A Maiden’s Unwanted Heroic Epic

December website update

Chapter 310 Reine XI

Two years later after the Republic of Elsren changed its name to the Holy Empire of Elsren.

In response to the Great Alberan Offensive, Reine personally led elite forces to victory.

And by subjugating the nomadic tribes that often rampaged in the south, Elsren’s fame continued to grow among the people.

The nobles who were eager to achieve success were the ones who caused so much damage during the invasion of Alberan.

If Elsren had been allowed to march from the beginning, such damage would not have occurred.

Many people shared this opinion, and it was said that Elsren should lead the country as king, not as chairman.

The same was true in the parliament――Golzarias, who had not spoken much up until then, took the lead and voiced his opinion that Elsren should learn from this experience and have more rights, and no one could argue with him.

The relationship between the nobles and the people was difficult.

The nobles ruled over them and wield great power, but the foundation of their power was the support of the people.

If they lose their support, their talented people will go to other nobles, and in the worst case scenario, they would rise up and use violence to drive out the nobles, who were the powerful people.

A single commoner had no power over a noble, but once the people unite as a group, they become a fearsome presence that will easily chop off the head of a noble.

And in Elsren today, the people were strangely well-informed.

They know many things that should not normally be leaked to the public, such as ‘This kind of talk was held in the parliament’, or ‘That noble seems to have been opposed to Elsren going to war’.

Giving power to Elsreine, who had achieved such great military feats――it was now tacitly understood that if one were to express a direct opposition to this, the noble's name would likely reach the ears of the people the next day, and even dissatisfied nobles could only remain passively opposed.

It was Kyrias Livasrebe who voiced his concerns about this.

He brought up the issue of the power of her confidant, Golzarias, becoming too strong, rather than that of Elsreine personally.

There was a bit of a dispute, but Oros Natrias, also judged that from what he had seen of Elsreine so far, she was mentally immature as a leader. He said that she should not be given the power to enable dictatorship like Grabaraine, and that at the same time, someone to assist and supervise her was necessary.

Her confidant, Golzarias Lukazan, skilled in both the arts and the military.

Oros Natrias, the core of the Elsreine army.

Kyrias Livasrebe, a wise and shrewd man who mediates the council.

After some discussion, it was decided that the three would become the Three Great Dukes, second only in power to Elsreine.

And so, Narcor Liveners, who had been entrusted with the public welfare of Elsren as a neutral figure, would be appointed as the administrator of the law, even binding the emperor.

Having abandoned the mundane world, he was a symbol of the goodwill that Elsreine desired――his existence in charge of the orphanage was far removed from power and made him a fitting administrator of the law.

For this reason, he was appointed as the Pope, head of the newly established Curia.

Hence the Holy Empire.

It was not a kingdom where the King has absolute power and can manipulate that power as they pleases.

A new name was given to the country, where the Emperor was bound by sacred and righteous law, rules in accordance with it, and operates in cooperation with excellent subjects.

The people gladly accepted this and celebrated the new start of Elsren――but one theory was that it was actually a country of three great dukes with a puppet emperor.

In Reine's atelier within the castle.

She gazed at the finished painting and sighed.

As always, in the paradise Reine depicted, everyone was smiling.

With each stroke, she poured her wishes into the canvas, and with every image that appeared on the blank white cloth, she felt a sense of relief.

“Truly, Elsreine-sama paintings are always mesmerizing. They’re wonderful…”

"...Ehehe"

A woman was standing next to her, gazing intently at the painting.

Her chestnut hair reached her shoulders, and a smile was always on her face, reflecting her personality.

She was originally a child at the orphanage, and her name was Fenella.

She was Reine's attendant.

After leaving Alberan, Raine had not had an attendant.

She had never found it troublesome to make tea herself, and she didn't particularly feel the need for it.

It wasn't that she felt uneasy if she didn't do everything herself, but perhaps she had gotten used to a life without an attendant.

However, it seemed strange to those around her that Reine didn't have an attendant, and even more so since she became emperor, they had said several times that she should have an attendant as a matter of form.

But attendants hold a special position.

Although attendants themselves do not have political power, they could speak to Reine directly, and choosing who to appoint as an attendant could be quite troublesome.

If the attendant was a noble, there was always the main house to consider, and choosing one person meant not choosing others.

Nobles whose bloodline was selected would rejoice at Reine's trust, but those not chosen would harbor discontent.

