novelraw #163 - Section 163
#163 - Section 163
Until Dio acknowledged her as a friend, she naturally cherished this friendship very much.
But the happiness lasted no more than three hours. While diligently handling her work, she suddenly realized, wasn't this bastard on good terms with the entire Charles family?
As for the fact that there were too few surviving members of the Charles family, that wasn't the main focus of this young lady!
Margaret was very worried that she had cherished it for so long, only to discover that Dio's friends were all over Aodu…
Then what am I?
So, is 'friend' such a casual relationship?
No, I don't accept it!
Margaret indirectly asked several of her subordinates about their definition of friendship:
"Being able to chat and feel comfortable with each other means you're friends!"
"Having common interests and knowing each other for a long time can be considered?"
"You'll have different friends at different stages of life…"
"Having more friends means more paths. Why reject friendship that's offered?"
"Many friends, but no confidants… boohoo."
After a very irresponsible random survey, Margaret confirmed with these seasoned veterans that it didn't seem to require many harsh conditions to be considered friends.
Is this a very basic and common relationship?
It's not unique, it's not exclusive, as long as you spend enough time together, it's practically the same thing?
Hmph, Dio is obviously a big idiot who doesn't choose his friends!
Hmph hmph, even the Charles siblings can be friends with him. I was so touched just by being acknowledged as a friend, how embarrassing!
Hmph hmph hmph, I'm the Imperial Left Prime Minister, the little devil most favored by Her Majesty!
For me to extend an olive branch to him is his good fortune, he should be grateful!
It's so upsetting. Dio is such a nice person, how could he be friends with the Charles siblings?
Margaret was troubled all the way from the military headquarters to home, tossing and turning in bed, constantly pondering.
In the end, she didn't figure out what she should have, but she figured out a lot of things she shouldn't have!
For example, Roger arranged for Dio to be bait, which shows that Roger was very clear about Dio's hidden strength.
Her Majesty knew and approved of this action, which shows that she also knew Dio's strength.
Maybe Her Majesty is also friends with Dio!
After all, he was brought into the cabinet by Her Majesty.
Anyway, I'm the only one in the world who's kept in the dark, the clown who knows nothing, right?
The more Margaret thought about it, the more she felt she was at a disadvantage, the more aggrieved she felt, she pounded the bed…
She had been agonizing over a layer of friendship for almost half a month, and in the end, Dio agreed so readily, not because she was so special, but because the word 'friend' was worthless?
Even though it was unrelated, the little ceiling fan felt a bit greenish above her head.
In short, even though they were just friends, she was jealous.
Her first friend ever was a social butterfly with a bunch of friends. She couldn't fall asleep all night, feeling miserable until dawn.
Because she had never experienced warmth, she was especially careful with the little candlelight she now possessed, which made her seem incredibly sensitive.
Like a stray cat that has been abandoned, it will always be more wary than an ordinary house cat, always afraid of giving its heart only to be abandoned again, so it simply doesn't give it.
Margaret was actually in a similar state.
Not trusting others, deep down, is actually a lack of confidence in herself, thinking that she is not worthy of trust.
In the end, endless wild thoughts were born, a night of entanglement.
Finally tangled until dawn, she didn't have to struggle with whether to sleep or not.
She had to struggle with whether to ask Dio to have breakfast today!
Without her, he could have breakfast with other friends, right?
Adding her wouldn't make much difference, subtracting her wouldn't make much difference. Showing up in front of others is just making trouble, isn't it…
But if she doesn't go, she won't even be able to maintain a friendship, wouldn't that be surrendering to the Charles family?
An angel and a devil were fighting in Margaret's head. In the end, the side that would rather die standing than kneeling won.
"Hmph, I won't be outdone by the Charles family!"
Margaret jumped out of bed, picked out the prettiest little skirt, dressed up carefully, picked up the breakfast prepared in the kitchen, and headed to the commercial district.
……
……
Commercial district, Dio's residence.
The magic arrays and traps set up by the Tianming Army have been dismantled. Today, Dio is once again using a shadow puppet to maintain his daily life here.
This daily life also includes having breakfast with Margaret.
"Maybe the explosion of an alchemy device is equivalent to a gas pipe explosion in this world…"
Roger looked at the news published in the corner of the "Queen Long Live" newspaper, revealing a helpless smile.
Open government is always a pseudo-proposition. The two sides have asymmetrical information, different abilities to interpret information, and different focuses.
If everything were really transparent, I'm afraid there would be chaos and malicious people would create a frenzy.
Fortunately, the empire writes "suitable for men" in its recruitment posts. No one will question whether this is gender discrimination and then squeeze the already tight resources of the administrative department, which must respond to such unfounded questions.
Human society always needs appropriate lies and deceptions as lubricants. If everyone spoke their minds directly, conflicts would definitely erupt every minute and second until self-destruction.
Why would Roger think of these things?
Because Margaret, who is sitting across from him now, has dark circles under her eyes, obviously didn't sleep well last night, and is throwing a tantrum at him.
A hint of curiosity clearly flashed in her eyes just now. She wanted to ask what a gas pipe was, but she held back and continued to silently fight wits with the creamed mashed potatoes in front of her.
This girl, except for saying "Good morning" when she entered the house, hasn't said a word to Roger.
