When I returned to my room in the outer court, Nier rushed over to welcome me . She anxiously asked, “Your Majesty, what exactly happened? Your Majesty, why are there Valkyries searching the outer court and questioning people here? Is there a culprit in the outer court? Also, also, a Valkyrie came to see me… What exactly happened with Her Majesty? It’s been a long time since she had a Valkyrie kill themselves . What exactly happened?”

“Well, simply put, there was an incident in the Royal Palace . The high-ranking finance official was a.s.sa.s.sinated in the rear flower garden, which was why Mom was a little tense, but that’s all . The culprit has been captured; therefore, there’s no need to worry . Things will soon return to normal . Were the Valkyries rude while they were in the outer court?”

Nier shook her head: “No, they weren’t . ”

“Uhm . ” I headed upstairs .

Because Mom went crazy, the Valkyries from just before went crazy, as well . However, the Valkyries appeared to maintain their rationality in Nier’s presence . At least, they wouldn’t be rude to the people taking care of my outer court with Nier around .

The Valkyrie I sent to the outer court came down the stairs . She was frightened upon seeing me . Nevertheless, she bowed to me: “Thank you very much, Your Majesty… I…”

“It’s fine . The matter has been resolved; the culprit has been captured, so you can head back now . ”

The Valkyrie was bound to be safe with Nier at the outer court . Nier wouldn’t let a Valkyrie kill herself . Plus, she could take shelter from Mommy Elizabeth for the meantime .

I couldn’t deny that I stepped out of line with regards to how I handled the matter . I was a mere Prince, and I clearly indicated that I wasn’t succeeding the throne at Hilles City . Mommy Elizabeth called the shots . I couldn’t do anything that would be detrimental to her throne, yet sheltered one of her Valkyries . In other words, I interfered with her reward and punishment system . That said, I didn’t care all that much anymore since I couldn’t allow Mom to do something undesirable while I was present .

Ever since doing that with Mom, I felt that we didn’t care about it so much . Mom stopped concerning herself so much with the outer court . That was the reason I dared to shelter some of the people in the palace . I was sure Mom wouldn’t barge straight into the outer court even if she wanted to kill the Valkyrie . Not to mention that the one and only successor, Daisy, was also there .

Nier followed behind me . Quietly, she asked, “So, what will become of the culprit? Her Majesty will definitely kill a lot of people this time, won’t she?”

I shook my head: “Initially, that was the case . Luckily, I managed to calm Mom down . The official wasn’t killed over a personal vendetta or for money but as a result of the conflict between the churches . It doesn’t have much to do with the royal family . It’s just that he died on the Royal Palace grounds . The two churches don’t have an amicable relations.h.i.+p . If we allow this to escalate into a big fight, it will be b.l.o.o.d.y . That’s why it’s best to think about how to keep the damages and losses to the bare minimum and have the two churches rein in their followers . ”

Nier nodded . I turned around to face her and, in a soft voice, added, “You should stay inside during these days, Nier . The outside is rather tumultuous at the moment . There’s always bound to be overzealous people with the churches . Daisy and you will be in danger . If they dare to kill in the Royal Palace, then they’ll dare to kill you . Uou and Daisy should stay at the outer court and not leave unless absolutely necessary . ”

“Understood . ” Nier obediently nodded .

I smiled and then rubbed Nier’s head . She came closer wrapped her arm around mine: “What about you, then, Your Majesty? Will you stay at the outer court to keep us company? You’re not letting me leave, but what about you?”

“Me? I have to sort this out… It happened in Mom’s Royal Palace, therefore has nothing to do with me . That being said, the new church’s headquarter is located at Troy City . Troy City isn’t an ordinary city . It’s my city, and it’s the place where our three nations connect with each other . If conflict breaks out there, the alliance will crumble . I went to great lengths to form the alliance, so I can’t let them destroy it . ”

Nier looked at me with mixed emotions then softly sighed: “Though you now have dragon scales and magic, you’ll still be in danger . You never let me feel rea.s.sured… That said, you’re right . I really want to stay with you to protect, but… but… there’s Daisy to consider, too…”

I grabbed hold of Nier’s hand: “I’ll be fine . You don’t need to worry about me . I might always be in danger, but I return to you every time, don’t I? Furthermore, I have confidence here in humanity’s lands . Their weapons can’t hurt me, after all . Trust me, Nier . I won’t be in any danger . Both of the churches want to be the state religion with the royal family’s support; thus, they will never attack me . To add to that, I won’t go to the centre of the fighting; I’m just acting as the mediator for the two parties, aiming to suggest terms and conditions that both parties can accept . ”

“You must be careful . ”

“With Her Majesty by my side, I’ll definitely be very safe . ”

I nodded, and Nier reciprocated it .

“So, what do you want to do next, Your Majesty? Do you want to have lunch at the outer court? If you need, I shall immediately go and prepare . Is there anything specific that you want to eat?”

“Ah, no . I want to make a trip to the inner court . I need to see the pope and Mom . The issue can’t be delayed . Anger will erupt if this drags on . I’m sorry, Nier . Take good care of Daisy . I’ll be back for dinner . ”

“All right . ”

Nier was understandably disappointed . Still, she allowed me to leave for work . I gave her a kiss . I wanted to see Daisy, but I would probably end up delaying things for a long time if I did . Hence, I quickly left .

Mom was surely speaking to the pope . The pope was bound to be emotional when he found out that the culprit was caught . That wasn’t a ticket for the old church to judge him for the reason that, from the royal family’s perspective, he had to die . So accordingly, we had to discuss a time to judge him together . And one more thing, which was that we had to discuss the matter with the new church . We had to confirm the bishop of the new church wasn’t involved . Additionally, we had to calm down the churches so that they could discuss terms and conditions .

We had to take those steps, as we couldn’t allow Hilles City to be plunged into chaos . It was Hilles City, the Phoenix’s Nest, Mom’s city that we were talking about .