The Great Wish - Chapter 10.6

Vol.2 Chapter 10 Part 6 

Early next morning, Sienna and the rest of her party boarded the ship. Sienna sat with Gilbert and Levan inside the first-class cabin as they discussed the possible identities of yesterday's attackers. 

They guessed the motive first. 

"The news of you boarding the ship must have spread, Your Highness. And you were always with your guards as we traveled around the peaceful territory. If you had more guards with you, the attackers wouldn't have had the guts to make their move. However, when they saw that multiple days had passed and your group of guards hadn't increased, they must have believed that they had a shot at being successful." 

"It seems that this happened because I was being too careless." 

"That was the greatest mistake." 

Sienna smiled bitterly. This was the first time someone had dared to point something out like this to her. 

"Who do you think they were?" 

They hadn't been able to obtain any evidence. Half of the attackers fled, and the other half took their own lives. They stripped the bodies searched their belongings, but they weren't able to find anything that could identify them. 

"They all carried a strong poison with them, and it looks like they were well-organized. They must have been from an anti-imperialist group." 

Sienna looked at Levan in surprise. She had called them in to discuss what had happened yesterday, but Levan had unexpectedly identified the attackers. 

"We can narrow it down to one of the groups that are active in the southern territories. The inspection itinerary wasn't known to the public, and it was planned not that long ago. I feel like they acted more on impulse rather than a premeditated attack." 

Levan just noticed the Princess's reaction. 

"Did you have something else in mind, Your Highness?" 

"An anti-imperialist group?" 

"Yes." 

"What anti-imperialist group?" 

She asked blankly. 

"I'm not completely sure about that. There isn't a lot of information about them. There are a lot of bastards in the south, so..." 

Gilbert cleared his throat. Levan quickly fixed his inappropriate language. 

"That is... There isn't a big concentration of power in the south, so groups with small amounts of power are scattered throughout the territory. At least, that's what I know. Sir Gilbert, is there something you'd like to add?" 

"I also don't know more than you do. To think that someone from the south had the audacity to do something like this..." 

"I was also careless. I thought that since we were in the southern territories, it would be okay, but... They're similar to religious fanatics. Didn't you notice it before? They didn't hesitate to take their own lives." 

"That's true." 

The two of them continued to talk about something Sienna didn't understand. She felt as if she was stuck in the middle of a conversation with two foreigners. It didn't seem like the two men noticed Sienna's sense of alienation. 

Sienna wasn't able to ask, 'What is that?' She was too embarrassed to reveal her ignorance. 

"What do you mean by 'impulsive criminal'? Are you saying that they weren't trying to harm me because they resented me?" 

"Resented you?" 

Levan was deep in thought. He began to change his way of thinking. 

'Maybe.' 

The Princess was the Red King's daughter. The main opponents of anti-imperialist groups were the imperial family, feudal lords, and the ducal families. However, in recent days, their main target was the ducal house of Rimone and the Red King. 

From the very beginning, the Empire had set up its vast power and extorted neighboring countries. And for the last twenty years, the house of Rimone was gladly at the forefront of that endeavor. 

About twenty-five years ago, the Rimone family had gone on a manhunt for traitors, and many innocent lives were sacrificed in the process. Many people still remembered the brutal methods led by the Rimone family during that time. 

'No. It's not easy for resentment to fester to the point where they'd be willing to give up their lives. The Princess barely left the Palace. How could she have accumulated a resentment like that?' 

"In my opinion, I don't think this was done out of resentment for you. I think they were trying to make a statement by harming a member of the imperial family." 

"What kind of statement?" 

"Most traitor groups aren't well-integrated. If something big happens, it might be enough of a push to gather everyone together. They say that rather than a mob of a thousand people, ten members of a well-integrated organization are more effective." 

Sienna pretended to understand and continued to ask questions. Through Levan's answers, she was able to gather little pieces of information. 

Anti-imperialist groups and traitor groups were active everywhere in the Empire except for the capital. One portion of them were like bandits that raised trouble, and the other portion were mixed in with normal citizens and lived a normal life. There weren't many groups that did what their attackers attempted to do yesterday. 

'I didn't know.' 

Sienna was completely ashamed. 

'I've never heard of them before.' 

No one told her. She had been taught that the Empire was perfect and peaceful under the rule of the Emperor. She didn't know that there were people who hated the Empire so much that they wouldn't hesitate to kill her. It came as a huge shock. 

Everything she had known was a delusion. The foundation underneath her feet was crumbling. 

"Everything I've seen, heard, and learned... was all for nothing." 

She couldn't believe it. That night, her eyes stayed wide open. She couldn't sleep from the distress.