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Chapter 32
The queen had recently become mentally and physically weakened, teetering at the edge of extreme sensitivity.
Instead of her favorite consort, it was Marquis Damian who regularly visited her chambers.
That meant they weren’t meeting for leisure, but to discuss official matters.
“Why are you only now telling me that Marshal had Erne with him?”
“Damian. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t start, too.”
“More importantly, what were you thinking keeping that sorcerer alive?”
The queen shrugged her shoulders as she gulped down the sweet champagne.
Her feigned ignorance after stirring up trouble made Marquis Damian let out a deep sigh.
She was always like this.
“Marquis. You know how I came to this position.”
“I do.”
“Back then, I needed the power of the stars.”
“That doesn’t mean everything Your Majesty did was justified or will simply vanish.”
“You’re elegantly spinning words to say I was wrong, aren’t you?”
The queen pouted, displeased, but it didn’t affect Damian in the slightest.
“Marshal couldn’t possibly have been unaware that Erne was Your Majesty’s daughter.”
“Yes. I agree with you there.”
“Is Erne’s disappearance connected to Marshal? But she’s already dead, isn’t she?”
“Marshal is a sorcerer. Faking death is child’s play to him.”
Damn. Damian swallowed hard.
He was already distressed enough not knowing where his missing daughter had gone.
And now, to find out the daughter he’d searched for so desperately had been raised by that very sorcerer.
With a hardened expression, Damian began to pour bitter accusations toward the queen, who kept drinking.
It felt as though losing young Erne and then losing her again after she had barely returned home—was all the queen’s fault.
“When will you finally come to your senses? Was losing Ash not enough?”
The queen flinched as a name long buried deep in her chest was uttered.
“Nesheld is falling. Do you know what other countries call us? They say Nesheld is a setting sun without Douglas. Nesheld that only shines because of its dependency on Douglas. Isn’t that pathetic? Don’t you feel any shame?”
The queen silently put down her glass, the sharpness in Damian’s calm tone hitting its mark.
“I’ve just barely gotten my daughter back. And the issue of succession is resolved. So what on earth did you say to Princess Erne to make her walk away on her own? Even if we manipulate public opinion and claim she was kidnapped out of shame for the royal family, look! Isn’t it obvious? The fact is, Erne turned her back on the royal family of her own accord.”
“You sure know how to hit where it hurts.”
“If Erne ends up like Ash, I won’t stand by quietly.”
“What, are you planning a rebellion?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out.”
The queen gave a crooked chuckle and nodded.
While he was seething with rage, the queen remained indifferent.
Damian ground his teeth and growled.
“The royal knights are notoriously slow. I plan to mobilize my personal forces to find the princess.”
“Do so.”
“I’ll also commission the Information Guild to track the princess’s whereabouts.”
“Oh, perfect. What better way to spread rumors that the princess willingly abandoned the royal family?”
“This is hardly the time to be picky.”
At Damian’s scolding, the queen scoffed and smugly shrugged her shoulders.
“While you’re at it, look into Marshal as well. Make sure he’s really dead.”
“Spreading rumors that the sorcerer’s alive—how convenient.”
The queen chuckled lightly at Damian’s mimicry and resumed drinking.
The sweet champagne only made her thirstier.
“I’m just asking you to confirm he’s really dead.”
“…Understood.”
Damian reluctantly nodded.
The reason the queen had used Marshal to kill her own sister and rise to power was because of Ash and Erne.
Knowing all the details, Damian pounded his chest in frustration, but the queen only laughed softly with her eyes closed.
From the start, the queen had twin daughters.
The one presumed dead, Ash—and Erne, thought dead but now returned.
And after being scolded thoroughly by Damian, the queen granted an audience request from Pasina.
＊＊＊
“What did you just say?”
Derrick gasped, too shocked to form proper words.
Unlike the frozen Derrick, Pasina remained perfectly calm.
“Let’s kill the queen.”
“Are you insane? Have you lost your mind?”
“Kill the queen. Erne clearly has no intention of returning. Once the queen is dead, you—as her fiancé—will be appointed regent in her place. Become her proxy and take over Nesheld!”
Pasina’s words sounded plausible, but the risks were too high.
“What about the queen’s consort, Marquis Damian? He outranks everyone in the succession line. He’s also Erne’s father.”
