Chapter 193 – Chapter 5: Last Memory – 1
Dalgak.
A teacup is placed on a gold-embroidered tablecloth.
At that time, I chewed hard biscuits on rocks covered in dirt. Now, sweet-smelling biscuits are neatly placed in front of him.
The queen held up a steaming teapot.
“Take it.”
A precious tea gifted by the King of Deseo. Robert bowed his head in silence.
Even at this moment, I felt dazed. He had never been so conscious of the existence of a king before.
Even when I faced the previous kings when I was younger, I wasn’t this nervous.
However. Now I’m just sitting in front of a queen in the form of a girl.
He felt his mouth go dry and his fingers tremble slightly.
The queen calls his name.
“Mr. Robert.”
There was a time when it was called that, with this voice.
However, it is a title that is not suitable now.
“Your majesty. I am your subject. “It would not be possible for someone who is higher than anyone else to call me high.”
“Are you okay. It’s just the two of us here. “Robrert, please feel free to call me.”
The queen smiled.
“… Like ‘that time.'”
Robert raised his head.
Ah.
Wasn’t Tia any different?
Tia too… She remembered the days of Gongnapae.
Her horn sounds long in her chest.
There is someone to remember those precious times that can never be forgotten.
And that Tia remembers. I was beyond grateful to Robert and even felt very grateful.
“Your majesty…”
“Lol. I’m still not used to being called that. If you just call me ‘Tia’ like before…”
“You told me to take it easy, but I don’t dare call you by my name. That is the duty of a vassal to the monarch.”
“Then hehe- I can’t help it.”
Tia’s voice was disappointing, but she did not become more stubborn.
“I heard a story about Mr. Robert. “They said he avoided being attacked by bandits.”
“Yes.”
Robert told everything that happened that day.
On the night when the bandits attacked, she went out to look for Tia and was chased by the bandits.
In the end, the story goes that Alan died instead of him.
Now that some time had passed, she was finally able to open up with refined emotions.
After finishing his story, he asked carefully.
“Then may I ask, Your Majesty, how did you avoid anger?”
Tia closed her eyes.
“Actually, I was in the mountains that evening. I went to look for her older sister… There, I met her husband.”
“…”
Although it must have been difficult to recall the events of that time when many people were sacrificed.
Tia spoke in a silent voice.
“When the bandit appeared, he hugged me and hid me. I was curled up under a rock holding my breath. So I was able to stay safe without being caught.”
“… “I see.”
“After that, we went to Deseo together. He got a lot of help from that person. People recognize me as the ‘Iron Lady’… I attended the fall banquet with her husband. And she safely achieved her goal.”
When he heard the word ‘goal,’ a question came to mind that Robert could not solve.
“By the way, Her Majesty was heading to Deseo to get medicine for her friend. What happened to that friend?”
Tia, who was smiling faintly, suddenly stiffened.
Robert realized right away that he had asked a bad question.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Because it’s all in the past… It’s okay.”
Tia closed her sad eyes and clenched her fingers.
“That child is dead.”
“…”
Robert knew.
The reason why this girl from a small mountain village boldly headed to Deseo.
It wasn’t a vain dream to fix her situation.
She wasn’t looking for a lot of money like the prostitutes were.
A journey just to save a friend’s life.
When Robert heard the story at the tribute table, he could not help but become humble.
Because I realized that this girl truly loves her friend named ‘Ritz’.
But what is the pain like when she loses her loved one?
Tia took a short breath.
After barely managing to control her heightened emotions, she spoke calmly.
“The reason I’m still alive to this day is… Thanks to her husband. After burying Ritz with my own hands, I tried to die too. It was really hard… I wanted to die… She taught me what it means to be ‘alive.'”
Tia experienced many dangers. There were times when she really almost died.
Still, she somehow got through every crisis.
But when Tia thought she wanted to die, she was faced with the most dangerous crisis.
The person who reached out his hand and saved her like she always did…
It was Posao.
“Sitting here, being called the inappropriate name ‘Queen.’ Being able to share old stories with Robert. She thinks it’s because he’s by my side.”
Tia’s heart became empty after sending Ritz away.
Now Posao has taken its place.
Posao to Tia, her husband. Lover. It was more than that.
She was the benefactor who saved him and the meaning of his life.
“…”
Robert raised his head in a daze.
A high and solid wall stood in front of him.
No matter what you do. There was a wall there that could never be broken down or jumped over.
A woman who passionately loves a man, giving her all.
Tia had become that kind of woman.
The moment you realize that fact. Robert suddenly felt at ease.
Her shriveled chest opened wide, and strangely, a smile appeared in the fire.
No matter how hard she struggles, she cannot become Tia’s ‘that man’.
Coming to that conclusion… The tightness that had been squeezing her chest began to loosen.
Robert looked pleased.
“You are downgrading yourself because you don’t fit in, but Your Majesty is already managing the government admirably.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Didn’t you invite the dukes to the palace and have a ‘conversation’ with them for as long as five days? It must have been a difficult decision, but you truly showed great dignity.”
“Ah…”
Tia seemed to be thinking about something and touched the handle of her teacup.
And she said.
“Also… “It’s not true.”
“… Yes?”
“It was Archduke Piolo who made that decision, not me.”
It was my first time hearing this story.
