episode_0195

He looked around.

The guards had sheathed their swords but were still watching him.

Perhaps the commotion had been loud, as three more soldiers came up from downstairs.

“…”

The guards stood stiffly, their helmets pulled low, their sharp noses pointed towards him.

Strange.

He hadn’t noticed before, never having observed them carefully, but did guards in the royal palace usually patrol so heavily armed in the middle of the night?

He felt suffocated.

What if they weren’t guards?

What if they were assassins hired by Grand Duke Piolo or Fosao?

Cold sweat beaded precariously beneath Robert’s chin.

He didn’t know.

How much was suspicion, and how much was truth?

Robert felt his chest might explode from the tightening tension.

But the fellow, as if finding the situation amusing, smiled widely and chattered on.

“Don’t wo-worry too much, Sir Robert. Ev-everything is working out well, so just get some good re-rest.”

The knight squeezed his eyes shut then opened them.

No. Fosao knew nothing.

He was always an odd fellow. This time, too, he was probably just making small talk and rambling nonsense.

“Thank you for the encouragement, Your Excellency. But my body is truly fine.”

“Th-then-. Think again. *Hee-hee-hee*. What the Q-Queen Your Majesty ‘needs’ right now.”

Robert’s face hardened at the sudden, meaningful question.

“Our Queen Your Majesty is still young- so she needs a lo-lot of help. I am diligently helping Her Majesty so she can con-concentrate on state affairs. Grand Duke Pi-Piolo is helping me a lot. *Hee-hee-hee*. Sir Robert? Are you helping the Q-Queen Your Majesty?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What k-kind of help? Spying? Shadowing?”

“Pardon?”

For a moment, Robert was caught off guard without realizing it.

“No, that’s not it…”

“Nee-hee-hee-hee-hee-!”

Fosao held his plump belly and laughed hysterically, then waved his hand dismissively.

“No, I-it’s a joke-. Sir Robert. *Pfft*! Our tr-trusty Sir Robert would never do such a des-despicable thing-! *Hee-hee-hee*.”

He couldn’t say a word.

He wanted to run away. That was the only thought that came to mind.

“I’ve ke-kept you too long. Sorry. Now, go on in.”

Smoothly.

Fosao stepped aside, gesturing towards the Queen’s chambers.

“…Thank you.”

As the huge body disappeared from his sight, he could breathe again.

Just as he barely managed to collect himself and move past.

Thump!

Robert’s shoulder was seized.

“The important thing- is for the Q-Queen Your Majesty to do w-well, right?”

And then the fellow left him with words he could never ignore.

“Think c-carefully before you speak. Think about your fa-family and friends.”

Clank!

Fosao went outside with the waiting guards.

The dark corridor.

Now, Robert was left alone in front of the Queen’s chambers.

“…”

This moment, filled with silent stillness, felt like an eternity.

Ah, had he been mistaken?

Both Tia and himself.

He had thought that Grand Duke Piolo’s fervent support for Tia was due to ‘his dark ambition’ to use the Queen as a puppet.

But it wasn’t. He finally realized.

The Grand Duke had no dark ambition. Or rather, even if he did, it held no significance.

He had simply, as always, sought a way to survive by clinging to power stronger than his own.

At the root of all this was….

One person.

‘Fosao Modaless’.

None other than *that man*… was using Grand Duke Piolo as a puppet.

That stuttering, fat, ugly commoner.

Tap.

His fingers, calloused from long years of holding a sword, rested on the chamber door.

Knock knock-.

He knocked, and a faint voice came from inside.

“Oh?”

“It is Robert, Your Majesty.”

“Ah…! Please come in!”

Click.

Robert opened the door.

“…”

There was Tia, setting down her comb with a shy expression.

Having shed the old-fashioned royal garments that hardly suited her, she was now dressed in a light gown, just about to go to sleep—the very picture of an ordinary girl.

Next to Tia was a large bed. It was… extremely messy. The thin blanket was rumpled and disheveled, and the red curtains were half-drawn.

He couldn’t know exactly what Fosao and she had been doing here just moments before.

…But he could guess to some extent.

The Queen scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

“I didn’t expect you at such a late hour… I apologize.”

“No, it is my fault for visiting at this hour.”

But then she immediately widened her eyes and asked in a small voice.

“So… did you find out? Grand Duke Piolo’s intentions?”

She had a slightly tense expression, as if awaiting some ‘tremendous secret’ about to unfold.

However, Robert’s lips were as heavy as his shoulders.

“…”

The knight’s blue, hollow eyes stared blankly at the beautiful Queen.

Ah.

Our great Queen Your Majesty—Tia Modaless.

Wise, benevolent, and warm, she would undoubtedly lead this cold and desolate Deseo into a more brilliant golden age than ever before.

It would surely be so. He didn’t even doubt it.

But our Queen was a pitiable butterfly caught in a storm.

Though the gales of war were slowly subsiding, the world was still too harsh for a butterfly’s delicate wings to endure.

-Could she truly survive?

Robert, who had once experienced true war, could not assertively answer that question.

If any threat were to come, he would gladly sacrifice himself to protect the Queen.

