Chapter 401. She Is Older Than You
"Hey, what's going on?"
What was supposed to come had come.
Lucius asked, her eyes wide open with determination to get an answer. She spoke in a condescending manner, a habit she picked up from being a queen. She demanded to hear all the details, as was her subconscious greed.
"Yes..."
Char let out a long groan, as if he was reminding a classmate playing with their phone that their homeroom teacher was behind them. He gestured at Joshua with his mouth, questioning whether it was wise to reveal secrets in front of the enemy.
The man had served as a perfect excuse for Char to use, and thus, it would be a waste not to use him.
Lucius immediately realized that this was indeed a matter that should not be heard.
Lucius frowned and looked at Joshua, unsure of what to do with him.
Though the elves were true to their words, there were many loopholes that could be exploited. Moreover, it was by no means an exaggeration to claim that Queen Lucius had a vicious temperament...
In the face of this guy who had openly rebelled, she could think of ten thousand ways to make him die a terrible death. It all depended on whether she was willing or not.
"Can you let me deal with him?"
Lucius raised her head and looked at Char, putting on a pitiful look while doing so.
"Please show mercy."
Char's gaze went past Lucius and reached Astro who was standing behind her.
"You're not just a Queen now."
"Of course I understand."
"Do you really understand?"
Char took a few steps back and signaled for Lucius to deal with them.
Joshua's face was ice-cold as he looked at the Queen he had always looked down upon. He thought of the ups and downs of the past few days and felt a sense of sadness.
His eyes flickered between Lucius and Char, who was situated not far away, and he felt incredulous.
The Prince believed that he was superior to the young Queen in terms of both methods and courage, and the only variable that had thrown a wrench in his flawless plan was Char.
Even so, the premise of all this was that Lucius had unreserved trust in Shaya.
Without the Queen's complete trust, Char alone would not have been able to stir up a storm of this magnitude.
However, this was where the problem lay...
Under the full supervision of the Avengers, as the Queen, it should have been impossible for Lucius to contact such a character who had been causing trouble on the surface for the past six months... In fact, this was the first time the two of them had ever met.
This means that this little girl had immediately identified the key figure to solve her problem and was unwaveringly devoted to him until death.
Was this reasonable?
No, not at all.
Yet, it was the unfolding of this childish story that even young adults under twenty would not believe, which ultimately resulted in the most perfect ending.
Is there anything more absurd than this?
"Minister Astro."
Just as Joshua was lost in thought, Lucius suddenly spoke.
The Prince frowned slightly. Was she going to use the cruelest punishment, where father and son were to kill one another?
To have a newly sworn-in knight kill his own father to prove his loyalty...
It seemed that he himself would have made the same choice.
"Your Majesty,"
Astro lowered his head and stepped forward, his fists clenched tightly.
He silently waited for the verdict.
"Here, I'll leave the captive to you."
"What?"
Astro was stunned, and Joshua's eyes shot open in surprise.
Could it be that she was still testing Astro?
The Prince speculated maliciously.
"What are you waiting for? Is my order not clear enough?"
Lucius looked slightly unhappy.
"The fate of the captive is at your disposal. Whether you kill him or let him go, it's all up to you. You can even bring him back to the other side, if the others agree, that is."
After a brief moment of shock, Astolfo was relieved.
He excitedly kneeled down on one knee.
"Praise be to your mercy, Your Majesty."
"Don't thank me, Astro. This is what you deserve. But please understand that mercy is like clear spring water. Although it is pure and beautiful, too much mercy can be enough to drown you."
After speaking, Lucius gestured to Char with a nod and turned around gracefully.
Char quickly followed.
But just as he passed Astro, the latter heard an almost imperceptible reminder.
"Crystal Illusory snake."
The black-armored Knight shook suddenly, as if he had just seen the light.
He looked at Char's back with gratitude.
[ Astro's favorability towards you has increased. ]
Char stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
...
...
A few hours ago, Astro had almost used the Crystal Illusory Snake to assassinate the Queen herself, he had plenty of those items in hand.
Apart from turning people into puppets, this thing also had a superficial function, or even a side effect, which was to make people die on the spot. Of course, the Spritely family, who cross-bred magical beasts to form Chimeras, could easily control the degree of "death" inflicted. Char believed that he had gained Astro's favorability only because the latter had understood this implication.
For the wounded soldiers, Prince Joshua must die, and without his death, the anger of the army cannot be appeased. Should they learn that Astro released his father out of favoritism, this anger will be transferred to him instead.
As such, the only good play for Astro was to have his father fake his death.
But then again, Char did not think that there was any chance for Joshua to turn the tables even if he were to returned to his forces alive...
What he said to Joshua earlier was not only to convince him, but also to seriously check if his reasoning process was complete by repeating it.
