Concealment Is a Princess’s Accomplishment (1)
This is bad. The Grisaille Project has already fulfilled its purpose. It’s something I absolutely can’t make public.
To be honest, I wasn’t in my right mind back then. That’s the only reason I created such a thing.
This is really bad. The kingdom must never find out. That thing is far too dangerous—even I can’t handle it now that I’m sane again.
What should I do? Should I go dump it in the Empire? If I did, the Empire would probably collapse completely, turn into a wasteland of contamination where no one could live.
But the Empire still has a role to play—it’s supposed to stay unstable and serve as Arland’s defensive wall. They’re supposed to have their big civil war. No need to destroy them just yet.
Alright, conceal it is.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. That was just propaganda. The budget? Probably a miscalculation.”
Telepathy, activate! … Nothing!?
“Alice, I’ve already disabled telepathy. Be a good girl and talk.”
Tch. So the propaganda excuse isn’t going to work, huh.
Just then, my brother’s face suddenly stiffened. For some reason, he raised his hand and slammed it against the wall behind me.
At that instant, my finely honed sixth sense spoke to me.
Sixth Sense: “I’m hungry.”
Not you! I meant the seventh sense!
Seventh Sense: “The war’s over. How about we lift the sweets ban already?”
Not you either! Where’s my intuition gone!?
Eighth Sense: “That, my dear, is what they call a ‘wall slam.’ When that happens, something called a ‘flag’ gets raised.”
So it was you! I teleported behind my brother, raised both hands, and struck a victory pose.
Then came the sound of something collapsing behind me. I turned to see my brother sliding down the wall he’d just slammed, muttering as he fell.
“Why… why did you dodge it…”
“I sensed the rise of a dangerous flag. Also, I felt impure thoughts from you, Big brother.”
“Your Highness! Are you still not giving up!?” one of the nobles shouted.
“Silence! I will never give up!”
Big brother, now recovered, struck some weird dramatic pose at the nobles. Recovery sure came quick, though his legs were shaking like crazy—guess the mental damage was heavy.
“What even is this skit?”
“Takuto, my Big brother’s a siscon. I just felt danger.”
I really need to do something about him. Maybe he’ll calm down once he’s engaged. Dear ladies of high society, please—someone capture him physically. His escape speed’s probably on par with a Metal Slime, though.
“Enough! That comes later! You will tell me everything about the Grisaille Project!”
After arguing with the nobles for a bit, Big brother turned back to me.
“Ah, Alice. Mind if I borrow the kitchen for a bit?”
“Takuto, you want to cook now?”
“I brought some ingredients from Earth.”
“You can’t use the castle’s, but you can use the kitchen in my treasury.”
I’ll grab some later too. Takuto walked straight into the treasury.
“Now, Alice. Sit here and tell us the truth while I observe you closely.”
He had soldiers bring in a table and chair like some interrogation setup. I sat down anyway.
“There’s nothing to say. It was propaganda. The budget was a miscalculation.”
I spoke with all the determination of someone who absolutely wasn’t going to talk. At the same time, I tapped the floor with my shoe.
‘Erase all evidence of the Grisaille Project.’
It was Morse code. From my shadow, a Shadow Wolf emerged and trotted off carrying a small sound-recording magic tool in its mouth—too small for anyone to notice.
One of the nobles flinched. Right, dangerous monster. They’re not used to seeing it since it usually hides in my shadow.
“Looks like it’s hungry,” I said.
“… Guards! Restrain that beast!”
!
“You panicked, didn’t you, Alice? There was a pattern to the tapping. Likely an encoded message using sound.”
At his words, the Shadow Wolf bolted for the exit. It made it out but was soon caught by knights and carried back. Still, it had this proud ‘mission accomplished’ look on its face.
“Tch, so the info got out, huh.”
“I don’t like how perceptive you are, Big brother.”
My words froze him in place.
Seriously, how did he even catch on that I was using sound-based code? Still, it seemed my clone hiding near the audience chamber had received the command. Good work, Second. You’ll probably be detained for a bit, but I’ll rescue you later—just stay calm, okay? If you resist, they’ll squeeze you.
Seeing me nod, the captured Shadow Wolf—Second—settled down quietly.
“Ghah! Hahaha… I thought I was going to die…”
Big brother finally moved again, coughing up blood and clutching his chest. Geez, that stress hit him hard.
“Your Highness! The funds used for the treasury’s construction have been restored!”
“Alice~ you move fast, don’t you.”
“I dunno what you’re talking about~”
That clone of mine worked too quickly.
No, he probably anticipated I’d sneak the money back later, so he had the security tightened. The clone striking in that brief window was actually brilliant. Which means I’m brilliant.
By the way, those funds came from spoils taken off the Empire—we’ve got plenty. I had some hidden under the castle; that’s what the clone used.
Big brother sighed and pinched my cheek.
“Mugyuu.”
“Talk.”
“I dunnooo.”
No matter how much you pinch, I won’t talk!
“So you made something you can’t talk about, huh.
