IMPORTANT Translator"s Note
The Short: Vanilla Muse is not picking up the translation for this story. Consider this update an addition to the teaser content of AJK.
The Long: Originally, I was interested enough in the premise of AJK to attempt picking up the project just to find out what happens, but I ran into a wall when I couldn"t find an online version of the story, as it is exclusively a light novel at this current point in time (apparently it started out as a web novel, but the online version is no longer available). My j.a.panese skills are pretty abysmal, so I couldn"t even hope to translate the story without the aid of MTL. (My Chinese skills are marginally better, as evidenced by my other , but I still had to use MTL for it.)
I abandoned the idea for some time, but then a suggestion by Nonon over on the gave me renewed hope, and so I translated the rest of the sample raws (pages 51-60) that Claire Lilly kindly uploaded onto the forum. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Claire Lilly will not be providing me with the rest of the raws, so my stint into translating AJK stops here. I hope you enjoy the content I managed to wring out of my overheated brain, and maybe someone else will pick up the full project in the future. One can only hope.
Chapter 2.2 - Return to the Castle
With a tremendously beautiful smile, the young man put his hand on Mari"s shoulder. A cold chill ran down her back.
"Eh? …Um, what do you mean?"
When he heard that, he exerted force with his hand. Mari"s heart jumped. Even though there was a transcendental beauty so close, the kind of throbbing in her heart was different.
"Your Majesty does not talk to me like that in the first place. She hated me, you see. In this room, there is no one you can call."
He told this to her in a voice of fascination. Aa, as she thought, the feeling she felt before was indeed one of aversion.
""You," who are you?"
Hearing this question again, Mari raised the white flag.
No matter which path she took, somewhere along the way a problem was bound to crop up. She had wanted to be honest from the start. It was only that she"d thought no one would believe. The queen wasn"t just any ordinary person. So she couldn"t bring herself to speak.
Since this person was convinced that she was not the queen, then maybe he will believe her.
(Moreover, if the queen dislikes this person then there is a possibility that he is a decent person…)
While grievously mindful of this judgment criterion, Mari opened her mouth.
"My name is Toushou Mari."
Somewhere in her heart, she felt relieved that she did not have to lie.
The her from before was just an ordinary person who was definitely not a queen.
The original her was just an ordinary person. Certainly not a queen or anything of that sort. Most likely they were from different worlds, too. Suddenly waking up to find herself on a battlefield, fighting without knowing the reason, even now, she did not understand the situation at all.
Finally having a conversation partner, Mari spat out everything that she could and couldn"t say up until now.
"I don"t know where this place is, I don"t know your name, or the even the queen"s name!"
(Because, everyone calls me Your Majesty, and no one calls me by name!)
By the end of her story, Mari was screaming desperately.
The beautiful man tilted his head and considered her for a while. Finally he took his hand from Mari"s shoulder.
"My name is Freyas von Calvin. In this Karkula Kingdom I am allowed to call myself by the surname Cal. I am the legitimate child of Duke Calvin. My professional duty is to serve as a.s.sistant prime minister. I am the queen"s cousin."
"Cousin?"
"My grandmother and the previous king, in other words, the queen"s grandfather, are siblings. My face and yours are very similar right?"
(… Similar? Me and this transcendental beauty?)
Mari thought she heard wrong, but that was not the case. Mari now wore the form of the queen.
Freyas had blue eyes and silver hair, while the queen had black hair. Both the color and hue were quite different, but, indeed, they both have beautiful G.o.dly looks.
"Your name is Mary Frau Karkula, the queen of this Kingdom of Karkula."
Mary. For the first time, she heard the name of the owner of this body. She murmured the name in her heart.
"… Apparently the queen used a revival technique."
Freyas said, in a state of confidence.
"Revival technique?"
As she listened, Mari asked for an explanation of the unfamiliar words.
"Yes, the revival technique is a special technique that can be used by direct descendants of the royal line under certain conditions. There are three conditions that must be met in order to activate this technique. One, the pract.i.tioner is in a situation in which death is unavoidable. Two, asides from the pract.i.tioner there are no other direct descendants of the royal line present. And lastly, there has to be a compatible body that will replace the body of the pract.i.tioner. … I heard the queen was cut by the enemy in battle. A flashy amount of blood spilled from the neck. Everyone was prepared for the queen"s death. But you are alive."
Mari trembled at Freyas"s words.
"T- That"s because the wound wasn"t very deep…"
Mari"s words were immediately denied.
"I heard from the healing pract.i.tioner, that your wound was merely a scratch. It seems that there was no such thing as a splash of blood. Right now, the queen is the last direct descendant of the royal line. Most likely, when the queen was on the verge of death she used the revival technique. And it chose you as the person with the most compatible body. The technique sacrificed your body to revive the queen"s body."
"… Sacrifice?"
Mari felt a cold sweat run down her back.
"This technique replaces the state of one"s body with the state of the compatible body that was sacrificed. If the queen"s body was hurt, then that state will replace the uninjured state of your body. I"m afraid your original body is now torn at the neck and bleeding to death."
"… I"m dying?"
