Chapter 676 It Is What It Is

Needless to say, Ivo Blandf wasn’t part of the Queen’s innermost circle, but that didn’t mean he was totally ignorant of his monarch’s grand ambitions.

Verena had plans, big plans for the Tarnath Dynasty and the rest of the South-Central Region, so how she would react to the idea of the international conference proposed by the Rockwell Kingdom was unclear to the ambassador.

Still, it wasn’t his job to make decision for the Queen. His job was to be her eyes and ears in the Rockwell Kingdom and to provide her with the best assessment of the situation that he could.

So, after several days of waiting, when he was finally able to meet with Verena, that was exactly what Ivo did.

Queen Verena read the formal invitation letter from King Nathanial, then listened to Ivo’s briefing on the matter, after which the grand throne room fell silent.

Ivo didn’t dare to lift his head, for fear that he may accidentally offend the Queen and suddenly find himself without work, or without something more important than that.

It wasn’t until a good 5 minutes later that Verena spoke in a calm, indifferent voice that was somehow bot alluring and bone-chilling all at once, "Inform King Rockwell that the Tarnath Dynasty agrees to fully participate in his conference."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ivo bowed even deeper.

"You are dismissed."

With that, the ambassador’s audience was over.

Ivo would have liked to remain in the capital for a few days to spend some time with his family, but since the Queen had given him a message to deliver, he dared not delay.

And so, less than an hour later, Ivo was back in the air, flying towards the dynasty’s southern border.

.....

"Are you sure this is wise, Your Majesty?" A velvety female voice asked once the throne room was empty.

Although this woman was veiled, so it was impossible to tell exactly what she looked like, the shape of her figure alone was enough for anyone to identify her as a seductress.

"It is neither wise, nor unwise, it simply is what it is," Queen Verena replied to her First Minister, long-time friend, and closest confidant, "Not attending is not an option, King Rockwell and Queen Summers have gone to great lengths to ensure that."

Although it was impossible to tell from the outside, behind her black veil, Mai Starr was frowning deeply.

The Tarnath Dynasty’s current First Minister was not from a noble background; in fact, she wasn’t even from the Tarnath Dynasty.

Hailing from the Black Tiger Kingdom, Mai was actually born the daughter of a brothel-worker and was later forced to become a high-class prostitute herself. How she went from that kind of profession to the second most powerful person in the largest nation of the South-Central Region was really more of a testament to how few allies Verena had when she first ascended the throne than anything else.

At that time, the newly crowned Queen had only two people in the entire world she felt she could truly depend on, and Mai was one of them.

The two women shared a life-and-death bond that had been forged over the course of decades, so when Verena asked her to serve as her First Minister, although she was incredibly nervous and reluctant, Mai had ultimately agreed.

Over the next three decades, despite a lack of any kind of formal training, the quick-witted, highly-determined, and incredibly worldly-wise Mai had proven surprisingly capable and effective in her new role.

That said, her success only served to deepen the disgust many in the Royal Count and noble circles had for her.

Nevertheless, as the sole individual in the Tarnath Dynasty capable of openly disagreeing with the Queen and living to tell the tale, Mai’s importance and influence could not be understated.

It was also because of the extreme level of trust Verena had in her that Mai was completely familiar with the former’s immediate and long-term plans, which was why she was so worried about this little get-together the Rockwell Kingdom had proposed.

"This is a trap," Mai bluntly stated.

"It is," Verena nodded, "But the bait is too tempting, and the risk of avoiding it are too great, so whether we wish to or not, we must attend."

Pursing her lips behind her veil, Mai swiftly reviewed everything she knew about the current situation in the Rockwell Kingdom and the broader South-Central Region.

She also took into account the exact wording of the invitation and the reports she had received from ambassador Ivo and the dynasty’s annoying Spymaster.

The First Minister was hoping to find some way to get out of this conference, to delay it, or derail it entirely, but no matter how she thought about it, it was impossible.

Any action they took to interfere would almost certainly result in a worse outcome than simply gritting their teeth and showing up.

Letting out a light sigh, Mai shook her head and glanced over at her friend, only to see an indifferent mask covering her face.

It had been decades since she saw Verena take a break, relax, or do anything simply for herself, which was incredibly sad considering how vibrant and fun-loving she was before.

Obviously, a Queen couldn’t just run off on a random adventure, but Verena had even given up her simpler hobbies, things like training her martial arts or practice her Spirit Tailoring.

All she ever did now was plan, strategize, and desperately pursue both personal and national power in a futile attempt to change the dreadful reality which had been forced upon her.

She never even smiles anymore; at least, not really, Mai thought to herself with no small amount of regret.

Verena was the one who saved her from her former life and showed her just how beautiful and wondrous the world could really be, so seeing her now devoid of joy, in constant pain, and filled with cold hatred, Mai couldn’t help lamenting her own ineptitude.

*Cough!~ Cough!~*

"Your Majesty!" Mai exclaimed, moving to try to assist, only to be waved off by her friend.

"I’m fine," Verena said in a dull, weak voice.

With such a pale complexion and a faint bloodstain on her lips, Mai knew that Verena was anything but ’fine’, but she also knew there was nothing she could do to help.

She had long ago realized she couldn’t save her best friend from the spiraling path she was on, one that while slowly destroying her body and Soul was also the only thing keeping Verena going.

All Mai could do was try to share some small part of that burden and accompany Verena to whatever end awaited them both.