The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

18 – The Queen’s Secret and the Miserable Edge of Chimat

The queen sighed, feeling a throbbing headache.

After Wolfgang’s escape, she spread illusions throughout Terosa depicting his atrocities.

So at least the people of Terosa would have hostile opinions about Wolfgang.

It would have been much cleaner if she had planned to punish him by inciting him, but it would have been difficult for the people to accept the fact that a war hero became a villain and was punished overnight.

‘From that perspective, it might be fortunate that Wolfgang murdered Adeus.’

Frustrated with trying to think positively about the current situation, the queen felt irritation.

She tried to firm up her mind and act, but she felt her judgment getting blurred.

“This is the last chance… Coming this far and handling it like this…”

Even in the subdued, whispered voice, stress was evident.

Since recovering Aedeus’s body, the situation had been like this.

Casey, along with the captain of the guards, went out to track Wolfgang, while Tendrial, following the queen’s orders, freed her subordinates from prison and independently pursued Wolfgang.

It would have been nice to assign the kingdom’s elite army to Tendrial, but since no one knew when or where Wolfgang would appear, the queen felt no need to hand them over to such insignificant earlobe thieves.

So the queen encouraged her to free the forest members, and she tolerated it.

Working with that trash would have been convenient for Tendrial herself.

And if things went well, Wolfgang would take care of them.

It’s catching a monkey with a monkey.

It wasn’t even a big deal for them to be bought off by the royal family, and there was no need to worry about public opinion regarding Tendrial’s escape.

So, Casey and Tendrial pursued Wolfgang, while Chaewonso and Haganess returned to their hometowns.

Chaewonso would probably use her background to form her own faction and make plans to unify the East.

Since it would take a considerable amount of time until then, it wasn’t too late to think about how to use the support promised by Terosa.

So, for the time being, there was no need to pay attention to the East.

However, the situation with the sect took a bit longer.

The day Wolfgang was supposed to be executed.

Haganess apologized to Wolfgang, crying out.

The queen had also broken her promise with her.

Those elements remained uneasy.

Since returning to Rome, where the sect is, after hearing about Wolfgang, there has been no contact with the archbishop.

There was no reply to the support request from the paladins sent some time ago.

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Haganess would have heard about Wolfgang in some form.

She had no way of knowing what she was doing in the sect.

Rumors even circulated that a rebellion led by Haganess had occurred.

Although it was unverified, it was not easy for smoke to rise without fire, so there was a need to confirm.

Moreover, Rome is close to Terosa.

If, as rumored, Haganess is shaking the sect, it is a situation where she does not know what impulsive action she might take upon hearing the news of her lover’s survival.

“I shouldn’t have let it go so easily at that time…”

She had dispatched an envoy to assess the situation within the sect, so soon the truth would be revealed.

Thus, excluding Haganess, the queen was confident that she could control the other faction leaders under her command.

The main issue was undoubtedly Commander Wolfgang. I couldn’t fathom why he killed the warrior but didn’t attack himself behind the tent. If consumed by revenge, he could have ended it right then and there without dragging it out. The more I thought, the less I understood with my own mind.

Consequently, I felt uneasy. Even if he appeared now and swept away the guards, thrusting the holy sword at his own neck, the outcome seemed inevitable.

In truth, issuing tracking orders to Tendriel and Casey wasn’t solely about eliminating him but rather to monitor his actions. Knowing what he was up to would at least alleviate some unease.

I was slightly concerned about the Commander’s aggressive nature, but I trusted Casey, who followed him, to maintain control.

“Ha…”

If only I could turn Wolfgang back to my side, but unless I went insane, that was unlikely. Ultimately, I had to remove him. However, with no warrior and no holy sword, the Queen’s known limits didn’t offer a way to kill him at this moment.

Until then, I had to buy time somehow. For her goal to be achieved, Wolfgang had to vanish. This was the Queen’s tenth and final regression.