Suddenly, she felt her blood draining.
The image of her figure lying in her narrow apartment with her neck slashed and blood flowing from the wound floated into Mari"s mind.
(… Surely, the lock to the room, it was locked. Wow… a real life closed room murder case?)
Such an inane thought was nothing more than an escape from reality.
"I, I"m dead?"
While thinking, Mari became aware.
(Up until now, why have I not been wondering how my real body is so far? Normally, isn"t that the first thing to think about - how do I return to my original body?)
At that moment, her head became a mess of confusion.
(Naturally, what was I thinking? Living as a queen in this world? I did not notice until I was told that I would not be able to return there for the rest of my life.)
A black despair spread in Mari"s heart. She had a tremendous sense of incongruity of living in the queen"s body.
"… Send me back, please."
A hoa.r.s.e little voice came out of her throat at last.
"It is impossible. Moreover, didn"t you say, "I"m dead?""
"I have to hurry back! As soon as I get back, I"ll call for an ambulance!"
To the shouting Mari, Freyas returned with calm words.
"It is a waste. How many hours have pa.s.sed since you came here? It was an instant death wound. There"s no way you can be alive there."
"… Mother, I have to call my mother! She thinks I can"t take care of myself well. She"ll cry if I don"t call every night. My younger brother too, because he couldn"t live with me, he became emotionally attached to me like a fool. Also, my uncle, because he was looking after me, he didn"t take a wife while he was young… I won"t get to see him to his old age…!"
Mari was not sure what she was saying.
"I"m saying it is impossible. And you were lucky."
It was frustrating, listening to that calm voice of Freyas"s.
"Lucky?"
"Yes. Originally, only the queen was supposed to be revived. You were supposed to have died there without knowing the reason why. But your heart is here. Although this is only a speculation, perhaps the technique may have judged the queen"s spirit to be sick. The revival technique is about exchanging the bad condition of the body all together."
Freyas said dispa.s.sionately. There was no sorrow or compa.s.sion for the fact that the queen"s heart was lost, or sympathy for Mari who died as the queen"s sacrifice.
"It cannot be helped. Please just act as the queen like you are now. I will follow up for you."
"… What are you saying?"
Mari could not understand Freyas"s meaning.
"Asides from doing that, there is nothing else that can be done. This country cannot afford to lose its queen."
"… Why?"
"Karkula"s ruler is descended from G.o.d. The G.o.d"s divine protection protects the people. As long as the ruler is present, disaster will not befall the country. Earthquakes and floods, tsunamis and typhoons… Drought and cold weather damage, all that is irrelevant to this country."
Mari blinked at the reasons Freyas revealed.
(Disaster will not befall the country?)
"Only the rulers and their children possess the divine protection of G.o.d. Only those who succeed to the throne can leave that protection to the next generation. The queen does not have any siblings. The late king did not have any siblings. The king before that had one sibling, that being my grandmother, and both of them have long since pa.s.sed away. Right now, the only one that holds the G.o.d"s divine protection in this country is the queen."
That absolutely beautiful face gazed at the Mari who had fallen silent.
"This country needs you."
To be precise, what was needed was a queen"s body that possesses the divine protection of G.o.d and can pa.s.s on that inheritance to the next generation.
Mari nibbled on her lip. Her head, which was dull with sorrow, gradually started to see clearly. She hit Freyas with a question.
"If the queen is a necessary existence then why did a rebellion rise up against her?"
"Only the royalty and those at the center of politics know that G.o.d"s divine protection is in the royal family. Others believe that the country itself is receiving protection. Even the leader of this rebellion, Lord Mydar, who is an important person in his area of rule, does not know this. The other lords involved in the rebellion are also in similar positions. As a result, the size of the rebellion was small. There was an overwhelming difference in military power. In the unlikely event, I thought that there would be no danger to the queen in this rebellion… As expected, was it in regard to Rion Mydar?"
Knowing the full picture now, Mari spontaneously exclaimed.
"I died for such a thing?"
"Such a thing? Disaster is not "such a thing.""
Against the unruly her, Freyas countered calmly.
"Many lives will be lost if a disaster occurs. Do you say that your life is worth more than all those lives put together?"
It was his cool-minded speech rather than his calmness that made Mari more and more frustrated.
"Wouldn"t it have been better to just tell everyone that the queen is special?! If so, then there wouldn"t have been a rebellion, and n.o.body would have died!"
When Mari pointed this out, Freyas smiled at her as if she was a fool.
"If we did such a thing, then this country wouldn"t have a king by now. The divine protection exists because of the king. If you acquire the king, then you can receive protection in any country. Knowing that fact, many countries will compete to obtain the Karkula king. It will be a big battle. Amidst the fighting, the Karkula king may be hurt."
"… But"
Freyas suddenly shouted at the Mari that tried to speak.
"Shut up! Why do you think I have been enduring the queen"s reckless actions? If there are disasters great scores of human life will be forcibly sacrificed. But the people of this country have accepted that disasters do not exist as a matter course. The horrors of disasters, or the method to deal with the aftereffects, I do not know them. This country cannot afford to lose the king. Even if it is a useless king!"
