Chapter 96: I Beseech Your Majesty to Reclaim the Kingdom

“Pfft!”

The cyan arrow tore straight into Rupert’s waist. His body was brutally ripped apart, and a searing, unbearable pain overwhelmed him. He couldn’t hold back a miserable scream.

There was a pocket at his waist where he kept a few things, but it did nothing to stop the arrow’s penetration.

However, as the arrow pierced his body, the items inside his pocket also shattered with a crisp sound. Numerous fine powders scattered into the air.

It was Revelation Dust, an Alchemy Item that had recently become available for sale in many places across the Luban Duchy. Rupert, thinking it might come in handy, had bought some to carry.

After shooting Rupert, Amelia was about to fire another arrow to finish the man off for good. But the dust wafting from his body made her instinctively step back two paces.

The powder dispersed far too quickly and the cloud was dense. Amelia couldn’t completely avoid it. Her hasty retreat caused her cloak’s hood to fall, revealing her long, wavy hair dyed a water-blue shade.

But the moment her water-blue hair was exposed, its color rapidly changed. In the blink of an eye, it became light-golden, wavy locks, gently lifting in the night breeze.

“So it was Revelation Dust? You startled me.”

Amelia patted her chest lightly and murmured to herself.

Clutching his pierced side, Rupert knelt on one knee, struggling to lift his head and look at Amelia.

The moment he saw Amelia’s features, Rupert froze in a daze.

Valerie?

No, she was far more beautiful than Valerie. She was like a real… a real…

As he thought this, Rupert’s pupils violently contracted.

“Q-Queen Amelia?”

Rupert looked at the girl before him in disbelief.

This girl, who could wield a power granted by the Bard’s Bow and was already a Low-Rank Apostle, was actually Amelia?

He didn’t detect the pointed ears of an Elf, so was she a Half-Elf?

Did the Royal House of Steele possess an Elven Bloodline?

A chaotic flood of thoughts surged through Rupert’s mind as he remained frozen in a kneeling position.

Amelia smoothed her light-golden, wavy hair with her hand. She wasn’t bothered by the exposure of her identity. After all, the one who had discovered her was a dead man walking.

With a composed expression, she raised the bow in her hand, aiming it at Rupert.

“Wait!” Seeing Amelia’s movement, a powerful sense of crisis bloomed in Rupert’s heart. He hurriedly said, “Wait, Your Majesty, I still have much to say. Why someone was impersonating you, why I was here, there’s so much more to this…”

“I don’t need to learn these things through you.”

Amelia stated this flatly. The arrow in her hand detached from the bowstring, flying out and piercing through Rupert’s head without any suspense, taking with it a spray of blood.

Anything she could learn from Rupert was information she could just as easily get from the Bullet Comments. Rupert’s usefulness was not that significant.

And in a fight, once you have the advantage, you should finish the job immediately. Isn’t that common sense?

As Rupert’s corpse hit the ground, Amelia put away her bow and turned to walk back toward the road.

There were no more sounds of slaughter in this place. Only the flickering light of the campfire danced in the dark night. Occasionally, the crackling of burning firewood echoed in the quiet, lonely darkness.

Everyone who had to die was already dead. Eileen stood in the field, her cloak’s hood fallen back, her long, silver-white hair shimmering with an enchanting luster under the moonlight.

She held a Sword, which was covered in fresh blood, droplets still slowly dripping down.

As Eileen walked, the blood left a broken, intermittent trail on the ground.

After sweeping her gaze across the many corpses, Amelia approached. “Eileen, have you killed them all?”

“Those who tried to attack or flee are all dead. The only one still alive is a man imprisoned in one of the Carriages. I recognized him from before—he’s Count Harold Wyatt. How to deal with him, I believe, requires Your Majesty’s decision.”

Eileen turned to face Amelia.

When she saw Amelia’s light-golden, wavy hair, she was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected Amelia to reveal her true appearance.

The reason she had revealed her own appearance was that during the fight, she had accidentally damaged a carriage, destroying many items inside. Among them was Revelation Dust, which exposed her true face. But shouldn’t Her Majesty have been watching the battle from the forest?

