Raymond had originally planned to change into formal attire before going, but Lord Xi Neiding stopped him, saying that it was fine to go as he was and there was no need to change into anything formal.
Raymond was still worried about being impolite, but Lord Xi Neiding asked, "At a time like this, do you still care about such things?" So the three of them, dressed in traditional festival clothing, headed to the meeting hall.
"I didn't expect it to be so fast, and in such a form," Lord Xi Neiding sighed to himself on the way.
"Hm? Lord Xi Neiding, do you mean...? You had already anticipated Clementine would regain her memories?" Raymond was greatly surprised.
"After receiving that intelligence, I had a faint feeling it would happen, just not so quickly," Lord Xi Neiding replied.
"That..." Raymond naturally knew that the intelligence Lord Xi Neiding mentioned referred to Nazarick's intelligence. After all, this information could not be spoken of openly, so he could only refer to it as 'that'.
"From now on, we can only take it one step at a time, sigh..." Lord Xi Neiding sighed deeply.
"Lord Xi Neiding, please rest assured, if anything truly happens, I will do my best to protect you," Raymond said.
"Rest assured, that Princess will not do anything to us. If she truly intended to cause trouble, she would have done so immediately upon regaining her memories, rather than planning to sit down and talk with us. To be honest... I almost wish she would cause a direct disturbance, as that would be more beneficial for the Slane Theocracy," Lord Xi Neiding said meaningfully.
"This is?" Raymond didn't quite understand Lord Xi Neiding's words.
"An opponent who knows restraint and calmness is more terrifying than a reckless one. At least now we can confirm that Princess is a very restrained opponent," Lord Xi Neiding said.
"To maintain restraint and calmness even in this situation? Indeed... Lord Xi Neiding is absolutely right." At this moment, Raymond's vigilance towards that Princess increased by several levels.
Soon, the three arrived at the entrance of the meeting hall. The attendants guarding outside all looked troubled, waiting for the lords to order the door open. Raymond took a deep breath before mustering the courage to have the attendants open the door.
So... Raymond, Xi Neiding, and Ruoqiebeien saw a displeased "Clementine" sitting on the sofa in the meeting hall, with her legs crossed and her arms folded across her chest. The culprit, Gelos, also stood obediently by her side, waiting.
Uh? Restraint? And calmness?? Raymond was a bit confused. Her slovenly appearance looked as if she had come to demand explanations. Looking at her current scowling face, there didn't seem to be any elements of restraint or calmness, right?
She was clearly angry! Raymond couldn't help but cast his gaze at Lord Xi Neiding behind him, but Lord Xi Neiding also looked very surprised at the "Clementine" in front of him. He, too, looked utterly bewildered.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Princess Elizabeth." Raymond took a while to react, then quickly went up to greet her. He couldn't call her Clementine anymore, but as soon as the name left his lips, Raymond regretted it a little. Wasn't this telling her that the Slane Theocracy had investigated her identity?
She hadn't introduced herself at all, so how could he just call out her name? He had made such a low-level mistake! He was still too nervous.
"Hmph! I just arrived myself. I hope I didn't interrupt your holiday?" However, she didn't seem to notice his mistake. Instead, she looked up and down at his attire. After all, she herself was currently wearing traditional festival clothing. As the Princess of the Magic Kingdom, it was natural for her not to know about a festival brought by a god.
"No... no interruption. Rather, it is us... for making you dress in this manner..." Raymond quickly followed up, which could be considered polite small talk!
According to the timeline, she regained her memories after putting on this outfit. However, it was indeed improper to have a Princess from another country dressed like this. But why didn't she change before coming? There should have been time to change, right?
"Well! The Magic Kingdom also celebrates Christmas, so there's no need to worry." She waved her hand impatiently in reply.
They! Also celebrate the festival brought by the Six Great Gods! Doesn't this indirectly confirm the authenticity of that intelligence? The Magic Kingdom... is it truly a country established by our gods! Raymond was stunned by this reply.
"Never mind that for now! But you all! To use such an excessive thing against me, and even make me work for you! How are you going to compensate me!" The Princess continued, her face displeased.
Here it comes... as expected, she's going to make trouble! What kind of restraint and calmness is this? She's clearly here to pick a fight! Raymond didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"Please calm your anger, Princess. According to Gelos's report, we only learned of your true identity just now. If we had known from the beginning that you were the Princess of the Magic Kingdom, we would not have treated you this way," Lord Xi Neiding answered for Raymond.
