Chapter 246: The Queen and the Prince

After hearing her out, Queen Alice thought for a while: “That makes sense.”

“In addition, my intelligence also shows that the eldest son of the Stuart family has come to the eastern region.” Dorothy continued reporting.

“Has Stuart already noticed him?” Alice asked.

“He has now replaced the Count as the ruler of the underground trading kingdom in the east. The name Fenrir has already resounded throughout the industry, not to mention that he also bears the notorious reputation of having killed the Count. There is no way that Lord Grand Inquisitor could know absolutely nothing about him. However, at present, the Church has yet to take any direct action.” Dorothy said.

“They also turned a blind eye to the Count back then.” Alice said.

“Because Count Fry was deeply bound to the circles of nobles and powerful figures in the Empire's east, and he also had connections within the Church. Not to mention……he openly and secretly provided the Church with quite a lot of intelligence about us as well.” Dorothy said meaningfully.

While they obtained intelligence about the Empire through the Count, the Count had also secretly passed some of their intelligence to the Church. This was one of the reasons the Church had not moved against him. Given their understanding of the Count, there was no possibility that he would not do such a thing. Maintaining the balance of opposition between the Church and the Witches' Gathering at the same time was what gave the Count enough room to make money.

Just as they needed the Count, there were also people among the Empire's nobles and powerful figures who needed the Count. There were only interests involved, no feelings, so as long as someone could replace the Count, whether that person was called Mustang or Fenrir made no difference.

“Once Fenrir starts purchasing goods from us, he should have the conditions needed to completely inherit the sales channels the Count once possessed outside the Count's territory. With someone's assistance, he might even be able to inherit the Count's business in its entirety. Combined with his own active position within the Church, it wouldn't be strange for someone to place high expectations on him. That is also his own current strategic direction.

What I mean is, Your Majesty, the past dealings between Arachne and Count Fry have already pushed us into the eye of the storm. Under these circumstances, if we allow Arachne to stir up another incident, especially targeting someone who has drawn the attention of a high-ranking Church figure like Stuart, I'm afraid the consequences will be difficult to predict.” Dorothy said.

“I'll make Arachne put on the brakes.” Alice nodded slightly within the mist, “Arrange it according to your intentions.”

“Please leave it to me, Your Majesty.” Seeing that her advice had been accepted, Dorothy smiled and bowed her head to the Queen. Then she raised her head again and said, “By the way, Your Majesty, this time Fenrir found the dungeon I have in the Oz region and contacted me there. Aren't you curious how he learned that I was there?”

“Wasn't it because you deliberately left information for him?” Alice asked.

“I did have such a contingency plan, but I hadn't had time to carry it out yet. He found the Oz Dungeon on his own.” Dorothy answered.

“Could it be……” Alice immediately realized what Dorothy meant.

“Yes, I've already confirmed it. Fenrir learned about the existence of the Oz Dungeon from Prince Lamia……I mean, the prisoner Lamia, and only then came here to try contacting me.” Dorothy answered.

“Lamia actually betrayed information about you? Then the Oz Dungeon still hasn't been exposed to the Church?” Alice asked.

“Judging from the movements I've grasped so far, probably not. Lamia should have only told this man that piece of intelligence.” Dorothy said.

“……” Alice fell silent for a moment.

“Judging from the current situation, this man seems to have opportunities to come into contact with Lamia, and Lord Lamia seems to be rather fond of him as well.” Dorothy said with a smile.

Within the Witches' Gathering, the more senior Great Witches who had earned the Queen's trust basically all knew that Alice and Lamia were twin sisters. But because of certain unusual circumstances surrounding their origins, Alice's feelings toward Lamia were actually closer to those of a mother and daughter than sisters.

However, because of the decisions Alice had made as Queen, Lamia had come to harbor deep fear toward her twin sister and turned against her because of it, ultimately choosing to flee to the Empire.

“Is that so.” Alice's voice sounded unusually cold.

“This can also be considered an unexpected gain, Your Majesty. Through him, we can also inquire about the prisoner Lamia's situation.” Dorothy said.

“Mm.” Alice acknowledged, then asked, “Then did you learn anything?”

“He told me that Lamia is living fairly well in the Empire. Although the Church restricts her freedom, they basically grant whatever she asks for. She knows how to use her own value to secure favorable treatment.” Dorothy answered.

