“Quick!”
Prince Wendy’s mind spun rapidly, and in an instant, he thought of the only solution.
He lowered his voice, issuing a hurried order to the two women on the floor in a whisper, “Get up! Sit back on your chairs! Hurry!”
At the same time, Wendy sprang to his feet, grabbed the tablecloth, and swiftly and steadily pulled it inward!
The edge of the tablecloth was drawn slightly, just enough to cover the mess under the table, and nothing unexpected happened to the dishes on the table.
In her panic, Laxana kicked her fallen white knee-high boot deeper under the table, then, together with Yekaterina, sat back in their chairs at lightning speed.
“Sit closer!”
Wendy barked again.
He didn’t move himself but instead reached out and dragged the two women’s chairs, along with their bodies, right up next to him.
Thus, a truly bizarre scene was formed.
The three, who should have been sitting on three sides of the long table, were now squeezed together like a sandwich in the main seat.
Yekaterina sat in the middle, Wendy and Laxana on either side, shoulders touching, arms pressed together.
After completing all this, Wendy took a deep breath and raised his voice toward the door.
“Come in, General Sera.”
The door was pushed open.
Draped in silver armor, General Sera George strode in with heroic bearing.
But the moment she stepped into the dining hall, a rich, mouthwatering aroma of food wafted over.
That unfamiliar fragrance made even her, a soldier not given to gluttony, inhale twice more involuntarily.
However, Sera quickly composed herself and focused her gaze on the main seat.
Then, she froze.
Her Majesty the Queen, Miss Klein, and Prince Wendy…
The three of them were squeezed tightly together.
And there wasn’t a single attendant in the hall.
What is going on?
Did they have to be so close? Was Her Majesty the Queen expressing her favor this way?
Miss Klein was one thing, but Prince Wendy sitting so close—wasn’t that… a bit improper?
A trace of doubt flashed through General Sera’s mind, but her discipline kept her from voicing it.
She walked straight to the table and gave a standard military salute.
“Your Majesty, I have an urgent military report.”
Seeing that General Sera seemed not to notice anything amiss, the three at the table all breathed a silent sigh of relief.
They’d gambled correctly.
From the door’s angle, the thick tablecloth completely hid everything beneath, and though their close posture was odd, it could be explained as a gesture of royal intimacy and alliance.
However, the relief of survival didn’t last long.
Just as Wendy thought the crisis was temporarily over and he could focus on Sera’s report, he suddenly felt a cool, slender finger slip under his clothes at his lower back—quietly, tentatively.
Wendy’s whole body stiffened.
He didn’t need to look to know that the little queen in the middle was misbehaving again!
This crazy woman!
Wendy’s eyelid twitched. He lightly kicked her calf as a warning.
But Yekaterina didn’t withdraw; instead, the kick seemed to embolden her.
That mischievous hand grew bolder, her fingers starting to knead his lower back.
“I discovered a large cache of privately hoarded armor and weapons in the secret chamber of a Wade Faction noble’s estate,”
General Sera’s voice was clear and stern, entirely oblivious to the undercurrents at the dining table.
“Among them were thirty Heavy Military Crossbows and five Dragon Hunter Crossbows—whose private manufacture is strictly forbidden across the continent!”
“Dragon Hunter Crossbow?!”
Wendy was shocked.
This was a rare weapon in Witch’s Conquest, forbidden even to ordinary players—seen only in major faction wars for a bit of fun…
But the increasingly shameless harassment at his lower back made it impossible to focus.
At that moment, on Yekaterina’s right, Laxana’s body tensed in outrage.
Fine.
Didn’t get enough earlier, huh?
Daring to continue in front of General Sera?
Let me show you!
Miss Klein’s hand snaked over to the little queen’s lower back.
“Ah…”
A barely audible gasp escaped Yekaterina’s lips.
General Sera, in the midst of her report, paused and looked up.
“Your Majesty?”
She thought the queen was about to speak.
But saw her face flushed crimson, hastily covering her mouth and averting her eyes.
“No… I’m fine. You… continue.”
Seeing the queen reluctant to say more, Sera bowed her head and resumed her report.
“In addition, we discovered a large number of secret letters between the Veid Family and other nobles. Most of the content involved incitement and disrespect toward the royal family. All evidence indicates they are indeed preparing for a large-scale rebellion.”
The iron-blooded general was reporting a plot that could shake the kingdom to its core.
Behind the dining table, the war between the two women had reached its climax.
Yekaterina struggled to fend off Laxana’s “ambush” from the flank while continuing to tease Wendy.
And Wendy, through “empathy,” could clearly sense Laxana’s attempts to attack the queen via physical contact.
He felt he might go insane, suppressing the urge to strangle the two women beside him, barely maintaining a calm expression as he forced himself to listen to Sera’s report.
“……Excellent,”
Wendy drew a deep breath, forcing a stiff smile through clenched teeth.
“These pieces of evidence are crucial.
General Sera, you’ve done well.
You should—”
He was about to order Sera to withdraw and end this farce.
But at that moment—
Laxana, after being suppressed for so long, finally snapped.
She circled past the queen’s defenses, seized her “weak spot,” and pinched with all her might!
“Ugh…!”
This time, it wasn’t a coquettish yelp.
It was a stifled groan, thick with pain, that couldn’t be held back.
Yekaterina’s body arched violently, tears welling in her eyes, nearly spilling over.
The commotion was far too great!
“Your Majesty?!”
General Sera could no longer stay composed.
She shot to her feet, eyes blazing as she stared at Yekaterina.
“Are you alright?!”
She clearly saw the queen’s face turn deathly pale in an instant, cold sweat beading on her brow.
That was definitely not an act!
And the muffled groan just now was absolutely not normal!
Warning bells blared in General Sera’s mind.
Too strange.
Since entering, everything here had felt eerily wrong.
The improper closeness, the lack of attendants during a meal, the queen’s two abnormal cries and pained expression…
Something was definitely amiss!
Meeting those scrutinizing, suspicious eyes, Wendy’s heart leapt into his throat once more.