BXBX NOVEL Chapter 365 365 – A Note
When he saw me walking toward him, he raised his brow and turned around.
"Your Holiness. The assassin?" He asked with a deep voice, fitting his bear-like stature. And his words weren't wasted. Or rather… He was a man of few words, huh? That was why he kept quiet all this time.
Stopping in front of him, I looked up slightly due to the difference in our size. I smiled at him and answered.
"I have taken care of him. The church will interrogate him first, and we will hand it over to the kingdom knights after that with the information we gained. But, from my <Appraisal> on him earlier, I found out he had a poison skill. So tell the servants to throw away all foods and ingredients bought today."
Garland nodded firmly, "Alright."
The conversation stopped right there, and he bowed slightly before turning around and leaving. His destination was the servant room, probably. Did that mean he trusted me with the Queen's safety?
'It's troublesome.' I sighed and walked to the door.
Dealing with a man of few words was troublesome. I wouldn't know what they were thinking about and needed to observe their body language instead. Rather than dealing with them, I'd rather deal with nobles who licked their superior's feet like Earl Pig Lawrence.
Pushing the door open, the three people in the room immediately turned to look at me. Queen Eve's expression morphed into a smile as soon as she saw me taking down the barrier. She pushed the chair back and stood up.
"Is it done, Your Holiness?"
"Yes." I nodded, walking toward them. First, I put all the meals inside my inventory and then used <Cure> on the three of them. "I will use my skill <Cure> just in case. The assassin seems to be experienced at poisoning someone."
Queen Eve nodded, "That was a close call. My <Danger Sense> can't detect poison. Thank you very much for saving us, Your Holiness." She bowed her head at me, making her dress fall and exposing her cleavage.
Both Princes also bowed their heads and thanked me.
"Please raise your head. I have done what I need to do." I answered them and waved my hand.
They raised their heads at once, and Queen Eve smiled at me again.
"Fufufu, you're so humble."
"Not at all." I shook my head. "Also, I shall interrogate the assassin in the church. Please don't worry, I will hand over him and the information I have to the kingdom knights without any lie. And…"
I paused for a while and took out a paper filled with notes. I found this in the assassin's body when I disarmed him and handed him to Beatrice.
Because the content was something that could push Queen Eve to take the throne quickly. I knew it was probably a trap that was purposely set to blame people, but it was in line with my plan, so I decided to show it to her.
"Please read this. I found this in the assassin's pocket." I handed the paper to Queen Eve, which she took carefully.
When she read the note, I smiled at the Princes to take their attention from their mother.
"The assassin has been punished. Train hard so you can protect yourself and your loved one next, alright?"
"Yes, I will!" Prince Thomas exclaimed loudly, pumping his fist. "I will train hard and get stronger."
"Me too." Prince Edison nodded, agreeing with his older brother.
"That's the spirit."
I was never one to train other people, so I only imitated those people I had seen in the past. Encouragement was the key, they said.
When they caught up with their motivations and got along with each other, I glanced at Queen Eve. Her expression turned serious as she was done reading the note and folded it, hiding it in her hand.
She looked at me again, her expression turned softer, and she smiled softly.
"Once again, please accept my gratitude. I, Eve Humilitas, will definitely repay this debt, Your Holiness. I swear on Goddess Teri's name."
"You're welcome, Queen Eve. I won't bother you any longer, and please excuse me. If you need help, just contact me. I will be there soon."
"Yes. Also… Please keep what's written in the previous note a secret."
I smiled at her, "The secret is safe with me. Now, please excuse me."
Then, I disappeared from the dining hall by teleporting to the Border City with the [Teleportation Gem] I hid under my hand.
Arriving at the edge of the city, I observed the underground that Neon Light lighted.
"Now, who's the most knowledgeable here?" I muttered and began to walk. "Lucy will do."
***
Back in the Royal Castle, the servants arrived and tidied the dining hall in a frenzy. Their faces were pale, afraid that the Queen would get mad at them due to their mistake of allowing an assassin to replace one of them.
The head butler, a man with an experienced face and gray hair named Prum, apologized profusely and asked to be punished.
Queen Eve refused and forgave all of them, gaining respect and loyalty. Then she ordered Grand Marshal Garland, who came with them, to assign a few trustworthy knights to protect the First and the Second Prince before returning to her tower.
The Queen Tower had a barrier that only she and a few selected individuals could enter.
The barrier, however, didn't work for people above Level 80, but no one had reached that level yet. It was put after the attack at the party at that time, and she only allowed Beatrice to pass the barrier because she had considered the Succubus her trustworthy friend after she heard Pope Juriel's word.
After returning, Queen Eve wanted to talk with that Succubus, but she was too tired. She changed into a black transparent gown herself, exposing her skin and the black underwear she wore underneath. She took her silver tiara off, put it on a soft cushion on the table, and lay on her bed.
At that moment, she glanced at the note that was crumpled in her hand. She threw it away to the floor and muttered.
"Threaten the old Royal Family or kill the Princes."
Those words were enough to know what happened. Old Royal Family. That sentence was directed to someone who cut ties with the Royal Family and lived outside. And only one person still lived outside who had cut ties with the Royal Family.
"Ertha…" She muttered, putting her hand on her forehead. A headache attacked her. Her vision began to blur due to pain.
It wasn't due to poison but simply because she had too much worry. And there was one sure way to stop this and find the real culprit.
"I need to ascend to the throne quickly and control those Nobles so they won't do as they please anymore."
Just like a Paladin and Pope, a Ruler of a Kingdom got a title. As for the Ruler of the Virtue Kingdom, they would get the title of [Ruler]. The effect was to grant a skill called <Ruler's Authority>, which could force those loyal to her to tell the truth.
No one could lie in front of the Ruler besides those people from the church who swore their loyalty to the Goddess.
The problem with this skill was to get people to swear their loyalty. But Queen Eve believed that the Nobles would do that, as this skill was kept a secret between the Royal Family and the closed ones, all of whom had already sworn loyalty to her.
That was why she believed Duke Applewell's swear of loyalty this morning. Being a Duke and a descendant of the Royal Family, he surely knew about the title and the skill. So his loyalty could be confirmed by that.
"I might trouble His Holiness again. Somehow, I began to rely on him too much. How embarrassing. But I will definitely repay his help even if he refuses. That, I swear on my name."
And so the Queen decided to rest for the day as she was already exhausted from all her work and facing a threat from the assassin all day. There were still other works that needed to be done tomorrow. The work of the Queen without a King never ended.