Philly received a letter first, informing her of Frondier's visit to the Imperial Palace.
It was sent by none other than Frondier himself.
Additionally, it included a kind note mentioning that Elysia would be accompanying him.
"......So, what excuse will you make now?"
Philly glared at Ednet, who was bowing his head before her. Ednet remained silent, avoiding her gaze.
"The Shadow Unit suspected that Frondier might be in some sort of cooperative relationship with the devils. On top of that, they said my daughter Elysia's disappearance was also due to Frondier. They definitely said that. My memory is not mistaken."
"......It was merely mentioned as a possibility,"
"Oh, a possibility. How about I punish you because you seem to have the potential to slander the Empress right now?"
Ednet bowed deeply and apologized. It was a disgrace unbecoming of the Shadow Unit.
But Ednet was filled with resentment.
'Damn it! I told you it was unreasonable!'
Ednet acts as a bridge between the Shadow Unit and the Empress, placing him in an awkward position within the Shadow Unit.
Regardless of Ednet's individual stance, the Shadow Unit recently viewed Frondier as a significant thorn in their side.
He was aware of the Shadow Unit's Mana injection plan and had the audacity to warn the entire Shadow Unit about it.
But that was the will of the Shadow Unit, not Ednet's.
There is a 'possibility' that Frondier might be colluding with the devils. Convey that to the Empress.
The moment Ednet heard that from the Shadow Unit's upper echelons, his vision went dark. How on earth was he supposed to deliver this message? If he didn't, the Shadow Unit would kill him, and if he did, Philly would kill him.
Ultimately, Ednet was still alive, so conveying the Shadow Unit's message to Philly was the correct answer.
Philly wouldn't kill an individual out of anger.
It would only cause the trust and favorability towards the entire Shadow Unit to plummet endlessly.
'Sigh, what should I do?'
Philly fell into contemplation.
The Shadow Unit suspected that Frondier and the devils were colluding. While this stemmed from their desire to eliminate Frondier, it wasn't entirely baseless.
Above all, Philly needed to keep an eye on that possibility for the Shadow Unit's desired outcome to unfold.
In other words, the Shadow Unit investigated Frondier and must have witnessed him conversing with or being in the company of devils during the process. That much was obvious.
......But, would Frondier be unaware that he was being investigated by the Shadow Unit?
From this point onwards, things become far from obvious.
'When he tried to save Miss Ameline, Frondier warned the Shadow Unit. Even though the Shadow Unit attempted a direct attack on the carriage, he made it all 'disappear'.'
That was a kind of negotiation Frondier offered to the Shadow Unit.
Causing a stir within the entire Shadow Unit would be dangerous for Frondier himself, and it would likely harm those around him as well.
However, it wouldn't be easy for the Shadow Unit to eliminate Frondier, who was protecting Ameline.
So, ignore Ameline. As long as she doesn't go around blabbing about the Mana injections, don't threaten her.
Frondier drew this line.
It was both a negotiation and a warning.
'The Shadow Unit suspected Frondier was responsible for Elysia's disappearance, but Frondier is actually bringing Elysia here himself.'
Could this be taken at face value?
Was it just a lucky coincidence that in this vast Empire, Frondier happened to find Elysia and bring her to the Imperial Palace, completely unaware of the Shadow Unit's suspicions?
In Ameline's case, Frondier had given a clear warning to the Shadow Unit. Yet, the Shadow Unit had transgressed again.
So, wasn't Frondier coming to this Imperial Palace to show them what a 'second' warning meant?
"Ednet, do you remember what I said?"
"When choosing between Frondier and the Shadow Unit, the Empire will always choose Frondier."
"Yes, yes! I remember it clearly."
"......Then, prepare yourself for today."
Philly let out a sigh.
Frondier didn't want to become the Empire's enemy.
That was the reason why the Shadow Unit was still intact.
However, Empress Philly also didn't want to become Frondier's enemy.
Even if it meant abandoning the Shadow Unit.
'......Why don't they understand that they're only alive because Frondier doesn't know that. Shadow Unit.'
Every moment Philly kept this trivial truth to herself, she was protecting the Shadow Unit.