novelraw #234 - Section 234
#234 - Section 234
"By the way, how did you persuade Saintess Nico? I heard she's always been known for her steadfast faith."
Roger's expression immediately stiffened. Although he felt he had a clear conscience, as it was all the girl's initiative, he inexplicably felt guilty when the Empress suddenly asked about it.
"Well... it was all handled by Lord Roger; I wasn't involved."
Margaret glanced sideways with ill intent and immediately excused herself, "Your Majesty, I just remembered there are some urgent tasks in the military department that haven't been arranged yet; I must take my leave!"
"Go ahead," the Eternal Night Empress agreed directly.
Although Roger's inner thoughts were chaotic, she heard very sensitive words like "imprisonment," "loyalty," and "is it this comfortable, milord?" It was indeed necessary for Margaret to withdraw now.
She needed to ask her invincible commander alone if he had done anything to let her down!
"Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that the Darknight Guard also has a mountain of things to deal with..."
"The domestic situation is still good; your side isn't urgent." The Eternal Night Empress saw through his attempt to slip away at a glance, her expression darkening. "Tell me in detail, what did you say and do with that Saintess, and how did you get her to agree to cooperate with the Empire? It must have been very interesting, right?"
[Damn Margaret, she runs so fast, with no regard for brotherhood!]
[Fortunately, I prepared for this question in advance; I have a draft! Let me think about how I memorized the harmonious version...]
After the initial panic, Roger, at least on the surface, had regained his composure.
He very "fluently" told a little story about capturing the Saintess, discovering cracks in her faith in the Sea God, immediately instilling a series of truths in her, and then she finally abandoned the darkness and embraced the light.
In theory, this was indeed the truth.
It just skipped over many crucial details, such as the key fact that Nico's true loyalty wasn't to the Empire, but to him, Roger.
If it were an ordinary relationship between ruler and subject, understanding to this extent would definitely be enough.
In this story, Roger was extremely loyal, taking pride in the Empire's actions and using the Eternal Night Empress's personal charm to appeal to the enemy leader, ultimately achieving success.
This could even be considered a subtle flattery; maybe if the Emperor was happy, there would be an extra reward for him!
But the problem was that the relationship between the Eternal Night Empress and Roger wasn't an ordinary one between ruler and subject.
With the unspoken thoughts between them, plus hearing his deliberate inner voice, how could the Empress let him off so easily?
"No way, no way? Knowing what the Seven Gods are doing, the Saintess defected to the Empire? Should we just broadcast the truth to the whole world, and the Empire can maintain world peace?"
The Eternal Night Empress revealed a thoughtful expression, staring at Roger with mockery in her eyes, clearly saying, 'Tell me the truth!'
[How could such a perfect story of mine reveal flaws? It shouldn't be!]
[Ahem, it's okay, fortunately, I also prepared the R12+ version...]
Roger cleared his throat, "There are indeed some insignificant small details, but I was afraid of wasting Your Majesty's time, so I didn't go into detail..."
"It's okay, the night is long, and I have no other arrangements today. My dear subject, you can tell the whole process, in、ex、cru、ci、a、ting、de、tail."
The Eternal Night Empress's eyes narrowed more and more, also appearing increasingly dangerous.
As if as long as Roger dared to say anything untrue or unclear, she would use torture to force a confession...
Ah, no, it's to seek the truth!
Roger had been by the Eternal Night Empress's side for so long, already familiar with her tactics, and was immediately afraid, but not completely afraid.
He definitely couldn't tell the complete truth; he couldn't say it even if he was beaten to death, because saying it might really get him killed.
So he had to counter the Eternal Night Empress's curiosity, but this strategy would be a bit risky and had to be handled carefully...
The first step in countering was to talk nonsense and distract the Empress's attention!
Roger deliberately acted embarrassed and hesitant, "Your Majesty, you are busy with important matters; I dare not waste time. I dare to use Margaret's head as a guarantee that Saintess Nico is definitely a reliable friend of the Empire!"
Empress: ???
What the hell is guaranteeing with Margaret's head? Shouldn't this kind of thing be guaranteed with your own?
Her face darkened, "I told you to speak, so speak!"
