Chapter 196
Maria.
Beatrice's other personality.
No, originally she was the original personality, and Beatrice was the new one.
"It's been a while."
"Y-yes, it's been a while, Lord Callius."
Maria, already blushing, seemed like a deeply shy young lady.
She was distinctly different from Beatrice, who brazenly wore thin clothing.
Her clothes, wrapped tightly up to her neck, were old-fashioned and suited her modest personality perfectly.
"Did you perhaps come looking for Beatrice as well, Lord Callius?"
Looking at the tearful Maria, Callius shook his head.
"No, I did not."
At those words, the woman smiled brightly like a forget-me-not basking in the noonday sun.
"Really? You came to see me?"
"No, I came because of the holy water."
"Ah..."
The Creation Holy Water.
Previously, Callius had made a request to Esther, whom he met in the Empire.
To deliver the Creation Holy Water and the Tears of Lactus to Beatrice.
He thought that if it were her, she could analyze the components of the Creation Holy Water and create a Sword Holy Water, not an ordinary holy water like the Tears of Valterus.
Nearly half a year had passed since then, so it was about time for reasonable results.
'Maria coming out was a bit unexpected, though.'
Still, it wouldn't matter much.
Holy Gold Alchemy was based on academic study, not influenced by the deity one served.
She too—
"Ah, yes. That. Just a moment!"
Rummaging through a pile of documents, Maria found something and handed it to Callius with a polite, almost foolish smile.
"Here you go!"
"Did you figure everything out?"
"Except for one thing... I figured out the rest, but there was specifically one thing I couldn't determine. It seems like a very crucial ingredient, but I'm not sure."
Most of the ingredients listed on the documents were extremely rare.
It was made by combining a total of 71 precious ingredients and the Tears of Lactus, but she said there was one ingredient she couldn't identify.
"What is your opinion?"
"Probably, something that contains incredibly powerful divinity is needed. Something insufficient even with a Sacred Stone? It seems like an ingredient imbued with the divine power of a saint, but that's beyond my capabilities. If Lady Silvian were still alive, she might have known..."
"If you knew this ingredient, could you create a holy water like the Creation Holy Water?"
"Of course! There would be trial and error, but it's definitely possible!"
"Then that's enough."
"Wh-where are you going? You're leaving already??"
"You said you could make it. I'll find out what the ingredient is."
"H-how?"
"The Order has such a relic."
The relic that Esther had found.
Bellea's Ring could do it.
It was a relic possessing the power to see through everything.
A relic made by Bellea at the risk of her life.
Using that relic, discovering the secret of the Creation Holy Water would be easy.
Sword Holy Water.
Creating the Sword Holy Water didn't seem too difficult either.
'Come to think of it, how coincidental. Bella and Bellea were sisters...'
For some reason, those two names left Callius feeling uneasy.
* * *
The Queen's Great Hall.
The Queen of Swords, Clara, seated on the throne, and her Guardian Sword, Viktor.
In the place where the guards protecting them stood at attention without a single error,
those draped in cloaks symbolizing the Empire's Spear stood stiff-necked.
"I will deliver the Empire's imperial decree."
The intention of the envoy was the same as the Emperor himself.
The representative of the envoy was the Empire's First Prince.
Baldri of Lactusia.
"Listen, the humble nation of the East."
"..."
"Threatening the safety of the Holy Maiden is utterly shameless for those who serve God. If you do not wish to receive God's punishment consecutively, I advise you to return her to the Empire."
"..."
"If you go against the will of I, the Emperor, I shall fill the East Sea with green water."
The Prince, rolling up the decree and putting it in his coat, wore a smile on his face.
"That is all."
White hair and white eyes.
Seeing the Queen's appearance, whose eyelashes were even white, for the first time, the Prince was slightly surprised.
It was because she gave the impression of a fairy living in a snowy field.
She looked very mysterious.
"As I heard..."
"It is displeasing."
The Prince's words, about to say she was beautiful, stopped.
"What do you find displeasing?"
"From beginning to end."
The humble nation of the East.
They had heard it was shameless for holding the Holy Maiden captive, and they threatened to return her while talking of divine punishment.
Furthermore, saying they would fill the East Sea with green water meant they would kill Carpe and fill the sea with the remaining swords to produce green water.
How could one not be displeased upon hearing such words?
The Prince had a demeanor of 'what are you going to do about it.'
