Chapter 199: Queen and Marquis - Plotting in the Dark
After the clash, the Marquis rushed to the castle, his butler helping carry him to the carriage.
The butler is doing his best to hide his master's beet-red face from the people.
"That damn hero! I will make sure he dies!" Elmond's irritating voice echoed while he whined and hit the soft leather seats in frustration as the carriage began to race faster towards the castle.
***
Meanwhile, in the audience chamber, the queen sat on the small throne, waiting in silence.
Inside the room were Lord Qwass and many of her followers, those of which she gave her body to and controlled using the succubus potion that slowly devoured their minds and logical thought.
"My Queen, how long must we wait before striking? The Marquis has arrived. Wouldn't it be prudent to take advantage while they aren't prepared?" One envoy from the mainland spoke, his power stronger than the Grigor Nobles because of his church backing.
"Patience, my dear, I am merely waiting for a certain person to arrive," she answered with a charming smile.
"And who is it that you are waiting for?" A second man spoke, his hair a dark brown, his body tall and well-defined. This was one of the queen's favourites when the guilt began to fade. He was young and powerful; however lacked political power.
"Why, my dear cousin, of course, the Marquis Elmond's son. The future Marquis Bacon."
Of course, she lied; the feelings of family love for her long died when her father sent her to Grigor to become a cheap whore. All to help the goddess and others benefit from the current demon war.
A knock resounded throughout the silent room, and the door opened. A butler appeared in his fine butler uniform.
"The Marquis Elmond, my lady."
"What happened to your faces, Bernard, Bacon?" The queen asked, noticing the two men's appearance.
"Hmph! A cocky little plebeian hero said that Liana was his woman. He even killed my knights and called me Marquis Piggy!" The young Marquis exclaimed, walking towards the queen with his usual waddle.
The queen raised an eyebrow at the butler, Bernard, who, in response, gave a wry smile.
"My lord and his men were beaten by a blond-haired hero with a violent nature, like a thug. With many women surrounding him."
The queen looked at the butler and then her cousin and his allies, seeing their eyes glaze over at the mention of a hero.
'Of course, they want to recruit a hero. They think that it would be easy to control the hero, but not knowing this hero's violent nature and power makes him a threat, not only to me but to the plan.'
"How did this hero manage to defeat the Knight's protecting the Marquis?" She asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
"My Queen, this hero had a strange ability. He caused their blood to explode from within them and form a large crucifix..."
"Hmmm... well, he is called the Bloody Tyrant..."
"Yes, but what about the fact that he insulted me? And that bitch, Liana spreading her legs for another man too! I will make him pay!" Bacon added.
'Bitch Liana? If the king heard those words, even I couldn't protect him with all this support!'
"Bacon, please calm down. I will help you in any way I can to get revenge for your pride. But now, let us hear what the Church of Light has to say." She said, calming down the brat, giving a glance to the envoy, telling him to speak.
A male with short grey hair and a wrinkled face holding a golden staff sat close to the queen before standing.
"Your Grace, I bring you a gift from the great goddess," he said, handing her a small bottle of red liquid.
"What is this?" She asked.
"It is a potion that will cause the drinker to suffer great pain and then die moments later," he replied, a dark smile on his face.
"This is an item the church would gift to a queen?"
"Yes, My Queen."
"How does it work?" She asked, inspecting the bottle.
"If the bottle is broken, it will release the essence inside, causing death. It can be put into water or alcohol, given directly or smashed close to the target."
"Hmmm..." The Queen said before looking towards the butler.
"Bernard, can you leave us, please, and guard the doors?"
The butler nodded and walked to the exit and left.
"Now, who will use this on the hero?"
"I will!" The envoy said.
"I will!"
"I will."
The group of males quickly answered, showing their eagerness.
"Very well, the one who succeeds in killing one of those disgusting non-humans. I will reward greatly." The Queen winked, her charm causing the nobles to stiffen and the envoy's eyes to turn misty.
'Stupid fools. I will see that you all die before the plan succeeds!'
