Volume 8, Chapter 48 – The Capricious Queen

“This place also has humanoid figures carved here. Although it’s the work of the same hand as the Wall of Sighs, this place should be harder to breach. It’s safest as a place to store memories. Similar magic has appeared in my world as well.”

After crossing the lake of asphalt-like black sludge and arriving at the lakebed, Claire examined the dark crimson gate of the immortal sanctuary. A flicker of recollection passed through her clear emerald eyes.

Claire only couldn’t remember things directly related to herself. Most events that had occurred in her original world, she remembered very clearly. This was also why Anastasia, Liti, and Milu were so fascinated by the stories Claire told—the tales she recounted were as magnificent and soul-stirring as epics.

“I feel like Claire and I are similar in this regard. I also can’t remember my own past, but I remember the world’s background very clearly.”

Fia, beside Claire, rested her chin on her finger and said playfully.

Only Fia, Claire, and Lucitine had come to the lakebed. Above, on the lake’s surface, the undead’s overwhelming cheers still continued. If they needed to eat and sleep, the entire city would already be filled with the aroma of ale and roasted meat.

Another thing worth mentioning was that after returning to the palace, Lucitine immediately brought Fia and Claire to the lake behind the gray hall. On the surface, she was anxious about Claire’s matter, but in reality, she was masking her own tension and shyness.

Not only did she publicly lift Fia up, but she also declared to all the undead, in front of Fia’s fiancée, that she was drawn to Fia. This near-provocative act, which would surely incur Fia’s wrath, made her afraid to sit down and talk with Fia and Claire. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it. In comparison, finding some serious business to distract them both was much easier.

However, Lucitine also knew clearly that even if she escaped this once, Fia would definitely confront her later. At this moment, her mind was in turmoil. She was both excited about holding Fia and declaring her feelings, and anxious about the potential blame that might come at any time—especially the disgust from Claire, the fiancée. She knew Fia’s character well; this was an elf princess who could reject her, the Queen of Death’s, proposal. If her fiancée Claire disliked her, she would never have the chance to be with Fia again.

Thinking this, Lucitine’s heart grew even more nervous, her limbs feeling weak.

No, she had to find an opportunity to explain to Claire… no, to beg for forgiveness. If necessary, crying and clinging to Claire’s leg, begging for her acceptance, would be fine. And Fia—Fia had already rejected her. Now she had put Fia in an impossible situation. Anyone with a strong personality would resent this. Maybe Fia was already starting to despise her, this fool who made decisions without prior consultation. Furthermore, perhaps after she took Claire to meet the first Venex and learned about Claire’s past, Fia would coldly cut ties with her.

Gulp.

Lucitine couldn’t help but swallow. She could already imagine in her mind Fia standing before her with cold words, saying decisively, “I told you, you have to see more people before making a decision. I gave you the chance, but you forced my hand and tried to disrupt the feelings between Claire and me. I don’t like despicable people like you. We’re through.”

No, no, I didn’t mean to disrupt your relationship…

Lucitine hurriedly waved her hand in refusal in her mind. She wanted to step forward, grab Fia’s hand, and stop her. But Fia still turned away coldly, and before leaving, she slightly tilted her head, casting her a contemptuous and disgusted look.

No!

Imagining this far, Lucitine was already holding her head in her hands, painfully kneeling on the ground—of course, this was her imagination. In reality, she was pressing her palm against the dark crimson gate, forcefully pushing it open.

Cold sweat trickled down her back. Her arm pushing the door trembled slightly. The deeper her deductions went, the more fear she felt. She began to regret, already thinking about how to apologize properly.

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Obviously, if she wanted to apologize, she should start with Claire, so Fia would have a way out. But the problem was, how could she earn forgiveness?

This fatal question stood before Lucitine’s eyes.

She didn’t know Claire’s character, and hadn’t even exchanged a few words with her. She could only guess Claire’s reaction from her own standpoint. If she were Claire, faced with an unfamiliar woman using forceful methods, and moreover, in her own country, publicly declaring that her fiancée was the object of her affection, what would she think?

With a “ whoosh ,” a rage that nearly consumed Lucitine’s reason shot from her chest straight to her brain. She was furious, wanting to tear apart the woman who had stolen her cute and powerful Fia. That’s right, she was from the World Tree Continent; she could accept her king having multiple wives. But don’t forget, she was the main wife! How dare a later woman ignore her? And on top of that, publicly lifting Fia up, using the whole nation to pressure her, as if saying to her, the main wife, “Look, I have so many supporters among my people. Compared to a loner like you, disliked by all, I’m more qualified to be by Fia’s side.”

