Volume 10, Chapter 35 – The Surprise

Accompanied by Adonis, the waitress Kiri arrived at the door of the reception room where Sera and Yisi were talking.

In Kiri’s heart, she was extremely reluctant to disturb Sera. First, because Sera was talking with Margaret’s true owner, Yisi Enya. Second, because Sera was the benefactor who had rescued her from dire straits, and she didn’t want to disobey Sera’s orders from the bottom of her heart. Like most maids who had worked in noble households, Kiri had lost her job as a maid ever since the noble class was abolished. Although she could have survived at home relying on her husband, his attitude toward her took a nosedive, treating her as an idler who did nothing but eat. It wasn’t until Sera appeared and gave her a job opportunity that Kiri was freed from those days of being mistreated.

If the person following her wasn’t the Emperor of the Norta Empire, even if it were Schumann, the city lord of Wilfred, Kiri felt she would definitely have left him on the first floor. Unfortunately, this was the person who decided the empire’s future, the person whose word was law. The high-grade product Miss Sera had taken into the room for a celebration was probably about to change hands. Kiri couldn’t help but pray, hoping Sera and Yisi would open the wine bottle quickly. The Emperor certainly couldn’t accept wine that others had already tasted. That way, the highest-grade Margaret wouldn’t be taken away.

Feeling Adonis’s intense gaze from behind, Kiri took a deep breath and knocked lightly.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who is it? Didn’t I give instructions not to disturb Miss Yisi and me?”

Sera’s voice came from inside the door. Even without seeing her, Kiri could guess that her boss was very displeased, perhaps already wearing a cold expression. But even so, Kiri had to answer, bracing herself. Otherwise, Margaret might very well be torn down by this willful Majesty. A bitter look appeared on Kiri’s face.

“Miss Sera, the person who has come is Glo…”

“Let me,” As Kiri struggled, Adonis patted her shoulder, signaling her to stand aside. Her handsome face was filled with confidence. “I’ll speak to her myself.”

Without any hesitation, Adonis turned the handle and shoved the door open. Normally, Adonis would never push open a door so rudely. Although as the ruler, she enjoyed the privilege of not knocking, privilege and manners were two different things. Usually, Adonis would have a maid or guard announce her before entering. The reason she didn’t now was simply because she had gotten carried away——all her thoughts were on tomorrow’s invitation, so she naturally paid no mind to such trivial details.

Very roughly, the wooden door slammed against the wall with a BANG . Even Adonis, who had opened the door, was startled by the sound. She hadn’t intended to use that much force, nor did she expect the door to open so easily. It was all just a coincidence.

Sorry about that.

Apologizing inwardly to the people in the room, Adonis scanned the interior. Her gaze naturally stopped on the two most conspicuous angels. Because of her rough entrance, the two angels had mistaken her for an enemy, leaping up from the sofa to stare at her warily.

More angels? Is this the empire’s great fortune? In the past, she had wanted a God-Forged Angel and couldn’t get one, but now three had appeared at once. The angel named Laxyphinia belonged to the Ymir Church, which not only made her difficult to approach, but also made it easy to expose her intentions to the Church. But these two, whom she was meeting for the first time and who didn’t belong to the Church… perhaps she could convert them to her own use.

Of course, these matters were not as important as her mission for coming to Margaret. Adonis looked around the room with as approachable a gaze as possible.

“I heard you have a wine here that is highly praised by the nobility… eh?”

Not paying attention for a moment, Adonis unconsciously let out a sound close to a woman’s voice. Although her illusion magic also altered her voice, it didn’t mean she became indistinguishable from a man after the disguise. If she wasn’t careful, when making certain sounds, her female voice would still show through.

Hearing Adonis make a feminine sound, Bradley’s face instantly looked as if he had seen a ghost. However, due to the setting, it quickly reverted to an expressionless mask.

As for why Adonis made that sound, the reason, naturally, was that she had seen Yisi. Since Yisi wasn’t sitting directly facing the door, and the angels were too conspicuous, Adonis hadn’t spotted her right away.

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“C-C-Cardinal Yisi Enya, you… what are you doing here?”

Oh god, what have I done? In front of her future sister-in-law—no, judging from her height and facial features, this must be the younger sister. Did she just slam a door in her future younger sister-in-law’s face without an ounce of courtesy?

Adonis froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.

She wished this was just a nightmare. If a magic potion existed in this world that could turn back time, Adonis would definitely choose to drink it right now. She couldn’t help but swallow, her back breaking out in a nervous sweat.

