Thinking of this, Amelia couldn’t help but ask, “Harold, I ask you, what is the situation within the former Steele Kingdom’s borders now?”
Hearing this, Harold’s face lit up with joy.
If Her Majesty cared about these matters, convincing her to reclaim the kingdom would naturally become much easier.
“Your Majesty, the Steele Kingdom has been divided into three parts by the Bargas Kingdom, the Akti Kingdom, and the Beren Kingdom.”
“Then how do those Three Great Kingdoms treat the common people in these regions? Since these territories and their people now belong to them, they should be trying to absorb the populace into their own kingdoms, shouldn’t they?”
“…”
“Harold?”
Seeing Harold fall silent, Amelia prompted him.
“Your Majesty.” Harold sighed and said, “Although our kingdom’s territory has been occupied separately by the Three Great Kingdoms, it hasn’t integrated well into them. The officials the Three Kingdoms assigned to handle these matters aren’t enthusiastic about it; they just want to amass wealth. They berate and beat disobedient commoners at will. From time to time, people die because they can no longer bear the burdens. The situation is not optimistic.”
Amelia: “…”
Harold cautiously glanced at Amelia and continued, “Your Majesty, truly, many people are longing for someone to issue a rallying cry, to gather everyone together to resist the Three Great Kingdoms. And that person… can only be Your Majesty.”
Amelia was still speechless.
She looked at the Bullet Comments and confirmed that Harold hadn’t deceived her.
After the Steele Kingdom’s fall, its former territories endured an exceedingly long and dark period. In the Original Plot, that darkness lasted until Eileen became a peerless Sword Saint and carved through it alone with her blade. That was when it finally ended.
That was something that happened ten years later.
Ten years… How many decades does a life even have? How many people would die during those ten years?
A wave of helplessness washed over Amelia. She said softly, “Even if I’m willing to reclaim the kingdom, what use is that? Many people will still suffer and be hurt. Reclaiming a kingdom isn’t something you can achieve just because you want to; it’s a lengthy process.”
“Everyone is willing to endure this process.” Harold said in a low voice, “Before I set out to find Rupert, I met a dying vagrant. He was on the verge of death, and he knew he was about to starve. He’d been starving for many days, and with the terrible living conditions, he had contracted many illnesses. Yet, even though he was dying, he was wearing a smile. I asked him why he smiled. He said he had heard news that Your Majesty, Queen Amelia, had appeared. He knew that even if he died, even if he never saw it, the Steele Kingdom would surely rise again in this world under Your Majesty’s leadership.”
“Harold, don’t fabricate stories.”
“It happened exactly as I saw it. After he finished speaking, he died.”
“…”
“There truly are still many people waiting for Your Majesty. Truly, many, many.”
Harold remained kneeling there, his forehead pressed to the ground the entire time.
Footsteps sounded.
Eileen had found Rupert’s body and disposed of it, and had now returned.
She hadn’t just come back; rather, she had only now approached. This meant she must have overheard the majority of the conversation between Harold and Amelia.
Coming closer, Eileen asked in a low voice, “Does Your Majesty not wish to reclaim the kingdom?”
Amelia turned her head to look at Eileen.
The girl’s long, silver-white hair was a little messy from the night breeze. Her ruby-red eyes held a hint of sadness.
Seeing that look made Amelia feel slightly dazed.
Had Eileen’s eyes ever shown such an emotion before?
“Do you want me to reclaim the kingdom, Eileen?”
“Yes, I wish for Your Majesty to reclaim the kingdom.”
Eileen gave her answer without the slightest hesitation.
“But it will be immensely difficult,” Amelia said.
“No matter how great the difficulty, where Your Majesty’s sword points, that is where we shall attack.”
“We might fail.”
“We will be careful. We will certainly succeed.”
“People will die.”
“We are not afraid of death, as long as Your Majesty does not die.”
“…”
Amelia fell silent once more.
Eileen and Harold also said no more. One stood there, the other knelt there, both waiting for Amelia’s answer.
No one knew how long passed. Finally, Amelia ran her fingers through her light-golden, wavy hair. She let out a long breath and said, “Eileen, I want to ask you one question.”
“Your Majesty, please speak.”