He knew very little about Prisilia because this female noble lived in seclusion and was always a character on the edge of the stage. In the past hundred rounds, she did not have many scenes. Most of the time, she appeared as the mysterious 'woman' in the last words of bosses in various quests.
It would be the foreshadowing for the second season of the game's plotline.
Unfortunately, the past Sursees were all too short-lived, often burned to ashes before the second season could air.
This was a result of the wheel of time. Even if Priscilla had the power to move heaven and earth, she was still ground to dust under it.
It was for this reason that Char did not think highly of Joshua.
His-or rather, their actions had built the perfect stage for Prisilia.
There was another important reason for this... That was, before they had the chance to "brazenly rebel," several of their leaders had died one after another.
This secret remained hidden until Char discovered it in this round, showing just how hidden it was.
However, because of this, not many people would know about it, specially after the death of Prince Flowerblossom, Old Maimon, and the others.
Throughout history, uprisings have been about sudden explosions, multiple blooms, and then mutual responses, like sparks starting a prairie fire...
However, now, there was only one person left among the rebellion's figureheads, Joshua. Even if he has a chance to rally, if no one responds, would it not be awkward?
It would be highly embarrassing.
Char sincerely hoped that Joshua had seen his predicament clearly, so that he could avoid putting himself six-feet under...
After all, to Char, a living and breathing Joshua would prove the most useful to him, and at the same time, it would improve Astro's favorability towards him as well.
It could be foreseen that the awakened new generation of Dark Elves led by Astro will all be talented supporters of Lucius in the future. If Char wants to become the prince of all races, he cannot do without their support.
Of course, the biggest support was still in his hands.
No matter how unstable Andaheim was, and regardless of who the protagonist of the stage play was, the Queen would still have a significant role to play in the end.
This was a tradition, the most deep-rooted concept, and the inertia of the times. It was far above the childishness of gender opposition.
Without significant change, "overthrowing the queen" is not something that can be achieved by just a few nobles.
Lucius was not Charles I, and Sursee is not Cromwell.
After sorting out his thoughts, Char followed Lucius and left the campsite.
Suddenly, the Queen stopped in her tracks.
"I did you a favor. How are you going to thank me?"
Lucius suddenly asked him.
Char was slightly taken aback, but he immediately realized that she was referring to the incident with Joshua.
As expected of Her Majesty the Queen. With a single glance, she could tell that he did not wish for Joshua to die, and instead, he wanted him to return and mess up the morale of the army.
However, Char would not admit this.
if what you owe me is a negative number and what I owe you is a positive number, do you think it's a positive or negative now?" Char did not hold back.
"Are you referring to the incident where I handed Joshua over to Astro to handle?"
"What?"
Char raised his eyebrows.
There's an even deeper meaning to her words?
Lucius looked at him with a lively and self-satisfied expression in her eyes.
It could be called a little trick, but it did not seem like it based on Char's understanding.
It could be called great wisdom, but that kind of coyness and self-praise was not wisdom at all...
Perhaps only when it comes to this girl can "little devil" be used to describe her so harmoniously and accurately.
"You gave the Crystal Illusory Snakes to Astro. He will be grateful to you for the rest of his life. Those who follow him will also be grateful to you for the rest of their lives."
Eh?
Char did not expect his little trick to be discovered.
"How could I not notice something that almost harmed me?" Lucius snorted.
Char stammered and pouted.
As expected, it was not easy to fool NPCs that had their own cognitive abilities.
He was reminded of Anu, who was hiding within the Holy Sword Narshil.
Then, he had an even bigger headache.
When they left the semigod space, Shaya had done two other things besides holding Joshua hostage. The first was related to the method he used to kill Maimon, which was put aside for now. The other was to use the power of Wonder Anchor to safely send Anu and the mother-daughter duo back to the anchor point in Ravesland, where they would meet up with the Ji Kai race that were hiding in the ruins.
Therefore, one could imagine how lively the base was now.
Rosswealth, Anu, and the child-bearing Ksenja were not easy to deal with.
Oh, right, Ortlinde was there too.
However, poor Ortlinde had never seen such a scene before. The child, who would turn as red as a cherry when she touched Char's hand, must have been scared to death...
If he were to expand his horizons more, there was also Evelyn to consider...
Ahhhh—
What a headache.
He did not want to think about it.
He did not want to think about anything else. As the saying goes, he would cross that bridge when he comes to it.
Fortunately, the female lead was still on the surface.
To a certain extent, Shaya was also hiding here, partly to avoid being idle.
"Hey, hey? Are you listening?"
Lucius looked angry.
"Ah... Yes, I am."
Shaya dug at his earwax.
"But even with this addition, you still owe me more. I saved you twice, killed the Giant, and helped you resolved such a huge trouble. Others' gratitude and the like are all earned by my own abilities. What does it have to do with you?"
"Hmph, are you this calculative with Evelyn too?"
"Of course not,"
"In what way am I worse than her?"
