The last time I came to the palace, I was with Oliebat at a state banquet to welcome him. The protagonist of that banquet was undoubtedly Oliebat, who returned as a hero, and everyone was arranged and coordinated according to his preferences. In addition, at that time, the imperial capital was almost crowded with bigwigs from all over the empire, and it was not convenient to act no matter what. Moreover, at that time, because Helliga had to find time to spend with his two younger brothers and sisters of Olibat, he did not have much time to wander around the palace.

This time is different, though. Due to the fact that it is now in a busy period - the big guys in finance are busy with a new round of financing, and because of the latest announcement of the dazzling crystal block refining technology not long ago, the entire market of dazzling crystals has almost been reorganized, and several big bankers in the empire are also busy with this. At the same time, with the spring and summer periods, whether it is the political college, the military academy, or the art college, they all enter their own academic busy period from this moment. This busy time will continue into the late summer and into late autumn.

In addition, the domestic situation began to change. Since the Prime Minister promulgated the new Railway Law and the Traffic Law, the railroads laid throughout the empire have become an important link. By connecting the various border passes and various important towns of the empire by rail, and cooperating with the "railway gendarmerie" that took advantage of it, "T· M.P.", Prime Minister Osborne was able to better monitor the every move of the major aristocratic forces under his nose. As a result, it was difficult for the aristocracy to escape control of what they liked to do most – to manipulate local tax rates and policies and to make great fortunes out of them. Although the emperor usually turned a blind eye to this and did not have any actual restrictions and orders, if the prime minister had the heart to collect some evidence, it would not be difficult to collect some evidence, and at that time, even Yukent III, who had always taken a negative attitude, could no longer be treated as nothing.

"So the great nobles have stepped up their investment in the arms race...... Hmph, if you have a chance, you can go to the fort near Albarea's house. The thought flashed through her, and Helriga kept it to herself.

At the top of the cloister, Heliga paused, combing through everything he had seen for hours. From noon to dusk, Heliga spent the whole afternoon looking at every corner of the palace – except for the long-locked Rose Garden, the supreme chamber where the emperor himself lived, and the government offices – rather, the chancellor's office on the west side of the palace.

"Oh yes...... You are? As he was standing in front of the cloister and contemplating his next move, he heard a somewhat uncertain female voice - following the voice, a woman with blue hair in a dark gray military uniform was looking at Helriga with some surprise.

Of course, Heliga knew the man who had come, Captain Claire Livitt, "T· The youngest captain and commander of the M·P was considered a thorn in the side of the aristocracy when the Prime Minister first began to establish a similar system a few years ago. As a commander and an excellent sniper, her ability to calculate and predict is unrivaled, and she is said to be able to easily shoot a 50-meter coin at a distance of more than twenty cels.

Although I don't know if it's true or not, but the appearance of such rumors is enough to show that this is not groundless - there is no vanity under the fame, and her ability must not be underestimated.

Although he had heard of it for a long time, the first time they met was at the banquet at the beginning of the year. However, because there were too many VIPs gathered in the imperial capital at that time, and many of them were famous, she basically served as the personal guard of several of the important people, and was responsible for coordinating part of the security work. This chance encounter here can also be said to be some kind of fate.

- Although this kind of fate is really dangerous in a sense.

"Captain Claire...... Hehe, I didn't expect to meet here. After a little consideration, Heiliga decided that it would be better to adopt a more friendly attitude for the time being. Although for Prime Minister Osborne, he actually didn't have much of a cold.

"If I'm not mistaken...... It's Mr. Heliga. "Claire deserves to be Claire, even if Helliga consciously reduced his influence in the Empire and gave all the credit to others, Claire still remembered this person very clearly - of course, Helier didn't realize that although his deliberately low-key actions deceived most people, it was difficult to fool the eyes of the Imperial Intelligence Agency. Besides, as one of the people who have close contact with the prince, no matter what you do, you will be targeted, which is also a normal move, "I was a little unsure just now...... It turns out to be really you. ”

"I've been in Crossbell because it's a bit of a mess over there." Heiliga thought about it carefully, knowing that he would definitely not be let go by the eyes of various forces, so he simply didn't bother to pretend to be stupid, "Originally, I wanted to go directly to Tolz...... But since they're participating in that "special internship", there's no point in me going back so early. ”

"So why don't you just stay in the imperial capital and visit the palace?" Claire narrowed her eyes, "But in terms of the degree of 'visiting'...... Is it too detailed? ”

"Hmm...... Did you see that. Helliga scratched his head, in the face of this perceptive "Ice Maiden", the panicked disguise was meaningless, but he didn't plan to sell Olibat like this: "It's His Royal Highness the Prince's request for me." He said let me see if there was anything unsafe about the security system around the palace, but if you think about it, if you are there often, I am afraid that it is unnecessary to worry. ”

"I spend most of my time at the headquarters of the Railway Gendarmerie...... They will only come when they report to the Prime Minister. Claire changed the subject noncommittally, "But when it comes to the special internship...... I've had a relationship with them before. ”

"Really?"

"Yes...... Their first internship, Team A, was all in Trading Town Keldik...... Something happened there. "All in all...... Hehe, forget it, in terms of details, it's better for you to communicate with your classmates, so it's inconvenient for me to disturb you about the topic of communication between classmates in the future. As if she had suddenly remembered something, Claire suddenly changed the subject. Although she used a clever excuse, Heliga was able to detect her inner mood swings. For various reasons, though, he didn't say it.

"You still have work to do, and I won't bother you." Heliga nodded politely and turned sideways, leaving a room for Claire to leave.