After flagging down an extra-large carriage, our group set off for the royal palace. Passing through one of the hardest-hit districts from the recent attack, we got a firsthand look at the carnage.
The once-lively market was completely ruined. Smoldering craters and gouged cobblestones marked where the guards and adventurers made their stand. Stalls were crushed into splinters, and bloody footprints painted a frantic trail through the debris. Near an obscured alleyway, a tattered stuffed rabbit lay forgotten in the mud.
“Luxion…” Olivia pressed her forehead against the glass, staring at the toy with horror. “How many—?”
[Miss Olivia, I will not burden your heart with that answer. Just know I did everything I could to save those caught up in the chaos.] (Luxion)
Angelica quickly pulled her into a comforting hug, shielding her from the sight. As the girls looked away, I found myself unable to do the same. They only saw the physical destruction, but the intense emotions had burned psychic impressions into the area—and I could see every single one.
“Mommy! Where are you, Mommy?!”
Within the chaotic sea of specters and voices, a five-year-old girl stood near the rabbit, crying out in sheer terror.
‘Rip and Tear… Until it is done.’
My knuckles cracked as my hands balled into tight fists. A vicious, boiling rage flared up within my chest. The Chaos Undivided cult would pay a thousandfold for this tragedy.
‘Rest now; be at peace.’
With a subtle wave of my hand, I quietly cleared the lingering spirits from the street.
Hertrude caught the furious look in my eyes. A cold, bitter smile touched her lips. “Make sure you get revenge for my people too. Send every last one of those mongrels screaming into the void.”
I met her gaze without flinching. “Count on it.”
We spent the rest of the ride in heavy silence. When the carriage finally pulled up to the palace gates, I hopped out first to help the others down. But just as I reached for the hand of Angelica, the frantic clatter of approaching heels echoed across the courtyard.
“Leon! Thank goodness you’ve returned home.” Mylene leaped onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck.
My body froze. “Queen Mylene, what are you—”
The words died in my throat as I looked back at her. Unlike the prim and proper woman we had last seen, Mylene was haggard with dark circles under her eyes. Her eye bags had bags of their own.
Angelica and company shuffled out of the carriage in a hurry. “My word, Mylene, what happened to you!? You look awful.”
The head of Mylene slowly ratcheted toward her with a ferocious smile. If she had a bit more energy, the young noblewoman would receive a long lecture.
“Thank you for noticing, Miss Redgrave.” Her chilling smile sucked the life out of everyone.
All the color in Angelica’s face vanished in an instant. She had grown so accustomed to speaking casually with everyone that she spoke blindly. On instinct, my fiancée went into damage control mode.
Her body snapped to a perfect ninety-degree bow. “Forgive my momentary slip of the tongue, Queen Mylene! I assure you, it won’t happen again.”
“That is more like it.” Mylene released me and took a few steps back. “For the time being, please refrain from leaving the capital for extended periods.”
“Is this about the attack on the capital?” I asked.
Mylene’s expression became grim as she shook her head. With a beckoning wave, she returned to her private study in the palace.
“We’ve received word from the border of the Alzer Republic: a civil war has broken out. Two of the six ruling families, House Barrière and House Feivel, have allied themselves with the Rachelle Holy Kingdom to take control of the country.” Mylene nodded to her personal guards as we entered the office.
The soldiers took up positions outside the room. Taking a seat behind her desk, Mylene withdrew a message from a drawer and handed it to me.
“Here is what our border guards have been able to gather thus far. It isn’t much, but I hope it will help.” The Queen gave me an apologetic look.
‘So, they struck the Kingdom, Principality, and Republic simultaneously. Wonderful...’
According to the report, the Holy Kingdom had deployed a sizable force of Armored Knights and naval vessels to support the traitor houses. Faced with such overwhelming power, the defense force could only stall the enemy to buy time for civilian evacuations. As of this morning, the enemy held a third of the republic’s territory.
“They won’t hold out much longer with a seven to one disadvantage.” Hertrude said as she read the report over my shoulder. “Have they requested assistance yet?”
Mylene shook her head. “Nothing yet, though, I expect we will hear something in a day or two.”
A complicated look settled on the Hertrude’s face. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for, a chance to show their neighbors how powerful the Principality was. Unfortunately, she could not afford to spare any manpower right now. Her homeland was bloodied and battered by the recent attacks. Every soldier under her control was needed to protect their people.
“That’s where we come in, right?” I picked up on what Mylene was hinting at. “You want us to go.”
“With the Holy Kingdom probing our border, we cannot pull troops away to aid them.” Mylene sat back in her seat. “On the other hand, we also can’t allow the Holy Kingdom to establish a second front at our rear. It pains me to push such a dangerous task on you, but we’ve no other option.”
I lowered my head respectfully to Mylene.
“If I may, I would like to make two requests of the Crown.”
Mylene’s expression softened. “There is no need for such formalities here, Leon. Please tell me what you need. If I am able, I will grant it.”
“First, when the request for assistance comes in, please request access to the Republic’s Sacred Tree for me. Ancient family heirlooms slumber beneath the tree that will turn the tide of battle in our favor. Second, I would like the Adventurer’s Guild to push up our Rank 3 promotion exam.”
