Chapter 354: Naive Queen
Before he could figure it out, Sigrid had managed to calm Poppy down.
She murmured soft words, stroked the Queen’s hair, and gently guided her back to her feet.
"R-Really?" Poppy sniffled. "You’re not lying to me, Sigrid?"
"Never, my lady. You truly do resemble her."
Sigrid smiled warmly, her hand gently cupping Poppy’s cheek.
"You have her spirit—that same fire, that same passion. And your eyes are exactly like hers."
"Anyone who knew her would see the resemblance instantly."
Poppy’s tears began to slow.
"And I...I have the same hair, don’t I?" She asked hopefully.
"The very same shade." Sigrid confirmed. "It’s like looking at her all over again."
"What about my eyes?! Didn’t mother also have green eyes like mine!?"
"Yes, my lady." Sigrid look at warmly. "You’re mother’s green eyes had depths that no one could see through, while yours shine like crystals."
"My nose?"
"The exact same."
"My lips?"
"Just as plump and lush."
"What about my figure?!" Poppy stood straight and showed of her short figure. "Was mother also as short as me?"
"Well...you’re mother was bit more taller..."
Sigrid awkwardly said, but quickly added when she saw her lady’s eyes tearing up again,
"But of course you’ll attain that figure in the future!"
A hesitant smile crept across Poppy’s face before she nodded, pride slowly returning to her features.
"Of course I will." She said, her voice growing stronger. "I am her daughter, after all! It’s only natural that I resemble her!"
Seeing Poppy muttering to herself of how she was going to drink bottles of milk to increase her height, Sigrid let out a small, relieved sigh and straightened up.
Then, slowly, she turned her gaze toward Luca.
And Luca suddenly felt very, very exposed.
"Right." He said quickly, trying to salvage the situation.
"I know that the reason you’re all angry with me—its probably because of what happened in those dreams you suffered a month ago."
"!!!"
"!!!"
"!!!"
Hearing this suggestion that came out of nowhere, entire centaur vanguard instantly went rigid.
Shock flashed across the knights’ faces, their eyes widening in absolute horror as if he had spoken of a taboo topic.
Luca, completely missing the sudden shift in the room’s tension, forged ahead with his awkward apology.
"I understand that my appearance or someone who looked like me violated all of you in your dreams. I get it. That must have been terrible."
"And I understand why you’d be protective of your Queen right now. She must have experienced the same thing."
Sigrid’s expression shifted to one of alarm. She began shaking her head frantically, her eyes wide with warning, silently telling him to stop talking.
But Luca didn’t notice. He just kept going.
"So, before we have any more massive diplomatic misunderstandings, I just want to explicitly state that I had nothing to do with that."
He looked at them with a sincere gaze and went on to explain,
"The Goddess above decided to pull a prank and forced me onto all of you in your sleep, showing you all those incredibly degenerate things."
"And even though it wasn’t technically my fault that I took advantage of you all in the dream realm, I still want to formally apologize."
"I don’t want any bad blood moving forward, especially with any of you—especially you Queen Poppy since you seem particularly offended."
He looked down at the tiny horned girl, offering a polite nod.
"I hope we can just let the matter drop, since you can’t really blame me for what dream-Luca did."
With that small bow, Luca hoped it would put an end to all the misunderstandings—or at the very least, earn him the opportunity to have a civilized conversation without the two sides immediately resorting to a duel.
His gaze naturally drifted toward Poppy.
How would she react?
Would she become furious at such an unexpected gesture?
Perhaps she would become embarrassed after remembering all the fantasies?
Or maybe she’d simply puff out her cheeks and start shouting at him all over again.
Luca quietly braced himself for every possibility.
Yet none of them came to pass.
Instead, Poppy merely stared at him with a bewildered expression, tilting her head in genuine confusion, as though she had absolutely no idea about what he said.
"What...are you talking about, human?" She asked, her voice filled with genuine confusion. "What dreams? What violation?"
"I don’t understand what you’re saying at all."
Luca frowned. "Umm—you know. The dreams? Where I appeared and did...you know...things to you?"
Poppy tilted her head, utterly confused.
"What dreams? I don’t remember any dreams."
Luca stared at her in equal confusion.
"What do you mean? I’m talking about those dreams where I violated you and devoured your—"
"NOTHING!"
Sigrid jumped in out of nowhere, her expression panicked. She waved her hands frantically.
"Nothing happened at all, my lady! The Hero over here is simply joking!"
Luca blinked. "What? No, I’m not—"
"DEFINITELY JOKING." Sigrid interrupted, her eyes blazing with desperate intensity. "There were no dreams whatsoever. He’s just...messing around. Trying to be funny. Isn’t that right, Hero?"
Luca stared at her. "But—"
’Say yes.’ Her eyes screamed. ’Say yes or else we’re going to have a lot of problems.’
Luca hesitated, then awkwardly nodded.
"Uh...I guess so, yeah. Nothing happened. Definitely nothing."
Sigrid let out a sigh of relief so profound that it could have been heard across the valley.
She then turned back to Poppy with a bright, reassuring smile.
"See, my lady? Nothing happened at all. The Hero was just confused. He probably woke up from a strange dream and got his own dream confused with reality."
