In the early morning, footsteps echoed hurriedly and haphazardly through the palace corridors.
The prime minister strode quickly through corridor after corridor, his gray hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze, a hint of anxiety in his gray eyes.
He was holding a stack of documents.
Those were a report on the border situation after the Orc withdrew, hastily compiled last night, along with several urgent orders that required the Queen's signature.
He didn't sleep a wink last night.
The Orc have retreated, but the crisis is not entirely over.
Will the Orc who fled back to their strongholds return with a vengeance? Will the border defenses need to be redeployed?
How will the refugees who escaped from the occupied cities be resettled?
With the treasury nearing bankruptcy, where will they find the money to pay for these expenses?
These questions buzzed in his mind like a swarm of bees, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.
He got up as soon as it was light, quickly washed up, put on his official robes, picked up his documents, and headed straight for the Queen's bedroom.
At the end of the corridor is the door to the Queen's bedroom.
The two oak doors, carved with dragon patterns, were tightly closed, and the brass door knockers gleamed with a dark red luster in the morning light.
The prime minister stopped, took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and then strode forward.
Then he stopped.
It wasn't that he wanted to stop, but that he had no choice but to stop.
Twelve angels hovered in the square in front of the palace gates.
They are about three meters tall, with human-like bodies, but no faces.
Its head is a smooth, mirror-like surface. Behind it unfolds two pairs of wings of light, the feathers are pure white with a faint blue glow at the edges.
They wore armor formed from condensed light, held spears formed from condensed light in their hands, and wore round shields on their other arms.
Long, straight armor covered their legs, and irregularly shaped circular halos shimmered with golden light in the morning glow above their heads.
The prime minister looked up at the angels floating in the air, his gray eyes wide open.
"What... what is this... an angel...?"
He muttered to himself, his voice trembling slightly.
An angel lowered its head and "looked" at him with its faceless face.
Although it has no eyes, the prime minister can sense that it is scrutinizing him.
"I... I am the Prime Minister of the Dragon Kingdom."
The prime minister straightened his back and tried to make his voice sound calm.
"I need to see Her Majesty. There is an urgent matter that requires my attention."
The angel did not move.
It simply hovered there, spear in hand, shield on arm, like a sculpture.
The prime minister waited a few seconds, then a few more seconds, then a few more seconds.
"That..."
He tentatively took a step forward.
The angel raised his spear slightly, the tip pointing in his direction.
There was no sound, no warning, no language. But the meaning of the action couldn't be clearer—
Stop.
The prime minister's feet seemed to be nailed to the ground.
He stood there, holding the documents, looking up at the angels, his gray eyes filled with helplessness.
"Okay... I'll wait."
He took a few steps back, leaned against the wall of the corridor, hugged the documents to his chest, and let out a long breath.
"Your Majesty... what are you doing...?"
He spoke in a low voice, his tone tinged with confusion and worry.
Time passed second by second.
The morning light spilled over from the eastern horizon, first illuminating the stone slabs of the square, then climbing the armor of the angels, and finally shining into the corridor, landing on the prime minister's gray hair.
The prime minister waited for a quarter of an hour, then another quarter of an hour, and then another quarter of an hour.
His legs started to ache, his arms started to feel numb, and his stomach started to rumble.
He hasn't had breakfast yet.
Your Majesty...
He urged in a low voice, his tone tinged with a hint of pleading.
"Please hurry up..."
Finally, the door opened.
The prime minister suddenly sat up straight, clutching the documents, and strode to the door.
Then he froze.
It wasn't just the Queen who came out of the door.
There was another man.
Long black hair, black eyes, a dark robe, and a half-smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He walked behind the Queen at a leisurely pace, as if strolling in his own Garden.
Queen Draudillon Auriclus walked ahead, wearing a white dress, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, her black eyes clear and bright, and a faint smile playing on her lips.
That smile was one the prime minister had never seen before.
That's not the Queen's smile.
That wasn't the Black-Scaled Dragon Lord's smile.
Instead, it was a young girl's smile, tinged with a hint of shyness and joy.
