"Have all the roses been transported back?"

Huggins stroked his mustache, looked at the list in his hand, and said, "Well, except for the one Her Majesty the Queen is holding, all 31 other pots have been placed."

He paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There's something else. Those 'escorts' haven't left yet."

Todd turned around in surprise.

"Those troops from the palace have set up sentries outside the gate, but they don't seem to be monitoring us; they seem more like...protecting us." Huggins closed the list and put it in his pocket. "The Silver Ring royal family seems to be taking good care of us. They not only sent troops to protect us but also booked this inn for us to stay temporarily. Hmm, sir... are you sure you don't know that queen...?"

Todd shook his head and said, "This is the first time we've met, at the cathedral today."

But looking back, he felt something was off.

Having just returned to his hotel from the banquet, Todd felt disgust and loathing towards the beautiful, aloof queen.

At first, he thought that because of the "tea party" in Muxi Town, Queen Mary had conspired with the nobles who disliked him to steal the "grafted rose" and publicly humiliate him.

But after calming down, he noticed a few strange things.

First of all, if the queen and those nobles were in cahoots, a powerless priest could have simply had his army confiscate the carriage and drive him out of Silver Ring City; there was no need to go to such lengths to set up such a scheme.

Secondly, during the game, Todd, observing his surroundings, repeatedly noticed that the Queen intended to stop the game.

There were two particularly noticeable instances: once when he lost eleven pots of roses; and again in the penultimate round when he lost 150 silver moons. The timing of these two instances was quite interesting. The first time, Todd lost a third of his goods, a loss that was barely acceptable, and the nobles were in high spirits after their wins. The second time, however, was precisely when Todd was about to lose everything.

Based on normal human psychology, assuming the Queen was aware of the cheating methods in the gambling game but unaware of the existence of the supernatural ability, both of these opportunities were the best chance for her to escape from Todd's perspective.

Finally, there's one more thing: arranging guards.

If the guards from the royal family were heading to the banquet, their purpose could be described as surveillance and escort; but upon their return, they remained behind and took on the security duties of the hotel, which makes it difficult to suspect any malice.

Was the Queen different from those nobles, perhaps with ulterior motives? But why didn't she invite them directly, instead of going through such a roundabout way with a banquet and a gambling game?

Just as Todd's head was throbbing from thinking, Hudgens nudged him with his elbow, diverting his attention.

“What about that alien girl? The one you brought back from the banquet.” Huggins raised his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and showed Todd the two rows of fine teeth marks on it. “That girl seems to hate the church more than the nobles. I only got bitten, but Edgar was so cold he couldn’t even lift his hand.”

With a long sigh, Todd's head throbbed even more.

——————————————

“Thirty million silver dollars?! This enormous debt, even if that old bastard Kennard emptied the entire kingdom, he couldn’t raise it! Hahaha!” King Guy VI put down the documents in his hand, listening with a smile as his wife recounted everything that had happened at the banquet. He patted the armrest and laughed, “When I ask him for money, he always cries poverty in front of me and always wears old clothes. But he never stops buying houses; this is already the tenth one.”

The bedroom is predominantly white, featuring a fireplace decorated with exquisite floral tiles, a skirting board inlaid with silver-plated wood strips, brightly colored graphics, and white candles made of beeswax burning quietly.

Queen Mary sat quietly on the wooden chair, her fair skin, like snow with a slight blush, gently glowing in the warm candlelight. She had changed out of her heavy and elaborate court dress from the daytime and put on a nightgown that she had designed and had made herself.

Made of fine white linen, with delicate silk embellishments on the shoulders, chest, and back, subtly revealing the undergarment of snow-covered ground beneath. Embroidery and beautiful ties adorn the cuffs, while rows of raised stripes and gold and silver thread decorations decorate the area below the collar. This light and lively style clashes with the church's secular dress code, yet appears naturally elegant and unique.

“Your Majesty, this is not what we originally intended. Whether it is silver refining or the Eye of God, Father Todd’s expertise in alchemy is undeniable. If we could recommend him to become the Royal Alchemist, many problems would be easily solved. However, considering the tense relationship between the Church and the Kingdom, our original intention was to use a banquet to ease tensions, but now it has backfired…” The Queen leaned against the armrest, the curves beneath her thin dress causing a moment of dizziness in the person opposite her.

King Guy VI stood up, shook his head indifferently, and took out a wrapped square object from a corner of the room, handing it to the Queen: "We can talk about these things tomorrow. Let's put those things aside for now and look at the gift I prepared for you: a masterpiece by the master painter Heteris of ancient Talos."

Queen Mary, her face beaming with joy, eagerly unwrapped the package. Gazing at the exquisite design on the canvas, she exclaimed with delight, "It's absolutely gorgeous! This is one of his later works, rumored to have been destroyed in the war. I never imagined I'd see it here! Another piece has been added to my gallery!"

Thinking about the money spent on this painting, Guy VI bit his lip in pain, then grabbed his wife's hand: "The painting will only stay here; it can't go anywhere else. But our time is slipping away, and it's time to rest..."

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