The more she thought this way, the angrier Lucitine became. Her previously limp arms filled with rage, strong enough to shatter the Ninth-Tier Absolute Evil with one punch. This behavior of taking advantage of Fia’s kindness and loveliness, climbing all over her face, was simply disregarding her, the main wife! Daring to challenge the Queen of Death’s dignity, she must make this arrogant woman pay!

Lucitine’s eyebrows were already raised, her pure pink eyes seemingly about to spit fire. Her head hot, she turned around to settle scores with Claire. But as her consciousness returned to her physical body and her palm felt the rough, cold metal touch of the dark crimson gate, her enraged brain was instantly doused with ice water, rapidly cooling down.

No, Lucitine, you’re the third party. You’re the one who stole Claire’s cute and powerful Little Fia.

“Guuh.”

In an instant, guilt filled Lucitine’s chest. Just briefly putting herself in Claire’s perspective had made her so angry she clenched her fists, ready to fight. As the real victim, Claire must only want to twist her head off and hang it on the city wall!

Why hasn’t Miss Claire made a move…

Thinking this, Lucitine’s heart leaped with fear, feeling as if she had thorns on her back. She felt Claire glaring at her back with a killing gaze, like marking a pig, contemplating where to start cutting.

Help!

Lucitine screamed sorrowfully in her heart, but it was all her own doing. She could only deduce over and over in her mind what method of weeping and wailing she should use to beg Claire’s forgiveness later. Perhaps only by dragging her daughter Ruth along and adopting an extremely lowly attitude could she gain a little of Claire’s pity.

Of course, all of this was Lucitine’s imagination. While she was pushing the door, Fia and Claire’s conversation continued.

“What similar magic does Claire mean?”

“That Demon Lord named Tartaros sealed his magic power and memories within his bones. Whenever the old Demon Lord died, the Demon Lord’s bones enshrined in the Demon Lord’s palace would select a new Demon Lord from among the many demons to inherit the Demon Lord’s power. But the Tartaros in my memories doesn’t look like the figure on the Wall of Sighs. Although they all have horns, the horns on Demon Lord Tartaros’s head are more like ox horns, not the style on the Wall of Sighs. They’re probably not related.”

“Not related, huh? I was thinking earlier whether Claire might be that Demon Lord’s daughter or direct descendant.”

“How could such a coincidence happen? I also don’t think that Demon Lord would allow his descendant to inexplicably teleport to another world. Ultimately, I wasn’t born from a mother’s womb; I’m an anomaly.”

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With the heavy rumble of the dark crimson gate opening, the immortal sanctuary, filled with dazzling white light, appeared before Fia and Claire. Strangely, the white light within the sanctuary didn’t radiate outward; it only illuminated a circle around the lakebed. Normally, with this amount of light, the entire lake should have been filled with this dazzling whiteness. The light seemed to be confined by an invisible barrier.

Afraid to face Fia and Claire, Lucitine’s expression tightened. She didn’t even dare turn her head back. She strenuously suppressed the tremor in her voice, striving to sound serious.

“You can enter. Last time, because Fia was so strong, I didn’t mention it, but the pressure inside the immortal sanctuary is intense enough to crush a normal person into a meat patty. If you feel uncomfortable after entering, first stand still without moving. After a while, the pressure will decrease on its own as your body adapts to the environment.”

This statement was obviously directed at Claire. Lucitine only knew Claire’s strength was Ninth Tier; she had never used the undead’s investigation magic to check. Probing someone’s strength was rude behavior. Only people ignorant of etiquette like Fia would casually scan others.

Since Claire didn’t answer, Lucitine, already nervous about offending Claire, became even more timid and quickly explained.

“I don’t mean to belittle Miss Claire. Also, if the Venexes inside are still crazy later, don’t worry about my face. Just kill them directly. This is the immortal sanctuary. No matter how many times you kill them, they’ll recover.”

Having said this, Lucitine briskly stepped into the immortal sanctuary as if fleeing. But the moment her left foot crossed the threshold, a hand formed by Fia’s [Telekinesis] landed on Lucitine’s shoulder. If not for saving face for Lucitine, the Queen of Death, she would have already started dealing with this idiot who publicly lifted her up—thank goodness this was the kingdom of the dead. If this were Silvar, her image of cool intelligence would have been completely destroyed by her.

“Eep!”

Feeling Fia grab her shoulder, Lucitine immediately let out a small whimper. She shrank her neck and shoulders and asked sheepishly.

“Fi… Fia, what do you want to do?”

“What do I want to do? Lucitine knows best. Making me lose face in front of all those people just now, not explaining things clearly to Claire—”

“I’m terribly sorry! I already know I was wrong! That was me acting impulsively without thinking about the consequences. Please forgive me, Miss Claire! I, I can have Ruth serve you as a maid for a year as an apology. I beg you, please don’t let Fia hate me!!”