But he knew well himself. He was not the protagonist of some epic.

He was merely a lonely knight who was good with a sword. He had no power to fight against schemes and authority, only blades.

‘The important thing- is for the Q-Queen Your Majesty to do w-well, right?’

Fosao knew how to wield power.

Of course, it was likely to satisfy his own selfish desires… but he had certainly subdued the ‘nobles’ who would become the Queen’s enemies, using Grand Duke Piolo.

Even the fact that he and Tia could meet alone in the royal chambers now.

Even the fact that Tia could freely pursue her vision of a righteous kingdom.

Paradoxically—he couldn’t deny that it was thanks to their greed.

“Sir Robert?”

And so now.

It rested on his words.

The future of the Queen and the kingdom.

It depended on Robert’s single word.

“…”

In a time that felt like an eternity.

He finally made his choice.

“Grand Duke Piolo…”

Even if it was a lie.

He would protect Tia’s happiness and well-being.

“…There was no special reason.”

“There wasn’t?”

“Yes. The Piolo family has received the patronage of the late King Laikene since ancient times. The Grand Duke has not forgotten that grace and sincerely wishes to serve Her Majesty the Queen.”

After hearing the explanation, Tia’s face fell.

“Is that so.”

“I hope you won’t trouble yourself over it too much.”

“I misunderstood him on my own. Grand Duke Piolo was purely trying to repay my grandfather’s benevolence, and yet I found it suspicious and had him investigated. I did a very shameful thing to the Grand Duke.”

“…”

“Still, thanks to you, I can rest easy. I know I have an ally I can trust and rely on. Thank you so much for granting my unreasonable request, Sir Robert.”

Robert smiled weakly.

Tia, who had been smiling along, completely unaware, suddenly clapped her hands.

“Oh, right. How can I repay you for this? Please tell me anything you wish.”

“It’s fine. A knight is bound to follow Your Majesty’s commands without condition.”

“Don’t say that; please tell me.”

“If you insist, then…”

He said in a weary voice.

“I would like to request a leave of absence.”

“A leave?”

“Yes. So many things have happened lately that my mind feels disturbed. I wish to gather my thoughts in a quiet place for a month.”

“A month… then you won’t be able to attend the coronation. It’s a great pity, but…”

Tia said, genuinely regretting it.

“I understand. I’ll make sure it’s conveyed.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Where do you plan to go? If it’s a good place, I’d like to visit it myself when I take a leave later.”

“I don’t have any specific plans yet, but if I do leave for another region, I will let you know.”

“Hehe- I’ll be waiting.”

He rose from his seat.

“Then I shall take my leave.”

“Have a good night, Sir Robert.”

Clank!

Having exited the Queen’s chambers, Robert looked up at the corridor window.

The moonlight was pale.

His chest felt heavy.

A heavy guilt for lying to the Queen lay upon his heart.

In the end, he was no different.

With this desire to see Tia live peacefully, unaware of anything.

Robert buried the truth deep within his heart.

“In the end, did I… fail to protect anything?”

Leaving a lonely sigh behind.

Step. Step.

His solitary footsteps passed over the carpet in the corridor.

***

Whoosh-!!

His consciousness returned.

“Gasp…”

As his blurred vision finally focused, he saw his own hand gripping Robert.

Hot sweat poured like rain onto it.

Had he finally escaped the memory illusion?

Thump.

He clutched his head.

No strength remained in his body.

The memories swirling in his mind flashed one by one.

Robert’s memories were a shock itself.

“It can’t be.”

He knew that the King of Deseo had been replaced.

But that new King… was ‘Tia’?

He stood up.

His legs trembled so much he could barely walk straight.

“No, no… This isn’t right.”

What happened?

Where did it all go wrong?

“Ritsu Oppa? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

It was then that Marie ran over with a worried expression.

“Long live the Queen-!!”

“Whoa-hoo-hoo-hoo-!!”

Suddenly, cheers erupted from outside.

He lifted his head.

Outside the inn, it was incredibly chaotic. No one was paying attention to them, staggering as they were.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on something above. They were shouting applause and cheers loudly, in a frenzy.

“…”

He walked outside.

Whoa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-!

Long live-!

The moment he stepped out of the inn, the voices of people, music, and whistles filled his ears, overwhelming him.

The entire street was packed with people.

Countless colorful flower petals rained down from above, and red banners fluttered from every house.

Was some kind of festival happening?

A man in front of him shouted loudly.

“Long live Her Majesty the Queen-!”

Only then did the memory return to him.

Today was… the day of the ‘Queen’s Coronation’.

A sacred ceremony where the monarch of Deseo was crowned before countless citizens.

If so.

He turned his head towards where the people were looking.

“Ah…”

Beneath the brilliantly rising sun, a tall, red castle.

And on the terrace at the top of the tower.

Though she was so far away she looked like a mere dot.

He knew.

That the person he had searched for, so desperately, was there.

“…Tia.”

The last time he had seen her.

The girl who had descended the hills of Breezedawn with a sad smile was not there.

Instead. Amidst the cheers of all the people—

There was the Queen, holding Fosao’s hand, waving to the crowd with a bright smile.