Chapter 320: 320
–Third Person POV–
Polpo Kingdom – Capital: Poron . A room in the palace .
「Glad you could come, Wilhelmina . How long has it been since I could be alone with you?」
「It’s an honor to see you, my dear brother Helbrandt . 」
Wilhelmina lifts up the edge of her black mourning dress and bows respectfully .
Helbrandt―― the eldest son of the previous king of the Polpo kingdom and first heir to the throne―― nods contently .
「Because we’re in the middle of mourning, I can’t provide you with a fancy reception but I can at least give you tea . 」
「Thank you very much . I also brought some sweets to go with the tea . 」
Both individuals are royalty, however the busy crown prince Helbrandt doesn’t have the closest relationship with the youngest princess Wilhelmina who only participated in a handful of ceremonies .
To begin with, there is a large difference in their ages .
The late king did not have any children during his final years, but being over 90 years old, his eldest son Helbrandt is already on the verge of passing 50 years old .
On the other hand, Wilhelmina will be 20 this year, making their difference in age similar to the difference between parent and child .
「After father passed away, I was worried when I heard you locked yourself up in your room . Father treated you with much affection after all . 」
「Yes…… well I can’t stay sad all the time . As royalty, we have a duty to guide the country to bright tomorrows . 」
Wilhelmina smiles woefully .
「You’re right . Still, those foolish younger brothers…… they seem to be devising a plan to usurp the throne . 」
Helbrandt clicks his tongue, having said something inappropriate as the next king .
「Could it be a misunderstanding? They would never do something like that . 」
Helbrandt smiles wryly when Wilhelmina states with slight surprise in her tone .
「Haha, you might not be aware seeing as you’re still innocent . I also hope that what you say is true……」
Helbrandt tosses one of the sweets in his mouth before sitting next to his much younger sister and wrapping an arm around her shoulder .
「Wilhelmina, won’t you rally up Polpo together with me? I have heard about your circumstances from rumors, but father is no longer here . Let us, as royals, join hands and keep the younger brothers in check . 」
After saying that, the man gently rubs the girl’s shoulders, then brings his face close enough where both parties can feel each other’s breaths .
Helbrandt’s gaze is directed towards Wilhelmina’s nape and the mounds on her chest .
「My dear brother……」
Wilhelmina is 20 years old, a child born rather unnaturally when the previous king was over 70 years old .
The girl’s mother was a young prostitute, who soon died from illness after giving birth, leading to rumors circulating about her being a child born of another man’s seed .
The fact is that Wilhelmina’s physical appearance doesn’t look similar to the previous king or any of her brothers .
Despite the previous king treating her lovingly like a pet animal, he didn’t show any interest in her abilities and never assigned her any meaningful work .
「Become mine . If you do, I can give you strong royal blood . 」
Helbrandt takes Wilhelmina’s hand and lightly strokes it .
A flame of lust clearly resided in his eyes .
「Your Highness…… Your Highness Helbrandt……」
There was a knock on the door . Helbrandt quickly separates from Wilhelmina .
With loud yelling not permitted during mourning time, the individual was speaking almost like he was whispering, but he could not hide the panic in his voice .
「What is the matter?」
Helbrandt sits himself opposite to Wilhelmina and allows the person to enter .
The man who rushes into the room was slightly taken aback when he saw Wilhelmina, although he still proceeds to whisper to Helbrandt .
「What? Yoel got assassinated!?」
Helbrandt forgot about the ban and shouted out unintentionally .
Yoel is the second prince .
「Yes…… in the post station where the feudal lords were with a crossbow . 」
「That idiot, what is he doing wandering…… no, nevermind . 」
Helbrandt looks at Wilhelmina .
She silently held a hand to her mouth and tears began to accumulate in her eyes .
「Who on earth…… the one who benefits from his death would be the third in line to the throne, so Maurice? No, Yoel is close with him . Assassination is out of the question because they joined hands! The dangerous one would be fourth in line, Balfan―― would a coward like him do something so drastic……」
「Dear brother――」
「You be quiet . For now, summon Balfan here so he can be questioned . After that, conduct an investigation on everyone around the servants . The suspect killed Yoel, so he will obviously come for me as well . 」
Before the order could be carried out, another man comes rushing in .
「Your Highness, terrible news . 」
「Balfan died you said!? He fainted while he was eating…… so he was poisoned!?」
Another report comes in to the dumbfounded Helbrandt .
「L-look through the window! Fire is coming from His Highness Maurice’s mansion! The well-being of His Highness is unknown!」
When the window was hastily opened, thick black smoke can be seen billowing up into the sunny summer sky .
The mansion was already engulfed in flames .
Everyone seemed to not care about the mourning restriction and were all screaming loudly .
「I have information that the fifth prince His Highness David was also in His Highness Maurice’s mansion . 」
「W-what did you say……」
Helbrandt collapses on the spot .
His four brothers who were prepared to fight for their right to succeed the family were gone in a single day .
Wilhelmina was no longer covering her mouth and was gazing at the burning flames through emotionless eyes .
「In any case, gather the army! This is no time to continue mourning . 」
The subordinates remain in their bewildered state .
「The thing is, I can’t seem to find the captain of the imperial guards Wallagood who was supposed to be stationed in the palace or General Linunes……」
「Then get the vice captain! Use your head a little!!」
Helbrandt finally yells angrily and gets everyone moving .
