“Your Majesty!”
Nier stopped Elizabeth while anxiously looking at her.
Elizabeth looked at Nier with surprise, “Nier? Didn’t I arrange to have you leave already? Why are you still here? Hurry and leave. This place will soon become a battlefield.”
“How can I leave, then, Your Majesty?! I am also a Valkyrie! I shall stay, too!”
Elizabeth looked at her and sternly replied, “You no longer are! You were once a Valkyrie. If it was back then, I would be very happy to see you stay, but you’re now the Royal Princess! You can’t even fit into your Valkyrie uniform with your body anymore, can you?! You’re carrying the future of the Empire in your body. How can I let you stay in the most dangerous place?!”
Nier looked at Elizabeth and clenched her teeth. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, “This is my husband’s home! Your Majesty! This is His Majesty’s city! This is his and my home! He will definitely come back! He definitely will! I do not want for him to not be able to see me when he returns. This is our home. As his wife, I must wait for my husband here! I insist on staying!”
“It’s very dangerous, Nier!” Elizabeth pressed her hands on Nier’s shoulders. She met with her eyes and said, “Nier, this isn’t a battle that must be won. This city isn’t suited for a defensive fight, and there aren’t enough men here. It’s very dangerous to stay here. Are you sure you want to stay?”
Nier looked back at Elizabeth and responded in a voice of determination, “I must stay. I am His Majesty’s wife; I must wait for his return. I must! Lucia and Freya will not leave, either. We will all stay here. We all want to wait for His Majesty to return. I am his wife. I will not flee on my own. I will definitely stand by his side no matter how dangerous it is!”
“Nier…”
“I think Nier is right. I don’t think they’ll be able to run now, after all.”
Elizabeth looked over to the palace entrance to see Lorana carrying her sword. She had changed out of her usual work clothes and wore on an elven battle uniform. She swung her long sword in a circle then laughed, “I failed to protect His Majesty in the desert last time and got injured before I could. That stung my pride. I’m the number one Sword Saint of the continent, yet I couldn’t show His Majesty how skilled I am. This time, I won’t let you down. Although I’m not an expert at city defences, I just need to butcher the punks that climb up, right?”
“Uhm, but I have no experience fighting anthropoids. Teacher, do you have any ideas?”
“I don’t know, either, but I imagine they won’t be able to live if you behead them, pierce their heart or dismember their limbs even if they are anthropoids, right?” Lorana then snickered and continued, “I’ve got a large volume of gun powder and guns, too. Even if the anthropoids come with their big team, I’ll show them what firepower is!”
=======================
“Esteemed Queen, our first team has arrived in the southern lands already. The humans and elves did not react in time, thereby allowing our first team to wear them down.”
Nobody expected the anthropoids to be skilled artisans. Despite being in the desolate North, behind the monarch’s palace was a structure that resembled a sword that pierced the sky. Behind the gothic buildings and white stone material were the white snowy mountains, making them look larger.
At this moment, sitting inside was an anthropoid dressed in an exquisite long robe, was passing a document toward the Queen, who was behind the black veil.
However, the Queen didn’t take it, because the anthropoid was just putting on a show. He put the document back on the round table, where eight anthropoids dressed in robes were sitting at.
“It looks as though our campaign South is ninety-percent likely to succeed now. Our main forces are on their way now. As long as we can hold the elves and humans, the South shall fall once our main forces arrive. Your hometown will soon be returned to you, My Queen.”
“Yes. This is all thanks to your wise decisiveness, My Queen!”
Though they said that, they all wore belittling smiles of mockery. There was no response from behind the black veil. It was as though nobody was there, and the anthropoids were merely speaking to an imaginary figure as they played House.
“So then, My Queen, please await the good news from the frontlines. With our wise general and brave soldiers, your home is within reach now.”
The anthropoids got up and turned around to leave the ruler’s palace without even bowing, leaving nothing but silence and a black veil that budged a little.
Movement suddenly came from behind the black veil. The Queen swept the black veil open with one hand, revealing her beautiful face as she let out a heavy sigh. She sat weakly in her gold throne, making her appear akin to a cloth doll that was misplaced.
A tall young girl with long ears walked in. She looked at the Queen sitting on the throne in a daze with her blood-red eyes. She made a respectful bow and said, “My Queen, has your meeting ended? Your dinner has been prepared. Please come with me.”
“Leah…”
The Queen looked at her with gold eyes and reached her hand out. Leah lingered for a moment before revealing a nervous smile. She placed her hand behind her and softly said, “My Queen, my… my… my hand is a bit dirty… so I think it is best not to… Ah… My Queen! This… this…”
The young girl froze in place because the Queen had hugged her tightly. She went completely red in the face, thereby resembling a ripe tomato, while her excited eyes shook. She didn’t know if she should hug the Queen back…
The Queen gently rubbed her face against the young girl’s face. The Queen then let out a heavy sigh, “Only you… You are the only one… around me that still considers me the Queen … I didn’t want to start this war at all. I want to go home, but this was not how I wanted to do it. I… I didn’t want to… but I’m useless… I don’t have any authority. I’m just a puppet Queen…”
“You are not! My Queen! You are the Queen, the ruler of the North! You could save me, so you can save the entire North, as well!”
“But the only one I trusted… the only tribe I trusted… is no more…”
The Queen shuddered. The young girl hesitated for a moment before hugging the Queen around her waist. Next to her ear, she solemnly said, “Not yet, My Queen. The Moon Fox tribe has not yet been completely exterminated. They still have one last survivor who is their last hope. Miss Ling Yue, who has the most pure mana, is not dead yet. She must have left. She is, definitely, still alive. I am certain of it.”
“Can their tribe still save me… and the North…?”
“They can! They absolutely can! The Moon Fox tribe has never disappointed us after all these centuries and millenniums! I believe in them, and you must believe in them, as well, My Queen. Ling Yue will definitely save us! She will definitely save the North! She definitely will!”
“But… I really… want to go home… I don’t want… I really don’t want… to die in this desolate place… as my ancestors did again. I want to go home… I want to return to the south…”
“You will return… I… I will definitely do my best… I will ensure you get to go home, I promise!”
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