Plan

"Hmm... I understand. I feel this situation might be a bit more serious than I thought."

After listening to Larkspur's account, Emerald released her hand from her cheek, raised her head, and said, "At least as far as I know Her Majesty as I do, this is not a matter that can be resolved simply by you going back to her, apologizing, and making a statement."

"I don't think I was wrong back then."

Larkspur looked at her and said seriously, "I will reflect on whether I was too impulsive back then, or whether my words to those in power were too harsh. But if you're asking me to apologize to her for becoming the Sapphire Scepter, then even now, I still wouldn't do such a thing."

"Sigh, you young man... Alright, alright, do you think I can't tell?"

Emerald couldn't help but sigh again, "I never expected you to back down, so I came here today to discuss a solution to this matter. Zhe Helan, why don't you talk to her about it?"

"Yes, I understand."

Zhe Helan nodded in agreement, and then continued Emerald's words:

"So, Cornflower, we are aware of your situation, and in my personal opinion, it doesn't actually conflict with our original plan. Because from the beginning, we never expected to get you back to your position through simple verbal communication."

"And this plan is entirely in accordance with the law: according to the Kingdom's old regulations, if a magical girl violates the law and is punished by the Kingdom, and her personal freedom and scope of activities are restricted to a certain extent—including serving time in prison or being exiled—then as long as she is still capable of action, she can offset the punishment by performing meritorious deeds."

"We have reviewed the files. Although it is rare for citizens sentenced to exile to return in the history of our Kingdom, it is not entirely without precedent. For example, the most famous instance was 185 years ago, when a magical girl sentenced to three hundred years of exile was able to return to the Magic Kingdom due to her outstanding service. After that, she was rewarded and given important responsibilities by His Majesty. Eventually, she even reached the pinnacle of power and was bestowed the Ruby Gem Scepter, which she possesses today, 80 years ago."

"Judging from this case, your situation is entirely salvageable. After all, there is precedent for 'exiles returning to their Kingdom to become scepters.' And in the reign of a dynasty, having precedents to follow means that 'this matter is much easier to handle.'"

This was the first time Larkspur had ever heard of gossip related to Pigeon Blood.

In her understanding, among the four Gem Scepter currently held by the Kingdom, Emerald and Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye were relatively familiar, while Pigeon Blood and the new Diamond that succeeded the Purple Diamond were things she knew very little about.

"You mean, you want me to do something good, just like her, so that the Royal Court will lift my exile?"

Larkspur couldn't help but frown. "It sounds a bit too idealistic. Putting aside whether they will recognize this merit, what exactly do I need to do to be considered a meritorious act?"

"Please rest assured on this matter, Your Excellency."

Zhe Helan remained unmoved by Larkspur's doubts, maintaining her composure and bowing respectfully. "We already have some clues and developments; in fact, our current conversation is also preparing for this matter."

"Specifically?" Larkspur leaned back slightly, resting against the back of his chair.

"To be specific, today's qualification assessment is actually an opportunity."

Zhe Helan smiled and said, "First of all, everyone here knows very well that this year's assessment will be the first one attended by the Queen in two Queen Year. The amount of time the Royal Court attaches to this matter can be seen from how many extra hours the Examination Institute Yuan has worked and how many meetings it has held. Similarly, since the assessment standards are handled by our faction every year, we can also verify this from another perspective."

"Perhaps one of your concerns is whether His Majesty will acknowledge ordinary meritorious service. We have also considered this question. However, what if the occasion for meritorious service happens to be one that can save the Kingdom's face and please His Majesty? For example... this assessment?"

She spoke casually, and the other members of the Magic Affairs Institute all seemed to agree, even Emerald tacitly acquiescing. However, only Larkspur suddenly realized something and his eyes widened slightly.

"You mean to say that this qualification assessment... will be an opportunity to make a contribution?"

However, she quickly regained control of her facial expression, maintaining a calm demeanor. "Why? Does that mean that successfully conducting this exam is a great achievement?"

Yes and no.

Zhe Helan chuckled, "Undoubtedly, making this event grand and spectacular, and selecting those amazing new magical girls, is also our task. However, this level of 'achievement' is certainly not enough."

"And quite coincidentally, just recently, our informants at the underground border crossings sent us some interesting intelligence."

"Oh, please forgive my intrusion, but I feel it's necessary to elaborate on this point. There are indeed underground border crossings near Luen Nore, and many people trying to evade formal inspections attempt to use them. Most of the time, those using these crossings are smugglers or black market operators. But what they don't realize is that these underground border crossings, and the black market brokers making fake documents and identities, are all operating under our protection—in other words, nothing in Luen Nore can escape our notice. Their existence is simply because they haven't truly infringed upon the Kingdom's fundamental interests, so no one bothers with them."

"On another note, our informants have received several batches of red-marked targets from the Material Realm in the past two months. According to the subsequent investigation, although we cannot pinpoint the specific identities of these red-marked targets, we can determine their origins— Black Ash Dawn and Claw Mark."

"In other words, several groups of people from Black Ash Dawn and Claw Mark have already infiltrated Luen Nore."

Almost at the same time Zhe Helan said those words, Larkspur turned her head and looked at the Emerald beside her.

Because she knew that Zhe Helan had definitely heard these things before, which meant that the things she had said to Emerald other party that morning probably already had their own opinions.

Emerald simply stretched, slowly extended her left hand, and looked at Larkspur with a smile, making a kneading motion as if to express the meaning of "to grasp" or "to manipulate".

Meanwhile, Zhe Helan's report continued:

"Our informants dared not track their movements too closely, but according to the undercover investigations of citizens afterwards, we found that most of these groups had been active around the Academy District. The only reason they have remained inactive so far is that they are waiting for something to happen."

"Therefore, we can perhaps conclude that these people want to wait until the assessment begins before taking action."

Zhe Helan smiled, "Right now, they are in the light, and we are in the shadows. Therefore, we can be the oriole unaware of the mantis behind the cicada."