Chapter 28

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Defeat and Deception
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#28

The moment he realized the ragged gasps were his own, his vision blurred. Steeling himself against the urge to collapse, Kill shouted in a trembling voice.

“What are you doing! Put my son down, now!”

As if in defiance of the shout, Walter tightened his grip on the squirming Atlind and applied more pressure with his sword hand.

Veins bulged starkly on Atlind’s neck. The blade was dull, merely pressing into his throat, but if Walter were to focus even a sliver of his energy, the boy’s head would be severed in an instant.

“No! No…! Don’t do it! Please!”

Kill wet his lips with his tongue, his face fraught with anxiety as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Walter, looking down at him in silence, gave a nod, ordering his soldiers to fall back.

His adjutants astutely pulled the soldiers back, and Walter looked down, his voice heavy as he began to speak.

“I heard you refused Her Majesty’s proposal. Will you save your son and surrender, or will you continue to resist and accept his death?”

“……”

“I believe you know better than anyone which way the tide of this battle has turned. It is merely my personal hope that while you may cast aside your duty as a loyal subject, you do not cast aside your duty as a father.”

“……”

“You have lost. Admit it.”

Kill slowly lowered his head.

His clenched fists trembled faintly, and a sound like a sob escaped the thin lips of a man who had never been bested in argument.

The thoughts that had just been riddled with emotion grew cold, giving way to reason. Rage, hatred, and sorrow dissipated like a morning mist, and soon, only reality and the compromise it demanded remained on his tongue.

Pride, experience, honor, and his domain.

The very things that constituted Goedel Kill lost their form and crumbled.

All that was left. The last thing he had to protect.

“My son, please spare him…! I will… I will give up everything.”

With a strangled voice, he admitted defeat.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The lodge at the foot of the mountain was a lodge in name only; it was so old and filthy it looked ready to collapse at any moment.

From the scattered branches and the broken axe lying about, it seemed to be a resting place for mountain keepers and hunters.

Why would a secret royal passage lead to a place like this?

Whees rubbed his arms, feeling inexplicably uneasy. Unlike him, who loathed bugs and filth, Lucy was sprawled on the floor with an unconcerned expression.

“You have a strong stomach, Your Majesty. To think you can just lie down in a filthy place like this.”

“I’m just grateful to have a place to hide. What’s a little dirt? You’re a soldier, yet you seem to have no tolerance for this.”

“Being a soldier doesn’t mean one must exclusively deal with filth… In any case, I find bugs absolutely dreadful.”

“Oh, really? Look at this. It’s a cricket.”

“Agh!!”

Whees recoiled in horror. Unfazed by his fright, Lucy held the cricket by its hind legs and teased him, dangling it playfully.

Whees stopped himself from instinctively kicking out and instead clicked his beak.

I can’t very well hit her.

When he showed a look of genuine disgust, Lucy belatedly realized and scratched her cheek, apologizing. She didn’t, however, let go of the cricket in her hand.

“It doesn’t bother me, but I suppose it can be scary for some. Hmm… Seeing one after so long brings back memories.”

“What on earth kind of memories could Your Majesty have with a cricket? It’s not like it was your first love.”

“Have you ever eaten one?”

“What did you say?”

Thinking she was teasing him, he shot her an irritated look, only to be met with Lucy’s face, twisted as if she had just swallowed bitter medicine.

With a bitter look in her eyes, Lucy glanced at the cricket before tossing it out the open window. Whees, who had been about to retort, sensed the grim atmosphere and quietly shut his beak, swallowing his words.

Silence followed. Outside the window, the darkness receded, and a pale dawn began to light up the world.

“I’ve never experienced a night as long as this one.”

Whees muttered to himself, preening a stray feather.

He’d never read about such an audacious strategy in any tactics manual.

Using the Raphi to escape, creating a double diversion, spreading false intelligence to confuse the enemy, and then using their own base against them to isolate them.

It seemed Lucy had decided against fighting each enemy individually and opted to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

She had lured the main force to the royal palace, then poured the majority of her troops into Central Command.

Since it was a defensive battle, not a siege, and there was a large disparity in strength, the enemy’s chances of winning were slim. But he couldn’t relax. Things at Central Command might be going smoothly, but he was worried about the royal palace.

Just as he was looking worriedly toward the window, tapping his hand with his beak.

“I wonder how things are going at the palace.”

As if reading his thoughts, Lucy murmured the same concern, breaking into his reverie. Whees tapped his beak, a look of confusion on his face.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been wondering. Where did you get the two thousand soldiers defending the palace?”

When he heard the plan to concentrate all forces at Central Command, Walter had insisted they should prepare for the unexpected by gathering troops from the borders, but Lucy had dismissed his concerns, saying she had people to help and not to worry.

And just as Lucy had said, two thousand soldiers in uniform had suddenly appeared, putting pressure on the Duke.

Two thousand of them, no less. And to gather that many properly trained soldiers in such a short time.

It was the most puzzling part of the whole operation. When he asked with a serious expression, Lucy just shrugged.

“They aren’t soldiers. They’re mostly farmers.”

“Pardon?”

“I borrowed the strength of Marquess Rutherford and the Ras family. They’re the people from their domains. They’re good with farming tools, but their swordsmanship is utterly useless.”

He couldn’t understand what she was talking about.

Marquess Rutherford? The Ras family?

The lords haven’t even acknowledged her as queen yet. How did she secure their help?

No, more importantly, why bring farmers and arm them to look like soldiers?

