"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Hearing Princess Wendini's words, everyone obediently walked to the long sofa and sat down.
The cold aura made people feel pressured. Looking at Queen Wendini, who was awe-inspiring without anger, their hearts began to feel anxious.
Shizuka sat beside Nobi Hiroshi, nervously gripping his slender wrist, a gesture of extreme intimacy.
Queen Wendini saw everything. With a cold glance, she looked at her granddaughter and said, "Sofia, you will inherit the throne sooner or later and become the Queen of this country. Yet you ran to the land without permission. How can I be at ease with you like this?"
"As a princess, you should pay more attention and restrain your behavior, especially to grasp the appropriate boundaries in your relationships with friends."
The Queen's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, especially when she spoke the last sentence, raising her tone and adding a tremor.
Her peripheral vision frequently looked at Nobi Hiroshi and Shizuka. Their intimate actions slightly stirred the expression on Princess Wendini's face.
Xiao Hali had secretly reported earlier that the human boy had an unusual relationship with her granddaughter, even being physically intimate.
Princess Wendini was not a pedantic woman. If they were truly in love, she couldn't stop them even if she wanted to.
She had originally intended to test this young man properly, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Stealing her own cabbage to share with the neighbor's fat, he looked like the legendary "scum fish," deceiving her innocent granddaughter with his appearance. Her precious pearl could not be ruined by such a person.
"But Grandma, if I become Queen, I'll never have free time again."
"That's precisely why I want to take advantage of this opportunity now to learn more about the outside world, which is why…"
Sofia stood up to defend herself, her tone extremely humble. Under Princess Wendini's powerful aura, any words seemed pale and powerless.
"Silence! Sofia, you are truly too thoughtless. Sit down immediately!" Princess Wendini glared at Sofia and reprimanded her coldly.
"Yes…"
Responding with a sound, the girl lowered her head and returned to her seat, her expression gloomy and unhappy.
Doraemon and the others looked at this scene with tense expressions. The more timid Nobita and Xiao Fu even trembled and chattered their teeth.
"Sofia, you are a princess. I hope you can bring happiness to your people. This is the duty of a royal member."
"Yet you left without permission because of some matters, causing us to send out guards to find you. Do you think this is right?"
Perhaps realizing her tone had been too harsh just now, Princess Wendini tried to soften it, looking at her granddaughter earnestly and sincerely.
Looking up at her grandmother, Sofia lowered her head and said, "Yes… I know I was wrong."
"It's good that you know you were wrong."
Princess Wendini nodded in satisfaction, seeing her granddaughter admit her mistake, then spoke sternly: "Sofia, precisely because I have high hopes for you, I cannot allow you to be so willful anymore. Entertain your friends well these next few days, but you are not allowed to go ashore again!"
Her high-pitched voice echoed in the living room. Sofia was stunned for two seconds, then quickly came to her senses and slammed the table excitedly: "No… No, this is the one request I absolutely will not agree to!"
With a forceful slap of her slender hand, the teacup on the table flew up, making clattering sounds as it hit things. Everyone present was startled.
"Sofia, you!!!"
Princess Wendini frowned, looking at the girl's incredibly firm expression, wondering what kind of bewitching potion that brat had given her.
Propping herself on the armrest, she was about to stand up. On the other side, Nobi Hiroshi, who had been silent in his seat, finally stopped being low-key.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting your conversation at this time, but I actually think Sofia has done very well. She also has the ability to discern right from wrong."
"Seeing the outside world and gaining experience are also very important things. You can't always keep her imprisoned in her own country, can you?"
"Or perhaps you have never seen the outside world, so you've somewhat isolated yourself?"
Nobi Hiroshi looked at Princess Wendini with a calm tone. He always felt a inexplicable hostility, which he hadn't noticed at first, but then the other party's gaze was fixed on him the entire time.
"Hiroshi…"
Shizuka and the others looked at Nobi Hiroshi with worried eyes. Contradicting the Queen directly was indeed not a wise move.
Moreover, this was their territory. If they angered them, the situation would be bad.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
However, Nobi Hiroshi was not at all worried about his previous words. Princess Wendini, from just a few words, he could tell she was a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Although her tone was full of strictness, every word showed her concern for Sofia.
She was responsible for her royal identity, with an obligation to dedicate everything to this country—her youth, even her life.
"Young man, do you think you have the standing to interrupt?" Princess Wendini looked at Nobi Hiroshi arrogantly, her eyes full of prejudice.
If an uninformed bystander saw them, they might think they had a big grudge.
"Of course he does! Hiroshi is my savior. If he hadn't found me, I might have been cooked by the sun under that tree."
Sofia spoke without hesitation, looking at her grandmother with firm eyes, and unconsciously took a few steps forward.
Princess Wendini's expression wavered upon hearing this. Her sharp gaze remained fixed on Nobi Hiroshi, as if she wanted to discern something.
Narrowing her eyes, the Queen slowly sat down again and exhaled. She had intended to say some words of thanks but felt too awkward to speak.
She picked up the water glass, took a shallow sip with her vermilion lips, calming her emotions, but then a slight tremor in her hand as she looked up caused a small accident.
"Clatter!"
The porcelain shattered into pieces, and the clean floor was stained. The Queen smiled awkwardly, which only made the situation more awkward.
"Xiao Hali."
Princess Wendini called towards the doorway.
"Coming! Coming!"
"Your Majesty! Are we to drive all these people away? Or arrest them all!"
Pineapple Head rushed in aggressively, accompanied by two armed guards, a look of joy on his face.
From the beginning, he had been waiting outside for a signal, and only when the signal of the broken cup appeared did he act with such brazenness.
"What!"
Seeing Xiao Hali, Nobita quickly hid behind Doraemon. The scene instantly became chaotic, and Xiao Fu secretly crawled into a corner, trembling.
"Grandma, what are you doing?"
Sofia nervously stood in front of Nobi Hiroshi and Shizuka, speaking anxiously, already showing a tendency to side with others.
Princess Wendini, as an insider, was equally confused. She had merely accidentally dropped a cup and had never intended to arrest anyone.
Turning her head, her beautiful eyes glared fiercely at Xiao Hali. As the captain of the defense team, he was so impulsive and messed things up.
It seemed he needed to be managed properly.
"Xiao Hali, what are you doing?"
Princess Wendini spoke with dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, Xiao Hali's brain almost crashed. He asked in confusion, "Ah, Your Majesty, didn't we agree to break…"
"Silence! Retreat quickly! How can you be so rude in front of the Merfolk's benefactors?"
Before he could finish speaking, Princess Wendini suddenly interrupted him, raising her hand and pointing to the stain on the ground: "Quickly clean this up, then prepare a banquet to entertain these friends who have traveled so far. Don't let others misunderstand that we Merfolk have no manners."
Her purple long dress swayed as Princess Wendini gracefully stood up, holding her hands over her lower abdomen.
The cold gaze she had given Nobi Hiroshi earlier changed slightly, now showing a hint of gratitude.