Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: 35-2. How the Queen Captures the Knight.
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Sophitia first sent Licht away and invited Pine to her bedroom.
“...Sophi, did it have to be like this?”
“Doesn’t it bring back old memories? Feels nice, right?”
And she’d added a note to come in pajamas.
“Pine, it’s been a while. I’m glad you look brighter.”
It was a pajama party between two high-ranking women dressed in striking black-and-white outfits adorned with frills.
If anyone from the Empire or the North saw this scene, they surely wouldn’t be able to keep their mouths shut.
“...Yeah. Thanks to Licht.”
“You’re one of a kind. How on earth did you meet that guy?”
Sophitia began by recalling the Black Knight who hadn’t wavered even when she’d aimed her spear at him in threat.
He’d been frozen solid everywhere except his throat, yet his mind had cooled to ice, allowing him to coldly confess his love for Pine Granasia.
“At first, I approached him to learn swordsmanship.”
“As expected of the Drake type? Most of it has to be learned through the body, right?”
“Exactly.”
Sophitia made a face as if realizing why his body looked so solidly built, unlike other Imperials who relied on mana circulation.
He’d shown incredible skill even when subduing the Apostle of Wrath. Not Grand-level, but at least Sword Master tier.
“So, he taught you swordsmanship, and you got close? Close enough for you to call him precious to Her Highness?”
“More than that... he knew my true identity and still treated me with care.”
So it wasn’t just about learning swordsmanship that brought them closer. Sophitia felt a twinge of regret that her calculated guess had missed the mark.
“Even knowing I’m a princess, he treated me like a friend. It felt good.”
“...Really? No ulterior motives or dirty thoughts? You’re pretty gorgeous, you know.”
Pine Granasia was objectively a beauty, even as the Northern Grand Duchess. Curves where they should be, toned where they shouldn’t...
A flawless feminine form. Having undergone her coming-of-age rite, she’d become even more enchanting, the kind to captivate any man’s heart.
“He’s a bit of a pervert, but all he does is react cutely.”
“Yeah, when you stick close, he looks up at the sky, desperately holding back.”
Without her helmet, walking the streets, she’d steal every man’s gaze—a seductive wolf in her own right.
No wonder Sophitia felt a complex about her own body whenever Pine was nearby.
Licht seemed a bit oblivious, but...
“He’s a cute puppy, Licht.”
“Think of people that way, and you’ll get in trouble, Pine.”
“But Licht’s like a scared little dog around people...”
Sophitia curved her lips into a smile, thinking how his affection was so overwhelming he just wanted to cherish her.
“What does he look like under there? He always wears that helmet, so I’ve never really seen.”
“Ugly. Really ugly.”
The schemer kept probing Pine. One thing was clear: her feelings went beyond mere fondness, which was intriguing.
“Even though he’s super ugly, you want to cherish him? Enough to wag your tail for it?”
“...Yeah.”
As Pine spoke in a tone reminiscing about Licht, her icy expression softened just a bit.
“I don’t want Licht taken by anyone else.”
A girl who hated lies more than anything was going all out, even lying, to keep one man from being stolen away.
“I want to get closer, to be special to him... but I don’t know how.”
It was a moment where the pure heart of the girl with snow-white wolf ears and tail shone through, and the Northern Grand Duchess knew for sure.
My friend is in her first love.
Pine hid her face behind her sheep-like hair in embarrassment, like an empty glass now filled with the wine of love.
“So, Sophi.”
“Yeah?”
But it was still raw, unripe emotion.
If left like this, it’d surely run wild the moment her purity cracked. Pine had even bared her fangs at her friend Sophitia in threat.
That’s why Sophitia decided not to shatter that purity. Love was an emotion far removed from her calculating nature, so
“What’s today’s recommendation...?”
“I told you before, Pine.”
she spoke in circles. She shouldn’t casually advise on what she’d never experienced herself.
“It’s a novel called How the Queen Captures the Knight.”
“...Catchy title.”
She pulled a pre-prepared book from the shelf. She’d rewritten the contents and even redesigned the cover. With help from Northerners, she’d whipped up this short story collection in half a day.
“This romance novel’s a bit unique.”
“The Queen and Knight fall in love, right?”
Flip, flip. The sound of turning pages.
In truth, she’d just twisted Pine and Licht’s story slightly for the plot.
“You know Knights can easily capture Queens, right, Pine?”
“In chess? Pretty common.”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t hard. Black Knight and Imperial Princess—like a black Knight and white Queen on a chessboard.
“In this novel, the chess pieces come to life as people.”
“...Sounds cute.”
Here, the Queen loves the Knight. If he keeps running, how should she catch him? That’s what she’d pondered.
“The plot is, the white Queen falls for the black Knight.”
This novel held the answers to those musings.
“Where’s the white King...?”
In truth, marrying Pine would automatically grant Licht similar power to hers. As the husband of the future Empress.
“The King abandons the Queen to save his own skin.”
She’d tweaked this part a bit. Reality and stories weren’t the same.
“That’s harsh...”
“Yeah. And he’s the King, too.”
Sophitia had been dumbfounded hearing Licht talk about status differences preventing marriage. Emperor Locke had risen from a mountain woodcutter through sheer martial prowess.
They even shared similarities. The Emperor appeared as a war hero with an axe, unifying four fractured nations into an Empire.
Likewise, Licht was a hero who’d slain even the Omniknowing Demon King, so claiming he couldn’t marry a princess was naive ignorance of the world.
“Then, watching another color’s Knight protect the black Queen makes the white Queen jealous, and she struggles to catch him, but...”
“Their moves are so different, they just run parallel lines.”
If backlash was fierce, she could toss him a Count title, make him nobility, and marry him off.
The Empire’s sole female heir to the throne.
