Chapter 207 : Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Schmeizen's high-ranking dignitaries, one and all, could not hide their bewilderment.
It was only natural, as a man had appeared claiming to be Yulan Etgendorher, the queen's husband who had disappeared 14 years ago.
Adding to the bewilderment was the reaction of the queen, who had always maintained her silence.
‘Her Majesty's voice… How many years has it been?’
‘She always spoke through Prime Minister Belrsasal.’
‘It seems she was alive after all.’
Belrsasal shot a glare at those who were whispering.
As the prime minister, rumored to have even the queen in his grasp, glared at them, no one dared to speak further.
Having quieted the hall, Belrsasal slowly opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty… to draw back the curtain……”
“Did you not hear my words?”
The queen's tone was polite.
It did not sound like she was addressing a subordinate.
However, apart from her tone, her voice was endlessly cold. It felt as sharp as a blade.
“I have always known that you covet my position. But I am still the monarch of Schmeizen, Prime Minister.”
“…Your words are too harsh, Your Majesty.”
Belrsasal let out a pained sound.
“It hurts my heart that you doubt my loyalty.”
The prime minister slowly ascended the stairs.
The wide staircase leading to the jade throne was not something anyone could climb.
The same went for drawing back the curtain that hid the queen's face.
If an ordinary servant were to touch it, they would be dragged away and executed on the spot.
One could not even dare to try unless they were of the stature of Prime Minister Belrsasal.
“Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty.”
Prime Minister Belrsasal very carefully drew the curtain.
Beyond the thick curtain was the jade throne. Upon the jade throne was a woman in black.
Her name was Aida, the master of Schmeizen, nicknamed the Widow Queen.
“Oh, Your Majesty……”
“Our Queen……”
The high-ranking dignitaries could not bring themselves to properly meet her gaze and immediately bowed their heads.
They knelt as well, as if it were a matter of course.
Shion and Amethus also gave a light bow.
There was no reason to go against the atmosphere unnecessarily.
“……”
I peeked at the Widow Queen.
She was probably thirty-five years old this year.
But in appearance, she looked only two or three years older than Serena.
It was a surprising fact, considering my wife, Serena de Verchello, was only nineteen.
‘The curse of agelessness is still in effect, I see.’
It was the same as before my regression.
Even back then, the Widow Queen had an appearance that made it impossible to guess her age.
She had the same black hair, wore the same black mourning clothes, and was just as dangerously alluring.
“……”
The Widow Queen looked at me and Amethus, and finally at Yulan Etgendorher.
She scanned Yulan's face, and his gaunt body, a result of being trapped in the underworld for fourteen years.
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
“…Yulan, you say……”
“Yes, I am Yulan.”
“…You look identical. Unbelievably so.”
She brushed back her bangs.
The silver crown on her head sparkled.
Her eyes also seemed to glisten with moisture, but it was hard to tell.
She spoke without hiding her complicated feelings.
“Belrsasal.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What should I do with those who have brought Yulan?”
“It is already decided.”
“Is that so?”
She did not hide her cold gaze.
“Imprison them at once.”
***
I was thrown in prison.
The same went for Amethus and Yulan.
The guard who had shoved the three men into a small cell spat on the floor without hesitation.
“Tsk, you damn bastards!”
The guard let out a very colorful curse.
“How dare you try to deceive Her Majesty! Scoundrels like you should rot in prison for the rest of your lives!”
The prison door slammed shut.
The sound was deafening.
Amethus stared blankly at me.
It happened in an instant.
As soon as the Widow Queen's words fell, the guards had taken them to the dungeon and thrown them in prison.
The prison was very prison-like.
It was small, dark, and dirty.
Bugs crawled on the damp walls, and there was even a skeleton in the corner.
There was, of course, no toilet; a slop bucket took its place.
The smell was absolutely foul. It was enough to make one's head spin.
“…Shion.”
“…What.”
“…I have many questions, but let me ask this first.”
Amethus said.
“…What is a 'bekkaengi'?”
“…It’s Schmeizen dialect. A very aggressive way of describing a good-for-nothing who idles and mooches.”
“…Thank you for the useful information.”
The jade-eyed man covered his face.
According to my words, less than three months remained until the Cordis Empire’s full-scale invasion.
But to suddenly be imprisoned……. Having thought this far, Amethus's head shot up.
“…No, that’s not it.”
He looked at me.
Who was Shion Pollinglight?
He was the regressed prince who had turned back time by nineteen years, and his master.
There was no reason to worry even if they were thrown in prison.
“This was all part of the plan, wasn't it, Shion?”
“Really?”
Yulan cut in.
“You mean to say, Mr. Shion, that you knew we would be imprisoned?”
“Of course, Yulan.”
“Even though this is the Schmeizen dungeon? They say it’s the deepest and darkest in the West, and no one has ever left, not alive and not even dead.”
“Yulan, even if it looks like a mistake, there's a plan. Shion has always been like that.”
“Goodness! To be honest, I was doubting Mr. Shion a little. I feel bad now.”
Yulan chattered like a child.
“I said I was Her Majesty the Queen's husband, and as soon as I showed her my face, we were thrown in prison, right? But you're saying Mr. Shion foresaw this. What kind of amazing plan could he have!”
“……”
I slowly opened my mouth.
“Amethus, quiet Yulan for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Yulan had no time to retort.
