### Chapter 117: A Few Things About Viki (Part 1)
In early December, the central workshop delegation from the Valen Empire arrived in the Royal City.
Led by Pasifal, the craftsmen and apprentices met with Queen Elizabeth in the royal palace’s meeting room. They engaged in a three-day academic exchange, and as the national princess of the Valen Empire, I managed to swing by the palace on the second day of the event.
Lately, apart from the occasional trips to the academy for relic-related matters, I’ve spent the most time at the palace. The last time I met Her Majesty the Queen, I asked her to set aside a spot for me in the royal archives. Besides my handwritten notes, I also stashed away some documents about deities and the handwritten letters from Grandma Berta.
Of course, Grandma Berta didn’t just write me one letter that year; I even handed one off to Principal Melville. As for the last one that she didn’t finish, I kept it to remind me of her.
It struck me that I’d been in the Royal City for nearly a month already. Time flies when you’re tangled up in one annoying task after another.
I’d never directly meddled in matters of the royal council, but I’d certainly been busy helping the palace behind the scenes—blocking people, apprehending them, and forcing confessions. Before I knew it, I was practically a pro at it.
It’s not like Viki forced me into any of this. I came back with the aim of speeding up the process of “de-churching” the Royal City, hoping that would allow Viki to free up her schedule and concentrate on solidifying relations between our two empires; this was the priority at the moment.
So naturally, that was also the reason for my visit to the palace today.
Over the past few days, it seemed like the Sword of Kanli was busy casting nets and fishing for something, and according to Rect, that old pope wouldn’t be able to escape for long.
And throughout this, the Holy City hadn’t made any responses or actions regarding the chaos in the Royal City.
As a result, outside of the Royal City, the entire eastern region of Ethanbel had begun to take up the so-called “de-churching” initiative, pushed forward by Queen Elizabeth. The kingdom’s citizens proclaimed that they no longer needed false believers, and similar slogans echoed across major cities in Ethanbel.
In light of this opportunity, I recently exchanged letters with my father, drafting a contract for the workshop to swap apprentices with Chrisrodney City. We also discussed the prerequisite conditions for exchanging the winter city’s dubious weapon forging techniques with Ethanbel’s defensive construction methods, among other things related to the peace treaty with Ethanbel.
These matters would be ironed out by Pasifal during the academic exchange, as that was his mission for coming to the Royal City. My older brother also brought along some negotiators. However, it seemed my father was a bit uneasy, perhaps because he considered my close relations with Viki. He specifically urged that my presence was essential during the discussions.
Of course, he wouldn’t say it outright; he just advised me to keep an eye on things. He didn’t mention anything about Her Majesty at all.
Meanwhile, my mother couldn’t help but bring up Viki in her letter, feigning concern for the queen’s well-being and advising her to take care of herself, followed by a long list of irrelevant chit-chat. Finally, she got to the main point: I shouldn’t spend all my time with Viki. Apparently, with my current status, staying in the same room with Her Majesty was inappropriate. With so many eyes watching, any slip-up, no matter how trivial, could be blown out of proportion into scandalous rumors, jeopardizing stability between our two nations.
She almost said outright: Be careful not to let anyone know about you two getting cozy together!
I could understand my mother’s concerns, but realistically, her worries were unfounded. Recently, my interactions with Viki had been mostly limited to the talks between our nations and official matters. Apart from that, we hardly met privately.
The only instance that could be considered a private meeting was about four or five days ago after a small conference. I cornered her to ask about the whereabouts of Saint Margaret and asked her to help me get in touch.
I recall that Viki mentioned the last news she heard of Margaret was that she was at the Holy Wall holding off the Abyss Mud, and then nothing. We chatted a bit about church matters, and I casually asked her, as a personal favor, to help me track down any remaining relics of the Ancient Deity and who currently had them.
Viki thought for a long time before nodding and agreeing.
Throughout that exchange, Viki didn’t treat me coldly, but it ended there. It was as if I were merely a reliable ally; she met my needs as best as she could but wouldn’t say an extra word. She rarely returned to Vilo Garden, and when she did, it was always a quick in-and-out, like she was on a mission.
That attitude continued to today.
The academic conference day ran until the evening, having been in session for most of the day. Her Majesty left in a hurry midway, looking like she really had a lot on her plate. Before she left, she reminded the staff to attend to my brother and me, but didn’t say much more to me before making her exit.
That left me feeling a bit miffed.
However, once I stepped out of the palace, Pasifal was right next to me, babbling about how proper the royal decorum was. Clearly, Her Majesty placed great importance on this exchange, and her warm attitude toward her empire’s allies was evident. He was quite taken with the craftsmen from Chrisrodney City.
In truth, today’s conference atmosphere was indeed lively, but perhaps I was the only one feeling a tad uneasy about it.
Afterward, Pasifal eagerly proposed to take a stroll around the Royal City, to see this city that was on par with Winter City, and to check out how lively it got at night.
He invited me to be his guide, and although I wasn’t too keen, I eventually gave in after some persuasion.
Riding the war chariot, we reached the bustling streets and got out early in a less crowded spot. As we wandered through the market, munching on skewered fish in one hand and pastries in the other, I suddenly remembered the last time I did this was years ago when I dragged Viki out of the palace, dressed her in commoner clothes, and made her accompany me at the night market.
That was also an extremely lively night!
Thinking about it, the carefree feelings from that night seemed like a distant memory.
So, I figured that tonight, strolling around the Royal City with Pasifal, forgetting about the Holy City and deities, wouldn’t be half bad.
“What a pity…”
As we walked and ate, Pasifal was getting quite messy with his food, tossing the fish bones aside, and licked his fingers wistfully. “I’m only here for about four or five days. Even if I relax every night, it won’t be enough to see all of the famous spots in the city!”
His words dripped with regret, coupled with a hint of anticipation.
“Well, even if you had the time, don’t think I’m joining you.” I pouted at him.
“Why not?” Pasifal’s face fell dramatically, clutching his chest. “Has my little sister found someone she fancies and lost interest in her brother? Tell me who, and I’ll go take care of him tonight.”
“…”
I shot him a glare and didn’t bother to respond.
After a while, I brought up the progress of the workshop: “How’s the black powder issue coming along?”
“The tests are going smoothly.”
At the mention of it, Pasifal perked up immediately. “The power of the powder barrels far exceeds my expectations! But actually utilizing them effectively on the battlefield isn’t as simple as I thought…”
“Oh right! About that firing g*n you mentioned last time—I’ve looked into it too…”
And so the conversation went on for a while. When Pasifal was stuffed and worn out from wandering, we returned to the war chariot. He kept chattering away, “Why don’t I just skip going back to the palace and come to your garden instead? I’ll show you the design sketches for the new dubious weapon—”
“Hey.”
Suddenly, someone called out.
Pasifal and I turned to see a platinum-and-white war chariot we hadn’t noticed before, parked nearby, seemingly waiting for us.
As the calling voice came through, the chariot’s curtain was drawn, revealing a golden-haired woman peeking out from the carriage. She waved at me and said, “Got a moment?”
It was Viki’s eccentric sister.
