Do you all know the future?

Chapter 146 Her Majesty
The night in Istaya was cold and desolate. The dim magic lamps on both sides of the street cast a hazy glow in the damp air, making the shadows of pedestrians very long.

Because of the occasional disturbances caused by cultists, most shops had already closed their doors early, with only a few taverns still lit up, their oppressive noise and the smell of cheap beer leaking out from the cracks in the doors.

"It seems he believed it."

Diane reached out and scratched his short hair, which was ruffled by the evening breeze. He looked at the slippery stone pavement under his feet. It hadn't rained; the residents had wet it with water.

“Valentine is a very shrewd person. Businessmen like him spend their whole lives dealing with people and lies. Their noses are sharper than a hunting dog. They will probably still be suspicious. However, our information was obtained by Her Majesty Queen Fafya, and he will find the same thing when he investigates.”

Mrs. Terry walked beside him, lifting her skirt to avoid the puddles on the ground, her high heels making a crisp, rhythmic sound on the stone slabs.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about him anymore. Believe it or not, Mrs. Terri, is the restaurant you chose almost here?"

Diane exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the chill around her, and saw pairs of eyes peering out before quickly looking away.

Diane and her group weren't pretending to be extremely wealthy, but they weren't pushovers either.

"Come this way, you're almost there. There's a restaurant called 'Sea Anchor.' The owner is a lame old sailor with a bad temper, but he's a very good cook. And the seafood they serve is all sourced that very morning from fearless fishermen, so it's incredibly fresh."

As Mrs. Terry spoke, she naturally led the way, taking Diane into a narrower alley.

The "Sea Anchor" restaurant has a small storefront, and the anchor carving on the weathered wooden sign is worn and blurred.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, a wave of heat, a mixture of garlic, butter, grilled fish, and a faint salty smell of the sea, hits you.

The restaurant was dimly lit, with only a few tables occupied. A few tables of customers were sitting and talking quietly. No one noticed the two newcomers. Mrs. Terry skillfully led Diane to an empty private room and sat her down.

"Would the guests like anything to eat?"

An elderly woman in a clean apron saw what they were doing, followed them over, and handed two parchment menus to Diane and her companion with curious eyes.

Mrs. Terry didn't look at the menu and directly told the waitress a few dishes. The waitress was a little puzzled, but she still wrote them down. Soon after, the first dish was served.

A steaming bowl of risotto served on a shallow earthenware plate, the rice grains coated in a rich white sauce, topped with some bright green bits and freshly opened white clam meat.

"Try this first, it's called 'Sea Tide Risotto'. Don't let its unassuming appearance fool you, it contains a type of seaweed called 'Wave Grass', which has a slightly crunchy texture and a taste of the sea. Paired with the sweetness of the white clams, it tastes great. You probably haven't had it before."

Mrs. Terry picked up a clean spoon and ladled a small bowl for Diane with great humility.

"I underestimated you, Mrs. Terri, that you would come to such a small restaurant."

Diane took the small bowl of risotto, the rim of which was hot. He looked at Mrs. Terry, somewhat incredulous that Mrs. Terry, a proud noblewoman who looked down on commoners, would come to such a small restaurant.

Terri's elegant movements seemed out of place in the dimly lit and noisy environment of the small restaurant. Spiderwebs swayed in the corner, appearing and disappearing under the dim magic lamp. A drunken sailor at the next table outside the private room burst into rude laughter.

"I've tried it twice, and it's really good... What kind of person am I in Your Highness's eyes?"

Lady Terry would naturally not come; as a staunch feudal noblewoman and warrior, why would she come to such a small place frequented by commoners and small merchants?

However, the diary records that Diane really liked the family's food. Since her current status prevented her from taking Diane to high-end restaurants, she brought Diane here instead.

"Don't call me Your Highness outside, just call me Young Master Gray."

Diane glanced at the doorway and felt that Mrs. Terry was too careless; perhaps returning to her hometown had made her relax.

"Don't worry, Master. Lady Terry used the Chaotic Sound spell."

The head maid explained to Diane that they were deliberately disrupting their voices in one direction so that people outside wouldn't be able to hear anything!
Diane was relieved. Although being exposed wasn't so scary, the head maid could easily switch to Plan Two with her abilities, but it was better to keep it hidden as long as possible.

