In order not to let things go in the direction he didn't want, Prime Minister Butler decided to negotiate with Prince Hoss and Marshal Wall outside the South Gate, although he controlled the imperial capital and the Guards Legion, but the other side also had the Wind and Sand Legion, and the result of the war between the two sides could only be the entire Prude Empire to pieces, and even possibly annihilated.

In the Arena riots, other Prude royal families, including Peter III, were wiped out, and even the die-hard nobles and ministers who were loyal to the royal family as expected by the prime minister were all killed, leaving only the ministers who had long since defected to the prime minister, led by the Minister of the Imperial Exit Administration, and some wall grasses who were not loyal to the royal family. Originally, if Hoth hadn't escaped death unexpectedly, Butler would have been able to control most of the power in the imperial capital and even in the upper power circles of the entire empire after the riots ended.

Now, however, Hoss is not only alive, but has also managed to join up with Field Marshal Wall, who was aware of the anomaly in the Imperial Capital, which has ruined almost all of Butler's subsequent plans, and for now, he can only hope that the other side will agree to his actual control of the Imperial Capital through negotiations, and then temporarily stop the situation and stabilize the situation instead of an immediate civil war.

Once the war starts, the orcs in the south, the old enemy Loris Kingdom, and even the Holy Kingdom of Solan, which has always preached fairness and justice on the surface, will not miss the opportunity to completely subvert and divide the Prud Empire, one of the original six major forces on the continent. At this point, Butler's meaning is clear, his motive for destroying the royal family of Prud is to be able to fully implement his ideas in this empire, and in any case, the collapse of this empire is definitely not the result he wants.

Even if it is temporary, it doesn't matter if the two sides divide the territory according to the north and the south for the time being, as long as the real civil war does not happen, there will not be much opportunity for the surrounding big forces to take advantage of the situation, that is to say, everything is still within the scope of Butler's self-control.

Butler believed that Hoss and Marshal Wall, like himself, would definitely think of the consequences of the Prude Civil War, but it would not be so easy for them to stop there, Hawes could not let go of the murderer behind Peter III, and Wall had always been a die-hard supporter of the Prude royal family, in short, this negotiation would not go well.

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The negotiations at the city gate have not gone smoothly for the time being, but now a negotiation somewhere in the city has reached an impasse.

“...... No, she's my friend...... No, you can't. ”

In the hallway of the secret residence of the Prime Minister's assassins, Zero clenched his fists and looked at the man in front of him without giving in.

"It's not for you and me to decide, that girl must die for the sake of the grown-up's plans. ”

Standing in front of Zero's eyes and speaking coldly was none other than the leader of the black-clad assassins, the Blood Leopard.

Zero's little face, which originally looked innocent and kind, was now tense and even a little pale.

"No...... She, Cheruth, she wouldn't be detrimental to the grown-up's plans. ”

"In fact, she has almost ruined the adult's plan," the blood leopard's expression was calm, but there was a fierce light in his eyes, "If it weren't for her, Hoth would have died in the arena long ago, and the adult would not be so passive as he is now." ”

"She didn't mean to, though," Zero struggled to defend her friend, "and at that time, she was only there by coincidence and had to defend herself. ”

Coincidence?The Blood Leopard suddenly remembered the conversation between Butler and Gurney a few days before the plan, coincidence can be the most real illusion when used well, but if something goes wrong, it is also the most fatal flaw.

"In any case, this girl can't stay, and the adult's plan can't afford to slip up. ”

Blood Leopard shook his head, not accepting the chestnut-haired girl's statement, as Butler's most trusted subordinate, he knew very well that the situation facing his master was far worse than the plan a few days ago, and he couldn't help his master in terms of resourcefulness with more hands than brains, but eliminating such things as unstable factors that could affect his master's plan was something he should have done.

Seeing that the blood leopard didn't seem to intend to ignore him and leave directly, Zero became anxious, and raised his arm without thinking, and his petite body stopped in front of the blood leopard.

"No, you can't. ”

The blood leopard looked at the chestnut-haired girl who stopped him with a calm expression, but the murderous intent in his eyes gradually thickened.

If just now he just felt that the wolf girl had ruined the master's plan in the arena, and killing her was not only to get rid of the unstable factors, but now he really had the intention to kill that girl.

