“Your majesty, I have not seen you when I visited these days. You finally have time now.”
I looked at the envoy from Socina City blocking my door and scratched my head very awkwardly. I frankly really don’t want to see him right now even though I quite liked him initially. It’s just that the things I’ve been doing recently have basically been stamping on his owner’s foot so I felt a little guilty.
Freya looked at him with an impartial smile and explained: “Did I not tell you? His majesty took a few days break due to just getting married. It would not be fair on his majesty or the princess for him to immediately return to work upon getting married. Also, it is not polite to be blocking the door to his majesty’s office. His highness is not slacking. If you have business with him, just make an appointment with his majesty. There is no need for you to behave like this. It is like you have to block the door to see his majesty when he is not involving himself with politics. What would her majesty and her highness think if they suddenly came here and saw this scene? You behaviour has disappointed me greatly.”
“I apologise. I am very sorry. I am very sorry, your majesty. I failed to think this through. I hope I have not caused you trouble.”
He made a deep bow then urgently raised his head and asked: “But should we continue with our discussion where we left off half-way through? Have you received any other requests to meet with you from other envoys?”
Freya looked at the envoy and asked him with a smile before I could speak: “Ara, you sure catch news quickly. Your guess is correct. His majesty is going to see that envoy now. How strange. Why has Socina City sent two envoys here at once? Could it be that Socina City requires two jobs from his majesty?”
We all know what’s going on here. Freya was just pretending to be ignorant since she purposely met the two of them privately at different times, and arranged for them to stay far away from each other.
They shouldn’t have run into each other. But they must have. That would explain why he came here to see me urgently.
The envoy waved his hand to deny it. He looked at me anxiously and replied: “No… it should be for the same thing, just a different client. Your majesty, could you have agreed to their request?”
Freya cut him off irritably: “Did I not just say we were going to see him now? I do not believe that you have the right to know what his majesty or they are discussing. I would appreciate it if you do not try to dig further than you need to know. This is the royal family’s business. As an envoy, you need only pass on the message of your master. If you cross that boundary, Socina City will be held responsible for any consequences.”
“You must listen to me!”
It didn’t look like the envoy cared for Freya’s warning. Or rather, he understood her warning but just wasn’t afraid. He looked at me with a fearless gaze like those who led the revolution back then and sternly exclaimed: “I hope you will reject them regardless of what they offer. Whatever they can offer, we can too. We can take a step back on our conditions as long as you reject them, your majesty!”
Freya looked at his panicked expression with a devil’s smile and said: “Is that so? Now that you say that, we have become interested. You need not concern yourself with our business. His majesty does not know anything about Socina City and naturally holds neutral feelings toward Socina City. Since they want to discuss business with us as well, we will need to compare the offers we have received. You do not need to be so naive. You should be aware that Socina City and Troy City are in no way connected, so we cannot mention friendships. Your lord has yet to come and pay his majesty a visit, so we cannot say that we have a good impression. As such, we will make our judgement solely based on the benefits you offer us.”
“Your majesty!! Let us discuss it again then, alright? Let us discuss the details of our business!”
“Sorry, but not right now. We need to go to the guest room and see the envoy. We will need you to make an appointment with his majesty to go over the details. His majesty is not slacking. His majesty needs to sort out a pile of documents in the upcoming days and is therefore very busy. You did come here unreasonably and against regulations. You have also shown a complete lack of manners blocking the door like this. So please return for today. We shall speak another day.”
Freya tugged my sleeve to tell me to quickly leave. I nodded and then we quickly stepped to the side to leave.
“Your majesty!! Your majesty! Please wait! When is the earliest we can speak?!”
Freya turned her head around, considered his question and then replied: “About a month from now?”
The envoy froze up in place and looked at me blankly without knowing what to do: “A… a month?”
“Yes. Have you forgotten that his majesty has two princesses? He needs to go to the elven lands to spend time with his other princess next so I will be in charge of all matters within the city for the coming period.” Freya looked at him with a smile and then elaborated: “If you need to see his majesty, please wait around a month. If you feel that your business is urgent, you can discuss it with me when I am available. I will consider it seriously. I am his majesty’s younger sister and onii-sama has given me the right to handle this matter.”
Freya narrowed her eyes a little while still looking at him with an odd smile. She followed up by asking: “So what would you like to do?”
That was a savage question from Freya. The envoy couldn’t answer. Like, how would you answer? Wait a month? In that case, he wouldn’t have the right to see Freya while she is here during this period since she wouldn’t see him. If he chooses to discuss it with me then that means Freya won’t cross her boundaries and speak on my behalf. If he chooses to discuss it with Freya then that means he has chosen to speak to someone else right in front of my face. Even if Freya had the right to speak on my behalf, there are my feelings to consider. If I get upset about it then it will impact what he wants to discuss.
Freya didn’t want to wrestle with him anymore so she created a dilemma where he couldn’t even make an appointment to discuss the matter.
“That… that… umm… I……”
The envoy couldn’t answer as expected. The corner of Freya’s mouth crept up into a victorious smile. She then said: “That is precisely why you need to follow the rules. If you had made an appointment, you would have been the one in the guest room. Your impulse led to you losing the chance to discuss it. Let us go, your majesty, it is time. Let’s not make our guest wait for too long…… Oh right, if you cannot make up your mind right now, please return and think about it carefully, and then choose a time to see us. Goodbye.”
Freya tugged my sleeve harder this time, leaving behind the envoy and his hopeless and dejected look. The two of us hurried to the door of the guest room. Freya then patted her chest and said: “That person just now was so clingy. However, that proves that the fighting in Socina City is serious.”
“What do you think then, Freya?”
“What do I think?” Freya paused for a moment and then continued, “You must give yourself an alternative route at all times. Do not place all your eggs in one basket. We shall drag this out, not agreeing or disappointing him. As soon as you get your hands on what you want over there, the deal can continue.”
I pointed into the guest room and asked: “That what about our guest in here?”
“The same goes of course. You cannot put all your eggs in one basket, but no one said you only had two baskets.”
Freya smiled and then pushed the door to the guest room open.
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