Chapter 297: Mastermind [3]
It was due to the influence of the teenage body that she was currently residing in that many aspects of her real personality were being shadowed and overwhelmed by the body’s own subconscious will.
Though with time such influence would be eliminated bit by bit.
Still, it was a hassle to deal with, as ’Diana’ didn’t like being an emotional person, because someone like that was far too easy to manipulate and defeat.
Her current body was far too emotional for her own good, which was why Diana had to always be considerate with people that her body was close with or else a conflict of interest and reality would overwhelm her mind, making her unable to control the body any longer.
"Maybe what you are saying is the truth... I mean it is the truth, but isn’t it common sense for there to be a mastermind who had to coordinate all the forces of the cults to launch the attacks?"
"..."
This time it was Diana’s turn to stare blankly at Alicia, making the latter avoid her gaze.
"Are you dumb?"
The words left her mouth before Diana could process them.
"Huh?"
Alicia, on the other hand, was surprised by the tone of Diana’s voice.
"By mastermind, I meant someone who isn’t related to the cults but is cooperating with them... possibly even ordering them around."
Uttering the statement, Diana lifted her cup again before finishing off the entire tea in a single gulp.
Alicia quietly observed Diana while processing her words at the same time.
"Is that even possible?"
A question which was expected by Diana, as her expression quickly changed from her earlier sour state to a bright one.
"That’s the interesting part. The people who worship the so-called gods are all... lunatics, yet someone had been able to order them to attack the businesses related to Syma all across the world, and maybe even the mastermind’s own forces were involved in that. Father says that the world might now be facing the emergence of a new... calamity."
Diana slightly shifted in her seat before coming closer to Alicia, making the latter lower her head to listen while also closing the distance between them.
The both of their faces were now inches away from each other... similar to how elderly people gossiped about others.
Long gone was the seriousness of the situation or the frustration that either of them should have felt while talking about the people behind the attacks... the very same culprits who were responsible for the death of Diana’s cousin or the humiliation of House Frost.
That was how human minds generally worked.
A mere curiosity was enough for them to be diverted from their real objectives, thereby hampering their own growth, though the same curiosity was also the reason behind their immense development compared to the other races in the world.
"Some of our best strategists have made theories about there being a new organization that has been responsible for these attacks, and maybe the cults work for that very same organization."
"But are there any proofs for these theories?"
Though Alicia wanted to believe in what Diana was saying, she still felt like it was an imagination on the part of the strategists that her friend mentioned.
Because it was a daily thing for strategists to imagine a scenario that never existed in the first place... still it wasn’t like Alicia could blame them, as calculating every possibility out there was the main work of a strategist.
"Now, though there aren’t any proofs, the person who had presented the theory before father is someone who is considered the most reliable in the field."
"Remzi?"
Alicia mentioned the name even before Diana could reveal his identity.
After all, Remzi was indeed someone whom one could call a public figure.
"So you do know about him. And yes, Remzi was the one who had presented the theory before father and all the royal advisors in the palace."
Hearing that, Alicia went quiet without following up with any of her questions.
After all, the mention of Remzi was enough to validate any claim even if no proof had been presented before their eyes.
And this wasn’t some blind trust in the guy, but something that the empire had learned over time.
At first, when Remzi was a lot younger than his current self, the head strategists as well as many other royal advisors had often ignored his suggestions, leading to several losses for the empire.
Though given the strength of the Veltran Empire, such losses were within their ability to deal with, still it was enough to make everyone understand the importance of the guy named Remzi.
"So what is the emperor planning to do?"
After a long silence, Alicia was now curious about how the empire was going to handle this mysterious threat that had been proliferating in the shadows for who knew how long and had now chosen to make itself known in a way that looked like it was meant to mock every noble house out there that considered themselves as the rulers and protectors of the world and its people.
"That... father didn’t talk much about the measures that he or the other powerhouses in the world are going to take. It’s not like he didn’t want to tell me about it, but there was only so much that they had learned about the mastermind. And whatever the authorities and others have been able to find out about the mastermind wasn’t enough to allow any of them to execute any substantial measures against this new budding power. Heck, even the presence of a mastermind is just a theory and maybe the cults might have been the only ones behind the attack."
Diana’s words made sense, but for some reason Alicia’s mind had now begun to lean towards the possibility of there being a mastermind who was orchestrating and controlling everything from the shadows.
Diana, on her part, found the situation to be one of the most entertaining things in her life.