He closes the door and secures the double-layered lock .
Any ruffian would have a hard time getting to him through the thick door and sturdy lock .
The two of them were left alone in the room once again .
「How could this happen…… who would do this…… a minister? Or maybe a great feudal lord like him…… no, would he do something so ridiculous after coming to the capital? All four of them dying at the same time, this is just awful――」
The 50 year old man paces around the room uneasily like a sick bear . That was when Wilhelmina speaks up abruptly .
「If all of them were done in at the same time, doesn’t that mean time was given for the culprit to prepare?」
Helbrandt looks at his way younger sister in shock .
「Dear brother Helbrandt, how ignorant and dim-witted . 」
The girl was―― smiling .
「Wilhelmina?」
The girl tilts her teacup and crosses her legs in a composed manner as she continues speaking .
「Fufu, I said, our other dear brothers can’t usurp the throne now, can they? They’re all dead after all . 」
Her tone made it seem like she was having fun .
「Don’t tell me it was you!? No, impossible . A mere girl like you killed four royalty!?」
Wilhelmina quietly places her empty cup back on the table .
「There were more I believe? The captain of the imperial guards was in the reservoir pond and General Linunes may have been in a field on the outskirts . 」
As soon as the girl lifted her eyes up, Helbrandt fell on his ass .
The 50 year old man’s hips gave out after looking at the young woman’s eyes . It was a strange sight .
「Why would you!?」
「Does the strong need a reason to eat the weak?」
Wilhelmina takes small steps to get close to the 50 year old man before she bends down to his level .
「My dear brothers were all mediocre . They didn’t have the ability to lead a country . That’s why they were eaten up . 」
The girl bites down lightly on the man’s ear .
「A-a girl like you becoming the king of Polpo won’t―― gyaa!」
Violence cut the man’s words short as his earlobe was torn by the girl’s teeth .
「I’m not interested in becoming the king of Polpo . What I desire is much bigger…… the entirety of the Central plains……」
Wilhelmina’s face scrunches as she looks the map unfolded on Helbrandt’s desk .
It was a map of only the Polpo kingdom .
「A small man like I thought . The throne is too much for you . 」
After tearing up the map, the girl walks casually in the room .
Even if he wanted to scream, his voice would not reach the other side of the thick door meant to keep secrets within the room .
But more than anything, the inexplicable pressure being emitted by the girl rendered him unable to do anything except stare blankly .
「This world is dictated by natural selection, meaning the strong survive, besides you wanted to live as a soldier anyways, right?」
The girl was walking as if she was skipping across grasslands .
「It’s the same with this country . Being afraid of Altair, afraid of the Empire, like a frail little mouse…… living that way is boring, don’t you think? That’s why I will recreate it . This country, the people, and everything else . 」
Wilhelmina talks like a passionate girl who is obsessed about her dreams .
「I have to take advantage of the time when Vandolea is in disarray due to the epidemic to make military preparations . I would have liked to go further and invade, but I might be getting ahead of myself if I carry the disease back home, what a shame it is that I don’t have a wonder drug which allows me to take such a short cut……」
「Nonsense……」
Helbrandt, while being overpowered mentally, fumbles around his waist until he finds the short sword he has for self-defense .
He waits until the moment Wilhelmina looks away, then stands up and thrusts the dagger before her .
「It seems your mother did not get pregnant with father’s seed, rather she received a child from the devil! I won’t let you do as you please . I won’t hand this country or its people to a demonic child like you!」
Wilhelmina has a tiny build at roughly 150 cm in height and has no experience in martial arts .
She should not be able to do anything against a man with a knife no matter how clever she is .
「Ara, what a surprise . 」
Wilhelmina exaggerates her reaction by putting a hand to her mouth .
「You should have surprise attacked me before babbling on . It would have been better to have your monologue with my corpse . 」
Helbrandt inches toward the door .
「So dear brother, you knew that as well . I totally agree with you . ……but-」
The girl smiles once again .
「I was under the impression that I am already talking to the dead . 」
The short sword falls to the floor with a clang .
Helbrandt collapses without picking up the weapon .
「My dear brother, it’s not a good idea to partake in sweets offered by other royalty during a battle for inheritance, you know?」
Wilhelmina puts away the leftover sweets in a pocket .
「Y-…… you b-…… p-poisoned…… ghghgh……」
「It’s only a numbing agent . If I poisoned you to death, I would become a criminal . 」
She reaches down to retrieve the short sword and then raises it .
「Thank you for listening to me talk . I’ve always wanted to try doing this, except I felt embarrassed when doing it with a living person . 」
Without hesitation, she brings the knife down .
「Ga…… go…… gigh……」
The drug even numbed his vocal chords so he couldn’t scream .
「I will guide this country and its people . My dear brother, please go to sleep peacefully . 」
She swings the knife down again, this time hitting his heart .
After one final twitch, Helbrandt never moved again .
「……that probably looks too clean . 」
The girl wounds the body in several places in addition to the stab to the heart, flips over the table, and then breaks a flower vase against the door .
「What was that sound? Your Highness!?」
As expected, the sound leaked out and prompted knocks on the door from the guards .
Wilhelmina continues to noisily make a mess of the room .
「Your Highness! Open the door, Your Highness! Hey, break it down!」
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login