Queen of Revenge - Chapter 57

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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 57
“Could this possibly be real…?”
From the circumstances, it was unmistakably a letter and map sent to Kairon Winterbark by the Princess of Elovis.
‘There was no report of receiving such intelligence from Elovis. Was that bastard Kairon trying to monopolize it for himself?’
Well, that was something I could verify easily enough.
A knock sounded at precisely that moment.
The door swung open and Kairon Winterbark entered the Commander’s Office, still dressed in his battle-stained uniform with blood streaked across it.
“So you’ve come, former Commander?”
Dietrich flicked his hand dismissively, as one might summon a dog. Then he kicked the desk, sending it toppling over.
The pen and ink Kairon had been using, along with various reports and furnishings, clattered across the floor in a cacophony.
“You should gather what belongs to you, shouldn’t you? Come here and take it away.”
“That won’t be necessary. There’s nothing of value here anyway. Please dispose of anything you won’t be using.”
“How amusing.”
Dietrich’s lips curled into a cruel smile.
As Kairon turned to leave, a cold command pierced into his back.
“Pick it up.”
“….”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
The three princes of Kalande each had their own way of treating their youngest brother. By the count of overt violence and contempt, Dietrich was undoubtedly in the lead.
Yet paradoxically, Dietrich had never once looked down upon Kairon.
Raised under his maternal grandfather, a military man, Dietrich had seized the position of Supreme Commander of the Kingdom Army the moment he came of age. He had grown his power by personally throwing himself into various conflicts with neighboring kingdoms, displaying his military might.
As such, he was the most accustomed to blood and steel among the princes. Dietrich possessed an instinctive ability to distinguish predator from prey.
Kairon was unmistakably the former.
“You there, open that door. Drag everyone outside in here.”
Dietrich’s Guard Knights threw open the Commander’s Office door. Franz, who had been about to knock, and the Maidservant carrying tea were dragged inside.
Dietrich nodded toward Kairon once more.
“Pick it up before I finish counting to three. On four, the Maidservant dies. On five, your aide dies. One.”
This was taming.
“Two.”
The way Dietrich reared Kairon was like beating and drugging a savage beast into submission.
“Three—”
The Guard Knight forcing Franz to his knees drew his sword. It was the moment Franz squeezed his eyes shut.
Kairon lowered himself before Dietrich.
Kneeling on one knee, he scraped together the scattered documents from the floor with his fingertips.
“Yes, you should have behaved this way from the start.”
Satisfied, Dietrich dropped the map onto Kairon’s head.
“I found something like this on your desk, Kairon. Is it authentic?”
Kairon glanced at the map fluttering down and his eyebrows twitched slightly.
What is this?
“…Why do you ask if you already know? If there’s nothing else, I’d like to take my leave.”
“So that’s definitely a gold vein map?”
Ah, so it was indeed a gold vein map.
Kairon Winterbark responded offhandedly.
“It was sent as a wedding gift from the Elovis Command Tower. However, unlike that region, most of this area overlaps with Demon spawn zones, so the conclusion is there’s nowhere worth mining. Is that sufficient?”
“Well then, you’ve reached the wrong conclusion.”
Dietrich leaned forward and seized the Commander’s badge pinned to Kairon Winterbark’s chest.
As he applied force, the badge tore free from the cloak with a ripping sound.
“What does it matter if the Demon spawn zones overlap? I have you as my human shield.”
I felt fingertips tapping against my temples. It was a deliberately contemptuous gesture meant solely to humiliate.
“It would be wasteful to confine a capable knight to the back rooms. When I command it, you will venture beyond those castle walls. Just as you have until now, you will eliminate those wretched monsters and contribute to the Kingdom’s peace. Only you’ll be deployed far more frequently and in greater numbers.”
“….”
“If you understand, you should answer.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
I was a man who had endured almost my entire life.
Yet simultaneously, I was also a man for whom such endurance had become unnecessary from a certain point onward.
Now it’s a season that has vanished like foam. But the habit formed in that brief time remained.
‘Should I kill him?’
Fire ignited in the impulse. Veins bulged across my knuckles.
Something wavered at the edge of my vision.
Beyond the slanted balcony, a golden-brown ponytail split into two braids swayed gently.
“…!”
My pupils, which had narrowed like a beast’s, returned to their normal shape as if by deception.
I suddenly became cheerful.
“I understand perfectly, brother. I’ll make preparations, so please take your time looking around.”
Dietrich’s eyebrows twitched at my sudden obedience. That suspicious expression no longer irritated me.
