Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"Is that right, Your Majesty?" the man asked the empress inside the room after speaking.

"Wait...who gave you permission..." Before Charlotte could reply, the Queen's innocent voice came from inside the room:

"If you don't mind, come in and warm up..."

The crowd stirred. Compared to the princess, the queen's voice was much kinder. They hadn't expected to receive such a simple invitation, as if they were truly the queen's friends.

Having obtained the Queen's permission, the man bypassed the princess and addressed the remaining undecided individuals.

To the princess's surprise, people actually started coming to her side. In the blink of an eye, half of them had left their opposing side. These people were not organized and were not under any pressure as they swayed from side to side. They stood beside the princess with their hands in their pockets, making their stance clear.

"You have so many friends," the person who made the suggestion said softly. For some reason, even though the princess was surrounded by many people, she was still most interested in the person who made the suggestion, as if he were special.

But when someone tried to walk past the leader to the princess, the leader stopped them with a look and then intimidated them back. Charlotte then noticed that the rest of the people were mostly on the leader's side, so it seemed that not all of them were opportunists.

"What do you want, kid?" The leader clenched his fist, shifting his focus from the princess to the person who made the suggestion, his eyes icy.

The people who had been surrounding him suddenly became uncomfortable. Some looked away and moved away from him without making a sound, while others seemed to feel unwell and dispersed to other places.

A fence-sitter is a fence-sitter. When you ask them to take a stand, or to show gentlemanly conduct without any loss, they behave well. But when they are truly threatened, they change their minds very quickly.

"You seem to be from this community..." The man looked him up and down.

"My name is Man," the leader said fiercely. He was already very strong, and any normal man would shrink back when he spread his arms.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I have powerful backing." Faced with the boss's threat, the man stopped putting his hands in his pockets, raised his head, straightened his back, and looked at the boss.

"Strong backing? I can make you hard right now." The boss had already walked up to the man, looking down at him as if he was about to smash his fist into the man's face.

Even Charlotte was worried for the man, but he turned around nonchalantly and said, "Oh, they're here. I wasn't just saying I had powerful backing."

They did indeed hear hurried footsteps, as if a large group of people were approaching, accompanied by the heavy sound of horses' hooves.

The people who were standing next to the leader were stunned by the wine glass. They thought the guards had come, but the king had already driven them out of the palace, so why would the guards have come?

The footsteps quickly passed the corner and appeared in front of them, as if the sunlight were blowing in their face on a winter day.

The first thing people saw was a head of long, golden hair that shone so brightly it was dazzling. A face that was just as beautiful as a princess's, even dreamlike, appeared before them. But the men dared not entertain any thoughts of flirting with her, because of the people gathered around her.

It was a group of silent refugees and wounded soldiers. To be honest, these people were dressed in rags no better than the men. What was frightening was their discipline and the atmosphere of silence they displayed. Moreover, most of them wore similar clothes and carried shovels, wooden sticks, and anything else that could be called a weapon.

They silently gathered around the blonde woman, reminiscent of a poor knightly order or a group of teachers living a frugal life, but in either case, they inspired fear, and even real soldiers would probably be afraid of them.

As the leader of this group, the girl should have been the most terrifying person, but upon seeing them, she paused for a moment: "Old..."

"Greetings, Lady Joan of Arc." The man bowed gracefully to Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc remained silent, glancing at Charlotte behind the man. Her gaze turned icy as she looked at the man who had threatened the teacher. This sudden change startled the man called "Boss."

Needless to say, the people around him understood what Joan of Arc meant. One of the old men, who looked like a veteran, gripped his spear tightly, looked up at him, and with just that one look, the leader felt a sense of unease and took several steps back in fright. That was the look of a veteran who had actually killed people on the battlefield, completely different from the looks of these street thugs.

"Hey, hey, hey, does anyone dare to run wild in Asgard these days?"

What surprised the boss even more was that a woman dressed in white stepped forward. To be honest, she was very beautiful, quite tall, with long dark brown hair. Although she had freckles on her face, her eyes were bright and sparkling. When she looked at him like a female hooligan, the man didn't know whether he should be afraid or feel honored.

"I... let's go..."

As a leader in the community, the boss was quite pragmatic and tried to retreat with his underlings, but they were stopped by a brown-haired woman. The woman had been drinking and seemed to be addicted to being a female thug: "You think you can just bully people and walk away? There's no such easy way out!"

"You... what do you want..." The leader's face was ugly, not because he was afraid of the female hooligan, but because he was afraid of those religious-like people with weapons.

"Apologize to me! Do you hear me?!" The female hooligan was relentless.

Even Aaron was surprised to see her. When did Joan of Arc gather such a person around her? And looking at her arrogant and domineering appearance, why does she seem a little familiar?

