The Tyrant's Last Doll

The moment of the meeting arrived all too soon. As the new secretary to the Emperor, I was not accustomed to attending meetings hosted by the Emperor himself. Typically, Raven, who held the highest position, would attend the meetings and I would assist with the minutes afterwards.

But this time was different. I was not only attending the meeting with the Emperor, but also with the priests of the most powerful religious organization on the continent. The thought of having to contend with them filled me with fear.

“Nervous?” Kraman asked, his tone laced with a hint of teasing.

“A little,” I replied, taking a deep breath to steady myself.

In contrast to my nervous arrival at Lord Banmon’s office, Ridrian strolled in with ease, followed by Raven.

“You’re early,” Ridrian noted.

“Your Majesty,” Lord Banmon greeted.

Ridrian’s handsome appearance in his professional attire and styled hair leaving me in awe. He took my hand, and his warmth provided me with a small measure of comfort.

“Don’t worry, those old geezers in there are thick-headed,” Ridrian said reassuringly. “They even went so far as to ask for you. I’ll protect you no matter what, so just do as you please.”

“Pardon?” I asked, taken aback by his words.

Is he giving me permission to just do as I please in this important meeting? As I looked at him in surprise, Ridrian chuckled. Then he just opened the door.

As we walked into the room full of bright light, there were three cardinals standing by the round table. First Ridrian went in and then me, then Raven. Kraman was planning on guarding the meeting room.

“Greetings to the first light of Great Ivant. May blessing of life bestow on you. I’m Rampard, who will be hosting this meeting.”

“I’m Bahan.”

“I’m Robanu.”

The old man, in the highest position among the three cardinals, led the way, with the other two following closely behind. As I looked on, I saw someone enter the castle whom I had never seen before and was taken aback.

“Dylan!”

The first sword of Theres’ group strode in, clad in crusade armor, and took his place at the meeting. Though he didn’t seem to be an official participant, he stood attentively behind the cardinals, a clear sign that he had come for protection.

“Since this is an unofficial visit, they couldn’t bring many guards,” I thought to myself.

This meeting was shaping up to be more challenging than I had anticipated. Dylan had been present since the beginning of my journey, from the moment I discovered my divine power, to when Ridrian brought me to the palace.

If he still harbored intentions of bringing me into the group, I knew that his claims would be directed at me.

“Let’s sit,” Ridrian said, and the five of us took our seats. Cardinal Rampard was the first to speak.

“Haha, I didn’t think I’d see Your Majesty in kingdom of Lucretia.”

Rampard seemed to try to ease the mood. But Ridrian looked at him questionably.

“What do you mean? This is Ivant.”

It was Lucretia until yesterday. But as they forfeited to Ridrian, the region of Banmon now belonged to Ivant. I feel like I now realize what the ancestors meant by war being territorial.

‘All they have to do is invade and stick a flag.’

The cardinal was flustered at the Emperor’s answer.

“I, I see. My mistake.”

One point.

“It seems like we still haven’t heard the name of the person who’s attending the meeting. Can I ask your name?”

I was caught off guard by the casual attitude he displayed, even though he was well aware of who I was. It reminded me of representatives from rival corporations smiling and trying to win a big contract for their company.

“What did I do to deserve this?” I thought to myself, as I was now stuck in this delicate balancing act between a country and a religion.

Sighing inwardly, I decided to play along.

“Nice to meet you, Cardinal. I’m Iona Lesprey, a noble of the Ivant Empire and the secretary to His Majesty the Emperor,” I said, with a smile.

“Ah, it’s not a big role, but I’m also working as a saintess,” I added, making it seem like being a saintess was of little importance to me.

“….”

However, the cardinals were experienced and quickly regained their composure.

“Hm, I see. It’s an honor to meet the Saintess of the rumors,” one of them said, while the others nodded in agreement.

I smiled awkwardly as they all bowed to me.

The second attack began immediately after.

“Last time, Brother Lotuna, who came as a messenger, said that His Majesty had never even met the Saintess. But you were so close by. If we had known, we would have visited earlier,” one of them said.

The image of Ridrian pretending not to know anything made me want to laugh, but I held back. Should I add something more to the conversation?

“Ah, that’s because I told him of my new role after he left. I forgot to mention it as I was too busy.”

“Yes, that’s why I didn’t know.” Ridrian quickly added on as if it was all planned. Then he added on even more.

“I realized after I heard that Viscount Lesprey was the Saintess that the group mentioned. But she went into praying a few days after, so that’s why we couldn’t refute the statement.”

It was believable. Of course, I glanced at Dylan while listening to Ridrian. He was still standing there without a word while examining me. I felt like I was having cold sweats all over my back.

‘He knows I’m lying.’

It was even scarier that he wasn’t reacting at all.