The Queen of Arafell had been enjoying the company of 20 male minstrels who had been specially trained in order to perform to her standards.
She had always been a fan of artistic dance, and because that art form didn't exist in the age she was presently in, she had gone ahead and created her own personal dance group so that she could be entertained whenever she felt the need.
Typically, these occasions were when she was idle, or when she was feeling nostalgic of the times during the age of the Empire when she had fought together with the man of her dreams.
When she had received the communication from the King of Lanthanor, she had immediately raised her palm, which froze all of those dancing in front of her.
The moment she heard the King's message which meant that he had discovered everything, she had felt shocked at first, as she didn't understand, at all, how he could have gotten to know about her real plan when she was doing everything so discreetly.
She had gone to great pains to make sure that neither he, nor the Big Four would be any the wiser, but it looked like she hadn't been careful enough.
Intending to find out exactly where and how the breach had occurred later, she had thought for a bit, and then smiled to herself as it really didn't matter.
She knew just how critical they were of the king right now in the High Council of the Big Four, and even though the Head seemed to be favoring him a lot, that would not be enough if the king went ahead and started to act aggressively in the Central Continent.
The tiniest of mishaps would be enough to set him back by a lot, and she knew that he must know that too.
First, she went ahead and calmed the little girl inside her mind who had begun to panic as soon as she heard the king's message. Unlike her, who had gone through multiple battles with many ups and downs, this little girl was not used to having a plan being fully revealed to the enemy.
As for why it didn't matter, it was because the Queen had planned it in the way she usually used to during the wars fought for the Empire: she made sure that it was just perfect enough that it would not matter even if it is revealed before it was supposed to be.
After that, she had given that response to the king, and she looked forward to what he would say.
As expected, the king seemed very, very angry.
After all, this had been a fair competition before, and he had gone ahead and worked so hard in order to create all of the schemes that she had to admit were pretty damn impressive. She had always known that the Emperor had had a knack for things like these, and although she had never been able to think in the same way and formulate plans which would bring a lot of welfare to her citizens, she knew how to recognize which were good, and how to appreciate them.
Hell, she was even prepared to begin to copy them, as soon as she was done with what she was doing right now.
If this was a test that they were taking together, then she was, practically, cheating by enticing the one monitoring the test to give her full marks.
Yet, she didn't care. She always believed that victory mattered, above all else, and regarding this, she and the Emperor had had long discussions where he would emphasize that things like the path in which victory was achieved mattered, too, while she would say that the path was irrelevant if one succeeded properly in what they had set out to achieve.
"YOU-!"
Hearing him scream that word out and then control himself, the Queen could almost visualize him seething, and this made her smile only broaden as she realized that he wasn't really the mature and perfect version of the Emperor that she had thought he might be.
That was actually better, because that man had rejected her without any hesitation, whereas in this case, there might still be some chance-if it turned out that everything she hoped for was true.
Wait, why was she thinking in this way? Was she even seriously pursuing the king?
This was not the time to think of that, so although she blushed a bit, which resulted in the little girl inside her mind repeatedly asking what the matter was and whether they should be worried as she assumed that it was because of their plans, she put it to the side and just waited silently for the king to say something, or cut off the communication as would be expected from anyone who was livid.
Indeed, after a few seconds, the communication abruptly cut off, and once again, she could imagine him storming around, knowing that no matter what he did, she would win.
Will you overcome this? Or will you accept defeat?
That would be the true test, and she looked forward to seeing what he would do.
She actually felt happy that she might be one of the few who had made him lose his composure, as he always seemed so calm and confident every time he met her, and every time he appeared in front of the public.
Well, now, the ball was in his court.
Standing up, she dismissed the minstrels, and then set out to account for each and every emissary that had been sent out, and each and every trinket that she had painstakingly made based on the special spell that the King had experienced before.
It was actually based on one that was not even behind the third seal, as it had been created by another powerful figure who was on par with the emperor, but because it had been a secret, it had only been passed down to a certain few.
She was one of those lucky few. Yet, it had only been passed on to her, and she hadn't been very adept at it initially.
The only reason she could use it to create trinkets that could bring others under her effect was that she had spent a long, long time studying the spell, and understanding how to accomplish this.
Now, all of her hard work was finally going to bear fruit, and she had to say that although she was equally excited to see whether her expectations regarding the king would be fulfilled, she also wanted to win, and stand victorious.
This… This was the kind of contest that would make one's blood pump, and she had missed this feeling that she had lived for during the Empire.
She had thought that there was no one who equaled her in this age, so just the possibility that that was not the case…set her heart racing.
With a soft smile playing on the corner of her mouth, she left the throne room.
