Chapter 168: Chatting with the Little Demon Across Dimensions
The area around Roger was originally a crowded part of the dance, but with Margaret’s arrival, people naturally made space for her.
The officials behind them, seeing the two conversing, were hesitant to interrupt.
The Prime Minister was, after all, the head of the hundred officials, and his face had to be respected.
Thus, under the barely perceptible gazes of those around them, a considerable space suddenly opened up, making the atmosphere between the two a little stiff.
Roger, on the other hand, was quite open. He had already done his best to manage his relationship with this little demon. If it worked, great; if not, he’d flip the table, who was afraid of whom?
At that time, he’d hang her by her tail and use her as a little fan to cool himself.
Margaret, however, was quite anxious, feeling that the current situation was troublesome.
Why was she nervous about a mere bratty brother?
Sensing someone’s gaze on her tail, Margaret knew that the Empress’s punishment for her was not in the presence of a third party, yet she inexplicably felt that Roger knew something.
With a “whoosh,” she tucked her tail behind her.
She took a deep breath, doing her best to dispel the negative emotions brought on by the long wait, not allowing herself to throw a tantrum and further worsen her relationship with Roger.
From Dio’s efforts to mediate between himself and Angelina, it was clear that Dio cared deeply for the Charles siblings.
And he had such an inseparable relationship with Roger, that even if her relationship with him was strong, she would still fear Roger’s influence.
Margaret smiled radiantly, raising her goblet proactively to toast Roger: “I just want to toast you, Lord Roger. Your contributions to the empire are irreplaceable. With the new year, I hope for more opportunities to cooperate.”
Her voice was quite sincere. For the sake of the Empress of Eternal Night, Roger’s contributions to the empire’s current development were indeed significant.
With those annoying nobles out of the way, imperial power rose, Margaret gained more say in the military, and her life became quite comfortable.
More importantly, Her Majesty was happy!
As the Empress’s most loyal knight, she, of course, would be happy along with her!
So, adjusting her mindset with such logic, Margaret saw Roger only as the commander of the Night Watch and the chief editor of “New Arcana,” overlooking his identity as the brother of the blue-haired saint. She also recognized him as a qualified minister and proposed the toast with sincerity.
But these seemingly unremarkable pleasantries made Roger vigilant.
If the little demon came to provoke him, it would be one thing, but with such an attitude, it was likely a weasel paying a New Year’s visit to a chicken – a suspect motive and intention!
Roger clinked glasses with her, saying indifferently, “The Night Watch and the military are two sides of the same coin. Close cooperation is natural, and opportunities will certainly arise.”
“Then I’ll need Lord Roger’s special attention!”
“Lady Margaret, you are my senior, you should be the one taking care of me.”
The two exchanged pleasantries, neither being particularly skilled at such matters. However, their manner of drinking was quite bold –
This was a display of sincerity, but in a world with magic, unless someone like little Ao deliberately applied debuffs, it was generally quite difficult to get drunk.
The two were not people who were adept at navigating the complexities of officialdom, and their polite conversation quickly ended. Ultimately, it was Margaret who couldn’t hold back any longer and revealed her true intention:
“It’s a new year, and I wonder if Dio’s return date has been set? He promised to help me, but now I can’t find him!”
Because she hadn’t seen him for so long, and with the grievance of his alleged unannounced departure, her tone trailed off with a hint of melancholy as she shifted her gaze away from Roger, very much like a child who had lost her favorite toy.
The little demon, who had only one friend, cherished this friendship with all her might.
Roger was startled. It was a rare sight to see the usually fierce little demon, who seemed to be second only to the Empress, display such emotions.
He finally remembered the issue of Margaret having nowhere to direct her friendship because Dio was offline.
However, he felt it would be too much trouble to specifically impersonate Dio for this little demon and deal with all the messy affairs on that side.
He didn’t mind lending a hand if it was a small favor, but wasting his own rest time to help others was absolutely out of the question.
Therefore, despite feeling a little guilty, Roger hardened his heart and said, “When Dio will return, you can write him a letter directly. How would I know about these things—”
“I wrote him a letter, but he didn’t reply!” Margaret heard this and became even more aggrieved.
“Well… perhaps he’s traveling in some strange place right now, and he’ll be back in a while?”
Roger felt inexplicably guilty.
