After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

It was just as Yang Hao finished work and was preparing to invite Elena to lunch to experience the local customs and culture of Constantinople.

"Relax...work is done. So, Mr. Yang Hao, may we proceed with the private request I mentioned earlier?"

The little synthetic doll's words caused Theresa's expression to change drastically, and Finn to show a strange "I knew it" look. It also jolted Naruja, who had been dozing off, awake.

"Explanation: I hope you can accompany me to explore the current state of the United Nations. This will greatly help our work in integrating Eden into the modern world... At the same time, I also have some personal matters I would like to ask you privately."

She blinked. After putting down her work, she naturally let go of the emotions that had accumulated at the conference table—after all, work is work, life is life, and curiosity is curiosity.

The synthetic doll has always kept these things very separate. She will not let her personal emotions affect the cause of the nation, nor will she let the cause of the nation affect her personal life.

This might be hard for most people to understand...

But Elena believes that Yang Hao is someone who is willing to understand her.

Faced with Elena's confidence, Yang Hao could only nod with a wry smile after thinking for a long time.

..........

The simple meals in Constantinople did not dampen the magical dolls' enthusiasm for the place.

They were courteous and polite, displaying curiosity about the surface world without reopening old wounds hidden beneath people's joy. Each one was a kind gentleman or lady; it was hard to imagine that they were the powerful figures His Majesty Yang Hao had spoken of who had fought demons for hundreds of years...

Judge Natalia sighed, and after leading Anna by the hand through the bustling and magnificent banquet hall, they strolled slowly toward their restaurant.

In the Purple Palace, the place where the Chief Justice and Anna dine is always the royal dining room where Yang Hao and his group are located. As part of this family, they naturally have the right to dine with the esteemed Baselis and Caesar.

The presiding judge seemed quite pleased with this. After all, it was a recognition of her hard work—but then again, with the Edenians visiting, shouldn't there be a distinguished guest in the Royal Dining Room currently having lunch with His Majesties?

Is it really a good idea for me to take Anna with me now?

Just as Natalia was lost in thought, she unexpectedly ran into Miss Naruja, who looked rather uneasy, in the corridor.

Good afternoon, Miss Naruja.

The presiding judge greeted her, and little Anna happily called out "Sister Naruja" before breaking free from Natalia's grasp. She then rushed to the bewildered Naruja's lap, grabbing her clothes and acting coquettishly.

Anna liked Narudya very much—partly because Narudya exuded an innocent, animal-like aura, and partly because Narudya acted like a truly kind older sister, unlike Aunt Teresa, who frightened Anna and emanated a strange, sacred aura...

Faced with Anna's sudden action, Narudya hurriedly patted her head before helplessly lifting Anna from her lap and carefully handing her over to Natalia.

"Good afternoon, Miss Natalia, little Anna... um, you're here for lunch, right?"

"Is it inconvenient?" Natalia asked understandingly. "If it's for entertaining important guests, we can eat in the side room without any problem... But, did the previous meeting go smoothly?"

"Actually, it's quite convenient to go out for lunch... The meeting went very smoothly, didn't it? It's just...:"

"only?"

Naruja looked around carefully, making sure that only trusted guards and maids of the Purple Palace were moving about in this corridor, then she whispered in Natalia's ear:

"Her Majesty Elena of Eden said... she wants to go on a date with Yang Hao after dinner?"

"...ha?"

At first, Natalia didn't realize what was going on.

After all, everyone already knew about Naruja's natural charm. She's the kind of girl who might doze off at the table while eating, get lost in some garden if no one's watching her, and even drift off to sleep in the hot water if no one's watching her while she's taking a bath!

So Natalia initially thought that the "date" Naruja mentioned was just a normal visit between members of the royal family... This wasn't strange at all. Back when the Roman Empire was established, Emperor Yang Hao, who was still the regent, had to make many similar business trips... So it really wasn't a big deal.

But seeing Naruja's serious expression, for some reason, the glimmer of hope in Natalia's eyes vanished without a trace.

She swallowed hard, instinctively hugging Anna's petite body tighter in her arms. Looking at the earnestness in Narudya's eyes, she could only lower her head and force a dry laugh, saying:

“Naruja...you must have misunderstood something, right? After all, Her Majesty Theresa and Her Majesty Finn are here too, you know? That Elena couldn't possibly...couldn't possibly make such a shameless request in front of them, could she?”