"Actually, Nico said some things that might make Your Majesty unhappy."
"Speak!"
"Those words involve me, are somewhat treasonous, and I beg Your Majesty not to be angry..."
"Are you going to speak or not!!!"
The Eternal Night Empress couldn't help but slam the table directly.
Of course, I know that Nico and you must have done something treasonous, otherwise I wouldn't bother asking!
With your little skills of evasion, you want to escape my invincible wisdom and insight? Don't even think about running!
Roger seemed to be frightened by her sudden anger, shrinking his neck and saying cautiously, "Speak, I'll speak immediately..."
Seeing that he was still hesitating and trying to delay, the Eternal Night Empress's hands were already glowing with magic, and Roger finally said slowly:
"She just asked me if I had ever stopped Your Majesty from resisting the gods. I said of course not; Your Majesty is a divine dragon in the sky, how could you care about the wishes of your subjects? Then Nico made an expression of utter surprise, she said that others couldn't, but in Your Majesty's heart, I must be different..."
"Ut-utter nonsense! How could a Naga Saintess know my thoughts?" The Eternal Night Empress's face flashed with a trace of panic, and she hurriedly denied, "I treat all my subjects the same. What I have pursued throughout my life in power is fairness, fairness, and fairness!"
Roger nodded as a matter of course, "Yes, that's what I told Nico too. In Your Majesty's presence, all subjects must rely on true talent and learning; there is absolutely no unfairness... But that Nico was very stubborn, saying that she analyzed the Empire's intelligence and data, and insisted that Your Majesty has that kind of feeling for me..."
"What kind of feeling? This is completely far-fetched and malicious speculation!" The Eternal Night Empress flicked her sleeves and stood up, turning her back, not wanting Roger to discover her blushing face.
Are my feelings so obvious? They were actually seen through by a Sea Country Saintess I've never even met?
In that Saintess's eyes, am I actually a big idiot with unrequited love for my subject?
This is slander, blatant slander! I absolutely cannot admit it! I clearly disguised it so well!
The good news is that Roger doesn't seem to believe it now, so he must never be allowed to believe it.
If he knows I like him, what if he relies on that and starts slacking off again, right?
So I... I have to pretend to be angry now! Completely deny this matter!
The Eternal Night Empress instantly made a decision, putting on an extremely angry appearance, turning around and directly overturning the table: "I know about this matter. Considering that Nico has just defected to the Empire and doesn't understand the situation, her nonsense will not be pursued for the time being. Have you mentioned this matter to anyone else?"
He wouldn't secretly laugh at me with his sister, would he?
"Your Majesty, rest assured, Nico's groundless speculation, of course I wouldn't talk nonsense to anyone. If Your Majesty hadn't asked, I might have forgotten all about it."
The Eternal Night Empress listened to Roger's inner voice and knew that he was telling the truth this time, indeed not having mentioned it to anyone else, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"This matter ends here. Never discuss it again in the future, and don't let anyone know, understand?"
"Your subject obeys."
"Alright, you may withdraw. You performed well this time; you must work harder next time."
"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty, and take care of your health."
The Eternal Night Empress listened to Roger's receding footsteps and breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, I performed cleverly enough, didn't expose anything, and wasn't seen as a big idiot with unrequited love!
Roger left the Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace with lingering fear, unable to resist turning his head to look at the scattered food and the precious tableware with countless years of history that had been shattered to pieces...
It wasn't until he was far away from the main hall, to a distance where he could teleport back to his mansion, that he breathed a sigh of relief.
That was close; I was almost forced to tell the truth!
Fortunately, I was clever enough to use some other words Nico said to stimulate the Eternal Night Empress, causing her to be unable to continue asking and taking the initiative to end the conversation.
This was a piece of intelligence that Roger had recently confirmed.
He had previously thought that the Eternal Night Empress was an experienced driver, teasing him like a younger brother.
But as his relationship with Little Joey deepened, and he met more women, he discovered that the Eternal Night Empress's image as an experienced driver was probably just an act.
She's the one who blushes first when you make slightly excessive jokes!
After confirming this, Roger had a foolproof method of escape.
When being teased, he just needed to act even more shameless than the other party, and then whoever was more thin-skinned would be embarrassed.
