41. Today’s Bamboo Pole Hits Smoothly

Even facing a bunch of impending death scripts, I was not the least bit flustered.

Because upon learning that “Kephiel was hurrying over,” I knew: next, not to mention my death script being caused by a bunch of miscellaneous fish, even if the King of Heaven himself came to personally chop me down, the script would be influenced by Kephiel’s protagonist aura, and it would be a lonely chop!

The tide of the attack had already changed the moment Kephiel appeared!

“Kephiel gave Louis XXV a severe lesson!”

I just didn’t expect that Louis IV would also drop her disguise and join in at this time. From her tone, it seemed like she had already planned the “inside and outside cooperation to capture” strategy, but didn’t she say she hadn’t brought anyone tonight? Wait, thinking about it this way: even if I didn’t help the Queen escape out of necessity tonight, she would be fine anyway. Rather, if I hadn’t lent her a hand, she might even hold a grudge against me, this heartless, stinky man…

Hiss…

Once I thought this through, a wave of fear rose in my heart, but there was no time to think more now.

Just a second ago, Louis XXV, who was proud enough to think “I’ll crush you,” was suddenly dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events. If it was just Kephiel who showed up, he might have been able to act arrogant for a while before being slapped in the face by her, but with “Ogilvy” suddenly turning into Queen Louis IV, this threw Louis XXV into unknown territory.

“Who are you!?”

At first, Louis XXV wanted to resist, calling his equally dumbfounded lackeys to prepare for a fight, but in the next moment…

The sound of hooves echoed on the ground, the wind and waves in the sky surged, accompanied by the fleeting panicked screams from the nearby manor. Dressed in white robes, the familiar Imperial Patrol of the Great Yeng Empire led a group of mounted iron cans , surrounding the area with overwhelming momentum, shattering Louis XXV and his last stubbornness in an instant.

“Who are you? Really poor eyesight, Louis XXV, isn’t this the royal guard and patrol of our Great Yeng Empire?”

Louis IV removed her hood, loosened her long robe, let her hair down, transforming back into the sparkling appearance of the Queen of the Great Yeng Empire.

“If you can get these two groups of troops together to catch someone, even if you end up in a cell, you’ll have something to brag about when you greet others~”

The queen seemed eager to show off her authority. If it weren’t a public setting, I might have wondered if Louis the Twenty-Fifth would lose his head right then and there. Meanwhile, Kephiel quietly approached my side, but this simple action drew the repeated attention of Louis the Fourth.

【Louis the Fourth is in a bad mood.】

Ha, see? I told you, Louis the Twenty-Fifth, you’ve really angered the queen.

“Catch someone?”

As he watched his sycophants being dragged away one by one, the terrifying image of anyone who resisted getting a knife in the back made Louis the Twenty-Fifth shout in panic.

“You’re attacking a noble of the Great Ying without permission! Abuse of power! I’m going to report you, I’ll expose…”

“Abuse of power? But I’m just conducting a regular investigation~”

At this point, I even felt a bit of sympathy for Louis the Twenty-Fifth. If he had encountered Kephiel, he might have just gotten a beating and that would be the end of it. But this time, the queen had clearly set her trap. Facing Queen Louis the Fourth was a painful struggle of wanting to live but being unable to die.

Look, while saying this, Louis the Fourth was also casting a sparkling glance in my direction.

The script was unfolding.

【Louis the Fourth hopes for cooperation from O’Keefe.】

Damn, in the blink of an eye, the area was filled with Louis the Fourth’s people, all of them watching me closely. In this situation, did I have any option but to cooperate?

Moreover, you had cooperated with me before, so it’s only fair that I cooperate with you this time.

I immediately spoke up. In fact, it wouldn’t be a problem for Louis the Fourth to just kill Louis the Twenty-Fifth outright, but this girl idol queen, who was seen as a paragon by the public, still needed a way to save face.

“Stop being stubborn, Louis the Twenty-Fifth. Not only am I here on the queen’s orders to investigate, but this is also just a ruse. The queen herself has been impersonating O’Keefe in the investigation. Recently, all the ‘O ‘Keefe’ who have contacted you are fakes, and the ones causing trouble are also fakes. Hmph… you should think about it; the real O’Keefe would have to be out of his mind to associate with you.”

“Exactly, Louis the Twenty-Fifth~”

Louis the Fourth didn’t pay any mind to my earlier attempt to clear my name and continued to look happily at Louis the Twenty-Fifth. “And during this time, you’ve already confessed to all your crimes in my presence, attempting to control the council. For the rest of your life, you can go farm in a prison on a small island~ Ah, of course, you don’t need to worry. After verification, some of your vassals, those useless nobles who only cost money, will accompany you too~”

Not only did she want to catch the big fish, but she also wouldn’t let go of the little fish in the big fish’s belly. She aimed to catch them all in one net, ensuring a permanent solution. This was the method of Queen Louis the Fourth of the Great Ying Empire.

Soon, those nobles and successful individuals who had been reveling and dreaming of entering the council to wield power were now being led away like prisoners, each with their hands on the back of the one in front, heads bowed, looking utterly defeated.

Because he was too pleased with himself, Louis the Twenty-Fifth had made no preparations. At this point, all he could do was put on a face that looked as if his entire family had died, unable to do anything else.

“Moriarty, take him away for questioning too~”

Moriarty arrived with two others and dragged the incapacitated Louis the Twenty-Fifth away. In an instant, only Kephiel and I remained, watching the queen and her so-called “Royal Guard” of iron cans behind her.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Before Louis the Fourth could speak, I deliberately shouted out to her!

“By the way, Your Majesty!”

“…”

Louis the Fourth’s expression showed a hint of breaking down; she probably already guessed what I was about to say in this “public setting.”

“We’ve helped you catch Louis the Twenty-Fifth, so about the agreement you made with me earlier…”

“Agreement? Is it the one about marrying me~?”

“Hahaha~ Your Majesty, you really know how to joke. It’s just about some trivial disagreements we’ve had in the past~”

—

The surrounding minor characters looked over with expressions of “How dare you have a disagreement with the queen? What kind of divine being are you?”

This was exactly the effect I wanted. To prevent Louis IV from going back on our agreement, I needed to bring up once more, in front of a large audience, the matter that the queen had reluctantly agreed to; she wouldn’t dare to casually change her mind later.

Sure enough, a resigned sigh came from Louis IV, and then… in an instant, she switched to her idol face.

“Having different opinions is perfectly normal~ I didn’t mind.”

I let out a sigh of relief, but just as I did, I felt a lump rise in my throat.

Because Kephiel also stepped forward.

“Well then, sister, about my marriage to him…”

What are you doing, big shot!? You’re pushing your luck too far; this sister of yours might actually get angry!

However, I didn’t dare to speak up; after all, as long as the big shot was happy, that was what mattered.

“…Of course, of course, it’s all good~”

Louis IV’s idol smile was on the verge of breaking down.

—