"Now, all of you leave me except Bacon; I will see you tomorrow.
"Yes, your grace," they said, leaving the room in a hurry.
Once they were gone, she looked to the corner of the room, towards the maid hiding. Her only ally in the entire castle, while turned back to Bacon, who seemed confused.
"Bacon, did you bring what I wanted?" She asked, her eyes looking over the young man's body.
"Yes, cousin, my father made sure to hand it to me!" he said, opening his coat and removing a small bag.
Inside the bag was a small dagger with a bright green blade and a red handle. The dagger was a beautiful item made with the finest materials the kingdom had. The handle was made with the finest metals and leather, and the blade was forged from the heart of the poisoned dragon, an ancient and powerful relic capable of killing the strongest of mages.
"You did well, Bacon. I will reward you just like old times. Come here." She said, reaching out and removing his pants, revealing a half-erect penis.
"Cousin, your hands are so soft," Bacon said, a stupid smile on his face.
The sounds of the queen's hands moving and a pig squeal filled the audience chamber for two minutes before it became deathly silent, and the poor piggy skittered out the door holding his unbelted pants with a red face.
"Ladies, you can come out now."
A few moments later, a maid appeared, followed by a beautiful woman in a tight-fitting maid's outfit.
"Do you really think that the Marquis and his son can kill the hero?"
"To kill Alan? No way, but the church can keep him from taking action. The only problem is Anne and that annoying boy Ryuji... If only he felt for my charms, I could have dealt with it easier..." The queen grumbled while spreading her legs and motioning for the maid to kneel between her thighs.
"In the future, we won't need these disgusting males."
"Yes, Your Highness..."
***
Meanwhile, the queen enjoyed herself in her private audience chamber. Alan and Anne stood at the top of the eastern tower overlooking the ruined lands filled with damage from magical battles and other disasters over the past fifty years.
"My beloved Niece, do you still insist on fighting Ryuji with everything you have?"
"Yes, Uncle, I cannot leave my sister's fate in the hands of someone I cannot trust, especially one with demon blood... I will cross swords with him and learn more about him!"
Anna's amber eyes shone in the red sun, the time of light entering its last stages. She knew he wasn't a wicked man; rather, understanding he was quite the gentleman in reality made everything harder.
"I see, niece, then I will support you in your efforts and pray for your success. But be careful; he is my best friend, and I know he loves Liana genuinely and won't let harm come to her on purpose."
"I know, Uncle," Anna answered, looking at Alan.
"By the way, you seem different, my niece. Did something happen to you?"
"You know it's because of Ryuji. I cannot stop my heart racing each time I see him fight or cast magic."
"Oh, dear niece, are you in love?" Alan asked.
"Don't be foolish, Uncle; I just want to fight him, to crush him and then make him follow me, never to leave my side while growing stronger."
"..."
Alan's eyes narrowed as he considered striking Ryuji with a Divine Ray for a moment.
"Uncle, don't give me that look. I'm not some little girl anymore. Just because I am interested in a man for the first time it's not love. I just want him to be my knight." She said, blushing at the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"Fine, I will not interfere, but if Ryuji can't beat you and it goes too far, then I will step in."
"U-Uncle.. do you love him?"
"My dear niece... if you don't want to experience the hero's full strength, I would start running now. I have a lover now! We have even spoken of getting engaged!"
"E-Engaged!?"
"Yes, and we've done it already..."
"Uncle, I will not say anything more. Please don't speak about such matters with your younger niece. It's disgusting. Well, as long as it isn't some kind of excuse or front to hide your true feelings. I wish you luck. Now I will go and prepare for tomorrow's battle."
Anna turned away and ran towards the stairs, her face filled with determination as a shimmering light filled her eyes.
"Youngsters are always so energetic. If only you knew, Anna, how hard it will be to defeat Ryuji. You might have the same strength, but he improves so fast, and now... I don't know if you can win. Especially if he uses his demon form!"
"Let's go see Akari and Ryo... tonight they will need a nutritious meal, and I want to see my cute lover."