Ch.296296. Queen Alicia (2)

The civil war in England ended with the Queen’s victory, but only misery remained in the aftermath.

The Tower Bridge in London was shrouded in faint black smoke from the clash between the Lord Protector and Alicia. The streets were littered with overturned tanks, burning buildings, and aircraft debris—evidence that both sides had fought desperately. One side to usurp the throne, the other to protect it.

“This is the outcome you chose. This is England today.”

Alicia showed the captured Lord Protector, bound in magic-sealing handcuffs, the streets of England. As she pointed out the devastated cityscape, she claimed it was his doing.

“No! This isn’t my doing. This is the England YOU chose! Alicia! Alicia! You hateful symbol of the old regime!”

“You don’t even call me ‘Your Majesty’ anymore. Well, I knew that already.”

With his blood-covered face, the Lord Protector gnashed his teeth at Alicia, but she already knew he held not a shred of respect for her. She simply acknowledged this with a knowing expression and moved on. The Lord Protector hated that.

He couldn’t understand when it had started, but Alicia’s gaze toward him now contained neither pity nor anger—she merely looked at him as if he were a wall standing in her path. He had clearly demonstrated overwhelming power and was gradually approaching the throne as a New Human. How could he possibly lose to this old-fashioned queen who inherited the legacy of the Old Humans?

He couldn’t—and wouldn’t—accept it.

“And today, I will expose the atrocities you committed using England. I have no intention of giving you the death of a warlord. Instead, as a usurper who didn’t know his place, I’ll have you recorded in history.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Without me, you would never have ascended to the throne.”

“My father would have.”

The Lord Protector was transported to the London High Court, where a special military tribunal began to examine his crimes. It was perhaps a tragic scene—a man who was once England’s ruler, a loyal subject of the sovereign, and the nation’s protector, now sitting as a traitor. But sadly, his past glory had vanished, and the courtroom atmosphere was filled not with tragedy but with bitter rage.

“Today, I declare on this Geas Scroll that there is not a single falsehood in this evidence. If what I say is false, the Geas Scroll will judge me without mercy.”

The Chief Justice, standing at the bench, showed the Geas Scroll created by the Dragon God to everyone in the courtroom, reminding them of its power. After everyone acknowledged its effect, he signed it without hesitation. Immediately, a covenant was inscribed on the Chief Justice’s body—a covenant that he would speak only truth and no falsehood in this court. If he violated this covenant, the dangerous Geas Scroll would judge him mercilessly. Yet the Chief Justice showed no concern as he slowly addressed the Lord Protector sitting in the defendant’s seat.

“This trial will examine the crimes of the Lord Protector—no, Richard Hollins. Today, his crimes are as follows: high treason, civilian massacre, war crimes, financial embezzlement, human trafficking, and child abuse.”

The courtroom was filled more with shock than anger when the Lord Protector’s crimes were finally revealed. Some still believed in him, thinking he was merely defeated but could remain England’s hero. However, Alicia had no intention of restoring his honor. She had used all her resources to uncover the crimes he committed during the apocalypse—acts that were cold and cruel by apocalyptic standards, but absolutely unforgivable by pre-apocalyptic moral standards. Though reality had already become an apocalypse, for those whose moral compass was still anchored in pre-apocalyptic values, the Lord Protector’s crimes were beyond imagination—he was the absolute worst.

“Human trafficking…?”

“Civilian massacre…?”

“Even child abuse?!”

The truth that the Lord Protector had hidden to gain power began to be exposed.

“The defendant approved the establishment of the Battersea Detention Camp in south London, where he arrested, tortured, and secretly trafficked Awakened opposition members to the Cult of Immortality. In return, he received the Death Knight Order. Since everyone knows the significant role the Death Knight Order played in the civil war, I will not mention it further in this inquiry.”

With those words, documentary evidence was presented. It showed illegal transactions between the Lord Protector’s private army and the Cult of Immortality. The Lord Protector could properly dispose of Awakened individuals who opposed him, while the Cult, having received these Awakened, created the Death Knight Order and handed it over to him.

