Sitana was sitting in her own room.
It had been four or five hours since she eavesdropped on the conversation between Anselm and Savile.
Having grown slightly wiser, Sitana cleverly pretended to train for two to three hours first, then went to discuss the holiday's matters with Anselm, and finally returned to her room, appearing completely clueless.
Facing the blank paper on the table, the young girl frowned in deep thought.
Although she couldn't fully understand most of what Anselm said, she grasped the key information she most desired.
[If the Earl of Hardstone wishes to continue oppressing, then let him proceed.]
This means that jerk couldn't give a damn about the common folks in Scarletfrost! All he's after is pulling every shady trick in the book to boost his own reputation... even if it's hard to see what he's really aiming for.
But who cares about that? The real deal is, I've got a shot to show Hydra's evil face!
"That Earl Hardstone is pushing policies to oppress common folk... he's definitely not a good guy."
The girl mumbled to herself as she scribbled on the paper, "And Hydra, on the surface, wants to do things that benefit the common folk, but in reality, he doesn't give a damn whether his policies are ever implemented or not."
She circled a sea urchin, or rather, something that looked like a "stone," and then also circled a crooked "snake."
"So..." Sitana's eyes gradually started to sparkle, "If we can spread the word about these two things, Hydra's reputation is toast! That jerk is all about his image and playing the hero. Once he sees the backlash, he'll be forced to roll out those policies in a hurry to save face! It's a double win!"
"Ah-ha, I'm such a genius!"
The young wolf let out an excited cheer, then quickly lowered her voice, cautiously looking around. The excitement on her face gradually faded.
"....No, it doesn't seem that easy."
Sitana scratched her hair, "They've all been duped by Hydra, even Lena doesn't believe me. No one's gonna listen to me... I need evidence, yeah, evidence."
She quickly "shushed shushed shushed" drew a... weird polygonal shape on the paper.
"That crystal thing, yeah, the Image Projection Crystal... the one Hydra used when dealing with that Viscount. If I can get my hands on that, and secretly record Hydra's words..."
Sitana circled the "Image Projection Crystal" and connected it to the "snake," but then paused, her pen hovering. Suddenly, she frowned and scribbled out the line.
"No, no... Hydra's too cunning, and that old butler is always popping up out of nowhere. It's way too easy to get caught."
So, Sitana had no choice but to turn her attention to the "stone."
"....That Earl of Hardstone."
The girl rubbed her chin, "His manor's security is such a joke that even those crappy assassins can get in. Sneaking in there should be a piece of cake for me."
She rummaged through her memory of the manor's layout, while also recalling a phrase from Anselm—[He's a wise guy, he will know what to do].
"That means the Earl of Hardstone might have figured out what Hydra's up to? In that case, he might have some extra evidence or something lying around!"
The young wolf lady stood up, excitedly pacing around the room, feeling immensely proud of her exceptional wit and intelligence.
Ha, you think you can work together? Dream on!
"In that case, I need to think about timing... I can't just leave the Image Projection Crystal there for four or five days, I need to make sure I catch the crucial stuff..."
The girl's face fell into worry again, her shoulders slumped, looking frustrated: "But how am I supposed to know that--"
"Sita."
Malena pushed the door open, "Lord Hydra just sent me a basket of fruit, you... Sita? What are you doing?"
The gentle and caring elder sister looked curiously at her younger sister who was sprawled over the small round table, not knowing what she was up to.
"I... I'm just stretching my body."
Sitana laughed awkwardly as she stretched her limbs, then rolled off the table, stuffing her abstract plan into a ball and pocketing it.
Malena gave her a thorough look, but didn't say much. She placed the fruit on the table and spoke softly, "You've just finished exercising, have some fruit first."
To avoid arousing her sister's suspicion, Sitana had to sit down obediently, grabbing the fruit and munching on it haphazardly. Meanwhile, her eyes were darting around sneakily.
Malena, however, seemed lost in thought, completely oblivious to Sitana's unusual behavior.
"Lena, Lena, Lena!"
Sitana reached out and shook her sister's shoulders vigorously, "What's got you spacing out like that?"
"....No, I was just thinking that Lord Hydra must be very busy lately, and I don't seem to be able to help him."
Malena sighed, "Lord Hydra's policies are about to be implemented, but just now, while studying, he told me... many nobles are either openly or secretly refusing to follow his orders."
Hearing this, Sitana's face immediately twisted with annoyance. She thought the phony jerk was lying through his teeth again and couldn't hold back, "What's he whining about? He even killed the Scarletfrost Earl like it was nothing, those nobles are scared to death of him. If Hydra really wanted to do something, what difficulty would there be?"
"Sitana, politics isn't that simple... it's not just about solving problems through killing and violence."
Malena looked helplessly at Sitara, who was full of fruit juice and pulp, and used a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, "Lord Hydra may be able to intimidate many nobles, but if the already established factions of nobles unite, he cannot just arbitrarily execute anyone. If they're all dead, who would manage the territories?"
--Obviously, that was just the common sense. In reality, any nobles with even a bit of sense were genuinely terrified of Hydra. If Anselm was determined to push through his policies with force, he indeed could succeed.
This was what Anselm referred to as "absolute."
And Malena... clearly did not know Anselm's true nature as well as Sitana did. The conclusion she just made was not told to her by Anselm, but rather deduced by Malena based on her current knowledge and perspective.
Speaking of this, Malena sighed again, "The Earl of Hardstone was clearly very close to Lord Hydra... why did he suddenly become the biggest opposition? Lord Hydra mentioned that the Earl of Hardstone will summon many nobles tomorrow to discuss the implementation of the policies, as the deadline is approaching. I wonder how Lord Hydra plans to handle it—"
"LENA!"
Sitana shouted, interrupting Malena's words, startling her sister.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"What did you just say?!" The girl pushed herself up from the table, "What is the Earl of Hardstone going to do tomorrow?"
"He... will summon nobles to discuss policies... what's wrong?" Seeing Sitana's excited state, Malena, who knew her very well, suddenly felt a very uneasy premonition.
Sita, what is she... planning to do?
"Oh... oh! I see, um, ahem, it's nothing, just a bit curious."
Realizing her reaction was indeed a bit too much, Sitana laughed it off, unable to come up with a suitable excuse on the spot, so she just made one up casually.
She grabbed a fruit from the basket and was about to dash out.
"SITA!"
Malena called out to her loudly, her expression extremely serious: "What are you planning to do?"
"Going out to train!"
With this perfectly reasonable excuse, Sitana eagerly sprinted out, leaving no room for Malena to question her intentions.
Now, all that's left to deal with is one thing.
The young wolf lady discreetly tightened her grip into a fist.
Getting that damn Image Projection Crystal!
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