âUh I see... thatâs good,â Christa muttered with a bitter smile upon learning that one of the commanders of the Supranational Knights had come to serve Navier. He was even saying that she was his savior.
Being the Queen of the Western Kingdom, she also thought that this was a good thing for her country. However, she was definitely bitter that she wasnât that person.
After thinking for a while, Christa went to the flower garden she tended herself and ordered her ladies-in-waiting,
âMake a flower basket with those flowers and give it to Navier.â
âOh my. Do you want to send her a gift first?â The ladies-in-waiting asked angrily.
As Christaâs potential enemy, Christaâs ladies-in-waiting disliked Navier from the beginning. And after Navierâs subordinate blatantly insulted one of them, they truly detested Navier and her ladies-in-waiting.
They could not believe that she wanted to send a gift to Navier.
âWhy are you doing this, Queen?â
âWhether I like it or not, that doesnât matter.â
âYour Majesty...â
âAs long as Navier doesnât do anything wrong, as a former queen, I must show friendliness to the current queen,â Christa sighed and added, âBesides, one of the commanders of the Supranational Knights came here to be on her side. Whatâs the point of fighting?â
Eventually, one of the ladies-in-waiting reluctantly began to pick Christaâs precious flowers and placed them in a basket.
While she was making the flower basket, the other ladies-in-waiting continued to talk to Christa about Navier.
âQueen, it is useless for you to try to get along with her.â
âThatâs right.â another one added, âThat person already considers the queen an enemy.â
âDidnât you hear that she contacted Miss Mullaney?â
Christa frowned as she helplessly fiddled with the ribbon on the flower basket.
âMiss Mullaney?â
The twelfth candidate for Heinleyâs Queen.
It was that young lady who told Christa to her face that she should leave the royal palace because she was no longer queen.
As for Christa, she most certainly didnât like that person.
But did Navier call her?
âNavier is trying to get Lady Mullaney on her side.â
Christa sighed again, muttering with a stiff expression, âNavier sees me as a total enemy...â
âThatâs right. Otherwise, she would have remained quiet until the wedding, taking advantage of her smarts for the countryâs sake.â
âIf she has called Miss Mullaney, it means she wants to get rid of Christa.â
âYou must do something, Queen.â
The ladies-in-waiting urged Christa restlessly.
Christa was not the only one to lose power since Navierâs arrival. The queenâs ladies-in-waiting also experienced the same.
If Heinley had married a young lady from the Western Kingdom, they would be in a better position than they are now, for no young lady could surpass their influence in high society.
Besides, King Heinley was a playboy. A playboy who could have dozens of concubines in the future.
The Queen in a marriage of convenience would be lonely and marginalized. Without the kingâs heart or power in high society, becoming a queen in name only.
At that moment, the ladies-in-waiting snorted in exasperation, âYou have to do something about this, Christa.â
âEven if itâs not possible to get rid of her, you should at least subdue her.â
âYou must not allow that woman to take away your position in high society.â
Christa smiled sadly with a pale face and replied, âWhat should I do? If our relationship is bad publicly, other countries and people will laugh at us. His Majesty wonât like it if Iâm hostile towards her in private. Besides, I donât even have power right now...â
***
While Nian was conversing with my ladies-in-waiting. Viscount Langdel himself unexpectedly came to see me.
âQueen Navier.â
Viscount Langdelâs eyes twitched as he looked at me, then he awkwardly bowed on one knee to greet me.
âI did not expect to see you here,â I said to him.
He hesitated as if he didnât know what to say.
I was going to rise from my seat to help him to his feet, but Viscount Langdel shook his head and said,
âI have come to repay your kindness.â
I didnât do what I did in the hope that he would repay me, but instead of refusing, I accepted the offer, âThank you.â
Although I wasnât sure what Viscount Langdel could do to help me, I was already grateful to have people close to me in a foreign country like this.
âI am very happy that you and Lady Nian are here. That is enough for me.â
However, Viscount Langdelâs ârepayment of kindnessâ exceeded my expectations by far.
âI have led my knights here. Please allow us to be your personal knights,â he proposed.
Viscount Langdel came with his knights?
That surprised me.
Viscount Langdel was a noble without territory. While he had a mansion in the capital, no noble without territory could raise a private army with just a mansion.
But Viscount Langdel had his own knights...
I learned what this meant from an attendant sent by Heinley after Viscount Langdel and Nian left.
The knights led by Viscount Langdel were not ordinary personal knights, but Supranational Knights.
âSupranational Knights!â Mastas yelled.
She jumped for joy as soon as she heard that.
âIâve always wanted to compete against them! Thatâs great!â
âMiss Mastas, that would be being rude to the Queen,â one of my ladies-in-waiting chided.
She brushed it off, âI donât think it would be rude, I can secretly request an unofficial duel.â
Mastas laughed heartily. The other ladies-in-waiting were trying to calm her down while she wondered how many days she would need to take them on one at a time every other day.
Sitting on the couch, I murmured, overflowing with joy, âI received much more than I gave.â
Rose also asked with a look of excitement, âBut Your Majesty, Lady Nian, wonât you come as her lady-in-waiting? Like Countess Jubel and Laura?â
I replied with a laugh, âNian couldnât work as a lady-in-waiting.â
Nian liked to socialize. She was a woman who attracted the attention of high society and that made her feel full of life.
Becoming my lady-in-waiting would inevitably limit the number of people she could meet.
As honorable as this position was, it was not suitable for her.
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Laura and Countess Jubel, who knew Nian well, burst out laughing.
However, while we were laughing and chatting, another visitor came.
Having met friends from the Eastern Empire one after another, I wished to see if this person was also from the Eastern Empire, so I hastened to say, âLet him in.â
The visitor was indeed from the Eastern Empire. However, he was not a friend.
I knew his face, but...
âNavier, I have come to give you regards by order of His Majesty the Emperor.â
As soon as the visitor spoke, Laura and Countess Jubelâs face froze.
He smiled bitterly as if he had anticipated this atmosphere.
Then he twisted his lips as if he had something to say to me.
Seeing this, I asked my ladies-in-waiting to retreat and asked, âWhat have you really come for?â
My assumption that he had come for another purpose was correct.
The visitor quickly pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me.
It was a letter.