"Does this Old grandpa mean that ignorance is bliss?" The Princess's expression immediately darkened. Lord Xi Neiding's words seemed to displease her greatly.
"We have no intention of fully shirking responsibility. Forcing the Princess to work for us was indeed our fault, and we are willing to offer compensation. We only hope that Princess you can understand the reason for this misunderstanding and our difficulties," Lord Xi Neiding replied cleverly.
As expected of the experienced Lord Xi Neiding, he directly placed the blame for this "unfortunate" incident on the Princess.
"Hoh! Old grandpa, do you mean that using that strange tool to control me, deceiving me, and making me work for you, is all just a misunderstanding?" The Princess stood up directly, her face displeased. Although she had a smile on her face... her eyes were not smiling, but instead emitted a murderous aura.
It seems this Princess's true nature is that of a martial artist. There's no such thing as restraint or calmness at all; just a few words and she's like this... It seems I won't live past today. Raymond was already mentally prepared.
"That unfortunate incident can only be explained as a misunderstanding, can't it, Princess? We know that our country's opportunistic behavior during the war between the Magic Kingdom and the Re-Estize Kingdom was indeed shameful, but please also consider our country from a national perspective. Currently, our country is facing an unprecedented crisis, which is why we resorted to such a desperate measure, hoping to seize the Kingdom's secret treasures. However, at that time, our plan somehow leaked out. So, your appearance at that time made our Gelos mistakenly believe that you might have been sent by the Kingdom to intercept them, which is why he used that item on you. How about this? The Kingdom's secret treasures that you previously seized for our country, we are willing to offer those treasures as compensation to you," Lord Xi Neiding said.
He also gave Gelos a look, and Gelos, understanding, nodded directly and walked out. It seemed he was sending Gelos to retrieve the Kingdom's secret treasures.
Was he actually trying to get rid of Gelos? After all, if she didn't accept this explanation, she would clearly take action directly. Gelos is one of the three God-Humans of the Slane Theocracy, and he couldn't be allowed to die here easily, so he made such arrangements? As expected of Lord Xi Neiding!
"Hm? Old grandpa, do you mean? Your Theocracy encountered some difficulties? That's why you wanted to seize the Kingdom's secret treasures, and then I just happened to run into you, so without knowing my identity, you mistook me for someone from the Kingdom and then used a tool to control my mind, right?" The Princess's murderous intent grew stronger. Although it was unusually cold outside, inside the room... the temperature felt even colder than outside... causing people to shiver involuntarily. It was clearly the Princess's murderous intent at play.
"That's what I mean. Faced with a sudden attack at that time, if it were you who encountered an attack, you wouldn't first confirm the identity of each attacker before counterattacking, would you? Don't you agree?" Lord Xi Neiding continued.
"Hoh..." The Princess stared at Lord Xi Neiding, but the incredibly strong-willed Lord Xi Neiding faced the terrifying Princess with a gentle smile. As expected of Lord Xi Neiding! Looking at the Princess's expression, she was definitely going to make a move! No matter what! Even if it meant sacrificing his own life! He had to protect Lord Xi Neiding! Seeing this, Raymond was already prepared for battle.
"Well! Old grandpa, what you said does make sense. Then I will mercifully forgive you all." Then, Princess Elizabeth shook her hand and sat down on the sofa again. The extremely tense and explosive atmosphere just now seemed to have never happened, and the chilling murderous intent that made people tremble instantly vanished.
"Heh heh! Thank you for your understanding, Princess." Lord Xi Neiding also politely bowed to the Princess, then sat down opposite her. Raymond still hadn't processed what had just happened. He had been prepared to sacrifice his life at any moment, and the result? Just like that??
"I can understand you all too. Earlier, Gelos and I met once in the Wu Da Forest, and that time they attacked my companions without a word, so after I saw their tracks on the Katz Plains, I intended to get revenge. So, in a way, I was just unlucky," the Princess said with a smile, as if nothing had happened, her tone like chatting with a friend.
"So there was such a thing? Then I apologize to you and your companions on behalf of Gelos," Lord Xi Neiding also apologized to the inexplicable Princess with a smile.
"Sorry, sorry! Lord Clementine, were you looking for me? Ah!!!" Just then, the door to the meeting hall was pushed open with a bang, and Bell, completely bundled up, rushed in. Then, seeing several important figures in the meeting hall, Bell froze.
"Although that's what I said, Old grandpa, you just proposed to give me the Kingdom's secret treasures as compensation, and you can't go back on that!" The Princess completely ignored Bell, who had suddenly burst in, and continued to speak to Lord Xi Neiding.
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