9. True Colors

The internal palace meeting ended simply because “the queen seemed to be in poor condition.” After all, the nobles and members present were all sharp individuals; the few who were observant could see that the queen, who usually appeared amiable, was on the verge of revealing her “blade” today. Otherwise, the atmosphere in the meeting hall wouldn’t have been so tense.

The reason isn’t hard to guess: the genius daughter of the Long family was openly showing affection with a man in front of everyone, making all the older gentlemen feel embarrassed. Was the queen angry because of this? But is the queen who someone gets angry so easily?

Everyone felt something was off, and just then, Lord Moriarty found an excuse to take the queen away. With that, the meeting ended, and everyone was drenched in cold sweat.

As for Moriarty, hopefully, Lord Moriarty can cheer up the queen, who is in a bad mood. After all, the parliament of the Great Yinf Empire is essentially the queen’s toy; only when the queen is happy can play along properly. If everyone the queen is displeased… it could mean trouble!

On the other side, at Moriarty’s place.

After escorting the seemingly “perfectly fine” Louis IV back to her chamber, Moriarty, who had been closely following Louis IV, finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly shut the door.

The queen was angry, and Moriarty wasn’t unaware of the reason, but for the sake of the ‘plan,’ she still “invited” the queen back. However, just as Moriarty was about to ask why the queen, who could always maintain her “perfect state,” was so lacking in composure today, she turned around after closing the door…

“Ah~ Moriarty, you’re overthinking it. I’m not uncomfortable at all~”

What I saw was the faintly troubled smile of Louis IV.

This was the queen of the Great Yng Empire in her “normal state,” which also proved that the queen in the conference hall just now was not normal.

“Please, it’s better if you don’t lie to me. You almost lost control just now. You should understand the consequences better than I do, especially if you think about what could happen if you lost control. It’s in our best interest; I wouldn’t want your image and prestige in front of the Kephir family to plummet.”

“Ugh~”

Louis IV showed a troubled expression, clasping her hands together. “Moriarty, I clearly didn’t lose control.”

Not now, of course; after all, she could still pretend in front of me. Moriarty thought.

There was nothing to regret, for Moriarty knew that Louis IV had this attitude towards everyone, including her “dog.”

Moriarty gazed at Louis IV, who was like a simple and innocent girl, mumbling about “apologizing to everyone later and reconvening the meeting,” as she approached the bedside, sighing at the bright sky outside.

“I know you don’t trust me, but I still need to remind you once more: no matter how the parliamentary restructuring goes, as long as the support of the Kephir family is on our side, your rule over the empire won’t waver. The role of the others, at best, is just to make your power games more enjoyable.”

“If you want to continue to ‘use’ the Kephir family well, don’t disappoint their only daughter, Kephir. Your behavior in the meeting just now was very dangerous.”

After a long silence, what Moriarty received in return was the queen’s smile.

“Ah~ Moriarty, I have a great relationship with Kephir~ Look how anxious you are~”

Moriarty frowned slightly. “Your Majesty, I’ve said it before: don’t try to control forces you can’t manage. If you can’t ‘control’ that man, I’ll handle him. Why must you…”

Before she could finish, a chill ran down Moriarty’s spine.

Louis IV moved!

“Ignis.”

The cold, emotionless voice rang out, and the crown atop Louis IV’s head instantly transformed into a black mist that spread to the umbrella on the table. Then, Louis IV yanked the umbrella’s handle, and a blade of darkness that even swallowed the surrounding light shot straight at her!

Moriarty instinctively used the hidden sword in her sleeve, enhanced with wind magic, to defend herself. With her own seventh-tier magical level, the queen’s magic, at most fourth or fifth tier, couldn’t harm her in the slightest. But soon , Moriarty realized: she was already “dead,” not due to a lack of strength.

Because the queen had no intention of attacking; she merely waved the sword in a show, while she herself…

A smile, usually absent, suddenly bloomed on Louis IV’s darkened face, making Moriarty tense up.

“See, Moriarty? You say I don’t trust you, but don’t you also not trust me? Since we’re all in the same boat, please don’t meddle in my decisions or entertain any thoughts of double-dealing ~”

“I’m sorry…”

“Hmm~ I accept it~”

It was over; once those words were out, Moriarty knew she would have to spend several more years making amends.

“This time, I was indeed a bit hasty because the usual methods didn’t work, which surprised me. But this also proves that Mr. O’Keefe has enough value to make me ‘invest’ more to control him.”

“Moriarty, do you know? I was born as the queen of the Great Yng Empire, so I am aware of all the decisions I make. This time is no different. You might think that if I choose to seduce, it would lead to Kephir’s dissatisfaction and cause me to lose her family’s support, but…”

Louis IV blinked and raised a finger.

“There is indeed a way now for me to personally control Mr. O’Keefe while still gaining Kephir’s trust~”

That man has already registered with Kephir; any ordinary request passed on to her would surely be agreed to by him, right?

Moriarty pursed her lips but ultimately did not speak up. After all, she knew that the queen, Louise IV, would not believe in such a degree of relationship; what she needed was absolute control, in other words… a well-trained “dog.”

Moriarty also understood the implication behind Louise IV’s recent words.

“Your Majesty, this… is not good.”

“There’s nothing wrong. I am not some ‘slut’, but rather a conclusion drawn after careful consideration~ I believe I can play the new role quite confidently. Haven’t you investigated enough about Mr. O’Keefe? He holds that kind of value.”

With that, Louise IV sheathed her sword, and the black mist transformed back into the crown atop her head.

“This is an order, prepare yourself, Moriarty. There must be no mistakes~”

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