Isabel stared at the darkness, the stories that came to her mind and flew by like a bubble phantom.

Her consciousness was dulled by the hallucinations, as if she were dreaming, unable to precisely control her thoughts.

“…… Is there really a right answer to this question? ”

Such doubts appeared in her mind.

But obviously, this sentence is not the answer.

Therefore, after hesitating for a long time, Isabel still cautiously replied: "Puppet face...... Who is it? ”

"Huh."

The low laugh came: "It's not good, it's not bad."

"Savvy, but not crazy enough; Perceptive, but too sober. You are not fit to inherit all of me. ”

Just as Isabel gave the answer, a human figure appeared in the darkness.

- That's the charming snake queen in the original story!

She tugged at the myriad threads in her hands, and these threads connected to the low-hanging masks.

From the very beginning, all the stories that surround her in the "future" are under her manipulation.

As the thin lines in the snake queen's hand continued to merge, the surrounding pitch-black picture shrank again.

The pitch-black and mysterious space became an altar in the yellow sand.

It turns out that everything around is an illusion.

Isabel felt a sudden in her heart.

There were dense snakemen standing around in silence, each with a mask on their face.

Only the snake queen standing in front of Isabel has no mask on her face.

- No, it's not!

Isabel was taken aback.

I saw that the snake man queen suddenly smiled charmingly, and suddenly stretched out her hand to her own face.

The queen took off her pure white faceless mask.

Underneath the mask is another Isabel.

There was no snake tail, no white robe, no golden crown, and no red eyeshadow.

It's another "Isabel" who wears exactly the same clothes and has the same face as Isabel!

The only difference from herself is that "Isabel" wears bright lipstick.

Her smile was still charming and full of confidence.

…… What about me?

"If You Were Me ......"

Isabel in the illusion subconsciously wondered: "Then who am I?" ”

"Isabel" on the opposite side chuckled and put the mask on Isabel's face.

Her nails roamed across Isabel's face, sharp nails cutting through the skin, from Isabel's forehead to the base of her left ear. It was as if she was going to follow the contours of this mask and peel off her face.

She whispered, "I am you......

"—that's me."

Isabel suddenly looked down and saw only a thick snake tail.

At that moment, an indescribable fear appeared in Isabelle's heart, and she suddenly gasped and woke up.

Isabel was sweating profusely.

She suddenly looked up and found herself still sitting at her desk. She didn't become the Queen of the Serpents, and she never left Avalon.

—but in her hands, the pure white faceless mask still lay quietly. Fresh blood was stained on one side of the mask, and the left side of Isabel's cheek had a short arc that had been cut shallowly by a knife.

Under Isabel's gaze, the blood-stained mask gradually began to distort and deform, and finally turned into the appearance of Isabel with a low brow.

"That's what it is...... Puppet? ”

Isabel muttered under her breath.

She followed the example of the snake queen in the illusion, and easily opened her mask.

I saw the mask fall on its own.

As it fell, an illusory thin line suddenly emerged. It was attached to Isabel's right middle finger.

At that moment, Isabel felt a mysterious connection to the mask.

She looked at the corner of the study, and looked at the two papal guards with some curiosity, and a thought suddenly popped into her heart.

Isabel smiled and stretched out her hand to one of them and beckoned, "Ke'er, come here." ”

"What do you command, Your Majesty?"

A short-haired elf girl who looked to be about the same age as Isabel walked over.

"Try it with this mask."

Isabel looked at her expectantly.

……

When Michael Hermes knocked on the door and received an answer, he hurried into the Queen's study with his briefcase, and sat down expertly opposite the Queen.

This man, who was as carefree and fat as a fat seal, seemed a little anxious at the moment.

He rubbed his scalp, which had begun to lose his hair badly, and complained, "You can do something about it, Your Majesty—I think you'll have to look at these documents for yourself, I'm not sure." ”

With that, he put his entire briefcase on the table and pushed it over.

Isabel, who was sitting across the desk, took the briefcase and looked up at the same time: "What about the things I asked you to help me get?" ”

"The minister's gift is also in there—it's an elven harp."

By the time McCroft had spoken, Isabel had already taken out the silver-white harp.

"It's beautiful!"

She couldn't help but admire.