So you’ve already asked.
It seems like I haven’t visited that small villa in a long time and didn’t know someone sent a letter.
After all, the Maotai Winery is so vast, and the villas left by the nobles each have their own charm. He and little Joey haven’t fully explored them all yet… Tsk, that’s just how it is.
His own rooms have more styles than all the five-star hotels in the world combined, what’s to be done?
“I wonder how your interactions with the Crown Prince of the Sea Kingdom are, Lady Margaret?”
Roger tried to change the subject, but Margaret wasn’t willing to let him off the hook.
The little demon didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned forward, tilting her small head and deliberately rubbing her horns against Roger’s chin, leaving a stinging sensation.
Her ruby-like eyes stared at him until his expression became unnatural, and then she slowly said, “Lord Roger, do you know what scent I smell on you?”
“The scent of a handsome man?”
“Perhaps there’s that too… but more than that, it’s the scent of lies!”
“It must be from those officials who secretly stayed with me earlier. They… you know.”
“Heh~”
“If you don’t believe me, then I can’t help it.”
Seeing Roger spread his hands in resignation, Margaret poured herself another drink and asked with a worried look,
“Lord Roger, you say Dio isn’t replying to me. Did I do something recently to anger him?”
“How could that be? He’s always had a very good impression of you—”
“See, you’re still in contact with him!”
The little demon interrupted Roger directly. The worried expression vanished from her face, replaced by the confidence of someone who had discovered the truth: “I’m talking about recently. The fact that you can still answer so definitively, tsk…”
“Are you trying to trick me? But so what? Lord Left Chancellor, you wouldn’t interfere with my normal social interactions, would you?” Roger replied nonchalantly.
“Are you two really just having ‘normal’ interactions?” Margaret retorted with the same indifferent tone, swirling her wine glass. “It seems more like you’re intertwined, with each other deeply involved!”
Roger’s expression changed slightly: “Lord Left Chancellor, you shouldn’t speak carelessly.”
Margaret was describing a relationship that transcended friendship.
But to Roger, “you’re intertwined, with each other deeply involved” sounded like his fake identity had been exposed!
He never imagined that just opening the wrong door once would turn this little fan into someone with such warped thinking.
Roger vehemently denied it, but to Margaret, he seemed even more guilty. She thought he still cared about the Charles family’s reputation and didn’t want to publicize this kind of information.
“Don’t worry, I’m your most loyal friend, and I’ll keep everything I know locked away. Otherwise, how could the empire’s military intelligence remain secret?” The little demon chuckled, “Lord Roger, have another drink with me?”
With a slightly mischievous and teasing tone like that.
Margaret’s words clearly implied she had him cornered, and it seemed she was very certain about his relationship with Dio.
When did it get exposed?
Roger suddenly thought of the time he got drunk. The next day, this little demon seemed to have brought him breakfast.
Did he look like Dio at that time?
Roger couldn’t recall exactly what happened that morning. All he knew was that the little demon took the breakfast, and he and Her Majesty had starved for a long time.
Could it be that it was at that moment that she was so shocked by his identity that she fled in horror?
However, the good news was that even though she knew the difference between his two identities, she hadn’t exposed him immediately, nor had she completely written him off. Did she still want to continue this friendship?
This little demon had matured!
Turning grievances into leverage was a choice only adults made.
Or perhaps, the stability of the empire held first place in her heart. Dio entering the cabinet as a commoner had too many groundbreaking implications, and exposing it rashly would also be a blow to the empire’s credibility.
“Well… I owe you a favor.” Roger clinked glasses with her in resignation, then downed the drink, his tone a little dejected.
It seemed there was no substantial loss, but being delayed by drinking was quite disheartening.
“Then I want to redeem this favor now.” Margaret’s eyes sparkled. “You have to make Dio come back soon. He said he’d help me.”
Roger gave her a rather strange look: “What do you need his help with? Just ask me directly, it’s all the same.”
Margaret mistook this as Roger’s ability to convey messages on his behalf and said with some dissatisfaction, “It’s not the same, it’s very different… Some things only have meaning if he says them himself.”
“Are you that particular?” Roger couldn’t help but chuckle. “With such stubbornness, you’ve suddenly become quite feminine.”
“Hey, I’m a recognized beauty in the empire, and I’m very charming!” The little demon seemed to have been stepped on her tail.