“If… well, I mean, what if I truly did not want to reclaim the kingdom and only wished to live as an ordinary girl from now on? Eileen, would you still stay by my side?”
“Yes, I would.”
Eileen’s reply came without the slightest hesitation.
Amelia asked, puzzled, “Why?”
Eileen’s gaze was incredibly clear as she looked at Amelia. “Even if Your Majesty is unwilling to be Her Majesty, at least within my heart, Your Majesty will always be Her Majesty. I will never leave Your Majesty. Wherever Your Majesty is, that is where I exist.”
“Is that so…” Amelia smiled faintly. “Thank you, Eileen.”
“Your Majesty need not thank me. Everything I do is what I ought to do,” Eileen quickly said.
Amelia’s heart was a tumult of emotions.
She then turned her attention back to the kneeling Harold.
“Raise your head, Harold.”
Upon hearing Amelia’s words, Harold lifted his head. His forehead was still smudged with a bit of dirt.
When he raised his head, Harold couldn’t help but look at Eileen. He knew this was the High-Rank Apostle by Amelia’s side, but he didn’t recognize her. He assumed she must have been a member of the former Royal Guard.
Harold didn’t recognize Eileen, but he recognized the Sword in her hand. It was a blade that once belonged to a member of the Steele Kingdom’s Royal Guard!
“Harold, you want me to reclaim the kingdom so badly, but do you know how much power our side possesses? Do you know if that power is even capable of supporting the task of reclaiming the kingdom?” Amelia’s voice was heavy. “I’ll be very clear with you. Our power, all of it, is displayed right before your eyes. Eileen is my entire strength. Apart from Eileen, I have nothing.”
It was a harsh reality.
Reclaiming a kingdom was no simple task. At least, based on their current strength, it was entirely impossible.
Harold, however, smiled. “Your Majesty, have you forgotten what I said? Many people are waiting for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty merely raises your arm and calls out, those people will come to serve under your banner. Your Majesty will surely be able to command a force of considerable strength.”
“That is only a possibility. It doesn’t guarantee success. After all, the Steele Kingdom is gone. Why would they bother to fight and struggle for me?” Amelia shook her head.
She had long known from the Bullet Comments that after the kingdom’s fall, the various Lords and Nobles throughout the land had mostly pledged allegiance to the Three Great Kingdoms. This made it impossible for her to feel that reclaiming the kingdom was a viable path.
After all, she had no one under her command.
Thinking this, she glanced at the Bullet Comments again.
[Reclaim the kingdom! Please, reclaim the kingdom, Amelia!]
[Whimper… In the original plot, even as a mere guard, Eileen tried desperately to reclaim the kingdom. It’s a pity she wasn’t a member of the Royal House of Steele and could do nothing.]
[Will Eileen only be left with regrets again?]
[If Amelia is willing to reclaim the kingdom, there will still be some who support her, won’t there?]
[Some might have surrendered to the Three Kingdoms, but that’s because they thought the Steele Kingdom’s fate was sealed. If they knew Amelia was willing to reclaim it, they would return, wouldn’t they?]
The Bullet Comments were extremely dense at this moment, the discussion blazingly intense.
Eileen remained silent regarding this.
“Your Majesty.” Harold spoke again. “We wouldn’t truly be without subordinates. At the very least, I do have some forces at my command.”
“Your forces?”
“Yes, I have some.”
Harold explained that his territory was quite a distance from the Royal Capital, and had not been on the marching routes of the Three Great Kingdoms. Thus, although he had suffered many repercussions after the Steele Kingdom fell, he had reacted quickly enough to preserve a fair amount of his strength.
“I not only preserved some forces in my own territory, but also met with others who, like me, thirsted for the kingdom’s restoration along the way. We pooled our strengths and built a decent combined force.”
“Then why were you captured by Rupert?”
“I was deceived. I truly believed Her Majesty had appeared.”
Harold sighed helplessly and quickly explained the situation.
“When I learned of Your Majesty’s appearance, I was overjoyed and immediately rushed over with a few attendants. I never imagined it was a trap… As for the rest of my people, they didn’t follow me, so they suffered no losses.”
“How strong is this force of yours?”
