In the Name of the Queen

Sophia couldn't guess why Sif could not collapse in a head-on confrontation with her.

But she didn't care about this little setback, and even had a little more expectation.

Sif is a promising opponent in the future.

Fortunately, Sophia didn't know what Sif was thinking, otherwise she might freeze her to death on the spot.

The thank-you dinner ended like this.

The next day, Sophia left.

She didn't take a boat, because the boat was too slow.

She went directly to the seaside, froze a small glacier, and carried herself across the ocean.

It only took her more than a day to land at the ice-free port in the north of the empire and change to a carriage to go back.

Other envoys and dignitaries from various countries also left.

Shortly after they left, the convoy with the white rose flag also left the imperial capital and headed south.

Port of Dovol.

Count Sif came again.

But this time she was not the focus, because the queen came.

The public reason for the queen's trip to the south was to tour the territory and learn about the results of the investigation into the attack on Port of Dovol.

The cabinet did not object, but only sent an additional 200 soldiers to escort.

The ministers were even secretly glad that the queen was going out for fun.

But the queen gave them some strength before leaving.

Seeing the Queen of Magic Mirror and Count Sif appear at the same time, the ministers were silent.

They knew that the queen was Count Sif, but they didn't know which one was real and which one was fake, let alone the identity of the actor.

Puppet?

Impossible! Puppet can only execute simple instructions, how can it have such a high IQ.

Shadow stand-in?

This can be explained, but where can I find a stand-in who looks exactly the same?

The ministers' heads are about to explode.

Fortunately, someone suggested, "Since the queen and the earl exist at the same time, just treat them as two different people."

Makes sense, what a genius!

The other ministers glared at the person who said something angrily and dispersed.

They didn't figure it out, but they were angry.

The queen and the earl look exactly the same, if something goes wrong, it will be a big deal.

If someone with ulterior motives seizes the opportunity, the damage to the empire will far exceed that of a war. How could anyone want to be an ostrich?

The ministers despised those who talked nonsense, but they all chose to be ostriches.

If the problem cannot be solved, we can only pretend not to know.

Phase 1: We declare that nothing happened. √

While the ministers pretended to be deaf and dumb, the Queen came to Port Dowall.

The mayor and the director of the port authority rushed to entertain her.

They all hoped that the Queen would live in their own territory to facilitate reporting.

However, the Queen had a unique idea and chose to stay in the headquarters of the Fourth Fleet.

Just as the Fourth Fleet was busy preparing her accommodation, she made another shocking statement and asked to live in General Planck's room.

Everyone was silent.

Soon, the mayor and the director of the port authority who reacted spoke out against it, and the deputy commander Bridges of the Fourth Fleet also expressed his objection in a tactful way.

Their reasons were simple and unknown.

According to tradition, after the entire naval fleet sank, the headquarters would be rebuilt, and the room of the original commander would be a restricted area.

The Queen did not directly reject their objection, but calmly asked: "Is General Planck alive or dead now?"

Deputy Commander Bridges was embarrassed and gritted his teeth and said: "There is no evidence that the general is dead, so he is missing."

"Since he is missing, why can't he live there?" The Queen calmly asked back.

The counter-question ended all the objections.

She had made a decision, and daring to object was disobedience.

Bridges had to ask the orderly to clean up the yard and the room to welcome the Queen.

The mayor and the port director saw that the Queen refused to stay in the yard they provided, and they were panicked and secretly looked at Roland.

Roland hinted to them that they should take the initiative to explain the problem in order to protect themselves, but now the Queen did not express her position, so she should give them a word whether she was dead or alive.

However, Roland just gave them a meaningful look and did not express his position.

Since Planck's accident, his room has been sealed with a sticker for almost three months, and it has to be cleaned well if someone wants to live there.

The Queen did not waste time and went to the City Hall to listen to the work report.

First, the mayor introduced the basic work situation this year.

Although he had something on his mind, the mayor's professional quality was quite good. The report was clear and understandable, full of data and hard facts, without too much official jargon.

At the end of the report, the mayor sighed and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I didn't expect so many foreign spies to lurk in Dovol. After this round of investigation, a total of 75 foreign intelligence personnel were captured, including 31 from the Golden Kite Kingdom and 31 from the Vladimir Kingdom."

