"Bajed, are you alright?" Jierunifu asked, walking over quickly.
"Emperor Brother, I'm truly sorry, I didn't notice your carriage was right behind me," the 'Willful' Princess said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
Bajed was still frozen in place, unmoving. At this moment, the 'Willful' Princess, seeing Jierunifu approach, had already moved away from her spot and adopted an apologetic demeanor.
"No harm done, no harm done. This carriage has been used for a long time; I was just looking for an excuse to replace it," Jierunifu replied, forcing a smile.
"Is that so? That's wonderful! I was worried Emperor Brother would make me pay for something!" the 'Willful' Princess responded with a beaming smile.
It was evident she was genuinely happy. Could it be that it wasn't intentional?
Moreover… her move just now, he had only seen her throw a punch in that direction, and Bajed was already about to cut her down.
It seemed that the 'Willful' Princess was not very strong in terms of martial arts. This was a good thing… if they fell out with Ainz Ooal Gown, they could control the 'Willful' Princess as a bargaining chip.
"Not at all, not at all. I should be thanking Princess Elizabeth," Jierunifu said, then glanced at Bajed, who was serious and silent. Only then did he notice a long cut on Bajed's face and blood flowing from his ear.
"Bajed?! Your face? Your ear! Bajed! Hey!" Jierunifu shouted at Bajed very loudly.
"Ugh… Ah, Your Majesty… Tsk… It hurts," Bajed finally came to his senses and touched his face.
"Bajed, are you alright?!" Jierunifu looked at Bajed with great concern.
Although he had won against the 'Willful' Princess and confirmed that her martial arts skill was not impressive, he still felt a bit bad about Bajed getting injured because of it.
"My ear… I can't hear," Bajed replied, covering his ear.
"Healer! Healer!" Jierunifu immediately shouted. Jierunifu found it very strange; as an outsider observing that exchange, he, as a layman, couldn't discern anything special about it. But why was Bajed's ear injured?
"Oh dear, let me do it! I accidentally hurt the old man. Holy Healing!" Before the Healer could arrive, the 'Willful' Princess in front of them raised her hand. A golden light, accompanied by a phantom of golden feathers, enveloped Bajed entirely, and then the cut on Bajed's face disappeared instantly.
Holy Healing… that's the same move that removed Renas's curse, right! Is it versatile? Can it not only remove curses but also be used for healing? Jierunifu thought to himself.
"This should do it, right! I'm really sorry! Old man," the 'Willful' Princess asked with a beaming smile.
"Ah! Thank you, Princess Elizabeth, for the healing. I can hear again," Bajed immediately bowed respectfully to the 'Willful' Princess.
"Mm-hmm! That's good. It's just… although Emperor Brother said he wanted a new carriage, it's still very troublesome to be one carriage short now, isn't it!" the 'Willful' Princess turned her head and looked at the damaged carriage in the distance, then said.
"It's fine. I'll just squeeze in with my subordinates," Jierunifu seemed to have noticed the 'Willful' Princess's intention and cried out inwardly, 'Not good!'
"How can that be! How about this! Emperor Brother, come with me; anyway, I'm alone here," the 'Willful' Princess extended an invitation with a beaming smile.
…
"Damn it!" Jierunifu made an excuse to run out, pulling Bajed and the Secretary who replaced Rone, and squeezed into a carriage that was supposed to be for the noble ladies.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty!" the Secretary asked, looking at a loss.
"I've been tricked again! I don't know if this 'Willful' Princess is truly lacking in sense anymore!" Jierunifu said, highly displeased.
"Your Majesty…" Bajed also didn't know what to say. At least… regardless of whether she was intelligent or not, the 'Willful' Princess's power was something he had personally experienced.
"Let's not talk about that for now, Bajed. In your opinion, can the Empire's current strength control the 'Willful' Princess?!" Jierunifu asked.
"No… Even if all four Imperial Generals went together, it probably wouldn't be enough," Bajed replied.
"Even all together wouldn't be enough?" Jierunifu's expression grew serious. Putting aside that Fudo was dead and Heavy Bomber Renas looked on the verge of betrayal, even if those conditions didn't exist, if all four couldn't control the 'Willful' Princess…
Bajed nodded with a solemn expression.
"I didn't expect Ainz Ooal Gown to actually give us a bomb, that scoundrel!" Jierunifu punched the carriage wall again.
Bajed and the Secretary didn't know what to say and could only look at Jierunifu.
"There's still too much uncertainty right now. I originally thought the 'Willful' Princess was an idiot, but now, the things she's done seem like they were premeditated. To say she's wise, she doesn't appear wise at all. I can't figure out if she's truly foolish or just pretending to be," Jierunifu said, scratching his head in frustration.
"Your Majesty, I don't think that princess seems like a wise person," the Secretary said, seeing his Emperor so distressed, perhaps unable to bear it any longer, and offered his opinion.
"Then are you saying she's an idiot? Then explain this to me… why did she so coincidentally smash my carriage and not any other?" Jierunifu asked, annoyed.
"This… it might truly be a coincidence… Your Majesty's carriage just happened to be in that direction," the Secretary didn't quite understand why the Emperor was so fixated on this.
"A coincidence? Do you also think it's a coincidence?" Jierunifu turned his gaze to Bajed. Bajed had directly faced the 'Willful' Princess's deadly punch, so he had a right to speak.
Bajed recalled the situation at that time. The 'Willful' Princess had indeed deliberately aimed off-target, and she had controlled the range very precisely, only letting the punch's force graze his head.
If it had deviated even slightly, his head would have been gone. Was it intentionally aimed at His Majesty's carriage?
But at that time, their standing positions were random! And it just happened to be near His Majesty's carriage. Besides… smashing one carriage doesn't seem to have much impact, does it?
"I think it should be a coincidence," Bajed thought for a moment and replied.
"Alright! It seems you don't understand," Jierunifu said, his face hardening with displeasure.
"Your Majesty, why are you so concerned about that damaged carriage?" the Secretary asked.
"The carriage is broken, so what! The problem is! She invited me to ride with her! That's the crux of the matter! If we return to the Empire, and the citizens, the Church, or some people with ulterior motives see me sharing a carriage with Nazarick's Princess, what will be the consequences?!" Jierunifu shouted, his emotions somewhat out of control.
"Your Majesty…" the Secretary made a gesture to speak softly. This carriage was not the Emperor's private one and had no soundproofing.
"Tsk…" Jierunifu glared at the Secretary and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Looking at it this way, the Princess certainly doesn't seem like an idiot; in fact, she's quite cunning. But…" Bajed really wanted to say that the Princess was very smart, but her other behaviors were indeed difficult to associate with the word 'wise'.
"Now, regarding the anti-Ainz Ooal Gown alliance and the subsequent plan to overthrow him, that Princess is the key. If she's an idiot, it's fine, but if she's a clever person, even if we overthrow Ainz Ooal Gown, we still have no future," Jierunifu said.
"You mean, if the Princess is a clever person, this act is her using us to overthrow her father and seize power?" the Secretary asked.
"Yes, if that's truly the case, what we might be facing is a demon more terrifying than Ainz Ooal Gown," Jierunifu said, gritting his teeth.
The Secretary and Bajed nodded in unison. Someone who could constantly feign foolishness, then scheme to use outsiders to eliminate their own father and ascend to power… what would their character be like? It was self-evident.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
👉 patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!