Rosens Full Course (5)
She wasn't looking at me, just staring straight ahead, so I kept my eyes forward as I replied.
"I've been doing fine thanks to you not messing with it."
"Shouldn't you at least say thanks anyway?"
I knew exactly what she meant, even if part of me wanted to snap, What the hell for? Elua had allocated a massive recovery budget to Rosens after Grancis's economic blockade hit us hard. She'd confiscated the land right next to our inn that Grancis had bought up and handed it over to me. And she'd bought Lurtjog's corpse for way above market price. Sure, back when we first met as princess and hero, things were a total shitshow. But since she'd become queen, she'd actually helped us out a lot.
That said, there was a reason I still hadn't let my guard down around Elua.
I glanced sideways at her snake-like eyes and the countless scars crisscrossing her neck and wrists. That was it. Whether it was some royal family curse or hereditary madness passed down through generations, it didn't matter.
Elua was like a glass perched precariously on the edge of a table. One tiny nudge, and she'd topple, shatter—and the shards would fly everywhere, cutting anyone nearby.
I still remembered it vividly. The day I'd been chosen out of nowhere by the goddess in some backwater village, saddled with the Holy Sword, and headed to the capital. At the capital bridge, I'd put on a lightning show for the royal guards blocking my path. The intelligence minister had come rushing over in a panic, dragging me inside. As I passed, there was a cart loaded with cargo. Under the blood-soaked cloth covering the load, a woman's limp hands and feet poked out. I found out later it was a maid Elua had butchered.
The guards muttered something like, "How many is this now?" as they eyed the cart. No one knew why she'd killed her. That was Elua. She'd behave when I was around on missions, staying cooped up in the palace between them. But if I was gone too long, she'd inevitably do something insane. Like my presence somehow kept her madness in check.
Separate from that, her obsession with me only grew. Eventually, she even tried to kill me, or so I heard. The defense minister told me on the down-low—not to watch out for getting killed, but to make sure I didn't kill her.
"Even if the princess sneaks into your bedroom at midnight with a knife, don't make the mistake of killing her by accident. Talk her down nicely and send her away."
That very night, my locked bedroom door rattled. It went on for a while before going quiet, followed by a weird noise.
Kiiik... kiiikiiik...
I quietly got up and opened the door. Elua was dragging a knife nearly two feet long along the wall as she walked away. That was the sound of the blade scraping stone.
If he can't have me, he'll kill me... The very next day, she suggested the two of us go to a villa alone. I flat-out refused, chills running down my spine. After that, she started showing open hostility toward me. Though sometimes she'd smile sweetly and offer me tea or a drink—which, of course, was laced with something. Lucky for me, my natural Philistine physique was tough enough to shrug it off. Otherwise, I'd have been done for more than once.
What was scarier? It wasn't poison. It was a paralytic or sedative. If I'd been a normal human, I'd have blacked out and been dragged off somewhere. Then I'd have been at the mercy of the psycho princess—tortured, raped, turned into her plaything.
That's why even the late king, despite her being his only legitimate heir, dreaded her ascending the throne. A mentally ill princess with a cruel streak wearing the crown? The outcome was obvious.
But surprisingly, Queen Elua hadn't gone off the deep end like everyone feared. Sure, she was facing fierce opposition and her rule was shaky, but she was at least acting like a normal king.
Weird as hell... The Elua I knew would've demanded independence from the shitty lords the moment she took the throne, then beheaded every rebellious noble. She'd have cut my pension and sabotaged the inn every way possible just to mess with me.
But she wasn't. What the hell was she up to? Impossible to pin down.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Elua gave that short reply, flashing a faint smile as she continued sightseeing. I watched her for a moment before asking the questions burning in my mind.
"Why'd you do that to Grancis?"
"To nationalize the Grancis Merchant Company."
"Couldn't you just do it through legal channels?"
"No. Not possible. Too much of their money has already seeped into the palace insiders."
"So... you're pressuring the head directly to make her give up. By showing her the daughter's pathetic state."
Elua smiled with her eyes as she answered.
"Exactly. If you can't break them from the outside, make them crumble from within."
"But won't the bribes in the company just sit back and watch?"
