Ch.173172. European Union Conference (2)

The issue here was Alicia’s official position.

Alicia was the queen of a nation… specifically, the queen of England, once called the British Empire.

Having a head of state directly participate in European Union meetings would inevitably create various problems regarding Britain’s prestige and diplomatic protocol.

“I received permission from the British political establishment.”

“Huh? Really? That easily…?”

[Is this really not a problem?]

…I thought, but in reality, they were able to obtain permission from Parliament and the Cabinet quite simply.

Both Alicia, who received this report from her maid, and Bahamut wore expressions of disbelief that the British political establishment had actually granted permission.

They hadn’t expected it to be so easy, since even though she might be treated as a puppet queen, she was still the head of state of England.

They had expected additional negotiations or issues to be raised regarding her attendance at the meeting.

“This is just my speculation.”

“Go ahead and tell me.”

“I believe they now consider Your Majesty as just one of the players in British politics. It seems they find it… difficult to regard you as the head of state representing the nation.”

The maid speculated that Parliament and the Cabinet didn’t consider Alicia to be Britain’s representative, but rather just another player in the political game.

Before the apocalypse, they would have thoroughly examined such a proposal, held meetings, and only then granted permission if there were no issues.

However, the fact that they immediately approved the queen’s proposal without such deliberation suggested that they viewed the queen as just one of many political players, not as the head of state representing Britain.

Naturally, Queen Alicia responded to this logic:

“Then that means they consider the Lord Protector, not me, to be the actual head of state.”

With an expression of acceptance rather than anger, she acknowledged that England’s representative was not herself but the Lord Protector.

“Yes. Since the Lord Protector is acting in Your Majesty’s stead. Even if we argue that an Awakened’s power has nothing to do with age, the political establishment simply didn’t accept that logic.”

“So it’s an age issue. Hmm…”

[There is the argument that age doesn’t matter for Awakened, but since this is a political issue, there’s no way around this logic.]

Admittedly, Alicia’s side couldn’t really complain about this.

Although Alicia was an Awakened who had contracted with the dragon god Bahamut to become a Dragon Priestess, she was still a minor who required a guardian’s protection.

Realistically, few would respect a political figure who was barely over 10 years old, and if someone that young ascended to the throne, they would indeed need a regent to handle affairs of state until they reached adulthood.

Looking at the bright side, the fact that they listened to Alicia’s opinion at all was only possible because they recognized her as a player in British politics.

[In other words, they consider the queen just one of many warlords who have established themselves in England?]

“Yes. The usurpation failed, but there can’t be just one usurper like the Lord Protector… another outstanding hero could emerge.”

Put negatively, it meant the queen was just one of many warlords, not someone who deserved respect.

“Is my position some kind of honeyed seat? What the hell?!”

[Well, that’s not entirely wrong]

Alicia lamented this, but the truth was that power-hungry individuals existed everywhere in the world.

Especially for the British throne, with its numerous titles and prestige, there were undoubtedly many who coveted it during this apocalypse.

The Lord Protector was just the most prominent example, but within British politics, there were others who sought to usurp Alicia’s position or aimed to become her consort.

‘The former makes sense, but the latter… has their conscience gone to heaven?’

Bahamut wore a bitter expression, wondering if these politicians in their 40s or 50s were perverts who felt sexual desire for young Alicia, who wasn’t even of marriageable age.

However, it was true that any man might want to be treated like a king once in his life, and ambitious warlords aiming for the throne existed in every era, making it difficult to respond.

Realistically speaking, if someone wanted to quickly gain the throne, becoming Alicia’s consort would indeed be the fastest route.

As the queen’s consort, they could effectively obtain the position of king.

“There are also politicians in the Cabinet who want the Lord Protector’s position.”

“Is this some kind of game for the Lord Protector? Why are there so many usurpers in our country?!”

Apparently, there were even aspiring usurpers targeting the Lord Protector’s position.

Alicia looked at her maid with a dejected expression upon learning about the unexpectedly chaotic state of British politics, but facts were facts.

In reality, England’s order had rapidly collapsed due to the apocalypse, and then collapsed again with the Lord Protector’s usurpation of the throne, so it couldn’t recover quickly.

Both the existing ruling class and the emerging class were continuously being purged, and such political chaos couldn’t be resolved overnight.

“It means the British political establishment has also been affected by the apocalypse. But since you can participate in the European meeting, it’s not a bad thing for Your Majesty.”

“Well, that’s true…”

In the end, the root cause of all this was the cruelty of the apocalypse.

This wasn’t just England’s problem; similar issues were occurring in other countries as well.

Even in the Korean Peninsula where Bahamut had been, usurpation incidents were commonplace, so by apocalypse standards, this wasn’t particularly unusual.

“But how do I normalize this country?”

“I don’t know.”

The problem was that Alicia, as queen, now had the duty to resolve this situation, and she lamented how to do so.

From her perspective, it was utterly overwhelming.

If most of the British political establishment were aspiring usurpers, she would need something to satisfy them if she didn’t want to face their challenges… but Alicia didn’t possess that attractive something.

