Chapter 36
As the footsteps approached, Firex stopped at the other end of the grand hall. A sharp and caustic voice suddenly rang out.
"Your Majesty...! I am late. The carriage encountered some mud along the way. Ah, it seems the Hero has already arrived ahead of schedule?"
She had not arrived early. The Hero had arrived on time, while Firex was late.
"Lord Firex, go stand over there."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In accordance with court etiquette, after arriving, Firex first kowtowed to the king, then retreated to the side.
However, the casual manner in which he kowtowed could hardly be called respectful.
The cunning Prime Minister glanced around the grand hall.
Upon seeing the black-haired little girl standing behind the Hero, Firex was momentarily puzzled.
He had not heard that today’s impromptu meeting would include such a figure... a child?
Hmph, since the king had summoned him today for a debate, it was only natural to seize some advantage before the talks began.
Let me dampen their momentum first.
Firex suddenly bent forward slightly, his expression gradually contorting with a hint of gritted teeth.
"Ah...! Your Majesty, has the kingdom’s etiquette truly been so ravaged by the war?"
"Lord Firex, what do you mean by this?"
Firex smirked inwardly.
He raised his hand and pointed toward Shaya on the other side of the hall.
"I was not too late, and from what I can see, this person has not paid her respects to Your Majesty. The Hero naturally holds the privilege of not kneeling, but this little girl behind her... she does not appear to be of the Wright Family, does she? So young, and yet she knows nothing of court etiquette before the throne. What a disgrace!"
Hm?
Sheffy had just been competing with the Third Princess over who could make more funny faces.
But suddenly, she felt a surge of killing intent!
Startled, she turned her head, only to see Xiarette’s sharp gaze, as if she was ready at any moment to charge forward and hack the Prime Minister into Prime Minister pieces!
Wow\... Prime Minister, you really know how to stir up trouble. Isn’t it nice just staying alive?
Sheffy had been occupied with something else just now, but recalling what her ears had heard, she remembered the topic being discussed a moment ago.
Kneeling?
Haha, that’s impossible\~
Though she had slipped away from the Demon Domain, as the Demon Clan Princess, she would never kneel to the king of the kingdom. That was non-negotiable.
Still, this Firex fellow did know how to nitpick.
And the point he raised was indeed a tricky one.
—Of course, that was for others.
For Sheffy, this was child’s play!
Heehee, when it comes to nitpicking, I’m a professional!
Sheffy spread her small hands and curled her lips into a mischievous smirk.
Miss Shaya, it’s time to speak up!
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36. Double Meanings in Words
Miss Shaya’s expression was like the shifting summer clouds, like the deep undercurrents of the sea—changing in an instant.
Just a moment ago, she had been laughing and competing with Livra to see who could pull the funniest face.
The next moment, she looked pitiful and full of sorrow. If not for having just made funny faces and being unable to cry on cue, and without any tear-inducing onion rings on hand, tears would surely have started streaming down.
"Ah... Your Majesty, it’s not that I am unwilling to kneel, but rather that my heart is willing though my body is not... To be honest, my legs... were afflicted with an old ailment in my childhood. They simply cannot bend. In fact, this uncle, who just barged in so fiercely, reminded me... I suppose I’m now half a cripple...!"
Just now, those same short little legs of Miss Shaya had supported her as she moved about swiftly.
At this moment, her legs suddenly trembled like a newborn foal’s—unstable and wobbly!
Xiarette’s brow twitched wildly. She had no idea what kind of stunt her little troublemaker was pulling this time!
The king didn’t get it either. Just a moment ago, weren’t you perfectly fine? How had you suddenly turned into some kind of half-cripple in the blink of an eye?
But as the ruler of a kingdom, his innate sharp instincts told him that the wise move in dealing with Firex now was to play along with this little girl’s act.
Thus, Celt lightly tapped the armrest of his throne to express sympathy, his deep voice equally full of concern.
"This truly is... Little one, what happened to your legs?"
"Uuu... Your Majesty, please don’t mention it. It all started when I was abandoned by my parents at a young age and had to wander all across the lands. And somehow, I don’t even know how, I ended up roaming into the Holy Theocracy of Coreia for a while!"
Miss Shaya forced herself to stagger left and right on her “disabled” little legs, waving her arms and matching her sorrowful expression with dramatic gestures.
"I never would’ve thought... After wandering so long in the Kingdom of Aurus without anything happening, the moment I reached the Holy Theocracy of Coreia, I was bitten by a stray dog while begging for food! Uuu... I struggled desperately to escape with my life, and though I managed to survive, my leg—torn by that wild dog—even with innate healing magic, has never bent properly since."
At that point, Miss Shaya stopped her random, limping pacing.
"That wasn’t the only time. On my way back to the kingdom while still wandering, I often saw stray dogs roaming the streets of the Theocracy. This experience taught me an important lesson..."
Her sly sidelong glance landed on the Prime Minister, whose face was full of confusion.
At the same time, Miss Shaya slightly raised her hands, as if crying out to the gods about the injustice.
"The lesson is... The stray dogs on the streets of the Holy Theocracy of Coreia are really everywhere! Oh...! That’s right, you all probably don’t know, but some of those stray dogs were actually raised by people! Specifically bred to commit evil and bite innocent folk! Tell me, isn’t that just despicable?"
A moment of silence followed—a brief second of contemplation.
The first to react was Firex, who suddenly caught on. His face turned ashen, and his whole body trembled with fury.
"You dare...!"
