4. The Conspiracy Succeeds
I didn’t voice the “strange feeling” I quickly sensed upon waking, regarding the relationship between Ke Fei’er and Ni Lu. After that, everything continued as usual: packing up after breakfast, then going to inform Uncle Ze Luo, Ke Fei’er’s father, of our safe return.
Everything seemed fine, but… not asking didn’t mean I couldn’t feel it. To be honest, after noticing the unusual interactions between Ke Fei’er and Ni Lu, I immediately harbored some very dangerous suspicions, because… these two rivals had clearly been at odds just last night, yet today they acted as if they were close sisters!
Last night, right after Ke Fei’er knocked me out with a punch, did something happen?
I wanted to think, but I was also a bit afraid to speculate. Then, in this tangled state, I went with Ke Fei’er and Ni Lu to meet Queen Louise IV. The Rose I had temporarily entrusted to the queen yesterday was still waiting for me to pick her up.
At this moment, within the grand palace of the Great Ying Empire, I heard that the queen, having cleared her schedule for the day, was dressed like a proper idol girl, standing in the hall waiting for my arrival. Since there were servants and others around, the queen quietly changed how she addressed me.
“Mr. Oujilide, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Ah~ Yesterday, due to Moriarty’s delayed report, your welcome was a bit rushed, so today I’ve rearranged things~ Later, there will be a ‘private’ dinner prepared to celebrate your safe return, but for now, please feel free to relax in the palace.”
Even with outsiders present, the queen donned a standard “idol smile” as a disguise, but from her unwavering gaze fixed on me, I still sensed: the queen was genuinely super happy today.
“By the way~ I dressed like this to spend the day with you. Do you like it~☆~”
As she spoke, the queen twirled gracefully in front of me, her light skirt dancing along, and beneath the hem, there were “stars dotting a piece of night sky.” Thankfully, after a night had passed, the “pressure” I had been accumulating inexplicably vanished, leaving me feeling much more at ease; otherwise, I would have absolutely succumbed to the queen’s blatant allure of her sheer stockings.
In the next moment, Kfeir beside me lifted her boot and stomped down on my foot, finally snapping me back to reality, and I barely managed to suppress the words that almost slipped out: I like it! Stockings are so civilized! Instead, I forced out, “They suit you very well.”
After dealing with the queen’s careful demeanor, I quickly noticed a familiar small figure behind her.
It was the midget fairy, Rose, whom the queen had insisted on “borrowing” from me yesterday. After a day had passed, seeing Rose again, this little midget had not been subjected to any undue treatment by the queen; rather, it was quite the opposite: at this moment, she was dressed in a beautiful red dress, meticulously adorned from head to toe by the queen’s servants, transformed into a lovely princess.
Unfortunately, this cuteness seemed to be the last thing Rose wanted; she stood trembling behind the queen. At the same moment she saw me, she let out a wail of “Wahhh!” and leaped into my arms.
“Ah~ About this adorable little fairy Rose you brought back, I had a very friendly chat with her last night~ Now we are very harmonious and friendly friends, aren’t we~?”
The queen blinked and looked at Rose, “Little Rose, we are friends, right~?”
“Wah…”
I didn’t even need to look at the script; from Rose’s response, I could almost guess what she had encountered with the queen last night.
“Alas… Louise, don’t scare her like that.”
“Not at all~★” The queen winked at me, “It’s just that little Rose was shouting before about wanting to be the ‘boss’ among the fairies. Alas~ We are all friends; how can there be any hierarchy? Fairies are equal too, don’t you think, little Rose~?”
This time, Rose simply returned to her fairy form, transforming into a red mist that vanished from my arms, not even daring to respond. At the same time, the script appeared.
[Queen Louise IV dispelled Rose’s idea of being the ‘boss.’]
Rose, now you finally know who the real boss is, right?
As for how Queen Louise IV dispelled that notion, I thought about it but lacked the courage to investigate further.
After Rose returned to me, the queen, who had no intention of wasting time on her, quickly shifted her attention back to me. Her gaze swept over Kfeir and Nilu before she clapped her hands together with a smile.
“Miss Kfeir and Miss Nilu are here too, hmm~ This works out ‘just right,’ doesn’t it? Miss Nilu, I wonder if you remember that the next ‘Summit of Nations’ is coming up soon. Because everyone seems to be quite busy lately, we haven’t finalized a venue, so I took the liberty of inviting everyone to continue to my Great Ying Empire. You’re the only one I haven’t notified yet; what do you think?”
Nilu glanced at me first, then nodded, “No problem, I represent the ‘King’ in thanking you for taking on this somewhat troublesome responsibility.”
As for our identities, didn’t everyone here already know? However, it seemed both the queen and Nilu cared a lot about this “formality,” so I didn’t bother to stop it.
“Well then~ Please prepare quickly~ The invitation will be sent to the Rodmar Empire soon~”
I certainly can’t truly represent the Rodmar Empire as a “king”; that would be chaotic. Anyway, it would be Nilu who would “fill in” for me when the time comes. However, just as I was thinking this, the matter I had been doubting since morning happened once again!
That is, the relationship between Nilu and Kefir!
“Miss, the Queen of the Great Yeng Empire has said that for a while, I will temporarily step away from Mr. Oujilide’s side to avoid suspicion. I will return as the representative of the Rodmar Empire when the summit begins. During this time, I ask you to take on my responsibilities.”
“Mm.”
Here it comes again! That inexplicable yet unsettling “tacit understanding” between Nilu and Kefir! But even if I had my doubts, I had no idea “how to doubt.” I could only watch as Kefir and Nilu nodded mechanically after indicating they wanted to talk privately for a while, sending the two women off.
What truly alerted me was Queen Louise!
After Kefir and Nilu left, she leaned closer to me, staring curiously in the direction they had gone.
“Huh? My dear cousin and Miss Nilu, what’s going on?”
“Uh? Louise, you can sense it too!?”
“Mm~ That’s right, because we’re all girls, after all~” The queen winked.
But just as I was about to seek an answer from this queen, who was far smarter than I, the smile on the girl beside me gradually took on a teasing edge.
“It’s almost as if it’s become… heehee~”
“Your Majesty!?”
What do you mean by suddenly looking at me with that mischievous smile!?
“I don’t know anything~”
You’re definitely pretending to be clueless! Your act won’t work on me!
Yet, I had no way out; I could only let the queen take my hand.
“Alright, alright~ A mature man wouldn’t pry into a woman’s secrets. More importantly, after such a long time apart, your time now belongs to me~ I’ll take you to get ready, so you won’t look disheveled tonight~”
I shivered a little because the queen’s next mutter sounded even more alarming.
“Mm~ With that kind of thing already in place~ It seems I might really have a chance☆”
——
The pillow is almost ready, the new character is being prepared, over～
Everyone remember to cast more monthly tickets, thank you, Eggplant.