I! Cleaner!-Chapter 789 - 723: Making Trouble

"Your Majesty Queen Veronica!"

The diplomatic minister, eager to make a mark and deeply mistrusted by Princess Melisande, waited patiently until the queen announced the start of the private banquet. Before the old man in armor could begin cutting the cake, he stood up in impatience.

"May I ask if Princess Feiliya of the Crolock Kingdom, the only survivor after its destruction, is attending this banquet?"

Hmm?

Upon hearing someone inquiring about his neighbor's situation, Leon, who was recuperating his energy, raised an eyebrow and cast his gaze toward the speaking old man.

Hmm... not that old indeed.

Excluding the overly mature attire and the facial hair trend from the Northern Kingdom, judging by his skin, he was probably around thirty, a few years older than Veronica.

Although, to someone like himself who was barely twenty-eight years and a few months old, with skin as tender as water due to increased Contamination Value, this person could be called an old man. Among the envoys with an average age over forty, he was still an undeniably young man.

In summary, he was an old hand but of a naive type.

Looking at the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister's attire and recognizing his origin from the emblems and clothing, Leon, who knew about the Northern Kingdom's intentions from Veronica, directly responded on her behalf:

"Feiliya has some matters to attend to and doesn't have any acquaintances here, so she didn't attend the banquet. Do you have something to discuss with her?"

"Yes, I do have some matters I'd like to inquire about."

After staring at Queen Veronica for a moment and failing to get the reaction he wanted, only seeing her calm and gentle smile, the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister furrowed his brows, then decisively shifted his focus to Leon, questioning with a burning gaze:

"Your Highness Prince, may I ask why Princess Feiliya of the Crolock Kingdom did not lead her people to rebuild the Crolock Kingdom, but instead chose to relocate the remaining populace and align Crolock Kingdom's inheritance with your kingdom?"

"Allow me to answer that."

Taking a glance at the still pale Leon, Queen Veronica grasped his arm and responded calmly:

"The Crolock Kingdom was hit by a once-in-a-millennium tsunami. While the people managed to escape, the entire Royal Capital was destroyed by the tsunami, lacking food, clothing, and resources, leaving them incapable of rebuilding the kingdom at its original site.

Leon, coincidentally there for diplomatic talks on behalf of the kingdom, mediated and persuaded Princess Feiliya to accept our aid, temporarily relocating the disaster-stricken populace here for respite.

However, afterward, neither she nor the former citizens of the Crolock Kingdom had much interest in rebuilding the City of Machinery that was destroyed by the tsunami, thus they simply settled down."

"I see."

Nodding understandingly, the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister smirked, then smiled and asked:

"So this means that the Crolock Kingdom's remnant citizens led by Princess Feiliya are merely temporarily residing in your kingdom and have not become your kingdom's vassals, being fully annexed, correct?"

"Yes."

With a gentle smile, Queen Veronica replied calmly:

"There's naturally no talk of annexation; it's just basic humanitarian support, providing aid to those affected by the maritime disaster, while also helping them integrate into a new environment as much as possible.

After all, we've always been a nation striving for peace, having not waged a single external war for almost two centuries, instead continuously being on the defensive from invasions by other countries, losing quite a bit of territory… Wouldn't you agree?"

"..."

Facing Queen Veronica's veiled reproach, the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister was about to retort when a loud voice broke from beside him.

"Your Majesty Queen Veronica!"

Calling out, a black, thin, and vigorous middle-aged man stepped forward beside the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister, looking firmly and loudly saying:

"As allies who have maintained excellent relations with your kingdom for over a century, we, the Kingdom of Morna, are willing to stand with you to assist those Crolock Kingdom remnants who have lost their homes together!"

Pausing, the black, thin man glanced at the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister beside him and continued:

"Additionally, the Northern Kingdom and the Fracture Kingdom have similar plans, and although the Kingdom of Saio cannot accommodate the refugees, it is willing to provide ships and routes to complete this benevolent act… You have no objections, right?"

"Prince Lucian of the Morna Kingdom?"

Seeing this eager middle-aged man stepping forward, Queen Veronica subtly furrowed her brows, slightly surprised in her heart.

The provocation from the Northern Kingdom was entirely expected, but as a staunch ally of the kingdom, the Morna Kingdom had not even contacted her privately, skipping the negotiation process of handing over benefits, and directly sided with the Northern Kingdom, which was indeed beyond her expectation.

After all, the technology inherited from the Crolock Kingdom was an unimaginably rich fortune, one she couldn't fully monopolize alone; she would definitely share some with her allies.

Considering her mother was a distant kin of the Morna Kingdom, the relationship between herself and the Morna Kingdom almost guaranteed benefits from their side, making it entirely unnecessary to oppose her.

Success!

Watching the slightly furrowed brows not immediately responding, but instead looking at her in contemplation, the Northern Kingdom's diplomatic minister couldn't help but smile confidently, giving her a meaningful smile in return.

Though the Morna Kingdom is your ally, Prince Lucian might not necessarily be your ally, and the Morna Kingdom's interest does not have to align with the interests of the family behind him.

According to the treaty signed with the Kingdom of Saio, if he continued to stand by you, while Prince Lucian could secure benefits for Morna Kingdom, he and the family behind him would face opposition from the Northern King and the Kingdom of Saio.

If he chooses to abandon supporting you and stands with us, the Morna Kingdom's benefits won't decrease, and he himself would not face opposition, even able to gain the largest share of benefits with our support, the cost being nothing more than offending you.

But you, having recently ascended the throne and in urgent need of support from all sides, if rational, would not choose to conflict with the Morna Kingdom due to such irreparable loss, abandoning a potential ally, making this cost trivial.

Further, with the Morna Kingdom, which should have allied with you, abruptly withdrawing support, the pressure on any second ally attempting to stand out would sharply increase, equating to directly opposing three major kingdoms.

Among your remaining allies, no envoy of Prince rank is present; the highest-ranking envoys attending are diplomatic ministers and a political party leader.

Even if they have the guts and decisiveness to stand out, they lack the authority to represent their kingdoms taking on such a big issue.

In other words, before allowing me to enter the hall, your failure was already destined when I interacted with Prince Lucian of the Morna Kingdom!