58. Your Majesty, I’m a bit unaccustomed (Belated Happy Dragon Boat Festival)
After much contemplation, I ultimately decided to follow the expectations of Adéle, the king of the Prulus Kingdom, and actively conceal from Kephiel and the others that this spirit had been sent to find me and inform me of a secret. It’s not that I don’t trust Kephiel and the queen, but…
Involving that Ninth Rank “Sword Saint” from the Great Yng Empire, whom even Kephiel cannot handle at the moment, some secrets I saw in the script… before I piece together the clues, it’s indeed better for me to keep them to myself.
Thus, under the small emotional outbursts of Kephiel and the queen’s deliberately “stirring the pot” laughter, I managed to find an excuse to keep this spirit spy here. A few days later, when she contacted her other members to leave, I felt that my originally sunny and tall gentleman image in front of Kephiel was about to crumble again!
At this moment, outside the town of Uncle Zerola’s fief, the Prulus Kingdom’s spirit spy, having contacted her companions, was finally about to leave, while I, along with the queen, was there to bid farewell.
“The exit documents are the ones in your hands; please be careful not to lose them, or you won’t be able to leave the Great Yng Empire~”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty, the Queen of the Great Yng Empire.” The one leading the spirits away was Miss Mel, the mature spirit sister beside Adéle. “We are truly grateful for allowing our subordinate to leave unconditionally. Once we return, Her Majesty Adéle will surely prepare to express her gratitude to you!”
“Oh, come now~ No need for such thanks, Adéle is too polite~ It’s just that my people wish for this, so I won’t pursue your matters any further.”
The queen waved her hand with a cheerful smile, but of course…
[Louis IV wants to receive a reward from Adéle.]
—
I’m not surprised at all by the appearance of such a super hypocritical script, especially since standing beside me is Queen Louise IV.
“Ah, and there’s one more small request.”
The final farewells had already concluded, but Miss Mel suddenly pushed out the elven girl who had been fidgeting, the same elven spy from before.
“My subordinate is very eager to stay by Mr. O’Keefe’s side; I wonder if that would be possible…”
“……(glance)”
The blonde, blue-eyed elven girl was shyly stealing glances at me.
Take her back!
If you stay, I really won’t be able to explain things to Kephiel!
Finally, amidst the queen’s teasing laughter, we bid farewell to the group of elves who had come from the Kingdom of Prussia. Although the elven girl kept looking back as if hoping for some miracle like “I have a change of heart,”… compared to the elven beauty, what I cared about more was the “trouble” that these elves had left behind as they hurriedly brushed off their skirts.
“Alright~ O’Keefe, the long-eared ones from Prussia have been sent off. Kephiel is still tangled up in why his father has a vassal like Louis the Ninety-Ninth and has gone to make contact~ It’s a rare opportunity; how about a romantic date with me~”
“……”
“Then it would be disrespectful not to comply~”
Seeing that I didn’t respond, the queen took hold of my arm without hesitation.
Ever since I saved that elven spy, up until today when we sent off the elves from Prussia, neither Kephiel nor the queen had asked me too much about why I would go so far as to provoke a local troublemaker just to save an elf. Especially the queen; I felt that she could see through my clumsy excuses in an instant, yet she said nothing.
While I appreciated the unconditional trust from both women, it only made things more difficult for me: how should I understand and handle the elves’ admonitions regarding everything about the Sword Saint Ludwig? Because from the elves’ descriptions, Ludwig certainly didn’t sound like just a “lazy strongman.”
After some aimless thoughts, I realized that I had already been embraced by the queen and had unknowingly returned to the city! The queen seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits today, holding onto my arm all the way back, even too lazy to disguise her hat!
“Y-Your Majesty… Louise, what are you thinking!? Hurry and hide a bit!”
The queen had an excuse to cover her identity, but… if she exposed herself while holding onto my arm, it would lead to a commotion of no ordinary scale!
I admit it’s soft and quite pleasant, but some things have to be prioritized!
“What does it matter~ If I can’t fight back, I can just explain it as ‘this is my boyfriend’ and it’ll be fine~”
That kind of response is even more problematic!
“And besides, I didn’t ask anything this time; I just let a bunch of big fish go according to your wishes~ Can’t I at least get a little closer as a thank you? Sigh… so sad, it seems I still have to let those elves…”
“Alright, alright, I promise you… just stop shouting.”
I had no way to deal with the queen; after all, I owed her quite a few favors recently.
With a script like 【Louise IV succeeds.】 appearing, the queen immediately broke into a joyful smile, as if she had just been teasing me on purpose.
“Ah ha~ That’s more like it, Moriarty, go find an excuse to keep Kephiel occupied~”
The queen used a contract communication, but… even if I couldn’t hear the professor’s voice, I could probably imagine the expression on his face right now.
“And then, have your people keep a little distance; even I, at this moment, want a bit of private time~ Thanks for the reminder, I’ll be careful~”
It seemed to be over; after all, the queen’s orders took precedence. Once she had forcibly sent away the people secretly protecting us, her actions towards me became even more reckless and unrestrained, making me silently pray that this scene would not be discovered by Kephiel.
Moreover, even without showing her face, the queen was the kind of figure that drew attention just by her physique. As someone who was somewhat “unworthy of my position,” I clearly had to endure a lot of unwarranted jealousy and the kind of dangerous scripts that could rival a calamity.
“Do you feel a sense of pride and relief?”
The queen’s laughter rang out beside me.
“Once you’re done being happy, let’s hurry back.”
To be honest, my stomach was starting to ache. However, the queen didn’t tease me in the strange way I expected; instead, she lowered her voice slightly.
She often concealed her true intentions behind seemingly dangerous actions, which always caught me off guard.
“What did that sprite you’ve been with these past few days whisper to you that has you so troubled?”
I knew it; the secret the sprite had shared with me was something my disguise couldn’t hide.
Neither from the queen nor from Kephiel.
“Even if I don’t ask, Kephiel would probably be asking soon enough~ So I’ve decided to take the lead★”
“Alright, can you tell me?”
【Queen Louise IV is inquiring about O’Keel!】
The script appeared, and the only change was that the queen’s approach this time was surprisingly gentle, leaving me momentarily at a loss.
In the past, she would have definitely resorted to threats and temptations; lately, the queen seemed a bit too soft.
——
These past few days of frantic writing and going out, I actually forgot to wish everyone a happy holiday.
I hope it’s not too late.