"…May I interpret this to mean that when the time is right, I shall return to London?"
"Of course. Do you doubt my word?"
"No, perish the thought. I gratefully accept Your Majesty's consideration. However, I would like to propose a few conditions."
MacLeod requested permission to move his specialized equipment from his current office to Cambridge. Elizabeth didn't just agree; she offered to have the government arrange his housing as well, granting all his demands without hesitation.
Once the audience concluded, Elizabeth's butler escorted her back to her private quarters. Safe behind closed doors, she quickly changed into casual clothes. She soothed her throat with tea her butler had prepared, and as she reached for a tea cake, the butler finally spoke.
"Your Majesty—no, 'Erie-sama.' Are you quite certain about that arrangement?"
"Regarding MacLeod? It's obvious he's conspiring with someone abroad… likely the USNA. But as long as the government and military can't prove it, I can't go throwing the state into an uproar based on my intuition alone."
The butler addressed Elizabeth by her nickname because his family had served the royals for generations; the current Head Butler had served three monarchs, starting with her grandfather.
Being a magician, he looked to be in his thirties, but his true age was well over sixty. Having watched over Elizabeth since she was a child, he treated her with the affection of a grandfather and the strictness of a mentor—a "third grandfather," so to speak.
Elizabeth's tone had become entirely informal, a stark contrast to the Queen in the audience chamber. Since only the two of them were present, the butler saw no reason to scold her.
"The reports from the government are a mess. The fact that they have no idea what our own Strategic-Class Magician is doing has become the status quo, and that is the problem. I understand their hesitation to provoke him… so, I figured I'd just have him focus on his 'day job' as a university professor. Of course, there was also a request from that country."
Immediately after the incident in Japan, the head of the Kagurazaka family had contacted Elizabeth on her private line. After briefing her on the details, he had suggested: "It would be most logical to have William MacLeod focus on the development of British magic education." In other words, he had proposed that MacLeod be "interned" within the UK to prevent him from interfering abroad.
No matter how many international issues he caused, the UK couldn't simply cut ties with one of the 'Thirteen Apostles'—especially with the New Soviet Union looming. MacLeod was needed as a deterrent.
Elizabeth hadn't lied to MacLeod about the rising tide of humanism; anti-magic movements were indeed gaining heat in the UK. Deciding it was vital to prevent the loss of national military power, she had accepted the Kagurazaka family's proposal.
"Lord Kagurazaka Yugen… He is the man who carries the name of the savior who once rescued this nation from nuclear fire, and the same gentleman who saved Your Majesty several years ago. I still remember how desperately you tried to convince him to stay."
"Can you blame me? Before I became Queen, every royal man who crawled toward me had motives so transparent it was sickening."
Years ago, Elizabeth had been plagued by paparazzi following rumors of a secret lover. When her car was nearly forced into an accident, two men had intervened. Her car was moved to safety, the paparazzi's motorcycles were disabled, and the journalists were delivered to the police with notes taped to their faces in English that read: 'Thugs who behaved rudely toward Her Majesty.'
She had dropped a bombshell on one of those boys back then: "Become my husband." The boy had promptly responded by rapping her on the head, and the proposal died then and there. Truthfully, 'Sebas' had been secretly relieved; he didn't want to deal with the political fallout of such a marriage. Instead, the two had exchanged private numbers and remained in contact.
Seven years after her coronation, the Queen remained single. The butler knew the boy wasn't necessarily to blame, but he had reluctantly accepted Elizabeth's stubbornness.
"Maybe I should visit Japan soon and let him sweep me off my feet," Elizabeth mused.
"…That boy is now the Head of the Kagurazaka family. Such an act would only increase the burden of unnecessary hardship for both of you."
It went without saying that, at the exact moment Elizabeth uttered those words, thousands of miles away in Japan, the Head of the Kagurazaka family felt a sudden, inexplicable chill run down his spine.
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