She heard that it was clearly the Queen’s initiative. In fact, Tia began to tell a completely different truth from the rumors that Robert had heard.
She said, “The Grand Duke took the initiative and said he would help us manage the state. So I decided to get help, and that lasted for five days.”
“Then… Are you saying that the state affairs were handled by Archduke Piolo, not by His Majesty?”
“Of course, I approved it. Because I don’t know anything… “I had no choice but to rely on the Archduke for many things.”
“Was there any opposition from other families?”
“There wasn’t any. Everyone seemed to be watching the Archduke.”
Somehow I thought it was a little strange.
A queen who had just been crowned, and a girl who suddenly went from being a commoner to becoming a king. Will she have the power to immediately control the dukes?
Since so many families supported it, I didn’t think it was impossible.
It seems that wasn’t it.
“It was the Grand Duke’s will…”
If you think about it, the person who took the lead in supporting Tia’s ascension to the throne was none other than ‘Archduke Piolo.’
The most influential family in Deseo came forward with support. Could it be that other families simply followed that decision?
Tia said.
“Everyone is pretending it’s not, but I definitely feel it. Those eyes that do not recognize me as a king. Since Archduke Piolo protects me, I reluctantly treat him like a queen.”
“But didn’t she ascend to the throne as Your Majesty’s legitimate heir? The one who disagrees is even weirder…”
“Yes. “For that reason, the Archduke placed me here.”
The reason the Deseo nobles rebelled was because they wanted to serve the ‘rightful successor’ as king.
Since the war broke out solely for this reason, Tia, a descendant of King Laichne, had to be placed on the throne.
And only then can we discuss who is in power in Deseo.
Wise Tia knew her own situation better than anyone else.
“I have no power anyway, so I can’t intervene in the fight between dukes. And everyone wants that, so they put me here. I don’t care who the winner is, so I want to quickly give the throne to that person and come down.”
“…”
“But Archduke Piolo seemed to have other ideas. When I said I would give up my old name and keep my husband’s name, many people protested, but the Grand Duke himself came forward and proposed a mediation. Like… “It seemed like he recognized me as the real king.”
“Your Majesty is already a true king.”
“But isn’t it strange? I have no power and am nothing. “I don’t know why you’re pushing me like that.”
“I don’t know the Archduke’s intentions, but I think it’s a good thing anyway. The most powerful man in Deseo has stepped forward to protect you, so no one will dare treat you poorly.”
“No. I am… “I don’t think it’s a good thing.”
Tia said in a gloomy voice.
“Me and my husband. And our child’s life ultimately depends on the Archduke’s feelings. Not now, but if someday I don’t like the Archduke… “I will be worse off than dead like the king who was sitting here.”
It’s true.
This delicate and weak king only exists for the sake of the nobles.
Once the post-processing of the war is over and the order of rank is completed. Now that they no longer need the Scarecrow, they may try to dethrone Tia for some other reason.
“I definitely want to protect my family. So… “I would like to ask Robert for a favor.”
Robert’s hand stopped.
It was like that.
This conversation did not initially start with the intention of sharing trivial memories.
The queen had something she wanted from him.
To tell this story that starts now. Tia brought up the events of her past time.
“Order anything. “Your Majesty.”
“Please investigate. Archduke Piolo… The ‘exact reason’ for electing me as king.”
Robert humbly bowed his head.
Although I wandered around a lot. After clearing his mind, he was able to make a decision.
Although he cannot be this woman’s ‘man’.
Nevertheless, for her smile.
This one body, I will offer my loyalty.
“I will gladly obey your orders. “Your Majesty.”
* * *
Opposite the Piolo family mansion.
There was always a carriage parked next to the main auditorium of the Defense Swordsmanship Association.
The carriage was owned by the association, but it had been sitting there for three days ‘for carriage repairs.’
What everyone thought was a broken down carriage, surprisingly, there was one person living there.
Robert.
He sat in the dark carriage, chewing biscuits. He gazed endlessly at the mansion through the slightly opened curtain.
He then checked the people coming and going through the mansion from afar and recorded their names on parchment.
Robert, a Deseo nobleman, knew who was who.
Moreover, he was a member of the Piolo family, which boasted the most powerful position in De Seo.
As it is a famous family, the network is very wide.
On the contrary, not many people could come and go to that mansion.
Because only those who really liked the Archduke were given the opportunity to enter there.
That’s why I sit in this carriage and watch. The gate of Piolo’s mansion was not easily opened.
At most, it was about ten times a day.
The night gradually deepens.
The moment when I thought that today would end without a hitch.
Suddenly, an unknown carriage arrived at the mansion.
It was quite late at night, so there were not many people around.
Upon seeing the unusual appearance of the carriage, Robert immediately opened his telescope and peeked through the gap in the curtain.
The main gate of the mansion opens.
Then, surprisingly, the Archduke appeared in front of him first.
It was a shock.
That arrogant Archduke Piolo would wait first.
Who the hell is in that carriage?
Robert slightly turned the telescope to shine the light on the carriage.
A huge shadow appears. It seemed like he was staggering around, as if he had some difficulty moving.
Finally, when the coachman who got off together raised the lamp.
“… !”
Robert lowered the telescope without realizing it and was astonished.
The identity of that face that passed by for a moment…
The State Book of Deseo.
And the queen’s man.
It was Posao Modales.