Before Fia could finish, Lucitine, as if she had practiced it countless times, skillfully turned around and flung herself before Claire. With tearful, pitiful eyes, she looked up at Claire from below. If not for fear of being rejected by Claire, she would have already been grabbing Claire’s arms with both hands and kneeling.

“Uhm…”

Both Fia and Claire stood frozen. They looked at each other, equally stunned by Lucitine’s unbelievable reaction. This was the dignified, ruthless queen sung about by outsiders, yet now she showed no trace of queenliness whatsoever.

Feeling her attitude wasn’t sincere enough, Lucitine emphasized again, her lips forming a wavy line, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“I… I beg for your forgiveness!”

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Although she was somewhat angry at Lucitine’s actions, it hadn’t reached the point where she needed to apologize like this…

Both Claire and Fia thought the same, so Lucitine’s proactive move now actually left them unsure how to proceed.

Failing to get help from Fia, Claire, the one being begged, had no choice but to try to help Lucitine stand up while hesitantly explaining.

“I didn’t mean to make Lucitine apologize… I just think that Lucitine’s liking for Little Fia is still far from being called love. You should think it over more.”

Actually, Claire also wanted to say the words Lucitine feared most—”Also, when feelings aren’t yet mutual, isn’t it not great to declare love in front of me, the fiancée?” But Claire felt this would only make Lucitine more afraid of her, and she could say it later, so she didn’t.

Unexpectedly, Claire didn’t blame her. Lucitine’s tear-glimmering pink eyes widened.

“I… I mean, I disrupted your relationship with Fia.”

“That’s Little Fia’s fault for being so flirtatious everywhere.”

“Eh?”

Am I not the victim here?!

Fia standing nearby was dumbfounded. She hadn’t asked Lucitine to lift her up.

However, Claire’s lie, meant to comfort Lucitine, only made Lucitine more nervous. The fundamental reason she begged Claire for forgiveness was her fear of being hated by Fia. Now Claire was putting the blame on Fia, which was equal to pushing Fia further away, making her hate Lucitine even more. Tears once again gathered in her eyes.

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault! Fia has nothing to do with it!”

Hey, this is actually making me feel guilty.

Fia complained inwardly. Meanwhile, Claire cast Fia a look that said, “See what you’ve done.” Fia could only look innocent—how was she supposed to know Lucitine would be this afraid of Claire?

Maybe this was the aura of a fiancée.

With no other choice, Claire could only sigh longly. Claire and Lucitine were similar in height, but Lucitine was more developed. The way Lucitine was now hugging her made her own plump chest feel stifled—in the process, Claire also caught a glimpse of the snow-white, deep cleavage that had amazed Fia. Even as a fellow woman, Claire couldn’t help but be inwardly stunned.

“Alright, I’m not blaming you. Next time something like this happens, I hope Miss Lucitine can be more restrained. Then I’ll forgive you.”

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“How could there be a next time! There won’t be!”

Finally obtaining Claire’s forgiveness, Lucitine, who had been trembling in fear of Claire, quickly patted her chest in assurance. Then she clenched her hands, lowered her eyebrows, and cautiously peeked at Fia.

“Fi… Fia doesn’t hate me, right?”

If she didn’t know Lucitine was a simple soul without scheming thoughts, Fia would have thought she was deliberately feigning this pitiful look.

“I never hated Lucitine in the first place. I don’t understand why Lucitine looks like she’s about to cry.”

Clearly she was the victim, yet now she had to comfort Lucitine in return. Feeling the absurdity of the world, Fia crossed her arms and sighed helplessly.

“Also, although this isn’t my place to say, since I created this body for you, I’m also considered half a mother to Lucitine. My opinion is the same as Claire’s. You should think more about matters of the heart and not jump to conclusions easily. Especially in front of your own people. What if it doesn’t work out? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

Fia could indeed feel Lucitine’s sincerity. It was just that they had known each other for too short a time, and Lucitine was too young. Fia didn’t have any secular feelings for Lucitine.

Seeing that Lucitine looked like she wanted to refute, Fia held her palm towards Lucitine, signaling her not to argue on this topic. She motioned with her chin towards the gate emitting white light.

“Let’s go in first. Besides finding the first Venex, I have other things I want to confirm.”

By identifying each generation of Venex, she could determine whether the pure white fairy she had encountered was a certain generation of Venex who had inherited Lucitine’s memories.

Having said this, Fia was the first to step into the dazzling white light.

Translator Note

surprise illust; Lucitine weep XD