Chapter 95
“Whew. Maybe I drank too much.”
Click, clack. Click, clack.
The sound of high heels echoed throughout the corridor.
Amidst it, Queen Alicia wore a bitter smile.
‘I only drank as usual.’
Yet her stomach felt slightly uneasy.
Her heart was also beating a little faster.
‘Maybe it’s because I’ve been overexerting myself lately.’
Walking through the corridor, she recalled her recent schedule.
Undoubtedly and unmistakably, it had been days of grueling work.
‘The flood damage from the spring rainy season was worse than expected. And the situation beyond the eastern wasteland wasn’t looking good either.’
Enemies of the kingdom lurked everywhere.
Even now, many forces hoped for its collapse.
Among them, the Sultanate of Isfahan beyond the eastern mountains and wasteland had fought two major wars with them in the past—a long-standing traditional nemesis.
‘Something’s definitely off.’
She recalled the intelligence brought in by spies planted in Isfahan.
They reported a recent surge in military buildup.
In particular, forces were being concentrated in their western regions, the side facing this kingdom.
It wasn’t the scale of a mere military drill.
‘An invasion? No, that’s unlikely. There’s a vast wasteland between us. If it were truly an invasion, they’d have concentrated their forces in the north, where the borders are directly connected. Then what is their goal?’
It was a question that had plagued her for months.
Yet she still had no answer.
And now, under the influence of alcohol, even more so.
‘Tch. I should forget about it for now.’
Her bitter smile deepened.
Thinking about it now wouldn’t solve anything.
It would only add unnecessary fatigue.
So for now, she decided to focus on the present.
She would sober up and return to the banquet hall.
With that thought, the Queen entered her private lounge.
She leaned into the plush sofa.
Drank some cold water and caught her breath.
Yet the drunkenness didn’t subside.
Her stomach still felt off.
Her heart still raced.
Even her breathing was shallower and quicker than usual.
‘Something’s wrong.’
Queen Alicia furrowed her brow.
She knew her body better than anyone.
Moreover, she was a swordswoman who had reached the realm of Swordmaster.
A little alcohol could easily be subdued by controlling the mana within her.
But it wasn’t working now.
In fact, her vision was starting to spin.
‘Something’s not right.’
Thump, thump.
Her heart beat faster and faster.
A cold sweat began to seep out.
Sensing danger, the Queen slid off the sofa.
She removed her shoes and sat cross-legged on the floor.
Straightening her back, she began proper breathing.
She awakened her heart.
The powerful mana heart moved at her call.
‘First, I need to check every corner of my body.’
She flooded all her blood vessels with mana from the heart. Soon, torrents of mana surged through her veins like a gale.
In that moment, she instinctively clutched her chest.
Thud!
“……!”
A shock that nearly bent her waist backward.
A pain that felt like her heart would explode.
“Khup!”
Queen Alicia felt her vision wash out in white.
She barely held onto consciousness.
She braced herself against the floor with both hands.
Gritting her teeth, she forced her body up.
‘Poison? No way.’
She hoped not.
But the pain that started in her heart quickly spread throughout her body.
It was striking deep into her organs, carried by the flow of mana in her veins.
The implication was clear.
‘Poison… but how?’
Alicia gnashed her teeth.
Everything she consumed—food or drink—was inspected by her attendants.
Each item was sampled by her servants.
Then they waited four days.
For four entire days, not a single servant could die or show symptoms.
Only after that process was the food, kept refrigerated all the while, served to her.
‘Today was no different.’
The food and wine she consumed at the banquet—
All had undergone the usual inspection.
And no servant collapsed or died during those four days.
‘Then why?’
Why was she poisoned?
She didn’t know.
But she had a hunch.
That there must have been foul play during the inspection process.
‘For now… I need to call someone…’
She needed help.
Even now, the poison was spreading through her.
The more she tried to suppress it with mana, the more it spread like wildfire.
Queen Alicia summoned all her strength and shouted,
“Is… anyone out there!”
But no answer came.
That too was suspicious.
‘Damn it.’
Before entering the lounge, she had dismissed her attendants to rest comfortably.