To be honest, Reine was tired of these relationships.

At that time, Golzarias suggested that she try taking an attendant from an orphan――and that was why Fenella became Reine's attendant.

She was a good child whom Reine had known since childhood.

She was a bit clumsy and made many mistakes, but Reine enjoyed spending time with her, as she always worked cheerfully.

"...Elsreine-sama, you really love painting, don't you?"

"...?"

"Hehe, Elsreine-sama always looks like having fun when painting like this."

After a short pause, Reine answered.

"That's true. But... recently, before I painted... I get a little scared."

"Scared...?"

"I wonder if I can paint properly... if I can properly convey what I want to say."

That was how it had been lately.

It felt like everything was backfiring.

"I want to make this a good country, and I'm trying my best. But no matter what I say, there are only problems, and the other day I made the nobles angry, and it wasn't going well... I couldn't help but think that Reine's paintings would end up like that too..."

Five years have passed since this country became an empire from a republic.

The country was beginning to stabilize, and the current focus of the parliament was to resolve many of the country's internal problems.

Raine cannot grasp the entire economic situation in the country, but from the information she had, she made several hypotheses and inferences and made proposals to resolve the issues.

Though it was not conclusive, there was no doubt that corruption was rampant in various places, and there were many places where the flow of money seemed unnatural. Raine believed that the country should conduct fair investigations in each area, but the nobles were opposed.

They expressed anger, saying that the problems in the territories given to them were their own to resolve, and that since taxes were paid to the country, it was a gross overstepping of authority for the country to interfere in them.

They also said that the very fact that such words were uttered was synonymous with Reine's distrust of them.

This country was an empire.

A country formed by the gathering of multiple lords with territories, kings of small countries.

At the top of it sits the emperor named Reine, but she was merely the one who unites them and had no right to directly interfere in the affairs of their territories.

As long as they paid a certain amount of tax to the Empire, Reine could not interfere with how they ruled there, nor could she take away their territory.

In a sense, what they were saying was correct.

But even so, Reine had acted with good intentions.

Due to the current chaos following the war, the taxes on the Empire were light, but in discussions to raise them to the taxes they should have paid, they said, ‘The effects of the last war are still strong, and the territory is in turmoil, so it is difficult’.

If the cause was corruption, Reine could find out how and who was lining their pockets with just a quick look at the territory's finances, and resolve the issue.

If they lacked ability, Reine could just make up for it.

That was how Reine thought, and she didn't particularly want to punish them or suspect them, but her feelings didn't come across well.

They suspected that Reine was trying to strengthen her power as an emperor and impose a dictatorship like her mother’s――when asked like that, she couldn’t find the words to deny it.

Golzalias and the others also told her that she was being too hasty, that society cannot exist on rationality alone, and that in a chaotic country, there were necessary evils as well.

It would be pointless to punish people who commit 10 evil deeds and have others commit 12 evil deeds emerge, and to prevent that from happening, things should be handled carefully, and in that respect Reine had been reckless.

For a while now, every time Reine spoke in the assembly, the atmosphere became chaotic.

Then, the discussion on the issue delayed the necessary resolution, and the problems took a turn for the worse.

When Reine noticed this, she kept quiet, and Golzarias and the others took her place and proposed Reine's ideas in a somewhat compromised form, which allowed the atmosphere to flow smoothly.

When Reine tried to point out something, Golzarias and the others gently held her back, giving her troubled looks.

As emperor, Reine's words carried weight, and if they caused resentment, the country would be divided.

To avoid this, she had been repeatedly warned to be careful with what she said, and in fact, the words Reine spoke always angered the nobles.

After this was repeated, she grew afraid to speak, and would leave it to Golzarias and the others, remaining silent and feeling uncomfortable.

Recently, she just sat in a chair and watched their discussion.

Fenella looked at Reine as she spoke, lost in thought.

"I see... so that's why Elsereine-sama has been looking so gloomy lately."

"... That may be it."

In response, Fenella folded her arms, groaned, and furrowed her brow.

A mysterious, stern expression――as she watched, Fenella groaned in pain, and Reine let out a small smile.

"I'm sorry. It's no good to complain. Don't worry about it, just forget about it."

"No... as an attendant, I should say something comforting, but... I can't say anything lightly, so how should I put it..."

