Chapter 120: (Self Edited) Audience with the Queen

In the middle of the night, long enough before the date changed, the door was knocked.“Come on in.” (Yuri)

“Please excuse me.” (??)

It was a woman of a mature age who came in saying that. She didn’t wear the clothes that a maid wore. She wore plain clothes instead.

Contrary to the expression that she was a mature woman, she had nothing like sex appeal, and her thin body with a small amount of flesh with a face with tight eyes.

Her body was thin, but she seemed to be well trained. She had a high potential for her behavior, unlike other secretaries and maids.

“I came to guide you by the order of Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Prince Consort.” (??)

She politely bowed her head.

“I thought it was about time.” (Yuri)

‘The person may be similar to the Queen Sword of Shaalta.’

‘I couldn’t take a bath in the last few hours since I expected that the bath wasn’t prepared under this situation. However, I was able to cleanse my body with a cloth moistened with hot water and had meals. If she came here a bit late, my drowsy mind might have assaulted me.’

“I have prepared a wheelchair. Please get on.” (??)

Another similar woman appeared from behind, who was carrying a wheelchair. It seemed to have just lubricated as the wheel turned smoothly. It entered the room with a smooth sound.

‘Well, it doesn’t look like that I’ll be using crutches where these people walk.’

The mature women also went down to the hallway at once and they carried a wheelchair that seemed to be in the hallway.

‘The wheelchair was much more elegant than the one I used when I came here, but the shape isn’t refined. Really, it’s just a chair with wheels on it.’

‘Since it is ‘a chair that can be pushed by others’, the rear wheels aren’t made large, so it’s not possible for a sitting person to move on his own. Well, it can’t be helped.’

I stood up in a chair to sit in the wheelchair.

“Please take care of me.” (Yuri)

—

The place where I was taken while sitting in a wheelchair was the room where I had dinner when I was first invited to Reform a few months ago. When the woman knocked, a voice saying ‘Come on in’ was heard.

The mature woman opened the door.

“Please excuse me. I brought these two people.” (??)

When she said that, she went around behind the chair and pushed it into the room. Currently, two people were sitting at the table in the room.

They were Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Prince Consort. Unlike that time, there was no Her Highness Telor.

“I’ve come to visit. Please excuse me for sitting.” (Yuri)

I only had the upper body in the shape of the highest salute, and I bowed my head.

“It has been a long time. Your Majesty.” (Carol)

Carol gave a simplified bow.

‘Since they are royalties, it’s not considered rude. More importantly, have she met the three of them? It’s not strange, but this is my first time knowing it.’

“Come on in.” (Jacoba)

When Her Majesty pointed the opposite direction that had no chair, the mature woman pushed our chairs and put us two on the table.

‘Even so, Her Majesty looks somehow tired. How should I say it… if I say it in regards to vigor, it would be weird, but yes, I couldn’t feel it at all. Is it because the crown that she is wearing is about to come off? Or is it that she no longer respects the authority of a dying country, and that I no longer feel the vigor I felt before, as if the afterglow had disappeared?’

‘Which is the cause? Is it both?’

“First of all, I want to rejoice in your safety. After all, you came back alive.” (Jacoba)

The queen said.

“Thank you for your kindness.” (Yuri)

I replied.

“Thank you very much.” (Carol)

Carol followed suit.

‘It’s better not to say something like ‘This is thanks to your country’s assistance’.’

“It was a good news for us after a long time. These days, we hear only bad news.” (Jacoba)

‘That’s probably it.’

“It’s a pity that the Shaalta General households had withdrawn quickly. As expected, it seems that their nature is different from the Hou Household, which has always been familiar with warfare.” (Jacoba)

‘Is she praising my parents’ household while criticizing Shaalta’s reinforcements? If she is praising after criticizing Shaalta, it will be more of a feeling of being obliged. In a situation where Carol is present, it is a statement of attacking.’

“Indeed. If it’s my Hou Household, it wouldn’t be this kind of awkward situation. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.” (Yuri)

‘Of course, the Hou Household was unable to send out an army as a result of their improbable dedication to Kilghina. They can’t blame us for not sending the army.’

‘There is a risk that I will be considered as a stupid brat, but it doesn’t hurt me when the dying humans thing so. At any rate, this is a boring exchange. Why should I have a conversation while thinking about this?’’

“Hmm… Sorry about that.” (Jacoba)

The queen’s eyes narrowed to see the moment. It was probably her habit. It was a human-specific gesture that had been standing on top of people since they were born.

“Indeed. I did my best at least, but it didn’t seem to lead to victory.” (Yuri)

“That’s true. We’ve been looking for you many times.” (Jacoba)

‘Sure. At any rate, I feel like having tea. Carol’s mother, Her Majesty Simone, would recommend tea first and start the conversation by saying ‘You’re having it hard’. At first, I thought it was a custom that I didn’t understand well, but that made me feel relaxed. When I think about it now, it’s a good custom.’

“It’s hard to imagine that we had special circumstances and we were walking in the forest.” (Yuri)

“Hmm… I would like you to give me one of the gratitude.” (Jacoba)

‘Are you coming directly? It’s not what I want, but if it comes like this, it can’t be helped if it’s a quarrel farewell.’

