Chapter 103: Queen Maker (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: Queen Maker (3)
A week had passed since we began digging through the ruins of the collapsed royal palace.
The number of bodies we’d found in that time was too high to count, and among them was a corpse presumed to be the prince.
I say ‘presumed’ because the body was so shriveled and decayed it was hard to recognize its original form.
The only reason we could even guess it was the prince was because of the clothes he was wearing.
“Your stamina is incredible. You’ve been working for hours without breaking a sweat. We get exhausted after just half a day.”
Selenion, who had been taking a break, approached me. He picked up a thick piece of a pillar near my feet and tossed it aside.
“You’ll end up like this too, Selenion, after you’ve traveled the continent and experienced all sorts of things.”
“I think I’ll pass on that. I’m more the type to settle down in one place than wander around.”
Our conversation ended with his lighthearted laugh. We worked on in silence, and soon the other knights who had been resting returned to the task.
After several more hours of digging, we finally found the entrance to the underground prison.
The entrance was a stone archway.
Staring into the darkness beyond the stairs, the knights’ expressions slowly hardened.
“I pray His Majesty is safe down there,” one of the knights muttered.
He was right.
There was a reason these knights were tense just looking at the entrance to a mere underground prison, not some monster-infested dungeon.
In the past week of searching, the king’s body had not been found.
Not even a corpse that could be presumed to be his.
We had turned the palace upside down, so I was certain. And because of that, the knights had begun to hold onto a sliver of hope.
The hope that, just maybe, the king was hiding in the underground prison.
“Let’s go down.”
I led the way, and the other knights followed. We hadn’t descended far before a pitch-black darkness, so thick we couldn’t see an inch in front of us, greeted our party.
“Can’t see a damn thing. Hey, did any of you guys bring a torch?”
“Not me.”
“Me neither.”
“I don’t have one either. What, not a single one of us brought one? Sheesh, just wait a minute. I’ll run back up and grab one.”
“There’s no need for that.”
At my words, the knight who was about to head back up the stairs stopped in his tracks.
“Pardon? Sir Hero, did you bring a torch?”
Instead of answering, I drew my sword and infused it with magic power.
Red flames erupted over the surface of the blade, which was already glowing with a blue sword aura. It was a technique I learned from a former hero I met in the depths of this very prison.
The bright light illuminated the knights’ astonished faces.
“Layering magic over a sword aura… Is that even possible?”
“I’ve heard it’s possible, but only for a few of the most exceptional knights in the Empire.”
They stared at the flames in pure admiration.
“Alright, alright. We can be impressed later. Let’s rescue His Majesty the King first.”
Selenion clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
The knights nodded and fell silent.
Rescue, he’d said.
It was a word that seemed to assume the king was definitely alive down here.
Getting our hopes up is a bad idea.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
“Now that the lighting issue is solved, let’s keep moving.”
We descended and began to search the first underground floor.
And we saw a bad omen.
“The prisoners are all dead.”
Every prisoner held on the first floor was dead.
Most of them had collapsed without any visible injuries; it seemed they had died of dehydration.
“Do you normally keep a supply of drinking water in the prison? In the guards’ room or a place like that?”
“What? Uh, no. I don’t think we do. The soldier on duty is supposed to bring it down himself…”
The knight’s voice trailed off, his face turning deathly pale.
The other knights were no different.
A grim premonition dominated the space.
And soon, that premonition became reality.
“Ha, damn it.”
The fourth underground floor.
The king was dead, slumped against a wall.
He, too, had died of dehydration.
*
Lately, Leslie had a problem.
Her relationship with Cloud wasn’t progressing at all.
It wasn’t that they were on bad terms.
On the contrary, their relationship was quite good.
He was considerate and respectful of her as a companion.
But it never went any further than that.
It was all because of Katarina, Cloud’s lover.
Honestly, when they first set out on their journey, Leslie thought she could easily win him over. Katarina had seemed like a naive girl who knew nothing of the world. But Katarina’s obsession with Cloud was far stronger than Leslie had anticipated.
