38. Soft Escape (Seeking Votes and Likes)
After hearing the noise, we immediately ceased fire and began to disguise and hide. I was even a bit grateful that Louis the Fourteenth was a scheming queen violence rather than a brute like Lady who only knew how to solve problems with; being smart bought us quite a bit of time.
Even so, just as we had finished disguising, Louis the Fifteenth’s voice appeared alongside the sound of the door opening.
I had never been so thankful for Louis the Fourteenth’s fickleness because her imitation of “the charlatan Euclid” was frankly better than mine.
“Mr. Louis the Twenty-Fifth, didn’t I tell you not to disturb me while I’m casting spells and making prophecies?”
Still casting spells? Your Majesty, are you trying to summon thunder?
But to be fair, it seems Louis the Twenty-Fifth has bought into this.
“What prophecy caused such a commotion just now!?”
Sure enough, it was likely one of Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s sycophants who, having just noticed my and Louise’s rolling around, aroused the suspicion of Louis the Twenty-Fifth, prompting him to come check. However, Louise was prepared for this.
“About the prophecy, please don’t ask too much. Even if I break pots and smash bowls, it has nothing to do with you, right?”
As soon as she finished speaking, it seemed Louis the Twenty-Fifth was intimidated, and the room fell silent.
Helplessly, I had no idea what was happening here, what state Louis the Twenty-Fifth was in, or how Louise was performing. I could only gauge the situation from their conversation.
After all…
I was still hiding under her skirt, relying on the concealment of Louise’s long robe and sitting posture to barely keep Louis the Twenty-Fifth from noticing that there was still someone hiding in this room. Naturally, in such a situation, all I could do was listen; I certainly couldn’t look up in this “darkness” and play the curious child exploring the stars, could I?
Louise was responsible for continuing to pretend to be “Eugene” and find a way to drive Louis the Twenty-Fifth away. However, this time, that supporting role clearly had some wariness and suspicion. Although her earlier words had scared Louis the Twenty- Fifth, he didn’t obediently leave. On the contrary, judging by the sound of his footsteps, he was even getting closer to Louise!
“So what exactly did you predict? What are you writing here?”
“!”
As the saying goes, the fool is a master of foolishness. Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s stubbornness and naivety might have been a bit beyond Louise’s expectations. At such a moment, one should never say something like “Don’t come over, it’s a secret,” such words would only betray her intentions. However, to shield me and to conceal her own identity, Louise, who could only sit there, had limited options.
I knew that now was not the time to dwell on whether Louise was an enemy.
In the next moment, I hugged Her Majesty the Queen’s legs in the dark, hoping she would understand my meaning as I felt her body tremble. Fortunately, the device she used to alter her voice was similar to mine, which allowed me to carry out my next actions without raising further suspicion from Louis the Twenty-Fifth.
I squeezed my throat as much as possible and spoke in place of Louise.
“Prophecies become inaccurate once you look at them.”
“Then how do I know you’re not just trying to deceive me with some trickery!?”
“Alas…”
I feigned a deep sigh, seizing the last opportunity before Louis the Twenty-Fifth got too close, glancing at the script beforehand.
“Then let me tell you a special secret.”
What kind of matter could hit the mark and directly drive Louis the Twenty-Fifth away? It was simple…
Find someone to take the blame.
“Do you think your evening party is flawless, but in reality, some ill-intentioned people have slipped in? Rather than disturbing me with your prophecy, why don’t you first look for the spies that might disrupt your plans?”
“How, how is that possible… this evening party is all under my control…”
【Louis the Twenty-Fifth even invited some legislators he thought he could win over.】
“Is it really all under your control?”
“Uh…”
Silence fell. I naturally had no idea how Louis the Twenty-Fifth viewed Louise’s disguise. But soon, with the sound of Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s footsteps fading and the door closing, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
—
Then, just as I was still immersed in this lingering sense of dread, dear Queen suddenly lifted her robe!
The straightforward act of embracing my legs was laid bare before my eyes; when you gaze at the starry sky, the starry sky gazes back at you.
After a moment of silence, the Queen smiled: “Are you still wanting to lick a bit? Serve me, and then go make a contract with the court magician, so you can lick however you please in the future.”
Who cares about that! I only held on to maintain a bit of balance!
I hadn’t forgotten that before Louis the Twenty-Fifth arrived, I was in a life-and-death struggle with this very Queen. Although her strange temporary amnesia regarding the death script of [Louis the Fourth killed O’Keefe for self- preservation] was a relief, it didn’t mean I would let my guard down against this dangerous Queen.
I immediately released her legs, watching as she glared at me with some dissatisfaction.
Finally, after scrutinizing me for a while, Louis the Fourth propped her chin on her hand and sighed softly.
“So what do you plan to do now? Continue the war~”
If we were to wrestle again, I certainly wouldn’t be lucky enough to dodge the death script every time like I just did.
Just as I was feeling tense, Louis the Fourth’s voice trailed off, shifting to a new option.
“Or we could negotiate? O’Keefe, for you to make such a compromising statement, you’re the first. I hope you think it over carefully.”
A surge of joy filled my heart: the goal had been achieved!
I certainly didn’t expect to make the Queen concede; that seemed unrealistic. So, as long as I could get the Queen to compromise, negotiate a bit, exchange some conditions, and make her stop targeting me and no longer go after Kephir, that would be a resounding victory.
After all, Kephir was still a genius of the Great Yeng Empire; one must bow their head under the eaves, and it was best not to make the relationship with the Queen too strained.
However, just as I was about to agree, the words I had just used to scare off Louis the Twenty-Fifth suddenly influenced the change in the script! The situation, which had finally become safe, turned precarious in an instant!
[Louis the Twenty-Fifth begins to suspect O’Keefe!]
[Regaining his senses, Louis the Twenty-Fifth starts to doubt whether ‘O’Keefe’ is just putting on a show!]
“O’Keefe? Is there even a need to think about it?”
“!”
In a panic, I didn’t even have time to respond to the Queen’s mocking reminder.
This Louis the Twenty-Fifth was indeed just suspicious, but whether it was my identity or the Queen’s disguised identity, neither could withstand exposure! If the script wasn’t fake, then next…
[Louis the Twenty-Fifth searches for O’Keefe.]
[Louis the Twenty-Fifth demands ‘O’Keefe’ to remove the mask!]
It’s over! Louis the Twenty-Fifth has caught on!
“Queen, let’s save the negotiations for your palace.”
Fortunately, I had just managed to scare him off, and now there was still a tiny bit of time in the script.
As for the situation… even if I was unwilling, for the sake of self-preservation and to properly reconcile with the Queen, I had to bring Louis the Fourth along.
I grabbed her arm.
“Our identities are under suspicion; even if you’re reluctant, your grand plan seems to be failing. It looks like we need to make a quick escape, Your Majesty.”
—
—
A new week has begun, everyone remember to vote for this book and give it a thumbs up~ The end of the month is approaching, so make sure to cast your monthly votes!
Next month, I plan to introduce new pillow characters, so everyone can look forward to and prepare for one. I’m just still hesitating about which one to release.