Prologue - The Queen's Beloved Priest
"Damn it, why the hell are you doing this to me?"
Aeron trembled, his body shaking with equal parts terror and fury.
He was bound to a torture rack, subjected to relentless torment.
He, who had arrived as an official envoy of a sovereign nation!
Fuck!
Of course, it was undeniable that his diplomatic posture had been anything but friendly.
Even so, what kind of lunatic imprisoned and tortured a foreign envoy?
Unless they truly wanted war…
Do they actually desire that?
It seemed impossible.
Rosdea’s situation was far from stable enough to risk open conflict.
And the most absurd thing of all was…
"Asking why? It seems you still don’t understand what you’ve done wrong."
The one personally torturing him was none other than the Queen of Rosdea.
"There must be some misunderstanding… a terrible misunderstanding! Your Majesty, please, just listen to me…"
"As far as I know, there is no misunderstanding, Lord Aeron. Only your insolence."
A pair of cold eyes locked onto him.
Dark blue irises gleaming from beneath red hair. An icy, expressionless face that seemed at odds with her youthful features.
It was the same breathtakingly beautiful countenance that had once made him swallow hard the first time he saw it.
Yet now she looked like a demon.
"I admit I was rude. But torturing an envoy? What sort of conduct is this?!"
Instead of answering, the Queen brought her hammer down hard on his toe.
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air.
"Seven toes left. Now, do you acknowledge your fault?"
"Urgh… ugh!"
Aeron’s eyes rolled back as convulsions wracked his body.
The Queen shook her head and lifted the hammer again.
"Argh—ugh! Wait! I admit it! It’s all my fault! Please, forgive me!"
"Is that so? Then tell me exactly what you did wrong."
"I was rude. But it was only a diplomatic stance meant to display our nation’s power. It was never sincere…"
"Enough with the excuses. Be more specific."
Moaning through the pain, Aeron swallowed his boiling rage.
I will never forget this!
What a deranged woman!
Treating an envoy this way—his homeland would never let it stand.
"The words and actions I directed at Your Majesty and your knights were indeed highly disrespectful and…"
"Wrong."
The Queen swung the hammer without hesitation.
His toe was crushed downward like a nail being driven into the floor.
"Aaaargh! Uh… ughhh!"
"Choose your answers carefully. Six toes remain. After that, I’ll smash that worthless crotch of yours."
"Please! Please stop this! Why are you doing this?!"
"Do you truly not know your sin? Or are you only pretending? I find it difficult to believe."
Even through the agony and fury, Aeron desperately searched for the right words.
What in the world was this madwoman after…?
"I know. Of course I know. But I’ve committed so many wrongs that I don’t even know where to start. Please, have mercy…"
As Aeron spoke with tear-streaked cheeks and trembling lips, a figure entered from the far side of the chamber.
It was someone he recognized.
The Queen’s royal guard knight, Neil Bloodfire.
For a fleeting moment, displeasure flickered across the Queen’s otherwise blank face.
She spoke without turning around.
"Sir Neil, did I not clearly order that no one was to be allowed inside?"
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. But Priest Emil has arrived."
"What?"
The Queen jolted as though lightning had struck her.
Aeron could hardly believe his eyes.
The Queen dropped the hammer to the floor and began to fidget like a young girl, her cheeks flushing bright red.
"O-oh, Priest Emil is here? Just a moment, Sir Neil. What should I do? I can’t possibly let the priest see me like this…"
The Queen stamped her feet anxiously, urging her knight. He shrugged and handed her a towel.
"Wipe your face first."
"Thank you, Sir Neil. And… get rid of that hideous thing before the priest arrives. Quickly."
She wiped the blood from her face while pointing at the ‘hideous’ Aeron and ordering him removed.
It was absurd.
What kind of queen behaved as if she were greeting a distinguished guest when a priest arrived…?
"That won’t be necessary, Leni."
At that moment, another figure appeared from behind.
The court priest of Iredain. Emil of Tyssos.
"Priest…"
"I’ve only just arrived."
The priest walked slowly before the Queen and knelt on one knee.
When she hesitantly extended her hand, he pressed his lips to it. Her face flushed an even deeper shade of crimson.
"Priest Emil. I’ve missed you so much…"
"As have I."
The Queen kept trying to maintain her usual blank expression to hide her burning cheeks, but it was clearly difficult.
She couldn’t conceal the look of rapture that kept rising to her face every time she gazed at the hand he had kissed.
"Oh, but my hand must be filthy—I was just touching something dirty…"
"Filthy? Not at all."
The priest quietly lowered his head and kissed it once more.
The Queen’s cheeks grew redder still.
Watching them, Aeron finally understood.
The reason he had ended up in this nightmare.
The careless remark he had made earlier flashed through his mind.
That’s right—where is that man-whore priest? The bastard who prays between the Queen’s legs every night.
Dear God. It was him.
This was the man who had turned the Queen into a lunatic and the reason four of his toes were already shattered.
"Damn you—it was you! You son of that whore!"
At Aeron’s outburst, the Queen’s expression changed in an instant.
Her face, which had been flushed scarlet,
Turned ice-cold as she fixed her gaze upon him.
"What did you just say?"
As the Queen slowly advanced toward him, the priest caught her by the shoulder.
"You mustn’t kill him, Leni."
"…But, Priest."
"Remember our promise? No killing."
The priest gently patted her shoulder to soothe her.
"…Yes."
The Queen gave a small, obedient nod.
He calls the Queen by her name. He treats her like a child…
Aeron ground his teeth together.
The priest soon approached him.
"You look quite the mess, Lord Aeron. I truly regret that it has come to this."
"…You know me?"
"Of course. We have met several times. Though you likely don’t remember, since I held no interest for you."
The priest’s relaxed smile ignited Aeron’s fury.
"Don’t you dare smile at me. Has that whore been treating you so well that you’ve gone blind? You lowly bastard, where do you get the nerve…"
Before the Queen’s face could even twist in anger, the priest snatched up the hammer and brought it down on another toe.
Another horrific scream tore free.
The priest spoke with cheerful amusement.
"Five left now, yes? Let me give you a warning, Lord Aeron. There are proper targets for insults."
The priest twirled the hammer lightly in his hand.
"Insulting a lowly priest like myself is perfectly acceptable. But if anyone dares to insult the noble Queen, then it must be met with this—"
"You son of a…"
He could say no more.
Still smiling, the priest swung the hammer in a wide arc and smashed the side of his skull.
"—would be to shatter your skull."
The priest smiled before him. The Queen gazed at that smile with eyes full of ecstasy.
Beside them, the royal knight looked down with a resigned expression.
The priest tapped his own head and muttered.
"Oh dear. Is he dead? Oh no, it seems he really is dead."
The priest scratched his head with exaggerated motions.
"Forgive me… Your Majesty. It was so noisy that I struck his head without thinking."
"It’s alright, Priest Emil. I was finding it rather noisy myself. Isn’t that right, Sir Neil?"
Knight Neil let out a quiet sigh.
"Yes, well… indeed. Who am I to disagree with either of you?"
The priest and the Queen smiled at each other.
Whether or not they did, blood and brain matter slowly seeped from the shattered skull.
Soon, his consciousness faded away…