Queen of Revenge - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 35
Shocking revelations poured from Lucian’s lips.
“Only when your breath returned did my mind clear. The four Guard Knights who had fled came back and rushed at me, and from that moment, I could judge and choose with perfect clarity and reason. If I sent the survivors back to the Capital, not only my life but my family’s lives would be in danger.”
“….”
“Yet even if I had died there, nothing would have been resolved. My house would bear the stigma of a traitor, assassins would still dog your steps, and my crime of having killed my own subordinates would not be absolved.”
“….”
“So I killed two more Guard Knights and watched as the Demon devoured the remaining two.”
“Don’t speak of it that way, Lucian.”
Iolet, unable to bear it any longer, cut off his account.
“The Guard Knights rushed at you to kill you. That was self-defense. The Demon’s reappearance was not your fault, so you need not torment yourself so.”
“Reframing the narrative in my favor does not change the outcome.”
Lucian answered while unbuckling the scabbard at his waist. His voice was devoid of emotion, utterly flat.
“Now I have no choice left but you, Your Highness.”
Lucian unfastened even the holster at his thigh and let it fall.
Stripped of all weapons, his empty frame knelt at her feet.
“You have won, Your Highness. Do with me as you wish.”
Iolet found herself speechless for a long moment.
Her lips moved soundlessly, opening and closing as she simply stared at the Guard Knight kneeling before her.
The Guard Knight who, mere days ago, had washed her feet while persuading her with unwavering conviction was gone.
The roots that had kept Lucian standing firm upon the earth had been severed.
His world had been inverted, and the convictions he had held became daggers that turned back upon him.
The man who had crossed the river of no return was no longer a Guard Knight.
“…I wish you hadn’t done this to yourself.”
Iolet barely managed to murmur.
With a single choice, Lucian had lost everything he had built until now.
His honor and station as a Guard Knight were ruined, and he could not escape the stigma of murderer for having killed his subordinates.
He could never return to his house, and through him, the honor of the Perein Marquis Family would fall as well.
Lucian would spend the rest of his life paying the price for her pity and favor.
She had made him this way.
Iolet bore the responsibility for his destruction.
“When you say I may do with you as I wish, do you mean you give me your life?”
“As Your Highness desires.”
“If I commanded you to die, would you?”
“I would consider it a valid order. Being revived does not mean I was not dead before.”
His monotone answer, like that of a broken doll, struck her chest.
Iolet bit her lip.
She knew that shattering and corrupting another’s soul was a terrifying and terrible thing, but experiencing it firsthand was altogether different.
‘I still have far to go before I can abandon my humanity.’
With a deep sigh, Iolet reached out and lifted Lucian’s chin. In his darkened green eyes, she alone was reflected.
“I will not judge you for your crimes. Instead, use that life to serve me.”
“….”
“Dream my dreams with me. The path I walk becomes your law and justice. You protect me while protecting yourself.”
“….”
“I am your new standard. Lucian Perein.”
“…It may prove rather useless.”
Ripples stirred in Lucian’s eyes.
The Princess he gazed up at smiled with a pallid face, bearing the marks of days spent in severe illness.
Yet her voice remained crystalline.
“Your usefulness is for me to decide. So think nothing, judge nothing, and rest at my side for now. It seems more than just your eyes were wounded.”
“….”
“Thank you for returning. And thank you for the gift. I believe it will prove quite useful.”
Lucian could not tear his gaze from her for a long while.
As he had confessed with his own lips, his reason was sharper than ever. Yet he could not determine what judgment to pass upon himself.
In truth, I had returned to shirk that responsibility. Since you made me this way, surely you must bear the burden and judge me accordingly.
And the Princess had offered me an entirely different life than before.
As though she had decided from the beginning that this alone was the answer.
So this was why you put me through all those trials.
Even as anger flared at this realization, Lucian found solace in the warmth of her presence.
‘She did not die…. She lives.’
I understood only when I hurled the dagger at the Guard Knight who sought to slay Iolet.
For all my grand proclamations about treason and righteousness, the reason for my hesitation had been simple.
I did not wish to kill this woman.
More precisely, I could not kill her.
Mingled within my compassion was undoubtedly affection born of person to person.
Her laughter blooming like a flower bud moved me to ache, and the keen intellect that would fade without ever witnessing light filled me with sorrow.
Though I could not compensate for her oppressed existence, I wished—if possible—to protect her until the very end.
In certain moments, I glimpsed the future through her. I confess I was genuinely curious about the Command Tower she would transform, and the days ahead that awaited Elovis.
‘Had I met you first instead of the Crown Princess, perhaps I….’
Lucian parted his lips with difficulty, as though swallowing bile.
“It is true that Your Highness is not the sort of person I prefer. I despise those who toy carelessly with others’ goodwill and sincerity.”
Speaking such words now was merely venting frustration; ultimately, everything was my own choice.
Lucian closed his eyes, feeling the faint warmth of her hand against his cheek.
“Therefore, I shall never come to like Your Highness as a person.”
“….”
“Nevertheless, become my king.”
To set right the convictions I abandoned, to restore my family’s honor.
She must become the king of Elovis without fail.
Small hands drew him close. Lucian yielded without resistance, burying his face against her knees.
Iolet, cradling his head in both arms, whispered tenderly.
“Do not worry. I will not let my knight die in disgrace.”
The hand tracing the scars beneath my eyes moved with the gentleness of a small bird’s wings.
I could no longer restrain myself. My eyes burned hot, and tears dampened the fabric of her skirt.
Iolet softly brushed her fingers through my hair.
“You will never regret choosing me.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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