63. You can choose between a night raid or a strong push.
After safely extricating myself from my solitude with the Moon Fairy, I donned a smile and left to meet Kephir and the Queen, who were waiting outside. Naturally, the Queen could not remain in the Great Yīng Empire’s palace; to avoid any unrest, Kephir and I quietly took her back to Kephir’s home within the capital of the Great Yīng Empire.
Later, deep into the night.
With Kephir and the “Sword Saint” Ludwig, free from any constraints, the “duel” was officially set without the need for Kephir to hold back. If possible, I would certainly like to encourage my fiancée, but…
Before I could even warm my seat, Kephir pushed me out, a hint of jealousy in her demeanor, making a decision that took me by surprise.
“The Queen is looking for you, hurry up. And by the way, you must ‘resolve’ this by today!”
Resolve? Hahaha, Kephir, you worry too much! I assure you, there is absolutely nothing messy between me and your sister. Don’t you see my big, sincere eyes filled with determination?
“……”
The next moment, the answer I received was the sound of Kephir closing the door. No, don’t lock it! I really won’t stay with the Queen! Trust me, Kephir! Because, at this moment, the script has made it clear why the Queen is looking for me tonight. Don’t worry, Kephir, your sister, before she becomes a cunning and dangerous vixen, is a genuine Queen of the Great Yīng Empire; she wouldn’t do anything strange at this hour.
Steeling myself, I sought out the Queen, who was temporarily “hiding” in Kephir’s room.
“Your Majesty, you called for me?”
In the dead of night, with silence enveloping the surroundings, it felt odd to knock on a girl’s door in such a setting. Especially when, after calling out without receiving a response, the Queen’s reply sounded even stranger!
“Um… Are you asleep?”
“I could be asleep, or I could be awake~ Oujilide, which do you prefer?”
“I prefer neither!”
I didn’t come here under such immense pressure just for this kind of nonsense after assuring Kephir in every possible way!
I pushed the door open, and as I expected: the Queen not only left the door ajar but was also lying on the bed, feigning sleep, clearly waiting for me to create some sort of misunderstanding!
However, before I could express my frustration, I had to swallow it back down.
Compared to before, the Queen seemed to have “evolved” recently, or something. In the past, her teasing would have irked me greatly, but lately, she had been more restrained, as if following the script.
[Louis IV fears Oujilide’s anger.]
I felt an inexplicable sense of danger in following this script further. Fine, I won’t dwell on the Queen’s bad temperament; after all…
She quickly sat up, her demeanor becoming much more serious as she bowed her head and apologized.
“I’m sorry, I did it on purpose, so I apologize~”
With a blink and her hands clasped together in apology, her words were filled with a defiant attitude of “I was wrong, but I’d do it again next time.” For a moment, I didn’t know how to be angry.
Oh well, even if the Queen doesn’t see me tonight, I still have my reasons for wanting to find her.
“Oujilide, I suddenly came to find you tonight just to say thank you~ There’s absolutely no other meaning.”
As she spoke, the Queen moved to the window. Outside, the crescent moon that had appeared when we left the Great Yīng Empire’s capital had now inexplicably vanished, obscured by dark clouds, with a solitary star shining brightly.
Just like… the glimmering light in the queen’s eyes… Ah, ah, ah! How embarrassing! Why did I suddenly think of such messy things!
“Of course, I really don’t have any ulterior motives, but if you have any…”
“I don’t!”
The chaotic thoughts in my mind made it difficult for me to even look at the queen’s face at that moment. I could only listen to the girl’s silver bell-like laughter while staring at the wall beside me, counting the black dots on it to calm my heart a little.
“Lady… Louise.”
Given my current mood and the question I wanted to ask the queen, it was incredibly difficult to suppress my distracting thoughts, maintain my composure, and finally speak up.
“Earlier, when the two of us encountered Ludwig…”
At that time, my instincts, combined with my pride as a man, drove me to prepare to protect the queen, but instead, the queen made a move to protect me. More importantly, some strangely worded lines from a script had emerged at that moment.
After that, a series of major events left me no time to think, but now, in my interactions with the queen, I suddenly remembered—
What was the queen planning to use back then?
“Mm?”
“Uh, no, nothing.”
The queen’s confusion made me shake my head. “I’ve decided to heed your words; some young girls’ secrets are best left unasked and unseen, to truly be a gentleman of the Great Ying Empire.”
“Mm~ What is this? Where did you learn such twisted methods to control women?”
I already said I had no such intentions, but…
“Queen, why… are you not doing anything tonight?”
This was the truth I wanted to actively understand from the queen, because the script clearly reminded me: [Louise IV and Kephir saw through Iris’s plan!]
Should I say that the queen and Kephir truly deserve their titles? Even without the script’s support, they both sensed the anomaly of the Moon Fairy. Yet, on that basis, neither the queen nor Kephir took any unnecessary actions, allowing me to continue my interactions with Iris. This left me… unsure of their thoughts, especially the queen’s own.
After all, the queen’s mind is much harder to guess than Kephir’s.
“Because right now, I feel that some things are indeed better left untouched by me~”
In the next moment, the gaze the queen directed at me made my whole body shiver. It wasn’t because of any hidden malice; rather, it was the complete opposite!
So, so gentle! Is this really the expression of a queen!?
“Anyway, you already have your plans and actions, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t know, after all, I trust your judgment.”
How… how should I respond to that!?
For a moment, blood surged up, and any man would feel a secret thrill from such words, making me incredibly happy. However… it truly is the queen; my feelings of gratitude lasted only a short while before they vanished with the appearance of the script—
[Louise IV said this on purpose.]
“…Your Majesty, could you please not be so snobbish?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “If you didn’t overthink, maybe I would have taken the bait.”
“Then I truly apologize, O’Keefe—who told me my nature is just so wicked?”
Her teasing smile was as usual, but… the queen’s demeanor seemed to have fundamentally changed from before, instinctively warning me not to think too much about what this change was called.
“Then, since you’ve come to seek my confirmation, it means you have further requests, right? So, is there anything you need my help with, my lord knight?”
Truly, I cannot compete with the queen; I have lost, and I accept it wholeheartedly.
“Yes, there is, and it’s quite a lot, and very troublesome.”
With a sigh, I straightened my posture and said, “If I’m guessing correctly, on the day of the ‘duel,’ some strange things are likely to happen—things that you, Queen, wouldn’t want to see. For certain reasons, I won’t disclose the details to you, but I still hope you can decide here… whether to offer me your ‘assistance’ in your capacity, Your Majesty.”
—