"Tell us what should we do?"

"Kill everyone who knew about the plan. Compensate their families so they can live for the rest of their lives. Wipe the slate clean & we will start again." replied the man named Ervin in his usual cold, emotionless tone.

By cleaning the slate, there would be no one left to leak anything & they could start all over again. People were always expandable & he was using it to his gain.

"But what about Lucas?"

"Leave him be. He is a coward who accepted our offer with no thoughts of consequences. So he will pay the price. Also, someone has to take responsibility & he perfectly fits the role."

"Still, he knows way too much." Said Karl as he was the one who had done everything from writing the letter to delivering it to him from unknown sources. And if he reveals anything about the letter to anyone, then it wouldn't take long for the Espers to find each & everyone, even if they hid in the depths of hell.

"That's why I am telling you to wipe the slate clean."

"And how are we going to do that?" asked Theo with a questioning gaze, resting his chin on his fist.

"Finish the people who touched or even saw the letter."

"So you want me to kill everyone who helped us with this?"

"Yes & don't forget to compensate their families." Added Ervin.

"Ok. It will be done." acknowledged Karl. It was a simple task & he couldn't question Ervin about his decisions as he was the smartest of all present in the room.

Finishing that word, Karl leaned on his seat, waiting for Ervin to devise his next plan. But his expectation didn't bear any fruit as Ervin kept looking outside the window with the same expressionless face as before.

"Ervin?" asked Theo, trying to get his attention as he had to know what their next move should be. Things won't happen on their own if they just sat like this, doing nothing. There had to be some plan to keep things moving.

"Yes." replied the youth with amber-colored eyes in his signature apathetic tone.

"What now?"

"Now we wait & watch the unfolding spectacle."

"What spectacle?"

"I don't have time to explain this to a kid." added Ervin with a sigh. Theo had been someone who was not that smart or bright but had many assets to spare & that was the only reason he was any use to him.

"Who is a kid?" asked Theo, looking around the room, but couldn't find what he was searching for. "We are all grownass adults here?"

"Exactly. Karl, please explain what I meant & find me when you actually need something. I don't have time to attend petty matters like this."

Saying that, Ervin left the room leaving the other two their thoughts. He had many other things to do & this failure couldn't stop him. The game which Leonhart started would end with him & it was a promise.

"So, who is a kid?"

"He meant you are a kid." replied Karl with a sigh as he knew the characteristics of Theodor very well.

"What? I am not a kid."

"Well..."

"And what did he mean by spectacle?" asked Theo once again, as he couldn't figure out what Ervin meant by watching the unfolding spectacle.

"Now Palatine is going to pay the price for taking Leonhart's side."

Palatine had always been a good ruler to his people & had done many public welfare schemes to help his people, which were never appreciated by his counterparts. Other nobles did whatever minimal they could do to keep people in check, but that count went above & beyond.

And one day doing that, his fate got intertwined with Carlston's, who were not something of his caliber to control. Basically, he came with a scheme to help his people & needed approval from the duke, but at the same time, Carlston also came up with the same plan.

They gave Palatine an offer to not to approach the duke with his plans & in return he would get food supplies at a cheaper rate but could charge the duchy for more profits. It was a win-win situation, but he didn't agree, which was not something anyone should do to people like them.

Thus, the entire ordeal of Palatine paying the price came into light.

"Why is he going to pay the price? He is a good guy, right?" urged Theo in a confused tone. Everyone in the entire empire knew Palatine was a good ruler & his reputation was among the top players.

"You know the whole education plan..."

"Oh that. It happened like 6 months ago, right?."

"Yes"

"So, how did I become a kid?"

"Cause you weren't able to figure it out when Ervin said it."

"Oh." Theo gasped like a child, as if he understood some deep secret of the universe. "Still, I am not a child."

"Yea,"

***

Inside a luxurious room, a girl with beautiful black long hair was sitting on a chair reading some letters sent by many noble houses inviting her to their various parties, which she never attended. Still, they kept sending it anyway.

After reading a couple of letters, she put them down & leaned on her chair, looking outside the window, towards the yellowish sky. As the bright rays of the setting sun reflected on her face, so did her thoughts.

Her birthday was the last time she saw Leonhart & from that moment, everything started going downhill in the span of few days. First Duke Esper denied her father's request & in retaliation, he ordered other dukes to stop business dealings with them.

It was a big move, which wasn't played before but contradicting everyone's expectation, it bore no results. Heinrich kept denying & Adalbert kept ordering, which continued for days until another news broke out that Esper's were dismantling their army for revitalising their state, which was a dumb move according to many analysts.

And in that news the emperor saw an opportunity to pressurise the duke even further & that was Trinity pact which would only work if they failed in maintaining some fixed amount of soldiers. It was too early to come, as the dismantling process hadn't even started. Still, it was an excuse nonetheless.

Couple of days went by & the same thing was heard over and over gain until one day a news came which infuriated Elizabeth so much that she broke her own mirror throwing one of many ornaments. She never knew why she got so angry, but every time she thought about it, a sense of betrayal came into her heart.

Elizabeth just wanted to choke Leon's throat with bare heads. It was the only thing going through her head for quite some time. She neither could focus on something nor draw anything to distract herself.

She didn't fix her hair, nor wore any beautiful clothes to appear like a princess. Just stuck inside her room thinking the same thing, which helped her mental state to deteriorate even further. She started getting angry over silly matters, like food was not good enough or why there were a lot of birds outside disturbing her sleep.

And over the span of few days she looked like a person who had just broken up with her lover & experiencing mental breakdown.

Every time she tried to do something, this useless thought of Leon impregnating Lina would come into her mind, further increasing her rage. Just why did he do that? Why she had to be pregnant?

These barrage of question were keep circulating through her head making her irritated which resulted in she not accepting any meeting request from anyone until one day Cadilla told her that what if it was just a baseless rumor & Leon would never do something like that as he held his moral taught by his parents over everything.

These words helped her distressed heart to calm down a little to see the bigger picture. Leon really was a person who held his words no matter the price he had to pay & this whole having a child scene deviated from his principles.

And as the Abercrons were getting too cozy with the Arlets, it didn't seem out of equation that it was a well thought out plan to tarnish Leon's image even further as it was going down, anyway. If it was their plan, then they had succeeded at it.

Everyone in the empire was now believing that Leon had forced himself upon Lina & he must marry her as no one going to take her as his bride anymore. They started sympathising over her helplessness & hatred towards Leon increased even more, which could be the exact thing they wanted.

Realising that she was getting frustrated over hollow matters, Elizabeth fixed her demeanour befitting of a royal princess & started doing things she usually did, like painting or writing poems.

Still, the thought of Lina really being pregnant was struck inside her? No matter how she tried, it never went away. What if she seduced him or forced herself upon him in a drunken state, as Leon was a habitual drinker?

And once again she started getting paranoid over baseless words, which just increased the headache of Cadilla who had to contact Sophia for more information regarding the whole thing & her reply satisfied Elizabeth as Sophia was one of the few who always stuck with Leon & knew the truth in most cases.

She confirmed Lina was not pregnant & the drama was still going on but the people inside the duchy didn't believe it as they knew their lord very well. The duchess would beat the shit out of him at any given moment if he tried some nonsensical things like that.

Finally, after hearing all this, Elizabeth's heart rested in peace. She was cheerful once again until she heard the whole assassination thing.