"I…"
Hiness looked at the two girls comforting her, then at Hel, who gave her a small nod.
At that moment, a strange feeling surfaced in her heart—
Something she hadn't experienced since her mother's death.
It was the complicated sensation of being cared for again.
Her eyes reddened even further.
Tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks.
At first, she tried wiping them away with her hands—
But the more she wiped, the more they fell.
Until finally, with a sob—
"Waaah…"
She threw herself into Hel's arms and burst into loud crying.
Seeing this, Hel glanced at Tina and Leflina.
The three of them could only smile helplessly at the same time.
Meanwhile, the catgirl Niv, who had been lying across the fireplace the whole time, wore a mischievous grin.
She narrowed her eyes and gave a subtle wink.
Then, without anyone noticing…
She uploaded the footage she had just recorded—
The moment Hiness cried and dove into Hel's arms—
Straight into the Reincarnation Mainframe.
This was priceless black history.
Niv planned to wait until Hiness truly joined them someday…
And then gift her this recording as a "welcome present."
Whether Hiness would be happy or not, Niv didn't know.
But she was very happy.
Mm. Heehee.
…
Hiness had no idea how long she cried.
By the time she finally calmed down, everyone was seated again on the sofa.
A cup of hot tea sat in front of each of them.
Hel calmly took a sip of black tea, looking at the three girls beside her, each wearing a different expression.
She waited quietly for them to come up with whatever terrible ideas they could.
In truth, eliminating the Second Prince and the Fourth Princess wouldn't be difficult for her…
But she didn't want to expose her identity so easily.
After a moment of thought, Tina was the first to speak.
"Usually, when facing assassination and poisoning from an enemy gang… no, enemies…"
"The only thing we can do is run.
Run somewhere they can't reach.
Or choose one side to rely on."
Mm. Bad idea number one, Hel thought.
And without mercy, she immediately rebutted:
"At the moment, the Fourth Princess is backed by the Alchemy Institute and the Mechanical Institute.
Hiness has ties to the Bloodline Institute.
It's impossible for her to join them.
And…"
Hel smiled teasingly, pointing at the sandwich still sitting on the table.
With a hint of mockery, she continued:
"As for the Second Prince—
Only after Hiness is dead will the Bloodline Institute fully support him.
So he would never accept Hiness and create a weakness for himself."
Hearing Hel's analysis, Tina immediately wilted like an eggplant struck by frost.
She shrank back into the sofa, hugging her teacup and staring blankly.
"Then… what about joining forces with the other two princes in advance?"
Leflina suggested.
"Their supporters are the Biology Institute and the History Institute.
If we could ally with them, and persuade the forces behind them…
We could form a pretty solid faction."
It was a fairly reasonable suggestion based on Hel's earlier explanation.
But Leflina didn't understand why the Bloodline, Biology, and History Institutes didn't support their own candidates—
And instead chose to back the Second Prince.
Hel explained calmly:
"The families behind the Second Prince and Fourth Princess…
Don't just hold influence within their institutes.
They also have influence in the political circles of the Savant Kingdom.
But Hiness and the Third Prince's families…
Were suppressed by the old King Savant and pushed out of the political center.
As for the Sixth Prince…"
Hel paused, choosing her words carefully, trying to sound as gentle as possible:
"The History Institute is full of archaeologists.
To them, excavation and writing history are everything.
Most of them aren't even in Savant City.
And even those who remain in the palace are mostly just historians and record-keepers…
They have very little political influence."
In other words—
The History Institute was busy robbing tombs.
They didn't have time to care about royal succession.
After hearing this, Leflina wilted as well.
She fell silent.
The room remained quiet for a while…
Until a white dove fluttered down onto the windowsill.
It tapped gently against the glass with its beak.
Then, very human-like, it lifted one foot—
A letter was tied there.
Seeing this, Hel quickly went to the window, opened it, and let the dove inside.
The dove obediently hopped onto the frame, raising its foot for Hel.
Hel removed the letter.
And the sender was none other than Hel's true body.
She needed to give Lyco's avatar a believable way to obtain intelligence.
So she used her authority to control a dove to deliver the message.
In fact, she had been doing this ever since she enrolled.
This was one of the reasons Hiness called her "Cuckoo Lyco."
Hel accepted the letter, sent the dove away, closed the window, and returned to the sofa.
In front of everyone, she unfolded the paper and read aloud:
"This afternoon at two o'clock, while the Third Prince was traveling by carriage…
The alchemical engine malfunctioned.
A fire erupted inside the vehicle and spread to a nearby shopping hall.
Including the Third Prince, a total of nineteen people died in the blaze.
The Sixth Prince, while leaving his residence today, tripped on a stone by the roadside and struck his head.
He remains unconscious."
"T-this…"
The three girls present were completely stunned.
They hadn't expected the conspiracy against the other princes to unfold all at once—
And that the two princes hadn't even survived the first round.
That meant the only remaining threat to the Second Prince and Fourth Princess…
Was Hiness alone.
And for an eyesore like her, who had already survived one assassination attempt…
What awaited her would be far more vicious.
Perhaps it wouldn't even be only the Second Prince anymore—
The Fourth Princess might also join in.
The pressure on them instantly grew heavier.
Even Hiness swallowed hard.
Her voice was strained as she said:
"Since my two brothers are dead…
Should I just pretend I was killed too?"
"That might be the only option."
Tina nodded firmly.
In her view, as long as you survived, nothing was too shameful.
Leflina opened her mouth, feeling the plan was unreliable…
But it was the best they had.
She couldn't think of anything else.
Then Hel cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
She looked directly into Hiness's eyes, her tone solemn.
"Hiness."
"Do you want to become the king of this country?"