Chapter 289 - 152. The Approaching Darkness -2 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

Fourteen days before Aslan’s civil war…

Tina sitting on the throne received a report. It said that seditious movements of the feudal lords had been detected.

“Rehton is currently gathering forces, ma’am. What will you do, Your Majesty?” Damon asked her. He was once upon a time her teacher, and now he was installed as one of the feudal lords himself. “Will you report this to His Majesty the Holy King?”

He had also been saved by Allen and granted his divinity. His devotion to the Holy King easily matched the level of Tina’s loyalty.

The best-sounding option seemed to be sending a report to the Holy King and mobilising the necessary troops. Preparations to hit the feudal lords at any time Tina gave her order had already been made.

“Lord Damon, please report this matter to the Theocratic Empire.”

“Understood, ma’am.”

For the sake of Aslan’s subjects, the strength of the feudal lords was a necessity. The funds and authority they possessed had a calming effect on the populace, and they were a crucial factor in controlling the behaviour of the Necromancers, as well.

However, if they were really planning a rebellion, then such a development could not be brushed aside quietly.

“…Strike them.”

One command from Tina, and Damon silently nodded. His gaze shifted over to the hashashins, who bowed deeply before stepping back.

Just before they almost fully melted into the darkness to disappear from view, Tina called out to them, “If you think it’ll get too dangerous, please withdraw.”

“…Understood, Your Majesty.”

The hashashins, once her brothers and sisters, vanished into the darkness. Their role was to assassinate the rebelling feudal lords.

——

They rushed out into the darkness of the night. The murky, gloomy clouds hid even the sharpest moonlight in the ghostly wee hours.

The hashashins ran silently towards the private residences of the nobles within Aslan’s capital city.

Their opponents this time were powerful. King Rahamma believed that only the strong deserved to become nobles, after all.

But no matter how strong you were, you’d leave an opening behind when you slept.

They slipped silently into the residence and instantly suppressed the security guards on duty.

Each and every one of their steps left no sound behind.

Once the Dark Elf hashashins succeeded in infiltrating the manor, they cast noise-blocking magic. Then, the dwarves burst through the door. At the same time, windows shattered.

Were-cats and were-dogs, specialised in close-quarters combat, quickly slipped in through the broken doorway, their claws already coated in poison. But then, they flinched in surprise and stopped moving altogether.

“Welcome, all of you.”

A man with bulging muscles, crimson hair that resembled a lion’s mane and red eyes, welcomed them.

“Duran?”

“…A Vampire Duke!”

The expressionless faces of hashashins were overcome with sudden changes.

All emotions had been exorcised out of these hashashins through the horrifying level of brainwashing performed by King Rahamma. But these people without emotions became agitated and their complexions paled instantly when they saw what lay waiting for them.

‘This was a trap!’

Which meant…

‘Queen Tina is in danger!’

“What excellent prey you are.”

Just as the hashashins began stepping back, Duke Duran grinned deeply.

**

Members of Aslan’s twelve feudal lords, Rehton and three other lords, were currently leading their forces somewhere.

‘Oh, ohhh! Truly excellent.’

This was deep in the middle of the night. The gloomy clouds had swallowed up the moonlight, yet Rehton could see what was in front of him as clearly as if it was the middle of the day.

Even his hearing had become so much sharper. He could actually hear the sounds of insects crawling on the ground.

‘So, this is the power granted through the blood of a Progenitor, a Vampire Duke?!’

Rehton glanced at the ones following him, a group hiding themselves under thick robes.

Soldiers made up of blood-creations, orcs, and his own private mercenary Necromancers were all advancing forward with him.

Rehton and the group finally paused before the royal palace. He then spoke confidently to his followers. “Attack. Go and ‘protect’ our dear Queen.” A thick and slimy grin floated up on his face. “Protect her from the traitors, that is.”

With that one order from Rehton, his soldiers madly rushed inside the palace grounds. Soon, the noises of weapons clashing and screams rocked the darkness of the night.

Several explosions went off to indicate that magic had been used as well, and black smoke plumes billowed up.

—

Lights came on to brighten the streets of Aslan’s capital. Citizens watched the royal palace with worried eyes.

“Just what is going on…?”

“Her Majesty Tina is in danger!”

“What are the royal guards doing?!”

Their worried murmuring continued to grow louder.

In the meantime, Rehton walked along the palace’s corridors and reached the audience chamber’s doorway. He flung the doors wide open. Tina could be seen furrowing her brow, while Damon blocked Rehton’s path.

“Rehton, what is the meaning of…!”

“How foolish of you, Damon! For you to scheme a rebellion like this!”

Damon’s brows shot up high.

Rehton ignored him for now, and shifted his gaze over to Tina, now sitting on the throne and gripping her staff tightly.

He bowed his head towards her. “Your Majesty, my queen. Please be rest assured. This servant, Rehton, will deal with this traitor.”

“What nonsense are you spewing right now?!” Damon roared out.

Rehton leisurely stood back up and tilted his head theatrically. “Let me ask you, Damon. Who do you think will be branded as the traitor in a civil war?”

