Queen and Veirya
I went downstairs. They had just begun preparing breakfast at the inn. The scent of wood could still be smelt from the stove. I noticed Achilles, who was also dressed in formal attire, was already sitting in his chair drinking a black drink. I was equally as surprised to see him as he was surprised to see Veirya. He cautiously asked, “Lord Veirya? Umm, umm… when did you arrive?”
“Last night.”
After calmly replying, Veirya sat down. Achilles reached his hand out to greet her. He handed us a pot of milk, bread and jam. Veirya silently looked at the stuff on the table and began to dig in. That was Veirya for you, always ensuring she was full first and foremost. I doubted Angelina starved Veirya in the past.
I picked up a peculiar smelling cup of milk and had a drink: “You’re here early today. Do we need to see Her Majesty that early?”
Achilles answered: “No, we do not need to see her so early, but she has a lot of work today. The only time she can see you today is in the morning. After all, you know Her Majesty plans to strike now.”
I responded with a small nod.
If Her Majesty planned to strike, then she’d be seeing the military personnel during the day. I needed to come up with something to convince her to grant me one more day’s tie. While thrashing the chapel had nothing to do with me, I needed to ensure the chapel could maintain some of their strength. I hoped I could investigate the chapel, too. Queen Sisi would only reward me if I could provide her with incriminating evidence against the chapel. Otherwise, I never did anything for her. Once she was disappointed, my chances of migrating to the imperial city would diminish.
Achilles suddenly questioned, “Do you truly think that the chapel didn’t purchase weapons?”
I placed my cup down and touched my chin: “I, myself, am not sure. Up until now, there’s no proof, so we only have baseless claims. I can’t just smash the statues to see if there’s anything inside. Veirya’s here with me now, but I still can’t do that. The goods belong to the dwarves, after all.”
“Mm…” Achilles nodded but didn’t comment.
Veirya continued to eat in silence. I don’t need to have any qualms as long as Veirya could assure I was safe. Veirya didn’t care about anything. After all, none of it had anything to do with her.
“In any case, we need evidence. I’ll have someone keep surveillance on the warehouse and leave the rest to you. That said, I hope you can provide Queen Sisi with what she wants to hear this time. What did you find out yesterday?”
“Unfortunately, nothing. I just went to take a look at the chapel. Now I’m not even certain if the chapel purchased weapons.”
Achilles and I stood up. Veirya placed her bread down and followed suit. Achilles frowned: “Lord Veirya, do you not need a formal robe?”
Veirya shook her head and tugged her clothes: “No. This. Is good. I always. Saw Her Majesty. Dressed this way.”
“I see. Let us be on our way, then.”
Achilles didn’t comment again. Indeed, Veirya definitely saw Her Majesty dressed in that fashion, since she didn’t have any other clothes, anyway. Moreover, Queen Sisi was supposed to be very fond of Veirya. She did hug Veirya tightly when Veirya was covered in filth last time. That might’ve been an exceptional case of Queen Sisi just being happy Veirya carried the Demon King’s head in her hand, however.
The three of us headed toward the imperial palace. The sun was up, and people gradually filled the streets. The closer and closer we were to the centre of the city, the more people there were. There were lots of people heading to the chapel. I was positive Queen Sisi believed the people should’ve worshipped her, instead. Everyone wore smiles. The people had no idea the imperial capital might be engulfed in a bloody war tomorrow or the day after.
Guards were shocked when they saw Veirya with us approaching the imperial palace. They let us through without asking any questions. In other words, Queen Sisi had notified them beforehand. One of the leaders of the guards then led us to the palace where she resided. This visit, however, she wasn’t waiting for us at the balcony.
When we entered the palace, we ran into the young chief by chance. He had his purple cape on. A few men followed behind him. They were whispering amongst each other. As I thought, Her Majesty had entered discussions with the military. The chapel probably didn’t know about it yet but should’ve been tuning in to an extent.
The chief shuddered when he looked up and saw Veirya. He excitedly exclaimed, “Lord Veirya! Lord Veirya! I never thought that I would see you here! It truly is an honour to see you hear. Umm, umm, please allow me to apologise for what happened last time… umm… umm… Are you still short on food? If there is a need, we can send some to your abode anytime!”
Veirya shook her head: “No need. You, too, have worked hard.”
“No, no, no!! Not at all, not at all. Whatever it is you need, just say the word, and I shall do my utmost to help you!” The chief sounded as if he was touched enough to cry.
I called bullshit in my mind several times but didn’t show my disdain for him on my face… Achilles tugged my arm to signal for us to hurry inside. I said, “It is an honour to have met you all here. I would love to let you chat with Lord Veirya, but Her Majesty awaits us. Therefore, I apologise.”
“Waiting for you?” asked the chief, eyes on Achilles, apparently feeling perplexed. He pinched his eyebrows together: “This should have nothing to do with you businessmen. What can you do here?”
Achilles calmly replied, “We can do lots of things you can’t.”
The chief snorted with a mocking smile then turned around and left. Achilles watched him leave without a word then continued leading us further in.
Queen Sisi wasn’t in her bedroom; she was in the dining hall. When we entered, she had just put a rosy berry into her mouth with her fork. The sunlight shone through the window, onto the long table and her, thereby allowing her beautiful hair to shine lustrously. Queen Sisi glanced over to us. Suddenly, she stood up and ran over to us. While shouting “Veirya” over and over, she tightly hugged Veirya around her neck.
“Veirya, Veirya, my good friend, I missed you. Let me take a look at you. My adorable Veirya, I’m truly so happy to be able to see you this time. Sit, Veirya. Sit down and join me for breakfast. This is nice. This is nice. You have just lit up my day with your appearance. Little Doggy, did you take good care of Veirya?” asked Queen Sisi, as she smiled brightly and affectionately pinched Veirya’s face.
Veirya maintained her calm demeanour and tone: “Everything is well, Your Majesty.”
“Sit. Let’s have a nice chat. Little Doggy, put our business aside for a moment. I want to have a chat with my friend!”
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