…
Meanwhile, in the King's chambers, Kellor was quite surprised to see the king being angry for the first time in a long time.
In fact, even when he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time that the king had made an angry outburst.
Well, now, he was making one.
He didn't know what response the king had gotten from the Queen, but it had made anger instantly appear in his eyes, while even his face began to turn red.
After that, he barked out a word loudly and looked like he would begin a tirade of curses, but he visibly controlled himself and cut off the communication.
Powerful men were always scary when they were angry, as even the world would join in on their anger.
Yet… What was strange was that the world around the king was calm, and there were no fluctuations in elementary particles that were typically present when a mage was furious.
Maybe the king was controlling himself that well?
This question appeared in the Grand Court Mage's head, and after the king cut the line, he wondered whether he should even go ahead and ask, or whether he should give the man some time.
However… What happened next made him gasp, as he realized that he should never make suppositions about this man who always trumped all expectations no matter what he did.
Not even a second after the line cut off, he put the communication trinket calmly to the side and actually… began laughing out loud.
It wasn't the crazy laugh of someone whose anger had reached the peak - no, it was the genuine laugh that came from one who was happy about something.
Turning around, he clasped Kellor's shoulders and said, "We should really thank that friend of yours! Oh, but don't forget to tell him that he's probably in danger - now that she knows, she will definitely set out to account for each and every trinket that has been sent out… How about this, why don't you ask him to come back to Lanthanor? He seems like a capable person, and I can make an exception where a settlement can exist with its own special rules and laws. All citizens who go into that settlement will be notified of these things, so even if anything happens, they would only have themselves to blame."
Although Kellor heard this and felt surprised that such a thing could even be possible, the shock regarding the sudden change in the King's mood was what dominated his mind right now.
Understanding this, the king chuckled again and said, "You're properly wondering why I acted angry before?"
As Kellor nodded, the king said, "It's simple. Who would you deem more as a dangerous threat - someone who reacts emotionally and seems immature, or someone who can take any news calmly and think about what to do about it?"
The answer didn't need to be given.
"Over all these years, I found that if you can control what the enemy knows about you, then you can control the outcome of a confrontation. True, it might not be an exact science, but more often than not, I find that keeping my cards close to my chest always helps out. Remember this, my dear Grand Court Mage. The reason I'm so happy is that I finally know what she is doing! Until now, she was like a predator in the grass, unseen and unheard until it strikes. Yet, now, she is completely out in the open, and I can plan slowly make plans to counter her. In other words, we're in a much better position now, than before. Anyway, what are your thoughts on the Court Mage?"
A bit thrown off by the second question, Kellor actually had to take a few moments to digest everything the king had said.
Indeed, the king was definitely right regarding the fact that knowing what she was doing was so much better. Until now, they had worried and brainstormed over what method she might employ, but they could never have expected that she would do something like this.
In the world of sealed Empire Spirits and incredible, magical spells from the time of the Empire, a spell which was capable of making people admire her did not seem to be too out of place.
Thinking for a bit, he finally gave the answer.
"Nothing specific, my King. He was mostly a reclusive figure, so there was very little he handled personally. I don't know too much, and I only knew that he carried out the orders of the previous king, and his father. Why, has he broken through to become a Warrior?"
"No, but when he does, I plan to join him in our retinue. But before that, he needs to be thoroughly vetted, and his every motivation has to be found out. It seems that he might be prepared to swear an oath, so in my stead, I charge you with the duty to go and take the oath and talk to him, as he will be under your charge when he breaks through. What do you say?"
A Warrior mage under his charge?
Kellor was not one to feel happy over such accomplishments, but he did feel glad that he had been deemed responsible enough to take care of such an important task like this.
Fully intending to finish it appropriately, he nodded, and left.
As soon as Daneel found himself alone, the happiness left his face, because although he really had been happy that he had found out what the Queen was doing, he had to say that he was also a bit worried now because by himself, he did not see how he would counter her.
Of course, the next thing he did was ask both the dragon and the system simultaneously, but their answers only made him ponder seriously even more.
"Young King, this is not a spell that is present behind the third seal, so I do not know much about it, although I did hear of it. Before the Empire was born, a Hero was supposed to have built an entire brain-washed army using it, and they were all ready to die for him. He was a tough foe, and his technique was thought to have been lost. If we get one of those trinkets, we might be able to analyze something, but she must definitely have some sort of self-destruct formation also added into them, if she was comfortable with sending them forward into the world. There might be brute force methods which will work against such spells, but those would be too flashy, and they will attract undue attention."
[No direct countering means found which will not alert the Big Four.]
Well, no one ever said that this would be easy.