“Er, the door just now…”

“His Majesty Gloria’s hand just slipped, right?”

“Mm, ah, yes, that’s right.”

She nodded repeatedly. She really hadn’t meant to slam the door with a bang ; it was just an accident—no, wait. Why was Cardinal Yisi here?

In a flash, Adonis’s mind raced.

Since there was a bottle on their table that looked like Margaret wine, and the waitress had said the highest-grade Margaret was in this room, there could only be two possibilities. First, Cardinal Yisi was here, like her, to buy the highest-grade Margaret to give to someone else. Second, Cardinal Yisi wanted to buy the highest-grade Margaret to enjoy herself. Although most churches, including the demon-worshipping ones, prohibited their followers from drinking, the Ymir Church didn’t have so many restrictions. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thought of using Margaret as a gift.

Realizing this, Adonis’s mind grew active.

Either of these two possibilities was a huge boon for her. According to Schumann, a single bottle of top-grade Margaret cost more than ten platinum coins. Even a Cardinal would have to think twice about such an expense. The reason the wine was sitting on the table with no action was probably that they were negotiating, perhaps haggling over the price. If she stepped in at this moment, bought it for her future, extremely cute sister-in-law, and then presented it to her, it would count as doing her a huge favor.

Of course, considering some people in this world dislike handouts and are only willing to exchange things of equal value, she could then take the opportunity to propose a trade—on the surface, wanting to know intelligence about the Divine Religion, but in reality, indirectly asking for news about Viel. While there was the option of laying all her cards on the table, admitting she was desperately and hopelessly in love with Viel, that choice was too much of a gamble. She still didn’t know Cardinal Yisi’s attitude toward Viel. If their relationship was poor, confessing her love right off the bat would instantly place her in opposition to Cardinal Yisi, and she’d never get any information out of her. What she needed was a slow, steady, and gradual advance. Thus, that option had to be ruled out.

“Kiri, didn’t I say not to let anyone in? Why did you bring a guest here?!”

Sera looked cold. Yisi first patted the heads of the sleepy trio to reassure them—the BANG from the door had startled the three of them, making them leap up from the sofa while half-asleep—then waved her hand, signaling Sera not to be harsh on Kiri.

“No, Sera, you can’t blame Kiri for this. Let me introduce you. This is the Emperor of the Norta Empire, Adonis Eli Gloria. No matter how much Kiri wanted to follow your orders, she couldn’t possibly stop the Emperor, could she?”

“Ngh…”

“You see His Majesty and do not kneel?”

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“Wait, Bradley,” Adonis quickly stopped him. “I am visiting in a private capacity right now. They do not need to bow.”

“But Your Majesty, downstairs you emphasized your status…”

“What?! Did that happen?”

Her voice suddenly rising a notch, Adonis turned her head and frantically signaled Bradley with her eyes. This action made everyone, including Kiri and Carl, look completely baffled. It wasn’t that they couldn’t understand Adonis’s signal, but rather they were confused as to why she was acting this way.

“Your Majesty Gloria——”

“Cardinal Yisi, just call me Gloria. Honestly, I never expected to see you here.” Hurriedly changing the subject, Adonis couldn’t help but stare at Yisi. Although they weren’t the same person, aside from the racial traits, Yisi and Viel were almost identical. From her soft, gleaming cherry lips to her vivid eyes that seemed to hold the starry sky, she had a charm that felt like it could pull a person in. Adonis’s heartstrings trembled uncontrollably. Her usually calm personality vanished as if it were a runaway horse, and her heart beat a little faster. “Cardinal Yisi, are you here at Margaret…?”

“I came to find Sera, the person in charge here, to ask about some things. What about Your Majesty Adonis?”

“Er, I’m here to…”

How should she answer?

She came here to buy the highest-grade Margaret wine to give to Yisi as a gift, but now Yisi had her eye on the highest-grade Margaret. Of course she couldn’t say that now.

Kiri, at the side, stepped in to smooth things over.

“Your Majesty Gloria, some of the dishes you ordered earlier are very troublesome to prepare. If we don’t start right now, making all of them will probably take until dawn…”

“All of them?”

Hearing Kiri’s words, Yisi’s eyes widened in surprise. But in Adonis’s eyes, this surprise was interpreted as an exclamation mocking Adonis’s lack of taste.

Damn it.

Adonis had the urge to slap herself hard. Bradley had clearly advised her not to order so much, but she hadn’t listened at all. How could she explain this now to save face?