Come to think of it, you had bombers stationed in the capital, but no specific orders were given.
You were on the battlefield yourself, so there was no reason to keep them waiting there… Meaning, one of your clones was making something somewhere in this castle, right?
Now, where might that be?”
… That’s not just perceptive, that’s basically solved already!
“Uh… Brother, I’m just a child, I don’t understand complicated stuff, nya~”
Time to play the little-girl card.
“You shouldn’t assume that trick will always work… though it’s cute.”
“Mufuu~ dunno what you mean, nya~”
If it doesn’t work, just keep pushing till it does! But my brother just stared straight into my eyes.
“So, where’s your secret lab, hmm?”
“I-it’s all over the castle.”
Fool. My labs are everywhere. The castle’s underground is already an ant nest of tunnels.
“… You really do love underground places, huh. Then where exactly is the Grisaille Project being conducted?”
A bead of sweat ran down my forehead. Am I being cornered? No way—I haven’t said a thing.
Just stall for time. The cleanup should be underway. In a few hours, there’ll be no trace left.
“… I see. I’ve got a rough idea. Guards, with me! We’re raiding Alice’s nest!”
“Yes, sir!!”
Nooooo! How’d he figure it out!?
“This meeting is adjourned.”
The nobles, not wanting to anger me, quietly dispersed.
“You’re coming too, Alice.”
Seal magic—activate!
I cast Stone Seal, turning myself into stone while keeping my consciousness intact.
“T-this is… Thinking Alice!”
I froze in the pose of The Thinker. Should’ve done this from the start—nothing would’ve been exposed.
Big brother tried to carry me afterward, but sealing magic can’t be moved once cast. And the court mages couldn’t dispel mine.
Knowing I was already erasing evidence, my brother gave up and led troops to my secret lab. Now it’s a race against time. Hang in there, clones—he’s coming for you.
“… What are you doing?”
About thirty minutes after my brother left the hall, Takuto came out of the treasury.
Seeing me petrified, he waved a hand lightly. A dispelling spell triggered, and my stone form crumbled away.
“As expected of a Hero. I wasn’t even being serious, and you broke it easily.”
“You’re doing something interesting again,” he said, placing a tray on the table—the one my brother had left untouched.
“Well, since no one’s here to interrupt, perfect timing. Knowing you, you probably made something crazy again, right? Eat this and tell me all about it.”
My sixth sense cheered—yeah, I was hungry. Quiet, you!
My eighth sense warned me: Never eat katsudon during an interrogation.
Yes, Takuto had made katsudon.
It’s been so long… almost ten years. I swallowed hard.
But I couldn’t eat you… you’re a trap—munch munch.
“So, what did you make?”
“Munch, munch, gulp. About a hundred atomic bombs.”
I couldn’t resist the katsudon.
“…………”
“I’ll bury them in darkness, so no problem.”
“How do you even make those?”
“Well, the security of the nuclear nations on Earth was pretty sloppy. With Momoniku II, I could access blueprints and test data easily. Anything air-gapped was impossible, but not every country did that.”
In my previous life as Iris, I’d stolen nuclear data from every nation that had it. Sometimes I even wiped their servers just to shut them up.
It was surprisingly easy. And now, with my Factory magic that lets me make anything I want, I could actually build them. I’m the only one who can use that spell perfectly.
“When I tried making one in Japan, Papa got super mad at me.”
“You couldn’t even get the materials, could you?”
“I just asked the Japanese government nicely. Using a dictionary-thick pile of secrets they really didn’t want exposed.”
Good thing Japan’s cybersecurity was so lax. I got mountains of classified stuff that way.
“There were some foreign monitoring agencies, though.”
“Oh, those? They were too busy with scandals to do their jobs.”
I wonder who leaked all those scandals. What a mystery. For some reason, it all conveniently benefited Iris.
Japan’s government wasn’t involved, of course. They just happened to have some mismatched paperwork and missing inventory, so we made the missing stuff ‘never exist.’ Happens all the time.
Well, some factions inside the government did want that kind of tech, which didn’t help.
Just as preparations were complete—Papa found out and got mad.
In the end, all the data and blueprints were sealed away. As an apology, I gave the Japanese government blueprints for a commercial fusion reactor, threw the regulators into chaos again, and falsified the remaining paperwork to wrap it all up.
… Wait, maybe I did whatever I wanted in my previous life too.
“It’s a miracle you weren’t arrested.”
“No evidence, no problem. Though they did keep me under heavy surveillance afterward.”
There were men in black suits outside the mansion all day. Probably their way of saying “don’t try anything stupid again.” The head of the country that sent them happened to resign the next day after a scandal, though.
“Anyway, it’s way too dangerous, so I’m burying it. No one can ever know it exists.”
“Won’t the kingdom get suspicious?”
“I’m always up to something suspicious.”
Worst case, I’ll resign my title. If that’s not enough, I’ll renounce my royal status entirely. Maybe I’ll work as Lily’s maid or something.
What do you think about this chapter?