“That’s why the vote in the Council of Nobles is key. Start courting the houses that support the House of Babylon. Gather those who would support you acting as Erne’s proxy.”
It all came down to political maneuvering. Who had the stronger and more loyal faction.
It was a power struggle.
“Fine, let’s say I get the regency. But how are we going to kill the queen? If we fail, we’ll be branded traitors. We’ll be executed without question!”
“Who said you were going to kill her? Don’t be such a coward.”
“What? Pasina! Watch your mouth!”
“Shut it, Derrick! I’m in charge of this operation! If you’d just pushed for marriage before Erne ran away, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“If you hadn’t seduced me in Erne’s bedroom, she wouldn’t have caught us either!”
The argument was fierce. Like a contest to see who was the bigger piece of trash, they hurled accusations at each other.
“We both enjoyed it! Or what, you should’ve dragged her back when we went to Vanessa!”
“That was—!”
“This whole mess is your fault, Derrick. I gave you the knife and fork, and you couldn’t even cut the damn steak. Think about how you managed to steal the role of Erne’s fiancé in the first place, Derrick Babylon.”
Pasina had the upper hand. Derrick couldn’t even open his mouth to respond.
She was annoyed by his dumbfounded face, but maintained a smile.
For now, he was still useful.
“Don’t worry, Derrick. I have a great plan.”
Pasina’s voice softened seductively, but her eyes grew cold.
“Let’s poison the queen’s favorite champagne.”
“You… want to poison her?”
“Shhh. This is just between us.”
Pasina had a talent for casually speaking of horrifying things.
Until now, Derrick had thought she was just dumb.
But in this moment, she looked nothing short of formidable.
“You want Nesheld too, don’t you? You and I will become king and queen. Together we’ll rebuild Nesheld from the ruins.”
“…Pasina.”
“I’ll be the one to poison the queen’s champagne.”
“Then… when will you kill her?”
The longer they waited, the worse it would get.
This kind of thing needed to be done the moment it was decided.
There was no need for a grand plan.
The queen called for her consort every night and always drank the same champagne.
Pasina paused, pretending to think, but casually gave the answer that had clearly been decided long ago.
“Tonight.”
＊＊＊
Standing before her subordinates, Rivera wore an anxious expression.
“Bring him in.”
“Huh? Are you sure? Don’t we crows avoid taking royal requests?”
“I’ll handle that part. Just escort him to the drawing room.”
Their faces showed their hesitation.
With a sigh, Rivera rubbed her face.
The Crows never accepted jobs from the royal family.
It was to avoid getting dragged into their power struggles. It was a founding principle of the guild.
But once she saw who it was, Rivera couldn’t refuse.
Especially since he’d come at this late hour—this couldn’t be a minor issue.
“Are you the leader of the Crow Guild?”
The man, guided into the drawing room, slowly removed his hood and spoke.
“You’re not even trying to hide your identity, are you? Marquis Damian.”
“Well, the matter is urgent.”
“Please, have a seat.”
Marquis Damian’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Rivera, her face hidden behind a fox mask.
But Rivera, tied-back red hair flowing, offered no extra courtesy just because he was a noble.
She sat across from him.
She’d changed her mind about the commission because he was Erne’s biological father.
Even if Erne whined that she wasn’t sure he truly was, it was clear she liked him.
Rivera remembered Erne blushing and saying, “I have a dad now,” when she first entered the royal palace.
“Tell me the details of your request.”
Her voice was cold and businesslike.
Damian didn’t mind. He calmly handed over a pouch of gold coins and spoke.
“The whereabouts of the missing Princess Erne.”
“…”
“And one more thing. Before she returned to the palace, the princess was raised by an old woman. Soon after, that woman supposedly died, but we don’t believe it. We’d like you to investigate whether that old woman is really dead, and if not, find out where she is.”
Rivera’s eyes widened.
She knew the old woman—Marshal—well.
She could accept that request, but revealing Erne’s location? That was unacceptable.
Just as she was about to accept one part and refuse the other, Damian spoke first.
“You can’t refuse. This is a command from Her Majesty the Queen.”
Rivera clamped her lips shut.
Then Damian added, as if struggling to hold something in.
“Of course, it was her final order before her death.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Just past midnight, Her Majesty was poisoned. By sunrise, all of Nesheld will know. That’s why we need the Crow Guild’s cooperation. Nesheld needs Princess Erne, its only heir.”
