Chapter 404: not found
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: not found
A coronation is normally preceded by complex and strict procedures.
To have the throne handed over in a single day was an unprecedented event in the hundreds of years of the Nivia Kingdom's history.
No matter how self-indulgent the former king had been, this was a step far over the line.
For the Royalist Faction, who had clung to the king, flattering him and enjoying the power that came with it, it was like a bolt from the blue.
And the Royalist Faction wasn't the only one displeased with this coronation.
Among them were some nobles from the Neutral Faction who had been secretly communicating with the Noble Faction.
Now that the very existence of the Noble Faction was in jeopardy due to the recent purge, they were suddenly left high and dry.
Of course, they weren't foolish enough to immediately raise a rebellion against the queen after witnessing the mass assassination of high-ranking nobles from the Noble Faction.
For now, they could only bow their heads, feign obedience, and wait for an opportunity that might one day present itself.
But Elisabeth had not the slightest intention of falling for the dissidents' pathetic act.
The morning after the coronation.
Five nobles belonging to the Royalist and Neutral Factions were discovered dead.
All of them were men who had committed felonies so heinous one would hesitate to even speak of them.
The bodies had one thing in common: a purple poppy was carved into their chests.
For reference, the purple poppy was the symbol of a resistance group that had risen up decades ago in several local territories, unable to bear the tyranny of the nobles.
Of course, every last member, down to the lowest ranks, had been executed by the former king, but back in their day, they had driven the entirety of noble society into a state of terror with their indiscriminate attacks.
Elisabeth looked at their bodies and stroked her chin, a look of interest on her face.
“To think remnants still remained. What a surprise. Chancellor, quickly form an investigation team and track down the traitors who have sullied the royal castle.”
“I will obey your command.”
The performance of the two would have put even a top actor to shame, but not a single noble gathered in the audience hall believed their act.
This was especially true for the nobles of the Royalist and Neutral Factions, who had much to hide.
‘...A warning. Is she saying she can kill us at any time?’
‘Damn it...! For a young wench who's royalty in name only to dare threaten us! The former king was better than this!’
‘Even their escorts were killed without putting up a fight... Just who is by the queen's side?’
‘Hmph... Whatever the case, my life is more important than power. It seems it's time to return to my territory.’
‘If I sell out the others, I might be able to win the queen's trust. Besides, since the former king squandered the national treasury, it might be a good idea to use my family's merchant guild to offer a bribe. But I need to move cautiously for now. One wrong move, and I’ll be willingly putting my own neck on the guillotine.’
Beads of cold sweat formed on the nobles' foreheads.
Seized by the fear that they might be next, a few of them urgently sought someone out.
The person they sought was Lionel Crevan, the commander of the Karmion Knights, who was recovering from serious injuries sustained in his battle with Kang Hyun-woo.
Since Marquis Laxion and the vice-commander had been murdered by the fiend, the nobles assumed he would harbor resentment toward Elisabeth.
Of course, they didn't expect Lionel to be able to fend off the fiend's attack on his own.
What they truly wanted was to bring the Karmion Knights, the kingdom's strongest knight order, over to their side.
The Karmion Knights played a crucial role in the capital's defense. If they could get them on their side, the queen wouldn't be able to stick to such a hardline stance.
Their goal was to negotiate with Elisabeth and reach a favorable agreement.
But reality unfolded in a completely different direction than they had anticipated.
“Get out, now!”
“S-Sir Lionel, Commander...?”
CRASH!
Lionel resolutely threw out the nobles who had come to see him.
The nobles, kicked out without knowing why, couldn't bring themselves to leave the front of the hospital room for some time.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Lionel's fingertips trembled minutely. His complexion was deathly pale.
Lionel recalled the memory of the night before the coronation.
On a dark night when even the moonlight was hidden by thick clouds, someone had come to visit him.
The person's face was covered by a mask, but it was impossible not to recognize him.
The suffocating pressure, the skin-crawling killing intent, the difference in level that made his instincts scream in alarm.
—Y-You are...!
—Shh.
Kang Hyun-woo said nothing.
He simply stared intently at Lionel.
As the raw, unrefined killing intent pressed down on him, Lionel's face grew as pale as a corpse.
After staring at Lionel for nearly ten minutes, Kang Hyun-woo left the room quietly without uttering a single word.
Nevertheless, a fear that could never be erased was carved into a corner of Lionel's heart.
Revenge?
He didn't dare even imagine such a thing.
He was simply relieved and grateful to have survived.
*
Elisabeth Francesca Nivia, who had ascended the throne as the 14th monarch of the Nivia Kingdom.
She was not in a good mood.
“Hyun-woo, say ahh.”
“Ah.”
“Do you like it?”
“What is this? It's incredibly delicious.”
“Hehe, it's Kattan, a traditional elven dish I made myself in the kitchen.”
“Kattan?”
“It's a dish where various vegetables are steamed and then wrapped in a thin film.”
“No wonder it tastes like Vietnamese spring rolls.”
“Sir Hyun-woo, these are cookies I baked myself.”
“Mm, they're good.”
“I shall continue to strive to meet your expectations, Sir Hyun-woo.”
“I'll look forward to it. But isn't it uncomfortable sitting on my lap?”
“If perhaps I am too heavy...”
“It's not that.”
Watching Iris affectionately clinging to Kang Hyun-woo's arm and Tina sitting on his lap as if it were her rightful place, Elisabeth felt a throbbing in the back of her neck.
For the record, Amelia was also by Kang Hyun-woo's side.
Although she wasn't openly clinging to his arm like Iris, she showed no intention of leaving his side.
‘Huuu...’
Elisabeth forced down her boiling anger.
She could understand Iris.