She was very displeased with his seemingly complimentary but actually quite insulting straight-man remark.
Roger said seriously, “I always thought you were a sunflower spirit, an un-Named creature whose brain hadn’t fully developed and was satisfied with life as long as she saw Her Majesty.”
The little demon narrowed her eyes: “You’re practically calling me a brain-dead fan.”
“But the trouble with the Knights’ Order has been resolved, hasn’t it?” Roger smiled faintly.
Although most mages were fans of the Empress of Eternal Night, the degree of fandom varied. Fanatics like Margaret were ultimately a minority.
They would band together daily, boosting low-quality posts to the top and occupying everyone’s attention. Over time, this naturally affected some people’s interests.
There were no opposing factions’ fans, but with the growing importance of the message board in the empire’s mage circles, it had become one of the three major trending platforms for mages, alongside “New Arcana” and “Arcana Discussions.”
Naturally, with the popularity, some people wanted to leverage it. The release of new viewpoints needed to use the message board as a channel, then gather initial traffic here to gain the attention of “New Arcana” and further publish and expand their influence.
However, the Knights’ Order’s rabid group behavior meant that diligent authors producing high-quality content were being driven out by the inferior, leading to frustration.
Being suppressed for so long had given rise to terms like “brain-dead fans.”
In fact, the solution was simple: just like Weibo’s super topics, let the Knights’ Order have their own space to indulge themselves. Posts in that section would not participate in the overall leaderboard rankings.
Margaret agreed to this solution, after all, they didn’t want to tarnish the Empress of Eternal Night’s reputation.
The Knights’ Order’s entertainment activities no longer interfered with public visibility, so such titles gradually decreased, allowing her to jest about it.
“But regardless, I’m still very happy to have the Knights’ Order and the knights around,” Margaret said softly.
Margaret’s real world was a strict cabinet meeting, a military that commanded the nation’s heavy weapons, and her only friend had disappeared.
The only place to share fan enthusiasm was on the message board.
Without the care and warmth of the Knights’ Order, she might have turned dark upon learning of Roger’s and Dio’s relationship.
But in the end, she persevered and could view the relationship between the two with an open mind. Now she found that Roger wasn’t as detestable as she had imagined.
After proposing the idea of proxy wars and being commended by the Empress of Eternal Night, Margaret realized that she and the blue-haired saint were not in a life-or-death situation.
This was not a barren street corner, but a rising superpower, where both prime ministers could shine in their respective fields.
She just needed to do her job well to earn the Empress of Eternal Night’s favor!
Although Dio had only offered one piece of advice, the benefits brought by this advice were enormous and had successfully helped the little demon break out of her mental block, allowing her to re-examine her future career plans from a new perspective.
Even without war, continuously improving the actual combat strength of the army and increasing the territory actually controlled by the empire, by doing these two things well, she decided she could become the Empress of Eternal Night’s most beloved little demon.
She didn’t need to compare herself to anyone; she was herself, the brightest spark.
Before, she had always been unwilling to admit it, but now that she was chatting so well with Roger, she realized that her dislike for the blue-haired saint had faded considerably.
Perhaps it was only because she was too kind, and her loyalty to His Majesty was not pure…
Because what Angelina loved was actually the empire, not serving His Majesty with all her heart.
And putting aside this animosity, she saw no reason to be hostile towards Roger. Their previous unpleasantness was due to her provocation, and he was also the founder of the message board…
So this guy also had a cute side!
Such a “sister-in-law” was not unacceptable!
“So, for the empire, another toast?” she asked Roger, her eyes narrowed, appearing a little shy and expectant.
Roger suddenly understood the subtext in her gaze.
This was an apology and a peace offering, as if to say, if you don’t mind, we can be friends from now on.
We may have had misunderstandings in the past, but from now on, let’s cast aside our hostility and work together to build this empire.
“Cheers, to the empire!”
Roger couldn’t help but chuckle.
This little demon cautiously extending an olive branch was still quite endearing.
It turned out that the biggest gain tonight was not meeting many talented youths, but breaking the ice with this little demon and eliminating an enemy from within the empire for the Charles family.
This way, when needed, she could be sent to the gods as a spy through a ploy…
Margaret suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, her tail twitching restlessly, as if she felt she was about to be sold out.
