Chapter 65

Next to the Queen’s bed-chamber, there was an office for private use.

Normally, guests would not be invited there.

“Ah, that was fast.”

“Such an emergency deserved the utmost haste.”

The queen smiled as the man bowed.

“Since when did we started talking like such strangers?”

She pouted a little.

“Well… You seem to be in a fine mood today, Your Majesty.”

“You’re doing it on purpose. Thankfully, I only ever gave you one order. Remember it?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then let’s drop the formalities. This is an order. Talk to me like you used to.”

“…I have no choice then. The years haven’t changed you at all.”

The man talked arrogantly in front of the queen.

The Left Hands that were there, looked on with wide-eyes, but the two continued as if they were the only ones in the room.

“After all, it’s the only ‘order’ I ever gave you in all my life. So you must continue to treat me as you did when we first met.”

“What if I told you that this is the reason I didn’t want to come?”

“Oh, you would have come, regardless. I know it.”

There was no doubt in her eyes, and the man was the first to surrender.

“Very well, Savane. Let’s not talk about that anymore.”

“That’s all I wanted, Harui.”

This conversation.

For those who did not understand the history, it would have looked very strange indeed.

They had once been a young girl and an assassin.

Now, they were a Queen and a baker. And yet their relationship was much the same.

“The castle hasn’t changed at all? What’s going on?”

“It may seem like that to you, but inside, things have changed a lot since you were here.”

“Half of the time, I was outside while on my way to this room. The positions of the guards were exactly the same. It would be really easy to get around them.”

“…That was certainly the case. Hmm. I think it was Kuni and Hitoku who were on guarding duty today.”

“Those two can’t sense a person’s presence. You really shouldn’t put them on guarding duty. Also…this geezer should retire already. It makes me suspicious of the quality of Shadows here.”

Harui ground his foot into the floor.

A muffled voice was heard.

Harui had been stepping on Hif’s foot ever since he arrived.

“But Hif is still top class among my Left Hands.”

“You have to be joking.”

“Hehehe… Well, I see you haven’t slowed down one bit.”

“It only seems that way because of these unworthy Left-Hands here. And you know it, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sent that letter. You wanted to show them what your former subordinate was like.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

The queen said, but Harui shook his head.

“It’s a dangerous thing to do.”

Harui was the owner of a bakery in Sol, called the ‘Fluffy Fenard.’ And he was Leon’s father.

At the same time, he was a Left Hand that had served Queen Savane since she was a child.

He had even been the leader of her Left Hands in the past.

And so Savane had sent Harui a letter before Leon went off for the military exercise.

Makoku was moving. They intended to attack the Dragon Masters while they were training.

And among the magicians that were sent, there was likely a member of the Thirteen Steps.

As the queen expected, Harui had read the letter and then visited her after being absent from the capital for three years.

“Maybe I should just kill all of your Left Hands for you? I can’t have you guarded by the likes of them.”

“….!!”

Kuni and Hitoku let out a voiceless scream

It was just when they thought they had sensed something that their bodies were pressed to the ground. They were still unable to move.

This wasn’t just a matter of difference in strength. They didn’t even comprehend what had happened.

“Oh, don’t do that. I know you could do it easily, and you wouldn’t even hesitate if I gave my permission.”

“Of course.”

“But, no. …More importantly, I wanted to talk to you. For instance, how have you been? Things like that.”

“I live a fairly peaceful life. Outside of my daughter getting married and my son leaving, I suppose.”

“Oh, so your daughter has been married? I will have to congratulate her.”

While they were talking very casually, the rest of the room was tense.

Harui was still keeping the queen’s Left Hands immobilized.

Even if he were to attack the queen now, they would not be able to do anything.

“So, is it true that the Thirteen Steps have moved?”

“It appears so. Though, it does seem like excessive power to unleash on our Dragon Master fledglings.”

“They likely want to measure our power for the upcoming war. There are degrees to the ease of annihilation, and it will affect the way they plan.”

“Do you also think it will come to war then?”

“You told me about the Great Shift in the letter. If that really happens, and Makoku really knows about it, then yes. There will be war. The king of Makoku is wise. He won’t hesitate. It wouldn’t have taken him long to realize that the only road to survival is through invasion.”

“Leon will be participating in the exercise. I wonder if he’ll be okay.”

“He’ll manage. I’ve trained him to be able to handle any situation by himself. The real problem is this palace.”

“What’s wrong with the palace?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know. That’s why you wrote to me about the Thirteen Steps, isn’t it? Makoku is sending out assassins. Powerful assassins. And that’s where all eyes will be directed at. Now, if that were their intention, it could only mean that this place is what will be targeted.”

“That’s just it. It’s not very nice. What if ‘Stone Eye’ were to come? Do you think that it’s possible?”

“Basilisk, huh? …I doubt it.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“There are still too many uncertainties. I can only see it happening if they were certain of being able to kill you. So no, not here. Not yet.”

“Still, it’s possible, I think. It’s the reason you came, isn’t it, Harui?”

“I don’t know anything about what Makoku is sure of. But if they did come, it would suggest to me that they knew all of the escape routes and could kill all of the guards. No doubt they’d have ways of containing the Dragon Master grounds as well.”

When Harui was working at the palace, there had been a number of escape routes for the queen.

There was the secret passage that Leon had recently found that connected to the garden.

There was the one that led to the west tower from the front passage.

There was a trap door that led to the entrance through a back alley.

There was a long, hidden staircase that led to a passage that connected to the dragon stables.

All of these places were made so that the queen’s dragon could land there.

Furthermore, each passage was completely independent of the other.

Harui knew all of them and suggested that the enemy might have a way of dealing with them.

“What a frightening thought.”

“The king of Makoku would need that much certainty, or else he would not send out Basilisk.”

“So, it won’t happen this time?”

“That’s what I believe.”

“But if you are wrong, can you win?”

“No. There is no way for me to prevent that. Not with my magic. Not if I fought for the rest of my life.”

“Oh? Don’t you know that a child will always surpass the parent?”

“I broke that bond already, so we are not family.”

“…I see. Still, I do worry.”

“Perhaps Leon will be able to put up a good fight in a few years. Still, I have my doubts.”

“Well, that is something to look forward to, isn’t it?”

In spite of the gravity of the situation, the queen laughed merrily.