A small, silvery-white harp decorated with leaves and vines. And between the leaves and vines, there are two red flowers—as deep red as roses. And they are carved entirely from a single piece of gemstone.

It is also topped with an eyeball-sized amber gemstone. Near the gemstone, there is a blue-white silk streamer.

"Anastasia, I wish you good health......"

Isabel read the elven language.

Originally, she would probably subconsciously ask something like "Who is Anastasia". But Ivas had already told her about his experience in a dream last night.

Therefore, Isabel just sighed: "That girl's wish has been fulfilled, after all, this is the place with the most griffins in the world......"

She looked at McCroft and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, Hermes. I've finished reading the Tantra book, and I'll deal with the backlog of documents as soon as possible. ”

"You're going to have to give them some color."

McCroft was a little dissatisfied: "Not long after Minister Evas left Avalon, those guys became active one by one - and now the battle in the Round Table Hall is getting more and more fierce. Or do you intend to maintain the political image of 'you are an enemy of Minister Ewass'? ”

"I can't hide it for long."

Isabel said briskly, "So be it for now—when I officially succeed to the throne, everything will be clear." I remember you didn't say that only the knights thought we had contradictions, and the people were spreading our scandals? Then you can get the newspaper to do a little bit more. As for quarrels...... Then let them quarrel. They always have to find someone to quarrel with, and it's better to quarrel for this funny reason than to quarrel because of a problem that is not easy to solve. ”

"There is no problem on the private side, but the response is quite good. As you might expect, the public prefers romantic love stories that are artistic, easy to understand, and simple and crisp in the plot rather than focusing on complex and multi-stakeholder political struggles — your anonymous novel based on you and Minister Ewass has been reviewed, and several editors have given quite good reviews without knowing your identity, so it's ready to go to print.

"But ......"

McCroft said, taking out his handkerchief and wiping his sweat: "My personal advice: it's better not to drink too much in front of the public. ”

“…… What's wrong? ”

Isabel was stunned for a moment: "I remember that my grandmother often drank with the people, and everyone liked it...... Is my image not close enough to the people? Or do I look too young to drink? ”

"Oh, that's not it. The main thing is that you have never been in the habit of drinking before, and you start drinking every day as soon as Minister Ivas leaves. ”

McCroft smiled bitterly and wiped his sweat again: "Now folklore has it that you quarreled with Minister Eivers, so he left Avalon in a rage and went to Star Antimony to find Miss Aleister; And you drown your sorrows with wine every day, and you have inadvertently said something like 'if you drink too much wine, you will see Ehuas'......"

Isabel's scalp tingled: "What is this......

She thought about it for a while with a tangled face, and she didn't think of how she should refute the rumors.

“…… Forget it, it doesn't matter. Anyway, when Ivus returns, everything will be clear. ”

Isabel smacked her lips, but gave up her thoughts.

Pray more to Ivas than any of these things—maybe the silver-crowned dragon will hear it!

She looked up and smiled at McCroft, "By the way, do you see anything odd about me?" ”

“…… Did you cast some illusions? ”

McCroft immediately guessed why Isabel asked.

But although he guessed Isabel's motives, he raised his head and looked at it carefully, and after thinking for a moment, he shook his head: "I can't see it, at least there is no obvious disobedience." Or, you put it a little more carefully? Which part of the disobedience should be observed? ”

"To put it more concretely, it's ......"

Isabel said, reaching for her face.

She then took off her mask.

Under the mask, there is a short-haired elf girl with the nickname "Kerr".

Her appearance, temperament, clothes, height, and hairstyle have changed at the same time.

Kerr waved generously at McCroft, revealing a cheerful smile that was completely different from Isabel's.

At this time, Isabel pushed open the closet door and jumped out of the closet in the study.

“…… Can you notice that she's not me? ”

Isabel continued her previous sentence and asked.

Seeing this, McCroft was stunned for a moment.

Seeing the real stunned look on his face, the corners of Isabel's mouth rose slightly.

She smiled happily: "Then please run again later...... Send this mask to the Cathedral of Candles and send it to Evas.

"-Don't worry, I'll take care of these documents, excuse me."

“…… Yes, Your Majesty. ”

McCroft reluctantly stood up and saluted.

Update complete!

(End of chapter)