Chapter 831
Diana, who had frozen with her eyes wide, slowly tilted her head and said, "You mean... not you—the Emperor thinks that?"
Ian shrugged. "I appointed the Second Princess as the acting archduke, under the pretext that I needed to prepare to support the royal family. He probably hasn’t completely let his guard down, but since it came from the daughter he cherishes most, he’ll believe it to some extent."
Diana narrowed her eyes slightly, lifting her glass. "So that’s why he’s ignoring the Great Church, buying time."
"Partly, yeah. But I think he also wants to make sure as many survivors as possible return home."
She frowned more deeply, still not quite following.
Sharp as she is, she hadn’t caught the implication.
Then again, not every fairy was born with political instincts like Thesaya. She’d even honed hers at the cost of her life.
Well, everyone has their strengths.
He swirled his drink and said, "They’ll make excellent hostages to use against His Highness Hyked. The more hostages, the better, right?"
Only then did Diana’s eyes widen slightly.
Ian brought the glass to his lips and finished, "Of course, His Highness will be aware of that too, so things won’t go entirely the way the Emperor wants."
"So they’ve been playing this kind of game without even facing each other all this time," Diana muttered after lowering her glass.
Her expression was somewhere between admiration and exhaustion.
Ian simply shrugged.
She licked her lips lightly, then added carefully, "But if you’re saying all this... it means you don’t intend to side with the royal family, right, Ian Hope?"
Ian met her eyes. "I’m the Agent of the Platinum Dragon. It’s a responsibility forced onto me, but I have no intention of ignoring it."
The smile had already vanished from his lips.
"And I have even less intention of forgiving those who tried to slander and disgrace that being."
Diana’s eyes widened as she drew in a breath.
Then, almost immediately, a smile began to spread across her face.
"I knew it! I thought maybe you wouldn’t stand with the Empire... but with His Highness instead, Ian Hope!"
Her voice trembled with something close to relief—whether from avoiding conflict with Hyked or easing her own guilt, it wasn’t clear.
"That’s not what I said," Ian said flatly.
"What?" Diana asked a beat too late.
Ian casually tilted his glass from side to side as he continued, "I’m not stepping into the war, and I’m not taking sides. Like I’ve said before, I have no intention of throwing my people into someone else’s civil war."
"No... what does that even...." Diana murmured, stunned. Her eyes flickered with racing thoughts.
Ian let out a chuckle and took another sip.
"Then... you really gathered everyone just to keep them out of the fallout? You’re seriously going to stand back and watch?" she asked, disbelief creeping into her voice.
Ian smiled faintly. "That’s the outcome you wanted most, isn’t it?"
"Well... yes, but... you’re the Agent of the Saint. A demigod..." Diana faltered, looking away.
Ian’s smile deepened slightly. He could read it clearly—that mix of relief and dissatisfaction. He’d been feeling it himself more often lately.
"That’s not really it, is it?" she asked quietly.
"Of course not. Unfortunately for you," Ian replied, lifting his glass again.
As if she had expected that, Diana nodded slowly, then stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"I know you don’t play games without a reason... but no matter how I think about it, I can’t figure it out. Ian Hope. You do have a plan, right?"
"I do. It’s not perfect, but," Ian finally answered, meeting her gaze.
Diana gave a small nod but didn’t look away.
Setting his glass down on the armrest, Ian crossed one leg over the other. "That’s unexpected. I thought you’d be satisfied with that kind of answer."
"After everything that’s happened these past few days alone..." Diana replied with a low sigh, straightening her posture as she faced him. "I figured it’d be better to know in advance and prepare myself."
"In that case...."
Ian nodded lightly. A faint smile curled at his lips—it hadn’t occurred to him he’d be saying something like this to her.
"The civil war will start. I think it’s more likely the Emperor will eventually accept the Great Church’s demands, but which side declares it first doesn’t really matter," Ian said in an even tone.
Diana sat upright, her gaze fixed on his lips.
"What matters is that His Highness Hyked will take the capital. We’ll watch from a distance, and once the capital falls, we’ll move."
"So you’re planning to end the war in one stroke," Diana murmured, as if she finally understood.
However, Ian shook his head slightly. "No. We’ll march into the Papal State with His Highness."
"What?" Diana looked up at him in disbelief.
Ian picked up his glass and smiled. "As you know, his goal is the Papal State. We’ll go with him, because I have no intention of forgiving those who tried to disgrace the Platinum Dragon."
For Ian, Hyked taking the capital was the perfect opportunity.
Otherwise, even if he uncovered the truth behind the Round Table, dealing with them would be far more complicated and exhausting.
Diana stared blankly, her lips parting. "So you’ll go with him... and kill all the priests of the Great Church?"
"Just the chairman of the Round Table. And their underlings. Maybe they’re the ones His Highness is meant to judge."
"No... even so... my goodness." With a sigh, Diana squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with both hands. Maybe she was already regretting asking in the first place.