It was a mutually beneficial transaction and, in fact, a common sight by apocalyptic standards. However, for citizens who knew nothing about this, the Lord Protector was no different from a traitor who sold his own countrymen to a villain organization like the Cult of Immortality in exchange for benefits.

“The Cult of Immortality? They claimed to have transcended death! But human trafficking?! That means they were conducting human experiments!”

“The Lord Protector’s claims were lies! The Cult of Immortality was a criminal organization!”

The Lord Protector’s supporters were shocked. Though some extremist supporters still remained loyal to him, for most citizens, he was no longer a hero who protected the nation.

“It’s all lies! This is all lies and a trap! This was merely the misconduct of my subordinates!”

“Really? Then what about this photo? It shows you interacting with high-ranking members of the Cult.”

“…………”

The Lord Protector jumped to his feet and immediately tried to shift blame, but Alicia’s evidence was overwhelming. She refuted his claim that he wasn’t involved in these transactions, and even his close generals bowed their heads in acknowledgment. It was decisive evidence that couldn’t be denied, and the Lord Protector maintained his silence, unable to provide any response.

“Next is the charge of embezzling national funds. During his administration, the Lord Protector used the national budget for weapons in the civil war and for his personal slush fund. This was money needed for England’s economic reconstruction, and calculated by pre-apocalyptic values, he used as much as 2 billion pounds.”

Another envelope prepared by Alicia’s side was opened. Inside were lists of the Lord Protector’s secret accounts scattered across dozens of countries. The fact that this was money meant for England’s economic reconstruction made the citizens who desperately wanted rebuilding look at him with increasingly hostile eyes. And finally, the last evidence Alicia presented:

“Will you deny this as well? Or shall I reveal more of the crimes you committed?”

In response to the judge’s question, Colonel Joshua Hammond, who appeared as a witness and was a close aide to the Lord Protector, finally hung his head and answered.

“…The Lord Protector. It was all under his orders.”

At that moment, the courtroom erupted in explosive anger. From that moment on, the Lord Protector would be recorded with a single epithet, not as the guardian who protected the nation.

“Traitor and murderer. That’s your title from now on.”

“I fought for this country! Without me, England would have collapsed long ago!”

Alicia announced the title given by the citizens in front of the Lord Protector, and he screamed in despair at this hopeless epithet, shouting until his voice broke that England would have collapsed without him. But what echoed through his cries was not support for the Lord Protector.

“Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”

The one thousands were cheering for was the new queen from the historic royal family. In the end, the Lord Protector’s final sentence was life imprisonment and confiscation of all assets, and no one thought the sentence was too light.

“This is not mercy, but a sentence for you to be remembered as a traitor for life.”

The judge’s final words to the Lord Protector left their solemn meaning.

“He was once England’s guardian. But history will call him the betrayer of the kingdom.”

For the Lord Protector who had wanted to ascend to the throne, this was an unbearably shameful title. With his punishment concluded, only one thing remained: Alicia’s victory declaration as the sole ruler of the British Isles. Yes, only her coronation as queen remained.

“Eh? I’m already the queen, aren’t I?”

“You were forcibly installed by the Lord Protector, so you couldn’t hold a proper coronation ceremony, right?”

“That’s true.”

As it happened, Alicia was a queen who had been forced onto the throne without a proper coronation ceremony, as a puppet of the Lord Protector. The suggestion was to hold the ceremony to commemorate her victory over him. It wasn’t an unusual idea—it could be a day to celebrate Alicia’s victory and an opportunity to announce to the world that she was England’s legitimate ruler. So while Alicia expressed some doubt, she didn’t particularly object.

“Therefore, we should now hold a proper coronation ceremony and let the world know that the British royal family stands firm. And since Your Majesty is the Dragon Priestess…”

“…You don’t mean…”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. How about having Bahamut himself place the crown on your head?”

Alicia stared at her maid Mary with a dumbfounded expression at this suggestion.

“Wait. What? That’s scary.”

The suggestion was that the Dragon God Bahamut would personally place the crown on Alicia’s head—an idea she had never considered before, leaving her speechless. She was genuinely tempted to ask if they were seriously aiming for the divine right of kings.