"We'll see. I've given the Grancis matriarch a sliver of hope."
"What do you mean? Oh. You took her extracted personality as a hostage, huh."
"Yes. If she submits, I'll return her daughter. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise?"
I asked, but I was a little scared of what horror would come out of her mouth next.
"I'll mix the extracted personality with food scraps and feed it to pigs, then butcher the pigs and send them as a gift."
"What the fuck! Are you actually insane?!"
"Took you this long to figure it out?"
Elua leaned back comfortably, like she had no idea what the problem was.
"The weather's lovely. Must be magic keeping it mild year-round here, right?"
"Don't change the subject. Sigh, whatever. Why'd your brother suddenly head to the front lines?"
Since it was just the two of us, I figured I'd ask everything on my mind. No answer? Fine. An answer? Even better.
"Gobert? He went of his own accord. He's adapted well and now has a tight grip on six elite legions under him."
"What about Kamei? The Royal Guard captain."
"She went with him too. She's his bodyguard commander now. Such a talented knight—such a shame."
"Yeah, shame. Not that you can't use her anymore, but because it's harder to slip assassins past Gobert now."
Elua chuckled lowly and turned to look at me.
"Balder. I'm curious what kind of man you are. Most days you seem like a brainless swordsman, but sometimes you show the cunning of a palace veteran and surprise me."
"Probably both. Anyway... so things are really bad between Gobert and you. No surprise there."
"Wouldn't it be weirder if we got along?"
Elua turned her gaze forward again. Staring at her sharp nose, I pressed on.
"Feels like you two might throw down soon. Am I right?"
"Who knows? Siblings always fight, don't they?"
"Fighting over toys isn't the same as mobilizing legions. Here's a proposal."
Elua fell silent, waiting.
"Rosens sits between the capital and wherever Gobert is. Make sure no legions pass through."
"Hmm. Hard to accept. Detouring around the Vurn Mountains would cost time and money."
"But the damage from legions marching through Rosens would be worse."
She nodded with a smile at my pragmatic, feasible threat.
"Fine. If that happens, I'll consider it."
I watched her for a bit before speaking again.
"One last question."
"What? I think I can guess."
Right then, a scream came from the carriage trailing behind us. I turned to see a long-necked sauropod poking its head right up to their carriage. Luckily, it was just curious, not aggressive. The people inside were yelling and laughing, reaching out to pet it.
Another sauropod approached our carriage. As its huge, innocent eyes drew close, Elua smiled and stroked its snout.
"How wondrous. To touch monsters up close."
We stopped the carriage and got out for a closer look at the monsters. Everyone acted like kids on a field trip, buzzing with excitement.
After that, I didn't get another quiet moment alone with Elua. She suddenly decided to join her entourage's carriage on a whim. So Ukun rode in the empty one, and I hopped in with the group to tour the Monster Zoo.
After completing the viewing path, we did feeding experiences with Tene Gano and got souvenir giveaways.
"Heh heh, look at this. So cute and adorable. Even monster babies are precious."
The middle-aged intelligence minister cooed over a baby Tene Gano.
People cheered as a wyvern far off snatched a released Duki mid-dive. Celereja, who'd been too tense to speak properly earlier, was now chatting haltingly with the cardinal.
Lambert eyed the life-sized Minotaur standee in front of the souvenir shop with keen interest.
Light, lively atmosphere all around. Less like a royal inspection and more like a group outing. Only the plainclothes special agents kept their grim vibe, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Elua gazed at the hilly terrain and said,
"Well seen, Balder. Truly splendid."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Then let's head back. The monsters need their rest too."
Everyone clutching dragon figurine souvenirs, we passed through the dimensional gate in high spirits.
Stepping out of the dimensional gate into the inn courtyard, the chamberlain approached Elua.
"Dinner is prepared at the inn, Your Majesty."
"Is that so? I hear the head chef trained at the Cuisine Academy. Let's see her skills."
Elua ascended the short stairs to the inn entrance, her face beaming. Kali, at the base of the stairs, spotted her, tucked his tail, and hid.
As I moved to follow, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Bertrand!"
I turned, startled enough to almost yell.