Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Wise Queen #1
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Swaaaaaah—.
Rain poured down as if a hole had opened in the sky.
In weather like this, even the tough wild beasts living in the forest would seek out caves or places with roofs to hide.
I, too, who had been bustling about, found a small cabin where I could take shelter from the rain for a bit.
It was a ruin with rotting wood, tattered doors, and shattered windows, but still, hiding under a broken roof was wiser than wandering outside and getting completely soaked.
Though Aira wasn't pleased, saying, "You dare tell *me* to hide under such a shabby roof?"
In the end, though, Aira had no better option and entered the narrow cabin with me.
Creak.
The cabin had a simple structure: one large room with a table and bed. If I exaggerated a little, it felt packed the moment Aira and I stepped inside.
Drip, drip—.
Rain leaked through cracks in the old roof, but compared to the downpour outside, it was negligible.
"Still, the inside is decent enough. You did well finding it, Taeo."
"I thought the rain wouldn't start until evening."
I took off my drenched Angmar robe, which was sopping wet. It wasn't waterproof at all—every squeeze sent a splatter of water cascading down, whoosh—.
"Hachoo—."
The chill wind whistling through the door gaps made my body shiver with the wet clothes on.
I might catch a cold like this.
But right now, I had something more important to worry about than my own body.
Creak, creak.
Aira was stepping around on the wooden floor with her women's loafers soaked in mud and rain. I couldn't tell if the creaking sounds amused her or annoyed her.
"Lady Aira, are you wet or dirty anywhere?"
"No."
Aira's reply was curt.
Indeed, not a single strand of her hair was wet despite the torrent that had just been falling. I couldn't pinpoint the reason, but it was probably some magical effect.
"But now that I look, my shoes are dirty."
Scrape, scrape—, creak creak.
Ah, so she'd been moving her feet on the wooden floor to shake off the mud from her shoes.
Scrape scrape.
"You dare cling to the queen's body, you mud, refusing to fall off."
Creak creak.
But shaking off the mud from her shoes seemed like a futile task.
Aira had talent in wielding magic or throwing tantrums, but she was worse than an ordinary person at everything else.
Creak, creak. Wiggle wiggle.
I was afraid the cabin might collapse from her stomping, so I hurriedly opened my mouth.
"I'll clean them for you. Please extend your foot this way."
I pulled out a dry handkerchief, knelt before Aira, and wiped the mud off her shoes.
As I cleaned, I noticed her stockings were soaked up to her ankles.
Even for the great mage Aira, perfectly shielding herself from that downpour must have been impossible.
"Your stockings are wet. Shall I remove them?"
"Yes."
I took off Aira's shoes and pulled down the stockings that reached up to her hips.
Her thighs, pale to the point of whiteness, and her rain-soaked soles were revealed like a swan's neck. Touching her foot lightly, it felt very cold.
"Um, I should start a fire. It'd be good to dry off."
"Okay."
I broke up an old chair and shoved the pieces into the small fireplace in the corner of the cabin.
I struck the nearby flint with a sharp dagger—sparks flew, but without kindling like dry hay, getting a fire going seemed hopeless.
Aira could light it easily with magic.
Glance.
When I sneaked a peek at Aira, she was just sitting on the table, swinging her long legs back and forth as if showing them off.
Doing nothing but playing around.
That's a queen for you.
Queens get to do that.
If I ever become the great king of Angmar, I'll do nothing and make everyone else work. Then I'll have Aira run all my annoying errands.
An image of me ordering Aira around like a servant flashed in my mind and faded. It was hard to imagine, so the scene just popped away.
"Taeo, what's not working?"
Just then, Aira spoke to me.
I was about to ask her to help light the fire, but the embers suddenly roared to life, sparing me the words.
As the dry logs crackled and burned, the cramped cabin was quickly enveloped in shimmering warmth.
It would take a while for the air to heat up, but it was warmer than expected, melting the chill away. Only then could I take a look around.
The cabin showed no signs of human presence for a long time.
"Who might have lived in a place like this?"
I asked to ease the boredom, and Aira chuckled.
"Taeo, no person would live in a place worse than a doghouse, right?"
"You're right."
* * *
Even after a long time, the rain showed no sign of stopping.
Rumble, rumble—. Whoooosh—.
If anything, thunder cracked and fierce winds shook the cabin as if to tear it down, which was downright scary.
"At this rate, getting out will be tough."
I peered through the door crack at the sky. It was so dark I couldn't tell if it was late afternoon or night.
Creak.
After closing the door, I had no choice but to smash nearby furniture for more firewood. We might end up spending the whole night here.