“I think that is a give-and-take. If I hadn’t defeated the dragon, it might have threatened this castle by this time. Also, if I didn’t set their provision on fire and threaten their rear, the siege might have started by now.” (Yuri)

“To exaggerate your achievements is…” (Jacoba)

“Your Majesty the Queen.” (Carol)

Carol interrupted her words. When I turned to the side, and looked at her eyes, her eyebrows were slightly closer to each other, and her eyes looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Please excuse me for asking, are you planning to escape after Reform has fallen?” (Carol)

‘What is she saying? What kind of question is that? Is she saying that they should die without escaping when Reform is fallen?’

“…No, whether we live or die, we will not escape ahead of our people.” (Jacoba)

Her Majesty the Queen said. The prince escort on the side was silent, but when I looked at him, judging whether he would disagree, it seemed that he had the same opinion.

‘I’m not sure what would happen to Her Majesty the Queen, but the prince consort… he is probably going to die.’

“I don’t know.” (Yuri)

“Hmm, what is it?” (Jacoba)

“There is a sense of wasting time on the verge of death in this kind of political play. If that’s the intention, I don’t have anything to say, but…” (Yuri)

‘It’s fine to be direct.’

“He is a man who never decides not to do it, no matter who accuses him of shame. I don’t think it makes sense for him to win this argument.” (Jacoba)

‘If you say so, I will say what I have to until then. At the same time, Carol closed her mouth. It doesn’t seem she wants to give a fervent exchange. Well, she knows what she wants to say. It’s probably meaningless.’

‘In fact, it’s meaningless. No matter how terrible the mood in the room turned around, I won’t yield and accept their demand. Since I am not a politician who started the debate in the street speech, there will be no problem.’

‘In that case, it would be correct to be direct, so that no one would be offended and bothered from the beginning. But the difficult part of politics is that this isn’t the right situation.’

“…Hmm. I’m sorry, it’s become a habit of using this scheme when you get older.” (Jacoba)

‘Is that so? Speaking of which, is it because Carol’s remarks earlier? If it is, wouldn’t the conversation up until now meaningless?’

“I’m just going to say this directly. I have something to ask you both.” (Jacoba)

‘There you go. As I expected, they want something. Well, if they don’t, she wouldn’t have to talk like that.’

“May I?” (Yuri)

I blocked Her Majesty’s words.

“What is it?” (Jacoba)

“I don’t care what your request is, but my aim is to return the young people of my unit to their hometown safely. I can accept if the request is not interfering with my aim. Therefore, the scope of favor is very narrow. Please understand that.” (Yuri)

“I am aware.” (Jacoba)

‘Are you sure?’

“I will speak from this point.” (Prince Consort)

The prince consort opened his mouth for the first time.

‘What? Is he going to explain it?’

—

“I want you to help my daughter escape.” (Prince Consort)

‘…Eh, that girl? Hasn’t she escaped already? Well, it doesn’t matter.’

“I have a question.” (Yuri)

“Go ahead.” (Prince Consort)

“Did you not let her escape in order to prevent morale loss? In other words, rather than Kilghina, it needs to be kept secret from the soldiers and citizens who defend Reform. Correct?” (Yuri)

“You’re good at guessing. You’re right.” (Prince Consort)

‘Hmm. It is something that isn’t needed to be concerned with, but is that also the case?’

‘Information spreads, so if you leave the escort to the Kilghina’s army, leakage is unavoidable. I think they should let the Queen’s Sword protect her.’

‘No, do they even have available Queen’s Swords? Or is it not possible to rely on them because they have so many other jobs to do?’

‘The latter possibility seems high. Considering the situation, it’s possible that the number of people has been exhausted because they put them on dangerous missions.’

“If that’s the case, I accept. However, the safety level provided is about the same as the unit members. We can’t guarantee the treatment of protecting the majority of the unit members even if she isn’t there.” (Yuri)

“I think it’s about the same. If the chasers come close, your unit will fight them. The risk should be higher for the members. Unless you’re going to make my daughter fight or be a decoy.” (Prince Consort)

‘That’s true. However, I have no intention of doing such an outrage.’

“Indeed. I don’t plan on doing that.” (Yuri)

“You don’t want to handle more than what you can eat. So, this may be more convenient for you.” (Prince Consort)

It would be convenient since we wouldn’t stand out unnecessarily.

“The rest is, I would like you to keep her luggage in one bag when we leave, and please make sure that people won’t know that she is the Princess. To put it simply, I’m not saying that you have to make her look like a beggar, but it would be fine if she is wearing medium-sized clothes that cover her blonde hair… No, you have to do it that way.” (Yuri)

‘I don’t care about the appearance. It is the other side, not us, who is in trouble when they know that the royal family has escaped. That’s what the other side should care about.’

“That’s fine. I’m going to make her wear plain clothes that are easy to move, and I’m going to dye her hair black.” (Prince Consort) Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

‘What, really?’

“Then, I will accept.” (Yuri)

“I see. I’m grateful.” (Prince Consort)

“…Is that the only thing you want to ask? If that’s the case, I would have accepted your request without arguing like earlier.” (Yuri)

“To be honest, that’s not the only thing.” (Prince Consort)

‘Is it not? What, don’t give me bad feelings.’

“Tomorrow, the last 1000 civilians and 300 soldiers would leave Reform. I want you to take care of them as well.” (Prince Consort)