"..." I sit on the throne, crossing one leg over the other as I look down, watching Marie and Laplace bowing. Marie stares at me with clear disgust, while Laplace seems... well? Her expression is quite neutral, but I think she’s satisfied with the vitality I managed to restore.

"Evelyn, how dare you pull that stunt during our competition!! Do you have any idea how humiliating it will be when future generations look at the royal records!" Marie speaks with pure hatred.

"..." I stare at her in silence, creating threads and slowly binding them around her body. While she complains, I’m not strong, fast, or durable enough—if she decides she wants to do something, she’ll succeed, so I’m using my unbreakable thread ability.

’So simple...’ I don’t see Marie’s body as a living being, but like a doll, able to see how each joint moves, while threads so thin they’re practically invisible restrain her without her noticing, making any movement twist and lock her joints.

"Marie, shut your mouth. I didn’t permit you to speak."

"!!!" She makes a shocked face when I speak to her like this.

"You think you’re in charge of me, Evelyn?! Just because you won the throne by cheating, you think you’re better than me!! I’d rather have seen Esther or Lucien on the throne instead of you!" She tries to stand up, but when she does, the threads affect each other, slamming her back into the ground so violently that her face drives into the floor, cracking it.

’Incredible...’ I didn’t know I’d become this strong. Since I no longer need to worry about the threads’ tensile strength, I can make them so taut they function like powerful springs, pushing everything with absurd force. It’s basically simple physics.

"Marie, I am your Queen, and I will not tolerate such blatant disrespect toward me. You are now merely a common princess without any power." With me as Queen, her princess authority has been almost completely revoked. She’s now like a high-ranking noble instead of a princess.

And as a noble, she cannot oppose me in any way, or I can destroy everything she has—confiscating assets, territories, and titles.

"Marie, do you think I need Esther to stop you? Don’t be so arrogant." Now that she’s restrained, I generate more threads, binding her mouth shut and pulling the cords extremely tight as I lift her head.

’If she attacked with her blessing, she could still hit me... but...’ There are dozens of shadows here—they wouldn’t let an attack happen.

"Marie, you haven’t forgotten that the title of King or Queen gives power to the chosen demon, have you?" I don’t have the strength to beat Marie in a fight alone, but with her trapped there, I’ve already won.

"Mmph!!" She makes an irritated sound, glaring at me while I look at Laplace, who keeps watching me.

"Laplace, why did you come to see me?" I ask her, ignoring Marie who’s trying to break the threads.

"I don’t know about Marie... but I just wanted to confirm... something."

"...Laplace, who are you loyal to now?"

"..."

"No answer? Then let me give you some motivation, Laplace. I despise you deeply, and I can make your life in this kingdom impossible. The only thing preventing that is the fact that you’re useful in the war."

"Do you understand where I’m going with this?"

"...I will serve you... Your Majesty." Laplace reluctantly lowers her head. I wouldn’t actually do anything to Marie even if she refused to help, but Laplace is such a repulsive person that my threat was real.

"Excellent. I hope you got the answer you were looking for, Laplace, because I want you to go to the [Bridge] in five days. I’m putting you in charge of problematic troops—succubi, oni, incubi, and tribal demons." They’re some of the demon races that cause the most problems, often attacking allies.

"As for you, Marie... you won’t need to go to the battlefield for now. Without Lucien and Augustus, I need to use resources more carefully, so I want you and the Heroine to participate in naval transport."

"In one week, the humans will be moving several hundred to several thousand ships they’ve built across the oceans, and they’ve likely sent some naval control troops for support."

"Since you’re married to the Heroine, you’ll need to participate, and considering your power, you can defend the ships from surprise attacks, theft, or general sea monster attacks—especially since most of these ships will be inactive." I give orders as a Queen should.

"Does anyone have any questions?" I ask, looking at them. Laplace seems like she wants to say something, and Marie too.

"No questions then? Good. Laplace, drag Marie out of the castle with you. Neither of you live here anymore, as you’ve probably already heard." I say, releasing some of the threads so Marie can be taken away. I don’t answer anything else.

"..." Muttering something under her breath, Laplace grabs Marie and throws her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, starting to carry her out, while I stare at the ceiling, unsure if I’m doing the right thing.

"Lady Evelyn, your request has been fulfilled!" Two shadows emerge as the throne room gates close.

"...Everything?"

"We’re still finishing the request regarding the notification to the nobility, but we’ve already gathered the monster materials and cores you asked for."

"..."

