Ch.248-8. Release (2)

# -8. Release (2)

During her busy work hours, Elizabeth invariably turned her gaze toward the Babylon Kingdom during those rare, precious breaks that came like rain in a drought.

Yet her eyes held no trace of worry.

She seemed to be simply looking, in the most literal sense.

“If you’re so concerned, why did you send him in the first place?”

“It’s fine. I don’t think he’ll come back injured anyway.”

“That’s not what I meant at all.”

“Ah…”

Her words could be interpreted in several ways, but the most likely reason was concern for that person.

The woman who had maintained a sullen expression throughout the wedding ceremony.

But Elizabeth didn’t seem particularly concerned about that either.

Rather, it seemed like she knew and sent him anyway…

“I don’t really mind. Actually, I’d prefer if she seduced him.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I am serious.”

“You’re more open-minded than I expected.”

These statements would have been shocking coming from the Elizabeth everyone knew before.

She had always been quite strict about such matters since her school days.

But now she was quite different.

‘Should I say she’s… more relaxed?’

As if to prove this newfound composure, Elizabeth continued the conversation with a smile.

“Whatever happens, he’s still mine anyway. I can share a little.”

“You don’t have any possessiveness?”

“My father was the same way. He took concubines but never neglected my mother, right? I think Albert would be the same.”

“And if he’s not?”

Elizabeth took a moment to consider this question.

Then, with a somewhat chilling smile, she replied:

“Then… things might get interesting, don’t you think?”

“Haha…”

If that possibility actually came to pass, what would happen to Albert?

Even thinking about it was quite entertaining.

Of course, it would be best if such a thing never happened, so for now, I hoped it wouldn’t.

‘Just take it easy…’

***

The first servant of the king to appear was suspiciously strong.

Most people couldn’t even last a few seconds against him.

“Why is he so strong…?”

“This doesn’t make sense…”

Surprised by this unexpected obstacle, they hurriedly changed their strategy.

Though it seemed a bit late.

Unable to watch any more sacrifices, Amon hastily jumped onto the arena.

“Who… exactly are you?”

“I am merely His Majesty’s servant, Amon.”

“I’ll step over you and behead that traitor as well!”

Amon proudly displayed his shield, his primary weapon. The mysterious swordsman ran with all his might and swung his sword.

The shield wavered under the swift sword strike, but it firmly held its ground.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“Shut up!”

The attitude of both men resembled soldiers engaged in a battle to the death.

Meanwhile, Lilith sat in her chair, struggling to hold back her laughter.

The swordsman unleashed relentless, merciless strikes, and Amon perfectly blocked every attack.

Their battle showed no signs of ending quickly.

Lu couldn’t help but admire the scene.

“He’s… really good at acting, isn’t he?”

“…”

“His control of strength is perfect too…”

Lu expressed genuine admiration while Lilith continued watching the spectacle with a bright smile.

The swordsman paid no attention to these reactions, fully committed to his role.

“Tch…! You! You’re stronger than I expected! I’ll give you that!”

“You’re not bad yourself…”

“Let’s end this now!!!”

The swordsman shouted powerfully and filled his sword with magical energy.

With the sword so packed with magic it seemed about to burst, the swordsman swung with all his might.

The sword, now essentially a mass of magical energy, collided with the world’s greatest shield, creating a violent explosion.

-KABOOM!!!-

Magic scattered in all directions with the explosion, and the swordsman’s sword shattered into pieces.

The swordsman acknowledged his defeat by kneeling down.

Then, with a trembling voice, he pleaded with Amon.

“Kill me…”

“Huh…?”

“Kill me…!! How can I face His Majesty now?! Kill me right now, Amon!!”

Amon couldn’t help but respect such burning dedication.

He extended his hand to the swordsman.

The swordsman avoided his hand repeatedly, but eventually, Amon’s hand grasped his.

“I must acknowledge you. Such skill with such loyalty… remarkable.”