“I didn’t notice. I apologize. It shows that my understanding of Mrs. Terry was somewhat one-sided. In my eyes, Mrs. Terry is quite bold and proud.”

Diane scooped up a small spoonful of rice and put it in her mouth to hide her embarrassment; in her eyes, the female knight had a carefree and easygoing personality.

The rice grains are soft and sticky, fully soaked in the rich sauce, the scallop meat is tender, and the seaweed called "wave grass" brings a crisp texture and a unique salty and fresh taste.

Eating rice gave Diane a feeling of returning to his hometown. The various flavors blended in his mouth, truly reminiscent of the taste of his hometown, and there was a strange sense of familiarity in the food.

"Your Highness is right, it's good to be careful, it was my carelessness."

Hearing Diane's words, Mrs. Terry blushed slightly, thinking of her own bold and unrestrained act of kissing Diane upon their first meeting.

"Right is right, wrong is wrong. There's no need to make excuses for me. This dish is delicious; it tastes just like the food from my hometown!"

Diane's apology was sincere, so he hoped Mrs. Terry would accept it rather than make excuses, and he praised Mrs. Terry for her good choice of location.

"This is your hometown, Your Highness. There are many more dishes to enjoy..."

Seeing the look of enjoyment on Diane's face, Mrs. Terry put down her spoon and gestured for Diane to look towards the door. A moment later, the waiter brought in the dishes.

Another dish was served: a plate of grilled fish. The fish skin was grilled until golden brown and crispy, sprinkled with coarse sea salt and unknown spices, emitting an enticing aroma.

"Young master, eat while it's hot. You won't miss home when you're full. This grilled fish is made with a type of fish called 'ghost knife,' which has lots of meat and few bones."

Mrs. Terry picked up the communal knife and fork and deftly cut off a piece of boneless fish belly meat, placing it on Diane's plate.

"There are anti-eavesdropping spells. Can we talk about the people we just overheard at the Valentine's house? Mrs. Tyrell, can you help me sort them out? Which of these are enemies we must defeat, and which are friends we can win over?"

Diane, accustomed to discussing business over meals, carefully chewed a small piece of fish with her fork, inquiring about what needed to be addressed and what could be negotiated amidst the laughter of sailors and the clanging of spatulas in the kitchen. "That Earl de Laman, who oversees the defenses of the capital, is rumored to be a follower of the god of war, but he's also colluding with an evil god; he has a guilty conscience. The Garcia and Mister families are worth discussing; their ties to the gods aren't deep… As for Lady Clement, she's the most troublesome. She's a fanatical follower of the god of love, and angels' power comes from love."

Mrs. Terry was carefully removing the fish bone with a knife when she heard Diane's words. She stopped what she was doing and placed the whole fish bone neatly on the edge of the plate.

"However, don't think too highly of them when it comes to trying to win them over. In their eyes, there's only 'their own side.' They can take your money today and sell you out tomorrow. You can only use these kinds of people, not trust them."

Most of those who pledge allegiance to God are untrustworthy, and most of the people mentioned in the diary have been swept away by Diane. Based on the few words in the diary, one can understand the attitude of these forces towards Diane.

"So, none of these people are reliable? That's not what you said."

Diane looked up at Mrs. Terry, who was saying that this wouldn't work and that wouldn't work. She had told her that returning to Tudor was what everyone wanted, but now it seemed that was just how it was.

"To pledge allegiance to Your Highness is not the same as to be wholeheartedly loyal to Your Highness. Your Highness, think about it: if only one person is pulling a rope, it is easy to break."

"But if everyone is pulling in the same direction for their own small goals, then the rope will be incredibly strong."

"What we need to do is tie all their 'small goals' to your chariot."

“Look outside there’s a table of sailors. All they want is for the ship to sail safely and for their wives and children to have food to eat. If we can drive away the evil god, they can carve your name on the bow of the ship.”

"But do you think they would die for you right now? Count de La Mans and his men are just well-dressed sailors."

Mrs. Terry explained that she had actually realized her naiveté. She wrote in her diary many times that she believed that selfless people who were supposed to save the country were actually sophisticated egoists, and she was extremely shocked when she wrote the diary.

