As for James's identity, being one of the high-ranking military officials herself, Eldest Princess Annie could naturally discern it effortlessly.
Although such minor personnel movements typically did not require her attention, the intelligence bureau's special badge on James clearly indicated to Her Highness the Eldest Princess his identity.
This badge is specially crafted by the intelligence bureau, with a unique alchemical array embedded on it. Under normal circumstances, it appears to be just an ordinary badge, but when needed, it serves as the identification for an intelligence bureau operative.
Of course, in special cases, it can also be used to transmit intelligence or to facilitate an operative taking their own life to prevent information leaks.
So when the Eldest Princess Annie saw this badge, she already knew James's identity.
And James's explanation was reasonable enough. After all, establishing the Crisis Response Committee indeed required a comprehensive understanding of the Empire's various aspects, and a talented intelligence agent could indeed provide significant assistance to the Duke of Gloucester.
However, placing someone beside Perfikot raised some thoughts regarding intentions.
Therefore, after understanding James's identity, Eldest Princess Annie said nothing more, merely casting her gaze towards Perfikot, so as not to influence her judgment.
Perfikot also understood at this moment the Duke of Gloucester's intention of placing the person before her at her side, though she could not help but feel a certain distaste for James's playboy appearance.
However, being someone who would not let personal preferences influence her judgment, Perfikot merely thought for a moment before asking James, "Previously you were in the New Continent? How many years did you spend there? Are you familiar with the situation there?"
"Honorable Miss, I spent seven years in the New Continent, specifically responsible for investigating intelligence and movements of the independence activists there, and am very familiar with it." James responded to Perfikot, displaying a confident expression on his face: "I assure you, in Langton, you won't find anyone more familiar with the New Continent than I am."
On this matter, James indeed held enough confidence.
His understanding of the New Continent wasn't merely born of daily exposure but gathered through the professional lens of an intelligence operative, collecting and analyzing various intel and information to extract the valuable parts.
One could say even native-born individuals of the New Continent lacked the familiarity and understanding he possessed.
Perfikot gestured towards Eldest Princess Annie, who gave an affirmative nod, to which Perfikot slightly nodded, then asked, "Given this, how do you assess the current situation in the New Continent? Do those independence activists have the capacity to threaten the Empire's colonial rule of the New Continent?"
"And critically, will they impact our plans? I do not wish to face a group of independence activists igniting wars when I am painstakingly salvaging the Empire."
Perfikot had some understanding of the colonial independence movements.
Although the colonies in the New Continent had not been established long by the Empire, waves of independence have already been set in motion on these lands.
Those independence activists, self-declared as liberals, provoke the colonial populace to rise in rebellion against the Victor Empire's rule, attempting to extricate themselves from the Empire's domain of control. Thus, they earned the name of independence activists.
In normal circumstances, Perfikot would have no objections to colonial independence, even applauding and supporting their cause.
But with doomsday looming, should these independence activists stir up wars impacting her plans, it would be utterly unacceptable to Perfikot.
Therefore, in consideration of her plans, Perifikot had to gather more intelligence on the New Continent, and standing before her was a seasoned intelligence operative who would be the perfect source of information.
For this reason, Perfikot's view of James, who stood in front of her, was notably less unfavorable.
"Currently speaking, the independence movement in the New Continent remains within a controllable scope, but this is predicated on the Empire's military suppression." James weighed his words before delivering his evaluation: "In the New Continent, the idea of independence is already burgeoning. The upper echelons of the colonies remain loyal to the Empire, but the lower classes, especially the new generation born in the New Continent, do not regard themselves as citizens of the Empire.
On the contrary, they believe the Empire has been exploiting and squeezing them, plundering their wealth, without treating them as subjects of the Empire.
So after the independence movement emerged, it spread swiftly among the young in the New Continent. The middle and lower classes ate it up, forming the mainstay forces in previous wars.
Without critiquing the Empire's policies, my experience back on home soil does reveal a certain disdain among the homeland populace towards the colonial people."
Listening to James's evaluation, Perfikot didn't find it strange at all.
Although the Victor of this world isn't the Sun Never Sets Empire that Perfikot was familiar with before crossing worlds, and the New Continent colonies do not have a founding father like France did to help establish a nation, there were still numerous parallels between them.
At least regarding the colonies resisting the suzerainty, there were surely many shared languages between the colonists of the New Continent and the old thirteen states of North America.
However, clearly, these were not Perfikot's primary concerns.
She solemnly asked James, "According to your evaluation, what level of investment does the Empire require in the short term to suppress the independence movement, ensuring they do not trouble the Empire again in the forthcoming five years?"
Clearly, Perfikot wished to preemptively eliminate this potential threat to the construction of their refuge.
However, even before James could respond, Eldest Princess Annie stated first, "Perfikot, don't get involved in the matters of war. The military will handle this appropriately."
Clearly, the Eldest Princess Annie didn't wish for Perfikot to be distracted by this issue.
Perfikot slightly frowned but nodded and said, "Alright, but I hope these independence activists do not interfere with the construction of the refuge, not even slightly. I do not wish to see that.
If they impede the construction of the refuge, I'll have no choice but to erase them from the map."
"Rest assured, while the Empire must devote most of its energy towards dealing with this calamity, it by no means suggests the Empire's army cannot subdue a group of colonial independence activists." Eldest Princess Annie exuded immense confidence.
The invention of the steam engine brought not only a surge in productivity and societal industrialization but also an explosive growth in the military power of industrialized nations.
Without external interference, for the New Continent to defeat the Empire's forces and achieve independence is near impossible.