50. The greatest illusion of men: I can persuade a woman to redeem herself.
“Eh? Ah… um, I usually help, I suppose.”
The queen’s question left me bewildered, but having personally experienced the despair she faced, it felt only natural to assist her. I had already helped her escape from Glamorgan Castle, fleeing from Elith’s orders. Helping her return to the Great Ying Empire’s royal city to reclaim her position seemed like a reasonable goal for me.
“Thank you…”
The queen sniffled, smiling as she wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, then leaned her body against my shoulder.
Huh? Wait a minute, hadn’t the queen already moved past this tearful state? And when she asked just now, why didn’t she ask Ke Fei Er, but only me?
Could it be!
[Lu Yi IV has a plan!]
You really are quick to learn, Your Majesty! Just after discovering the “power of tears” in Glamorgan Castle, you immediately tried it on me!?
Before Ke Fei Er could almost transform into a “Shura,” I hurriedly pushed the queen back.
“Your Majesty! Since you already have a plan, don’t pretend to act here!”
My heart nearly leapt out from that little performance of yours!
Only then did the queen leave, her face full of satisfaction. As for the tears? Who knows how she managed to squeeze them out!
“You really don’t understand the atmosphere, Oujili De. Wouldn’t it have been better to continue being moved just now?”
Waving her hand, the queen straightened her posture. “However, what I said isn’t all lies. I definitely can’t go back directly now. As long as she’s not too willing, Elith has plenty of ways to bring herself back into the spotlight. But if we can secure some ‘chips’ to threaten Elith, it’s not impossible for her to temporarily let us off the hook after some consideration~ And for this, we’ll need to rely a bit on you, Ke Fei Er~”
“Sister Wang…”
“Don’t be so nervous~ I won’t eat him~”
The queen winked playfully.
But with that, you were clearly aware of what you were doing, Queen…
“This time, Elith’s ‘trump card’ is the Sword Saint Miss Ludwig of the Great Ying Empire. However, from what Sister Wang understands, while the Sword Saint is one of Elith’s ‘aces,’ she is also the hardest to control. After all, Ludwig has no intention of being a servant; she only stays by Elith’s side to pursue power. She’s a true martial arts fanatic~”
“As long as we can make use of this point, perhaps we can turn Ludwig against Elith, forcing her to compromise with us. It’s only a matter of time before Elith finds our escape location. If nothing unexpected happens, Ludwig will definitely come. And that’s Sister Wang’s plan~”
The queen raised her finger and winked at Ke Fei Er: “Ke Fei Er, your presence is very important. Ludwig is only interested in the strong. As long as you can satisfy her, Elith won’t have any way to deal with us in the short term.”
“When the time comes, we can negotiate again. If Elith gradually finds it boring, she won’t pester us anymore~ Perhaps, seriously giving her some of her power to you, Ke Fei Er, isn’t impossible~”
Having gone through tonight’s events, Ke Fei Er certainly wouldn’t be interested in the power of the Moon Fairy anymore. However, considering Ke Fei Er’s “script,” along with the queen’s plan, a new script indeed emerged.
[Ke Fei Er has obtained the power of the Moon Fairy!]
—
In this case, I was at a loss.
“Ke Fei’er, learn the skills of the enemy to defeat the enemy; don’t let impulsive thoughts sway you.”
To retaliate immediately after suffering some hardship is not the reckless behavior a “true protagonist” should exhibit. Before the right moment arrives, we are all good brothers and sisters. The power of the Moon Fairy is also one of Ke Fei’er’s “treasures.” Even though I want to teach that old woman a lesson more than anything right now, I can only hold back for the time being.
“…I understand.”
Thank goodness, after me, Ke Fei’er reluctantly agreed.
The expression on the queen’s face brightened considerably.
“Your Highness is not without emergency preparations. Moriarty’s patrol will arrive soon. This is also your father Zerola’s territory, and he is one of the few ‘insiders’ who won’t be disturbed by Iris’s orders. Before we prepare for more troublesome matters, let’s all take a good rest.”
The queen, having shed her disguise, didn’t seem so unpleasant at this moment. On the contrary, she wore a genuine tenderness and gratitude towards us.
“Of course, this time… thank you. If it weren’t for you, perhaps… I would still be at Iris’s place right now…”
However, the thought of “the current queen is actually a bit cute” lasted only as long as it took for her to finish that sentence.
The next moment, accompanied by a chill that ran down my spine, the queen’s expression shifted again.
“However, the one I’m most grateful to is still my knight~”
Rising, the queen performed exaggerated gestures as if in an opera, spinning around to my side. “Ah~ On the night I was consumed by despair, you shone like a light into my heart, saving me, who was at a loss~”
W-wait!?
“I once thought that ‘knights’ were merely a funny role for playing house, but now I realize they truly exist. Ah~ Mr. O’Keefe, you are my guardian. Once we return to the royal city, you will be my only knight from now on, always by my side~”
Queen! Doesn’t that mean: you’re going to cling to me from now on!? Don’t think I’ll fall for it just because you wrapped it in a knightly sugar coating!
“Your Highness! I already said that what happened at night was just an act…”
“But you knelt and agreed~ You kissed my hand, touched my face, and now you want to back out?”
The queen looked at me with a “girl deceived by a scoundrel” expression. At this point, it was a wonder Ke Fei’er could hold her temper!
“Your Highness! Is the person you chose a bit off?”
She stood up, fists clenched. At this moment, I had to sincerely thank the big shot for not slamming the table to pieces.
“Off? Is there? No one has stipulated that a married man can’t be someone else’s knight~ Don’t worry, Ke Fei’er, the knight Your Highness speaks of is truly just a protector, not that kind of ‘knight’ from the night~”
Don’t be so serious while making innuendos! Where on earth did you learn such crude jokes!?
Seeing that Ke Fei’er, unable to vent her anger on the queen, was about to shift her displeasure onto me, I hurriedly found an opportunity to escape! Sorry, I really can’t handle this battlefield!
Because, don’t be fooled by the queen’s seemingly fragile state tonight; her terrible personality and intentions towards me haven’t changed one bit!
I thought the queen would become a bit more serious and gentle because of this, but how naive I was to think that!
—
Everyone, don’t forget to cast your monthly votes~ It’s the end of the month~
—