For me, a roof and walls were enough for the night, no problem.
But with Aira spending a day in this shabby place, who knew what variables might arise.
It seemed peaceful now, but soon she might get bored and yell, "You dare keep *me* in a place worse than a doghouse, Senior Brother Taeo Gospel—!" and lop off my head.
"……."
But Aira was remarkably calm.
It had already been one or two hours. Even a patient person would feel bored and restless just sitting out the rain.
Yet Aira sat with her eyes closed, saying nothing. I couldn't guess what she was thinking.
"……."
"……."
Our silence stretched on.
Swaaaaaah—. Rumble—.
The rain and thunder outside sounded especially loud because of it.
The relief of sheltering under a roof from the storm outside, and at the same time, the tension of sharing that roof with a woman far more dangerous than any storm—it crept over my mind.
What on earth was Aira thinking?
From what I'd observed lately, Elga and Mirna both had their own principles guiding their actions.
Elga had her high self-esteem, family pride, and a bit of affection for me. Mirna had her faith and lofty pride, for example.
But Aira—I grew more unable to understand what she thought on a normal day or what drove her decisions.
Snore, snore—.
What? Now I saw Aira was dozing on the table. To fall asleep in this chaos—truly queenly composure.
While she slept, I decided to check her status and activated 《Ten-Ri Eye》.
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Name: Aira von Tarantara lv. 45 → 48
Job: Queen lv. 3 → 4
Ruler lv. 7 → 8
Peerless Beauty lv. 9
Saintess lv. 6 → 7
Archmage lv. 5
Talents: [Locked] 《Tarantara》 《Genius》 New!
Disposition: [Locked]
It is wise to kneel before the Queen of All Things and pay homage.
It is wise to bow your head, kiss her toes, and beg for mercy and affection.
She is hiding a fatal truth from everyone.
She likes cute things. New!
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"……."
I couldn't help but be quite surprised at casually peeking at her status. Several levels had risen since last time, plain as day.
The talents section was also unlocked.
「Talent 《Genius》: Can easily achieve mastery in anything with minimal effort. However, the probability of meeting a tragic fate is greatly amplified.」
I see.
Aira's exceptional talent was literally genius-level. Like absorbing everything like a sponge, no matter what?
It suddenly occurred to me that this talent might be why she became a tyrant and a dark ruler.
If Taeo Gospel had been the scheming villain from the original story, manipulating Aira at will.
Genius Aira would easily master tyranny, thereby heightening her chances of a tragic fate—ending up as the pendulum on the gallows.
"Hmm."
Even so, the increased probability of a tragic fate.
Having a talent like this must be why she keeps rushing toward bad ends.
It made me feel like I understood a bit why I'd suffered so much.
"Hmm—."
Then curiosity struck.
With even the tremendous 《Genius》 talent revealed, what could that one last locked talent be?
I tapped the [Locked] entry with my finger. Text appeared before my eyes.
「To unlock the locked entry, you must further increase your understanding and intimacy with the target.」
So that's how it works.
"━─."
Just then, Aira twitched, and I hurriedly deactivated Ten-Ri Eye. But unlike my tension, Aira's lips curved into a faint smile.
Must be a good dream.
Rustle.
Her eyelids fluttered, and finally, her black eyes met mine.
"I closed my eyes for a moment, and the rain still hasn't stopped. I was having such a pleasant dream for once."
"What kind of dream was it?"
"I went on a picnic with my sisters. But my second sister, Penelope, dropped her shoe in the mud, and while trying to get it out—."
Aira laughed softly mid-story. But her face quickly lost its mirth, turning serene and chillingly distant.
It wasn't my imagination—she looked sad. Waking from a dream of kind, gentle sisters into this gloomy storm reality.
I sometimes wake from dreams of cola and chicken feeling down.
Aira said,
"Penelope was about to get married. She looked prettier than anyone in her dress. She surely became a good bride, wife, and mother."
"……."
I listened intently. Focusing on Aira's languid voice drowned out the wind, rain, and thunder.
Of course, Aira's story was bound to end in tragedy. And my prediction was spot on.
"At the wedding, Penelope died vomiting blood. From her eyes, nose, mouth, ears…."
It was a story I knew.
Recorded in Angmar histories as the 'Bloody Wedding.' The bride Penelope suddenly cried out in pain and died spewing blood—a gruesome event.
They searched for causes like poisoning or assassination, but it ended in mystery.
But Aira parted her heavy lips to add a few more words.
"I didn't know back then. But now, I think I know who killed my sister like that. Who turned my brothers into such monsters."
"You mean you know the culprit?"
"Yes."