Ultear's guess was correct.
Irene had a strange, inexplicable tolerance toward Raizel, one even she herself did not know the source of.
Perhaps it was because he had specifically gone to Guiltina to find a way to solve the side effects of her Dragon Power.
Perhaps it was because of Erza.
The second answer was one Irene was not particularly willing to admit.
In short, even Irene herself could not clearly see her own heart right now.
Erza was the same.
If Irene herself had been the one to tell Erza the truth, Erza might not have been able to remain this open-minded.
When Raizel had told her Irene's story, Erza had understood something.
Raizel hoped that mother and daughter could reconcile.
Otherwise, he would not have started by saying Irene was brave, calm, and full of a sense of justice.
Raizel usually barely praised her like that, okay?
No, that was not right.
Raizel had never praised her like that before!!!
Erza suddenly shot Raizel a cold look, leaving Raizel completely confused.
And then there was the name—Erza Belserion.
That surname had already made Raizel's stance extremely clear.
Erza had the feeling that Raizel had been looking forward to this mother-daughter meeting for a very long time!
...
Looking at Irene, who had fallen into thought, Raizel added another heavy blow.
"Back then, your Personality Enchant failed. As for whether it truly failed because Personality Enchant cannot be used on humans, I believe the current you should already have a new answer."
Irene did not answer.
Instead, she looked at Erza, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.
"You joined a very good guild."
Hearing Irene's praise, Erza could not suppress the joy that appeared at the corner of her lips.
She said with great pride, "Of course. Fairy Tail is the best guild in the world!"
Irene sat a little straighter and studied Erza even more carefully.
The upright line formed by her slender neck, waist, and back looked especially elegant.
"He told me before to treat you a little better. I was very conflicted."
Irene crossed her legs gracefully and raised two fingers toward Erza.
"First, I once abandoned you. After that, I ignored you for twenty years. The relationship between us cannot be called close. It can even be called awkward and opposed."
"His Majesty has shown me kindness. Anyone who blocks the Alvarez Empire will not be forgiven by me, even if they are my own flesh and blood."
"Strictly speaking, based on the positions of the Alvarez Empire and Fairy Tail, you and I belong to opposing sides."
"Second, returning to the most fundamental issue, I once had designs on your body and even put them into practice."
Irene calmly said a great many things, then looked straight into Erza's eyes and asked,
"So, can you tell me what I should do?"
Lucy and Wendy looked at each other, completely unable to understand how Irene could say such things so calmly.
The air in the reception room instantly froze, carrying a faintly tense atmosphere.
Even Selene, who understood human relationships the least, sensed that something unusual was happening.
After taking a deep breath, Erza said, "Any enemy of Fairy Tail will be my enemy."
The moment Erza said those words, the temperature in the room seemed to drop a little further.
Then Erza continued, "There are many things I want to say, but in the end, it comes down to one point."
"What?"
"You are my mother, and I am your daughter. That is something that cannot be denied."
The weather in the reception room instantly seemed to turn from cloudy to clear.
But it was still terribly quiet.
In truth, Irene had only been testing her just now.
She would not actually go that far.
Zeref had indeed shown her kindness, but Raizel had done the same.
Moreover, she had already accepted Raizel's condition, and she would not go back on her word.
"May I say something?"
Raizel gently set down his teacup, creating a small sound.
"Much of what you said is correct, but some of it is one-sided. First of all, the two sides have not yet gone to war, and I will do everything I can to stop it. Second, August and Brandish, at the very least, will not take sides."
Irene frowned slightly but did not interrupt.
She heard the implication.
August and Brandish were on Fairy Tail's side.
Even though they were within the Alvarez Empire, they would remain impartial.
Their leaning was already far too obvious.
Leaving aside Grammi, Layla, and Lucy, Brandish was completely part of August's faction.
Although she was one of the Spriggan 12, her Magic had been taught to her by August, and her personality had also been deeply influenced by him.
Raizel leaned forward, his presence full of pressure, and spoke to Irene with great seriousness.
"August leans toward us. With your existence added to that, you will become the key to victory."
"Zeref will understand that even if he wants to pour the empire's full strength into an attack, it will be useless, because both August and you will stand on the other side."
"Zeref, August, and you are the three most important pillars of the empire. Everyone else is insignificant."
Irene instantly fell into thought.
But her thinking only lasted for a very short time.
"How do you know August will stand on your side?"
Raizel smiled.
"Zeref is an outstanding scholar and an outstanding magical genius, but when it comes to being a parent, he is a failure."
Irene's pupils suddenly shrank.
She also leaned forward, staring into Raizel's eyes as she tried to confirm the answer from them.
"Your guess is correct."
"No wonder..... no wonder."
Irene lowered her head slightly and murmured.
August and Zeref had very similar scents.
When she first met August, he had already been an old man.
Furthermore, Irene had never met Mavis and had never heard the story of how August and Zeref had met.
She simply had never thought in that direction before.
She had only assumed that their scents were similar because the two had spent a long time together.
"So you used this to turn August into one of your people as well."
"That's right."
Raizel nodded very calmly.
"You really are clever, you're using the same method twice now."
"I'll take that as praise! A method does not need to be numerous. It only needs to work."
Raizel had always followed one principle: one effective move could carry you everywhere.
Raizel leaned back against his chair.
His tone was different from usual, even somewhat arrogant.
"Also, I will do everything I can to stop the war between the two continents, even if Zeref insists on going through with it."
"This may be disrespectful to Zeref, but I must say one thing."
"In terms of strategy, he is useless."
Everyone could not help looking at Raizel, waiting for him to continue.
"His goal is Fairy Heart. If all he needs to do is gather the strength of the Spriggan 12 and attack Fairy Tail, why start a war?"
"Not only does that add to his sins, but it also creates more enemies for himself."
Although Raizel knew that Zeref acted this way because he could no longer value life, he was deliberately belittling him now to seize the advantage in the negotiation.
"He stretched the battlefront too wide. He could have said that his target was only Magnolia, or an even smaller target—Fairy Tail—and forced the Council and the other guilds of Ishgar to make a decision."
"He could even turn Fairy Tail into the enemy of Ishgar."
"Doing that would be very simple. As long as Fairy Heart was not handed over, he could place the army at the border..."
"And when necessary, showing off overwhelming power would not be impossible either..."