“Your Highness!”

A messenger rushed before the queen, his head bandaged.

“What’s the matter?”

“A report from the Commander.”

“Oh? Speak up.”

“…?”

“…?”

“What’s going on? Report!”

The messenger remained silent, motionless, still prostrate without a word.

“What in the world…”

Just as the queen was about to summon the guards in an eerie bewilderment, the messenger suddenly rose.

His clothes and skin seemed to slough off, revealing a figure clad in a black robe, holding something wrapped in a cloth.

“Gua… Guards!!”

When the bewildered queen called for the guards, ten soldiers clad in black robes swiftly surrounded her, pointing their spears.

The mysterious figure, as if casually offering himself to the queen, knelt before her with hands holding a tray, extending it towards her.

“Wolfgang?” the queen questioned, hiding her unease and signaling the guards to confirm.

The guard who had been facing her with a spear cautiously took the tray and placed it at a safe distance.

Even after taking the tray, the figure in the black robe continued to kneel in the same posture.

The queen glanced at him briefly and shifted her gaze to the tray on the floor.

“Unveil it,” she commanded.

Following the queen’s orders, a guard cautiously uncovered the tray.

“Gah…!”

Inside the unfolded tray was the head of the captain of the guard.

With closed eyes and a serene expression as if peacefully asleep with his head attached beneath him.

Captain of the guard…

It’s Wolfgang’s doing!

What happened to those who followed him?

A…head?

The guards who witnessed the scene began to murmur in terror, some even retching.

The queen, too, overwhelmed by fear, trembled, but shouted to the guards who tried to remain composed.

“Snap out of it! Haven’t you seen such scenes on the battlefield countless times? Do your duty instead of sympathizing!”

As if awakened by her rebuke, the guards regained their composure, adjusted their spears, and rushed towards the figure in the black robe.

The robe, which had stood still as if frozen in place, collapsed to the ground as the soldiers overwhelmed it.

“What… what is this?”

One of the soldiers who had attacked him sensed something strange.

Inside the revealed robe were pure white bones.

On the floor, human bones were scattered haphazardly.

The queen, who had maintained her composure, reached her limit and sank to the ground with trembling legs.

Yet, not a single soldier managed to catch her as they all succumbed to panic.

At that moment, the eyes of the captain of the guard, who had been bound, opened.

Seeing the terrified queen, he smiled, then began to speak in a strange voice.

“It is a declaration! Sent by Wolfgang. Rosalia! I will come to find you soon, along with the destruction of Terosa.”

The queen felt like her sanity was slipping away.

Intense stress was accompanied by a rush of fear.

Her sweat-soaked hair was so disheveled that one couldn’t sense the queen’s grace.

Through the splendid folds of her dress, a clear stream was seeping out.

“Th-this is enchantment!”

The door to the audience chamber creaked open, and dozens of guards rushed in.

They were the ones who had come to protect the queen upon hearing the commotion.

They, too, seemed shocked by the horrifying scene unfolding before their eyes.

“Hahaha!”

The head of the guards began laughing maniacally.

The guards rushed in and mutilated their own leader’s head.

Shredded and fragmented, the head mixed with bones on the floor.

In the chaotic audience chamber turned into a complete mess, the queen, utterly destroyed, began to sob.

“S-stop… I want it to stop…”

The guards surrounded the queen, shielding her from the sight of their fallen leader.

For the guards, protecting the queen’s body and dignity was their duty, so the soldier who mutilated the head went on to cut down the half-conscious guards with his sword.

Their blood flowed into the gruesome wreckage.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

The highest-ranking guard among them approached the queen and assessed her condition.

“W-what… what is all this?”

“…Soldiers who set out with the commander for pursuit arrived in the city just now. Casey is not to be seen.”

“W-what did you say?”

“I will summon the healers. For now, you need to regain your composure.”

The queen nodded slightly in response to his words, without even considering wiping away the flowing tears.