Amethus was already behind him, pressing gently on the vein in his neck, and before he could count to three, Yulan lost consciousness.
After laying the unconscious Yulan Etgendorher in a corner, Amethus raised his jade-colored eyes.
“You're going to talk about that time, aren't you?”
“Yes.”
I took out the metal tin from my pocket.
All our weapons had been confiscated when we were imprisoned.
The same went for the double-edged sword Amethus cherished.
He could have resisted having it taken, but he had no choice because I told him to stay still.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
At a glance, it was just a candy tin, but with a special manipulation, a mist that protected secrets would rise from it.
It was familiar to me and Amethus.
This metal tin was always necessary when talking about the previous life I had experienced.
“You saw Aida, didn't you?”
“Are you talking about the Widow Queen?”
“Yes. How did she seem?”
“She seemed out of her mind.”
It had been a very brief encounter, but Amethus had sensed the signs of long-standing madness on her face.
She looked very tired and sensitive.
Either on the verge of going mad, or long since mad. I did not deny it.
“You saw correctly. She was never in her right mind. But back then, she had enough sense to realize she was mad.”
“…And now she doesn't even know she's mad?”
“Probably.”
I blurted out.
“Me, Obro, and Aida. The three of us were called heroes.”
“I heard that.”
“Before the final battle with the Empire, I realized we couldn't win. So I asked the other two. If I were to go back to the past, what would you want me to do for you.”
Obro Denoebang had asked for a chance to save those trapped in the underworld.
When I did as he said, the White Lord recovered to an even nobler state than before.
“Aida said this.”
I retraced my long-held memories.
It was an old story, already more than seven years ago.
“'My husband Yulan is also in the underworld, so rescue him. Just rescue him and let him meet me. After that, if you stay still, everything will resolve itself within three days. Yes, if you just stay still…….'”
“And?”
“That’s it.”
“……?”
Amethus tilted his head, and I clicked my tongue.
“That’s all I heard from Aida.”
“…That's all? Then……”
“Yes.”
I snickered.
I seemed rather angry.
“Being thrown in prison, I never even imagined it.”
“…Really?”
“Really.”
Amethus was bewildered.
He immediately clenched his fists tightly.
“Then… should we break out now?”
It would not be a difficult task.
No matter how deep, dark, and secret the dungeon was, there was no wall that could withstand a single blow from Amethus.
Even without their weapons, I had the ‘Septem Arcana’, and Amethus was Amethus.
Unless the guard was Obro Denoebang, they could not be contained.
“No. We’re not breaking out.”
I shook my head.
“Thinking about it now, Aida must have known it would turn out this way.”
“…Her past self knew we would be thrown in prison? Then why didn't she say anything?”
“She's that kind of woman.”
The regressed prince did not hide his annoyance.
The Widow Queen Aida was more than capable of such a thing.
Even when she was called a hero, her twisted personality meant she kept no one close except for me and Obro.
No, on second thought, she didn't get along well with Obro Denoebang either.
Only Shion Pollinglight could be called her one and only friend.
“What a psycho……. I wondered why she emphasized staying still for three days so much. Would it kill her to just tell me?”
Before the regression, Aida had been like that.
Stay still.
Once Yulan and she met, my job was done, so I should stay put for at least three days without doing anything.
I had wondered what that meant, and it seemed this was it.
“Let's just think of it as resting for three days, Amethus.”
I sighed, looking at the damp ceiling of the dungeon.
“It’s still better than the underworld, isn’t it?”
***
The Schmeizen dungeon was horrendous.
The guard didn't even give them meals.
However, I was not the least bit uncomfortable.
The Mana Armor Valziart contained a separate dimension, and I used to carry various items in it.
There were not only emergency rations but also high-end sweets from Shaebo Confectionery in Maesh and Fre leaf tea.
Amethus, Yulan, and I leisurely enjoyed teatime in the dungeon.
The filthy interior had been cleaned up using the ‘Fantasy Finger’.
Specifically, after scraping the walls once, I casually threw the resulting debris into the guardroom.
The guard wanted to swing his club at them for their un-prisoner-like attitude, but he couldn't because of Amethus's sharp, jade-colored eyes.
“…In all my life, I've never seen fellows enjoying teatime in prison.”
“Who are you?”
I raised my teacup to the unfamiliar visitor.
“Would you care for a cup, if you'd like?”
“…No, I'm fine. I'll just take the thought.”
The visitor was an old man.
It was clear at a glance that he was a man of no ordinary high rank.
Unlike Prime Minister Belrsasal, he had a gentle impression, but he didn't seem like a man to be trifled with either.
“May I ask who you are?”
“There's nothing to hide. I am an old man named Adrak.”
“Hoh. What brings the Finance Minister of Schmeizen to such a humble prison?”
Finance Minister Adrak.
He was known to stand on the opposite side of Prime Minister Belrsasal.
If so, the purpose of his visit to me was obvious. Adrak opened his mouth.
“I won't beat around the bush. I've heard your story, Shion of Merion.”
“What story?”
“Stories that force me to acknowledge you as a true hero!”
Adrak continued.
“I'll get you out of here right now. Help me defeat that villainous Belrsasal! Her Majesty the Queen is being deceived!”
“Well, this is an offer I can't refuse……”
I smiled brightly.
“But I refuse.”