35 – The Utter Trash’s End
A cramped prison cell filled with frost and ice. Pointed glacial spears pierced into a certain elderly man's flesh, dripping blood down onto the frost and creating the illusion of blooming crimson flowers. Meanwhile, a supply of high end potions dripped down from above, preventing his death.
That was the sight that Mirellia walked into when she arrived.
The Utter Trash immediately looked up with a scowl, but it became relieved when he saw it was her. "W-Wife!" His jaw clattered from the cold as he spoke and said, "Y-Your d-d-damned Shadows bound me here!"
Mirellia's expression was as cold as the ice restraining that Utter Trash. "I know they did. I ordered them too."
The Utter Trash stilled. "...What?"
Mirellia let out a cold smile and said, "Tell me, just what were you thinking? Summoning all four heroes against my wishes? Before the negotiations were concluded? Did you want Melromarc to burn in war?"
"N-No! Of course not!" The Utter Trash scowled and said, "I-It w-w-was a countermeasure...! D-D-Damn it, release me from this ice, Woman!"
"Woman... yes." Mirellia snapped her fan open to hide her face. Because that Utter Trash no longer deserved to see it. "That is all I am to you now, isn't it? A woman who stands in the way to you exercising authority as sovereign of Melromarc."
The Utter Trash flinched and said, "N-No. That's not-"
"It is."
Mirellia cut him off and said, "It has been for a while. Do you think me a fool, Lüge?"
The Utter Trash's eyes widened in shock.
Mirellia gently fanned her face to cool the rising heat she felt from her wrath. "Surprised? Yes. Lüge. You lost the right to the name I gave you after what you did."
The Utter Trash shook his head and said, "I don't understand! Wife, all I did was for Melromarc!"
"Oh?" Mirellia paused and said, "Do explain yourself."
The Utter Trash looked at Mirellia and said, "Melromarc was weak! IS weak! So if we summoned the four heroes then-"
"Then what? You say that, but you immediately marginalized one from the beginning. Sir Naofumi was tossed to the side to fend for himself, and you allowed our venomous daughter to defame him with the worst crime."
"Defame?! It was the truth! The Shield Devil clearly did it!"
Mirellia stared at the sheer conviction in the Utter Trash before her. Then she realized it. "...You HAVE gone mad."
"What?" The Utter Trash glared and said, "I haven't gone mad! I'm still me! This is for Melromarc's best interest!"
"Is it? Then explain the nobles who abused children and women and treated them as disposable toys. Explain my own citizens being enslaved by mere virtue of their birth and being executed in the most heinous ways by lecherous noble fools. Explain the nobles exploiting their own people to fatten their bellies and pockets as well as execute other nobles to seize land and territory?"
The Utter Trash laughed and said, "So what? They were just demi-humans, weren't they?" He spat and said, "Those monsters deserve to-"
"I wasn't talking about the demi-humans."
The Utter Trash froze. "...What?"
Mirellia snapped her fan shut and said, "You blind fool... Did you think those nobles stopped at demi-humans? When you gave them an inch, they stole the country. By wielding 'support of demi-humans' as a blade, they cleaved whatever they wanted, killed whoever they pleased, and pillaged my country in my absence."
The Utter Trash shook his head. "No. No, that's impossible. That couldn't-"
"Lüge." Mirellia stared at the Utter Trash. Then she said, "...Do you remember what you said to me that day we wed? When my young, teenaged self entrusted herself and her country to you, who had saved it all?"
The Utter Trash froze. His eyes slowly cleared as he recalled the past. Then he slowly murmured, "...That I would rather die than harm you or our home."
"Yes. And so... I am the queen who commands the origin of power."
The Utter Trash stared at Mirellia. Then he let out a long a weary sigh and closed his eyes.
Mirellia's heart felt like it was bleeding. But she continued. "I have read and deciphered a law of nature..."
"...I was wrong, Mirellia. Goodbye."
Mirellia's breath hitched. But she hardened her heart and finished the chant. "Sever his life, blade of ice. Icicle Sword."
Mana flared. The frost in the prison cell coalesced into a blade.
And then it swung, decapitating the Utter Trash before her.
Mirellia stared at the corpse on the ground bleeding out onto the stone floor. Then she quietly said, "...I was too soft. You should have died long ago, Lüge." After that, she tossed her fan next to the corpse. The one that he gave her when they first met as a gift.
The shadows stirred, and then Mirellia's personal Shadow appeared. "...Should I dispose of it, Your Majesty?"
Was it because she realized the severity of the situation? Or was it just consideration?
Either way, for once, the Shadow didn't add 'I dare say.'
Mirellia decisively turned her heel on the corpse and said, "...Burn it. War is coming anyway. That Utter Trash can have some use in his death. Make it believable, as if Four Bray sent an assassin."
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
"...And keep saying 'I dare say.' It lightens the mood."
"...I understand, I dare say."
Mirellia let out a thin smile and walked off. Her footsteps echoed behind her. And as they did, she forcibly turned her attention to the next steps.
Partially to distract herself from her pained heart, but mostly to assure that Melromarc would persist.
'Melty... I will inform her that her father was assassinated- No.' Mirellia sighed and murmured, "I should not hide it."
It pained her heart more, but Melty would potentially be inheriting a country embroiled within the flames of war.
Knowing what hard choices had to be made... it was essential.
And though Mirellia wished to spare Melty the pains that she herself had gone through as a young teenager inheriting a country in the midst of war against Siltvelt...
'It seems history is cruel and repeats without caring of who it harms.'
Mirellia continued making her way along the halls and towards the stairs.
Behind her, she felt a wave of heat. Shadow, incinerating the corpse and setting the scene.
Mirellia felt another pang of pain in her heart. But more than that, she felt a pang of fury and betrayal.
Because the one she gave her everything to had thrown it all away so senselessly. To the extent that, if any of the heroes decided to simply leave, or were unfortunate enough to perish...
Then both she and Melty would become mere toys for Four Bray... in the best case scenario.
Knowing the bitter enmity that Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden had with them...
"No." Mirellia murmured. "There is no need to consider worstcase scenarios."
That was a path that led to madness.
And Melromarc was already dealing with the aftermath of one mad ruler.
So instead, as Mirellia took the long walk back to her now empty royal bedchambers, she considered what needed to occur next.
The Three Heroes would be moving under their own prerogative. While she would supply them with information, it was likely better for them if Melromarc simply remained a safe hub of activity. Moreover, it seemed they all had access to the Portal series of weapons, so they could return as needed.
More than that, a bit of distance could buy a bit of time. If the other countries thought it was possible to win the heroes over, they would hold off on a direct invasion and sending out their best forces to slaughter them all.
'Those three still need time.'
They were young. Green. And while they were fast improving, their levels were far from sufficient. Moreover, their personal skills with their weapons were also far from sufficient.
So Mirellia needed to buy them time. Especially since they were the only countermeasures left against the waves.
And to do so...
'Sir Naofumi is necessary.'
The former Shield Hero. The one that Mirellia wanted to summon. The one she would have already given everything to support.
He was now a free agent. The waves would no longer summon him. And he had no reason to help anyone.
In fact, he had every reason to leave them all behind.
So Mirellia had to give him a reason to stay. A reason to, if not fight with them, at least help them to survive this crisis. To buy time for the Three Heroes to come into their own.
As Mirellia reached her royal bedchambers, she sighed. Opening the door, she murmured, "The discussion tomorrow will be everything."
Mirellia didn't care about herself. But as long as Melromarc remained standing... and as long as Melty was safe long enough to inherit the throne as an adult...
'Anything.'
She would give anything.