“Oh, I don’t know! Let’s just participate in the meeting and think about it later!”

“I’ll help with the preparations.”

Finally, with a sigh and an expression that said she had no idea what to do, Alicia prepared to head to Paris.

While receiving assistance from her maid and selecting clothes to wear there…

“And for security, please ask the royal guard to…”

“We don’t need anything that elaborate. I’ll be wearing armor as usual.”

“Then I’ll keep it to a minimum.”

For minimal protocol, they selected guards from the royal guard who had both good appearances and skills.

Alicia said there wouldn’t be any problems since she would be wearing the national treasure-grade armor that Bahamut had given her, so they decided to minimize the guard.

However, there was one issue…

“Selected by Her Majesty the Queen? Haha, what a glorious day!”

“I-I’m so envious!”

“Me too! I want to be selected too!”

Many wanted the position of guarding the queen who would be attending the European Union meeting.

Everyone expressed their desire to become guards, creating competition, but this incident showed how much control Alicia had over the royal guard, so it was actually a good problem to have.

“There’s more enthusiasm than I expected. Yes.”

“Of course. After Bahamut’s summoning, the royal guard’s loyalty to Your Majesty has been sky-high.”

“That’s nice in its own small way!”

Indeed, there were no fools who wouldn’t pledge loyalty after witnessing that spectacle.

Bahamut’s awe-inspiring descent had drawn fervent loyalty from the royal guard, which translated into popularity for the queen.

Since she could receive firm support from her own faction, Alicia smiled brightly, clearly in a good mood for now.

“Ugh… how should I dress?”

The next issue was about the attire that would display the queen’s dignity at the European Union meeting.

“The current trend is to wear impressive armor like an Awakened. How about following that?”

“So…”

“You can legitimately wear the national treasure-grade armor bestowed by Bahamut.”

Thanks to the current European political representatives, the Lord Protector and the Saint of Orleans, wearing impressive armor or protective gear like Awakened rather than suits had become a trend among most meeting participants.

“What’s that about? We’re not in the medieval era… Wait a minute.”

At first, Alicia wondered why they would wear armor instead of suits, questioning where common sense had gone… but soon she realized the reason.

“Does this mean assassinations are common? Is that why protective gear is in fashion?”

“Yes. Apparently assassinations happen occasionally.”

“What kind of hellscape is Paris?!”

Apparently, assassinations occasionally occurred at European Union meetings.

This meant that sinister political assassinations or hiring political thugs to take someone out was not uncommon, which made Alicia cry out in fear.

“Wait? Then I can legitimately wear Bahamut’s armor? Isn’t this actually great?”

On the other hand, it meant Alicia could legally protect herself with national treasure-grade armor.

In other words:

“I can legally defend against the Lord Protector’s assassination attempts!”

It meant she could prepare for any possible assassination attempts by her political enemy, the Lord Protector.

And in terms of splendor, the armor—decorated with mysterious metals that naturally drew attention with their beauty—exceeded the dresses and formal attire Alicia owned.

She believed it would serve perfectly as ceremonial attire for the European Union meeting.

“Well then, let’s depart!”

With all preparations complete, Alicia headed to Paris where the European Union meeting would take place, filled with hope.

“Ugh.”

“So she really came.”

Upon reflection, participating in the European Union meeting meant she would have to frequently face the Lord Protector, whose face she hated seeing.

The Lord Protector, who placed great importance on connections with Paris, often left London to participate in European Union meetings, expanding his overseas influence significantly.

“Why are you here, Lord Protector?”

“How foolish. To protect Europe, shouldn’t I coordinate with the Saint of Orleans in Paris, its center?”

“Ugh. You say that so easily. Do you really intend to protect anything?”

For this purpose, the Lord Protector himself needed to be in Paris, and Alicia, upon arriving in Paris, was able to face the Lord Protector who was assigned to Britain’s seat.

Alicia asked why he was here with an expression of genuine dislike, and the Lord Protector dismissed her with a single statement that he was here to protect Europe.

Alicia then asked with a disgusted expression if he really had such intentions.

“A foolish question. Europe must be protected. Only then does a ruler’s existence have meaning.”

“What an unpleasant bastard.”

Indeed, if the Europe he was about to rule were to disappear, the Lord Protector himself would become meaningless.

That’s why the Lord Protector was full of patriotic intentions to protect Europe.

“And why are you participating in the European meeting?”

Conversely, the Lord Protector, clearly displeased with Alicia’s presence, coldly asked why she was here.

“You’re just a doll who could have quietly handed over the throne to me.”

From the Lord Protector’s perspective, Alicia was nothing more than a doll who had been holding the throne.

Although she had awakened as a Dragon Priestess and reached a level that even the Lord Protector couldn’t ignore, he apparently still regarded Alicia as a puppet.

“You’re a fool to have been defeated by such a doll, Lord Protector.”

To this, Alicia responded by lowering both herself and the Lord Protector, saying he was defeated by such a doll.

“No. Let me put it this way: You traitor who’s worse than Cromwell.”

Simultaneously, she mentioned the name of England’s famous usurper and gave a cold smile.