Volume 10, Chapter 47 – The Trump Card

After mulling it over, Yisi ventured to speak.

“Um… just in case, let me ask one more thing. Your Majesty Adonis, you are a girl, right?”

“Mm, yes.”

“And Viel is a girl, too?”

An Emperor and an Empress who are both women… how to produce an heir is certainly a problem. Of course, that was secondary. What she hadn’t expected was that Adonis, just like Pepe, was oriented toward women.

“Huu…” Seeming to have calmed down a bit, Adonis let out a breath and sat back on the sofa. But the seriousness in her eyes didn’t fade; instead, it gave the impression she had made up her mind. “I know what you’re thinking, Cardinal Yisi. My answer is, as long as Viel can accept me, I will find a way to overcome any difficulty that follows.”

The premise is that she accepts you.

She was an Emperor, yet she wasn’t using coercion to blackmail her. Honestly, that was admirable. Although Yisi couldn’t fathom why she liked Viel, one thing was certain: Adonis wasn’t joking or just playing around.

And that’s precisely what made it so troublesome.

After all, she was Viel.

What is this mess?

Yisi didn’t answer immediately, instead sizing Adonis up. Although she and Camilla had different mothers—Camilla was a few years younger than Adonis, but since Adonis called her ‘Imperial Sister,’ it meant Camilla’s mother had a higher status than Adonis’s, so they were naturally not the same—Adonis still looked quite a lot like Camilla, just more mature and more… predatory. If she changed into a dress more suited for a woman and stood next to Camilla, they would surely be the focus of any stage. Yisi had this premonition. If this “Viel” were someone else, Yisi would definitely be sighing at what a lucky person she was, going from a commoner to the Empress of the empire in one fell swoop.

But since it was her, all she felt was a headache. It wasn’t that she disliked Adonis, but she definitely couldn’t say she liked her. Being hit with such a straightforward confession was surprising for a moment, but once she came to her senses, all that was left was trouble.

“Well… Viel probably won’t accept, Your Majesty. It’s best if you give up on pursuing her. It might make me sound like a bad person, talking ill of someone behind their back, but I must warn you… Viel has a terrible personality. She loves to bully people, and like a vampire, she has a habit of needing to drink blood at every meal. Mm… and she likes to keep her servants and any pretty girl she finds on the street as pets. And I don’t mean ‘pets’ like cats or dogs. I mean like sex slaves, beings who are mentally and physically played with until they break. If she weren’t so strong, I would have sent her to the Goddess myself.”

As she warned Adonis, Yisi silently apologized to Pepe.

As expected, Adonis hesitated, her lips pressed tightly together.

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“Mm, that is… difficult. But… it’s not… unacceptable.”

“Your Majesty… making a woman with such a terrible personality the Empress will cause huge problems down the line!”

Adonis, completely ignoring Bradley’s words, nodded to herself and muttered, “That’s right. I should have known. The person I’m infatuated with would naturally have… unique hobbies. Although it makes me a little sad that her hobby involves other women, from another perspective, this is actually good news.”

Adonis looked up at Yisi. “Cardinal Yisi, what you’re saying is, Viel doesn’t… dislike being with women, right?”

“Er…”

A normal person would have given up by now. Did I just dig this pit for myself? Yisi forced a smile.

“I don’t know Viel’s inner thoughts; I can only describe what she’s done. If Your Majesty must have her, you will definitely suffer both physically and mentally. After all, with Viel’s overbearing personality, it won’t be Your Majesty becoming Emperor, but Viel becoming something like a Regent.”

“Ngh.”

She must have hit a nerve. Adonis lowered her head, her expression hidden by her golden bangs.

This should be enough to make her back off. Pepe’s personality combined with my strength… if such a person really existed, they’d be named the ‘Incarnation of Calamity.’ No, that kind of world would have been destroyed long ago.

While Adonis’s head was down, Yisi glanced at the Imperial Prime Minister, Bradley, sitting next to her. He gave Yisi a bitter smile. Adonis was blinded by love, but he was not. Bradley’s actions were centered on Adonis; even if he supported her being with someone she loved, the moment that person threatened Adonis’s throne, he would say no.

