Chapter 174: Now, Let’s Return to the Rear Palace
Chapter 174: Now, Let’s Return to the Rear Palace
The meal was finished. The three maids from earlier came over and fixed the Queen’s makeup. I had thought they were only guards, but I was surprised to see they could perform ordinary maid duties as well. So they had stopped pretending to be strangers to the Queen.When the Queen stood up, every gaze in the restaurant gathered on her at once. It was extremely unnatural, but there was no point in worrying about that now. In the kitchen, Browning-sensei’s wife wore a face as if her soul had left her body. Like a haniwa clay figurine?
Today the Queen said nothing about payment and simply left the shop. If this were Japan, someone would probably say "No charge, please just take a group photo with the staff" and then ask for an autograph on colored paper as well.
Outside, people were walking sparsely, and the sky was a clear, piercing blue. Christine and Anisee seemed to have been only background noise for the restaurant and were not following us.
We advanced in the same carrier-strike-group formation as when we arrived. I was a fool for thinking we would be able to return to the Rear Palace without incident. How many times in the past had I thought I must not raise such a flag? But it was impossible not to.
Suddenly, one of the three maids walking in front took a backstep and stood in front of the Queen to shield her. In that instant, arrows struck the maid’s body — don! don! don! The maid’s body collapsed toward the Queen, so I caught her. More arrows flew, but the other two maids reacted and knocked them down with their short swords. The tips of the arrowheads were blue. What was that? Or rather — poison?
After a single beat,
"Attack—!!"
a voice rang out, and the escorts gathered. Lily and Stevie stood at my back. A human wall immediately formed around the Queen.
Arrows continued to fly from front, rear, and sides, but the escorts drew swords from their own mana bags and knocked them down. The maid who had first taken the arrows was already no longer breathing. Her face had turned purple, so it must have been the poison on the arrows. Both the Queen and I had been in real danger — truly a close call. Even if the arrows had been aimed at the Queen, she and I were so close we could almost be said to be pressed together, so it would not have been strange if one had hit me instead.
I held the Queen’s shoulder and drew my sword. I thought the Queen might be trembling, but her expression had only become serious, and her face was a little pale. As expected of the Queen — or perhaps she had anticipated this situation.
There were many flying arrows, and not all of them could be knocked down. Some people were hit and fell. Once the arrow attack ended, there would surely be people charging in. The attackers would not have believed they could finish everything with arrows alone; they would try to kill the Queen before reinforcements arrived. They must have intended an extremely short decisive battle.