"You...you're here to stand up for the princess and queen who were kicked out! Who are you people!" The leader seemed to feel that being blocked by a woman was too humiliating, so he became fierce and raised a banner.

But his words completely enraged the female thug, whose eyes, already red from alcohol, now blazed with fury:

"You dare threaten me?! You dare threaten me! Do you even know who I am?!"

"Who...who are you...?" the leader asked instinctively.

"I am Lydia, the former third seat of the Blazing White Knights!" The woman thumped her chest, her beautiful eyes flashing with a fierce light. When she announced her name, the leader was already so frightened that his legs went weak. But her next sentence almost made him wet himself.

"Do you know what 'before' means? Do you understand? It means I've been fired! I have no position now. Before, I had to be mindful of my status as a knight, but now I can beat up whoever I want! A little thug like you! I!"

Lydia had already grabbed the leader's chest, her other fist raised. What would happen if the Blazing White Knight punched down? The leader was terrified. Just then, Jeanne's voice rang out:

"Lydia, stop being so stubborn. Let him go."

Lydia pouted in dissatisfaction. As a mature beauty, her expression was quite charming. She loosened her grip and actually obeyed Joan, who was much younger than her, and let go of the eldest brother. However, the eldest brother was so frightened that he couldn't stand up. As soon as Lydia let go, he sat down on the ground with a thud.

"You're lucky!" Lydia said, wrinkling her pretty nose.

The others had already scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only those standing beside the princess. They looked around helplessly, unsure of what to do.

Joan of Arc slowly approached the princess and gave her a simple bow: "Your Highness, my name is Joan of Arc, it is an honor to meet you."

"Joan of Arc..." The princess recognized the name and was pleasantly surprised; she was a saint of the church.

The princess looked at the people who had spontaneously gathered around Joan of Arc, and then at the girl who was about the same age as herself, and suddenly felt a great admiration for her.

"Your Majesty," Joan of Arc greeted the people inside the cabin.

"Ah, it seems another lovely girl has arrived," came the Queen's voice from inside the room.

“So next…” Joan of Arc glanced at the men who had not yet left, seemingly asking for the princess’s opinion.

"The princess promised them that if they chose to stand with her, they could come inside to warm up," said the man who had made the suggestion to the princess.

Without hesitation, Joan of Arc nodded: "Let's do it this way then. I don't think Your Highness will have any objections."

"I have no objection..."

The door to the cabin opened, and they were actually invited inside. The Queen herself greeted them with a smile. Those who were invited felt a sense of fantasy; they had actually been personally entertained by the Queen? This was something they had never dared to imagine before.

The Queen remained remarkably calm throughout. Although she hadn't requested the hospitality, she acted as if she had agreed to it, greeting everyone who entered with a smile and a warm welcome. Almost everyone who approached the cabin felt as if they were bathed in a gentle breeze. Of course, they dared not make any excessive demands. After exchanging a few words with the Queen, they would leave sheepishly, not daring to linger.

When the last irrelevant person left, Joan of Arc closed the door, turned around, and only the Queen, the Princess, Joan of Arc, Lydia, and the man who had made the suggestion remained in the cabin.

Seeing Joan of Arc handle these matters methodically, treating the princess's promises as if they were her own, demonstrating both principle and seriousness, Charlotte felt a surge of admiration. She truly lived up to the rumors of being the saint of the Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Charlotte looked at the man who had made the suggestion to her, not thinking, "Why hasn't this guy left yet?" But rather, since the Holy Maiden was so earnest in keeping her promise, she herself had to keep hers, at least to act like a princess.

So Charlotte said to the man, "Now there is only one last request that has not been fulfilled. Since I have agreed, I will grant your request and allow you to touch my body."

Charlotte was so engrossed in fulfilling her sacred mission of keeping her promise that she was completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere around her. Her Majesty the Queen looked surprised yet amused, covering her mouth and chuckling. Lydia was startled at first, then looked on with amusement. Joan of Arc suddenly fell silent, her gaze fixed on the man Charlotte was looking at.

The man didn't say much. He took the princess's hand, bent down, gently kissed the back of her hand, and then released her hand, saying, "Now I've fulfilled my promise."

The princess's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the man, her pretty face flushing slightly, as if he had done something terrible.

It wasn't the man's hand-kissing gesture that made the princess shy, but rather the contrast. The man's hand-kissing was so proper, perfectly in line with aristocratic etiquette and gentlemanly manners, almost contradicting his own image. This contrast is what caused the princess's reaction.

The princess had expected the other party to be more rude, even vulgar... or to make demands that she could not accept. Unexpectedly, the other party was very polite and simply kissed her hand lightly. It was this tension that made the princess tremble and subconsciously look away.