Zero, is very important in the master's plan, or the last insurance-like existence, the original zero also played such a "tool" role well, but now, this "tool" is for the wolf girl to resist their will, this is not a good phenomenon.

The girl named Cheruth had to die.

He made a decision in his heart, but the blood leopard didn't say it explicitly, just looked at Zero with a displeased look.

"Zero, you have to be clear that your master is Lord Butler. ”

"I know ...... very well"

Zero's voice was not loud, and it sounded a little imposing, but it didn't mean to back down at all.

"I'm clear, but ...... Cheruth is innocent, she and Sister Harrow were just passing by, never thought it would have anything to do with these things, and she saved me...... I can't let her get hurt in front of my eyes. ”

The Blood Leopard looked at Zero silently, and just as Zero thought that the Assassin Leader, who had always been cold-blooded and ruthless, was about to strike at him, the Blood Leopard suddenly turned around and walked in the direction he had left.

"I understand, then, until the master returns, as long as she does not try to escape, I will not touch her, but when the master returns, if there is any decision, even if you do not want to, I will not let her continue to live. ”

Zero looked at the back of the Blood Leopard and was slightly stunned, just now she was even ready to fight the Blood Leopard to buy time for Chelus to escape, but the Blood Leopard surprised her and easily gave up her insistence.

“...... Zero, remember who you are. ”

Zero's body slammed, and he lowered his head, biting his lip hard.

Identity......

That's right, she always remembered who she was, she was a "tool"...... Or rather, a monster that once had a human identity.

And all this is what Cheruth does not know.

Just when Zero was silent because of this sentence, the Blood Leopard had no intention of stopping, and had already left Zero alone.

Of course, he didn't intend to let go of the wolf girl, on the contrary, after seeing the desperate look of Zero just now, the blood leopard had already executed the sister of the "Northland Virtuous Wolf" who came out of nowhere.

Zero is very important to the adult's plan, although the prime minister has never told her her true value, and she only thinks that she is a special high-level combat force, but this does not change her existence that can really determine success or failure at a critical moment. So in addition to adults, there can't be anything else in her heart that can affect her actions, but because she is very important, this matter must be treated carefully, at least for now, you can't kill that girl directly without ignoring her wishes.

After a long time, Zero raised his head in some frustration and walked towards his room as if he had lost some strength.

Since that nightmarish experiment, no one who knows her true identity has ever thought of her as a real human, so Zero knows better than anyone how precious it is to have a look without sympathy or fear or disgust, and how blessed it is to be watched with the eyes of a normal human.

And these are all things that she has obtained from Cheruth in this short period of time, and although Cheruth does not know her identity, she still cherishes this feeling.

Are you longing for friendship, or are you just longing for that child's innocent concern?

But what would Cherus think of herself if she knew about herself?

Zero stopped herself from thinking about it, and she was so scared that she didn't even want to imagine it.

For the first time, she felt how frightening and painful it would be for that child to look at herself in the same way as everyone else.

Don't think about it so much, now just think about how to protect Chelsea from being hurt first, and then find a chance to send her away, as long as you get out of touch with what happened here, presumably that child will not have a chance to know about herself...... Although the two may never see each other again.

For some reason, when I thought of the zero here, I was sad and a little happy.

I really don't want Cheruth to know that she is a "tool" called "Zero". If I can be left in the child's heart forever as "Nanoha", it will also be a kind of happiness for myself...... Right?

Raising his hand and gently patting his cheek, Zero took a deep breath.

When the Prime Minister returns, she will explain it to the Prime Minister herself.

With that in mind, Zero quickened his pace and walked briskly back down the hallway, quickly returning to his room, pushing the door open and entering.

Room Zero was very simple, not at all like a little girl's room of twelve or thirteen, except for the necessary furniture such as bedboards, tables and chairs, and even the necessary furniture was very plain, and at first glance it would be mistaken for a bistro room.

And now, in this small room, a little girl with long dark purple hair, wolf ears and wolf tail and wearing a somewhat torn maid's uniform sat on the edge of the bed and shook her legs a little boredly, and after hearing the sound of the door opening, the girl turned her face back from the window and looked at Zero who walked in the door.

"Ah, Nanoha, welcome back~"

Seeing the girl's grinning appearance, Zero couldn't help but feel a little relieved and a little worried in her heart, she may not know that there are many people here who want to hurt her life.

"Chelus, you are here...... Are you alright?"