Chapter 230: War Council (1)

"Forgive my rudeness earlier. It was just extremely suspicious… Please no punishment," I respond, bowing my head apologetically. 

"*sigh*... You did help us catch his suspicious activity, so I'll forgive you just this one time, but if you mess up again, I will make sure you suffer without any relief… okay?" 

"Yes, my lady. Thank you, my lady," I respond before following her out of the throne room where the nobles made way for her. 

The rest of the day went smoothly with me just standing next to the queen as she filled out paper forms. Signing some papers and even needing to leave her office for a couple of requests while also checking on everybody in the castle to make sure nobody was slacking off. 

And at night, I was chained up but with no aphrodisiac, thankfully, before falling asleep. 

… 

[Day 82] 

Daytime came much quicker than expected, and this was terrible for me as I could barely sleep while sitting down with my arms chained above my head. 

If I had to guess, I'd say I got about 4 hours of sleep at most due to the clinking of the chains and my uncomfortable position. 

I had the strong urge to kick the chains and break them, but as I didn't know what was in store for me, I decided to withhold myself while suffering for the entire night. 

Clink Clink Clink 

Opening my eyes slowly, I was met by a few maids who were currently unlocking my chains so I could get up and take a bath before the queen woke up. 

"Uhhhh… It's too early," I say as I didn't even see the sun outside. 

"Stop complaining; otherwise, you'll get sold to some creepy old man," I hear Bridget's voice from above me. 

"Nooooo-" 

Before I could complain anymore, Bridget pulled me up from my seated position and helped my still not woken mind and body to the steaming hot bath. 

But, as soon as I came in contact with the hot water, I was immediately woken up and looked around to see where I was. 

"Finally awake?" Bridget asks as she sinks into the bath. 

"*sigh*... Yeah," I mutter. 

Damn, can't I get a sleep resistance skill or something close to that. Maybe one that negates all fatigue. Cause then, I'll be able to train all night while maybe taking a look around this palace if the queen sets me as a guard at night. 

Sinking into the bath below me, I feel some of my fatigue be sucked from my body, but my lack of sleep didn't let anymore disappear. 

"How can you sleep like that?" I ask Bridget before sinking into the warm water below. 

"Just can. You get used to 6 hours of sleep over time even though there are slight health problems, but near the end of the day, we drink some medicine to help our bodies recover fully, so the lack of sleep really affects your mental fatigue in the beginning. 

You know, you gotta get used to it," Bridget explains. 

"Oh, I drank one of those, but it was spiked with a numbing drug that made submitting to my lady much easier," I respond. 

"Really? Well, I'm assuming my lady only did that to break down your haughty attitude, and I'm pretty sure Elisa and Dorna were following her orders. They would've never done that out of their own free will," 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. They like protecting people and take pride in it, so it was definitely the queen's orders," 

"Then why did they look like they were enjoying my pitiful state?" 

"The queen probably also ordered them to do that as that's out of their personality. As I said, they like protecting people, so obviously, they have a nice personality, even to slaves. Plus, they're entertaining to drink with," Bridget adds. 

"Wait, you have alcohol here?" I ask, immediately jolting up from my relaxed position. 

"Where you came from didn't have alcohol? Like beer or wine?" 

"Y-yeah… Can you tell me how to make it!" I say, immediately dashing up to Bridget and clasping her hands in between mine. 

"I don't know how to, but ask the queen if you want alcohol during lunch. But, she'll probably reject it if you have duties after, so the best time is to ask at dinner," 

"Ah, I see…." 

Though I was relaxed on the outside, I was screaming in excitement at the thought of alcohol again. 

The perfect drink to unwind and relax. All your stress and worries get washed away after a few beers, making it the perfect drink to have with a nice steak or just any meat in general with. 

… 

"Why are you so happy?" The queen asks me who stood right beside her as she signed papers at her desk. 

We were currently in the queen's office, which was relatively small, but that was only because the queen wanted a tight and compacted workspace with all the things she needed. 

"My lady," I say, kneeling on one knee and grabbing the queens' working hand. 

My eyes sparkled like a prince who just met his princess, who he would like to stay with for the rest of his life. 

"My lady, please allow me to have alcohol during dinner," I say with my eyes continuing to sparkle, but it seems the queen didn't really like this. 

She immediately slapped my hand away and returned to her work, where she continued to sign and fill out forms of permission. 

"S-so, is that a no? Or… is that a yes… maybe?" I say, standing up and returning to my original position. 

"Sure. Also, we have a war council this afternoon, so ready yourself. Also, make sure not to speak up unless given permission," The queen says without even batting an eye. 

I began to jump up and down in excitement at the thought of drinking alcohol again, but the queen quickly shot me a glare which clearly told me to shut up.

I apologized quickly before screaming in excitement… within my head. 

… 

Tup Tup Tup 

Our footsteps echoed through the hallway as we made our way to a large room, bigger than the palace's very own dining room. 

"Your highness, please enter," The knights who stood in front of the massive doors say before pushing open the doors, allowing us to enter. 

The queen just nodded while I followed her in, silently without making any sound. 

There were a few people already present, such as the king, Lan, and what seemed to be a few knights who look like commanders if I'm going off the badge on their chest plate. 

No strategists? Seriously? 

But, I was proven wrong instantly as a few strategists entered right after us, wearing long robes, some wearing glasses, but they all had one badge on their robe that most likely defined their position as a strategist. 

We all sat down at the long table, filling in each spot while all the personal guards, including myself, stood behind our target of protection. 

"Now, let's start the war council," The king says, releasing pressure on par with mine. 

The room was silent for a minute, causing all the present guards to gulp a drop of saliva as they waited for somebody to break the silence. 

The tension within the room only got thicker with each passing second that nobody spoke. 

"Okay, everybody knows the basics of the war, so we don't need to explain that again. So, let's move onto the main event, which is this prolonged war we're trying to draw out," The king speaks up first, instantly snapping the tension within the room in half. 

"If I may speak my honest opinion, I believe we're going to lose without a doubt if we don't push through. A prolonged war was a good idea in the beginning, but we are losing too many soldiers, and our heaviest hitting troops aren't even on the battlefield," One of the strategists reply. 

"Ah, I've been meaning to ask why we are doing this?" Another strategist speaks up. 

"None of us are on the battlefield because we are extremely wary of the opposing commanders and rulers who were able to take on all of our heroes, including the next generation," The queen says. 

"Indeed. We are waiting for a chance to open with just using normal soldiers. We don't even have any mages left to help the soldiers as this guy keeps devouring them with [Abyss Magic]," The king says, glaring at Lan, who seemed to be enjoying himself. 

So what you're trying to say is... you all are cowards.

"What happened to the two who came running back? Can't we send them in?" One of the commanders asked. 

"Those two are never stepping on the battlefield again. Severe PTSD has essentially ruined their lives, and I'm not so cruel enough that I'll send bound to die kids to the battlefield," The king answers. 

Suddenly, a knight came bursting through the doors of the rooms, covered in sweat and blood from head to toe. 

"John!" One of the commanders shout and judging from the badge on his chest plate, I could only assume he was a commander as it was the same badge that every other commander had. 

"We have information on the war!" The man whos named John shouts.