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{3rd Pov}
"Indeed, the corpse of the White Whale now lies beside the great tree of Flugel," reported Julius, kneeling respectfully before the assembled Sage Council.
"I see... Do you support this claim as well, Sir Felix?" one of the council members inquired.
"~Nyah! Yes, Sire! Lady Crusch herself has personally verified the words spoken by Lord Zero," Felix replied confirming his words. Crusch stood silently behind him and nodded in confirmation.
"Still, I do wonder," Anastasia interjected with a harmless smile curving her lips, "how such important news traveled so swiftly."
"Perhaps we can offer an explanation," Bordeaux said, stepping forward, clearly preparing to drop a revelation.
"It was Lady Reina who brought the information to us. She has sworn her loyalty not to Lady Emilia, but to Lord Zero," Miklotov stated, watching their expressions intently.
There was a ripple of surprise among them, though it was nothing compared to the stunned silence that spread across the faces of the Wise Men.
The Wise Men, however, noticed the reactions and read between the lines—though they chose not to question them further.
"Very well then," one of the sages finally declared. "Lady Crusch, I request that several of your knights accompany the Royal Knights and recover the carcass of the White Whale. It shall serve as undeniable proof of its subjugation."
"It shall be done," Crusch replied, her voice composed, yet a bitter edge remained beneath her formal tone.
Whether it was being rejected by Zero, or being used merely as a tool to verify her rival's accomplishment, the taste was bitter either way.
The news that Reina had pledged her allegiance to Zero was troubling—not only for her, but also for Anastasia. It shifted the delicate balance of power.
The two had anticipated the possibility of such an outcome and had formed an alliance to prepare for it. Unfortunately, what they had feared had now come to pass.
After a brief and quiet exchange, the meeting concluded. The group dispersed, later gathering again in a private lounge to speak more candidly.
"It has been a long and taxing day," Wilhelm sighed deeply. The course of the Royal Selection had changed drastically in mere hours.
"Tell me, Julius," Anastasia asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "do you like that man?"
"What a strange question to ask, My Lady. I would think no one particularly likes the man who soundly defeated them," Julius replied with a small chuckle, though a flicker of unease lingered in his eyes.
The memory of his defeat was still fresh, and he knew full well how close he had come to being permanently crippled during their battle.
"Yes… that was rather an insensitive question for me to ask. Please forgive my thoughtlessness," Anastasia said with a soft smile.
Julius fell silent for a moment, his mind wandering. Initially, he had disliked Zero—his arrogance, his bold declaration of being Emilia's knight, his open disdain for noble customs.
Zero had openly criticized the entire nobility and the Royal Knights in front of the Royal Selection committee. Julius had been incensed and took it upon himself to confront him—telling himself it was for the sake of protecting decorum and preventing others from taking matters into their own hands.
He claimed to act to prevent unnecessary conflict, to preserve order, to correct Zero's impertinence… Perhaps that was true.
But somewhere during the fight, he forgot all of that. He became consumed with pride—and ultimately, he paid the price.
His honor? It now lay in pieces, shattered by his defeat at the hands of Subaru—no, Zero.
"Seriously though," Anastasia said, her tone returning to a more serious edge, "with the Sword Saint herself swearing fealty to that man, we need to rethink our strategy from the ground up."
"Our carefully laid plan to defeat the White Whale… it completely failed," Crusch said bitterly, her hands clenching into trembling fists.
Even Wilhelm, stoic as he was, felt a powerful wave of emotion rise within him.
"Forgive me, Sir Wilhelm. I failed to give you the chance to avenge your beloved wife," Crusch said quietly, bowing her head deeply before the aged swordsman.
"Please, My Lady, rise. This is not your fault in the slightest," Wilhelm responded solemnly. "I… I suppose this is simply the fate I must endure."
His eyes, usually calm and resolute, now glistened with sorrow.
"Perhaps… this is the judgment I deserve, for the years I spent turning my back on my own granddaughter," Wilhelm said, his mind recalling the harsh truths Subaru had thrown at him.
Shame welled up in his heart as he reflected upon all that he had done—or rather, failed to do—for his granddaughter.
"I believe you should make an effort to mend that relationship," Anastasia said gently. "Remaining at odds with the Emilia camp won't benefit us in the long run."
She continued, "The truth that one of Emilia's supporters was the one who brought down the White Whale will soon be revealed to the world once the evidence is confirmed. And even if the Wise Men chose not to question us about the two Sin Archbishops, that information will become public eventually."
It was plain to see that for both personal and political reasons, Wilhelm needed to reconcile with Reina.
"In any case," Anastasia said, shifting the conversation, "I've made a decision. Unless either of you have some grand strategy in mind, my camp will be departing for Kararagi tomorrow morning."
"You're not interested in discussing how to counter the Emilia camp's momentum?" Crusch asked, frowning.
"To be perfectly honest, there's not much more we can do at this stage. We need to divert our attention and pursue a different course—something that will boost our popularity in another way," Anastasia explained with a shrug.
"I see," Crusch said, her voice quiet with resignation.
To be continued…
(So yeah, let's be in top 1 this week again)