He thought the Empire should be thanked for not even dispatching an army.
Even if they held the Holy Maiden captive.
The Holy Maiden was the Holy Maiden. The Empire was not weak enough to be swayed by her alone.
Even without her, the Empire would remain as mighty as it was now, and they could simply create another Holy Maiden.
If the Holy Maiden died, it would be greatly regrettable, but this would become a justification.
A justification to overthrow Carpe.
A justification to start a war.
"Queen of Swords. The Emperor of the Empire is making many concessions."
"What concessions?"
"Originally, he told me to bring the Holy Maiden immediately, saying he would send out a hundred thousand troops. He was quite enraged."
"But you did not."
"Yes. I thought there was no need for that. A Holy Maiden captured by Carpe's pilgrims should also receive punishment, shouldn't she? That is why I personally came."
The snow-white Queen's eyes curved into a crescent moon.
Pilgrims and such.
This was an attitude that disregarded Carpe's swords. Not anyone else, but the phrasing that disregarded Callius made Clara's eyes turn cold.
"Is that so."
"Yes."
"You have made a regretful journey. We too are not the type to avoid war. With the Holy Maiden, who represents the Empire, in Carpe's hands, what is there to fear?"
That Holy Maiden, who was so highly praised, was broken by Carpe and became a prisoner.
This clearly demonstrated—
"Besides, I heard the Empire lost three spears. To a pilgrim of the Order belonging to Carpe, no less. What a tragic affair. They probably just wanted to go on a pilgrimage."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Bang!
The Queen slammed the throne and shouted with a far more stubborn attitude than before.
"We cannot simply overlook the issue regarding the Holy Maiden either. Prince Baldri, you came to threaten, not to negotiate. If so, then leave."
"..."
As she coldly issued the order to leave, the Prince slightly revised his assessment of Clara.
He had heard she was merely pretty, weak, and a cowardly queen, thinking she would tremble if he came on a bit strong, but she was coming on much stronger than expected.
"...Of course. Asking you to return the Holy Maiden is not just in words. The Empire's capacity is as vast as the sea, so naturally, we will pay the price for the prisoner. That—"
"Yes."
Soon, a proposal written on high-quality parchment reached the Queen.
"The Emperor, with a generous heart, has decided to give you the opportunity to become a friendly nation of the Empire. For the next ten years, the Empire will consider Carpe as comrades."
Swoosh.
Clara's eyes trembled slightly as she confirmed the contents written on the parchment.
Friendly nation.
These were nations that had formed alliances with the Empire. Called friendly nations, they would essentially become vassal states.
If they became a friendly nation, they would have to pay tribute to the Empire every year, and the amount was enormous.
If they called this a proposal and acted accordingly, Carpe would not only gain no advantages from handing over the Holy Maiden, but would actually have to give up a lot.
If they paid tribute for ten years, the country would surely go bankrupt.
To offer something so absurd as a proposal—
This was a proposal only possible for the Empire, which occupied most of the continent.
"I offer the glory of becoming the Empire's friendly nation, so please quell your anger."
As he spoke with a smile on his face, the Queen immediately reached out her hand to Viktor.
When the Guardian Sword handed over his sword still in its sheath, Clara's hand drew the blade.
And she instantly sliced the Emperor's proposal into dozens of pieces.
"What!!"
"What is the meaning of this!"
The Queen's skill was quite impressive, and the parchment scattered like flower petals.
Confirming the sight of the parchment filling the great hall, the Queen smiled with satisfaction and looked down at the Prince.
"The Empire is the one doing something outrageous."
Tap, tap.
The Queen slowly descended the stairs, a sword in her hand.
The Prince's expression, which had been consistently calm despite the Queen's seemingly reckless attitude, changed.
"Wh-what do you mean something outrageous! The Empire, with a generous heart for Carpe..."
Swish.
The Queen's sword, which had approached at some point, loomed over the Prince's neck.
"Y-you dare think of harming my body, the Empire's Prince!"
As he erupted in fury, the bastards of the envoy who were with him drew their spears.
"Setting aside the fact that you dared to bring weapons into the Queen's Great Hall, wouldn't it go against reason to let you live after spouting words that insult Carpe before me?"
"The Empire won't stand for this!"
"If we feared the Empire, wouldn't we have quietly handed over the Holy Maiden? What do you think is the reason we didn't? Prince."