She was simple-minded but stubborn, so persuasion and threats were useless. She stuck to Cloud’s side like glue, never giving Leslie a moment alone with him.
And even on the rare occasion she got lucky and found herself alone with him, it was still a problem.
Whenever Leslie made a subtle advance, he’d just parrot the same line about getting Katarina’s permission.
On top of that, his former companions, who also seemed to have feelings for him, had joined their party…
It was only natural that she, uncharacteristically, was growing impatient.
So when he came to her room alone in the middle of the night, she felt a flicker of hope.
But then…
“The king is dead.”
She was left speechless by this completely unexpected topic.
“…What?”
“The king of the Prona Kingdom is dead. The prince and all his retainers, too.”
Cloud sighed as he flopped onto her bed.
Watching him, Leslie sighed for an entirely different reason.
Still, the story he brought up was not something to be taken lightly. It was certainly a matter worth a secret visit in the dead of night.
“Let me ask you a few things. Was the king’s death confirmed today?”
“Yeah. We found his body in the underground prison today.”
“Who else knows about the king’s death? Besides you, Cloud.”
“The knights who were with me during the search. They’re fine. I made them swear not to breathe a word about the king being dead. I even made them take an oath.”
“That was a good move. Announcing the king’s death would only add to the city’s chaos.”
Even if it was a smaller storm compared to the Four Heavenly Kings, a storm was still a storm. What would happen if another one hit a city that had already been ravaged by a massive tempest? It wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
“But if the king and the prince are both dead, does that mean the royal bloodline has been completely severed?”
“Apparently not. I heard there’s a princess studying abroad at the Imperial Academy.”
“A silver lining in a dark cloud. If the bloodline remains, so does the justification for rule. One last question, then. What is it that you want, Cloud?”
“What I want?”
“Yes. I need to know that to determine our course of action. If you want to become a king or a man of power, I will do everything I can to help you.”
There was a strange power in Leslie’s voice.
As if she wanted him to become king.
Cloud watched Leslie quietly for a moment before speaking.
“I don’t want to be a man of power. I just don’t want the kingdom to fall into chaos. To be more precise, I don’t want a war to break out.”
“…You’re talking about a civil war among the lords.”
“It doesn’t have to be a civil war. There are many ways a war could start. For example, other countries could start fighting over this chaotic kingdom. I don’t want any of that. I don’t like war.”
This time, it was Leslie who stared intently at Cloud.
After a moment, she slowly nodded.
“I understand your intentions, Cloud. It’s a bit disappointing that you have no desire to be king, but I will still do my best to help you.”
“Are you sure? It’s not my place to say, since I’m the one who brought it up, but it’s going to be a very difficult job.”
“I once ruled the Duchy of Policia, a land far more treacherous than this. Taking temporary charge of a single peaceful city like this is hardly a challenge.”
Her voice was filled with the confidence that came from experience.
Reassured, Cloud smiled.
“Thank you. To be honest, I don’t know the first thing about administration or accounting, let alone how to run a country. I’m glad I came to you for advice.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’m doing this for a price, after all.”
“…Huh? A price?”
“Yes. Did you really think I would work for nothing? Especially for a country that has nothing to do with me?”
“Well, no, that’s not it.”
If she were a stranger, maybe, but Leslie was his companion.
Even Cloud wasn’t shameless enough to make a companion work for free.
He had planned to reward her separately after everything was over, but her saying it so bluntly made him feel a little awkward.
“Is there something you want?”
“Yes, there is. But before that, please answer one thing for me honestly.”
With those words, Leslie settled her hips on top of Cloud’s stomach.
It wasn’t difficult to climb on top of him while he was lying defenseless on the bed. She placed both hands on his chest, then leaned down slightly to look at him.
“What are you thinking right now, looking at me?”
“What am I thinking?”
Her long, white hair, soft as high-quality silk, tickled his cheek. Her eyes, shining like blue jewels, seemed ready to pull him in if he let his guard down for even a moment.