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in role-playing,” Lydia said to the man.

Aaron looked Lydia up and down and said, "I'm not like you, who's already invincible. I have elderly parents and young children to support, so I can't do things as freely as you."

Chapter 85 Moving into the house?

Aaron took off his hood, wiped the dust off his head, tidied his hair, and said to Lydia:

“I’m not like you, where you only have to worry about yourself. I have elderly parents and young children to support, so I can’t do things as carefree as you.”

Countless eyes were watching the princess and queen from the shadows, but no one was willing to lend a helping hand, not because they were cold-blooded, but because they dared not offend the king.

Although Aaron never seemed to care much about the fate of the Obsidian Knights, he was too lazy to use complicated methods when he could solve the problem easily. Therefore, Aaron disguised himself and blended into the crowd, and then Joan of Arc helped the princess out of the predicament.

Joan of Arc's current status is quite special. Although she is a saint of the church, sainthood is not a public office but more like an honorary title. Moreover, Joan of Arc is now widely respected, and having her step forward to help the queen and the princess would have the least impact on her.

However, what surprised Aaron was Lydia. He looked her up and down and asked suspiciously, "How did you get involved with Joan of Arc?"

Lydia shrugged: "Anyway, I was expelled and had nothing to do. I really like Joan of Arc, so I went to help her out."

After Lydia finished speaking, she hugged Joan of Arc: "Little Joan of Arc, you won't despise me, will you? If you don't take me in, I'll have nowhere to go and will have to wander the streets as a wandering knight."

“Of course I have no objection…” Joan of Arc looked somewhat troubled as Lydia hugged her so warmly. She was clearly not used to such intense physical contact with people, but she still raised her eyes and gestured to Aaron with her gaze.

"Do as you please." Aaron said nonchalantly, but inwardly he thought it was a good thing.

Although Lydia was expelled from the White Knights and stripped of her knighthood, it was only by order of the king.

Because of Lydia's act of defying orders and resisting bravely, Lydia is highly respected among the knights and has almost become a symbol of Lusette's heroic resistance. At this rate, Aaron thinks that Lydia is only one death away from being canonized.

And don't let Lydia's carefree appearance fool you, she's actually quite powerful. After all, she's the third seat of the Blazing White Knights and one of the candidates for the future leader of the Blazing White Knights.

The fact that such a person chose to stand by Joan of Arc's side is a great boost to her. Aaron had previously worried that although Joan of Arc had gathered some people around her, they were all scattered and insignificant. But if Lydia were by her side, it would be different. Joan of Arc might actually be able to achieve something.

"But what about you? Aren't you thinking about how to explain this to the Blazing White Knights?"

Lydia shook her head: "The commander also firmly stands on the king's side. I haven't been to the White Knights once since I returned to Esgard, nor do I want to."

"You really betrayed us?" Aaron teased.

"Aaron, have you ever seen a city that has been breached by the enemy?"

Lydia stared into Aaron's eyes: "I fought my way out of a breached city, I've seen the horrors inside, so I will never stand on their side."

"Really? Just thinking about it makes me feel terrible."

Aaron shifted his gaze from Lydia to the queen and princess inside the house: "In this world, even queens and princesses live in houses like this, so of course ordinary people must be living a miserable life."

"Speaking of which, why are you and Joan of Arc so close? What is your relationship with Joan of Arc? Are you really just her teacher?" This time it was Lydia's turn to cast a suspicious look at Aaron.

“You are… Lord Aaron?” Charlotte recognized Aaron’s identity and looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, I never imagined I was so famous in the royal family."

Charlotte shook her head: "It's because of Carol. Carol often mentions you to me, that's how I got to know you."

Aaron's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't seen Carol for a while since the war started, only occasionally receiving invitations from her. He never expected to hear the girl's name now.

"Let's not talk about that now. Let's talk about what to do next. This house has been targeted, and we can't guarantee its safety in the future. You two should find another place."

“Where can we take them? Nobody wants them now,” Lydia said.

“We have some tents near the city walls to receive wounded soldiers. There are many people coming and going there every day, and few people pay attention to what’s going on inside the tents. If Your Majesty and His Highness are disguised, perhaps they can stay there temporarily,” Joan of Arc said.

“But…” Charlotte hesitated, glancing at Aaron.

Aaron immediately understood Charlotte's meaning: "The place you mentioned is indeed highly secluded, but Your Highness seems to prefer a more comfortable place."

"If possible, I hope you can prepare a bath for us, preferably with some rose bath gel, and also some black tea. Hmm... I also miss the opera cakes at the palace..." the Queen said with a smile, clapping her hands.