“Viel manages the church, I control the secular government… It’s not… unacceptable. In fact, this way, Viel and I can rule this world more stably. It’s the perfect future…”

Yisi couldn’t hear what she said before, but she heard those last few sentences perfectly.

This person is definitely broken.

Bradley spoke before Yisi could.

“Your Majesty, we just barely managed to drive the Divine Religion out of the empire! We absolutely cannot invite them back! They have the Gospel. Inviting them here is no different from letting a wolf in the door!”

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Saying you “drove the Divine Religion out” right in front of me… is that really okay?

“Bradley, I know what I’m doing.”

Even that won’t shake your obsession? Yisi clicked her tongue inwardly.

At this point, though it was cruel, she had to use her trump card. Calming herself, Yisi changed her offense, her tone becoming exceptionally serious.

“Your Majesty Adonis, I have received your feelings for Viel. When I go back and have a chance to see my sister, I will convey your intentions. On this matter, I am tentatively on your side. I’ve had a headache over my troublesome sister for a long time. If Your Majesty can successfully… tame… my awful sister, I, as a compassionate Cardinal of the Ymir Church, will offer you my sincerest thanks.”

Yisi’s words made Adonis’s expression brighten, but she quickly doused her with cold water.

“However, if Your Majesty is still rejected by my sister after making every preparation, I hope you will let go of this obsession and find another, more outstanding woman. Viel is my sister, after all. Moreover, one of you is the Pope of the Divine Religion, and the other is the Emperor of the Norta Empire. If this relationship isn’t handled properly, it could easily escalate into a conflict between our people. I hope Your Majesty understands.”

If she left Adonis alone, given her current state, she would sooner or later go to the Duchy of Chloe to find “Viel.” If Adonis were a normal person, Yisi could just ignore her; after all, the Pope of the Divine Religion wasn’t someone you could just meet, and no one would say much if she refused. The problem was that Adonis was the immensely powerful Emperor of the Norta Empire. If the empire’s subjects found out their Emperor personally went to the Duchy of Chloe to request a meeting, only to be refused without even seeing her, what would they think?

Even if Adonis had no intention of pressuring the Duchy of Chloe, or even if Yisi herself, as Viel, used her absolute strength to threaten the empire, it would only lead to a worse outcome. The former would make smaller players think Chloe was scorning the empire; the latter would just provoke more resentment, leading them to express their displeasure in small, undetectable ways, like border guards harassing Chloe’s citizens and merchants.

Of course, she could play along and let Adonis find her at the Divine Religion, then reject her as Viel. But given Adonis’s current obsession, it was hard to believe she would just give up after one rejection.

Therefore, the best method was to make Adonis give up completely.

There were only two ways to do this. First, find out why Adonis liked “Viel” and then, as Viel, shatter that image in front of her. Adonis would naturally lose interest. The second was to let Adonis make every preparation, and when all her efforts still failed to capture “Viel’s” heart, she would naturally become disheartened and leave on her own.

And from this, her trump card was born.

Adonis nodded vigorously, her serious expression like a gamer listening to a master explain game mechanics.

“I understand. If I’m still rejected after all that, it just means my charm is lacking. I won’t continue to pester her. But… Miss Yisi, what should I do to make Viel happy? I’ve ordered a temple to the Goddess of Love built in the empire, and the Goddess has often blessed me, but it’s not right to rely only on the gods without putting in my own effort…”

A temple to the Goddess of Love? What’s that?

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Although Yisi didn’t know what she was talking about, it didn’t affect her plan. Yisi smiled warmly.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about. Since I’ve agreed to this cooperation, I must take practical action. Before I head to the Duchy of Chloe, I will tell you what my sister likes. You just need to pay attention to those points.”

“Ooh…”

Yisi’s guarantee made Adonis’s eyes widen, her expression a mix of joy and trepidation. She looked expectant, but her hands were unconsciously clenched together.

