Chapter 5: TEA PARTY WITH THE QUEEN

After an audience with the King, I was invited to a tea party with the Queen. I was taken to the room where the Queen is in the inner part of the palace, where the private space of the royal family is located. The Queen and a maid were waiting in a room with a cozy and relaxed atmosphere, arranged for the tea party. 「Yumiela-san, thank you for coming. I was hoping for His Majesty to join us, alas, he was busy with work. 」 The Queen had a youthful and calm air around her. 「My name is Yumiela Dolknes . I feel honored by the invitation .」 「This is an informal occasion, so you don’t have to be so formal about it. Said the Queen as she smiled softly and winked at the maid. The maid was leaving the room after she finished brewing black tea for me. 「The conversation in this room wouldn’t leave the rroomI won’t share it with anyone. What? I can smell the trouble aalreadydy PeaPleasee want to go home. 「ufu, you know you don’t need to worry, right? His Majesty and I both to you Your response to the audience was praiseworthy, I believe that someone with a good head on their shoulders has strong power. 」 「Th-thank you for the compliment? 」 I’m surprised at the unexpected high opinion. 「 thinks it’s troublesome to have power, right? And you seem like a sharp young lay. I’m afraid to imagine that you are an ambitious person with an empty head 「Ano, why does Her Majesty trust me so much? 」 「T many nobles approach the royal family by pretending they have no desire. You don’t think you’re not involved with the royal family, do you? I’m afraid I can’t trust that kind of person.」 She was silent. She couldn’t tell her that she doesn’t want to be involved with the royal family in front of her, right? And the Queen continued. 「Let’s get down to business. This information is only known to the royal family and some of the nobles, but the demon king will come back in 2 years. 」 What the Queen said surprised me. It’s not about the demon king’s resurrection that surprises me, but how accurate those predictions are. In the game, when the heroine became a third-year student, the demon king was resurrected without notice. The timeline had always felt abrupt, but now, hearing the Queen’s insights, I realized that there might be more to the story than I had understood. The royal family may have information about the demon king that wasn’t revealed in the game. This knowledge could change everything—my choices, my path, and even the fate of the kingdom itself. I felt a shiver of anticipation; if I could uncover the truth behind these predictions, I might be able to alter the course of events before it was too late. 「The demon king…? 」 「Yes, I want your cooperation in defeating the demon king. When the army y in charge of suppressing the demon king’s monster army, we need a small team to defeat the demon king. 「I understand. Since the kingdom was in danger, I’ll cooperate. 」 I replied immediately, also in case of emergency, I was planning to defeat the demon king myself. 「Thank you, Yumiela-san . I feel bad for asking you to risk your own life like this… And it’s bad for the kingdom if you are the one who defeats the demon kin. 」Is it bad for the kingdom if I defeat the demon king? I tried to think about what she meant by that, and I remember something 「Is it about the king’s legitimacy? 」 The Kingdom of Balshine, created by the hero and saintess who sealed the demon king, is saidtot the royal family is their descendant. That’s the reason why the king ruled this kingdom. .. But if someone not related to the royal family defeats the demon king, that theory will fall apart. 「Yumiela-san catches cats quickly, it’s like that. The hero’s descendant is only a formal reason; the king’s cause is important. 」 The Queen says, astonished. I noticed the prince had been involved in the demon king’s plot in the gam. How sneaky of them. 「Edwin will be on his way to subdue the demon king. I would be happy if Yumiela-san could join as a saintess… But if they announce me as the saintess, that means I will marry Prince Edwin. And I don’t want that to happen because it sucks. 「Alicia, who uses light magic, is more suitable for the saintess position.」 And she seemed to get along well with His Highness Edwin at the school. The thought of their chemistry made my stomach twist uncomfortably. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Alicia was everything I wasn’t—confident, radiant, and adored by everyone. If she became the saintess, maybe I could avoid that fate entirely. I just needed to find a way to support her without letting my feelings get in the way. After all, my future shouldn’t be dictated by someone else’s expectations. Let’s sacrifice the heroin. 「Are you refusing it? If you didn’t like it, you could frankly say it. Ah, if you don’t like Edwin, how about marrying Morris? 」 「I’m not trying to be ungrateful, but I will refuse. 」 When the first prince was recommended, I immediately refused. Well, the Queen was the one who said that I must be frank if I don’t like it. 「Fufufu, I won’t force you if you don’t like it. I don’t want you to run away to the rival’s country. All things considered, I will tell both of my sons. 」 Perhaps because I refused the marriage proposal from the princes so firmly, the Queen burst into laughter. After her laughter subsided, she changed the subject, and her expression turned serious. 「We will discuss the demon king in detail later Right now, the problem is the nobles who want to bring Yumiela-san into their faction. Since the information about your level has been circulated, tomorrow, they will begin to try to win your love. 」 「It’s not a problem to join the King or the Queen’s faction, isn’t it?」 「My and His Majesty factions are the main, but factions are not monolithic. The struggle for Yumiela-san will start inside the mafactory. While the main faction is moderate, there are a few problems that Yumiela-san seems to be able to get around very well. 」 The Queen continued to lecture me on the faction. 「You should be careful with the radical faction led by Duke Hillrose. Stay away from aggressive war proposals against other countries. And please watch out for contact with intelligence agents from other countries. If they make an attractive proposal, I assure you His Majesty will offer more. 」 After hearing that gracious offer, I realize that I have become a human strategic weapon. When I realized that I didn’t know anything about the House of Dolknes’ faction, I asked her Majesty a question.She e took her time rttoeply. 「House of Dolkn, which said pseudo-central nobles are part of the radical faction. It was a coincidence since the Duke wanted to make the faction a little bigger, and they wanted to join the central faction. 」 House of Dolknes is part of the radical faction, and my family was probably under the influence of Duke Hillroe. 「What would you do if they said you’re going to be adopted or become someone from DukeHillrose’s family’sancée? 」 「Sent House of Dolknes a royal order not to transfer Yumiela-san’s registry elsewhere; other nobles will criticize this, but this gives you enough deadlines until the academy graduation. 」 「That’s enough time, Your Majesty. 」 Let’s do something about my relationship with my parents before I graduate. 「Yumiela-san, what do you think of your parents? 」 Just when I’m worried and thinking about my relationship with my parent, her Majesty asked me about it. 「As far as I remember, I’ve never met them before, so I can’t say anything. They don’t seem to be good people. If I can cut off our relationship, I will. 」 Ah, no wonder, I didn’t think I’vI’der met my parents. Hearing what I said, the Queen takes a deep breath and looks sad. That's ato…… if it’s okay with you, I can adopt…… no, Yumiela-san will refuse, won’t you? Buu, you can think of me as a mother. Please come and play whenever you want .」 Even if you said that I’m the one who feels bothered, since my mental age was over 30. 「Once again, I feel grateful. I appreciate the thought. After that, I talked about my life in Dolknes’ territory. As my story continues, for some reason, the Queen looks sad, and when it reached the fun part of leveling up (dungeon edition), the tears spilspilledI will send one oHof Hisajesty’subordinateste subordinates to the academy. If you have any trouble, please tell him . 」 Somehow, I was under the Queen’s protection, and I left the palace with a large amount of sweets.