Whees narrowed his eyes at her. Lucy, who had been looking refreshed as if her answer was sufficient, saw his ‘what on earth are you talking about’ expression and let out a small “Ah.”

“Well, it’s not like they actually needed to fight. I just needed an army to intimidate the Duke. Most people lose their will to fight when faced with a vast difference in military strength.”

“What do you mean… If a battle had broken out, wouldn’t the ruse have been exposed?”

“True. It was a gamble. But I figured Duke Kill is a level-headed man, so he wouldn’t recklessly charge an enemy force more than twice his size.”

Whees stared at her as if she were insane.

Such incredible nerve.

To rely on such a rough, impromptu gamble at the very end?

He thought every part of the plan had been meticulously designed, but it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case. He wore a doubtful expression, but Lucy just gave a noncommittal reply, saying it would be fine, and pulled a blanket over herself.

About ten minutes passed like that.

“Your Majesty!”

The door burst open, and an officer appeared, panting heavily as he caught his breath.

Lucy, who had been fiddling with the blanket with drowsy eyes, shot up from her spot the moment she saw the officer.

“Your Majesty! The situation at Central Command has been resolved. And the Duke…!”

“Did we win?”

“He has admitted defeat and pledged to disband his army. The Grand General has exchanged the hostage for the Duke and is taking him to Central Command now!”

…It’s over.

Instead of crying out in victory, Lucy let out a long breath and rubbed her chest. A wave of exhaustion washed over her, mixed with the relief of finally overcoming a major hurdle, and she felt as if she could collapse at any moment.

She rubbed her eyes and sank back down. Whees brought the blanket over and covered her again, saying.

“To be honest, I was skeptical… but we won. You’ve worked hard, Your Majesty.”

“It’s not over yet. There’s a lot to deal with. The enemy’s retreat, the Duke’s punishment, reorganizing the palace, uniting the lords… Well, the Grand General will take care of it, but for now.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to get some sleep. Wake me up in two hours.”

Lucy pulled the blanket up to her head, walked to a corner, and closed her eyes.

The officer and Whees exchanged glances, then, realizing she wasn’t joking, quietly closed the lodge door.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

A breeze from beyond the imperial palace drifted through the cosmos petals before gently wafting into the room.

On the lace hem that fluttered in the breeze, the rose pattern Lucy loved was intricately embroidered.

The dress, painstakingly crafted stitch by stitch by an artisan, was a brilliant gold with a hint of brown that complemented Lucy’s wheat-colored hair. With every movement, yellow topaz ornaments sparkled, further enhancing her beauty.

「No matter what anyone says, Lady Arsinoe, you are the star of tonight’s banquet. How can you be so beautiful?」

At the lady-in-waiting’s words, she lifted her head and looked in the mirror.

Atop her half-pinned hair rested a tiara as ornate as if woven from golden lace, and below it, a delicate necklace accentuated her slender neckline.

Her appearance, the very personification of luxury, felt incredibly beautiful and elegant even to her own eyes. But this splendid shell was nothing more than a tool to please the man who held her leash.

「When did you say His Highness would arrive?」

「He said he would certainly be here before the banquet begins. Please don’t worry, Lady Arsinoe.」

Despite the lady-in-waiting’s comfort, the frown on Lucy’s brow did not ease.

It wasn’t that she was disappointed by the Crown Prince’s absence. It was because the image of him interrogating and pressuring her came to mind.

Her husband was mad for war.

When the Emperor was confined to his sickbed, the Crown Prince, as if he had been waiting, became regent and began preparing to swallow the continent.

He had no military authority, so he shouldn’t have been able to command an army, yet by some mysterious means, he had procured troops from somewhere and swiftly conquered Dopein and Antevasila.

And now, he was trying to swallow her homeland, Parnas, as well.

‘Will he really come on time? He’s seemed to be in a rather foul mood lately…’

There was one reason for Alex’s recent foul mood. Lucy had refused his request.

He had asked her to reveal the secret passages within the royal palace.

Alex had tormented Lucy for days, insisting she just had to tell him.

He promised her anything, even making the extraordinary offer to make her the one and only Empress of the Empire if she wished, but Lucy could not bring herself to sell out her homeland to satisfy her own selfish desires.

‘I wish he would stop being so greedy…’

She fiddled with the ring on her finger. The diamond wedding band was no different from a shackle.

She was the Crown Prince’s third consort.

She had married him for the sake of peace, but if that peace became meaningless, what would become of her?

Empress, what nonsense.

There were more than enough women around who fit the qualifications to be Empress.

The Crown Prince had never even shared a bed with her. No matter how beautifully she dressed and adorned herself, he showed not a shred of interest in a woman taken as a hostage. It was only when he began to covet Parnas that he decided to use Lucy.

‘Empress…’

But what if, just by some chance.

What if his words were true?

It was a troubling thought. She had left Parnas behind, after all.

It would be foolish to lose out on her current advantage by clinging to a homeland for which she had no fond memories. If the Crown Prince truly promised her the position of Empress, it might be a good deal.

…But asking for the secret passages of the palace was the same as asking for the deaths of the entire royal family, wasn’t it?

What if her mother was among them?

…No.

No matter how ruthless the Crown Prince was, he wouldn’t do something like that.

「Happy birthday, Arsinoe.」

The voice that slipped through the cracks of her thoughts made Lucy startle and flinch.

She didn’t know how long he had been there, but the Crown Prince was standing with his arms crossed, looking down at her with a gentle expression.