‘I'm sorry’, Fenella says, shrugging her shoulders.

"Lukazan-sama told me that it's Fenella's job to look after Elsreine-sama so that she doesn't have to deal with things on her own..."

“Lukazan did...”

"Yes. When Elsreine-sama chose Fenella to be her attendant... he wanted to make sure that Elsreine-sama didn't have to worry about things on her own because she's too serious."

Fenella answered as if remembering something.

"Fenella is not educated, and I'm not that smart, so I can't say anything clever to the troubles of the government... but I think that Elsreine-sama feelings are properly conveyed to those who are able to understand."

Then, she narrowed her eyes at the paradise that Reine had painted.

"It may be presumptuous, but... Fenella thinks that I understand at least a small part of Elsreine-sama’s feelings. I sincerely hope that this country will one day become the place that Elsreine-sama wishes for... and I would like to be of even a small amount of help to make that happen. So please feel free to complain a thing or two... no, even a hundred or a thousand. If it can ease Elsreine-sama’s mind even a little, then Fenella will be happy."

Fenella turned to Reine and hit her own chest hard.

Reine looked at her for a while, then went quiet――-and as she did so, Fenella's eyebrows lowered in anxiety and her eyes wandered.

"Um, well... no, I'm well aware that Fenella is lacking as someone to complain and confide in but..."

"... that's not true. Fufu, Reine was kind of happy to hear you say that... but it made Reine realise Reine has to try harder."

Looking at Fenella with a relieved look on her face, she smiled and lightly patted her cheek.

Fenella looked at her with a puzzled look on her face.

"A place without conflict, where everyone can live happily with a smile... Fili was very smart, so Reine was surprised that she dreamed of such a foolish thing. But Reine’s sure Fili knew that too..."

That's what she thought when she saw the smiles of the children at the orphanage.

Even if they had a little fight, they would make up quickly, and when she came back next time they were playing together, and everything was simple.

Maybe that's just how it should be.

It's just that as you grow up, things become more complicated and intertwined, and something goes wrong.

"If the children at the orphanage grow up well... and we can create a society where everyone can live happily, without the need to fight, then I think we might be able to get closer to that kind of world someday. Of course, I think it will be very difficult to create the Elsren of our dreams... but such a place does exist."

Elsren as Fili drew it.

A dreamlike paradise of happiness.

That picture still wouldn’t leave her mind.

"...Fili is no longer with us, but Reine wanted to create a place that would have made her happy if she were alive, that's all... that's all. Reine wanted to prove that all the things Fili taught me really had meaning... that such a happy place exists because Fili was here."

Fenella smiled when she heard those words.

"...Yes. All Fenella can do is support you... but I'm sure Elsreine-sama will be able to do it someday. No... I wouldn't say she can, but Elsreine-sama has already made it."

"Made?"

Fenella answered yes.

"At the very least, Fenella is already a resident of Elsren they Elsreine-sama says... This place is already like Elsren to Fenella right now."

Words she'd heard before.

Raine quietly opened her eyes wide, and Fenella blushed in embarrassment when she saw that.

"Oh, no, I don't mean anything weird... I just want to say that I'm really happy to be able to spend my days by Elsreine-sama side like this... that..."

"...No. Fili said something like that to me a long time ago, so I was a little surprised."

――In a sense, to me this place is Elsren.

Raine didn't really understand, but Fili's smile looked happy.

A happy laughter echoed through the room.

" Elsreine-sama...?"

"Huh...?"

Fenella hastily took out a handkerchief and placed it on Reine's cheek and eyes.

Noticing that it was wet, Reine tilted her head in confusion.

"Um, uh..."

"I-it's okay, don't worry about it..."

As she spoke, Fenella embraced Reine and pressed her against her chest.

Confused, Reine nodded and hugged her.

Slowly, Reine could feel the apron dress's chest getting wet with tears, and, confused as to why she was crying, she let herself go.

At least by doing so, her troubled heart calmed down.

"Don't worry, Fenella is here... you can do as much as you like until you feel at ease."

Fenella’s concerned words.

She just nodded and pressed closer to her.

In Alberan, there is a church that worships the twelve gods.

The royal family were the descendants of these gods, and therefore their blood was special.

The nobles of Alberan were also protected by the royal blood――they were special beings, and therefore the people must be protected by them and serve them.

Respect for the royal family and nobles was synonymous with faith in God, and this structure was a justification for controlling the foolish people.

