31. Will he admit his mistake?

At this moment, at the same time, within the palace of the Great Yinger Empire.

As the votes for the reorganization of the council, that is, the number of legal citizens, were cast seriously or casually by everyone, the first phase of the voting was nearing its end. Although there had been a significant upheaval during this process—Euclid did not obey the queen and instead absconded with Ke Fei’er—Professor Moriarty believed that the overall situation of the first phase was still firmly under Her Majesty the Queen’s control.

It was precisely for this reason that Moriarty found the queen’s recent behavior quite strange: she seemed to be in a good mood, but… it also appeared that she was not.

Moriarty understood very well the “regret” issues pertaining to Louise’s character, yet even so, her recent behavior left Moriarty puzzled. There shouldn’t be anything troubling her, after all; all the measures had already been put in place, and the wanted posters had deliberately altered Euclid’s appearance to achieve the goal of “scaring Euclid while preventing him from being unexpectedly captured.” Meanwhile, under the guise of Euclid’s name, she had used the leverage against various opposing noble factions, waiting for Euclid to surrender.

After all, one couldn’t just wait for Euclid to soften up by using a wanted poster; the council reorganization was still ongoing, so the tactic of “disguising as Euclid to eliminate opponents while forcing Euclid to admit defeat” was also devised by the queen. Since someone had to take the blame, why not let it be Euclid?

It was just a warning to that kid, don’t drink the toast and then get punished with the wine; the queen had never been this gentle with anyone she wanted to manipulate.

At this moment, in the queen’s chamber.

Moriarty quietly entered, lowered her hood, and the head maid guarding the door also closed it, then activated various protective measures.

The queen sitting at the table reading was still the same—her mood seemed both quite good and quite bad.

As Moriarty walked in, she turned around.

“Has he agreed to surrender?”

“No, recent intelligence reports that he is still at the Kephier residence.”

Moriarty shook her head, trying not to think about why the recent conversation felt like a “tyrant CEO questioning his delicate wife.”

To put it simply: O’Keefe had no intention of admitting defeat at all. In the past, the queen would have likely decided to “take care of the matter,” but what puzzled Moriarty this time was the queen’s patience toward him, which seemed unusually generous. Even upon hearing such unpleasant news, the queen showed no sign of anger.

Some unsettling thoughts crossed Moriarty’s mind: the queen’s relationship with O’Keefe should be one of mere utility, and the whole “marriage threat” was probably just one of the means to restrain him, after all, the queen had always believed that “great power must be controlled by oneself.”

But now it seemed…

“Your Majesty, are you serious?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, oh~ Moriarty~”

In the blink of an eye, at that moment, Louis IV had donned a sparkling smile, and even Moriarty could not see through the armor of the queen’s true intentions, after all, this was the queen’s way of concealing her real thoughts.

“I won’t obstruct your ideas, but I must remind you that the support of the Kephier family is equally important.”

“~”

The queen still wore a bright smile.

Moriarty suddenly regretted why she had initially taken on the attitude of “I understand the queen so I’ll be the captain of the patrol team” to join; now she really wanted to go to the Rublyanka Academy in the Rosian Empire to raise pigs and retire.

After all, everyone who secretly served the queen was on a “lifetime system.” Serving a dangerous yet capable monarch was far easier than flattering a foolish ruler; this was a unanimous thought among everyone.

“Sigh… should I speed up the process?”

“No need, just keep the wanted notice up.”

At this moment, the queen’s mood seemed quite good again.

“After all, we still need to use his reputation to get things done, right?”

With the support of the Kephier family and a host of strong individuals, including resources left by the previous queen, the entirety of the Great Yng Empire was merely a “toy that won’t break if not used too forcefully” in Louis IV’s hands. This parliament was the same; as long as Louis IV was willing, even using strong measures, she could take full control.

Louis IV was unwilling to do so simply because she didn’t want to be a foolish ruler who abused power; such monarchs did not last long.

Moreover, for the future of the Great Yng Empire, Louis IV needed O’Keefe’s strength. Moriarty believed this was the queen’s true intention hidden beneath the parliamentary restructuring. With this layer of power, the Great Yng Empire would even have the qualification to challenge the church filled with “clergymen.”

“Continue, Moriarty, the first round of parliament is about to end; it seems Louis XXV should be ready to ‘divide the spoils.’ Since we’ve already taken the bait, it’s time to reel it in. Since it concerns the royal family, I’ll handle it personally.”

“Yes.”

Moriarty nodded in agreement, but just as she turned to leave, the queen threw her a troublesome question with a sparkling attitude.

“By the way, does Moriarty think I’m very bad?”

“Your Majesty, saying that makes me think you want to kill me…”

“Sigh~ I’m really just asking, oh, Moriarty.”

“Then the answer is: I won’t think so. Eliminating rivals is quite normal; the other party is still a parasite of the Great Yng Empire. In my view, governing a country requires ability and decisiveness, not the goodness or badness of a person.”

—

Louis IV sighed.

“Alas~ if only Mr. O’Keefe could be as you imagine him to be~”

“…”

In the end, is it still about that man’s mess!?

Moriarty’s mind was racing; O’Keefe was indeed important, but why has the queen been acting like a lovesick teenager lately?

“If you really want him, I can find a time to bring him back for you. Just gather a few old folks from the palace, explain his importance, and it won’t be hard to bring him back. Zerola and the others won ‘t be able to stop it.”

“A forced fruit is not sweet.”

Is this what the person who threatened O’Keefe and Kephira said!?

“And besides, to have him serve me with peace of mind, the timing isn’t right yet. I just feel hurt, sigh~ where exactly is he worse than Kephira~”

On the surface, they were equal; in power, he was superior. But the most important factor was character—no man would like a woman who treats him like a lab rat at the drop of a hat.

Moriarty thought to herself but ultimately kept silent. Unlike Kephira, Louis IV was the queen of the Great Ying Empire, which meant she could never be as straightforward as Kephira.

“You’ll have the chance to understand this later. The intel has arrived; Louis XXV will soon ‘distribute the spoils,’ so this time… will you be the ‘O’Keefe’?”

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This month, I plan to level up, so everyone, please subscribe a lot~

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