Roger couldn't help but suspect, could it be that his identity has been exposed, his lies have been revealed, and aroused her suspicion, which is why she is giving him the silent treatment?
But a mature actor must never take the initiative to confess because he is worried that what he has done will be exposed.
Expecting the other party to be lenient because of honesty?
That would be too naive!
First of all, saying whether to forgive or not is the other party's right. What's even more tragic is that you might say something wrong that the other party didn't know because of a wrong judgment, and then lead to even more tragic consequences.
Moreover, Roger can confirm that the problem between Margaret and him at the moment is not serious.
Her obvious childish tantrum is conveying information like 'Come and coax me'.
But if you want me to coax you, and I coax you, wouldn't I lose face?
If I coax you well the first time, wouldn't it get worse the second and third time, and I wouldn't be able to coax you even to the sky?
I must not spoil her!
Moreover, men and women think differently. According to the thinking of straight men, going forward and coaxing her hard can easily backfire and make things worse.
For example, some people try to break the ice by finding fault and forcibly creating topics, which eventually leads to small contradictions turning into big problems and the other party's emotions exploding on the spot…
Therefore, when a woman is angry, it is very unwise to appease her by coaxing her. It takes a lot of effort and is not appreciated.
The correct way to appease someone who is giving you the silent treatment is to change the topic to divert attention and not open up a new battlefield on issues that may cause conflict.
When both parties have communicated and learned what the other party is struggling with, then find a way to enlighten them, instead of forcibly breaking through with frontal firepower.
If throwing out all the topics doesn't work, then give the other party a cooling-off period, and when she has thought about it, launch another surprise attack.
When the enemy advances, I retreat; when the enemy retreats, I advance; when the enemy is stationed, I harass; when the enemy is tired, I strike. This is the strategy of a master!
Of course, there is a more serious reason why Roger would choose this.
He and this mixed-blood little devil are friends, but they are just friends.
Having a tantrum and having to be coaxed is not the responsibility of a friend.
He threw out a few topics, but Margaret didn't respond. Roger was only prepared to try one last topic. If the little ceiling fan threw another tantrum…
Then he would temporarily let her fend for herself!
It's not that Roger is hard-hearted, but that he grew up in a normal environment and can't guess that Margaret is actually throwing such an irrelevant jealous fit because she thinks he has too many friends.
To put it nicely, this is a manifestation of caring, but from Roger's perspective, this little friend is really a bit inexplicable…
He can empathize and understand Margaret's subtle little thoughts at some moments.
But he is not the蛔虫 in her stomach and always understands her sensitive and strange thoughts.
Roger turned a page of the newspaper, pretending to be casual as he read and said:
"Mary, regarding the matter I promised you yesterday, I thought of a good solution that should increase Her Majesty's goodwill towards you."
The fork in Margaret's hand collided with the plate, making a very obvious sound. She raised her head and looked at Roger in disbelief.
He, he remembers what he promised me?
And he came up with a good idea so quickly?
Since it concerned the Queen, Margaret couldn't help but care.
Moreover, wasn't the initial reason for coming to Dio to form an alliance to help her gain the Queen's favor?
Suddenly, the little ceiling fan became entangled again.
Should she continue to throw a tantrum and miss this opportunity?
In fact, she didn't come here specifically to throw a tantrum at Dio.
She just wanted to perform well and surpass the Charles siblings' position in Dio's heart with her personal charm.
But when she opened the door, she found that Dio's mode of receiving her and his attitude of speaking were no different from yesterday.
Margaret was extremely disappointed, so disappointed that she didn't want to talk.
This was inexplicably and passively entering a tantrum mode.
After that, she would think that since she had already made the bet, she might as well bet to the end to test how much he cared about her as a friend.
These are all very childish behaviors, which Roger easily saw through.
As a result, he was really calm throughout the whole process, talking as if nothing was different from every day. Margaret ignored him, and he didn't seem to care at all.
By responding to all changes with constancy, the little ceiling fan's tricks all fell on the air, and she was naturally very depressed.
She felt that Dio didn't care about her at all, and she was just a little grass that no one cared about…
As a result, Dio suddenly said that he remembered his promise to her and had thought about it and reached a conclusion?
Because she was too disappointed before, Margaret's heart was about to melt when she suddenly saw hope.
Maybe he was too tired from thinking last night and is now very tired, so he ignored my emotions.
So, I can't be too harsh on my friends, right?
Margaret finally found an excuse for herself, continued to gently poke the mashed potatoes, and responded in a very casual tone: "Then, if it's convenient for you, tell me about it now."
Roger lowered his gaze and looked at the little hand under the table that was repeatedly rubbing the skirt, obviously the real mood was not as calm as the tone showed.
As expected of a fanatic fan of the Eternal Night Queen, she got anxious just by throwing out a little bit of information related to the Queen!
Alas, I, Roger, have really broken my heart for the internal unity of the empire. Her Majesty must give me a raise in salary.
It would be nice to have a few more cherries too~
Chapter 143: The Proxy War in Xuhai Country
Roger told Margaret about a new war model called a "proxy war."
The Qing Teng Empire has now entered a stage of recuperation, focusing on technological upgrades domestically, increasing productivity, and improving the quality of life for its citizens.
But warmongering is a characteristic written into the DNA of the Eternal Night Queen. Now, she can't fight for the sake of people's livelihood, which doesn't mean she doesn't want to fight.