But she had instructed them to wait outside.
Then why was no one responding?
“Khk, urgh…!”
She stumbled, leaning against the wall as she moved toward the door.
With every step, her mind grew hazy.
She had to bite her lip just to regain focus.
Even as she walked only a few steps, her consciousness flickered on and off.
‘It’s too far.’
A distance she could’ve easily crossed in one leap under normal conditions.
Now it felt unreachable.
The lounge was too spacious.
She was doing her best to move, but the distance remaining was far greater than what she’d crossed.
A helpless laugh slipped out without her knowing.
How had she ended up in such a dire situation?
Just as despair was creeping in—
Click.
Like a miracle, the door opened.
The most familiar person stepped into the lounge.
“Sir Cherny?”
The man she trusted the most.
Her ever-present Captain of the Royal Guard.
And also her swordsmanship mentor—a Swordmaster.
Seeing Sir Cherny, Alicia’s expression brightened.
She struggled to maintain her composure and spoke,
“Sir Cherny, you came at the right time… I’m glad you’re by my side in such a difficult moment. Here, take my hand.”
She reached out toward her guard.
Smiling, hoping he would help her up.
Of course, Sir Cherny also smiled at his liege.
“Yes, I too am glad to be by Your Majesty’s side at such a difficult time.”
However, he did not take the Queen’s outstretched hand.
Instead, he gripped the hilt of his sword.
“Once my liege… now, rest in peace.”
A murderous glint filled Sir Cherny’s eyes.
♣
“It seems Her Majesty is in danger.”
“……Pardon?”
Lloyd’s sudden whisper.
Javier tilted his head.
“What do you mean by that?”
At first, he thought Lloyd was making some crude joke.
But the moment their eyes met, he realized—
Lloyd was serious.
“It’s true. Quiet. Lower your voice.”
“……”
“I’ll explain everything later. For now, follow me.”
“Understood.”
Javier nodded.
If what Lloyd said about the Queen being in danger was true, this was no time to hesitate.
Explanations could wait.
For now, they had to move.
Not too close. Act natural.
Lloyd signaled with his eyes.
The quick-witted Javier subtly fell back a few steps.
Then he asked with his gaze.
‘Where to?’
‘That way.’
Lloyd’s eyes pointed to a corner of the banquet hall.
The direction of the Queen’s private lounge.
‘Obvious, isn’t it. The Queen’s nowhere to be seen. If she left during the banquet, that’s the only place she could be.’
The Queen was human too.
At a banquet, she could get drunk or tired.
The lounge was a private space reserved solely for the Queen, to rest and compose herself without exposing weakness.
‘Besides, in The Iron-Blooded Knight, that’s also where the Queen’s assassination was attempted.’
A scene from the novel came to mind.
Two and a half years from now.
On the first snow of winter.
During a year-end banquet, Queen Alicia visits her lounge and falls victim to an attempted poisoning.
She pushes her mana control to the limit, befitting a Swordmaster. She even severs her own left arm. Barely survives.
A monumental event that changes the fate of the entire kingdom.
The attempted regicide.
‘But for it to happen today? Why?’
It didn’t make sense.
Why had that event moved up by over two years?
He tried to guess, but nothing came to mind.
No—there was one possible guess.
‘Something’s changed.’
The original direction and storyline of the novel had been altered.
And if so, Lloyd figured, the reason might be himself.
‘Let’s just confirm it first.’
Without appearing rushed.
Blending into the crowd of the banquet.
At times, he elegantly sipped from his glass.
Exchanged smiles as he brushed past attendants.
And slipped out of the banquet hall.
He entered the long corridor.
From there, he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Javier.
Their pace quickened slightly.
His thoughts spun even faster.
Truth be told, he was a little anxious.
‘Why Cherny, of all people…’
A line he had overheard earlier came to mind.
Something about the banquet lasting until the moon waned.
A line that seemed innocent on the surface—but in The Iron-Blooded Knight, it was a famous quote.
A code used by the assassins during the attempted regicide.
A line that had changed the history of the kingdom.
Which was why Lloyd remembered it so well.