As Adonis was thinking, Yisi reined in her surprise and put on the expression of someone looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. To increase the deception, she even deliberately made her expression look innocent and naive.

“The price to make all of them is quite expensive, you know. And some dishes must be paired with Margaret wine to get the full flavor. Ah, as the Emperor, Your Majesty Adonis must have the highest-grade Margaret to match your status. Your Majesty, would you like to try the finest wine Margaret has to offer?”

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Eh?

Yisi’s gesture toward the table made Adonis freeze. No matter how she looked at it, Cardinal Yisi seemed to be recommending the only bottle of Margaret on the table. But wasn’t this what the Cardinal desperately wanted to buy?

Her brain failing to process, Adonis stammered.

“B-But isn’t this the Margaret wine that you wanted to buy, Cardinal Yisi?”

“I never thought about buying it.”

Although her wide-eyed, head-tilted look was very cute, Adonis couldn’t understand Yisi’s meaning. If she wasn’t here to buy Margaret, then why was she here, with the highest-grade wine placed pointedly on the table?

“Miss Yisi is Margaret’s owner. Everything in Margaret belongs to Miss Yisi, so of course, she doesn’t need to pay.”

The explosive statement made Adonis’s expression freeze.

“Wait… I don’t understand what you mean.”

Although Adonis was the monarch, Sera did not give her a pleasant look.

“I mean, Miss Yisi is the true master of Margaret, the person who built it from scratch. As long as Miss Yisi wishes, all grades of Margaret here are hers to enjoy at any time.”

“Er…”

What do you call this? A surprise?

Adonis’s expression became a spectacular sight.

If this was a “surprise,” it was far too much.

She carefully reviewed what she had done. She’d brought money to buy Margaret wine, only to give it as a gift to the true owner of the Margaret tavern. While this action wasn’t incapable of closing the distance between her and Cardinal Yisi, it undoubtedly made her look like a clown. It was too embarrassing, too ridiculous.

Thank goodness she hadn’t actually gone through with it. There was still room to salvage the situation. As long as she didn’t say she was here to buy Margaret, no one would ever know.

“ Pfft… “

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Just as Adonis was thinking this, Bradley, who had been standing behind her, made a strange sound.

Mm… That must be a coincidence. Bradley doesn’t know Yisi is Viel’s sister, nor does he know I came to buy Margaret to give it to Yisi. He couldn’t be laughing at me. After all, Bradley isn’t that sort of frivolous person. I’m just overthinking it.

But then again, this comfortable shop actually belonged to Cardinal Yisi. As expected of Viel’s sister, she had inherited her sister’s excellent bloodline. Not only was her strength outstanding, but her talents were also far beyond ordinary people.

Adonis’s expression gradually calmed. Having been a ruler for so long, she could still pretend such an awkward moment never happened.

“I understand. In that case, I will take Cardinal Yisi’s recommendation and buy this bottle of Margaret. Carl, pay for me.”

“Yes.”

“For Your Majesty Adonis, that will be one gem coin per bottle.”

Although Cardinal Yisi’s price was much higher than expected, this amount of money was no problem for her. To be able to exchange money for Cardinal Yisi’s happiness was the luckiest thing possible. Unlike the small kingdoms sandwiched between the Norta Empire and the Hels Kingdom, the Norta Empire’s treasury was overflowing with gold.

“Well then, Your Majesty Adonis, if there is nothing else, I will be returning to the mansion with my family.”

“Please send my regards to Her Highness the First Princess, Cardinal Yisi. I’ll be troubling you to look after her. If you need anything at all, please find the imperial patrolmen. They will report Her Highness’s and your needs to me.”

“Thank you, Lord Prime Minister. Sera, I’ll see you next time.”

After giving a slight nod to Adonis’s group, Yisi led her companions past them. As if remembering something, Adonis suddenly shouted.

“Cardinal Yisi! May I visit you at your mansion in the next day or two?”

“Of course you can. Camilla is Your Majesty’s imperial sister. How could I refuse Your Majesty from seeing your own sister?”

No, no, the only person I want to see is you. The imperial sister can… whatever.

Although she thought this inwardly, Adonis still returned a smile—it wasn’t so bad, being able to visit under the pretext of seeing her sister. She watched Yisi’s group leave the tavern.

Of course, after this battle, the idea of inviting Yisi to dinner at the Margaret tavern was swept permanently into the trash heap of Adonis’s memory.