably dig out such information.
Of course, based on the fact that many of the military personnel that had been recently assigned to the capital region were redirected towards the border, they assumed that their plan had worked, and happily conveyed the good news to Emilia, who finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If the government of Carmen had been allowed to keep making full of their military, the next few steps of her plan would definitely have gotten exponentially more difficult to pull off.
Luckily, they were as paranoid as ever, and simply assumed the worst out of everyone. Now she only had one thing to worry about.
"If things keep going on like this, how likely do you think it is that the military generals will take the initiative to interfere even without orders from above?"
Noelle flipped through the folder in her hands thoughtfully before stopping at a certain page. "Aside from this guy, most others are quite 'traditional' and aloof, and shouldn't make a move as long as it's not blatantly obvious that a foreign enemy is invading and the government intends to do nothing."
Emilia stared at the image in front of her with a frown. "He looks quite young, and that smug grin just rubs me the wrong way somehow. What do you think, should we get rid of him in advance?"
The gray-haired girl chuckled. "As expected, that was your first thought, huh? But no, I definitely wouldn't recommend it. The risk is too great, and the chances of success are… well, let's just say they're not very good."
Even with the Nightingale clan on their side, Carmen's military bases were no joke. And getting rid of one of the generals was easier said than done.
Emilia tapped her lower lip with a mischievous smile. "What if I go there myself?"
The gray-haired girl groaned. "Do you want me to tie you up?"
Emilia grinned. "I was only joking, though I wouldn't really mind if you wanted to try it."
Noelle just rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Okay, don't mess around. I'm serious. Even if you were to somehow kill that smug bastard, the results would definitely not be as good as you think. In the worst case, we might even alert those old idiots who would have otherwise stayed out of our hair for sure."
Emilia also understood her girlfriend's concern, and after thinking about it some more, she nodded. "You're right. It's best not to make a rash move now. Then… let's continue with our previous plan. I'll meet you in the capital later, alright?"
Noelle rubbed her nose in embarrassment after the crimson-haired beauty kissed her farewell. "Say hi to Dixie for me."
"Will do!"
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Even with Emilia's ability to disguise herself as she wished when needed, and the vast resources of the Gray Wolfe Corporation now at her disposal, it took her a while to reach Dixie's hideout.
But since she wanted to make sure that she didn't accidentally leak anything inadvertently, such delays couldn't be helped.
Of course, when she finally arrived and dropped down from the hidden trap door onto the floor, she was greeted by a very, very enthusiastic little knight, as expected.
"Princess! I missed you so much!"
Emilia couldn't help but giggle as she was swiveled around by the short-haired girl, though her mood was slightly dampened when she noticed a particularly disgusting glare aimed their way. "Ugh… Dixie, didn't I tell you to just chuck him in a corner and not let him bother you too much?"
The dark-haired girl hurriedly put Emilia down and she rushed towards the tied-up boy. "Wait, I'll get rid of the trash right away!"
Emilia coughed. "Hold on, wait. Now that he's ruined the mood anyway, let me talk to him first."
Dixie paused, then gave her princess a nod before stepping forward to take the gag off the captured boy's mouth, though she didn't forget to whisper a warning in his ear as she did so. "You better keep your tongue in check in front of my princess, or you know what will happen."
Of course, while Emilia could vaguely hear it, she pretended not to notice. 'She's so adorably overprotective, as always.'
"What do you think she means by 'what will happen', anyway?"
Listening to her partner's curious question, Emilia couldn't help but blink in surprise. 'Ohh… my lazy little fairy is awake?'
The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Even I don't sleep all the time."
Emilia giggled. 'Could have fooled me.'
Before she could explode, however, the crimson-haired girl continued with a smile. 'Anyway, about your question… I'm guessing she probably shows some not-so-pleasant stuff to the guy, based on all the screens that are around him.'
Cynthia blinked. "What kind of stuff…?"
'Who knows? Maybe my success stories, or maybe the miserable state of some people on his side? She does have access to… ahhh!'
"What?"
Emilia giggled. 'Nothing, I just thought of something she could have shown him that would definitely make him want to rip everyone and everything to shreds. But you wouldn't understand.'
"… are you seriously going to leave me at that?"
The crimson-haired girl seemed to hesitate for a while, but to Cynthia's relief, she decided that it would indeed be too cruel to stroke her partner's curiosity like that and leave her hanging.
'Well… it's a bit embarrassing, but you know… That idiot used to love Crystal, right? And while you might not understand, for someone like him, watching the girl he loves 'be happy' with someone else would definitely be the worst feeling in the world.'
The raven-haired girl blinked in surprise. "Wait… so you're saying… But hold on, where would she even get videos like that?!"
Emilia coughed in embarrassment. 'Well...'
"… I almost feel sorry for the hero."
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