10. Hmm, hmm, hmm, ah, ah, ah (nonchalant)

This time, could it be that I was “overly worried”? The situation in the Church is simple and straightforward, and even the aggressive purpose of their visit isn’t that hard to guess. Look, even Louis IV is putting on a facade of a simple smile while secretly toying with me.

Because the Saintess has already started arguing with that man who is the Archbishop.

“Eh!? I want to go out and play with Louise!”

At this point, I realized: this Saintess is just a brat! She seems a bit too foolish. But if she were just a brat, that would be one thing; however, the “prophetic” power she possesses makes her completely manipulable, and she remains oblivious.

After all, the Archbishop’s behavior of hastily finding excuses to stop the Saintess from “going out” is blatantly excessive.

“Your Highness, the Saintess, we will have plenty of opportunities to play later, so let’s not make contact with other countries; she is our enemy!”

The Archbishop spoke as if it were a serious matter, not realizing that this room had already been “layered” by Louis IV. His self-important whispers had long been overheard by a big shot among the Queen’s guards from the Great Ying Empire, who relayed the information to us in real-time.

“Have you forgotten? What are we here for this time? We can talk about playing later; you need to hurry up and address that matter…”

It seems that this truly simple and somewhat foolish Saintess is being treated entirely as a mascot and tool, exploited by the Archbishop. My previous warning went unheeded, and this time I have no intention of playing the hero and doing the right thing. Not only would it ruin the script, but it might also put the Saintess herself in danger. More importantly: even if I tell the Saintess she is being used, would she believe it with her silly demeanor?

“Ah~ It’s such a pity if we can’t go out and play together; the reason I’m eager to meet everyone from the Church is precisely for this purpose~”

After noticing the other party’s recent whisper, Louis IV pretended to be casual while deliberately setting a trap for them.

“So, I wonder why the Saintess is so eager to see me?”

The silver-haired girl before me—the Church’s Saintess, Ikusis—quickly turned serious!

“I… I want you to give up the proposal to ‘cancel the warrant for Euclid’!”

The script had already warned me about the dangers of having a character with the notorious reputation of [Euclid]. To put it simply, it meant a failed attempt at redemption, so I wasn’t surprised when the script introduced the archbishop who would stab me in the back—essentially the man who had led the naive saintess around in circles, and he would surely find a way to ensure that the informed Euclid would have no place to hide.

That’s why the saintess had appeared, right? Even when she was serious, she still looked a bit foolish. However, the effect of her identity as a saintess was undeniable; arguing with her would have significant repercussions for Louis IV, and that was precisely what the archbishop was exploiting.

To be honest, I really didn’t know how to handle this. Agreeing wasn’t an option, nor was outright refusal, because the other party would definitely twist my words.

“But, I haven’t seen Euclid in the Great Yinf Empire lately~ Even with a warrant out, someone like that would only waste our energy searching for him every day, not to mention the money spent on printing those warrants~”

However, true to her title as queen, after scolding me thoroughly, she immediately switched to a pitiful expression, pleading with the saintess, “As for the other countries like Rosia and Prussia, I can’t do anything about them~ Saintess, can you please have some pity on me?”

Saintess Ikusis immediately looked bewildered; her earlier tough attitude was clearly just a façade put on after being manipulated and instructed.

But having the identity of a saintess was already enough, because the next moment, the blonde young man who was the archbishop stepped forward to take advantage of the situation.

“To let go of a dangerous individual who mingles with various evil organizations and has committed heinous acts across nations—Your Majesty, the Queen of the Great Yinf Empire, regardless of how dangerous your reckless ideas may be, as a member cooperating with our church , we have the right to stop your madness. The saintess is here for that very reason.”

The saintess had many followers, and using her to threaten the queen was indeed powerful.

“Originally, the saintess thought she should at least make you realize this in advance. Once the summit begins, we will jointly condemn the other countries that also wish to revoke the warrant. And now it seems… you are still obstinately refusing to understand, wanting to go against the future predicted by the saintess!?”

[Louis IV’s insistence leads to a dispute with the saintess, resulting in a decline in reputation!]

In the next moment, a dangerous script for the queen appeared, making me realize: even if the other party was just a fool who thought we didn’t know he was using the saintess, the current situation was still not easy to resolve.

Now, I was on the queen’s side. Without thinking much, I immediately sent a discreet reminder.

[Queen, please don’t escalate this; the consequences could be severe.]

[Thank you~ Although I know what to do, I appreciate your concern for me~ I’m so happy~]

That last sentence was unnecessary! The look Kefir shot me was practically dripping with jealousy!

With an idol-like smile, she feigned indifference, but the moment her gaze lingered on me, she blinked and showed me what it meant to “give it her all.”

“What’s this? Archbishop, you mustn’t slander me~ Since it’s the saintess’s prophecy, how could I not listen?”

A smug expression immediately appeared on his face: “So, does that mean you’ve changed your mind?”

“Ah~ As for my thoughts, it’s not yet time for the summit, is it? Let’s discuss it when the summit of nations begins, shall we, Archbishop?”

I understood: since agreeing wasn’t an option, nor was refusing, I should just say nothing.

The queen probably realized this from the start, so she simply chose to “delay” the matter.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you the queen? You can’t make a decision?”

“Phew~ Archbishop, major events in the Great Yinf Empire must be decided by the parliament~ Even if I have my own ideas, I can’t make decisions unilaterally~”

At this moment, the reason the queen had previously toyed with the idea of ​​creating a parliament was evident. Even though I knew that the Great Yinf Empire was entirely under Louis IV’s control, externally, all decisions truly came from the “parliament.” Coupled with Louis IV’s cheerful demeanor, which completely disregarded threats, the archbishop before me looked utterly impotent, as if he had punched a pillow.

“Perfect! Archbishop, you can take the saintess, who is visiting for the first time, to experience the customs of our Great Yinf Empire. But for safety’s sake, please travel discreetly~ We can discuss any decisions at the summit~”

[Bang]

The archbishop slammed his hand on the table. The queen offered no response, and naturally, he couldn’t exploit the situation.

“Just remember, at the summit, don’t say we didn’t warn you, Queen of the Great Yinf Empire!”

Finally, with the queen showing not even the slightest reaction, her expression calm and maintaining that idol-like smile, she turned around fiercely, leaving behind the saintess who looked completely bewildered and still dazed, and together with the others, they crowded around her to leave!

“Be safe, okay~”

At this moment, the queen waved at the departing figure, and the instant they left, her smile vanished as if by magic.

“Sigh~ It’s so infuriating; only a hug from a certain European man can lighten my mood~”

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t be playful at a time like this.”

At least think of me; I don’t want to be kneeling on a washboard tonight.

And…

The harsh words from earlier also brought with them two dangerous and familiar scripts.

【Euclidean reputation is infamous.】

【Louis IV’s position and prestige were impacted.】

What this represents is self-evident.

“Your Majesty, it seems that the people from the church in the prophecy… are likely to do something at the upcoming summit; you’ve angered him.”

“I know~ because I did it on purpose~”

The queen winked playfully at me and then said, “You’ll save me, right~ Euclid?”

I will, I will, please stop acting cute; the gaze from kefier is getting more and more dangerous!

After all, saving you now is also clearing my own name.

——

The keychains have arrived, and they will be posted after the chapter tomorrow, along with a preview image. As a prize for next month’s additional monthly ticket draw, it’s quite comfortable.

Magnus’s character design is placed after Chapter 22 of the previous volume; you can go take a look.