Queen of Revenge - Chapter 9

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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 9
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“Whatever they give you, don’t say a word—just bring it to me. And whatever you do, don’t open what’s inside.”
Two days after sending Lucian to the Canzail Trading Company, I dispatched him there once more.
When Lucian returned, he carried a box roughly three times larger than what he’d taken.
Sensing something amiss, his expression had already darkened the moment he entered the bedroom.
“Allow me to open it, Your Highness. Please step back.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
I snatched the dagger from Lucian’s hands and severed the rope binding the box in one fluid motion.
The loosened box began to tremble of its own accord.
“Your Highness, move back—”
The instant Lucian rushed to shield me, the box burst open in all directions.
“…!”
Someone rose abruptly from within the opened box. In nearly the same moment, Lucian drew his sword.
“Perein, stop!”
The blade hurtling toward the intruder’s neck wavered and halted. Not because I had commanded it.
‘A human? No—she blocked it?’
What emerged from the box was a young girl with deep golden-brown hair.
The girl was holding back Lucian’s sword with a pair of fabric scissors in her hand.
‘There was no presence at all. Not even the sound of breathing…!’
One touch of the blade revealed the truth. This girl was neither a hidden master nor a trained spy. Yet her arm strength was absurdly, impossibly powerful.
Sinews stood taut across the back of the girl’s hand as she gripped the scissors.
With tremendous force, the girl knocked Lucian’s sword away and immediately lunged toward me.
“Tch!”
Lucian swung his blade toward the girl’s exposed neck. Had I not cried out, he would have severed her head.
“Stop, Perein! This child is my dear friend!”
The girl threw herself into my arms, rubbing her face eagerly against my cheek—the very picture of a puppy seeking affection from its mother.
“Bara, is that really you? How much you’ve grown.”
The girl nodded vigorously, then began frantically shuffling through the bundle of cards hanging from her neck.
[Your Highness]
[Bara] [remember]
[happy]
[thank you]
[missed you]
[waited for you]
[joy]
[!]
The girl, beaming with an innocent smile, moved her lips silently.
‘Your Highness, Bara remember. Happy. Thank you.’
“…And I’ve missed you too.”
I steadied my trembling throat, my voice emerging awkwardly.
“So you remembered me after all.”
The Canzail Couple were among Mother’s few trusted confidants.
Their daughter Bara had accompanied her parents to the Queen’s Palace since infancy, swaddled in blankets.
Years ago, Mother had saved Bara from a burning fever that seemed certain to claim her life.
It was a treatment method no one had ever heard of before.
The dying child’s body became covered in jet-black scales, and only after several days did they shed like a discarded skin.
When the child opened her eyes again, they were stained a vivid crimson, and the fever had vanished without a trace.
“Had I known sooner, such measures wouldn’t have been necessary. I apologize to you both, but this child is no longer an ordinary human. She will likely never speak again.”
“A voice is a small price to pay! Whether human or monster, as long as she lives, we ask for nothing more. Besides, our Bara has grown far stronger than most grown men now—she’ll be perfect for protecting the Queen and the Princess for life.”
“Thank you for saying so. Did you hear that, Iolet? You’ve gained a steadfast friend for life.”
I still remember vividly the warm smiles of the Canzail Couple that day, the precious warmth of little Bara’s small body, and Mother’s relieved laughter.
‘Mother must have known this would happen from the beginning. From the moment she passed her lifespan to me.’
I had thought myself alone in this world, but I was wrong.
Mother’s teachings and the countless connections she had cultivated in life were all inheritances I had received.
I gently stroked the girl clinging to my waist.
Bara Canzail.
This child would be my true guardian going forward.
“Bara, did you bring the item I asked for?”
[Yes]
[!]
[The ordered item has arrived]
Bara proudly displayed her word cards and lifted a bundle from the box, placing it on the table with a flourish.
I had asked the Canzail Couple for two things.
The first was to send Bara to me as my handmaiden, and the other was contained within this very bundle.
The wedding dress I had sent to the Canzail Trading Company cascaded down like waves at my feet.
Or rather, it was the dress, yet it was no longer the dress.
Lucian, who had been watching, unconsciously swallowed hard.
“Your Highness. I believe I may be seeing things.”
“No, you’re seeing it correctly.”
“Then surely you don’t mean to… you’re not actually planning to wear that, are you?”
Lucian looked down at me as though I were mad, then forgot everything he meant to say.
I was smiling more brightly than I had ever smiled before.
Mother’s wise teachings never failed in any regard.
Feeling refreshed, I commanded the bewildered Lucian for reasons even I couldn’t quite explain.
“Now then, steal me the guest list for tomorrow’s banquet delegation, Perein.”

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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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