Naruja nodded blankly:

"But that's what she said, wasn't it? Something about 'taking a private walk,' something about 'the previous request,' and she even directly said 'I hope to speak with Mr. Yang Hao alone'... Is this really a normal visit in royal protocol? I don't really understand these things... but they've already been walking around in private... It's impossible for normal communication between royalty to reach the point where 'only the two of them can conduct it in secret,' right...?"

"..."

"Moreover, Theresa and Finn's expressions weren't good at the time... especially Theresa... she almost looked like she wanted to eat someone alive, you know? After all, it was right after the heated discussion ended, and Elena made the request directly... and Yang Hao seemed to have agreed...?"

"His Majesty actually agreed?!"

Natalia instinctively raised her voice two octaves in a scream, drawing the attention of the maids and guards in the distance. In response to Natalia's scream, Naruja simply nodded in annoyance.

"Yang Hao seems to have his own ideas... but to be honest, I don't really understand the benefits of doing this... I'm feeling a bit troubled, so I ran out of the restaurant first... intending to wait for the food to be delivered before deciding..."

"..."

An unexpected situation.

Natalia had initially thought that under the supervision of Her Majesty Theresa and Her Majesty Finn, Emperor Yang Hao wouldn't be targeted by other women... After all, he was the husband of two empresses, wasn't he? Although he still owed one of them a wedding, he was indeed the lover of both empresses.

In this situation, it's astonishing that an empress from another country would be so foolish... or perhaps audacious as to extend a "date" invitation to His Majesty Yang Hao in front of both empresses...

This is just...too...too enviable...too incomprehensible!

Natalia inwardly condemned Elena's audacity, even suspecting that now that Elena had entered the Royal Restaurant, she might not be able to leave unscathed from this restaurant inhabited only by Bayernians and elves...

But on second thought, Natalia felt a pang of envy for Elena's boldness.

If I had been bolder back then and expressed my feelings to His Majesty Yang Hao instead of waiting for him to announce the "polygamy system" before my hopes were rekindled... perhaps, now, besides the two emperors, I would also have a place to sit in that setting?

One could only say that... being bold is, in a sense, a talent... and being reckless is, in a sense, a quality that Natalia both utterly despises and deeply envies...

She sighed heavily. She thought to herself that she and Naruja probably wouldn't be able to get involved in that situation, and would only be left licking their wounds in a corner, utterly miserable.

Just then, little Anna asked curiously, "I haven't gone out to play with Daddy in a long time! If Daddy takes me and my two older sisters along later, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

......

Both of them were stunned.

They all looked into Anna's cunning eyes.

Suddenly it dawned on them... they seemed to have another chance?

Chapter Nine: Elena: I Just Want to Be Friends? —8K

"..."

Why is this so?

The afternoon of November 15th.

As Yang Hao, holding Anna's little hand, wandered aimlessly with Elena, Naruja, and Natalia through the commercial streets of Constantinople...

The poor man kept wondering in his bewildered mind: Why did this happen?

He was confused because this was supposed to be a job for him and Elena, but Naruja and Natalia had joined in after Anna's coaxing... Although he knew that Elena probably had other feelings for him, he thought about it and realized that he was a man with self-control!

Neither Teresa nor Finn believed they would do anything despicable. Why would their daughter, their beloved... their patriarch, their chief judge, think they would do something terrible when they were alone with Elena?

That can't be right, can it? Do I look like that kind of person? Neither Theresa nor Finn thought that way, did they?

The man sighed softly. He truly felt that he would have to spend a few days having a serious talk with Natalia and Narudya to clear up their misunderstandings about him...

"Sigh... Anna? Take your time... I know you really want to get out and about, but at least consider Dad's work, okay?"

His Majesty the Regent sighed, letting Anna drag him around, while inwardly apologizing to Elena.

Following closely behind Yang Hao and Anna, Elena was completely bewildered by the hostility emanating from Natalia and Naruja—but to be honest, why was that?

(I didn't do anything?) The little synthetic doll muttered, looking down at her red evening gown. (I just wanted to invite Mr. Yang Hao to walk around and ask him some questions I was curious about... Why does he have to target me like this?)

On another note... if the two women behind him have romantic feelings for Mr. Yang Hao, why can't they just say it directly? Isn't this a country where polygamy is practiced? Why?

