When the rest of the people in the conference hall had left, Alexia slowly turned her head, a strange smile on her face.
She tilted her neck like that, her gaze cold and sharp as she stared directly at Simon.
“Why do I feel like you seem to know everything about the eastern war?”
Hearing such words from anyone familiar with the Eastern United Kingdom front would not have surprised Alexia, but Simon should never have known about these things.
She had never discussed matters regarding the Eastern United Kingdom front with Simon, and Simon had always focused solely on affairs of the imperial capital, never having any contact with other places.
He shouldn’t know so much, let alone be able to propose such a pointed suggestion.
Alexia had also considered the issue of giving up Arlo City.
However, no matter how she weighed it, she felt that Arlo City could not be abandoned easily.
It had taken Tracy an entire year just to capture this fortress city.
If they gave it up so easily, next year they might repeat the same mistake.
The Empire couldn’t afford to waste any more time in Arlo City, or the remaining leeway would soon be exhausted.
After all, the war between the Empire and the Eastern United Kingdom had already lasted for four years.
During this period, Alexia had never ceased supplies to the front line, and the Empire’s expenses had reached an unprecedented high.
It could be said that the coming year would be the final critical year.
If the war did not end, the Empire would find it difficult to continue supporting the conflict.
And for her, that would undoubtedly be a failure.
She couldn’t accept such a grand war ending so hastily.
“I don’t know about the eastern war, I just think Arlo City should be given up.”
Simon casually made up a reason.
“Because although the Eastern United Kingdom has united against the Empire these past years, they also have many internal conflicts.
Rather than letting them remain united against us, it’s better to let them fight among themselves first. That way, we can both weaken them and gain time to recover.”
To be honest, Alexia’s sudden stare and those ominous words were enough to send chills down his spine.
It gave him a feeling of being caught red-handed.
Fortunately, he usually kept a straight face and didn’t show any other emotion.
Alexia stared at Simon for a while longer, thought for a moment, and then felt his words made some sense, so she didn’t press further.
Perhaps, alleviating her burdens was also Simon’s way of showing loyalty.
As long as the contract remained in effect, she had nothing to worry about.
Alexia turned her head back, bared her teeth at Simon, walked over, and raised her hand as if to punch his chest.
However, seeing the solid armor, she lowered her hand.
If she punched, she’d probably end up hurting more herself.
So, she could only threaten fiercely:
“Next time you have any ideas, tell me first. If you steal my thunder again, I won’t go easy on you!”
Simon shrugged slightly.
“Stealing the Empress’s glory is indeed my mistake. Next time, for sure.”
Alexia walked over to the overturned table, glanced around, and pointed.
Simon understood, went over to move the table aside, and then picked up a book that had fallen on the floor.
“?”
Simon read the title, looking at Alexia in confusion.
“Wasn’t this book already heavily banned? The author was also imprisoned in the royal dungeon. How did it end up on Your Majesty’s desk?”
Alexia walked over and took the book back into her hand.
“Recently, this book has somehow started spreading again. I suspect someone is trying to change the capital’s atmosphere or test something through it.”
“Has it become serious enough that I need to handle it?”
Simon understood Alexia’s intention.
Normally, this matter should be handled by the Ministry of Justice, responsible for maintaining law and order.
But now that it had been handed over to him, it meant one of two things: either the Ministry of Justice couldn’t control the situation, or Alexia wanted to quell the matter before it grew.
Because the Ministry of Justice could still reason with people, but if it fell to him, there was no need for reasoning.
The sword in his hand was the highest law.
“Two Ministry of Justice teams have already disappeared because of this, one of them even being a Special Operations Team. Not even bodies were found.”
“Even Ministry of Justice members aren’t feared anymore. This is no longer an ordinary matter; we have to strike hard.”
As Alexia spoke, she tore the book in her hand in half.
The meaning was clear.
“Understood. I’ll investigate and get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.”
Simon agreed, but he was secretly uneasy.
He didn’t recall such an event in the game storyline!
And for someone in the capital to dare mess with Ministry of Justice people was truly rare.
“If the situation doesn’t allow, kill everyone. There’s no need to bring back any alive. Your safety is the top priority.”
Alexia added, still uneasy.
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
Simon nodded in response.
Having finished the main topic, Alexia shifted the conversation.
“And… what about Belinda’s situation?”
Simon replied truthfully.
“The situation may be completely different from what Your Majesty imagined. Pandas not only didn’t abuse Belinda, but treated her extremely well—almost to the point of spoiling her.”
“To be precise, Pandas wanted to raise Belinda in such comfort that she would become completely useless.”
“Up until now, Belinda has never received any form of education. She hasn’t even undergone the six years of basic education required for imperial citizens, so her literacy is almost nonexistent.”
Just listening to fairy tales won’t teach you anything.
“She hasn’t learned any skills either. Everything—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—is provided for her, so she’s hardly ever had to do anything herself. Calling her a blank sheet isn’t an exaggeration.”
“The only good news is that Belinda can read and knows some basic noble etiquette.
Pandas probably considered that Belinda would interact with other nobles and didn’t want her to embarrass herself, so he taught her those things.”
A smile appeared on the corner of Alexia’s mouth.
“That sounds interesting.”
She had once thought Pandas genuinely doted on Belinda, or that Belinda was only glamorous on the surface.
She had even considered that Belinda might be living in a false world all along.
But she never imagined that Pandas’s method was to turn Belinda into a useless person who, once separated from others, would be completely helpless.
Pandas’s methods exceeded Alexia’s expectations.
If Belinda remained like this at age thirty, she would truly be useless.
Now that she was sixteen, it wasn’t too late.
“Poison covered in syrup is still poison. Swallow it, and it will still kill you.”
Alexia sighed, then gave Simon an order.
“Knock over Pandas’s poison for me, then feed Belinda your special honey water.
One month from now, at my Birthday Banquet, I want to see a little girl with some cunning.”