The Tenth Research - Sacred Kingship (5)
Dowager Queen Florin had lived a blessed life. Born as the cherished daughter of a grand duchy, she had monopolized the love of her father and brothers. After marrying into the royal family, her beauty and gentle nature earned her the affection of both her husband and his relatives.
“...You’re threatening me with the princesses?”
That was why.
Even as a captive.
She could still carry herself with such dignity.
“Do you not understand what honor means?”
“I am neither a knight nor a noble.”
And I do not believe in the Sun God.
“So please do not expect the laws of the world you have lived in to apply here.”
The Dowager Queen bit her lip in clear dismay. She was not especially skilled at reading people, yet even she could tell that the mage standing before her belonged to an entirely different category from anyone she had ever met.
“Still, that’s no reason to...”
“Sign the surrender document, and I will safely escort Her Majesty the Queen and the princesses back to the Grand Duchy. I will demand no ransom.”
Alternatively.
In my stead.
“You may meet with the Hammer Duke.”
“...”
“I assume you remember the massacre at Albertown.”
Silence.
“The Hammer Duke desires you.”
“What did you say? He wants to marry me?!”
How dare he!
How dare he offer such terms?!
“I naturally refuse such a ludicrous proposal!”
“You appear to be misunderstanding.”
The Grey Sage.
Stared at her with calm, measured eyes.
“He does not want to marry you.”
“...!”
“Since you were raised with delicacy, I will refrain from vulgar language. But as someone who has studied history, you must know the fate that befell the queens of fallen dynasties. Recall only the worst examples.”
Grind.
Grind.
The Dowager Queen gnashed her teeth.
“You remain young and beautiful, Your Highness.”
“...How dare you!”
“Furthermore, your proven ability to bear healthy children makes you highly desirable. Many will covet you.”
Under normal circumstances, the Dowager Queen would have flown into a frenzy of rage and humiliation. But the woman before him now had young daughters to protect.
“Have you no shame as human beings!”
“Is that not precisely why we are offering these terms?”
I will return it.
The royal signet ring.
“Stamp the surrender document.”
“...”
“At the hearing, you need only testify according to what is written in it. Then everyone who follows you will emerge unharmed.”
The Dowager Queen’s whole body shook violently. The contents of the surrender document were utterly unacceptable to her, whether as a queen or as a woman.
“But as a mother, you have no choice but to accept them.”
“...You truly have no heart.”
The Dowager Queen dipped the signet ring in ink and signed the surrender document. Blood-red tears dripped from her eyes, so great was her resentment.
“I hope that one day you too will shed tears of blood.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, Your Highness.”
Having received the signed document, Tellorian bowed respectfully to the Dowager Queen and withdrew. He left the protection of the Dowager Queen and the princesses in Olgoldugolro’s hands.
“You went too far this time.”
“It was a necessary measure, brother.”
“They are women and children. You could have simply released them...”
“Then another civil war would have erupted.”
“...”
The Hammer Duke’s expression grew complicated as he received the full report of the negotiations. He had intended to send the Dowager Queen and princesses to the grand duchy without any conditions.
“She did nothing wrong.”
“Did she not fail to properly educate her son?”
“How is a widow supposed to teach her son? That is impossible for an ordinary woman.”
Well.
My thoughts differ.
Though I will not say so aloud.
“The Dowager Queen’s only sin is that she became a widow too early. Her son simply committed a foolish act, and it is only natural for a mother to do everything in her power to protect her child.”
Tellorian shook his head at the Hammer Duke’s merciful attitude. The man had a tendency to become excessively lenient toward women of noble birth.
“Adults bear responsibility for their own choices.”
“But she is a delicately raised lady.”
“Is a woman not a person?”
“She is a person, but inherently weaker in judgment. Not everyone can be like Belladia, after all.”
“...”
“Brother! The Sun God did not separate men and women without reason. Fighting and ruling are men’s domains. Caring and nurturing belong to women. Why then are you so cold toward that poor woman who lost her husband young and was forced to shoulder a man’s burden as well?”
Perception of Gender Roles
Experience +10
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70/100 until Level 28
Lore Points: 20
“The women I grew up with were different. They mastered magic as brilliantly as I did. They fought with the same ferocity as you, brother. And they took responsibility for the consequences of their actions.”
At that.
The Hammer Duke asked with genuine curiosity.
“...Were they witches, by any chance?”
“That is what the world calls them.”
“You fool! Witches are not human! To compare virtuous women born of noble houses with heretics who copulate with goats! I am truly disappointed in you this time, Brother Tellorian!”
Tellorian’s expression turned dumbfounded.
“...Then why do you permit pillaging?”
“The soldiers are exhausted and in need of reward.”
...He could find no grounds to refute it. There was no way to persuade a man with whom words simply would not connect.
“Have any scum disobeyed my orders and laid hands on noblewomen?! I’ll take my war hammer right now and smash their skulls to──!”
No.
It is not that...
‘What is this?’
The Hammer Duke was a strange man. He protected with utmost care the wives and daughters of the lords whose heads he had crushed, yet showed not the slightest concern for what happened to ordinary women. He even actively encouraged his soldiers’ acts of plunder.