“Don’t pity me!! I am a failure! A failure has nowhere to return to!”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were braver and more admirable than anyone else…”

Afterward, the swordsman voluntarily left the arena, and Amon watched his retreating figure with a satisfied expression.

This heartwarming yet somewhat strange scene ignited the emotions of everyone present.

Except for those two people.

“This is getting a bit scary, isn’t it?”

“Why is he going to such lengths?”

“He must be enjoying it. It’s kind of touching. I even shed a tear or two.”

The swordsman appeared before the two of them again, disguised in yet another form.

Then, with an intensely serious voice, he called to her.

“Your Majesty, it’s time to demonstrate your overwhelming power to the world. Let us hurry.”

“Can’t we… stop this now?”

“No, Your Majesty. For today at least, I am your servant. Let’s hurry. Many people are waiting.”

He seemed completely consumed by his role. Lu smiled meaningfully upon hearing those words, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He headed back to the arena with her.

On the way, she asked him:

“By the way… don’t you have any plans in that direction?”

“Plans? What do you mean by that…?”

“Like concubines or something…”

“You seem to be greatly mistaken—the emperor isn’t me, it’s my wife.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

He was perplexed when she sincerely brought up such a topic.

While he wasn’t sure about the customs in the Babylon Kingdom, he had never seen such a case in the Kainis Empire.

The husband of the empress taking concubines… such an act would likely result in assassination.

“You’d get killed for doing something like that.”

“By whom?”

“By the people.”

“It would be fine if it’s not made public.”

“Even if it’s not public, my wife wouldn’t allow it. Besides, I don’t want to do that anyway.”

“Really…?”

He nodded.

She had quite a few things she wanted to say but decided against it for now.

It wasn’t something that needed to be discussed right now, and she didn’t particularly want to talk about it in a place like this.

“Let’s go, we need to hurry.”

“Yeah.”

She climbed onto the arena, bearing the gazes of countless people.

Considering the original public sentiment, one might have expected a tremendous amount of jeering as soon as she stepped onto the arena, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

Amon didn’t reproach her for being a traitor but started the conversation with a different topic.

“Where is that man now?”

“He’s resting comfortably in a good place, so don’t worry.”

“Cherish that man. Loyal subjects like him… are rare.”

After giving that advice, Amon immediately assumed a battle stance.

In response, she drew her sword as well.

Having exhausted most of his strength in the battle with that man earlier, Amon wasn’t particularly threatening.

From the beginning, though they were both executioners, there was quite a difference in their levels.

In such a situation, with Amon’s strength depleted, the outcome was even more predictable.

Lilith easily shattered Amon’s shield and placed her sword against his neck.

“You don’t want to die, do you?”

“Tch…”

Though grumbling, Amon descended from the arena rather obediently.

Strong fighters continued to ascend the arena after Amon, and that man watched these duels from below.

“This should be interesting.”

***

Being Lilith, most of the battles didn’t last long.

Even the duel with Marvas, an executioner, didn’t take 30 minutes.

Still, it was entertaining.

There was a certain appeal in watching the desperate struggle as fighters tried to draw out every last bit of their depleting strength to continue the fight.

“Ouch… she looks like she’s about to collapse.”

Watching her squeeze out every ounce of strength as the number of opponents gradually decreased was both pitiful and admirable.

I’ve always thought that Lilith, like me, was quite stubborn.

Just that she doesn’t often show it.

I spoke to her as she sat on the ground, breathing heavily:

“Want me to take over? I’m fine with it.”

“No…? I’m still okay.”

“It’s good to be stubborn in moderation.”

Seeing her so stubbornly pushing herself was painful to watch, but also admirable in its way, so I didn’t try to break that stubbornness.

Instead, I could only encourage it.

“Hang in there. Not much left now.”

“Alright…”

Over the course of about two hours—

During that time, she continued fighting without a moment’s rest and succeeded in subduing everyone except for one person.

However, that one person was by no means an easy opponent.

Gamiggin… another executioner and the very person who had made the previous war so dramatic.

He greeted her with relative courtesy:

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty. You haven’t changed much since then.”