“…Good. Now get out.”
I bowed and turned to leave immediately. From the door I hadn’t fully closed, I heard Dietrich ordering preparations for drilling.
My heart began pounding in rapid beats. My footsteps down the corridor grew increasingly faster.
Franz hurried after me in alarm.
“Where is she?”
“Beyond that corner, th-there, let’s go together. Commander!”
A guide was unnecessary. Instinct moved me.
Before I even turned the narrow corner, I was certain.
“Iolet!”
The woman who had been fidgeting with her left ring finger at the corridor window turned toward me.
I smiled brightly, unaware of what expression I wore.
* * *
Iolet was troubled.
Since awakening in the Unregistered Territory, I had never felt quite so unsettled as I did today.
“Are you all right? Half your face is purple.”
“I’m perfectly fine. More importantly, when did you arrive? I should have gone to meet you.”
“That’s not important right now. Your abdomen—how is it?”
“My abdomen?”
Without thinking, I reached out and pressed my hand against his stomach.
It was hard as stone, as if embedded with rock. The moment my fingers made contact, his muscles tensed and grew even more rigid.
Kairon Winterbark tilted his head seriously.
“What is this? Seduction?”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes. Have the princes always treated you like this? Is that why the Royal Family delayed approving the marriage? They must have subjected you to such insults back then as well.”
“In the Capital and the Royal Palace, everyone puts on airs as a matter of course. They don’t resort to crude fist-fighting. They humiliate people in far more sophisticated ways.”
“….”
“Though I’ll admit, getting punched in the face is rather infuriating….”
Kairon Winterbark rubbed his jaw and rolled his eyes.
Normally, I would have been startled by such crude language spilling out so freely. But now, I couldn’t even bring myself to care.
Infuriating was infuriating.
“I heard there were many casualties among your soldiers as well. You have every right to be angry with me. I’m the one who drew the princes into this.”
“Why would I? Did I not know what I was getting into?”
I couldn’t answer immediately.
This too, I had naturally anticipated. The fact that the princes had begun to view him with suspicion meant he would have to endure their unreasonable oppression for some time.
But I had never anticipated that so many people would die.
My lips pressed together tightly, and heat rose to my cheeks.
“What happened to the boy soldier named Noah?”
“Noah?”
Kairon Winterbark repeated the name several times before letting out a slow sigh.
“Ah yes, Noah. So the boy was on your mind.”
“….”
“He’s dead. Dietrich’s subordinate used the child as a shield. It happened in the blink of an eye.”
Desolation clawed at my heart. But Kairon Winterbark remained unmoved.
“You needn’t feel responsible for that. Everything that happens on the battlefield falls under the Commander’s responsibility, and more broadly, it’s a matter of the higher-ups’ unreasonable stubbornness at the scene.”
“But the fundamental cause was something I provided. I was the one who lured the Demons here.”
“I told you the Demons’ movements are erratic. Besides, today wasn’t even a day when they were particularly more active than usual. How does your self-reproach change anything?”
Kairon Winterbark furrowed his brow.
“To be honest, I don’t feel particular sorrow or regret over the soldiers’ deaths. Of course, it’s unfortunate for their families, but here, this is everyday life.”
“….”
“Didn’t I tell you? This place is incomparable to the Elovis Command Tower.”
I closed my eyes.
The corpse of the boy the old man had held seemed to press against the inside of my closed eyelids.
Overlaid upon it were the fists and kicks raining down mercilessly on Kairon Winterbark’s face.
And above that, the procession of countless corpses that had been carried out of Count Castlaine’s Residence in my past life flickered past.
I was still unaccustomed to violence and death.
After living five years in that terrible Castlain Mansion, what difference could it make for those who had lived in a place far more harsh than this?
“Just because that’s how things are doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. It certainly doesn’t mean there’s no problem. At least, not for me.”
“Then isn’t that precisely why you’ve come to resolve it?”
Kairon Winterbark thrust his chin forward at Iolet, then let out a low chuckle.
“Spare me the pointless self-recrimination, Princess. Now show me your solution—how do you intend to sever that vicious beast’s lifeline?”
Iolet lifted her eyelids, which had been closed.
The reality of the Northern Fortress was far more dire than she had anticipated, yet despite that, the fishing line she had cast had performed its role flawlessly.
Until just before Kairon arrived, she had received updates from Bara through sign language. The finest method to sever the beast’s lifeline had already arrived at this place.
A cold resolve gleamed in her blue eyes.
“First, we release the villagers. It seems there’s one more beast caught on the bait.”

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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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