Her mother said that it is a remnant of the time when Alberan was a barbarian country.

Religion was good at manipulating foolish groups, and was ‘convenient’ for instilling a convenient sense of ethics under the pretext of God's teachings, and it seems to be a system used in most countries.

In some places, belief in the twelve gods was strong, and it had become semi-law, but in Alberan, belief in the twelve gods was relatively loose, and it was mainly used to guarantee the prestige of the royal family.

They were tolerant of the gods worshiped in other lands, but always acknowledged and sometimes accepted the existence of other gods in the form of the Twelve Great Gods.

Even when they invaded uncivilized lands, they did not deny the gods they worshiped, but instead added them to their group, and by informing them of the existence of the Twelve Great Gods who stood above the gods they worshiped, they made them culturally submissive.

For example, when they conquered a land that worshiped the God of Valor, they did not deny it.

They praised the faith and efforts of the gods as undoubtedly one of the gods, but simply showed that they were inferior to the Great Twelve Gods and the Supreme God of Valor, Koreis.

No matter how great the God of Valor may be, he simply could not defeat Koreis, the Supreme God of Valor.

Depending on the land, faith can be synonymous with law.

If everything was destroyed, it was only natural that chaos would arise in a lawless area.

However, if they acknowledge their faith and say that they simply did not know of Koreis, then their faith, law and order can be protected for the time being, and they could instill in them a convenient teaching that says, ‘These are the teachings of Koreis, the noblest god of valor’.

Her mother spoke of religion as a very useful ‘tool’, and taught Reine how to use religion as a ‘tool’.

She didn't think that was particularly good or bad.

Tools were tools and means were means――as long as they worked in a positive direction in the end, that was fine, and Reine saw it as a form of law and order.

The teachings of the Twelve Gods were not extreme, and she didn't pay any particular attention to them.

It was supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the Curia, but she didn't place much importance on it, and it was only after some time had passed that she realized this.

"...I simply wish for everyone to know about Elsreine-sama’s wish, the paradise that we will one day reach, and so I am spreading the teachings on her behalf. I have permission from Lord Lukazan and his people, but..."

"Lukazan and the others think this is acceptable...?"

"Yes, they said the people needed something to cling to..."

――A new cathedral church was built next to the orphanage.

Apparently the Curia had been building new churches here and there to accompany the orphanages, and most of them were repurposed churches built during her mother's conquest.

Now they seem to be preaching these ‘teachings’ to the people in need and distributing bread, a charity activity.

In the large cathedral, a picture of paradise painted by Reine was displayed on the pedestal.

It seems that the teachings of ‘one day be guided to Elsren’ were being preached here, and the people were being told how they should live and what they should do to achieve that.

She noticed it by chance.

The orphanage that Reine visited was always the same place, and most people disliked her going out unless she went there.

She could somewhat understand why, for reasons such as guarding the area or for fear of causing unrest among the people, but she wanted to at least see what the town was like for herself.

The orphanage she usually went to was in the suburbs, but it was a safe place.

She had heard that there were several other similar facilities built in Linaria, and inspecting the orphanage was just a pretense――the real reason was that she wanted to see what the area was like in its natural state.

She was persuaded to go to a different orphanage than usual, and found a large church next to it.

She entered out of curiosity, and found an unfamiliar sermon being preached in the chapel, called ‘The Teachings of Paradise’.

The priest, who seemed to have realized that it was Reine who had come, called out in surprise, ‘Elsreine-sama’, and the people who had been sitting on benches listening to the sermon also knelt down and clasped their hands in surprise.

While everyone was confused, the priest said that today's sermon would end there, and dismissed the people――and Pope Narcor Liveners rushed in a little while later.

It seems that they've been doing these activities for the past two or three years, so she was surprised to hear about all the things she was hearing for the first time.

She had never heard of distributing bread and spreading teachings before, she had also never heard of something called the ‘Teachings of Paradise’ ――but they were talking about it as if it were teachings created by Reine.

In fact, Reine did not give the Curia the right to collect taxes.

They were only given the maintenance and operating expenses for orphanages and the like, but they were basically left to their own devices when it came to donations, and as long as the orphanages were run properly, they were given free reign.

This was because, even in Alberan, the churches did not receive many donations to begin with.

However, when she heard that many of these churches were built with ‘donations’, she was taken aback and confused.

