Chapter: 628
The duke’s explanation revealed the First Queen’s intentions and goals, but questions still lingered.
“Then why is the First Queen so obsessed with the heir?”
That was the question Arthur raised. If she intended to resurrect the king, wouldn’t she need an heir?
If it was just a matter of being devoted to Rene, I’d think it was some sort of maternal love, but if the First Queen truly cherished Rene, she wouldn’t have pushed him aside the moment she saw potential in Arthur.
“I apologize. I don’t know that much either.”
“You don’t know? Aren’t you intimate with the First Queen!”
“Your Highness the Third Prince, to her, I’m merely a friend of His Majesty. There’s no reason to inform someone who is just a necessary tool for His Majesty’s stability.”
The duke’s expression as he stated that he was nothing but a tool to the First Queen after knowing her for such a long time was so sorrowful that even Arthur, who had been questioning him just moments ago, fell silent.
“When I met her recently, all I was told was not to interfere. I asked for some basic information, but was refused, and I lost a bet I almost won by grabbing onto her pant leg. That’s all I know.”
At the duke’s mournful confession, Karia nodded. It meant everything the duke had said was true.
Everyone, just like me, remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts, confirmed by Karia.
As the uncomfortable silence continued, Karia shivered and covered her mouth with one hand.
“I think I might know.”
“Karia! Is that really true!?”
When the duke suddenly shouted, Karia, lost in thought, slowly lowered her chin.
“I’m speaking based on circumstantial evidence. Please understand it’s just a guess.”
“What about?”
“The type of discussion that would dirty my mouth just by talking about it.”
Seeing Karia warn like that, the First Queen’s goal must be ridiculously vile.
What could it be? Was she thinking of offering Rene as a sacrifice to the Evil God? The more power and talent she had, the more valuable the sacrifice becomes if it’s closer to the Lord Jushin; it sounds plausible.
[That's not it.]
‘No?’
[If she was going to offer a sacrifice, there’d be no need to choose an heir. It would create unnecessary confusion. If she were to pick a sacrifice, it would be the opposite.]
‘…Not the heir.’
Could it be that even within the game, the First Queen decided to make Rene a sacrifice?
That would make sense. As the kingdom story approached its conclusion, Arthur would be seen as more competent than Rene to be the heir.
Ah. Now the game storyline makes sense.
The First Queen intended to offer Rene as a sacrifice for the king’s resurrection but ultimately failed.
Through some means, Rene made a contract with the Evil God and killed the First Queen, after all.
So, Rene became the final boss of the kingdom story.
In this case, it’s poetic justice.
She was killed by her own child, so I don’t feel sorry for her at all.
“Phew.”
Karia sighed deeply and made eye contact with everyone.
Heh. I already know what she’s going to say, so I’m feeling relaxed.
I’m just going to enjoy watching others get shocked. As I crossed my arms and leaned back, Karia slowly opened her mouth.
“As you all know, His Majesty the King was indeed an intelligent person, but he wasn’t a strong one, even though he grew up under the palace’s support.”
Huh? Why is she talking about him being weak? Is she really suggesting that they’d demand such things for a worthy sacrifice?
While I tilted my head, the atmosphere around us became serious.
Joy forgot to act like a young lady and covered her mouth with both hands, the Sloppy Fox snickered in disbelief and muttered some curse words, Benedict clenched his fists to the point of turning white, and Arthur stared blankly at Karia, forcing a smile.
“Wait a moment, Karia. That’s a rather cruel joke. How could a human do that?”
“Young brother, quiet down.”
“But brother! If what Karia is trying to say is true!”
“If it’s true? That means we’re becoming livestock raised to offer to His Majesty.”
… What did I just hear?
“I see. The reason that every time I showed improvement, the First Queen was pleased was for that reason.”
“Considering that crazy woman’s intentions and the information I have, that’s the most convincing story.”
So, she raised Rene to create a vessel for the king to use? Not because she loved him as a child?
I knew she was crazy, but this takes the cake.
“What’s that circumstantial evidence?”
“For the past few years, that maniac has approached black wizards through the Information Department. One must assume she’s connected to notable figures from the underworld. Recently, we concluded that this wasn’t merely for the king’s resurrection. Most of what the black wizards provided was related to souls. The original conclusion was that it was to preserve the soul of the deceased and later inject it into the resurrected body, but as we talked here today, my thoughts changed.”
Karia brushed her hair back and continued explaining.