"Good. I’m going to need some time... also, I want Qheresha, the royal stylist, to create a maid outfit for me to wear. But not just any outfit—it needs to be chic, detailed, and seductive." I really want to try wearing one for Esther this time, from the very beginning.

’Haaa... can I really be this stupid... Esther does all those terrible things, and here I am, thinking about how to give her a gift...’ I lean back on the throne, feeling how it’s not even that great, and still somewhat uncomfortable.

’For now, I think I’d better go create my puppets...’ I rise from the throne, thinking about how to do it. I’ll probably need three living puppets, with functions tied to three important things that are currently the main priorities.

The first is a puppet tied to everything involving the war—not just deaths and numbers, but weapons, supplies, maps, logistics, terrain, and even the training of regular patrol knights who roam the streets.

The second will probably be one for social logistics, tied to the kingdom and nearby cities—housing, taxes, normal crimes, prisons, executions, law enforcement, current laws and new ones I’ll create, and especially the nobility and what they’re currently doing.

And the third will be one tied to agriculture, commerce, and general manufacturing, which is very relevant for maintaining the kingdom’s stability and controlling the entire continent’s economy.

’Three puppets, huh... they don’t need power, just general intellect...’ They’ll be like the brain, political surveillance machine, and engine of the kingdom respectively, so they won’t engage in fights—their focus will be mainly on control.

’Yeah... that seems good...’ Quickly, I think through the exact definitions of each one, their appearances, and their status. It’s easy to think about this and create exactly what I need.

’Yes... they’ll be exactly like this...’ I’ve already thought of names too. Everything is perfect now. I just need to create them and place them in their areas of operation. Since their focus isn’t combat and I’ve removed any abilities they could have, I can control even the class they’ll have and every bit of their status.

[Status

Name = Vermilion

Race = Living Puppet

Title = Puppet of War

Class = Chief of Staff (Description = A class totally focused on commanding and leading, directly linked to war affairs involving all areas that constitute a war)

Personality = Intelligent, Absolutely Loyal, Rigid, Focused, Analytical

Status Classification =

Strength = B

Stamina = B

Defense = A

Physical Defense = A

Magic = B

Magic Defense = B

Vitality = SSS+ (Vitality linked to Master)

Total Skills = 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

[Status

Name = Amanda

Race = Living Puppet

Title = Social Puppet

Class = Living Ministry of Interior (Description = A class totally focused on analysis, organization, and focus, capable of storing information and organizing it in her brain with extreme precision and speed, being able to make the best decisions while predicting outcomes based on obtained data)

Personality = Brilliant, Absolutely Loyal, Cold, Obedient, Submissive

Status Classification =

Strength = F

Stamina = E

Defense = S

Physical Defense = S

Magic = S

Magic Defense = B

Vitality = SSS+ (Vitality linked to Master)

Total Skills =

[Status

Name = Cypher

Race = Living Puppet

Title = Puppet of Economy

Class = Harvest Ruler (Description = A class focused on acquiring, preserving, and managing resources of any kind. Everything that can be obtained, preserved, and managed qualifies as harvest, regardless of whether it’s food, objects, locations, or structures, thus having immense deductive capacity and precise choices)

Personality = Bold, Absolutely Loyal, Apathetic, Icy, Nihilistic

Status Classification =

Strength = A

Stamina = A

Defense = B

Physical Defense = B

Magic = S

Magic Defense = C

Vitality = SSS+ (Vitality linked to Master)

Total Skills =

Appearances

Vermilion = A tall girl of 175 centimeters, with long blood-red hair and deep, dark red eyes. She has large breasts and a dangerous look, with a strong but balanced physique and an erect posture like a soldier, yet a physical attitude that projects a more intellectual air.

Amanda = She has short brown hair and black eyes. Her stature is short, only 160 centimeters, while her breasts are medium and her posture is slightly simple, with chest pushed forward but without any authoritative or elegant aura, projecting an air of someone easy to talk to, but her gaze is sharp, clashing with the entire image she normally projects.

Cypher = She has long, dark green hair that reaches her knees, while her eyes are a deep, dark golden shade. Her gaze is empty, without the spark of life, while her posture is rigid as if she were a machine. She is tall at 170 centimeters and has slightly large breasts, with a general attitude of someone who doesn’t waste time.

"Hmmm... Absolute Loyalty to me... perfect..." They’re perfect. Their personalities are made to do everything for me, no matter how cruel or terrible.

"..." With them in mind, I think about what materials I’ll have to use on them, so they turn out without any extra variation. No time to rest in this emergency situation.