The Immortal Queen Cannot Escape the Lies and Obsession of the Demon — Not That She Wants To - Chapter 09

“Thank you for granting us your time today despite our sudden request. Please take good care of yourself.”

After returning to the front room with the masked Theodor, the Marquis descended to the lower castle with Theodor. The visit had lasted only about ten minutes.

After seeing the two off at the reception room entrance, Ariana asked the knight standing guard to bring ink to her private chambers.

Once alone with Fols in the room, Ariana let out a deep sigh and sank into the sofa.

“You seem tired.”

“Yes. Please excuse me for just a moment.”

“Of course. But aren’t you close? That person seemed like someone you’ve known since childhood.”

“That’s just noble etiquette.”

Ariana had genuinely admired the ‘Uncle who gave her shoulder rides’ whom she occasionally met, and she believed the Marquis was fond of her too.

But from the time she was the middle princess of the royal family’s younger brother to becoming the Queen, the Marquis had changed. She could now see ambition seeping through his words, expressions, and the depths of his eyes. Perhaps he had truly changed. Or perhaps her ability to read people had developed enough to notice what was always there.

In truth, it remained speculation, but at the very least, he had become someone she needed to be cautious around.

“Fols. I imagine you’ll eventually be married into some noble family.”

“Didn’t I tell you I have no intention of doing that?”

“But you’ve received offers, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Though Fols held an honorary title as the Queen’s guard knight, his origins were commoner.

Still, condescending marriage proposals came his way – ‘Why not marry in and truly become one of us nobles?’ He had refused them all, earning appropriate disapproval, but it meant nothing to the demon race member Rai.

Seeing Fols’ completely disinterested attitude, Ariana’s lips curved into a smile.

“Please stay just as you are.”

“…………”

Fols’ lack of ambition gave Ariana no small measure of reassurance.

His presence was comfortable enough that she’d regret losing it.

“…Ah, that is, if possible! It’s not an order or anything!”

“………………”

Fols looked down at Ariana with a straight face as she sat on the low sofa, her hands resting uncertainly on her aligned knees, looking up at him anxiously from her lower position.

Several seconds of silence passed.

Ariana grew troubled by Fols’ sudden silence and was furrowing her brows when a knock came at the door, followed by Nala’s voice.

“Your Majesty, may I enter?”

“Come in.”

For some reason, Fols gave immediate permission. Since there was no particular reason to object, Ariana added, “Please do.”

Nala opened the slightly ajar door and bowed respectfully.

“Marquis Mathia has departed. Shall I now summon Lord Valerio?”

“Yes. If it seems he can come immediately, please call him.”

“Understood. By the way,”

Straightening up, Nala turned her gaze toward Fols, who for some reason was kneeling on one knee beside them with bowed head. It was an excessively formal salute for the situation.

“I don’t recall having done anything for Fols that would warrant this…”

“No, I’m super grateful. If you hadn’t come, I might have carelessly committed the disrespect of hugging Her Majesty.”

“I see, it seems this was a situation worthy of praise. I’d like to hear the details.”

She immediately understood. Moreover, she wanted to hear the full story.

Sensing a strange camaraderie forming between the two, Ariana couldn’t keep up with the changing situation and felt confused by her sense of exclusion.

“Her Majesty looked up at me with upturned eyes and said, ‘Please stay with me just as you are from now on.’ Not only that, she even emphasized, ‘Ah, this isn’t an order!’ I was, I was…”

“…Aren’t you unusually good at imitating my voice?”

“Ah, I’m good at that sort of thing.”

Fols, who had been dramatically clutching his chest and looking down with a serious expression, raised his face and answered innocently.

He hadn’t just imitated her voice – he had completely copied her way of speaking too. Even though the lines themselves were fabricated, the reproduction was so perfect it created the illusion that she had actually said them.

Because of this, Nala nodded understandingly.

“Ah… Lady Ariana does have a way of naturally saying things that tug at the heart.”

“Fols, don’t deceive Nala with your excellent acting.”

“No no, it’s mostly accurate.”

“In my experience, Fols’ interpretation is closer to the truth than Lady Ariana’s subjective view.”

The disagreement lasted less than a second, with Ariana losing by majority vote.

Fols shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘See?’, while Ariana looked shocked, her brows furrowed.

“Lady Ariana is skilled at being endearing. But Fols, you’ve only been in service for about a year, yet you seem to have gained considerable trust.”

“Is that so? As your humble servant, that’s an honor.”

“…Indeed, I was raised sheltered from the world and lack experience. Even among my peers, I must appear immature.”

With her image as the sickly princess who couldn’t appear in public, she would have been seen as an unreliable monarch. That had been overwritten by her special characteristic of being the immortal queen, and she had worked diligently at her official duties throughout the year since her coronation.

Still, Ariana was aware that being both underage and female caused others to underestimate her.

“However, being seen as easy to control would disgrace the royal family. – Therefore, I carefully determine the level of trust I grant based on the person.”

Ariana declared this proudly with her hand over her chest.

Fols and Nala exchanged glances, then nodded solemnly before coordinating their responses.

“…I see?”

“…By the way, what level are Nala and I?”

“Nala is of course the maximum value of 10. Fols is an 8. As you can see, I maintain proper discernment.”

“That’s higher evaluation than I expected.”

It was understandable that she trusted Nala, who had accompanied her for many years.

On the other hand, for Fols, whom she had known for only about a year, to be placed in the upper ranks of a ten-level evaluation system was essentially declaring that she trusted him considerably.

Fols sighed heavily with half-closed eyes.

“Your Majesty, in the world outside, that’s what they call ‘easy prey’.”

“…Nala. Is what Fols says true? It doesn’t sound like a positive impression.”

“Both Fols’ observation and Lady Ariana’s sensibility are correct.”

Since Nala came from a viscount family that governed part of an agricultural region, she had some knowledge of slang.

So, she understood that his words carried the meaning of ‘someone easily controlled’, and that directing such words toward the monarch was even more disrespectful than hugging her.

“So that level system – if you tell anyone besides us, it’s absolutely forbidden. They’ll look down on you. Can you keep it secret? Please be careful about this.”

“I do intend to be careful, but…”

However, she wasn’t so tactless as to point that out.

Ariana might be skilled at being endearing, but Fols was quite skilled at indulging her.

Reconfirming the fact that her young mistress, who bore the responsibilities of monarchy, had gained someone she could trust, Nala nodded understandingly while secretly smiling with relief.