The Queen listened to the report expressionlessly and gave a simple instruction, "Hand it over to the Military Intelligence Bureau for disposal. Inform the Military Intelligence Bureau when it is handed over. I am very concerned about this matter."

She did not directly interfere in government affairs, and her sense of boundaries was very accurate.

But she did not do nothing either.

The sentence "I am very concerned" was to increase the strength of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

The Magic Mirror certainly did not understand these rhetoric. She was acting as a mouthpiece.

She looked at the young master Sif with some emotion.

She is Sif's puppet, and Sif is also Roland's puppet.

No one knows Sif's level in the political field better than her.

But she doesn't know that 90% of the instructions she has received recently come from Sif herself.

Roland deliberately lets go and encourages Sif to think independently.

An external brain is useful, but there will always be a time when it is not there.

Sif must learn to make her own judgments.

Except for necessary reminders, Roland would not interfere with any of her decisions, even if they were wrong.

Depriving the power to make mistakes is equivalent to depriving the opportunity to grow.

Some things are better to make a mistake once than to teach them ten times.

Roland was surprised by Sif's growth rate.

After the confrontation with Sophia, Sif seemed to have opened her mind overnight and her thinking was particularly clear.

Although the reason for winning was very funny, winning is winning.

This was the first time in recent years that Sophia did not win in a confrontation.

This victory greatly boosted Sif's confidence.

She manipulated the magic mirror puppet and easily dealt with the mayor and the port director.

The queen rarely expressed her opinion, but her casual questions always frightened the two old bureaucrats.

Her Majesty the Queen knows a lot and can't be fooled at all.

This is the common idea of ​​the mayor and the port director.

After listening to the report, the queen chatted with everyone in a friendly manner until the evening.

The headquarters was finally cleaned up and could be checked in.

Dinner was held in the internal restaurant of the Fourth Fleet Headquarters.

The meal was simple, not worthy of the Queen's status, but suitable for the admiral.

No one from the city government or the port authority was invited to the dinner, it was a gathering of the Fourth Fleet.

The officers and sailors who could accompany the Queen for dinner were carefully selected, and their ancestors had to be old Sussex people for three generations, and they had to be citizens of the Empire.

After this screening, hundreds of officers and soldiers with no problems of loyalty accompanied the Queen for dinner as extras.

Although it was a play, it was a rare experience for these people.

They only heard about the grand occasion of the Glorious Day from newspapers and colleagues, and it was the first time to see the Queen and Earl Sif in person.

This opportunity is really rare.

The table for the Queen and the main entourage was arranged between the naval officers and soldiers.

Although Roland repeatedly reminded everyone to relax, the surrounding naval personnel were still a little restrained.

The dinner ended in joy and restraint.

The entire Fourth Fleet was encouraged because Her Majesty brought good news.

The officers and soldiers of the Fourth Fleet who were missing at sea will be counted as having performed their missions, and their salaries and sea subsidies will be paid as usual.

This was discussed with the Minister of Finance before leaving the imperial capital.

Although the old miser was about to have a heart attack on the spot, he still accepted the suggestion.

After all, this was a suggestion from the Queen and it was in full compliance with the regulations.

The Fourth Fleet had more than 20 warships and a total of more than 5,000 people going to sea, but none of them came back alive, and no wreckage could be found. There were many doubts, and it was impossible to simply determine that they were dead or missing.

The solution given by Sif was very simple.

Since they were neither dead nor missing, they were still on the sea escort mission.

The mission was not over, and the salary and subsidy could not be reduced.

This would ensure that the families of these people had a worry-free life.

After hearing this good news, the entire Fourth Fleet was excited and morale was high.

The main force of the Fourth Fleet was damaged, and its strength shrank rapidly, becoming the weakest fleet of the Imperial Navy. Their commander was absent, and the Navy Headquarters did not like them, so their situation was very difficult.

The preferential treatment conditions given by the Queen were completely within the legal framework, but they gave them a shot of confidence.

Even the brothers who could not come back were taken care of in this way, which showed the sincerity of Her Majesty the Queen.

The Fourth Fleet instantly changed from the fleet with the lowest morale and the most wavering loyalty to the most loyal and reliable fleet.

Although it will take time to restore combat effectiveness, at least people's hearts are stable.

After dinner, they returned to the Navy Headquarters. Sif asked the Magic Mirror to rest first, and she and Roland came to Planck's study before the accident.