She was the legal wife, while Elisabeth herself was just an outsider who had rolled in.
But Tina was a different story.
Her master had returned after running around from dawn till dusk, working herself to the bone to sort out the chaotic state of the nation, and yet her personal maid was busy flirting with her master's husband.
“Ti—”
Just as her cold, sunken voice was about to echo through the room,
“You're back?”
Kang Hyun-woo had already approached Elisabeth and taken her hand.
At his hot, firm touch, Elisabeth's face began to flush against her will.
The memories of the previous night were coming back to her, fresh as ever.
“You worked hard, being out since morning. You must be very tire—”
“...Hold me.”
“Huh?”
Elisabeth whipped her head around and spread her arms wide.
Her earlobes were flushed as red as a ripe persimmon.
“...Like you said, I'm tired from working since morning, so hurry up and hold me.”
Seeing her act like a pouting child, Kang Hyun-woo chuckled softly and pulled Elisabeth into an embrace.
But her pouting didn't end there.
“...Stroke my hair, too. And touch my face. And kiss me.”
At the rapid-fire barrage of demands, Kang Hyun-woo looked slightly taken aback.
But only for a moment. He did as she wished, stroking her hair, caressing her face, and pressing his lips lightly against hers.
Only then, as if her mood had finally improved, did Elisabeth hug Kang Hyun-woo with all her might. The corners of her mouth wouldn't stop twitching into a smile.
“Did the nobles give you a hard time?”
Elisabeth shook her head.
“They just shook their heads so hard their necks might break whenever I said anything.”
That was only natural.
Over the past three days, a total of sixteen nobles had been assassinated at Kang Hyun-woo's hands.
More than half of them were high-ranking nobles, and despite each possessing escorts and protective artifacts, it was a situation where no one even knew when, where, or by whom they were killed.
From the nobles' perspective, it was as if a knife was already at their throats.
Furthermore, after Count Hevaron recruited several influential figures from the Noble Faction, he went on to pull in a large number of nobles from the Royalist, Neutral, and independent factions, allowing the Queen's Faction to grow into a power rivaling the Noble Faction in a short period.
In such a state of affairs, no noble would dare to challenge Elisabeth's opinion.
“That's a relief. Oh, and there's that one knight who's receiving treatment right now.”
“A knight...? Are you perhaps talking about Sir Lionel?”
“I don't know his name, but that's probably him. Anyway, how about appointing him as your personal guard? You're a queen now, not a princess. It must be too much for Tina alone.”
At Kang Hyun-woo's words, Elisabeth tilted her head.
She couldn't understand what he was saying.
“But didn't you say Sir Lionel knows you're the fiend? Since you killed the vice-commander, he must harbor a great deal of resentment toward us, no?”
“You don't have to worry about that. I've already given him a clear warning.”
“A warning...?”
Kang Hyun-woo just smiled without a word.
It would be much faster for her to see for herself than for him to explain.
*
Late at dawn.
I paced around the Opal Palace, where Elisabeth was staying, for a long time.
“...This should be enough.”
Pat, pat.
I dusted off my hands and stood up.
Looking at the barrier I had worked up a sweat to install, a pleased smile spread across my lips without me realizing.
Vwooom—
As I drew up my magic power, an opaque barrier began to envelop the Opal Palace.
The film vanished shortly after, but the barrier was still active.
“...Did that take about two hours?”
It was a high-level barrier designed with Iris's help, using a large quantity of jewels taken from the Second Queen's and Marquis Laxion's slush fund vaults as a catalyst.
I was confident that even a 7th Circle Mage would be unable to dispel it without investing a significant amount of time.
‘Well... it might be a little risky if it were Sister Lael, though.’
Not all 7th Circle Mages were the same.
Even within the same realm, a clear difference in skill existed.
“If I had my way, I'd expand the barrier's range to the entire royal castle, but...”
I rolled my stiff shoulders and shook my head.
The barrier I'd installed around the Opal Palace was already far beyond my current level. Without Iris's help, even designing it would have been impossible.
To install such a barrier across the entire castle grounds?
It would take at least a week, and the amount of jewels used as a catalyst would be astronomical.
Even after completely emptying the Second Queen's and Marquis Laxion's slush funds, it wouldn't be nearly enough.
Knowing the general state of the Nivia Kingdom's finances, I wanted to avoid excessive spending as much as possible.
“Anyway, tomorrow's finally the day.”
Tomorrow morning, I was scheduled to leave the Nivia Kingdom and head for the Orsia Duchy.
I wanted to stay a few more days if I could, but I had to get Amelia to the duchy as soon as possible and then go to the Santala Kingdom, so I couldn't delay any longer.
As I inspected the barrier, I recalled what had happened in the evening.
Before spending time with Elisabeth and Tina to commemorate my last day, I had given Elisabeth a gift.
It was a ring set with a pink sapphire, which I had found while searching the Second Queen's and Marquis Laxion's slush fund vaults.
When I slipped the ring onto her ring finger, Elisabeth cried in my arms for a long while.
—The next time you come back, we're having the wedding ceremony right away, and I won't let you go until you get me pregnant, so be prepared.
Her warning made me break out in a bit of a cold sweat, but on the other hand, I was also happy.
Tina, who was standing beside us, subtly hinted for something, but I doubt she truly wanted a gift.
In this world, a clear difference in social status existed.
That didn't mean I wasn't going to give her anything, though.
I planned to give her something when I returned to the Nivia Kingdom in the future.
“So, how long are you going to keep spying on me?”
“...”
“I can see your hair.”
Rustle—
At that moment, Sylvia appeared from beyond the bushes, her pure white hair fluttering.
I was pretty sure I'd seen her alone in front of the study just a few days ago, too. At this rate, I might actually grow fond of her.