In the end, the 'willful' Princess did not accept Jierunifu's invitation to ride in his carriage, but instead returned to her own carriage, following them from a distance.
It had to be a far distance… if they got too close, all the horses in the convoy would be weak-kneed from fright by the horse-shaped monster called a Soul Eater; when that thing got close, even people couldn't stand, let alone horses.
"Damn it!" Jierunifu immediately slammed his fist heavily on the carriage wall upon entering. Bajed, the Secretary, and Fulda's student exchanged glances, not understanding why His Majesty the Emperor was so angry.
"I've been tricked! To be able to do something like this… Ainz Ooal Gown!" Jierunifu scratched his head in annoyance, feeling extremely frustrated.
"Your Majesty, what exactly is this?" Bajed asked.
"Heh heh! Everything is under his control, that scoundrel… You all remember, right! When we bid farewell to Ainz Ooal Gown, didn't he say he'd wait a moment for his daughter and then invite us to stay overnight?" Jierunifu said.
Everyone nodded, of course they remembered. It was just that no one at the time would have thought that the 'willful' Princess would not follow the usual procedure and would directly chase after them.
Generally, according to the protocol for a formal princess of one country visiting another, the preliminary preparations would take several days to complete.
The selection of guards, attendants, clothing, gifts, and other items all required time for preparation.
However, this 'willful' Princess only brought one maid and chased after them. What surprised everyone even more was, did the 'willful' Princess's father, that monster Ainz Ooal Gown, really feel at ease letting her run out alone like this?
"Whether we stayed overnight or not, the result would be the same… No matter what, I… we are all clowns in his hands!" Jierunifu scratched his head forcefully once more.
"Your Majesty, what exactly is wrong?" Everyone completely failed to understand why the 'willful' Princess directly chasing after them would cause the Emperor, who had just been quite confident, to suddenly become dejected.
"Everything is under Ainz Ooal Gown's control! We were wrong from the start. How could a father not understand his daughter's 'personality'? Ainz Ooal Gown would, of course, understand his daughter very well! That's why he would let his daughter appear in a formal setting!" Jierunifu said, annoyed.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Everyone still didn't understand what this 'willful' Princess had done, or what Ainz Ooal Gown had done.
"Even we can see that the Princess is a very 'willful' person. As her father, Ainz Ooal Gown naturally knows her better than we do. Even so, he still allowed such a 'willful' daughter to appear there, and when the Princess proposed to serve as a diplomatic envoy, he agreed without any question. It's clearly deliberate!" Jierunifu said through gritted teeth, his emotions growing more agitated as he spoke.
"But Your Majesty, what is the meaning of Ainz Ooal Gown doing this? If we don't consider the Princess's ability, isn't sending the Princess to us like this beneficial to us?" Bajed asked.
"How is this beneficial at all!" Upon hearing Bajed's question, Jierunifu slammed his fist on the carriage wall again.
"Apologies! Bajed." Jierunifu also noticed that his emotions were getting out of control.
"Indeed, Ainz Ooal Gown generously sent his daughter over like this. From some perspectives, it is indeed beneficial to us, but the Empire will also have to pay a huge price." Jierunifu sighed, saying dismissively.
"Price?" Not only Bajed found this strange, but everyone else did too.
This addled Princess only brought one maid and followed along like this. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed beneficial to the Empire, right? Although they knew the maid was very powerful, no matter how powerful she was, she was still only one person, right? If they really wanted to capture her, it should still be possible. In that case, the Princess would be like a hostage.
"Yes… a price, a very serious price. The Empire will lose the trust of the Church and the populace." Jierunifu said.
…Upon mentioning the Church, everyone immediately understood, and also understood why Jierunifu had previously wanted to invite the 'willful' Princess and that maid to share a carriage. The problem lay with the Princess's carriage.
Yes! It was those two horse-shaped magical beasts that the 'willful' Princess called Soul Eaters.
Imagine… the 'willful' Princess's carriage swaggering into the Empire Capital… what would the common people think when they saw it?
What would the Church, which had always harbored hatred towards the Undead, think when they saw it?
And… that person's identity is a Princess! A Princess of an allied nation! Don't forget that the 'willful' Princess is also quite 'willful' and narcissistic! Would she be willing to obediently sneak into the city unnoticed?
"I have to admit… Ainz Ooal Gown's move is indeed brilliant, so brilliant that I don't even know how to react." Jierunifu scratched his head again, looking utterly at a loss.
"Then, Your Majesty… if we return like this… how will we explain it to the Church?" the Secretary asked.
"There's no way to explain it. Given the current state of the Empire, do we have a choice? We are facing a Demon King who can effortlessly create Death Knights! Let the Church be… If we can't even guarantee the personal safety of our citizens, nothing else matters!" Jierunifu said.
"But, the Church…" The Secretary seemed about to say something more, but saw Jierunifu had already raised his hand, signaling him to stop.
Jierunifu, of course, understood what the Church meant to the common people. Losing the Church's support would directly ruin national healthcare.
Although the Church's fees were indeed considered relatively unreasonable among the populace, compared to the even more unreasonable alchemical 'medicines,' they were already quite good.
Furthermore… bringing the Great Demon's daughter into the city like a VIP would already cause a collapse in public prestige.
As for the Church, he could only rely on his teacher Fulda to deal with them for now. What needed to be considered now was how to preserve the Empire from this Great Demon.
Hmm? Wait a moment… As Jierunifu thought of his teacher Fulda, he seemed to notice something.
His teacher Fulda, a key minister of the Empire, and also the Empire's trump card. His mere existence was enough to intimidate other nations.
But… Fulda's reaction after meeting Ainz Ooal Gown seemed somewhat off. Jierunifu knew very well the extent of his teacher Fulda's obsession with magic.
Ainz Ooal Gown was a magic 'caster' who could create Death Knights at will. Given Fulda's usual demeanor, he should have directly 'licked' Ainz Ooal Gown's boots.
However, he didn't do that, nor did he show any reaction when they left. This was indeed too strange. Could it be? Did they do something to Fulda?
It was entirely possible. Fulda was too important to the Empire. Controlling Fulda would essentially neutralize the Empire's greatest external combat power. Could it be that when the 'willful' Princess made them kneel, they secretly cast other mind control on Fulda?
But… with Ainz Ooal Gown's strength, even without controlling Fulda… he could easily crush the Empire, so there was no need to do that. So what was the reason for Fulda's abnormal behavior?
Ah!! Could it be! Was it because he already knew Ainz Ooal Gown's strength that he didn't react? At this moment, cold sweat broke out on Jierunifu's face, his complexion instantly turning poor.
So… so that's it! You tricked me, Ainz Ooal Gown! So all of this was within your calculations!
-----------------------
To read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can follow and support me on Patreon.
I'll be posting early chapters there so you can always stay ahead and never miss any new content.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"