“Hiding there, sooner or later there will come a day when she loses her value and gets disposed of.” Alice replied coldly, “What else?”

“My apologies, Your Majesty, I haven't asked that deeply about anything else yet.” Dorothy lowered her head with an apologetic expression.

“……Dorothy, as the intelligence officer I personally appointed, that shouldn't have happened.” Alice remained silent for a while before speaking in a reprimanding tone.

“But before setting out, I asked Your Majesty for instructions regarding this. At the time, Your Majesty said there was no need to specifically inquire about the prisoner Lamia's situation.” Dorothy said in a cautious tone.

Then, she sensed that Alice within the mist seemed to narrow her eyes at her.

“My instruction was that there was no need to deliberately expend effort on her. That doesn't mean you should let intelligence that falls right into your hands slip away. Do you understand?” Alice said.

“Understood. I was too foolish and disappointed you. I guarantee there won't be a next time!” Dorothy lowered her head and replied.

“Good. Then hurry and go do what you should be doing.” Alice said in a commanding tone.

“Yes!”

After Dorothy spoke, the mist swiftly enveloped her body. Once she was completely obscured by the mist, Dorothy's figure gradually faded away, leaving Alice alone once more in the illusion, facing the now-empty tea table.

Dorothy, seated inside the temple, finally came back to her senses and removed the Proof of the Great Witch from her finger, allowing it to return to its original form.

“Your Majesty has a cute side too.” At that thought, a smile appeared at the corner of Dorothy's lips, but it quickly faded away.

That said, no matter how much faint concern Her Majesty Alice still retained for her younger sister, the most fundamental problem between them ultimately could not be resolved by that sentiment alone.

When Lamia fled, she seemed to have lied to the Empire that she had lost a political struggle and fled because she was going to be held accountable.

But the truth was that if Her Majesty Queen Alice wished to continue down the road leading to the Divine Throne, Prince Lamia would have to be sacrificed for it.

……

Several days later, after finishing the meeting with Dorothy, Leon and Rena returned to Allende Island once again.

Leon first escorted Rena back to the temple inside the dungeon, confirmed that the dungeon under Weiss's management remained orderly, then explained to Weiss the process and circumstances of this meeting.

“That dungeon actually has a Dungeon Lord too? And it's even being controlled by a Great Witch?” Weiss looked somewhat surprised and fell into thought.

“A Tier Three Witch can control a Level Four Monster. That's really impressive.” Leon nodded.

“Leon, can't you control that Earth Dragon too?” Rena reminded him.

Back then, in order to refine the pure mana needed to make the special-effect medicine, they had deliberately created an Earth Dragon egg and hatched an Earth Dragon. It was currently still in its growth stage.

Rena had once tried using her Blood Pact and Charm powers to control that Earth Dragon, but the results had not been ideal. Later, Weiss told them that dragons possessed a resistance to witches' control that surpassed that of other monsters, making them considerably harder to control than other kinds of monsters at the same level.

But that Earth Dragon seemed capable of cooperating with Leon's commands, probably because Leon himself had created it using the dungeon's authority.

“That Earth Dragon hasn't fully grown yet. At its current size, it's really only at the level of a Level Three Monster.” Leon shrugged, “And by now, I feel like it seems to have become a little less obedient, which is why I've kept it sleeping inside a specially made cage this whole time.”

He had chosen not to let the Earth Dragon continue growing through feeding and absorbing magical power. Although being able to control an Earth Dragon would undoubtedly greatly enhance the defensive strength of this dungeon, if they failed to control it and it went berserk, it would instead turn into an unpredictable disaster.

“Dungeons capable of possessing a Dungeon Lord aren't common. Their magical power has to reach a certain scale before one can appear. And that dungeon can even be used by a Great Witch. I'm wondering whether it could be a dungeon that already existed during the Ireland era, just like……this place of ours?” Weiss voiced what she had been thinking.

“You mean there might also be a temple there like this one?” Leon said.

“Yes. Actually, ever since I came here, I've been researching this temple. While you were away, I made a new discovery.” Weiss said seriously.

“What?” Leon asked instinctively.

“I discovered that there might be a hidden chamber here!” Weiss continued.

“Ah……” Leon and Rena simultaneously revealed expressions of being caught completely off guard.