"Eh?" Miss Shaya blinked her big, innocent eyes. "Mister, why have you been so angry since just now? Did I say something wrong? The Holy Theocracy of Coreia does have a lot of stray dogs... Ah... wait, could it be that you raised some of them?! That kind of immoral behavior really shouldn't be allowed!"
"I...! You...!"
The Prime Minister’s face grew uglier by the second.
But he was now suffering in silence!
Even the king was watching him… Though everyone knew that suspicious girl was clearly using metaphors to mock him, if the Prime Minister started shouting back now, wouldn’t that be admitting it was all about him?!
Of course, Xiarette understood the double meaning in Sheffy’s words too.
Watching Sheffy standing tall, confidently leading the entire hall, Xiarette couldn’t help but chuckle a few times, helping crank Firex’s blood pressure up another notch.
As for the king, the more he mulled over Miss Shaya’s speech, the more delightful it felt!
Wasn’t this Firex basically a dog raised by the Theocracy?!
In the end, Celt actually rose from his throne and let out several hearty laughs in response to Shaya’s earlier question.
"Haha... Hahahahaha! People raising stray dogs and sending them out to bite others? That is indeed utterly despicable! Miss Shaya, you’re absolutely right! When it comes to prosperity and peace, our Kingdom of Aurus has every confidence. Clearly, under the Pope’s governance, the Holy Theocracy of Coreia still has much to learn from our kingdom in that regard! Marvelous… simply marvelous! What do you think, Lord Firex?"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty, the kingdom’s fortune is strong—who doesn’t know that?"
"Exactly! You’re in contact with the Pope, aren’t you? Then pass along a message from me—tell him to better control the stray dogs of the Theocracy. Don’t let those bootlicking riffraff release them to bite people everywhere. Understand?"
"Under… understood, Your Majesty… please rest assured..."
Firex responded through gritted teeth, casting furious, sideways glances at that unknown black-haired little girl.
Tch...!
She wasn’t even trying to keep up the act!
Just a moment ago she claimed to be crippled, and now she was hopping and skipping around the grand hall’s pillars?!
In truth, not everyone was that clever.
Perhaps everyone was clever to some extent, but there were always a few who were a bit slow.
Take Princess Livra, for example.
Livra’s intelligence was not a constant value—sometimes, when she was serious, she could be very sharp and perceptive; other times, when relaxed, she was a complete airhead.
She had held back for a long time, but finally couldn’t bear it anymore. With a sudden bang, she slapped the armrest of her throne, making a loud thud.
—Startling her poor father half to death!
What’s gotten into my troublesome daughter now?!
Princess Livra’s high heels clicked loudly on the crystal floor as she ran straight down from the throne platform.
She hurried all the way to stand before Shaya and Xiarette, her face full of worry.
Clenching her small fists, she solemnly declared:
"Those vile stray dogs...! Miss Shaya, you’ve suffered so much. Why was your childhood so full of hardship? I promise! I will search the entire kingdom for the best physicians—we will heal the old injury on your leg...! Eh? Miss Shaya...? Why are you looking at me with such a sympathetic expression...?"
"Because the one who deserves sympathy is not me, but you... Poor child, so young, yet your head is already not working right."
Sheffy tiptoed over and patted her head—one that clearly wasn’t too bright—in a gesture of sympathy.
Only after Xiarette softly explained the deeper meaning behind it all did the not-so-steady-minded Livra finally come to a sudden realization!
And then she praised Shaya’s words:
"Miss Shaya, well said! Wonderfully said!"
"The way your mind works is just as wonderfully delayed—let’s call it even."
Hero to hero, they admired one another. Sheffy quickly ushered the princess back behind the throne.
Honestly, making funny faces is more suited to you.
Firex had ended up swallowing a bitter loss in this matter, and it had truly infuriated him.
But after all, he came from one of the few noble families in the Theocracy and had excellent presence of mind.
This matter... could be let go for now.
But the real topic about to begin must not go awry.
If he failed to have Sheffy Harl extradited to the Theocracy, the Pope would probably have him skinned alive!
Right now, the king held great admiration for Miss Shaya.
Just as Livra had said, he felt fortunate. The kingdom was blessed—every generation produced talented people!
However... King Celt’s expression soon turned serious again.
He knew that such clever tricks were only gratifying for the moment; they wouldn’t do much to resolve the situation.
When it came time to face reality, there was no escape...
The king sighed heavily, full of worry.
He sat back down on the throne and once again brought up the issue that had been troubling him endlessly these past few days.
"Enough... The reason I called you all here today is to hold one final discussion regarding the matter of the Demon Clan Princess. The Holy Theocracy of Coreia continues to demand that Sheffy Harl be handed over to them for imprisonment. I believe I’ve already explained their reasons via the communication crystal."
After that, Celt’s weary gaze turned to Xiarette first, seeking her opinion.
"Hero... You are the one personally guarding the Demon Clan Princess now, so your voice holds the most weight. What do you think about this matter?"
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37. She Can Do It
It had begun.
Xiarette turned her head, meeting Sheffy’s gaze. Their eyes locked—signaling that today’s debate had officially started.
But when Miss Shaya noticed Xiarette glancing over, her adorable little frown seemed to say:
—Why are you still looking over?!
Just get on with it and speak already, stop with the useless stuff!
Uuuh... Sheffy, you must understand—your sister’s mind doesn’t work that well. If I don’t look at your face to steady my nerves, I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing.
She had looked enough. Her mood was steady now.