Poppy narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I feel like you’re hiding something from me, Sigrid."
Sigrid’s smile remained firmly in place, though a bead of sweat trickled down her temple.
"Hiding something? From you? Why, my lady, I could never! You’re the smartest person I know—you’d see through any deception in an instant!"
"I could hide something in the deepest parts of my soul, and you would figure it out with just a glance!"
Poppy’s suspicious expression slowly shifted to one of pleased satisfaction.
"That’s true." She said, nodding sagely. "I do have a way of seeing through people. It’s one of my many talents."
Placing one hand on her hip, she dramatically swept the other through the air as though addressing an invisible audience.
"Every step I take is part of a grand plan."
"Every decision I make has already accounted for countless possibilities."
"My mind is always several moves ahead of everyone else."
With a confident flick of her hair, she smiled radiantly.
"The Centaur Kingdom is incredibly fortunate to have such a wise and magnificent queen."
With a perfectly straight face, Sigrid quietly glanced at the other centaurs and gave the slightest nod.
The entire formation immediately burst into applause.
"Our Queen is the smartest ruler to ever live!"
"No one in history could outsmart Her Majesty!"
"Her brilliance is simply unmatched!"
"Our Queen’s wisdom knows no equal!"
Poppy’s chest puffed out a little more with every compliment.
"Well..." she said, trying and utterly failing to sound modest. "I suppose you’re all simply stating the obvious."
"Still, it’s nice to hear my subjects recognize my unparalleled brilliance."
By the end of it, she was standing so proudly that she looked an inch taller.
—
Meanwhile, Luca stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
’She actually believes that.’ He thought. ’She genuinely thinks she’s some kind of genius mastermind.’
He glanced at Sigrid, who was nodding along with a perfectly straight face.
"Yes, my lady, you’re absolutely correct! Truly, your wisdom knows no bounds!"
For the first time, he began to understand why everyone was so protective of the young Queen.
She wasn’t just naive.
She was completely, utterly, hopelessly oblivious!
But despite the absurdity of the situation, Luca’s mind was still churning with questions.
’Why is everyone avoiding the topic of the dreams?’ He wondered.
Every single female at that conference should have experienced them. It wasn’t some secret—it was practically a continent-wide phenomenon.
’Why are they trying so hard to keep Poppy in the dark?’
He watched as Poppy bounced happily on Sigrid’s back, her tiny hands playing with the commander’s silver ponytail as if she were a child riding a beloved pony rather than a queen being carried by her most trusted knight.
The sight was undeniably adorable, but it only deepened his confusion.
As if reading his thoughts, Sigrid caught his eye.
She gave him a knowing look, then turned her head, gesturing toward one of the other Centaurs standing nearby.
Luca followed her gaze.
Standing slightly apart from the main group was a Centaur who radiated a different kind of presence—one of quiet authority and measured wisdom.
She had beautiful green eyes that held a hint of maturity and grace, the kind of eyes that had seen many seasons and learned many lessons.
Her shoulder-length brown hair was styled with small braids on the sides, framing a face that was both beautiful and weathered by experience.
She had the look of a graceful warrior, the kind who moved with purpose rather than brute force.
Her lower half was a rich chestnut color, sturdy and powerful, and she was slightly larger than the other Centaurs around her.
Compared to Sigrid, who still carried a youthful energy despite her commanding presence, this woman looked like she had been through more battles, seen more deaths, and carried more weight on her shoulders.
Seeing Sigrid’s subtle nod, the brown-haired Centaur knew exactly what to do.
She began making her way toward Luca, her hooves making soft thuds against the grass.
When she finally stood before him, she opened her mouth to speak—but paused.
Luca was staring up at her in a daze.
His eyes traced her face, then drifted down to her powerful shoulders, her strong arms, the impressive expanse of her upper body.
Then his gaze continued lower, scanning the magnificent horse half that seemed to radiate raw power.
He was literally craning his neck to take in all of her, like a child marveling at a towering monument.
Normally, this would have been nothing.
Thea, for that was her name was a hardened warrior, the deputy commander of the Mighty Galloping Brigade, Sigrid’s right hand and most trusted advisor.
She had faced down charging enemies, protected her queen from countless threats, and stood firm in the face of overwhelming odds.
She had seen men tremble before her, had watched monsters twice her size wilt under her gaze.
But there was something about Luca’s gaze that made her feel...exposed.
It was like he was looking right through her armor, seeing her completely naked, and she found herself feeling slightly uneasy for the first time in years.
Still, she was a professional. She coughed lightly, a playful smile spreading across her face.
"Is there something wrong with my appearance, Hero?"
She asked, her voice carrying a hint of amusement.
"I must apologize—I didn’t put on my best armor today. I chose something more defensive and bulky instead."
She gestured at her silver breastplate, which was indeed more practical than elegant.
"If I had known the Hero would be observing me so closely, I would have put on something much more...refined."
"Perhaps something with gold trim, or perhaps I would have polished my armor until it gleamed like a mirror."
Luca blinked, finally snapping out of his daze.
But rather than looking embarrassed or apologetic, he just continued staring up at her with undisguised admiration.
"No, it’s not that." He said slowly. "I just realized...you’re really tall."
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