“Two Mid-Rank Apostles, seven Low-Rank Apostles, twenty-two Trainee Apostles. Seven hundred and forty-six individuals who can take up arms as soldiers. Additionally, there are over a thousand support personnel without combat capabilities.”
“…”
This force left Amelia unsure of what to say. It was simply too weak. Completely insufficient for reclaiming a kingdom.
Harold also understood their strength was lacking. He quickly added, “This is only our current strength. As long as Your Majesty is willing to reclaim the kingdom, we can absolutely develop it, gaining far more power. The task of reclaiming our nation may be a long and arduous road, but there will be a day it comes to pass.”
Amelia looked at Harold, then at Eileen, and finally at the Bullet Comments.
Everyone was hoping she would reclaim the kingdom.
Could she really escape this vortex?
Perhaps… the answer had been there from the very beginning.
“Harold.”
“Your Majesty, I am here.”
“Bring your people. Bring them to the vicinity of Bild City and get them settled there.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Harold’s entire, wrinkled face lit up with fervent excitement. Hearing Amelia say this, he knew she had finally made her decision.
Eileen also showed a delighted expression.
Amelia continued, “Bringing so many people to Bild City won’t be easy. Be very careful. Don’t let anyone see what’s happening. And before everyone reaches their destination, don’t tell them of my existence.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You can manage this sort of thing on your own, can’t you? I don’t have the personnel to escort you back to the former Steele Kingdom’s territory.”
“No problem at all, Your Majesty. I can hire an Adventure Party to escort me there.”
“Mmm, an Adventure Party… Then that’s settled.”
Amelia seemed to think of something.
However, she didn’t elaborate, only saying, “Harold, I will discuss more matters with you once you’ve brought your people here. For now, let’s return to Bild City.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.” Harold nodded.
The three of them then began to make their way back toward the city.
On the way back, Amelia gave Harold a method to contact her.
She didn’t tell him about her alias, Lily Hicks. Instead, she gave him a cipher and instructed him to publish a specific notice in the newspaper if he needed to meet. Once she saw the newspaper, she would go to the agreed-upon meeting place.
Although Harold himself was trustworthy, among the thousand-plus people who would follow him, could she really be certain that every single one posed no issue?
Amelia knew she had to be cautious. Far too many people wanted her dead. Even with Eileen’s close protection, she absolutely could not afford to be careless.
After returning to Bild City, Amelia and Eileen parted ways with Harold. The two of them bought some Alchemy Hair Dye, re-applied their previous disguises, and only then returned to White Maple Academy.
They had earlier pretended to go out shopping, leaving the academy openly and legitimately. Now, they could simply walk back in just as openly.
Shortly after they returned to their dorm, the doorbell rang.
Eileen went to open the door. The late-night visitor was none other than Verna.
With her long red hair tied in a low ponytail and wearing a black dress, Verna entered the living room. Very directly, she asked, “So, Amelia, did you handle that person impersonating you?”
“What makes you ask that?” Amelia sat on the sofa, elegant and composed, holding a teacup as she took a sip.
“At such a critical time today, you and Eileen left White Maple Academy. And ‘Queen Amelia,’ who should have arrived before nightfall, never showed up. That’s more than enough for someone who knows your true identity to deduce where you went.”
“Whether the person impersonating me could reach Bild City or not has nothing to do with me.”
“Amelia, do you really need to hide it from me? We are allies, are we not?”
Verna sat down beside Amelia, her gaze intense as she watched her.
Unable to endure such a stare, Amelia relented. “Alright, alright. I admit I went to deal with that matter, and the matter has indeed been dealt with.”
‘As expected, Amelia has formidable power behind her.’
Hearing Amelia’s words, Verna immediately confirmed a thought.
Then she began to ask in detail, wanting to understand the specifics of what had happened.
Amelia, however, shook her head. “Verna, it’s deep into the night. I want to get some proper rest. You can just have your own people investigate this matter, can’t you? Perhaps tomorrow’s newspaper will also explain why ‘Queen Amelia’ didn’t come to Bild City.”
Amelia knew well that as long as she didn’t spell everything out clearly, people would fill the gaps with their own vast imaginations. This was a much better situation for her.
Human imagination, after all, is boundless.
