64.5. Drinking Alone
From Louis IV’s perspective.
The annual restructuring of the Great Yung Empire’s parliament went very smoothly this year. After the first round of qualification elections and the second round of competition, the third round of competition, or what could be called “a noisy argument revealing each other’s secrets,” posed no danger at all for Her Majesty Queen Louis IV. After reminding his servants to “not take the arguments too seriously,” Louis IV chose to step back.
After all, this year’s parliamentary restructuring was exceptionally smooth—more so than any previous occasion, which made things easier for him. In past restructurings, there would always be some opposition, and trying to get them out of the way would require Louis and Moriarty to work hard for a while. But this year, Louis found that he could relax without doing much at all, even feeling that his skin had become just a bit smoother.
The reason was clear to Louis: the clown who had emerged during this restructuring, along with the big fish behind him, had all been “eliminated” by him. Naturally, he wouldn’t have any rivals in the short term. However, all this trouble-free business was something Louis hadn’t really had to deal with himself… of course, he would feel comfortable.
At this moment, having learned that he had successfully arranged for the vast majority of the parliament members to be re-elected this year, Louis leisurely poured two glasses of wine into the goblets on the table.
Then, he picked up one of the glasses and took a small sip. Moriarty was also present, and while they were supposedly celebrating, there was hardly a hint of celebratory atmosphere; it felt more like a war council.
“Ah~”
The next moment, Louis let out a sarcastic sigh, “It would be nice if someone could celebrate with me during such a worthy occasion.”
“Your Majesty, you might have overlooked the fact that ‘I’m also a person,’ but I won’t mention that.”
Finally, Moriarty couldn’t hold back any longer. “If you have something on your mind, please tell me directly. Don’t be all cryptic and roundabout in front of me. To speak frankly, you currently resemble a defeated dog and a resentful woman who can’t get a man.”
Louis placed the wine glass down on the table, pouting in dissatisfaction as he complained, “Reading the room is one of a servant’s duties, you know~ Moriarty, which is why you’re not suited for a position in the open~”
“Then I truly apologize; I was born this way, Your Majesty.”
Moriarty adjusted her glasses, chuckling lightly, “By the way, even if you keep picking on me tonight, it won’t change the fact that you’re drinking alone.”
“If it weren’t for my good mood today, you’d be in confinement for saying such things~”
“You’re right, which is why I’m being so reckless, knowing you’re in a good mood today.”
“!”
In an instant, Louise lost all desire to bicker with the old woman. After all… the more she argued with Moriarty, the stronger the feeling in her heart grew that “it seemed like she was losing terribly.”
Louise had never liked this boring feeling, nor could she allow herself to be disturbed by it. But this time, she truly felt a sense of regret and dissatisfaction.
The reason was simple: even in celebration, she was the only one pouring the wine. The person who should have been raising a glass across from her was nowhere to be found.
“Hmph, it’s easy to say nice things. Why don’t you go and bring him here to sit across from me and drink?”
“If this order had been given yesterday, I might have thought of a way, but today it’s simply impossible, Your Majesty.”
After a pause, Moriarty delivered a piece of news that Louise couldn’t ignore.
“He’s no longer in the Great Yng Empire.”
“!”
Just as Louise IV was about to enjoy her drink alone, she slammed her cup down on the table, spilling quite a bit of wine onto her gloves without even noticing!
“What do you mean?”
“Last night, there was a movement from Kephir’s side, and there’s a record of using noble status to leave the city at night without an application. According to Zerola, Euclid and Kephir had a fight, and Euclid was temporarily kicked out, while Kephir went to the Rublyanka Academy in the Rosia Empire.”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Louise, regaining her composure, propped her chin up and let out a cold laugh.
“Good idea, but the execution is a bit naive. Where did Euclid go?”
“From the route, it seems he headed west, where the nearest place is the Prussian Kingdom, the territory of the elves.”
“And then my dear Kephir went to Rosia to be a model student? Huh~ Looks like they’re splitting up to act first, then following a routine to meet up later.”
Even Louise herself didn’t notice that a glimmer of excitement had appeared on her face, and the tension that had just gripped her heart suddenly eased considerably.
“But the Prussians, those boring elves have always looked down on us using magic, and our relationship isn’t great. Only Zerola has a bit of a network there. Hmm~ No wonder Zerola sent Euclid over; it seems she was sure we couldn’t send anyone.”
“Exactly.”
Moriarty nodded. “So you’re still drinking alone. Even if you have any ideas now, it’s impossible to catch up.”
“…”
“Your Majesty?”
In the next moment, a bright, innocent smile suddenly appeared on Louise’s face, causing Moriarty to instinctively take a step back.
After all, she knew that when the queen usually changed her attitude, it meant that nothing good would come of it. It was best to say goodbye properly and firmly reject any traps the queen might set. Euclid might not have any problems, but if he slipped away with Zerola and Kephir’s help…
It would be strange for the queen to be pleased.
“I never said I wanted to catch up, Moriarty. You should know that Euclid is the number one wanted criminal across all nations~”
“Uh?”
Sure enough, the next moment, Moriarty found herself in a realm of uncertainty, unable to grasp the queen’s intentions.
“Moriarty, immediately in my name, send a formal letter to that elf in the Prussian Kingdom. The content should be—hmm! Just write this—Dear Miss Adev, our Great Yng Empire has investigated: the internationally wanted criminal Euclid has recently fled from the Great Yng Empire to your country. Euclid has committed numerous crimes in our Great Yng Empire. If your country successfully captures him, please be sure to hand him over to the Great Yng Empire for processing. His whereabouts will be provided later, and as a reward, I will graciously yield in other matters~”
“…”
Moriarty’s lips twitched, wanting to say something, but in the end, all her thoughts coalesced into a single sentence.
“It is…”
After all, no matter how one tries to persuade, it is all in vain. Being targeted by Queen Louise IV of the Great Yng Empire is not a stroke of luck, but rather a “tragedy.”
“Moriarty, do you know?”
Finally, as Moriarty prepared to draft an official document, Louise laughed cheerfully behind her, “It’s a simple principle: if I can’t have it, then I’ll make sure no one else can have it either. Doesn’t that mean we’re all starting from the same point~”
——
This volume ends here, and a new volume will begin, which is Volume Four.
In Volume Four, new elven characters will appear, and some characters I have been preparing for a long time will finally shed their identities as traitors and successfully take on the BOSS, launching a counterattack!
Stay tuned.
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Four: The Forced Marriage of the Elf midget Makes Me Feel Like I’m Dying
The monthly ticket lottery event has changed; from now on, it will be held in the new book~
RT, the upcoming monthly ticket lottery event will basically be transferred to the new book, while the old book will be in a state of chance~
If anyone has tickets, feel free to participate in the new book~ Thank you, Eggplant~
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