"Nothing you don't know or haven't seen before Celeste. Just a joke between Annabel and Helena and a little conjecture Daehyun was making about our current situation."
Fianna kindly answered Celeste's question. Because everyone knew and was used to Celeste's condition, no one found the situation embarrassing or inconvenient.
Fianna's sleepy expression began to fade as she shifted in her chair to find a less comfortable position. As she listened, she would nod a few times to show that she understood.
After Fianna finished speaking, Celeste responded in a more active voice and with an understanding tone:
"I see... It's good to know that the two still get along very well... But I see that we haven't found a solution for our situation... Not that it's easy for us to gain an advantage against Babel."
Fianna nodded, Annabel sneered, and the others at the table only frowned at the thought of the predicament they had been placed in.
"You're the worst off of us, Celeste. Do I have to remind you that 4 of the 7 that happened were in Svalbard territory?"
With a strong and serious voice, the strong red-skinned man spoke. At the same time he looked deep into her eyes, as if he was very interested in knowing what her reaction would be.
Celeste was not intimidated by the look of the great man, on the contrary, she stared at him with the same intensity and replied in a voice that was also serious and much more awake than before:
"I know well what my situation is Emmanuel. I don't need anyone to remind me of the facts. I investigated very well and collected various types of information together with Helena."
The man heard Celeste's answer, but he didn't look convinced. He continued to stare at her, but then gave a wry smile and looked away. But he spoke in a sneaky manner with a mocking tone:
"We saw your intelligence gathering back in the hall very well. You didn't get proof of the slaughter that Lord Kairis committed. And you didn't even get a conviction for insubordination and desertion."
The mood in the room turned heavy. The tension between the two was starting to rise to dangerous levels. But then, Helena decided to intervene this time. And with a tone of guilt and remorse she said:
"As embarrassing as it is to admit, I've been investigating the events longer than Celeste has. And yet I haven't found any relevant information about them, just false or inaccurate leads. In fact, solving the crime was done almost entirely by Celeste. And even with her help, we didn't get any kind of hard evidence. In fact, we only managed to find proof because we bought information from an N-Force lair."
After she finished speaking, Helena's expression became more and more depressed. I could see that she was very embarrassed at her ineptitude for the task.
For Helena, dealing with information and intelligence has always been a problem. Not that she didn't know how to do an investigation, she studied and was trained to know much more than the basics of information warfare, evidence concealment and data collection.
The problem is, she only knew what she was taught to do. It's like a professional runner teaching someone else how to run. He can even teach you from the basics to some advanced tricks, but it requires a whole process of training, effort, adaptation and development in the area to reach the professional level.
And since Helena was never deeply interested in the subject, she is not the sharpest knife for this type of service. But you can't consider her a beginner, she's a professional on the subject, but she's not the best.
"Hahaha Pietro left you empty-handed anyway."
Annabel couldn't hold back her laughter and decided to ease some of the tension with her pointed comment. Which worked really well, the tension in the room dropped a lot after everyone understood what had happened.
"Pietro is really efficient, but not enough that Celeste came back empty-handed after a thorough investigation. So I think Lady Ivanov must have been personally involved in the operation."
Daehyun waited for the moment when everyone had calmed down to talk about the possible culprit for the missing evidence. And although everyone was perplexed when they heard the possibility, they soon understood that it was the most likely hypothesis.
Helena also nodded her head strongly and her expression brightened, as if she had finally found the cause of her sleepless nights.
Celeste also had the same reaction. Surprised to finally get an answer to one of her questions. But she was also a little saddened as she realized the reality she would be facing.
Her expression grew sadder and sadder as she cringed and started looking for a new position in the chair. And with a despondent voice and becoming sleepy again she said:
"Indeed... If Lady Ivanov is involved... our chances of getting anything... in this trial are almost zero... As good as our accusations are... Babel must have even better counterarguments. .. if our accusations aren't exactly... what they want them to be.
"In other words, our victory is already out of the question, not only are we at the pace that Babel wants, but we must also continue like this until the end. This is too humiliating for me... Excuse me.
After saying these words calmly and with a serene expression, Fianna rose and addressed her only companion. The companion is also a Tigerwoman, but unlike Fianna, who has white skin, she has dark brown skin.
Fianna's companion had a staff 1 meter high and 25 centimeters in circumference with some kind of rope wrapped around the staff.
Fianna received the staff and sat back in the chair, but now with the staff in her lap and scratching hard with her sharp claws. And as is to be expected, no one was surprised by her attitude.
What came as a surprise to them was that Fianna was angry and stressed. Which doesn't often happen, unless she's admitting that she's been defeated in some sort of battle.
"I have to agree with Fianna, we don't have a chance to turn the situation in our favor. The most we can do is try to make the most of our situation as possible. Our future depends on it."
Daehyun spoke in a calm and confident manner, but he also noticed that their situation is getting worse with every new piece of information revealed. And as far as he knows, Bordium is the one most interested in this trial.
Even if he isn't fully showing himself, he knows that moves are being made to interfere with Apollo Kairis's trial or sentencing.
And Bordium is among those stepping up the most in this trial. But as one of the last in line to the throne, Daehyun doesn't have access to level 4 or above information.
Cutting off his thoughts, Annabel began to speak in an irritated and at the same time resigned voice:
"We're too screwed. We've become nothing more than punching bags to take punches from Babel without fighting back. I should have made some excuse for Dad not to put me in charge of this task. It sucks... Anyone have any ideas on how to get out of this without none of us get 3 years hard labor in Anansi?"
No one answered her question, but everyone understood that if they didn't think of a way out, they would spend a few years working on mapping the resources of the Great Forest of Anansi as punishment for incompetence.
Where would they be fighting, fleeing and studying Aura Beasts; cataloging herbs, plants, and animals; and sleeping in wooden huts in the middle of the forest without luxuries or perks.
After a few minutes, breaking the cold silence that was forming in the room because of the memories they had of the last experience in the Forest of Anansi, Emmanuel, the big guy with the red skin, spoke:
"I don't know if it's a solution to our problem, but it might be the only way we have to not leave empty-handed."
Everyone looked at him with expectant eyes. As he noticed that everyone was interested in his idea, he continued to talk about:
"I'm not saying we should pray to Aura for a miracle, but it would be nice if any of us could acquire some alternate information of level 4 or higher."
Everyone looked at him as if they had just heard some big bullshit. Except Celeste, who looked suspicious, but she didn't speak up. And Emmanuel, even noticing their reaction, continued to talk about his idea:
"Hahahaha, I know, I know. As if it's easy to acquire level 4 information so easily. But I believe that some of us have an easier time getting this information. Like Celeste, she is the First Princess of the Kingdom of Svalbard and Helena who is General of Arms and Executive Director of Babel. I believe that by pushing the right buttons and the right people, both should achieve something."
The looks remained skeptical but they were far more acceptable than before. So Emmanuel decided to give everyone time to think about the possibilities.
Annabel, after thinking about the idea for a while, began to speak in a serious and inquiring manner, in a cold and heavy voice:
"What are you driving at, Emmanuel? Level 4 information is state secrets, not something any of us could divulge even if we had access. Besides, what advantage would they gain by sharing Level 4 information to us? Hope that enlightens us better this idea of yours before I start to suspect your intentions in this meeting. Speak before my daggers make you speak."