Averting his gaze from her eyes, he looked down and saw her translucent negligee. It was hard to tell if it was meant to cover or reveal. Her ornate black underwear was clearly visible beneath it.
Sensing his gaze, she subtly pushed her chest together and spoke.
“Objectively speaking, I’m quite beautiful. I have it all—my hair, my fair skin, my face, and my figure.”
“…”
“I may have left it in another’s care for a while, but I am the head of a nation. On top of that, I’m domineering and strong-willed.”
“…”
“I’ve heard that men prefer beautiful women. That they feel a thrill from defiling and corrupting a noble woman, and pleasure from crushing a domineering one.”
Leslie guided Cloud’s hand to her soft thigh.
She spoke.
“So why won’t you take me? I have everything. Don’t you want to see my flesh? Don’t you want to see me covet your penis more than power? Don’t you want to see me, the domineering woman, moaning beneath you?”
Leslie caressed Cloud’s cheek as if touching a fragile vase.
“I can show you everything.”
A warm heat emanated from her cool hand.
At that warmth, Leslie smiled. It was a natural smile, yet so bewitching it could stir the heart of any man who saw it.
Cloud sighed.
“I know. You’re an incredibly beautiful woman. Too good for a guy like me. But like I said before, I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble and ruin the party. That’s why I set the condition that you get Katarina’s permission.”
“If I had met you before Katarina, would our positions be reversed?”
Cloud nodded.
Without a hint of hesitation.
A look of satisfaction graced Leslie’s smile.
“I’m glad it’s not because I’m lacking.”
“Right. So, just stop…”
“That’s that. And this is this.”
As Cloud tried to sit up, Leslie gently pushed him back down.
“I must receive payment for my services.”
Leslie brought her face close to Cloud’s. When he raised a hand to block her, she pushed it aside and said, “If you refuse to pay my price, I will return to the duchy.”
“You really don’t consider my position at all, do you?”
“The feeling is mutual. You’ve never once considered my feelings, have you, Cloud?”
“…I don’t really have a comeback for that.”
“But don’t worry. I’ll only collect my payment when we’re alone. And I won’t cross the line. I’ll save that for after I get Katarina’s permission.”
“Wait. You mean you plan to keep collecting in the future?”
Leslie tilted her head.
“Of course. I plan to continue serving you from now on, don’t I?”
“I know, but if you keep this up, you’re bound to get caught.”
“It’s fine. I’ll get her permission before we get caught, even if it means I have to concede a little. Then our secret will remain a secret forever.”
Even after she said all that, Cloud still looked unconvinced.
But he had already yielded quite a bit.
At the very least, he wasn’t repeating the same line like a parrot anymore, was he?
Leslie decided to seal the deal.
“Cloud. I don’t know if you’re aware, but the world is surprisingly simple. It’s divided into two things: what’s mine, and what belongs to someone else.”
She caressed his face with both hands, her voice laced with pity.
“In other words, if you push me away, I become someone else’s. Is that what you want?”
“No.”
At his immediate reply, Leslie’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to be so firm. It was a pleasant miscalculation. She smiled brightly and slowly lowered her face toward his lips.
“Then have me. I will gladly be yours.”
Cloud’s hand pushed against Leslie’s forehead, stopping the kiss.
What’s the problem now?
Leslie’s furrowed brow expressed her thoughts.
“Let me ask you one thing. Are you doing this because you like me, or because of your father’s last wish?”
Was this really a question worth breaking the mood over? Leslie was puzzled, but seeing Cloud’s serious expression, she let out a small laugh.
“No woman would come on this strong to a man she doesn’t even like.”
“…Was there ever a reason for you to fall for me?”
“The reason I adore you, Cloud? Hmm… if I had to think about it, a few things come to mind. Should I tell you?”
After a moment of thought, Cloud shook his head.
Love was an emotion, not a calculation.
He removed his hand from her forehead.
“You’d better get Katarina’s permission, you hear?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it, even if it means I have to concede a little. So for now…”
Focus on me.
Leslie’s and Cloud’s lips met.
The girl had seized her first kiss through rather forceful means.