“What is so strange about that?”
“...”
“Noble ladies stake their lives on preserving their chastity, but common women are sluts who will sleep with anyone. Their chastity does not deserve protection.”
The statement was enough to make one’s head throb, but it was not his place to intervene. This was not the world he had come from.
‘But one thing is certain.’
The natives do not silently accept such contradictions. They simply endure for now because they have no means to voice their discontent.
‘However, the Three-Headed Dragon’s Descent will give the lower classes an outlet for the rage that has been festering at the bottom of society. The descent of demons and the outbreak of plague are catastrophes that do not spare even the nobility.’
Class-Based Society
Experience +10
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80/100 until Level 28
Lore Points: 21
Therefore.
He had to seize control of the kingdom quickly.
And resolve its systemic contradictions.
‘Only by resolving the systemic contradictions can we stop the undead cults and demon worshippers. They will exploit the social weaknesses festering in the midlands.’
That was why.
He had threatened the Dowager Queen.
To end the civil war as swiftly as possible.
‘In that case.’
Leave the political cleanup to the Hammer Duke.
As a seasoned lord, he would handle it.
‘I must prepare the gift I promised Belkan.’
There had been a promised reward.
As the condition for halting the war.
Three days later.
Underground prison.
“Hello.”
“...Mmph?”
“The rag has come~”
At Belladia’s gesture, every torch in the underground prison flared with emerald flames.
“It’s been a while, Dailen.”
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”
She smiled at the boy king bound in chains. After months of imprisonment, he had not been allowed to wash properly.
“Did you know?”
Beaming.
“You are no longer a king.”
“!”
“Your mother acknowledged it.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“That she committed adultery during the previous king’s reign.”
The statement Tellorian had forced from the Dowager Queen was simple: during the previous king’s time, she had engaged in illicit relations with royal knights. Therefore her children were illegitimate and held no right to the throne.
“So you are no longer the legitimate king.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“You’re nothing but a bastard whose own father never knew him. Hehehe!”
The Promised Queen
Justification to legitimize the usurpation acquired!
Research Clues: 3/5
Experience +10
Lore Points +1
90/100 until Level 28
Lore Points: 22
“You called me a rag, didn’t you?”
“...”
“You saw correctly.”
Grin.
“I have no intention of living like those prim and proper ladies. Right now I must protect my virginity to secure a higher title from my future spouse, so I behave myself...”
After marriage.
I suppose I’ll invite man after man into my bed?
“But.”
Flutter!
When she shed her robe.
Her radiant naked body was revealed.
“You’re going to die without ever tasting it?”
Hehehe!
It was supposed to be yours originally.
What a shame, isn’t it?
“Besides, I will soon sit upon the throne.”
“...”
“How does it feel to have everything you possessed taken from you?”
Now.
“Let’s have some fun, shall we?”
Since we were once engaged, I’ll be gentle with you!
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
When Belladia laughed with delight and pulled out her box of toys, the boy king wet himself in terror. Feeling a thrilling ecstasy, she drew out an industrial saw and──
“Belladia.”
“...Teacher?”
“Finish it cleanly.”
“...”
...
Yes.
Shing!
Squelch!
The head fell the instant the blade was drawn.
“Place it in the box.”
“A gift for the orcs, right?”
“Correct.”
“How about enclosing the Dowager Queen with it?”
Giggle giggle.
Belladia laughed.
“I’d love to see her scream as she’s crushed beneath it.”
“...”
“Just kidding.”
Belladia.
Smiled with pure innocence.
“A rather nasty joke.”
“Still, if you send her, the orcs would be delighted.”
“...”
Humming a cheerful tune, Belladia lifted the boy king’s severed head. The orcs planned to turn those responsible for the envoys’ deaths into drinking cups.
“When I meet Belkan, I’ll have to ask him a favor.”
“...”
“To lend me the cup made from Dailen.”
Belladia had never felt the slightest attraction to Dailen before, but today she found him strangely charming, enough to make her heart race. So she gently kissed the severed head.
“Beloved Dailen! Stay safe until we meet again!”
“Then let us go. The lords are waiting.”
“What about the body?”
“The guards will clean it up.”
“Hmm...”
Whoosh.
Tellorian turned away.
“Get dressed and follow me.”
“Teacher.”
At that moment.
Belladia caught his wrist.
“I have a serious proposal.”
“I’m listening.”
“How about becoming my husband?”
“Hmm?”
“Once I ascend the throne, I will need to marry and bear children. A prosperous dynasty requires many princes and princesses.”
The number of descendants.
Determines the dynasty’s prestige.
“I want the royal heirs to be born exceptionally intelligent. Like you, Teacher.”
She gazed straight into his beautiful teal eyes. Those unwavering eyes showed no trace of falsehood. At the very least, this was neither acting nor a joke.
“So please embrace me with all your strength right here. A new dynasty’s heir being born atop the corpse of a perished dynasty! Isn’t it magnificent?!”
Now.
Here is the body everyone desires.
You have even received permission to do with it as you wish.
“Please act exactly as you desire.”
After all.
No one will ever know what happens here.