Chapter 87: Playing for Time; Eileen Finds it Reliable

【What kind of riddle is this?】

【Amelia just understood Bennett’s thoughts? If we couldn’t see Bennett’s inner thoughts, how would we know what he was overthinking?】

【I can only say, as expected of Amelia. She must have deduced Bennett’s thoughts from some small details.】

【Anyway, if Amelia is answering like this, she must have her reasons.】

One bullet comment after another expressed confusion, but the viewers couldn’t possibly imagine that Amelia’s understanding of Bennett’s overthinking was entirely thanks to the bullet comments they sent.

Verna looked thoughtfully at the two of them.

Hearing Amelia’s confirmation, Bennett’s face once again broke into a smile.

He disliked situations with too many unknown factors. Now that things were becoming clear, he relaxed and looked at Amelia with composure.

Although the person he faced was the former Queen of a kingdom, that kingdom had already fallen. As the heir apparent to the Grand Duke, he didn’t need to be restrained in front of her. In fact, he felt the initiative was in his hands.

“Since things have come to this pass, Amelia, what do you plan to do next?” Bennett asked with a smile.

“Since it’s come to this, we can only discuss cooperation.”

Already aware of Bennett’s overthinking, Amelia responded in line with his assumptions. Only by making the situation match his expectations would he not suspect anything further.

“Cooperation, is it?”

Bennett pondered.

He was currently the Prince with the highest public support in the Luban Duchy. In the eyes of the vast majority, he was the next Grand Duke. On the surface, he didn’t seem to need any more support.

However, until the final outcome was presented, he couldn’t be absolutely certain things would go as he imagined. After all, life was full of unexpected surprises.

And if he rejected Amelia’s cooperation, would she go support another Prince?

Although he didn’t know how much power this fallen Queen, Amelia, still held in her hands, she was, after all, the former Queen of a kingdom. Perhaps the power she still commanded was not to be underestimated. Supporting any Prince other than himself could significantly impact the competition for the Grand Duke’s seat.

So, should he resolve her here and now, before things went awry?

Bennett felt this wouldn’t be appropriate either. If something happened to Amelia here, her subordinates outside would surely go mad. Who knew what kind of impact that would have on him?

Therefore, he had to accept this cooperation!

After various thoughts flashed through his mind, Bennett smiled. “I understand the situation. I am very willing to cooperate with you, Amelia.”

Verna’s expression changed slightly.

The situation developing to this point was somewhat beyond her expectations and felt rather ominous.

She was Amelia’s partner! They had already signed a contract under God’s Witness! Amelia was obligated to help her, or else she would be breaking the contract.

Amelia, looking so calm right now, must also be feeling some nervousness inside, right? After all, she can’t actually cooperate with Bennett.

Verna looked at Amelia’s face and thought to herself.

Amelia, with a slight smile, spoke unhurriedly. “We will certainly cooperate, but the specifics of how to cooperate are a very serious matter. Before that, let me ask, Bennett, are you an Apostle?”

“I understand your meaning, Amelia. You wish to sign an unbreakable contract under God’s Witness, correct? With the goal of restoring your kingdom, it’s perfectly reasonable to be more cautious in this regard. Don’t worry, although you are not an Apostle, I am indeed one. I can fully facilitate signing a contract under God’s Witness.”

“Then I am relieved.”

Amelia nodded, but inside, she felt helpless.

She had hoped Bennett wasn’t an Apostle. That way, she could pretend she wasn’t one either, avoiding the need to sign a contract under God’s Witness. A verbal contract wouldn’t be binding, so she wouldn’t have to worry about breaking the contract with Verna.

But if Bennett was an Apostle, signing a contract under God’s Witness for their cooperation was unavoidable.

“Brother Bennett, when did you become an Apostle? I’d never even heard about it before,” Verna asked with a dry laugh.

“Actually, I’ve been an Apostle for quite a while, but I kept it secret. However, at this point, there’s no need to hide this part of my identity anymore, because I am already a Mid-Rank Apostle,” Bennett said with a confident smile.

A Mid-Rank Apostle already possessed considerable self-protection abilities.

Verna found this extremely troubling.

Bennett was her rival. The weaker Bennett’s strength, the better for her. A Mid-Rank Apostle like Bennett was undoubtedly a huge problem.

Amelia looked at Bennett and said, “I understand the situation now. Since you are an Apostle, we can sign an unbreakable cooperation contract under God’s Witness. However, regarding the contract’s contents, I haven’t drafted it yet. After all, in my original plan, we weren’t supposed to meet at this time.”

Bennett expressed his understanding. “There’s no rush for the contract’s contents. Not only do you need to draft a contract, but I also need to carefully consider the terms. We can’t afford to be careless about this.”

A contract signed under God’s Witness was absolutely unbreakable. Naturally, Bennett valued such a contract highly and needed to draft it meticulously to avoid any loopholes or traps.

“Then let’s each draft a contract on our own first,” Amelia proposed. “After some time, once we’ve finalized our drafts, we can meet again to discuss and revise them to decide on the final contract.”

“No problem,” Bennett felt this was a relatively safe plan.

Hearing this, Verna also had a thoughtful look.

She knew Amelia was stalling Bennett, using the excuse that the contract hadn’t been drafted yet to buy time.

In the future, they could even continue to stall by citing reasons like the contract needing further refinement or additions.

However, this time couldn’t be delayed indefinitely. Dragging it out further would inevitably arouse suspicion. So, the time they had was limited.

I understand. We need to deal with Bennett before the time we can stall runs out.

A sudden clarity dawned in Verna’s heart.

But this wouldn’t be an easy task.

Bennett himself was a Mid-Rank Apostle. How could he be easily dealt with? And as the Prince with the highest support, countless people protected him. Attempting to resolve Bennett under such heavy protection was immensely difficult.