It's not corruption, and they're not doing anything particularly reprehensible.

They were just doing what they think is good within the rights they've been given, and they're even using the donations to provide bread, so it seems like a good thing.

But there was an indescribable feeling of unease.

"But the Elsren that Reine is talking about... isn't the place where you're led after death..."

"Of course, I understand. But it seems that originally there was such an indigenous belief here... We thought it would be easier to accept. First of all, people should learn peaceful teachings, and as a result, it would be good if a paradise could be created on this land. ... The interpretation and process are slightly different, but what is taught here is by no means bad."

"That is..."

At least, that was what she heard earlier.

Love your neighbors, help each other, and abandon conflict to have a peaceful heart.

Narcos smiled.

"Not only has Elsreine-sama done well, but everyone who has seen the painting has been moved by its splendor, which makes it hard to believe it was painted by human hands, and we believe that Elsreine-sama is a god-like being who descended from heaven to this earth."

"God..."

"Yes. A special being... one who leads people to a land of happiness. Elsreine-sama is the hope of the people who live here. And as long as they believe this, they will risk their lives to cooperate with Elsreine-sama’s plans and live their lives as good people who uphold order."

‘This is a wonderful thing’, Narko continued.

But Reine shook her head.

"But Reine is not――"

"Whatever the truth, the important thing is that they believe it. Even now, outside the cathedral, many people pray to Elsreine-sama as a messenger from heaven, someone who will guide them to Elsren. That's all... I think it will be fine if Elsren could be built on this land in the end."

‘Elsreine-sama is too honest’ he said.

"Lukazan-sama and the others said the same thing. When they think of something that should be done, they try to change everything by themselves. However... I, Lukazan-sama, and the other nobles, are all considering various influences and trying to lead this country to a better place. Do you not trust us?"

"No, that's not true..."

"Elsreine-sama said that she wanted to build a country with us. If that's the case... I want Elsreine-sama to trust us a little more and rely on us. We didn't intend to hide this, and when the time came, we would tell Elsreine-sama and show her in a better form. I'm sure she would be happy..."

‘It's a bit of a shame’, Narko said, lowering his eyes, and Reine bowed her head.

‘I'm sorry’, Narko said, and shook his head in a panic.

"I don't mean to blame Elsreine-sama at all... I understand how Elsreine-sama feels. Certainly, from Elsreine-sama, we must look foolish."

"That's not what I meant..."

She lowered her eyes, unable to say for sure that she hadn't.

It was true that she had doubted a little.

He had wanted to see how different the reality was from what he had been told, so she had forcibly changed the carriage's destination.

She no longer knew anything about the country, let alone the city of Renaria.

In the name of dispersing responsibility, jurisdiction had been divided into smaller and smaller areas, and the information Reine could obtain directly had become very limited.

In fact, she had no idea that the Curia had even built these new churches.

She wanted to confirm whether the reports he was giving Reine were accurate――but she couldn't say that she hadn't had any doubts about them.

"...I'm sorry."

"No. But I want you to understand... It takes time to change people's hearts, Elsreine-sama. If everyone could be honest enough to accept what is decided today and tomorrow, then surely there would be no conflict in the world."

‘Yes’, she answered.

"First of all, it's important to make people believe that if they believe in this country and Elsreine-sama, things will move in a positive direction. If that's the case, people will obey the law, and if everyone respects the law, things will eventually move in a positive direction. ...We're thinking about the future of this country... I want you to trust us just a little more, Elsreine-sama."

‘I'm sorry’, she said once again.

Lately, those were the only words that came out of her mouth.

Every time she did something, Reine apologized.

She'd stopped the parliament's discussions and caused trouble with the nobles by fruitless arguing, and she still did that now.

All she could think was regret.

"You may not be in danger from petty villains, Elsreine-sama, but... your guards will be worried if you act unexpectedly like today.... Please contact us in advance from now on, Elsreine-sama is the emperor, so we must make sure that nothing bad happens."

"...Yes."

"Lukazan-sama was worried that you might be a little tired, and from the way you looked today, that seems to be the case. Why don't you take a break from government affairs for a while?"

She lowered her. eyes.

It was a phrase she had heard often recently.

When nothing was going well, everything was backfiring, and as if it was decided, they said, ‘Perhaps you are tired from the weight of your responsibility’.