“Your Majesty, you are…”

“I also dealt with a fellow. He’s in the woods. Go and dispose of his body.”

“…That was my negligence.”

Hearing Amelia say this, Eileen realized she had missed an enemy—an enemy Amelia had to handle herself.

“No, Eileen did a very good job. You’re not allowed to say that about yourself.” Amelia smiled.

Eileen: “…”

“Alright, let me go see the imprisoned man.” Amelia walked toward a carriage not far away.

Reaching the carriage, she lifted the curtain and looked inside.

An old man with graying hair was presented before her eyes. He looked rather disheveled, with ropes binding his body.

When Amelia looked at him, Harold’s blue eyes also rested on her. The moment he clearly saw Amelia’s face, his eyes shook violently. He almost thought he was seeing things.

“Count Harold, we have met before, haven’t we?”

As Amelia spoke, she pulled the cloth gag from Harold’s mouth.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty, you’re still alive! This is wonderful!” Seeing Amelia unscathed and appearing before him, tears immediately welled up in Harold’s eyes.

His expression made Amelia a little embarrassed. She coughed lightly and said, “Whatever the case, let me untie these ropes first.”

Via the Bullet Comments, she had already confirmed that Harold’s loyalty was not in question.

[I was worried Harold would suffer greatly at Rupert’s hands. Never expected Amelia to rescue him so quickly.]

[Amelia’s strike this time was too decisive and rapid, wasn’t it? She directly judged that Rupert had a problem, determined there were no forces here capable of threatening her, and charged straight in with Eileen to kill everyone.]

[She’s actually this calm when facing Harold. Doesn’t she suspect him at all?]

[Since Harold was locked up by Rupert, once it’s confirmed Rupert is the problem, it’s almost certain Harold is innocent, right?]

[But how did Amelia determine that Rupert was the problem?]

[Perhaps, beyond the three possibilities we deduced, Amelia also thought of other factors, piecing together clues to reach the conclusion that Rupert was the enemy.]

[Amelia’s wisdom is beyond our comprehension.]

The Bullet Comments buzzed with discussion, endlessly analyzing the events of the night.

Amelia casually scanned a few comments, then finished freeing Harold.

After climbing out of the carriage, Harold surveyed the scene outside. Seeing corpses everywhere, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction and vengeance. These people were all soldiers of the Akti Kingdom—all enemies, every single one.

“Your Majesty, that scoundrel Rupert…”

Harold then recounted the ins and outs of how Rupert had arranged for someone to impersonate Amelia.

Although Amelia had already learned all this from the Bullet Comments, she still listened to Harold’s account, allowing her to grasp the finer details.

When Harold quickly finished explaining, Amelia nodded slightly. “I understand the situation. Rupert is dead. Traitors never meet a good end.”

Harold nodded emphatically, overjoyed by this outcome.

When he learned that Rupert had devised a plan to lure Amelia over, he had worried whether Amelia would fall into the trap. But it turned out she had known Rupert was a problem all along and hadn’t been deceived at all.

Furthermore, seeing the power Amelia commanded filled Harold with relief.

He knew a High-Rank Apostle had acted to wipe out the many Akti Kingdom soldiers here. For Her Majesty to have such a capable person at her side, rather than being a solitary figure, was clearly a good thing.

“Oh, right.” Harold seemed to remember something. “Your Majesty, earlier today, an Elf attacked this place. Its strength was terrifying. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with you.”

“Tell me the details.”

“It was like this…”

Harold quickly explained the situation regarding the Elf.

After understanding the situation, Amelia said, “That Elf is not one of my people. Quite the opposite—she came to kill me.”

“To kill Your Majesty?” Harold gaped.

“Yes. The Elf didn’t know someone was impersonating me. It was me she wanted to kill.”

“This… why?”

“The reason is the same as why the Steele Kingdom fell.”

Amelia’s answer left Harold looking utterly bewildered.

He felt he knew far too little, while Her Majesty clearly grasped far more information than he did.

Amelia didn’t give Harold too much explanation, only saying, “In short, remember this: no Elf can be trusted.”

Harold nodded heavily. “Understood.”

