Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 14 – King and Queen

Luna averted her gaze from Rato’s outstretched arm and closed her eyes for a moment.
However, an intense thirst occupied most of Luna’s consciousness, and she seemed unable to resist it.

“Don’t hesitate.”

Rato’s voice was gentle.
Luna opened her eyes and cautiously took Rato’s left arm in her hand.

And then, she bit down.

For a brief moment, Rato’s arm stiffened, and then Luna felt it lose strength.
Rato didn’t make a sound.
As Luna felt the sensation of blood flowing down her throat, her thirst finally subsided, and her awareness returned.
She quickly removed her mouth from his arm in a panic, but there were clear bite marks and blood remaining there.

“Don’t worry, I’m quite the healthy young man.”

Although Rato said that, Luna covered her face with her hand.

“Why…?”

It finally dawned on Luna that she had become a monster.

──

No matter how much Luna agonized, there was no way to resist the urge of blood thirst.
She tried to hold back multiple times, but the unbearable state of hunger overcame her, and she succumbed to the temptation of blood.
In the end, Luna only drank Rato’s blood once a day.
Kilian offered Luna his blood as well, but Rato refused, saying:

“I don’t want you to drink the blood of others.”

Rato’s left arm was covered in Luna’s bite marks, but he concealed them by wrapping bandages around it.
When other people asked about the bandages, Rato explained:

“This is to seal the wild power that resides in my left arm…”

Most of them understood and nodded, saying, “Oh, it’s that again.”
Learning about this, Luna asked Luciana while they were alone in Rato’s room.

“What do people think of Rato?”

“Rato-sama has always been fond of myths and legends like that. Since childhood, he play-pretended to be a legendary hero… well, that ‘childhood’ phase lasted quite a long time.
But because of that, he excelled in swordsmanship and was dedicated to learning, so people around him didn’t try to stop him. Killian and I were his attendants, so we were always dragged along.
As an extension of all that, he even created a non-existent group called the 8th Knight Order, made us members without asking, and started protecting the town’s public order on his own.”

Luciana chuckled. In the Rama Kingdom, there were only 7 Knight Orders.

“What’s that? Rato really is childish, isn’t he?”

Luna laughed. She hadn’t smiled at all since entering the palace, so it had been awhile.

“But you know, Rato-sama wasn’t just fooling around. He was always serious.
When it came to the town’s security, he gathered information properly and helped people in need many times. He confronted corrupt officials with evidence and dealt with them, and even exterminated dangerous monsters.
No matter what people say, Rato-sama is an amazing person. Everyone, including His Majesty, knows that. That’s why everyone trusts him so much.”

“I see.”

Learning about this side of Rato she didn’t know, Luna felt a strange emotion.

“…Khan’s incident was part of that too.”

“Huh?”

“The rumors about Khan’s mansion were quite infamous in the town. It was known as a haunted mansion. Legally, the owner was clean and there were no specific issues, but no one had approached it for an unusually long time. Also, the magical barrier was quite strong.
There was a young man in town who was interested in visiting. Unfortunately, he had some resistance to magic, which allowed him to secretly sneak into the mansion’s garden.”

“He got through that barrier!?”

Luna was astonished. The area around Khan’s mansion was protected by a magic barrier that prevented regular people from approaching.

“A lot of coincidences piled up. And he didn’t intend to go inside the mansion… but…”

Hearing that, Luna remembered that she had buried something in the garden.

“A ghoul crawled out from the ground and grabbed his leg. The young man managed to escape, though he felt like he had a heart attack. The ghoul was halfway buried, so he somehow shook it off.
And then, he spread the word in town, ‘There are undead living in that mansion!’ It used to be a common ghost story, given that it was regarded as a haunted mansion, but if there were really undead around, the kingdom couldn’t ignore it.
That’s why Rato-sama started investigating.
Don’t get me wrong, Khan’s fate was sealed long ago when he began down the path of necromancy. Rato-sama took the lead in the beginning by carefully gathering information. Whether that was good for you, Luna-chan, I can’t say.”

“I buried those ghouls… So it’s my fault my master…”

Luna’s face tensed.

“Listen, Luna-chan. The moment Khan dabbled in necromancy, he brought this upon himself. And it was for his own selfish desire for eternal life. So, that’s the end of the story. You shouldn’t blame yourself for anything. Plus, ghouls are disgusting, so I can understand why you’d want to bury them.”

Luciana gently stroked Luna’s head.
But for Luna, realizing she was responsible for the underlying cause of her master’s death was a shock.

──

After a while, the King of Rama passed away.
Since it had been expected long ago, there wasn’t significant chaos. But Rato, the heir to the throne, became extremely busy.
Rato’s formal name was Ramunato. Rato was a nickname used by those close to him.
From now on, he would be Ramunato, the King of the Rama Kingdom. He would hold the fate of the nation in his hands.
Since Ramunato was already popular among both the officials and the common people, there were no major issues. However, there was one problem.
He was unmarried.

“I’ve already decided who the Queen will be.”

When his subordinates asked him about marriage at the time of his enthronement, Ramunato answered clearly.
Though he did not say who the Queen would be, which led to various speculations.

“Luna, be my Queen.”

Shortly after ascending to the throne, Rato told Luna.

“What?”

Luna was dumbfounded.
Even for Rato, this would be impossible. An Immortal King could not become the King’s wife.
She could not become a Queen, the pinnacle of all women in the country.
Even if she weren’t an Immortal King, their social statuses were too disparate.
No one would possibly agree to this. It could even lead to a crisis shaking the nation.

“…Why?”

“Because I want you to, of course.”

Rato was smiling, but he didn’t seem to be joking.

“It’s impossible.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to?”

Rato caught onto Luna’s choice of words.

“It’s not about what I want. You know it’s impossible.”

Luna’s tone was resolute.

“I’m the King, you know? There’s nothing I can’t do. A King is a King precisely because he pushes the boundaries of what is possible.”

“That kind of King will only cause trouble for everyone!”

“Why would I cause trouble? I believe Luna is fit to be Queen. Are you someone who causes trouble for others?”

Rato gazed at Luna.

“I don’t intend to, but…”

The conversation ended there. Rato didn’t want to corner Luna.
However, after that, Luna brought up the matter with Luciana.

“I have a favor to ask.”

──

Several days later, one night, Luna was drinking Rato’s blood.
Usually, the process ended quickly, but this night was different.
Even the lively Rato began to feel lightheaded from losing too much blood.

“…Luna, isn’t this taking longer than usual?”

Rato’s consciousness became hazy. However, Luna continued to drink despite that.
Finally, Rato lay down on the bed, his strength drained.

“I’m sorry, Rato. This will be the last time.”

Luna looked upon Rato, and spoke regretfully. Then, she leaped out of the window and into the city in the dead of the night.
As an Immortal King, Luna’s physical abilities far surpassed those of a human. Her figure soared through the air. To Rato, Luna seemed to become one with the moon.
Luciana and Kilian, who were waiting in the adjacent room, silently saw her off.
As expected, Luciana and Killian opposed Luna becoming Queen.
Even if Luna hid her status as an Immortal King, if the truth were to be revealed, it could deal a fatal blow to the kingdom.
Furthermore, if they were to make some unknown girl their Queen, they could foresee all sorts of probing and investigation to verify her identity.
For that reason, they allowed Luna’s escape.