Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

After hearing such sharp words, an ordinary person would probably be completely flustered and at a loss for words.

But he was different. Since he dared to accept this task from Arecino, he had already thought about how to deal with these situations, so this was his response.

“Yes, as you said, as an officer under Lady 'Servant' Arecino, I know that merely making such a claim is not enough to completely absolve me of my responsibilities. Therefore, before I accepted this mission, I had already been stripped of my status as an officer of the Fools by Lady 'Servant' Arecino.”

"I am not here as a subordinate of Lady Arecino, the 'servant,' but as an ordinary citizen of Winter, taking it upon myself to raise questions and challenges against you. There is nothing more to it."

"As an ordinary Winterborn, I question you about whether everything you have done as the executor of the Fools has deviated from Her Majesty the Queen's will, and whether these plans are truly beneficial to Winterborn itself."

He knew he couldn't hide the fact that he was Arecino's subordinate, so he never intended to conceal it from the beginning.

After all, the questioning and challenge he launched against the executive "Rich Man" Pantalone could be easily investigated to find out who was behind him.

This was something that could not be hidden from the executive, the "rich man."

But knowing something is one thing, and the attitude you should show is another.

If I do not declare beforehand that all of this is my own initiative, then my actions will be regarded as Lord Arecino's instructions.

Therefore, if you want to truly absolve yourself of all responsibility, you must ensure that nothing you do is faulty.

As long as he wasn't Arecino's subordinate, even if Lord Pantalone saw through and knew everything, he couldn't possibly pursue the matter further.

Because in the records, he was no longer Arecino, or even a member of the Fools, and therefore was no longer under Arecino's jurisdiction.

Whether Lord Pantalone believes his story or not is his own business.

The answer given by the man who called himself Ilya surprised even Pantalone.

Good guy.

Arecino's move was really ruthless.

Did they even consider dismissal in order to get rid of him before he even arrived?

Indeed, if the other party were not a soldier of the Fatui, then he really couldn't find anything wrong with them.

After all, while the executor's power is indeed great, it only applies to the soldiers of the Fools. For the people of Winter, although the executor's status is high, there is no direct superior-subordinate relationship.

So if the other party was not acting as an officer of the Fools, but simply as an ordinary citizen of Winter, questioning whether his plan was beneficial to Winter, then he really couldn't say anything.

Upon hearing the man named Ilya's reply, Pantalone pondered what kind of expression he should make at this moment.

He tried hard to recall how he would usually act in this situation, and as he thought about the feeling in his memory, he lowered his crossed hands and smiled slightly.

"Your sophistry is quite interesting. I'll just accept your argument for now. Now, begin your performance."

"Thank you for your recognition and understanding, Mr. Pantalone."

The man named Ilya bowed to him respectfully, his demeanor completely genuine.

It was a heartfelt expression of genuine emotion, not just polite words, but the respect a former sergeant should have for the Fools' Enforcers, and his own admiration for Pantalone.

"Next, I will start with the three projects you participated in and proposed: the 'Intelligent Mechanical Self-Discipline Agency Project,' the 'Imaginary Internal Energy Storage Project,' and the 'Void Dream System Project.' I will thoroughly examine all your projects from the beginning and reveal the true purpose hidden in your connection of these projects."

The answer from the man who called himself Ilya, and the prelude to the plans he described.

Pantalone, as a listener, was quite taken aback.

How could he not know the inevitable connection between his three plans, a connection he himself was unaware of, as well as his own hidden plans and purposes?

Even though his mind was filled with all sorts of bewildering questions, he could only suppress his confusion for the time being and pretend to be nonchalant as the man in front of him began his performance and explanation.

"First, please allow me to reiterate the plan you laid out. After the 'Intelligent Mechanical Self-Discipline Agency Plan' was impeached by the Executive Council, Lord Piero, the Chief Executive Officer of the Fools, rejected your proposal."

"The follow-up work on this project has been handed over to Lord 'Puppet,' am I correct?"

Pantalone raised an eyebrow after hearing the man's explanation.

This guy really knows how to bring up the sore spot. How long ago was this?

So this guy went to all that trouble just for this?

Pantalone couldn't help but look at the man in front of her and ask.

Is that all you wanted to say?

"What I want to say is not just this. Since I have chosen to challenge you, I have made all the necessary preparations."

The man smiled slightly and then continued.

"However, considering the resources used by the plan itself, in order to avoid wasting them, the plan was not completely abandoned. This led to your second plan, the Winter Industrial Revolution Plan."

"This seems like a very ideal plan, but considering the precision problem of the 'autonomous machinery' itself, it is also a huge cost. Coupled with the huge expenditure required, your second plan, the 'imaginary internal energy storage plan,' came into being."

Pantalone stared in disbelief at the man's interpretation of his plan. He swore he had never imagined that his 'Imaginary Energy Storage Plan' was actually paving the way for the previous 'Intelligent Mechanical Autonomous Mechanism Plan'.

When Pantalone heard this interpretation, although he tried to suppress his shock, the slight twitch of his brow betrayed his true feelings.

The man who observed this subtle movement confirmed that his deduction was indeed correct.

Therefore, he became even more convinced and certain that his deduction must be correct.

“Initially, the draft version of the ‘Imaginary Energy Storage Plan’ was also the proposal for the ‘Elemental Energy Storage Plan’. Your initial intention was to use the stored excess energy to pave the way for the ‘Intelligent Mechanical Autonomous Agency Plan’.”

"Perhaps it's because you discovered a new energy source that you changed the 'Elemental Energy Storage Plan' to the 'Imaginary Internal Energy Storage Plan,' which rendered Lord Scaramucci's accusations against you ineffective."

"The high efficiency and wide scalability of this energy have given you a more in-depth plan. Thanks to the high efficiency of 'imaginary internal energy,' you have decided to use 'imaginary internal energy' to pave the way for the 'Intelligent Mechanical Autonomous Mechanism Project.'"