"She's whiter than you, her butt is perkier than yours, her chest is bigger than yours, and her legs are longer than yours."
Char sized Lucius up and felt that he was not satisfied. Thus, he added fuel to the fire.
"Not only is she taller than you, but she also has a better temper than you. Hey, don't you think this is infuriating?"
Lucius had only said those words out of a moment of frustration, but she did not expect Char to retort so quickly and in such detail.
The Queen turned her head and walked forward quickly, not saying anything else for a long time.
After several steps, she seemed to have completely dispelled her anger. She stopped and asked calmly.
"What do you plan on doing next?"
Now that's what I'm talking about. Why'd you have to bring up Evelyn to begin with?
Char happily answered, "I'll wait for Joshua to return and fight to the death with Priscilla. If he can make it back to Sursee alive, he'll secretly plan for a male uprising, and there will be a gender struggle in Sursee. When both sides are exhausted, you will lead this army of Dark Elves to serve as our guides and lead our fellow Elven and prairie people's armies to conquer the capital in one fell swoop."
"This is impossible!"
Lucius was truly angry this time.
"How could you..."
"Why couldn't I? Do you expect me to become the Queen's hand, personally help you wipe out the traitors, personally send you back to the throne, and then kneel down and shout 'Long Live the Queen' with Astro and the others?"
Char teased.
Lucius stared wide-eyed at him, as if she had gained a new understanding of Shaya.
"E-even in the past, you've never resorted to such an act..."
"Do you have a fever?"
Char could not help but touch her forehead.
"You don't remember? I've personally led the Army of the United Holy Kingdom to 'forcibly interfere with the internal affairs of Andaheim' more than a dozen times. Your fame in Sursee is getting bigger and bigger, and isn't it all due to me? I thought you would remember it very clearly."
"Of course I remember!" "You're an executioner, but I didn't think you'd make the same choice this time..."
"It's not up to me, Your Majesty."
Char said slowly, "I am just a passerby in history, and the collapse of Andaheim is its predetermined path. I am neither the instigator nor the executioner. The wind I stirred up while passing by just made it collapse, how could it fall to me to push it down with my own hands?"
Andaheim, doomed to decay, has only two possible outcomes in the past: collapse with a gentle push or collapse without any push, the difference between the two lies in the mood of the United Holy Kingdom.
Or perhaps... It all depended on Char's mood.
If the United Holy Kingdom is thrown into chaos by Char, then it is likely that there will be an attack on the underground to transfer the crisis, as well as a demonstration of force to divert his attention from the main plotline and force Char to focus on the battle to eradicate the Zin'rokh's nest.
If Char assists the United Holy Kingdom as a neutral or even friendly party, then he will be watching as Andaheim destroys itself...
So it seems reasonable to say that it depends on Char's mood...
"So that's why I said, you wouldn't do something like this!"
Lucius grabbed Char's hand.
"You've seen it this time. You must have seen it, right? They're completely different Dark Elves, they're real Dark Elves, they ..."
"Yes, but what about it?"
Char looked at her seriously.
"You used your influence to revive a group of dark elves, awakening the glory in their blood... I admit, it is touching, it's beautiful, it's 'elf-like', it is enough to inspire poets to write endless poetry."
"But what does this have to do with me?"
"But..."
"I can't just kneel at your feet for such a weak reason as 'appreciation'..."
Char glanced at her pretty lavender dress.
"... Besides, your chest... Well, it's lacking, to say the least."
Lucius ignored his teasing and carefully considered his words. Before long, she understood what Char was implying.
He was proposing conditions.
"What do I have to do to make you help me?"
She asked very seriously.
She did not act cute, nor did she smile cheekily. Even with a pleading tone, she still carried the air of a queen's majesty.
As expected, she was the same kind of person as Esylian, born to be a Queen.
He had finally reached this step.
Char's expression was stern.
"Go to the surface and apologize to Evelyn."
"Even if you're just pretending, you'd better put in 120% of your acting skills and act seriously."
He spoke each word carefully.
All the calculations, all the operations, all the appeals, were for this one request.
Since Lucius was not willing to admit her mistake, he would personally tear off her disguise and dignity, make her bleed, make her cry, and let her see this cruelty.
Silence.
A long silence.
At first, there was incredulous shock, followed by an uncontrollable laughter.
This laughter was like the cuckoo's cry of blood, laughing at both Char's absurdity and her own greed and childishness.
Slowly, the laughter turned into self-mockery and bitterness. The queen stumbled and almost lost her balance.
Char did not go to help her, his expression remained unchanged until she stopped laughing.
The miserable smile froze on her face and was difficult to dispel, becoming a kind of sadness.
"Is she really that important to you?"
"Yes."
Char nodded.
"Then... how important is she to you?"
"As important as Andaheim is to you."
"Okay."
Lucius's face lit up with a brilliant smile like fresh blood.
"I promise you."
",
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