Therefore, the more you read the diary, the more you can understand Diane. The monsters and demons of Ishtar are not worth too much trust. The stronger Diane becomes, the less she will be influenced by these people.

"On the contrary, the crazy woman you're talking about has no faith and is loyal to the country. That Fiona doesn't love money or power; she only has Queen Greta on her mind."

"This kind of person is either our biggest helper or our biggest trouble. What do you think of her in this gamble?"

Diane remained silent, as did Mrs. Terry. The waiter then brought over a large bowl of steaming mussel soup. The soup was milky white, with black mussels and chopped vegetables floating in it. Diane scooped up a little soup with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in her mouth.

"I don't know. After Her Majesty Queen Greta's death, she lived a secluded life and rarely participated in noble social activities, so there was little opportunity to learn about her."

The person mentioned in the diary has disappeared, and the subsequent leader of the guard has been changed. Lady Terry was unable to find any clues or key information to tell Diane how to deal with this person.

"Then how should we go to see her? We can't just knock on the door of the Royal Guard Knights, can we?"

The head maid picked up a piece of homemade black bread from the restaurant, broke off a small piece, dipped it in the soup, and fed it to Diane. Diane chewed slowly; the bread was very fragrant after being soaked and softened, and he didn't mind eating two main dishes at the same time.

“That definitely won’t work; too many people will notice. But I do have an idea. I heard that she goes to your mother’s grave outside the city every month and stays there for half a day. We can ‘bump into’ her there, see what kind of person she is, and then decide how to approach her.”

Mrs. Terry dabbed the soup from the corner of her mouth with a napkin, then folded it neatly and placed it on her lap, raising her eyes to look directly at Diane.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's leave it at that for now. A chance encounter is much more respectable than barging in. I don't want to attract too much attention, and I hope she can help me out of respect for Queen Greta."

Diane glanced at the head maid and noticed that she was watching him intently, a faint smile playing on her lips, her heterochromatic eyes seeming to be plotting something.

The real person is here. Queen Greta is not dead. We'll go back and discuss with the head maid how to deal with her. The head maid nodded. The next target has been chosen: Fiona.

"We've finished eating, it's time for us to head back."

Two more dishes were served, but Diane only took a small bite; bread and rice were enough to fill her up.

"As ordered!"

Mrs. Terry nodded slightly, took out a few silver coins from her handbag, and placed them on the corner of the table.

The group walked out of the heavy wooden door one after another. The warmth and aroma of food inside the restaurant were instantly shut out from them, and the cold wind of the Istaya night immediately enveloped them, a chill in their hearts.

Just as Mrs. Terry reached out to take Diane's hand, the restaurant door was pushed open from the inside again.

A tall woman walked out. She was wearing a dark gray riding outfit without any decoration. The outfit was well-tailored and the material looked ordinary, but the way it draped as she walked revealed its extraordinary quality.

Her blonde hair was simply tied back, revealing her smooth forehead and defined jawline. She seemed to have just finished discussing something with her lame boss, her face expressionless.

As she passed by Diane, her gaze lingered on Diane's face for less than a second, scrutinizing her, before shifting away as if she were merely looking at a roadside stone.

Fiona glanced at the head maid a couple more times, but still didn't say anything. She was a little confused, but that didn't stop her from leaving.

The whole process took only a few seconds. Neither Diane nor Mrs. Terry looked at her again, as if she were just a stranger on the street. Diane genuinely didn't recognize her, while Mrs. Terry suppressed her surprise.

“That’s Fiona. Strange, why would she come to a place like this to eat? It doesn’t suit her noble status.”

Mrs. Terry's voice was very low, almost a whisper. She couldn't understand why Fiona had found this place when she saw her leaving. She had a diary.

"Isn't this too much of a coincidence? You deliberately lured me here to see Fiona, didn't you!"

Diane was surprised to find no trace of him and began to wonder if Mrs. Terry had orchestrated their meeting—that would be terrifying.

"Is it possible that she had dinner here with the Queen, and that she commemorated Queen Greta in this way?"

Looking back at the restaurant that was no longer visible, Diane suddenly realized why the food tasted so familiar.

(End of this chapter)