The Queen laughed, finding the situation hilarious. Most men in his position would have asked for money, a peerage promotion, or territory; Leon’s request was simply unheard of. It confirmed she was right to place her trust in the young man. If only Julius and his friends had a fraction of his sense…
“I can certainly grant both of your requests. You should expect to hear from the Guildmaster by the end of today.” The eyes of Mylene turned to the two foreign princesses in Leon’s company. “As for our guests, can I entrust you to arrange accommodations and oversee their protection? We are short-staffed right now because of the attack.”
“Of course. When you’ve finished sending word to the Guildmaster, I strongly suggest going to bed. Our nation needs its Queen to be at her best to guide us through these troubling times.”
“You mean its King and Queen, don’t you?” The reaction was second nature at this point.
“Mylene, I’m well aware Roland is a deadbeat husband and ruler. His sole redeeming quality is his ability to look the part of a dutiful ruler when needed. Beyond that, he is a waste of space who enjoys nothing else than spending his days idly with his harem. Roland dumps his duties on you because he knows he is unqualified to run the day-to-day operations.”
The room fell dead silent. No one was brazen enough to insult their ruler within their own home, but Leon did without mincing words. While his group stared at him in utter shock, tears of relief poured from Mylene’s tired eyes. He had spoken everything she had long felt, and it felt amazing.
“You are absolutely right, Leon!” Mylene slammed her fists down on her desk as she shot to her feet. “My head hasn’t touched a pillow in three days because of how busy things are. While the ministers and I are struggling to keep our nation together, he’s busy plowing his concubines and mistresses. If something doesn’t change soon… there is going to be an unfortunate accident…”
Shock gave way to disgust for King Roland. Rumors abounded about the King, but most people never gave them credence because he rarely appeared in public. A few members of Leon’s party knew it was all true; they did not know it was this bad. They hoped there was some good behind his lazy persona; it turned out he was a worthless leech.
“You’ve done more than enough to fulfill your duties as a royal member of the United Kingdom Repard. Why haven’t you divorced the King and found happiness elsewhere?” Hertrauda looked at Mylene with pity.
The young girl could see why her father was so adamant about protecting them from politically motivated marriages. His adamant refusal had prevented them from becoming just like the woman before her.
“You think I haven’t considered it?” A dry chuckle escaped the Queen’s lips. “My husband hasn’t touched me since I became pregnant with our second child, Erica. Both of my children treat me with cold indifference whenever I try to spend time with them. Because I’m the Queen, though, I have to swallow my suffering for the betterment of my people. Besides… Who would marry an old woman like me, anyway?”
Mylene’s pain was clear in her eyes and voice. She had long grown accustomed to shouldering the burdens of leadership alone, but the pain never lessened. From dawn until dusk, the Queen kept up a facade to keep the hearts of the people at ease. While her subjects enjoyed happy lives, she was slowly dying inside, unable to share her pain with anyone.
“You sell yourself short, Mylene.” I reached my hand out to brush a few stray hairs from her face. “If you one day choose to let go of this life, I will be there waiting for you. Regardless of what you may believe, any man would be lucky to have an amazing woman like you as a wife.”
Her heart skipped a beat as the words echoed in her mind. A seasoned politician, Mylene could tell every word Leon had spoken was the truth. Having never received such a heartfelt confession before, the Queen’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.
“Leon!” Angelica, Clarice, Deirdre, and Olivia said as they punched me in unison.
The four of them shot him furious glares. In noble society, it was inexcusable for a bachelor to flirt with a married noblewoman. For Leon to flirt openly with the Queen, of all people, was even more outrageous. Moreover, he did so right in front of them without a shred of hesitation.
“You know better than to say such inappropriate things to a married woman. As a nobleman, you have a responsibility to act with more grace and restraint.” Olivia wagged her finger at me.
Clarice nodded in agreement. “As your fiancée, I would appreciate it if you didn’t flirt with other women so openly. Also, never utter those words to a married woman again.”
“Agreed…” Angelica and Deirdre said in unison.
Unable to keep silent, Fenris began snickering at what she was seeing. Most deities would never allow a mortal to address them in such a manner without striking them down. Instead of anger, Leon was grinning like a fool while they berated him. This was truly an odd sight to behold.
“What is so funny?” Angelica said as she shot an annoyed glare at her.
Fenris’ laughter abruptly stopped. “Since our kind hasn’t interacted with mortals in millennia, I will overlook your attitude this time. As you’ve clearly forgotten, the two of us are deities. Act this way with any other deity, and they would kill you without a second thought.”
Their anger cooled as they moved further away from Fenris. Leon would never harm them, but the wolf goddess was a different story. She had only just joined their group, so there was a possibility Fenris might attempt to kill them if they upset her enough. That said, Leon would stop her if that were to happen… hopefully.
“Well, Queen Mylene, we will see ourselves out. It is lunchtime, and a certain feisty pup gets hangry when her stomach is empty.” I moved toward the door. “Should you need anything else from us, we will be at the Academy.”
“Uh huh… Have fun…” Mylene’s mind was elsewhere.
Her pure maiden heart was aflutter. Starved of affection and love for years, she wanted to cast off her crown and leap into Leon’s brawny arms. Unfortunately, the logical part of her mind forced her to abandon that thought. Once the looming crisis had passed, though…
‘I wonder what Leon’s body looks like under that armor. Bet he has a six-pack and… What am I thinking?! I am such a naughty woman! But still…’
Mylene wriggled around in her chair, giggling absentmindedly. The lovestruck Queen was stuck in her own world, blissfully unaware of the guards staring in at her with very concerned looks.
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