The prime minister's mind went blank for a moment.
He stood there, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide open, the documents in his hands nearly falling to the ground.
"Prime Minister...?"
Draudillon noticed him, her smile froze for a moment, then she quickly regained her queenly composure.
What are you doing here?
The prime minister opened his mouth, as if to say something, but said nothing.
His gaze shifted back and forth between Draudillon and Higashino Makoto, his gray eyes swirling with complex emotions.
Shock, confusion, worry, and a hint of something indescribable...
"Prime Minister?"
Draudillon's voice rose slightly.
What are you spacing out about?
The prime minister suddenly came to his senses.
"Ah... Your Majesty... Your Majesty is here!"
He hurriedly knelt down on one knee, scattering the documents in his hands all over the floor.
"Your Majesty, I have come to report on the border situation! There are also several urgent orders that require Your Majesty's signature!"
Draudillon looked at him, then at the documents scattered on the floor, and sighed.
"Get up."
She said.
"Come in."
"Yes... yes."
The prime minister stood up, hurriedly picked up the documents from the ground, held them in his arms, and followed Draudillon into the room.
Higashino Makoto walked at the back, and as he passed the prime minister, he glanced at him and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Good morning.
Good morning...
The prime minister's voice sounded somewhat unsteady.
Higashino Makoto didn't say anything more and stepped into the room.
The prime minister stood at the door, watching his back, then glanced at Draudillon, who was tidying her clothes inside the room, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Her Majesty the Queen... and a man... emerged from her bedchamber... in the early morning...
His face grew paler and paler.
The sky has fallen.
In the room, Draudillon sat behind his desk, taking the documents handed to him by the prime minister and reading them one by one.
Higashino Makoto sat in an armchair by the window, leisurely sipping a cup of hot tea.
Kurumi stood behind him, her right eye half-closed, a half-smile playing on her lips.
The black cat "Zafkiel" sat on the windowsill, its golden eyes fixed on the prime minister, its tail swaying gently.
The prime minister stood before his desk, his back ramrod straight, but his gaze kept drifting unconsciously toward Higashino Makoto before quickly returning to his own.
"Border situation..."
Draudillon flipped through the documents, his brow furrowing slightly.
"The Orc have retreated, but the three border fortresses need to be redeployed. Refugee resettlement also requires funding..."
She raised her head and looked at the prime minister.
How long can the government's finances hold up?
The prime minister remained silent for a moment.
"At most three months."
"Three months..."
Draudillon's fingers tapped lightly on the table.
That's enough.
"Your Majesty, three months is not enough—"
That's enough.
Draudillon interrupted him, her tone calm but firm.
"Because from today onwards, the Dragon Kingdom will no longer need to invest large sums of money in its border defenses every year."
The prime minister was taken aback.
"Your Majesty, what did you say?"
Draudillon put down the documents, stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
The morning light streamed in, illuminating the room.
Outside the window, twelve angels hovered above the square, shimmering with divine light in the morning glow.
"Prime Minister, did you see that?"
The prime minister walked to the window, looked up, and gazed at the angels.
"I saw it."
"These are gifts from Mr. Higashino to the Dragon Kingdom."
The prime minister's pupils contracted slightly.
"A... gift?"
"Right."
Draudillon nodded.
"Twelve Virtue Angel. Each possesses combat power surpassing that of Hero. From this day forward, they will protect the Dragon Kingdom. Any enemy who dares to invade the Dragon Kingdom will be annihilated by them."
The prime minister opened his mouth, as if to say something, but said nothing.
He simply looked at the angels, at the spears and shields in their hands, at the halos above their heads, and at the armor formed from radiance on their bodies.
"His Majesty..."
His voice was hoarse.
Are you telling the truth?
"Higashino. Higashino, there is no need for you to lie to us."
The prime minister remained silent for a long time.
Then he turned around and looked at Higashino Makoto.
The silver-haired man was sitting by the window, leisurely sipping his tea, as if what had just been said had nothing to do with him.
"Mr. Higashino."
The prime minister walked up to him and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your generosity. The Dragon Kingdom will forever remember your kindness."