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Emilia's gentle smile faded away after Dixie left, and she turned her gaze back to the unconscious girl on the bed with a frown. 'No matter how I check, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her body, so what in the world is going on?'
Obviously, a drop of blood from Emilia in her current state was more than sufficient for even an elephant to regrow all its limbs, and using it on Cindy had been simply overkill. However, it had already been a while since then, and the girl simply showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
Cynthia coughed. "Hasn't the guy she saved already told you everything that happened over there? You don't need to waste your time waiting for her to wake up."
Listening to her knowing tone, the crimson-haired girl couldn't help but be slightly surprised. 'Does that mean… you know why she's still not awake?'
The raven-haired girl hesitated for a while before nodding. "Well… I know, but it's not something you can help with."
'Can't you at least tell me?'
Cynthia sighed. "… There's no helping you, is there? Fine, I'll tell you. Physically, there's nothing wrong with her. Not only did you heal her completely, but her lifespan has also increased by a few years."
Of course, they knew that the weaker the target, the greater the effect. So this was no surprise to either of them.
"The reason she's still sleeping… is because you also ended up 'healing' what you shouldn't have, and now her two personalities have merged into one. Her mind will probably be in a state of shock for a while, and when she wakes up… well, I'm not sure what she'll be like, honestly."
Although it wasn't all good news, Emilia was still relieved to have some idea of what was going on, and didn't hesitate to praise her partner generously. 'Thank you, Cynthia! Even though you're so cute, you can be surprisingly dependable sometimes, huh?'
The raven-haired girl was quite proud at first, but when she heard the latter half of the crimson-haired beauty's praise, she immediately exploded in rage. "What's that supposed to mean?! The way you said that really makes me mad somehow, ahhh!"
Emilia got the impression of a door slamming shut on her face, and she couldn't help but giggle. 'Adorable.'
Of course, since she didn't bother hiding it at all, Crystal and Penny could also tell that her mood was no longer as bad as it had been just a few minutes ago, and they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
With their understanding of Emilia, they didn't worry that she would punish them without cause. Their princess would never wrong those she favored, after all. In fact, had that been the case, perhaps they would have been happier.
After all, at least they wouldn't have to worry about their princess being wronged by herself, while all they could do was stand by and watch.
"Penny… how do things look outside?"
Obviously, Emilia wasn't asking her about the weather.
The ponytailed girl's eyes flickered as she stepped forward to kneel in front of her princess. "W-We've been keeping a close eye on their movements, but now that they're all on high alert, it's… not been easy."
Despite her pessimistic words, however, the information she shared was still quite impressive. Even the intelligence networks of some of the most feared countries in the world wouldn't be able to acquire such accurate and detailed information concerning their enemy's movements most of the time.
Needless to say, Sam and Crystal hadn't misjudged this seemingly idiotic and silly girl's 'talent', and Emilia was very glad to have made Penny the one in charge of 'espionage' for herself.
It was only thanks to her that they were able to determine how their enemies wanted to use Red Dusk as their war launchpad when they felt it was time to strike, after all.
Had they been caught unprepared, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Emilia hummed softly as she continued to listen to the shorter girl's reports, and when she noticed her inching closer, gently let go of Cindy's palm to pat Penny's head.
Even without any extra words of encouragement, the ponytailed girl immediately jerked as if she had been injected with stimulants, and then lunged into Emilia's lap excitedly.
Penny didn't dare to go too far, especially in front of Crystal, but being pet by her princess while snuggling like this was still her rightful privilege, she thought.
Fortunately, she couldn't see Crystal's eyes full of both pity and amusement. 'For someone who gets yelled at so much by Dixie for being too daring, she's shockingly lacking in ambition, isn't she?'
Although the blonde girl knew that she was definitely a pervert… wasn't that true for them all?
Of course, despite her 'childish' behavior of rubbing her face into Emilia's body, the content of Penny's reports made it impossible for either Emilia or Crystal to be too amused.
"I see…"
The blonde heroine clenched her fists in worry. "Emilia, t-this… will our preparations be enough?"
The crimson-haired girl could only sigh. "I definitely didn't expect them to be so decisive and fierce, but since they haven't yet declared war on us, we might still have a few days. We just have to make sure to use this time as effectively as possible."
They naturally understood that with their failed 'assassination', their enemy would definitely be provoked into taking action faster, but that couldn't be helped.
After all, they took the risk despite knowing the consequences, and there was no point in crying over spilt milk.
There were many people in Red Dusk who supported Emilia, but none of them were in a position of power at the moment. This was obviously no accident, and it had been a while since her enemies even bothered masking their intents.
Even if the slippery and cunning president of Red Dusk continued flattering her previously, Emilia hadn't been stupid enough to not be able to see the greed and ambition in the depths of his eyes.
Not to mention her, that man would even chop up his own daughter into tiny little pieces and serve her to his 'friends' for dinner if it meant furthering his own goals. She had no delusions of being able to scare or convince him to her side without showing proof of her strength. And that... could make things go either way, and was simply not worth the risk.
Fortunately, his behavior did end up making him many 'enemies', and had Emilia been successful in getting rid of him this time, she could have probably used this chance to unite them all together with her supporters in an attempt to take control of this potential launchpad of war near her home.
Emilia didn't want her empire to be singed by the flames of destruction, and if she could shift the conflict elsewhere, she definitely would.
It was a pity that the plan had failed, and she was left with no choice but to start preparing for the war at her doorstep.
After a brief discussion with Crystal, Emilia nodded while idly patting Penny's head. "Let Noelle know to expedite the 'shipments' from her side, and send another reminder to Oriana… just in case."
Crystal hummed in agreement, then hesitated for a while before clearing her throat. "A-Actually, Emilia… a-although I know that we don't have much time to spare, c-could you… entertain a whim of mine?"
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