"What did you say?"

Upon hearing the close attendant's report, Queen Veronica, who was burrowed in reviewing the budget, couldn't help but look up in surprise.

"The princess from the Witch Kingdom has been found?"

"Yes."

Quickly glanced again at the letter in her hand, confirmed that the contents and the signature were complete, and it was indeed the original note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the young female officer who appeared to be in her teens nodded, saying:

"Princess Catherine from the Mifalla Kingdom was found by the Dancing Society under the Great Witch Court, after suddenly disappearing for more than a month. Other than some fright, she wasn't harmed."

"I see..."

Frowning thoughtfully for a while, Queen Veronica put down the quill and proactively asked:

"Is the source of the information reliable?"

"Reliable."

The young female officer nodded and said:

"This message has already been confirmed by the ambassador to Mifalla. After learning of the news, he quickly managed to meet the princess from a distance through his connections in the Shaman Society, confirming that it was indeed the missing Princess Catherine.

As for the major societies within the seventeen affiliated to the Great Witch Court, although the Blessing Monk Association and the Divination Charm Society were skeptical of Princess Catherine's identity, the remaining fifteen societies did not raise any objections. The credibility of this message is very high."

"What about the Great Witch? What does the Great Witch of Mifalla say?"

"The Great Witch has not appeared."

After looking down at the letter in her hand, the young female officer accelerated her speech and relayed:

"The Great Witch, who is over 130 years old, had shut herself away three months before Princess Catherine's disappearance, refusing even water and food, and almost no one has seen her.

However, according to guards from the Great Witch Court, they could often hear the Great Witch's voice. Even though there was only the Great Witch herself inside, she seemed to be talking to someone. As for the specific content of the conversations..."

At this point, the young female officer paused slightly, then said in perplexity:

"The Great Witch seems to be repeatedly advising a very lively child, telling him not to rummage through Uncle William's coursework, not to always accept allowances from his aunt, and not to pry open his parents' door at night.

Aside from these, there were even stranger things, like not wandering into other people's dreams while sleeping, not reaching out to grab the souls of the dead when seen, and definitely not putting them in the mouth even if caught, as souls aren't actually tasty..."

"..."

What a mess!

After listening carefully to the young female officer's relaying, Queen Veronica couldn't help but wrinkle her brow in confusion, unable to understand what the Great Witch was doing. After reading through these nonsensical phrases, the young female officer turned to the next page and continued her report:

"Moreover, although the Great Witch hasn't come out to cooperate in verifying Princess Catherine's authenticity, she is indeed very old and could pass away at any time, so the heads of the fifteen societies have reached consensus.

Regardless of whether the Great Witch comes out or not, the Witch Kingdom is to hold the coronation ritual in three weeks, inviting all kingdoms to attend the ceremony. The formal invitations and letters of notice are expected to arrive within three days."

Hold the coronation ritual in three weeks?

Upon hearing this, Queen Veronica's brow furrowed even tighter.

Joshua's mother's family, hundreds of years ago, was a branch of the Great Witch in the Witch Kingdom, and during the years when her father was vigorous and energetic, he had significant dealings with the Witch Kingdom, so the two are considered allied nations.

However, since she ousted the former Treasurer and sent the former Queen Mother to retire with her father, the Witch Kingdom's attitude became ambiguous.

Although the relations between the two countries haven't substantively deteriorated, there is still some official interaction, yet significantly less close than before. Private communication is less than one third of what it used to be, with many collaborations having stopped, displaying a taste of ambiguous distance.

So this coronation ritual is a perfect opportunity. If a sufficiently weighty ambassador is dispatched to express the intention to restore good relations, there's a significant possibility to draw the two countries closer again. But the choice of this ambassador...

"What is the Prime Minister doing recently?"

"One moment, please."

Turning back to search among the piles of documents, retrieving a thick stack of itinerary sheets, the young female officer intuitively said:

"The Prime Minister is scheduled to go to the Kingdom of Morna this month to discuss the development cooperation of the Gold Village; whether the rich mine can be obtained is crucial for the kingdom, and he likely doesn't have time to attend the coronation ritual."

Indeed... Seems the Prime Minister can't go.

Upon hearing, Queen Veronica couldn't help but sigh.

Those eligible to attend this ritual as representatives are only five or six in total, among whom Joshua and the former Queen Mother need no further mention. If they visit the Witch Kingdom, they are more likely to borrow soldiers and launch a coup than to assist her.

And since the Lower House's Prime Minister has no time, the Upper House's Speaker position technically belongs to Leon, unable to send sufficiently qualified person. She herself can't just leave a chaotic kingdom to travel thousands of miles to attend the ceremony, so...

Leon as the Prince probably has to go!

After considering her circle, realizing apart from carrying the old King on a stretcher, only Leon had the qualifications, Queen Veronica could not help but rub her forehead.

Although foreseen, her married life was unexpectedly lacking in togetherness.

After muddling through the wedding, none of the real tasks were accomplished; her Prince directly went on assignments, and just when he returned from completing tasks for the Clean-up Bureau, she must send him on an international viewing task again, which is really...

"Your Majesty."

After sneaking a look at Queen Veronica's expression, the young female officer tentatively suggested:

"What do you think of Miss Anna?"

"Anna?"

"Yes."

The officer reminded:

"Miss Anna is not only Leon's sister; she is also the heir to the Ryan Family. She is currently the highest-order successor.

So, if you write a letter on behalf of Prince Leon, stating he voluntarily relinquishes the Duke title, Miss Anna could automatically succeed as Duke of Lionheart and take the Upper House Speaker position, equating to having the diplomatic qualification, enabling you to..."

"No, don't propose this again."

Gesturing the young officer to halt, Queen Veronica could not help but glare at her.

"Such a schemer! I indeed want to spend more time with Leon, but the cost should never be at Anna's expense! Besides, I shouldn't decide for Leon; whether he wants to go to the Witch Kingdom is still uncertain."