Chapter 335: Arrived at Royal Castle
After talking with Beatrice, I returned to where Sana was. From my radar, I found out Alesia had arrived. I saw her talking to the cute Archbishop near the stairs, apparently talking about today's plan.
I walked down the stairs and waved at them when they saw me. Alesia nodded slightly.
Stopping in front of them, I smiled and asked, "Are we going now?"
"Yes." Sana confirmed with a nod, "We will teleport to the Royal Castle first to meet the Queen and prepare the magic item Headmistress Alesia brings."
Nodding, Alesia continued, "I brought three projectors. While you and Archbishop Sana talk to Queen Eve, I will install them."
"Alright."
That was reasonable.
"What about Ertha? Will she tag along?"
"No, Your Holiness. I will take care of the Castitas Church in place of Archbishop Sana." Ertha answered from the side with a soft smile. "For me, taking care of the church is better than going to the Capital City."
If she didn't want to, then I wouldn't mind. There must be a reason why she preferred to stay and take care of the Castitas Church in Academy City instead of going with us.
"If you're ready, then I will teleport us now," Alesia spoke in a calm tone, but her eyes looked like he asked me to hurry up and not waste any time.
However, she made sense. I was the one who made them wait for me because I was talking with Beatrice. We should've arrived a few minutes ago if I didn't go to the 'toilet' and spent my sweet time there.
I walked closer to Sana, squeezing the cute Archbishop between me and Alesia. My hand went over her waist, holding her gently.
"Hya! S-Sir Arthur, your hand..." She let out a cute yelp as she looked at me with a red face.
I looked back at her and said, "It's better if we squeeze close. That way, the headmistress won't spend too much MP to teleport us."
"But... This is too close..." She muttered, seemingly embarrassed.
Alesia didn't flinch or anything looking at us. It was as if she was already used to it. "... We are teleporting." She simply said that, and a magic circle appeared under our feet.
Many church knights who prepared the stage stopped for a while and gave us a salute. I nodded at them, and then we disappeared, teleporting away to the Royal Castle.
The scenery around us distorted and changed from the Academy City's Castitas Church entrance into a luxurious room with nothing but a golden chandelier hanging on the ceiling as if it was designed for someone to teleport into.
The wall was made from white stones covered in intricate details.
Standing before us was Queen Eve, wearing an elegant blue high-neck dress with a silver tiara. Standing three steps behind her was a tall man that I could even say was a giant. He was even taller than Cecil, a minotaur girl. From my estimation, this man was more than 250 cm.
His body was covered in a muscle mass that even his dark blue knight uniform with many medals on his chest couldn't hide. His face was covered in scars, just like the headmaster of the Temperantia Academy, with a missing left eye.
With an eternal deep frown and long gray hair, I recognized this man as a Grand Marshal serving the previous King whose loyalty now lay on Queen Eve. He was looking at me with his right eye; a blue glint flashed as if he was judging me.
'He's trying to use <Appraisal> on me.' I thought, lowering my hand that was still holding my beloved Archbishop's petite body. I looked back at the man, and a heavy atmosphere formed between us.
No one said anything, including Queen Eve. After a few seconds, the Grand Marshal nodded his head deeply as if it was a recognition of a fellow warrior. I just nodded back without saying anything, mainly because I didn't know about this Grand Marshal too much. I didn't even know his name yet.
At that moment, Queen Eve smiled gently.
"Welcome, Your Holiness, Archbishop Sana. It's an honor to receive you in our castle." She said, having her hands in front of her body. "Headmistress Alesia too, welcome to the Royal Castle."
"Thank you for your warm welcome, Queen Eve." I stepped up and answered her greeting. "May the Goddess bless our plan for today."
In terms of status, I was the highest one here, followed by Sana and then Alesia.
"May the Goddess bless us." Queen Eve clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Then, she opened them again and continued, "Let's continue our discussion in another room. This room isn't fit to have a discussion."
"Of course, Queen Eve." I nodded at her.
Alesia spoke from behind me at that moment, "My apologies, Your Majesty. But I need to install the magic items immediately, so this is where I part ways."
Hearing the headmistress' words, Queen Eve looked at the older elf and said, "I am counting on you, Alesia."
After getting confirmation, Alesia nodded and bowed before teleporting away. I wondered why she didn't show that kind of respect and attitude toward me, even though my position was higher than Queen Eve's.
'Maybe it's because I am still a student in her Academy, and status means nothing in the Royal Academy. At least that's the kind of Academy Alesia wanted to create.'
Anyway, I followed the Queen and moved to another place. I walked beside Sana with the Grand Marshal guiding us silently.
We arrived at another room located in the same corridor, and the Grand Marshal opened the door for us.
"I will guard outside, Your Majesty." The Grand Marshal bowed deeply and said with a deep voice.
"Thank you, Garland." The Queen replied, entering the room with me and Sana.
I also nodded at the Grand Marshal, Garland, and entered just right after the Queen. The air inside the room was laden with the scent of rich perfumes and a subtle hint of fresh flowers. It seemed like the maids in the Royal Castle had prepared this room specifically for the Royal Family to talk with a VIP.
The room had luxurious decorations. Gilded accents adorned the walls, reflecting the soft glow of crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. Each piece of furniture was luxurious and beautiful.
Sana and I followed the Queen and walked atop a plush carpet. As we approached the center, I saw two grand red couches awaiting us.
Seated across the Queen on the soft red sofa, separated from a crystal table, we looked at each other with a soft smile. The cute Archbishop was sitting beside me and leaving the rest to me this time.
In this room, the Queen's presence exuded an air of authority and grace, her posture commanding attention. It was different from when I saw her seated beside the Queen. Even the Grand Marshal seemed to bow to her presence, recognizing her status.
She was now not that different from the King and Queen I saw back in Horizon Online. Those NPCs were exuding the aura of authority thanks to their skills, and it seemed like Queen Eve had already developed similar skills from what I saw.
'It seems that she's ready to be a ruler.' I concluded from my observation.
And our discussion before the speech started with words from the Queen.
"Your Holiness, I will cut into the case and will say this without holding anything." Her voice was crystal clear and rang in this room clearly. With a determined gaze in her blue eyes, the Queen exclaimed, "Please support me to ascend to the throne. For the sake of the Kingdom and Goddess Teri."