Since synthetic dolls don't understand human nature, they naturally don't know what kind of courage and strength it would take for these two girls to "take the initiative to confess their feelings."

This feeling intensified after realizing that the two women beside Yang Hao had genuinely sacrificed a great deal for him and held indispensable positions. This was especially true for Natalia, who inherently felt inferior when facing Finn and Theresa.

Compared to her background, she was at most of an ordinary noblewoman, which was nothing compared to the last princess and the elven queen.

The elves and nuns were far more diligent than she was. They bore the weight of their nation's survival on their shoulders, while Natalia, at most, bore the responsibility for a nation's morality and order.

Not to mention, compared to the results... While Natalia gave His Majesty Yang Hao the possibility of continuing to live, Theresa saved Yang Hao's soul, and Finn provided the foundation for Yang Hao to get to where he is now... Although in a sense Natalia was a prerequisite for them to do what they were doing, she was only a prerequisite.

Even in terms of the time she spent with Yang Hao, Natalia was inferior to everyone else, including Naruja. Aside from Anna's approval, she essentially had nothing—moreover, she didn't want to become a bad woman who needed Anna to be with Yang Hao...

She hoped to work hard and achieve great things, then hold her head high and find the happiness she desired with everyone's recognition and blessings. Therefore, before she had achieved significant results, Natalia lacked the courage to consider confessing her feelings to Yang Hao...

What about Naruja?

Although Naruja is rather naive, that doesn't mean she doesn't understand what human concepts of love are.

The reason she lacked the courage to confess was not so much because she enjoyed this kind of life—breaking the current tranquility herself might not be a good thing for her.

After all, if everyone does nothing now, at worst they can maintain their current relationship. Naruja can still appear around him like a pet, and then make her presence known at the right time.

But what happens after the confession? Naruja can no longer look at Yang Hao with a normal heart... Naturally, Yang Hao can't ignore this Ling tribeswoman who has been secretly following him. Their situation becomes especially awkward, especially when no definite answer or explicit rejection has been given.

Naruja wasn't afraid of delaying, but she was afraid of Yang Hao's rejection and his ambiguous wavering... Without Elena's provocation, she wouldn't actually be the type to proactively express her demands.

But after Elena appeared, and Elena directly invited Yang Hao to go out for a walk... everything changed for Naruja.

Going back further, Elena, as an outsider, has known Yang Hao for even less time than he has fought alongside him—in this situation, if Yang Hao can accept Elena, then why can't he accept Naruja?

Going on, Elena's rash confession has already disrupted Naruja's peaceful life... Since life is no longer peaceful, it's only reasonable for her to take action, right?

They all felt threatened by Elena's actions and were forced to take action... but for Elena...

This was so outrageous that she simply didn't know what to say...

(If I were to say now that I don't actually have any romantic feelings for Mr. Yang Hao, I'm afraid it would be considered a joke...)

Glancing sideways at the court president and the clan chief on either side, Elena finally looked at Mr. Yang Hao's back in front of her and sighed softly in her heart.

(Anyway, it's too late to say anything now... so let's just leave it at that. There are advantages to silence. Anyway, my goal is to study Mr. Yang Hao's true background and the knowledge in his mind... As long as I can obtain this information, the outside reputation doesn't really matter...)

(I wonder if this expedition will bring us anything new... By the way? Are those... Sirens?)

"Daddy! I want this!"

While Yang Hao was taking Anna to buy desserts at a pastry shop, Elena noticed a group of excited girls running around in a certain part of the shopping street that attracted a lot of attention.

They have dazzling magical organs resembling fish fins near their ears. If there are no surprises, they are actually the Sirens that Elena knows—but why would the Sirens come here? Isn't their origin Allandis, which is more than 10,000 kilometers away from this continent?

Are the Sirens all coming over now?

The synthetic doll was filled with confusion. Just then, amidst the laughter of the sirens, Yang Hao and Anna emerged, each carrying a free snack given to them by the shopkeeper.

Anna was quite popular in Constantinople. On one hand, she was the adopted daughter of the Purple-Robed Royal Family and Yang Hao's daughter. On the other hand, Anna was naturally well-behaved and adorable, and when she walked with Natalia, they looked like a mother and daughter, making them very endearing.