"...That's."
"You have confidence, don't you. Prince, can you see this pillar?"
The Queen suddenly pointed to a pillar next to the Prince.
Compared to other places, it had quite a few flaws.
"Two years ago, this was a relatively intact one among the pillars destroyed by the Empire's invasion."
Everything else was newly built.
Because they had completely collapsed.
That was just two years ago.
Two years.
In that short time, many things had changed.
Carpe no longer feared the Empire.
"It has only been two years since that incident. Yet do you think I would fear the Empire? No!! Carpe does not!!"
Rather, they wanted war.
That was also the reason they left that pillar.
So as not to forget the humiliation of that day.
Every time the Queen entered the great hall, she looked at the pillar and did not forget the insult of that day.
She chewed on it over and over, eagerly awaiting the day of revenge.
Yet a friendly nation? Tribute?
Nonsense.
"The reason I am not cutting off the Prince's neck right now is simply because it is not yet time."
Swish.
As she withdrew her sword, the Prince hastily exhaled the breath he had been holding.
Then, one of the officials approached and handed him something written on parchment.
"This is..."
"A negotiation proposal."
The Prince, swallowing hard, read through Carpe's proposal.
"Lending fifty thousand of the Empire's troops... You're mad!!"
Lending fifty thousand of the Empire's troops for five years as a condition for returning the Holy Maiden!
An absurd condition.
Even if the Empire had gone mad, would they accept such a proposal! The Prince's face scrunched up.
Clang-! Shring-!
As the Prince shouted that they were mad, the guards, who had been still as stone statues, simultaneously drew their swords and aimed at the envoy.
"...To treat an envoy like this. Not only the Empire, but every nation on the continent will condemn Carpe."
"My, you haven't heard the news yet."
The Queen said.
She had sent the Princess who came as the Principality's envoy to the Catacomb just a few days ago.
An underground prison and graveyard from which no one who entered had ever emerged.
"...Are you out of your mind?"
Hearing that story, the Prince's mind went blank.
Carpe was acting no differently from madmen with no regard for consequences.
It was a situation completely incomprehensible to the Prince's common sense.
The Princess of the Principality in the Catacomb?
If that happened, not only the Principality but the Empire would also gain a justification to strike Carpe, so why on earth would they do such a thing?
It reached the point where the Prince was actually worried about Carpe.
"..."
"There are still plenty of seats in the Catacomb."
The Prince feared the Queen in a different sense. The same logic as fearing a psychopath who is not in their right mind.
He thought that if negotiations broke off like this, he too might be locked in the Catacomb.
'No, do they know us well?'
Unfortunately, the Empire could not immediately punish this reckless act.
The Emperor's priority was not the Prince, but the Holy Maiden. If the Prince were locked in the Catacomb, the Empire would not rush in rage, but would send a Princess to request the return of the Holy Maiden.
It was completely illogical, but that was the current Empire and the current Emperor's behavior.
That snow-white Queen was poking precisely at that vital point.
A madwoman.
Or a negotiator feigning one?
Either way, the Prince's head turned completely white.
"What will you do."
"Five years is too long. Make it one year."
The loan of fifty thousand troops.
A considerable expense, but manageable.
The Emperor had ordered him to bring the Holy Maiden by any means necessary.
"Make it four years."
"How about three years? It's a force of fifty thousand. The Empire will provide their pay and military rations."
"Since the Empire is begging so much, I understand. Let's go with that."
Was this really the right thing to do?
The Prince, who had even sworn an oath to God and signed the contract, let out an involuntary sigh.
"Haa..."
"Then shall we discuss the other matter now?"
"Yes...? There's nothing more to discuss."
They had even sworn to God with the Holy Maiden's safety as a condition, so what else was there to talk about?
The Prince wanted to leave Carpe as quickly as possible.
"Everything we've discussed so far has been about the Holy Maiden, not about the Holy Spear, has it not?"
"What do you mean by that!!"
"I said the Holy Maiden, I never once mentioned the Holy Spear. We've even sworn oaths to each other's gods, are you going to deny it?"
"...!!"
He had been had.
He had been had by the young Queen.
To think she would pull such a trick!
"Now then, shall we have an in-depth discussion about the Holy Spear?"
"..."
A feeling like being in the maw of a snake.
Cold sweat ran down the Prince's neck and streamed down his back.