It was the pa.s.sion of a man who looked cold.
It seemed that Mari finally realized the state of affairs.
This man with the beauty of a G.o.d was also human. When this man did not speak much, Mari thought he was an unfeeling man. But the reality was different. He regretted what has happened.
The queen"s recklessness, the rebellion, and its consequences.
He blamed himself for not being able to stop them all.
Mari"s heart, which was upset by her own death, has calmed down. She remembered her previous determination.
(Didn"t I decide to correct the path…?)
Nevertheless, Mari"s feelings were wavering. She was angry she had to see such a thing. In such a heart of Mari"s, her uncle"s words rose to the surface.
"Mari, if you do not know what to do, just do what you can do at that time."
(What I can do now…)
What that was, she already knew from before. She had no choice but to live as the queen. But now, she felt a resistance to admitting that obediently.
"Before I say that I will live as the queen out of necessity, aren"t there some words you must say? To the me who was a victim of the queen"s revival technique, don"t you feel sorry?"
For a moment, his empty blue eyes widened.
But after that, Freyas seemed to distort his beautiful face unpleasantly.
"I don"t want to say it to Her Majesty"s face."
"It is the same face as yours, isn"t it?"
Resigned, Freyas smiled a bitter smile.
The tall and elegant figure bent over and bowed to Mari once again.
"It is unfortunate that you got involved with my country"s circ.u.mstances. I apologize for that. Won"t you please lend me your strength?"
Mari frowned.
"You. You must really hate the queen. Just now, I felt chills run down my back."
"The feeling is mutual."
Freyas was also frowning. Mari laughed and nodded empathically.
"I was aware. Lord Freyas von Calvin, son of a duke."
"Mari. Please, call me Frey. The queen calls me this pet name, which I hate. We must keep up the appearance of the queen so as to not invite suspicion."
Freyas seemed to be having fun as he said this.
"I understand, Frey. Let"s cooperate and set this country back on the right track."
There was no other path to walk. As Mari told herself that, she smothered the crying in her heart.
Changing locations from the office desk to the luxurious sofa, Mari and Freyas faced each other.
"Why was there a rebellion in the first place?"
Mari asked once again.
"… Can you not speak in a more domineering way?"
However, the question was not easily answered, and attention was paid to the behavior.
It seemed that Frey was not pleased with Mari"s common att.i.tude.
Even if he said such a thing, she couldn"t just behave like a queen. There was no longer that feeling of not being herself, like when she was on the battlefield earlier. Here, she was worried about not dirtying the dress she had on, for it seemed to be very expensive. On top of that, the commoner Mari was feeling depressed by the transcendental beauty of the a.s.sistant prime minister.
Mari was the one who wanted to stop the polite tone in Frey, but was declined with a beautiful smile once and for all. He acted like he would be thrown in prison for being profane.
(That means that some people were put in prison for that reason, were they not?)
She could understand enough just how extreme the queen was.
Nevertheless, if one compared the difference in strength between the two opposing sides, this revolt was truly a reckless fight. But there must be some cause for the people to decide to settle the situation like this.
Frey, who took notice of Mari, finally answered the question.
"The center of the rebellion this time is the city called Dosha. Dosha is close to the kingdom and was formerly a prosperous satellite city of the kingdom."
Mari nodded. It took about an hour for her to get back from the battlefield. She was surprised that it was so close to the kingdom.
"Because it is close to the kingdom, misgovernment and pus is easy to acc.u.mulate. It overflowed into the streets. It was a terrible environment. There, the lords who decided to deal with it started to eliminate all the vagrants at once."
As Frey talked, his face distorted with disgust.
"I heard that they were forcibly drafted into the army and those who resisted were shown no mercy. They did not prepare an eviction destination. There was a report that a mountain of dead bodies was thrown in the wilderness near where Dosha was built."
Mari drew a breath.
"Why was there such despotism?!"
"… The Earl of the Outer was the favorite of the queen. He was also the one that proposed the summer residence to show off the majesty of the queen."
"The worst!"
Misery rose in Mari"s chest.
(How did the queen go so wrong?)
Guessing Mari"s feelings, Frey kept calm.
"It"s all right. I will have the Earl of the Outer take responsibility for this revolt, and confiscate both his property and the territory. He will be deprived of rank and leave the political scene forever."
"Can you do such a thing?"
"He has lost the grace of the queen and has no power. He provoked the rebellion this time and wanted to get the queen back in a good mood with the "Construction Plan for the Summer Palace" proposal."
Frey laughed, revealing his inner feelings of spite. No matter how he laughed, a beauty was still a beauty. Mari was impressed by strange things.
V. Muse: That"s the end folks. Unfortunately, it"s not a very good stopping point, but I wanted to go all the way to the end of the sample raws. I"m just thankful the last page ended with a full sentence, otherwise that would be even more awkward. ?
If there is a translator out there who would like to pick up this project, please feel free to do so. And if you do, drop me a comment so that I can follow you. ?
While you"re here, check out my other translation project if you have time. Be warned though, it"s BL. Steer clear if you"re not into that, and if you are, I hope you like it!