“I’ll be counting on you then, Cardinal…”

Seeing the conversation end, Bradley quickly interjected, his brow furrowed with worry.

“Your Majesty, since the Cardinal has agreed, we shouldn’t waste any more energy on this. The urgent priority is to drive the demons from the southwestern sea. I believe we must focus on the demons. After that matter is resolved, we will have more energy to focus on the future… Empress.”

“Mm… you’re right. If Viel finds out demons are rampaging in the empire, she’ll look down on my abilities. Ah, Cardinal Yisi, please don’t tell Viel what I just said. I beg you.”

Adonis’s cheeks flushed slightly. She looked down, embarrassed. Prime Minister Bradley’s expression, having never seen this girlish side of Adonis, was momentarily priceless.

Viel is me, though… Yisi thought, giving a noncommittal dry laugh.

“Ahaha… I’ll keep it a secret. But speaking of which, Your Majesty, what is this about the demons you mentioned?”

Demons appearing in a sensitive location like Wilfred City… It made one think of Tina. Tartaros’s castle was on the coast, not far from here. Part of the reason demons were gathered here might be to guard the ‘Eternal Frost Barrier.’

Although her strength could completely crush that giant goat-headed demon, judging from Tina’s description—it could revive quickly even if killed, at the cost of its memories—this demon, like the Fallen Angel Ariel, had the ability to resurrect. Ariel’s was from the Tower of Alexia, but this demon’s was from an unknown source.

Facing an unkillable opponent, even one that couldn’t harm her, was a real headache. If she could find a demon who knew it well, perhaps she could find out the reason for its constant resurrection and strike a final blow.

“Ah, I wonder if you’ve heard the legend of the former emperor, Cardinal…”

Adonis, in high spirits, recounted everything from the former emperor’s pact with the demons to the recent breakdown in negotiations. To summarize: the former emperor had been deceived, allowing them to build a church and, worse, agreeing to use the Tower of Alexia to inject magic into the southwestern sea, creating a “springboard” for the demons. Adonis now wanted to shut it down, cutting off the demons and their worshippers within the empire.

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In the middle of the story, Yisi scanned the southwestern sea region with [Omniscient Map]. She found some scattered, weak demons, one of which was even fighting a sea monster. They looked less like an organized force and more like lost, pathetic creatures.

There’s nothing like a springboard.

Either Adonis was lying, or the demons had lied to her. Perhaps the “springboard” was nearby, but the sea was too full of monsters, and zooming out [Omniscient Map] that far made it lag terribly, threatening to crash, so she had to stop.

I’ll search the sea slowly when I have time. Tina still needs time to absorb the inheritance, and the demons aren’t going anywhere.

Yisi took a sip of her now-lukewarm tea.

“So, what does Your Majesty plan to do now? The negotiations broke down, and I killed that greater demon and the Hydra. The demons will definitely not let this go. They’ll probably be back soon.”

“The demons have already put a knife to our throats. Showing weakness now will only make them think we’re easier to bully. If a full-scale war breaks out, I will form an alliance with the Cloud Sea Mountains and Fairy Land to the south. But before that, I must cut off the Tower of Alexia’s magic support to that sea region. We’re past the point of negotiation. The demons have been deceiving us from the start.”

“I see…”

She’s so decisive when it comes to official business.

To know she was no match for the demons, yet still bet the entire empire… Even knowing she would be enslaved if she didn’t fight back, this kind of decisive courage wasn’t something a normal person possessed. In a war, besides strategy, environment, and soldier quality, the determination of the entire army was also crucial.

For some reason, Adonis suddenly gave a wry smile.

“Also, since we’re in the same boat, I hope you’ll stop using honorifics with me. Just call me Adonis.”

“I don’t mind… but when exactly are you cutting off the magic support? The moment they find out, they’ll launch an all-out war that same day, won’t they?”

After Yisi finished speaking, Adonis steepled her fingers, leaned forward slightly, and her beautiful, feminine face broke into a confident smile.

“Tomorrow. Our people are already prepared.”