“Harold, what do you plan to do now?” Amelia asked.

“To follow Your Majesty, of course, and swear my loyalty to the death!” Harold replied without a moment’s hesitation.

This answer, however, gave Amelia a headache.

She could guess Harold’s general intention: he simply hoped she would embark on the path of reclaiming the kingdom.

But to be honest, she was, after all, just a Transmigrator, not the original Amelia. She had no real enthusiasm for reclaiming the kingdom. She just wanted to live a peaceful life with Eileen. That would be enough for her.

Yet… could she really get what she wished for?

She had vanished from public sight after the kingdom’s fall. And yet, the Akti Kingdom still had Rupert execute a scheme to impersonate her, all to draw her out. They clearly hadn’t let her go.

For such a long time now, even the Elves had Transcendent Apostles searching for her whereabouts. The one impersonating her, Valerie, had been mercilessly killed.

She wanted a quiet life, but others clearly didn’t want her to live in peace. She didn’t need to think to know that in the future, those enemies would use all sorts of methods to find her and try to kill her.

So, what was she supposed to do?

Under the moonlight, Amelia’s light-golden hair fluttered strand by strand. Her expression looked somewhat complicated.

Seeing the shifting emotions on Amelia’s face, Harold seemed to understand something. He directly knelt before her.

“Harold, what are you doing?” Seeing his action, Amelia was taken aback.

“Please, Your Majesty, reclaim the kingdom!” Harold lowered his head, pressing his forehead directly to the ground.

Amelia: “…”

Had he seen through her reluctance to reclaim the kingdom? Was he that perceptive?

After a moment of silence, Amelia asked, “Harold, let me ask you something. What does the Steele Kingdom mean to you?”

“It’s home.”

“Shouldn’t your home be your wife and children?”

“They are my small family; the kingdom is my greater family. Only when there is a country can there be a home.”

“For someone of your status, even after leaving the Steele Kingdom, you could go to any nation and obtain a position that would ensure a comfortable life, couldn’t you?”

“Your Majesty, I was born in the Steele Kingdom. I grew up in the Steele Kingdom. My dream is to eventually die in the Steele Kingdom—not in some foreign land.”

“…”

“Your Majesty, our homeland is still there, waiting for us to reclaim it. The mountains and rivers are waiting, and our people are waiting too.”

Amelia felt a headache coming on.

“Harold, oh Harold. You’re oversimplifying this. Even when the kingdom still stood, we couldn’t resist the Three Great Kingdoms. What do we have to reclaim it with?”

“As long as Your Majesty is willing to reclaim the kingdom, even if the path is full of hardship and countless dangers, there will surely be a day of success. Just as no matter how bleak the late autumn is, no matter how bitter the winter is, spring will eventually arrive. Flowers will always bloom.”

“Before the flowers bloom, they might die in the snowstorm.”

“A flower has branches and leaves. Countless branches and leaves can certainly protect the flower. As long as the flower is willing to bloom, no matter what must be sacrificed, the branches and leaves will have no complaints. Everything is only for the flower to bloom.”

Harold spoke sincerely, hoping desperately that Amelia would make reclaiming the kingdom her goal.

He understood Amelia’s current mindset. The only reason she had become Queen was that the late king, unwilling to bear the title of the monarch who lost the country, had passed the throne to her. Before that, Amelia was just a marginalized Princess. It was natural for her to feel a degree of indifference toward reclaiming the kingdom.

“I know Your Majesty never had any preparation to be a Queen in the past. But matters have reached this point. I beg Your Majesty to accept the identity of Queen and become the sovereign of the millions of subjects of the Steele Kingdom. Your Majesty, we need you! Everyone needs you!” Harold’s voice was resolute, full of earnest sincerity.

Amelia remained silent.

Were there truly many people still waiting for her?

For some reason, she remembered the homeless wanderers she had seen during her desperate escape northward when the kingdom first fell.

Those people had been ordinary residents, living and working peacefully within the kingdom. But because of the war, because of the Steele Kingdom’s collapse, they could only leave their homeland and live a life without proper clothing to wear or food to eat.

Did they ever yearn to return to their old lives?