“What did you say?!”

“It’s simple, really. The one who managed to get his hands on the person with the noblest bloodline is the rightful patriot, while the one who failed to do so is the traitor.”

Damon’s expression crumpled instantly and he quickly roused up divinity.

This bastard was planning to turn Tina into a puppet! How dare he drool over the daughter of the king…!

“You bastard-!”

Damon pounced forward, but Rehton’s fingernails suddenly extended like meat hooks. He swiped his hand powerfully, deflecting the incoming Damon away. The latter was flung away and painfully crashed right next to Tina’s throne, rolling away on the floor.

“Keo-huhuhk!”

His face was sliced open, while a deep claw wound opened up from his chest right down to his abdomen.

Tina’s hardened gaze was locked on Rehton’s ‘fingernails’.

Those were no longer a human’s nails.

“…Could it be that, you…?”

“Royal Princess Tina, this thing called being a vampire, it’s…” Rehton’s eyes began glowing in an eerie crimson hue. “…A truly magnificent thing, Your Majesty.”

“…”

Tina slammed her staff down on the floor.

Branches of trees began rushing into the audience chamber, then morphed into a humanoid made out of wood standing at least five metres tall – the woodman.

While this was happening, some more tree branches extended to wrap around the foot of the unconscious Damon before silently dragging him away.

Rehton stumbled back at the sight of the woodman. Despite becoming a vampire, he still found the presence of this creature hard to bear. He couldn’t win as long as Tina was under the grace of the World Tree.

However…

“Ahaha! Such a lowly creature of wood will not…!”

The ground rumbled noisily and part of the royal palace began collapsing.

The soldiers following behind Rehton were crushed to death by the falling debris of the palace. The ground caved in and a white snake-like creature instantly shot up from the resulting hole.

The Basilisk chomped down on the woodman, obliterating it completely.

‘From underground…?’

Tina glared at Rehton. Was this the reason why monsters like orcs were inside the royal capital?

Rehton powerfully kicked off the floor and dashed forward. In the blink of an eye, he managed to break through her defence and cover her mouth with his large hand. His other hand grabbed and twisted her arm, making her drop the staff.

He glanced at where Damon had been, but that man was gone by then.

‘He ran away?’

…No, maybe not. Did she ensure his safe escape?

Rehton shifted his gaze back to Tina.

Her boundless love for her retainers seemed to be going strong even now. But this was actually for the best. Things would get so much easier when a clear ringleader of the rebellion was presented to the world, after all.

Rehton’s smile deepened even further. “And so, I’m the new king from this moment henceforth, my dear queen. As such…”

Tina’s eyes sharply glared at him.

“I pray that you stay docile and be a good puppet.”

**

(TL: In 1st person POV.)

“The civil war broke out fourteen days ago?”

I was back in the Imperial Palace now. To find out what the hell was going on, I was perusing through the report but its contents were a disorganised mess, as if it had been compiled in a hurry.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Our side needed a lot of time to sort out the correct information, as well as to determine when the information itself had been dispatched,” Charlotte replied.

Her explanation sounded about right; you’d need that much time to reach Laurensis from Aslan’s royal capital on horseback, if you travelled nonstop without taking any breaks.

There were other methods of communication, like carrier birds or communication crystals, but their stability depended on the prevailing weather conditions.

So, then. The hordes of orcs, Necromancers, and slave soldiers, etc., by the border region? Apparently, they were under the orders of Tina, too?

And the one being blamed as the traitor was someone among the twelve feudal lords, Damon?

“What a load of bullcrap this is.”

I knew full well what kind of a person Damon was. Not only was he a teacher who cared about Tina like a doting father, he was also a retainer with a truly immeasurable loyalty to her, too.

‘But now, he has started a rebellion? Don’t make me laugh!’

Charlotte standing behind me opened her mouth. “According to the report, most of the feudal lords are currently pursuing Damon, along with the assistance of Queen Tina. And also, they say that this rebellion was instigated by the Theocratic Empire…”

My steps came to a halt. I turned around and stared at her. “What was that?”

“They claim that the Theocratic Empire used the man named Damon to drive out Queen Tina with the intention of installing him in the position of King, Your Majesty.”

“And what’s supposed to be the reason for that?”

“To display the absolute authority of the Holy King, they say, Your Majesty.”

Why were they involving me in that nonsense?

When I stared at her without saying anything, Charlotte checked my mood before cautiously continuing, “Apparently the pretext they have come up with is that, now Your Highness the Imperial Prince has ascended to the position of the Holy King, you wish to display the might of your influence to each of the countries on the continent. Not only did you openly train your army by the border wall, you also wish to flaunt to the world that you can easily change the ruler of Aslan if you wanted to. Such incitements are…”

“Who said that?”

“The report says that Queen Tina issued that decree.”

Huh. Meaning, some other bastard was the one inciting this whole thing. Seeing how Tina’s name got brought up over and over again, she must be still safe for the time being.

They were still using her as a nice-looking puppet, no doubt.

‘But, how did this thing happen, anyway?’