It was said that it would be better to distribute responsibility, that the country was built by everyone, and they cut back on Reine's jurisdiction and shared it, and before she knew it, many things became invisible.

When she loses sight, a lot of information she didn't know comes out, and she ends up saying something irrelevant, making people look annoyed and sighs echo through the room.

――’Seem Elsreine-sama is tired’, they say.

She never felt that the responsibility was heavy.

But things that should have been easy to handle gradually seemed more complicated, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Every time she wondered what she was doing, it felt like the ‘Elsren painted by Fili’ was getting further away, and she became scared, she became afraid to even pick up her brush.

She felt a sense of relief every time she painted paradise, but she was worried that one day she might not be able to paint even that anymore.

“...Elsreine-sama is the symbol and hope of this country. I have seen many people shed tears at the paradise that Elsreine-sama shows us, the beauty that this painting conveys.'”

Narko said, pointing to ‘Elsren’ displayed on a pedestal and smiling.

"Even the merchants who were obsessed with money and desire say that their hearts are cleansed, and that they have given this church to this paradise that Elsreine-sama has painted, spending their own money... Elsreine-sama has given this country more than enough of what is important without them having to do anything too difficult. That is Elsreine-sama role, which we cannot do...Leave the other trivial matters to us."

He smiled kindly, without the slightest hint of malice.

"We are all rowers heading for the ‘Elsren’ that Elsreine-sama desires."

He points with his hand, to the heavenly paradise called Elsren.

A convenient imaginary paradise used as a means to guide people.

It is different from what Fili wished for.

After finishing the talk, she leaves the cathedral.

She entered the carriage with Fenella, who looked at Reine’s face with a worried look on her face, and looked at the people bowing their heads as if praying.

"Um, Elsreine-sama...?"

"... Sorry, just for a moment..."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the small, cramped box where no one could see, she hugged her and closed her eyes.

A hand slowly stroked her back without a word, and the inexplicable unease eased just a little.

Reine couldn't get across what she wanted to convey with her painting.

Reine couldn't get her words or feelings across very well.

‘At least, I got what Elsreine-sama was trying to convey with that painting. At least, I think so, as if she interpreted the circle I drew as a circle.’

Fili's words just kept going round and round in her head.

――A room lined with paintings.

A private room in the royal castle prepared for the servants, it had been cleaned unchanged for years since its owner had left.

Wearing a white dress that was not exactly flashy, but of high quality, the beautiful queen, somewhere between a girl and a woman, spends her time alone in her room.

She gazed at the paintings.

She never tires of gazing at it, and now spends her time doing so, day and night.

Recently, she had been spending more time in that room than in her own living room.

As the servant pours new tea into the empty teacup in silence, Queen Grabareine speaks.

"...Don't you think it's a silly painting, typical of her?"

The servant stared at the queen, surprised by the sudden question.

"It depicts an ideal world, completely ignorant and naïve... Fufu, if one wished for kindness, it would be given to them, and whatever good deed she did would bear fruit beautifully."

What a lovely paradise, the queen said, smiling and narrowing her eyes.

The servant simply looked at her profile.

"But there was no one on my side. So... I did what I had to, following my ways, using others instead of being used. I was smarter than them, more skilled, so I took the throne――and surely, that was the right thing to do."

Standing up, she lovingly traced the face of her daughter in the painting with her fingertips.

"But in the end, maybe I fell into Feely’s trap, too. There’s a part of me that thinks it’s okay for that foolish girl who painted such a silly picture."

Then she traced Fili’s face beside it.

Seeing this, the servant bowed deeply.

"...My apologies. I suspected that Her Majesty had killed Fili when Elsreine-sama returned. ... Maybe I could have stopped her."

"That's right, Livinia. But... I don't intend to blame you now. There's no point in getting rid of you, and it would only make the girl sad."

‘When that child returns’, the queen continued.

"...Tell me, do you think she will return to me?"

"...I believe so."

"She said she didn’t know how she felt about me..."

"It was just a momentary... lapse of judgment. Elsreine-sama was confused."

The queen continued, as if to convince herself, tracing Venure’s face in the painting.

"Maybe I was a little envious, a little jealous. After all, she could laugh so innocently and wholeheartedly, even in such a miserable world. So it irritated me a little."

――Why couldn’t I have seen the world that way?

Gazing at the distant paradise, the queen murmured absentmindedly.

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