Her words managed to surprise me and caught me off guard.
"Assassination?" I asked, raising my brows.
The opposing faction actually planned that? Were they that impatient because I declared my support to Queen Eve?
My words carried a sign of authority from Castitas Church. While many Nobles converted to back Queen Eve to rise to the throne, it also made the other faction impatient.
"Underground City's assassin?" I continued, staring straight at Queen Eve.
"Most probably. The informant only told me that someone from the opposing faction, who wanted to make the First Prince into a puppet ruler, wanted to kill me to give you a warning."
"I see…"
As expected, my support tilted the scale to favor Queen Eve too much that the opposing party felt their position threatened.
'And they want to warn me by assassinating the Queen because they think I am not in the Capital City and are preoccupied with my Paladin job.'
Somehow that made me chuckle because of how silly it was. But I guessed that made sense.
They didn't know I got quick access to Queen Eve's private [Earring of Communication] with me all the time. And they didn't know that my slave, a Level 100 primordial Succubus, always stayed in Royal Castle to inform me if something happened.
This information made me understand why Grand Marshal Garland was so jittery. He surely mistook my bloodlust as a sign of this assassin coming from the Underground City after being told by the Queen in the throne room.
Tristan had destroyed the one near Bluerose Duchy, and the biggest Underground City, the Border City, was under my control.
There were countless others that I didn't know yet, but it was probably only a small one and had crazy people gathering in it.
If not, they wouldn't accept the assassination of the Queen and chose to appeal for mercy because she even mentioned she would accept any Race or people as long as they weren't bad and were willing to get their Sins cleansed in her speech.
"Is it really tonight?" I asked once more for confirmation.
Queen Eve nodded firmly, "Yes. I have ordered Grand Marshal Garland to command the Royal Guards, who have sworn loyalty to me, to patrol around the Royal Castle."
I nodded in understanding.
Silently, I was amazed by her charisma. She could regain the Royal Guards' loyalty in just 7 days.
Grand Marshal's loyalty and Carissa's betrayal might affect their already weak heart. They became afraid and chose the safest way to stay as Royal Guards: to support Queen Eve, whom I supported.
And talking about the assassination tonight…
"May I stay in Royal Castle today, Queen Eve? I will protect you, and I also want to make sure of something."
"Huh?" Queen Eve raised her voice slightly, confused. She blinked repeatedly before regaining her composure. "T-That's okay. I meant I am happy if you protect me, Your Holiness. However, doesn't that inconvenience and bother you and your tight schedule?"
"Believe me. It's not a bother at all." I answered while waving my hand casually. "I also wanted to find out who cursed Ertha, so–"
"Ertha was cursed?!" Queen Eve shouted loudly, interrupting me. Her composure broke down once again. Her face morphed into a surprise, and her jaw dropped.
Right after that, her face reddened in embarrassment as she sat back on the sofa. She didn't realize it herself that she stood up after interrupting me.
"I-Is she okay?" She asked worriedly.
"She is okay," I answered with a soothing tone, trying to calm her down. "I have cured her, and she was able to rest. However, we haven't had any clue about who cursed her. From what I know from the curse that was applied to her, it was a Lv 6 <Curse>. And only a monster can inflict this kind of curse."
"So it's someone who can control a monster." Queen Eve blurted, holding her chin. "From my knowledge, none of the people in this Kingdom can control such a monster. A Vampire… Or maybe a Beastman who could communicate with a monster such as Harpy could be a suspect.
"Or maybe even a Succubus… But that would mean…"
She began to fall into her own world and made random guesses, which I also had in mind. With Beatrice's presence, I ruled out Succubus immediately. Then there was also the place where it happened.
Coincidentally, it was near Academy City, around Castitas Church. Vampires or Succubi who weren't affiliated with it would think twice or thrice before approaching, as they didn't want to be locked up inside the church.
So my suspect was reduced to two.
"It's either a Human or a Beastman, and they are from an Underground City." The Queen elaborated, raising her head to look at me. "And coincidentally, I was also targeted by an assassin from an Underground City. That… Can't be a coincidence."
I nodded at her. I was truly glad Queen Eve was a smart woman. Looking at her serious face, I began to like her more and more.
Even as a mother of three children, her appearance still retained its youth. And combined with her charisma and intelligence, it wasn't wrong to call her the butterfly of society.
Returning to the subject, the dots were connected to one another. This was the reason why I requested to stay in the Royal Castle for a day.
"The assassin might be the one who tamed the monster who cursed Ertha. And probably, the assassination method that could also give me a warning at the same time was a curse. The enemy had yet to know that my <Holy Magic> was strong enough to cure the curse. He's overconfident with the curse."
While I had shown my fighting ability, I had yet to show what I could do with <Holy Magic>. It was known to this world that only Pope Juriel, an Angel, could probably have the highest Lv of <Holy Magic>.
However, unfortunately for them, Juriel only had Lv 8 or Lv 9 <Holy Magic>. I was the one who managed to master it to Max Lv and had the bonus of using the skill from the effect of reaching the highest Lv.
"I understand." Queen Eve bowed her head slightly. "Please protect me, Your Holiness. Even the Grand Marshal would be powerless against the curse."
"Please raise your head, Queen Eve," I said, putting up a serious face. "Those who touch the Castitas Church member will get the Goddess's ire. And you, my Queen, are already a member of the Castitas Church. We are also allies who help each other, so I will help you without you even asking about it.
"Also, I prefer to hear thank you instead of excessive gratitude or a bow."
Her lips formed a beautiful smile. A light seemed to radiate from her appearance as she held her hands together.
"Fufufu, my apologies. Ah– I mean, thank you very much."
With that, my conversation with Queen Eve ended, and we continued on to another topic.
She told me that there was a guest room available, but it was located in the main castle instead of the tower where she usually slept.
It was not a problem for me, as I didn't plan to sleep tonight. Besides, I could always stay in the attic with Beatrice without the Queen knowing about it.
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