A纨绔 young master with countless maids versus a屑 Empress with no romantic experience who's pretending to be a bad woman, who's more shameless? Do you even need to guess the result?
...Okay, this isn't anything glorious either.
Anyway, Roger used the same trick today, releasing Nico's strange speculations, and the Eternal Night Empress's attention was immediately focused on clearing her own name, leaving her with no energy to pursue what exactly happened between Roger and Nico...
It's just a pity that Roger actually had the intention of testing the Eternal Night Empress today, but judging from her reaction...
It's somewhat like being exasperated by being poked in the heart, but it's also somewhat like being exasperated by being slandered...
In short, it's really hard to judge what an exasperated and flustered Empress is thinking from her performance.
I can only say that Nico's analysis is really too far-fetched; she doesn't know the details of my interaction with Your Majesty.
Right now, at most, we can be considered friends with common ideals, but it hasn't risen to the point of giving birth to that kind of feeling, right?
Alas, women's hearts are really troublesome; to be on the safe side, let Your Majesty make the first move.
Someone as headstrong as her would definitely be fearless if she really had feelings...
No movement, then that means there's no movement yet!
"But speaking of which, that girl is also a trouble."
Roger returned to the Maotai Chateau and saw a certain Saintess waiting in his study, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
He knew that the once-a-night time was coming again, and there was no way to avoid it.
In Nico's expectant gaze, the two walked into the completely soundproof basement.
Roger stood against the wall, facing Nico, while Nico lowered her body, making the kneeling posture of the Naga race, kneeling in front of Roger, and opened her small mouth...
Starting to pray to him about her experiences of the day.
What else?
Would a believer do anything strange to a "temporary god"?
Chapter 211 The Hobbies of Believers Are All Unique!
The problem with Nico Thousand Whirlpool is quite complex, caused by a series of factors such as occupation, personality, and experience, and may take a long time to solve.
There is also a very private hidden attribute of her, which is... a sense of pleasure when treated violently.
She had also used the whip that had whipped Collins, and had also interrogated herself to verify the sincerity of her faith.
This secret was told by Nico herself.
Believers are open to the Lord with all their heart, and the more shameful things they tell, the more satisfaction they get.
Combining all the above factors, this led to her unique dependence on Roger.
Simply put, she is used to the mode of a fanatic, and always needs to believe in something to live.
When the Sea God is unreliable, she chooses to take Roger as a substitute, drawing warmth and nourishment from him.
For this reason, she can do nothing all day, just spacing out waiting for Roger to come back, and she will be super happy to say a few words to him.
It sounds quite romantic at first, with the loyal dog attribute maxed out.
If Roger is a Dom, whipping the beautiful girl until she is scantily clad, she will be even happier...
But from Roger's perspective, this twisted relationship is not happy.
After all, he is not a high-ranking god, watching Nico's transformation from expressionless to pleasantly surprised and gratified, this drastic excess is equivalent to a mental patient.
Perhaps, such believers of Nico, after breaking their faith, the incomplete soul, and the excessive dependence on "external things", should have been treated as mental illnesses.
Roger is worried that if she sees herself getting close to others in this state of dependence, she will accidentally turn black and become a yandere, chopping herself off with a firewood knife.
So it's really not romantic at all, this is me going to hell if I don't (serious face).
Nico's problem of emptiness in the spiritual world is a bit similar to that of Shana when she first came to this world, but the difference is also very obvious.
Shana is a blank sheet of paper, an angel shaped by God. Although she has no mission in life, she is easy to guide.
Nico is a sapling that has been raised crookedly. She has a kind, intelligent, and sensitive original heart, but her perception of the world is distorted.
Shana can establish relatively correct and healthy values by learning and contacting more of the world, but Nico cannot be corrected so easily.
Roger wants to help Nico. She is his subordinate, and it can be regarded as a problem he caused. Nico's moral kidnapping is not too outrageous. He does have a part that he should be responsible for.
Anyway, this process will not suffer losses. If Roger wants to, he can be full of benefits.
Nico's attitude towards Roger is more obedient than any maid, it is complete dedication, sacrifice, and no self. It is conceivable how devout her former faith was.