The bookcase and desk were still sealed, but the key was already on the table.

This was the attitude expressed by Bridges.

He did not dispose of these things privately, and now they were handed over to the Queen intact.

Bridges did not dare to open them, but Sif did.

Sif and Roland carefully searched Planck's desk, trying to find clues.

During the search, Sif said softly:

"I didn't pardon them immediately, nor did I express my opinion. I just wanted to make them feel scared. I'll talk about it tomorrow. These two guys are capable, but they are also greedy. Let them be scared."

Roland just smiled and said nothing.

Her approach was correct. The way to control people is to use both kindness and power.

Seeing Roland smiling but not speaking, Sif explained softly:

"Only kindness without dignity will make you look cowardly and not be respected. Only dignity without kindness will make people alienated. This is what you said. Am I wrong?"

Roland nodded with satisfaction, "Of course not, absolutely correct."

Kindness is to pardon their crimes, and power is to treat them coldly tonight.

Sif showed them that it would only take a few minutes to deal with them.

First scare them and then forgive them. It will have a better shocking effect on them and can also make them stop in time.

After solving these annoying trivial matters, Roland and Sif continued to search the room.

Although the room had definitely been processed and it was difficult to find anything valuable, it was idle anyway. No matter how it was processed, there would always be clues left.

Just as Roland was analyzing Planck's personality from the books on the bookshelf, Sif appeared in front of him happily holding a few small notebooks.

"Look, look, what did I find?"

Seeing her expression as if she was offering a treasure, Roland was also a little curious, what treasure.

He opened the small notebook and took a look, and he almost couldn't help laughing.

Simply put, this thing is a general's diary.

Roland flipped through it casually and shook his head with a smile, "This is not a diary."

"Ah? How could that be? I just looked through it and this is the diary!" Sif was unconvinced.

Roland did not refute directly, but pointed to one of the passages and said softly: "Look, does this look like something written for your future self?"

"this"

As long as the political field is not involved, Sif's brain is very bright or even very bright. Only in the political field does she tend to get sleepy.

She also saw a problem in what Roland pointed out.

This does not look like a diary, but rather like embellishment and packaging of one's own words, which is too deliberate.

Can a top actor like her still tell that this is acting?

Frowning slightly, Sif's voice was a little cold, "Who is so bold as to forge Planck's diary? This is forged evidence!"

"Well, how should I put it? This thing was indeed written by Planck himself, but the content was beautified with a beautifying filter. This behavior is also called 'concave character design'."

"Concave character?" Roland's fresh words made Sif a little curious.

"It's an over-the-top performance to create a stereotype. For example, if there is a priest who sells indulgences, he is eager to sell indulgences wherever he goes, regardless of whether the occasion is appropriate or not, regardless of how outrageous the words may seem. , he would say it every year, again and again, this is a tough character.”

Sif nodded slightly and learned again.

When Roland said this, she quickly figured it out.

Planck may have realized that one day these diaries would be used as evidence, so he was acting deliberately.

But does anyone really know how to perform in a diary?

Seeing her confused expression, Roland smiled and teased:

"Any serious person who keeps a diary, at least doesn't write like this. But the diary is not useless. Sometimes the performer doesn't notice that his true nature is revealed, like here."

Roland pointed to Planck's account of a day when he went to the church to pray and mentioned that a certain nun had long and white thighs.

"Did he have evil thoughts about the nuns who cultivated themselves?" Sif frowned.

"That's not the case. The nun just has a slightly special status and is not more beautiful than ordinary girls. What he likes is the long white legs. Just because Gangplank is not married does not mean that he does not have a woman. This is a clue."

Roland carefully read through Planck's diary and extracted a lot of useful information. He found that he had recorded five stays in a small city in Hanseatic Province.

"It should be here. His mistress and illegitimate child are most likely here. Otherwise, as an imperial admiral, he has no reason to go to such a small place so many times."

Sif agreed with Roland's judgment and murmured: "As long as we find his family, we may find more clues. I didn't expect you to know about criminal investigation?"

"I really don't understand this, but I understand the mentality of a daily journalist."

Roland's expression was a little sad.

After all, he once had a literary dream and wrote a diary like Tolstoy.

And it also has a concave personality.

I wonder if people in another world will be moved to tears when they see his relic diary.

Sure enough, serious people don’t keep diaries.