She could secretly imprison Licht underground forever. What use would opposition from the Emperor or people be?
An Imperial Princess with absolute power—that was Pine Granasia.
“Even a Queen can’t do everything...?”
“If the Knight is dead set on fleeing, she can’t catch him.”
In the end, if she willed it, the Knight could become the white King—but that was too blatant.
“Right. They get close, then drift apart... never meeting.”
“Sounds just like me and Licht...”
Unlike Licht, Pine was honest with her feelings. So Sophitia waited for her to open up on her own,
“Hearing that makes me curious.”
and when Pine showed a hint of understanding, Sophitia probed her emotions with a few questions to confirm.
“Pine, when you’re next to Licht, does your heart race like crazy?”
“...Not sure.”
Sophitia despaired seeing the princess was worse off than she’d thought.
She’d seen her petting his tail and even scratching his chin moments ago, clear signs of affection.
Yet she claims she doesn’t even know if her heart races? Even without experience, Sophitia knew the basics of love.
“Really? Never? Think hard, Pine.”
“...Oh, yeah, it does.”
Sophitia lit up as Pine clapped lightly, recalling something—but her hopes shattered again.
“When I stick close to Licht, his heart races.”
“That’s it...?”
“Hehe, and then... my own heart, numb for so long, starts beating with his. It feels peaceful.”
The Northern Grand Duchess felt a sense of déjà vu. Where have I heard this before? A memory flashed by.
“No way, Pine... Did you try a Dragon Heart transplant?”
“...Huh? Of course.”
A national princess linking mana circuits with one man. No wonder the mana she sensed felt slightly different from before.
“Pine, if His Majesty finds out, you know what he’ll do!!”
“It was necessary, Sophi.”
He’d try to butcher that man, Licht. Or weep blood and erase the entire Academy from existence.
Empress Bellin Granasia’s defeat to Magic Hat and Emperor Locke’s retaliation had been shocking. He’d single-handedly wiped out the Hero Cult remnants.
The reason they’d stayed dormant so long? The prevailing theory was they’d played dead to avoid provoking him.
A wolf-kin who valued family above all—that was his trait.
“Licht saved my life multiple times, but I couldn’t save his.”
“That doesn’t mean risk your own life! You could’ve died together!”
“The comfort and warmth Licht gave me far outweigh that, Sophi.”
Pine unwittingly poured out her love for Licht. Love was insufficient in words, inadequate in actions.
“Even our mother was saved by Licht.”
“What...? Then really...”
If he’d truly rescued the supposedly dead Empress, then Licht’s talk of status gaps was meaningless.
Maybe as a hero from another world, he didn’t grasp these things. Dennis and the Heavenly Demon had odd common sense too.
“To me... he’s a precious hero greater than any warrior. Don’t speak ill of him, Sophitia Coldheart.”
Her golden eyes gleamed as Pine revealed her true feelings—a firm fury demanding no more insults to the one she loved.
“If that’s how you feel... fine, I get it.”
“Sorry for snapping. Sophi.”
Seeing the dignified girl from their childhood, Sophitia had no choice but to yield.
“No, I shouldn’t have pried. So, do you know how the Queen captures the Knight?”
“How...?”
She’d eased into novel talk, naturally shifting to love advice, ready to give solid guidance.
“Use every trick in the book.”
This passion was too intense; meddling might get her head chopped off too. So she avoided direct talk of love.
If Pine realized her love because of her and started dating Licht, that blade would surely point North. Instead, she advised through the story.
“Like cooking delicious meals to win his stomach...”
She’d never dated, but she knew what melted men. Cold steel forged in schemes and logic.
“Or a full-body assault to leave him dazed and weak—plenty of ways.”
Advice befitting the ruler of the North. Recruit if not an ally; eliminate if that fails.
“The Knight in here did that too. Men are all alike.”
“...Body attacks don’t work on Licht, Sophi.”
“Looked like they did? He didn’t seem eunuch-level.”
Recalling how Licht crossed his legs or walked funny when Pine clung close, Sophitia continued,
“When the Apostle got him, he even asked for a kiss. But he refused...”
“...”
Sophitia was floored hearing a national princess’s kiss attempt rejected. Pine was beauty incarnate, savior of nations in a past life.
“Definitely a eunuch.”
“Eek, Sophi... Don’t say that. My cheeks puff up...”
Pine’s ears and tail drooped at the rejection story, so Sophitia grabbed her cheeks and pulled to lighten the mood.
“Ignoring a kiss from someone this cute? He deserves the eunuch label!”
To cheer her newly brightening friend, she lightly badmouthed the Black Knight.
“Hehe, maybe you’re right.”
Sophitia stopped teasing as Pine giggled softly and approached the bookshelf again.
“Oh, Pine. There’s a famous hot spring nearby from our North.”
Her scheming mind spun fast, pulling a thick book listing Northern landmarks—the one she’d read before Licht recently.
“Supposed to be amazing for your skin. How about a visit before heading back to the Empire?”
“Good for skin...?”
Sophitia calculated based on Pine’s Northern behavior and her near-kiss attempt.
With her possessive streak, Pine would handle the rest.
“Even for burn scars...?”
“Yep, tons of bath varieties too.”
She kept the mixed baths secret. Mention it, and eunuch-like Licht might flee; curious Pine would dive right in.
“Thanks for the rec, Sophi.”
First, lure Licht unknowingly into the mixed bath. Trick him it’s men-only, set the trap—then the wolf strikes within.
How the Queen Captures the Knight. Truth is, a Queen alone can’t easily catch a Knight.
“I’m too busy to join. Have fun, Pine!”
Then use other pieces to isolate him. Rooks or Bishops would solve it.
Sophitia curved her eyes into crescents with a sly smile.