The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

139 - The Crumbling Net

Gilbert Salender's Point Of View

It's all falling apart too fast. 

I have no idea how Crinia, Headal and Semor made an alliance in the first place, and the alliance including Zocria hadn't even been settled properly in stone yet going by the information I was getting. To think they'd make a demand us to dethrone the current royal family. It's like a forced rebellion.

No matter how good a network I have, I can no longer deal with all of this. It has spread too far, and I have to sacrifice some of the seemingly countless complications that have risen from the enemy demand.

If we hadn't been utterly and completely surrounded there would never have been a doubt of what to do, but they've got us caught between a rock and a hard place. Crinia blocked off our sea trade, and mother barely managed to get foreign dignitaries out of Ristaze with a plead for help. Unfortunately most of them do not want to get involved with Headal.

If we stand against the demand, it would be a matter of endurance. If we can keep the enemy off for long enough that assistance arrives, then we might have a chance of winning the war.

With Lily-chan, Claire-chan and Lionel at the front lines this may actually be a reasonable strategy.

Though, even with this waaaay too many problems remain for me to handle right now:

The way Lily-chan changed into her disguise as her brother at the school... This is a bigger problem than you may think it is. Not just because Helena got away by realizing her identity immediately... and Lily-chan for some unknown reason allowed it. No, it is a problem because is suspicious. It didn't keep up with Lily-chan's usual standard of planning. If it's possible to be angry, worried, panicked and disappointed at the same time for different reasons, then at that moment I was.

Lily-chan! Please stop trying to get yourself in diplomatic trouble! You have no idea how hard it is to cover for you against Alstair! You owe me cookies for this! I'll make Claire-chan make you uncomfortable until you give in and cook with us.

...I know I should give her a bit of leeway because of her argument with Lionel the day before, but Alstair is going to be enraged if he finds out about Lily-chan's trickery. I cannot not be worried to shreds over something like that! First of all because Lily-Chan mustn't be at Alstair's side. They will never make a good couple and neither Lily or Alstair would be happy if it turned out like that. I've been putting in a good deal of effort in keeping this little thing from Alstair so he doesn't find out, but Alstair isn't a fool. If I am not careful he will realize all on his own.

Keeping this under wraps is only getting harder since Alstair actually ordered that I found out how Lily-Chan is doing... there no way I can tell him the truth though. Telling him about everything includes her running down a glacier into the middle of the enemy after all...

♦

A bit confused about how I found out about Lily-Chan?

Well, you see, after the siege on Castle Celeste my parents spent a lot of time trying to find Augustus. I know this because my mother spent a long time cursing over Adela Celeste in that period. My parents always tried to include me in work to prepare me for the future, so I know that they never found him. I also know that our spies at House Celeste were weeded out almost instantly whenever they got hired or snuck in from that point onward.

The suspicious part here is that the excuse for our spies being fired was usually that Lily-Chan despised them and would go out of her way to let them know this. Her father was completely compliant and fired anyone Lily-chan didn't like. You'd almost think Lily-chan hadn't changed at all if you didn't know what was going on. The rest of the time our spies would end up getting caught red handed trying to find information. Interestingly the person catching them was often a different one each time, though unrealistically often a guard... When Lily entered the academy and we were finally been able to establish a proper spy in the household it became painfully obvious that Lily had been the one keeping tabs on people.