The problem was… the person who said it earlier was none other than Sir Cherny.
‘If Sir Cherny really is the assassin… can I stop him?’
Bergado Cherny.
Captain of the Royal Guard.
A Swordmaster more powerful than even the Queen.
The thought that he might be the assassin was shocking.
More than that, it was frightening.
Lloyd had even seriously considered whether he should intervene at all.
‘He might turn on me instead.’
He hesitated.
Spent minutes weighing the pros and cons.
Saving the Queen versus letting the event unfold.
He calculated the risks and rewards meticulously.
And reached a conclusion.
‘Even if it’s risky, saving the Queen is far more beneficial.’
In truth, it wasn’t even worth agonizing over.
Currently, Queen Alicia trusted him deeply. Even showed him excessive favor.
But what if she fell into crisis just like in the novel?
What if she lost an arm?
What if she became a tyrant in the aftermath?
‘I’d lose everything.’
The Queen who trusted and cherished him.
Who was ready to grant him land and title anytime.
Who coddled and adored him with care and affection.
In other words, the absolute ruler of this kingdom had become his sponsor.
And if that sponsor was poisoned and lost her arm?
If she fell to madness and became a bloodthirsty tyrant?
‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’
Not only would he lose his greatest backer, but he might also become her scapegoat.
Falsely accused, his family ruined, his titles and wealth confiscated—perhaps even beheaded.
‘So I have no choice but to save her.’
Even if his opponent was Sir Cherny.
Trusting in Javier, and hoping it wasn’t too late—
Tap tap tap tap!
Before they knew it, Lloyd and Javier were nearly running.
And yet, it was strange.
Down the long corridor, not a soul was in sight.
No attendants, no maids—nothing.
They turned three corners, climbed stairs up and down, yet the result was the same.
“Something definitely feels off,” Javier said, his voice cold and calm.
Lloyd swallowed his unease and asked,
“You sure about this?”
“About what?”
“Going in… without a sword.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Clang!
Even as he spoke, Javier swung his right hand.
His palm struck a candleholder mounted on the corridor wall.
The candleholder snapped off, catching the light as it spun through the air.
Javier’s hand caught the base mid-flight.
Clack!
“This will do just fine.”
The issue of being unarmed at the banquet was now resolved.
In the next moment, the two of them rounded the final corner leading to the lounge.
And witnessed a gruesome scene.
The floor in front of the lounge door was soaked in blood.
Six attendants lay collapsed in the pool of blood.
All were dead.
The meaning was clear.
Crash!
Without needing to decide who first, both of them kicked the lounge door open at the same time.
They burst in through the splintering door fragments.
Inside, two figures were present.
Sir Cherny, bearing down with his sword.
The Queen, barely managing to block it.
Javier reacted first upon seeing this.
Slash!
The candlestick in Javier’s hand cut through the air, cold sword aura trailing behind. It swept forward. A barrage of invisible strikes tore through the space.
Sir Cherny’s sword moved in response.
Clang clang clang clang clang—CLANG!
The candlestick and sword clashed in rapid succession.
A shower of fierce sparks danced through the air.
Tendons bulged on Javier’s wrist.
Sir Cherny’s brow furrowed.
The eyes of two ferocious beasts locked.
In that moment, Lloyd slipped past the clash.
He rushed straight toward the Queen.
“……Lloyd Frontera?”
“Forgive me, but please keep your mouth shut for now.”
“What do you—mmph?”
Lloyd’s large hand covered the Queen’s mouth.
Before she could resist, he gently laid her down on the floor.
Something unimaginable—and impossible—under normal circumstances.
But this was a Queen whose entire body had been overtaken by deadly poison.
Knowing that, Lloyd cast aside all courtesies and protocols.
He focused solely on the emergency treatment needed now.
“I’ll extract the poison first. Relax. Don’t tense up.”
Vrrrrrrr!
Lloyd’s palm pressed against the Queen’s solar plexus.
Three [Circles] began spinning at maximum speed.
They started absorbing the Queen’s mana.
“……!”
Queen Alicia’s eyes flew open in shock.
