Book 17: Chapter 20


    When I returned to my room in the outer court, Nier rushed over to wee me. She anxiously asked, Your Majesty, what exactly happened? Your Majesty, why are there Valkyries searching the outer court and questioning people here? Is there a culprit in the outer court? Also, also, a Valkyrie came to see me What exactly happened with Her Majesty? Its been a long time since she had a Valkyrie kill themselves. What exactly happened?


    Well, simply put, there was an incident in the Royal Pce. The high-ranking finance official was assassinated in the rear flower garden, which was why Mom was a little tense, but thats all. The culprit has been captured; therefore, theres no need to worry. Things will soon return to normal. Were the Valkyries rude while they were in the outer court?


    Nier shook her head: No, they werent.


    Uhm. I headed upstairs.


    Because Mom went crazy, the Valkyries from just before went crazy, as well. However, the Valkyries appeared to maintain their rationality in Niers presence. At least, they wouldnt be rude to the people taking care of my outer court with Nier around.


    The Valkyrie I sent to the outer court came down the stairs. She was frightened upon seeing me. Nevertheless, she bowed to me: Thank you very much, Your Majesty I


    Its fine. The matter has been resolved; the culprit has been captured, so you can head back now.


    The Valkyrie was bound to be safe with Nier at the outer court. Nier wouldnt let a Valkyrie kill herself. Plus, she could take shelter from Mommy Elizabeth for the meantime.


    I couldnt deny that I stepped out of line with regards to how I handled the matter. I was a mere Prince, and I clearly indicated that I wasnt seeding the throne at Hilles City. Mommy Elizabeth called the shots. I couldnt do anything that would be detrimental to her throne, yet sheltered one of her Valkyries. In other words, I interfered with her reward and punishment system. That said, I didnt care all that much anymore since I couldnt allow Mom to do something undesirable while I was present.


    Ever since doing <em>that</em> with Mom, I felt that we didnt care about it so much. Mom stopped concerning herself so much with the outer court. That was the reason I dared to shelter some of the people in the pce. I was sure Mom wouldnt barge straight into the outer court even if she wanted to kill the Valkyrie. Not to mention that the one and only sessor, Daisy, was also there.


    Nier followed behind me. Quietly, she asked, So, what will be of the culprit? Her Majesty will definitely kill a lot of people this time, wont she?


    I shook my head: Initially, that was the case. Luckily, I managed to calm Mom down. The official wasnt killed over a personal vendetta or for money but as a result of the conflict between the churches. It doesnt have much to do with the royal family. Its just that he died on the Royal Pce grounds. The two churches dont have an amicable rtionship. If we allow this to escte into a big fight, it will be bloody. Thats why its best to think about how to keep the damages and losses to the bare minimum and have the two churches rein in their followers.


    Nier nodded. I turned around to face her and, in a soft voice, added, You should stay inside during these days, Nier. The outside is rather tumultuous at the moment. Theres always bound to be overzealous people with the churches. Daisy and you will be in danger. If they dare to kill in the Royal Pce, then theyll dare to kill you. You and Daisy should stay at the outer court and not leave unless absolutely necessary.


    Understood. Nier obediently nodded.


    I smiled and then rubbed Niers head. She came closer wrapped her arm around mine: What about you, then, Your Majesty? Will you stay at the outer court to keep uspany? Youre not letting me leave, but what about you?


    Me? I have to sort this out It happened in Moms Royal Pce, therefore has nothing to do with me. That being said, the new churchs headquarter is located at Troy City. Troy City isnt an ordinary city. Its my city, and its the ce where our three nations connect with each other. If conflict breaks out there, the alliance will crumble. I went to great lengths to form the alliance, so I cant let them destroy it.


    Nier looked at me with mixed emotions then softly sighed: Though you now have dragon scales and magic, youll still be in danger. You never let me feel reassured That said, youre right. I really want to stay with you to protect, but but theres Daisy to consider, too


    I grabbed hold of Niers hand: Ill be fine. You dont need to worry about me. I might always be in danger, but I return to you every time, dont I? Furthermore, I have confidence here in humanitysnds. Their weapons cant hurt me, after all. Trust me, Nier. I wont be in any danger. Both of the churches want to be the state religion with the royal familys support; thus, they will never attack me. To add to that, I wont go to the centre of the fighting; Im just acting as the mediator for the two parties, aiming to suggest terms and conditions that both parties can ept.


    You must be careful.


    With Her Majesty by my side, Ill definitely be very safe.


    I nodded, and Nier reciprocated it.


    So, what do you want to do next, Your Majesty? Do you want to have lunch at the outer court? If you need, I shall immediately go and prepare. Is there anything specific that you want to eat?


    Ah, no. I want to make a trip to the inner court. I need to see the pope and Mom. The issue cant be dyed. Anger will erupt if this drags on. Im sorry, Nier. Take good care of Daisy. Ill be back for dinner.


    All right.


    Nier was understandably disappointed. Still, she allowed me to leave for work. I gave her a kiss. I wanted to see Daisy, but I would probably end up dying things for a long time if I did. Hence, I quickly left.


    Mom was surely speaking to the pope. The pope was bound to be emotional when he found out that the culprit was caught. That wasnt a ticket for the old church to judge him for the reason that, from the royal familys perspective, he had to die. So ordingly, we had to discuss a time to judge him together. And one more thing, which was that we had to discuss the matter with the new church. We had to confirm the bishop of the new church wasnt involved. Additionally, we had to calm down the churches so that they could discuss terms and conditions.


    We had to take those steps, as we couldnt allow Hilles City to be plunged into chaos. It was Hilles City, the Phoenixs Nest, Moms city that we were talking about.