18. Am I not the protagonist too?
Clearly unwilling, but to make her performance realistic, she had to slap me, the crisp sound causing the already quiet hall to fall into silence.
The nobles and members of parliament, drawn in by the sound of the slap, didn’t have the courage to speak up, but their eyes were honestly gossiping in silence. After all, this was big news happening to the genius Kephier of the Great Ying Empire and Her Majesty the Queen of the Great Ying Empire!
And this was also the idea that Kephier had long prepared!
【Kephier pretended to slap Oujili De, attracting everyone’s attention!】
Sure enough, although that slap sent me tumbling to the ground, with everyone’s gaze now focused on us, Louise couldn’t make any unnecessary moves. Because Louise had ulterior motives, she was even more concerned about what the nobles and members of parliament thought , and at this moment… she decisively chose to “calm the situation,” first soothing Kephier’s angry emotions.
“Alas… Kephier, you’re too agitated.”
“You know why I’m agitated, Sister Wang!”
With that, Kephier fixed her gaze on me, her eyes so intense that she might as well have wanted to chop me into char siu.
“I know, oh~ Mr. Priest, the situation is special, so please go back for now.”
“Mm.”
This was clearly the escape script that Kephier had prepared for me; how could I refuse!? I immediately nodded and turned to leave in a hurry, the discussions behind me were rife, not lacking in “death scripts,” but I had no time to think about that; I could only slip away first.
With Kephier pulling this stunt, wouldn’t she be unable to find me for a while? How could we escape together then?
If Kephier was trying to create an opportunity for me to slip away on my own through the script, she might be a bit optimistic: Louise wasn’t that easy to fool, and I still hadn’t earned her trust. This queen was still wary of me; even though I could leave the gala alone now, from the script, I knew there were countless hidden watchers keeping an eye on me.
【Oujili De is under the surveillance of the patrol members.】
【Oujili De attempted to escape and was caught by the patrol members!】
What the hell is going on? Not a single escape route appeared in the script! Is Kefir going to sneak in later and pull some dragon-slaying stunt to get me out?
Just as I was thinking this, the script suddenly took a bizarre turn!
Even without looking at the script, I could be a hundred percent sure that my every move was being monitored by Louise’s people. But the next moment!
【Patrol member A did not notice Euclid.】
【Patrol member B did not see Euclid pass by.】
The script took a complete nosedive! I don’t have any invisibility powers, are you two interstellar competitors or something!?
Then, right after!
【Patrol member C did not detect any anomalies!】
【All patrol members… did not remember that Nilu had appeared…】
The script presented some bizarre content that left me momentarily confused, yet instinctively made me shudder. The feeling of being “watched by someone” quickly vanished, accompanied by the familiar figure slowly appearing at the other end of the corridor.
I couldn’t see clearly, but just from her maid outfit, it was obviously Nilu! She was walking towards me from the dimly lit end, her figure flickering as the lights on either side illuminated and faded. Somehow, I suddenly felt that the earlier “creepy feeling that made me uneasy” didn’t come from the patrolling team, but rather…
“Mr. Euclid, you finally came alone!”
Her footsteps quickened, and at the moment she stood in front of me, Nilu… seemed just fine, just like the usual Nilu.
“I’m here to help you escape, please hurry and follow me!”
But that’s not the issue, is it!?
In my urgency, I grabbed Nilu’s arm!
“Nilu, how did you get here!?”
Startled by my sudden action, Nilu replied in a fluster, “B-because I discussed with the young lady that we would rescue you. The young lady will distract others outside, and I’ll quietly sneak in pretending to be a maid to find you, then take you to the escape location.”
【Nilu plans to help Euclid escape with Kefir.】
I know, I’m not an idiot, of course I know! But how did Nilu end up here? This is the queen’s home, a dangerous place where getting caught could easily lead to execution! Nilu, being the “protagonist” waiting to level up, might not face much danger, but one mistake could lead to a full-blown disaster, blowing this place to bits…
The situation was urgent, and I knew I couldn’t dwell on this any longer. After a moment of calm, seeing that Nilu didn’t seem to have any “strange traits,” I hurriedly expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you, I got a bit too excited just now.”
“No need to thank me, I know you’re worried about me.”
Close enough, I suppose, though the content of the worry was somewhat different…
“But this time, I will protect you, and in the future… it will be the same.”
Nilu’s smile left me a bit bewildered, but the more pressing danger was the script, and I didn’t have time to think further.
【Maid A discovered the contact between Euclid and Nilu and immediately reported it to her superiors!】
It’s over! My intentions here have been discovered!
Turning around, I indeed saw a maid holding a tray, looking at us in surprise. Should I say she truly deserves to be a maid in the court of Louise IV? At the first moment, she didn’t panic at all, but instead wanted to report my unusual behavior!
Now stopping… is impossible, there’s no time! To put it another way, if I went over to bump into her, I might get knocked out by a few moves from the maid! The fact that I’m a total rookie always feels so helpless at times like this!
I instinctively wanted Nilu to slip away first, but the next moment…
【Maid A had never noticed the appearance of Oqili De and Nilu.】
Huh?
What… what is happening!?
That feeling that made my whole body shiver reappeared. Subconsciously, I looked at Nilu beside me, as there was no longer any reason for such a strange situation to occur in the corridor where no one else was present, leaving only… the one and only!
【Nilu protected Oqili De.】
What I saw was… Nilu’s smile. I had never felt that this large, fair maid named Nilu could appear so unfamiliar as she did now.
【Nilu’s right eye harbored…】
“Mr. Oqili De, starting today, whatever she can do, I can do too, and perhaps even better. However, I’m sorry, I had to conceal this fact from you until I became more capable of protecting you. Giyas. “
A wave of dizziness washed over me, as if nothing had happened around.
Nilu beside me tugged at my arm, looking at me with a worried expression.
“Mr. Oqili De, let’s hurry to the place we agreed upon with the young lady, or we won’t be able to escape!”
What just happened?
【Nilu protected Oqili De.】
I know that!
But… Nilu doesn’t possess any invincible martial arts or magic; how could she protect me?
——
The illustrations for Louis IV have been updated; the first volume will have to wait until the revisions are completed, but there is a chapter within this volume that you can directly look for.