So, what should they do?

For a moment, Verna couldn’t think of a good plan.

“Will you continue to stay at White Maple Academy under the identity of Lily Hicks?” Bennett asked Amelia.

“Of course. If you need to find me, you can come here again,” Amelia nodded.

“I understand the situation. Then I shall take my leave now. I have other matters to attend to.”

Bennett had originally come for other things, matters far from finished. Discovering Amelia’s true identity and planning a cooperation was entirely unexpected.

But fortunately, it wasn’t a bad thing.

“Then, until next time, Bennett,” Amelia didn’t try to keep him.

Bennett smiled faintly and left.

Verna didn’t leave with him. She went to the doorway and watched Bennett’s retinue depart into the distance before returning to Amelia’s side with a worried expression.

“Amelia, the situation is not good. Do you have any method to handle this?” Verna asked, frowning slightly.

“Not at the moment,” Amelia shook her head.

She had been watching the bullet comments, but there were no constructive suggestions. For now, they could only stall.

“We don’t have much time. It will be troublesome when Bennett realizes something is wrong,” Verna reminded.

“I understand. In the time we have, let’s think carefully about a solution.”

“Alright, I’ll head back first then.”

“Mm, see you later.”

“See you.”

Verna left hurriedly. With such a situation unfolding, she also had many things to arrange.

Once Verna was gone, Eileen, beside Amelia, spoke in a low voice. “Your Majesty, if things become impossible, we can choose to leave the Luban Duchy. The world is vast; no matter where, I can accompany Your Majesty. The contract we drafted with Verna only states we must help her become Grand Duchess within our capability. It doesn’t say we absolutely must succeed. If it’s beyond our power, it wouldn’t be considered breaking the contract.”

During the previous conversation with multiple people, Eileen hadn’t interjected at all. Her role, after all, was merely that of a maid.

But now, alone with Amelia, Eileen expressed her views.

“Eileen, don’t worry. The situation hasn’t deteriorated to the worst point yet,” Amelia consoled.

“I understand,” Eileen nodded.

==========

For the rest of the day, White Maple Academy remained quite bustling.

Mainly, the constables were constantly moving around, investigating anything related to Ron. But no matter how they searched, they couldn’t find any trace of him.

Ron was already dead, his body thoroughly disposed of, leaving no trace behind.

But the constables didn’t know this. After their fruitless search for Ron, they could only conclude that Ron had escaped White Maple Academy.

This made Daphne, the Chief Constable, feel very embarrassed. She had come personally, yet a Mid-Rank Apostle had still managed to escape. This was undoubtedly a very humiliating performance.

Consequently, the Security Office dispatched a large number of constables beyond White Maple Academy, beginning a meticulous search throughout Bild City.

Amelia’s subsequent life became peaceful again because of this.

Time quickly shifted to evening.

Amelia, having re-dyed her hair back to aqua-blue, sat on her bed after bathing.

“How exactly should I handle the matter with Bennett?” Amelia murmured to herself.

She was, in fact, speaking to the viewers, hoping they could provide a useful answer.

Throughout the day, she had occasionally muttered this line to herself, waiting for the viewers to give an answer.

Indeed, some viewers offered suggestions, but Amelia found those suggestions too imperfect; they were prone to unforeseen problems.

She needed a better solution!

As Amelia muttered to herself, the bullet comments became lively again. Unfortunately, finding effective advice proved difficult.

Nearby, Eileen, who had also re-dyed her long hair and put her color contacts back in, looked at Amelia with a complicated expression.

She didn’t know Amelia was speaking to the bullet comments. Hearing Amelia repeatedly worry about how to deal with Bennett throughout the day, she assumed Amelia felt very anxious about it.

Her Majesty is clearly so anxious, yet she still smiles reassuringly at me, telling me not to worry. But how could I not truly worry?

Eileen couldn’t help but bite her lip.

She also had to comfort Her Majesty, to prevent her from being so anxious.

Thinking this, she recalled the book Self-Cultivation of a Maid, which she had been reading. It seemed to have a section on how to comfort one’s Master when they felt anxious.

With this thought, Eileen looked pensive. She left the bedroom, found a thin rope, and then returned, climbing onto the bed and sitting beside Amelia.

Then, under Amelia’s bewildered gaze, she grabbed Amelia’s hand and tied it to her own using the rope.

“Eileen, this is…” Amelia blinked in confusion.

“This way, we become even closer. So, don’t worry. I’m willing to share half of your troubles.”

Eileen felt a bit awkward but still recited the line from Self-Cultivation of a Maid.

Amelia: “…”

She also remembered the book Self-Cultivation of a Maid. Although she had only skimmed it, this scene seemed familiar. It was the part where a maid handcuffed herself to her Master, using the excuse of sharing anxiety and worries to increase intimacy.

Eileen probably couldn’t find handcuffs, so she used a rope instead.

Why does this feel a bit off… Eileen still hasn’t realized there’s a problem with Self-Cultivation of a Maid… Mm, she hasn’t read that far yet, only the beginning. The initial parts, while seeming strange, aren’t immediately obvious as problematic. I’ll stick to my original plan: not telling her directly and letting her discover the book’s issues on her own. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing for Eileen.

A thought flashed through Amelia’s mind, and a smile appeared on her face. “Did Eileen come up with this method? Mm, my worries have indeed lessened considerably. It’s wonderful that Eileen can share my burdens like this.”

Eileen’s eyes brightened slightly.

She had actually been worried this method might not work. But since Her Majesty confirmed it was effective, then she hadn’t done anything wrong. The contents of Self-Cultivation of a Maid truly were reliable, after all.

Volume Three: Silent Throne