Her voice came muffled through her fingers. "You know what will happen if you do that... not just for you, but—"
"It’ll be fine. After that, I’ll side with the royal family again," Ian cut in.
That alone made her freeze again.
"I’m not planning to fight His Highness head-on. I’ll personally negotiate—ask him to withdraw in exchange for guaranteeing that the returnees won’t be persecuted." Ian said calmly, raising his glass again with a faint smile. "I think he’ll accept. And the Emperor won’t have much choice either."
Diana finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.
She rubbed her face slowly as she said, "Because by then, we’ll be the strongest force."
Ian nodded. "Exactly. As long as the throne is preserved, they won’t even bring up blasphemy. If anything, they’ll be pleased. We’ll have purged the Great Church for them."
"But someone will have to take the blame...." Diana tightened her grip on the glass, then paused.
Ian shrugged. "Yeah. They’ll pin it on His Highness. They’ll want to make sure he can never set foot in Imperial lands again."
"If he achieves everything he wanted, he won’t care. That’s the kind of man he is," Diana muttered, a bitter smile forming on her lips.
Ian set his glass down and added casually, "And we’ll probably end up as the Empire’s guardians."
Diana froze, then looked at him again. There was something beyond mere admiration in her eyes now.
"How do you even come up with something like this?"
"As I said, it’s not perfect. And things rarely go exactly as I plan. Especially not with this many variables." Ian let out a chuckle.
He wasn’t exaggerating. It was nearly impossible to account for every variable.
Something unexpected would always appear—derailing, twisting, or breaking plans altogether. That was why he couldn’t stop thinking ahead, and why he had to keep getting stronger.
"I never thought I’d say something like this," Diana said at last, voice steady.
Ian met her gaze.
Her voice turned steady, resolute. "I’ll do everything I can to make your plan succeed. Ian Hope."
Ian lifted his glass as he replied, "You should. If you want to retire alive."
Diana gave a faint smile and raised hers to meet it. "Of course. If that happens, I’ll finally be able to live the rest of my life in peace."
"So for now, focus on the archipelago. If we end up fish food in the Black Sea, none of this matters," Ian added before taking a sip.
Diana let out a soft laugh and drank as well. "Mind if I smoke? Feels like it’ll taste especially good right now."
"If you’re sharing."
"Of course."
With a small grin, Diana pulled out a silver cigarette case. For a brief moment, a new mask fastened at her waist beneath her cloak flickered into view before disappearing again.
Ian reached out and opened the window beside him.
"No need to worry about your plan leaking, Ian Hope," Diana said, lighting the cigarette with practiced ease. "Even if you tell someone else, I’ll keep it to myself."
She clearly believed that if word got out, it would spark resistance or stir doubts.
Ian smirked and leaned back. "That’s a very fairy-like suspicion. Fine."
"Just as I thought. It really is something special." Diana inhaled deeply, the herbal smoke filling her lungs, and spoke with a languid smile.
She looked just as satisfied as she had the first time they met in the Black Land.
"Don’t worry about Nehat, that one-armed beast. Thanks to this, that problem feels like nothing now."
After another drag, she extended the cigarette toward him.
Ian accepted it without hesitation and nodded. "Good to hear."
"You keep the rest. Since we’re talking about it, I should go back and get it over with."
With that, Diana opened the door beside her.
Ian smiled. "I won’t refuse. There aren’t many things better for clearing your thoughts."
"You won’t be bothered again." She gave a small smile, then jumped out of the carriage and shut the door without another word.
Ian leaned back, resting his head against the seat, about to exhale a long stream of smoke, when a low whisper brushed through his mind.
—So the first thing I see after waking up is that pointy-eared one leaving...
Night had fully fallen.
—Looks like I missed something interesting again.
At Yog’s amused murmur, Ian let out a quiet scoff. "Yeah. You missed quite a bit."
Yog slithered up along his wrist, peering up at him.
—If I asked you to tell me again... you wouldn’t, would you, my friend?
You know well.
Ian took another drag, replaying his conversation with Sanford in his mind.
However, his thoughts didn’t last long.
—Seems the pointy-ear still has something to say.
Yog’s voice came again, tinged with anticipation.
At the same time, the outer door creaked open—a knock followed on the closed window to his right.
When Ian opened it with his will, Diana appeared, looking awkward.
"Um... Ian Hope."
She seemed even more embarrassed, barely ten minutes after she’d said she wouldn’t return.
Avoiding his gaze, she mumbled, "The ship I came on drifted too far away. I spoke to the captain, but he said he can’t slow down without your permission."
"Alright. Let’s go." Ian let out a soft laugh and stood.
As Yog clung to him in an instant, Diana glanced at him cautiously. "You don’t have to come. I can just relay it myself."
"I could use some fresh air."
Ian stepped out, cigarette still in his mouth, and shot her a teasing smile.
"Besides, I want to see how safely you can jump between ships."