“If restoring the dead were the goal, focusing on raising an heir would be efficient. However, as your employer has stated, that crazy woman’s objective is to create a current king who will reign forever. There’s no need for an heir.”
“Couldn’t we just turn the heir into the current king instead of a physically vulnerable one?”
When the Sloppy Fox questioned whether that was a wild guess, Karia casually acknowledged it.
“That could be the case. However, do you think that crazy woman would spontaneously change the current king?”
“I don’t know. It’s a human matter.”
“The crazy woman I know is certainly not that kind of person. She won’t allow any variables.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“To that crazy woman, the heir’s personality doesn’t matter. As long as the immediate value is greater, she’ll change it at will.”
Since she’s going to take it away anyway. Hearing Karia’s conclusion left me speechless.
Wait a minute. Does that mean the final boss I faced in the game isn’t Rene but the king?
Even Rene after what I thought was a complete turnaround in the true ending is actually acting as the king’s pawn?
No. No way. It can’t be.
In this case, the king didn’t think he would go this far.
He wouldn’t be able to be so cheerful after taking away his child’s body. This must have been the result of the Shoddy God’s shoddy actions.
“Ugh.”
Rene, who had been holding his face for a long time, slammed the desk hard along with a ha-ha.
“If your guess is true, then I can’t even ask the First Queen, no, my mother, about her true intentions.”
“Yes. Because it gives the counterpart a chance to achieve their goals.”
“I guess I’m on the same wavelength as my eldest brother.”
The atmosphere is way too heavy. I feel like I’m going to be crushed by the air.
I seriously can’t utter a word! Can’t someone just act foolish and lighten the mood!?
I can’t do that! If I say something thoughtless, it might lead to disaster!
“Phew. With the three of us, we would’ve had considerable power.”
Here it comes! The fool!
“Prince Peanut, are you okay?”
“You’re using that nickname again! Wait. Why am I not okay?”
“Because you’re lacking in many ways.”
“Oh yeah? If you want to die, I’ll gladly grant that wish!”
Cecil quickly caught on and joined in. I don’t know how it was before, but right now, he’s quite nice.
… He is responding to the joke, right? There’s no way all that murderous intent is intentional, right?
After Cecil’s performance lightened the heavy atmosphere a bit, Joy, who had remained silent until now, maintained her gaze on the desk and spoke in a dry voice.
“Excuse me. May I ask Karia one question?”
That’s not the usual young lady trying to act dignified, nor is it a shy high school girl like the Sloppy Fox. It’s a glimpse of the genius wizard Joy.
“Of course.”
“Your speculation is undoubtedly convincing. But is soul transplantation really possible?”
“That’s…”
“Lucy said the Evil God Agra is the harbinger of the end. The soul transplantation must be done solely by the First Queen’s abilities, regardless of Divine Authority. Can such a thing truly be done with human power?”
“Lady Partlan?”
“If that were possible, there should be records of it actually happening, along with countermeasures in place. If handled well, it may be resolved quietly.”
While Joy muttered various possibilities, she finally lifted her head and, noticing the gaze directed at her, hurriedly took out a fan to cover her face.
“I’m sorry for speaking out of turn.”
“No, Lady Partlan. That was a valuable opinion.”
“Indeed. Thanks to you, we now have a chance to talk directly with Her Majesty the First Queen.”
As Karia and Rene praised her simultaneously, Joy cautiously smiled.
“Karia, how long do you think it will take to gather information?”
“It’s hard to assert. Skilled black wizards keep changing residences. If it’s the opinion of some clumsy ones, we could gather that easily.”
“Let’s divide our roles for now. Duke Kurten, will you cooperate?”
“I will gladly do so.”
*
While intelligent people engaged in a lengthy conversation, I slipped out of the building with Joy.
After all, staying in there would be unhelpful. Let’s focus on what we can do right now.
“Lucy, are you going to visit Lord Erginius?”
“No, that pitying fool will probably come up with some lame excuse.”
Erginius certainly knows a lot and could give us valuable advice, but it will be tough to get the answers we seek from him.
Having risen to divinity, he now bears numerous restrictions. Even if we visit him, we’d only receive vague stories.
“Then who?”
“Hey, silly. Don’t you remember? The stinky old hag holed up underground.”
“Was it Lady Adri?”
“Yeah. Let’s go tease that lonely old woman. She’ll surely appreciate it.”
“… Is that really how it works?”
“Of course! Just by reaching out, she’ll bawl her eyes out.”
I’ve done so much for that gal, I should certainly gain something from it this time. Right?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.