Chapter 244: Queen Leila’s Resolve (1)
At noon, when the sun was s.h.i.+ning on the world from the highest peak, Leila gathered the citizens of the capital in the palace square. Just like during royal events, the square was filled with citizens. She appeared holding her children’s hands.
She was dazzling to look at with her cloak wrapped around her entire body and royal scepter in her hand. Even though she had given birth, her beauty hadn’t diminished at all and she caught the people’s eyes with just her presence.
“Her Majesty hadn’t evacuated yet?”
“I wonder why she had us gather here.”
In a situation like this, her beauty couldn’t be a beacon of hope for the people. In this uneasy atmosphere, the crowd looked at Leila with spiritless eyes.
“Mom…”
Seemingly afraid of the crowd, Elizabeth whined as she held her mother’s hand tightly. Leila looked into Elizabeth’s eyes as she spoke.
“Watch carefully.”
“......”
At that moment, Elizabeth realized that her mother was different from usual. She wasn’t the strict, but always loving mother. Children may lack the logical thinking of adults, but they don’t lack the ability to read the atmosphere.
Elizabeth instinctively realized that her mother right now was different from usual. It was a version young Elizabeth had never seen before. She wasn’t Leila the mother. Right now, she was Queen Leila, the monarch of the Lester Kingdom.
***
“People of the kingdom, listen.”
A voice filled with dignity but never arrogant. Leila’s voice had the power to draw the people’s attention. That was evident when the buzzing crowd stopped talking simultaneously and paid attention to her.
Leila took a moment and waited until the people paid attention to her before she continued.
“As you probably already know, the Republican Army led by Siegfried is invading our country. His army is estimated to be 80,000 strong.”
Leila didn’t bother lying. In a situation like this, it would be more disadvantageous if the Republican spies mixed in the crowd began criticizing her for the lies.
“We have 40,000 men to defend us. It’s true that while we have Duke Palan, the guardian deity of our kingdom, we are still at a disadvantage.”
She calmly acknowledged the terrible situation they were in. The citizens’ expressions got darker and more anxious.
“We definitely have to escape.”
“Even Her Majesty knows that odds are stacked against us.”
Just as the people’s anxiety reached its peak, Queen Leila spoke.
“But we are not retreating.”
Leila firmly declared that there would be no retreat. She continued before the people could question it.
“We have no choice. We have to protect our country. Losing the capital now is tantamount to giving the Republic a chance to revive. If we don’t stop them here, we’ll be pa.s.sing another era of war to our children.
At Leila"s words, the people clenched their teeth without realizing it. Their eyes naturally went towards Elizabeth, who stood next to Queen Leila. Although she was just a young girl, at this moment, Elizabeth became a symbol that reminded people of the next generation.
“To put an end to this chaotic era, my husband, Grand Duke Forrest, led the army to war on the Imperial expedition. And it’s not just my husband. Your beloved husbands and sons are also fighting in the Empire with him. They are giving their lives to end the chaos!”
At her words, several women fell to their knees with tears in their eyes. They had also sent their husbands or sons to the battlefield and identified with her.
“If we give up the capital, then the achievements we have gained with their blood, the peace for our future generation, disappears. There’s only one way to prevent that. We must defeat our enemies. We must fight!”
The crowd felt their hearts pounding at Queen Leila’s words.
By nature, human beings are small, vulnerable, and egocentric. Realistically, there weren’t many people who would give up their lives for justice. However… Even if they are weak and egocentric, human beings still have justice in their hearts.
A monarch wasn’t the strongest person or the wisest. The true role of a monarch was to lead everyone in the right direction. And Leila’s speech had evoked a sense of justice in every single one of their hearts.
Leila’s words were telling them to put their lives on the line...
So that the reason their sons were putting their lives on the line and fighting on the battlefield wasn’t rendered meaningless. So that their children wouldn’t have to live in a time of chaos and be able to live in a peaceful world.
***
A man frowned when he realized that the atmosphere of the crowd was becoming unusual.
‘She’s dangerous. That woman… She"s just as dangerous as her husband, Grand Duke Forrest.’
He quickly sent the signal. The spies hidden in the crowd immediately shouted.
“Don’t be so selfish and self-centered!”
They continued to pour cold water on the public who seemed to be getting enthusiastic.
“Even if you say that, the first ones to die will be people like us!”
“That’s right. When things turn bad, the royalty and the n.o.bles will all run away.”
“Actually, didn’t your father also do that? The daughter of the father, there’s no way you wouldn’t also… keguh.!”
“You son of a b.i.t.c.h! How dare you say that to Her Majesty!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Even as the spies clashed with the crowd, they continued to say everything they needed to. Thanks to that, the atmosphere was slowly becoming chaotic again. Just then, Leila spoke up confidently.
“I will not run away. I will defend this country to the very last moment with you all.”
“You’re just…”
The spies started to shout loudly, but they couldn’t continue.
At that moment, Leila took off the big cape that had been wrapped around her body. Her appearance was different from usual. She was wearing armor and a slender sword was at her waist.
She drew her sword and shouted loudly towards the crowd.
“I am a descendant of the House of Lester and wife of the war G.o.d, Grand Duke Milton Forrest. I will never retreat from the Republican invaders!”
Her declaration was full of dignity and everyone could feel the determination contained in those words. There was no way it was a lie. She was speaking the truth. Anyone who heard it could hear it; her voice was full of truth.
Holding her sword tightly, Queen Leila shouted.
“People of the kingdom! If we don’t fight and win, we will never obtain peace!”
At that moment, her dignity was so great that honeyed words or manipulation didn’t stand a chance.
“I will fight.”
“I might be old, but I can fight as well.”
“Long live the Queen!”
“Hooray for the Lester Kingdom!!”
The anxiety was gone from the citizens’ hearts. A fighting spirit filled its place.
“Mom, amazing.”
Having seen this scene closer than anyone else, Elizabeth mumbled in a daze. This sight would become an unerasable memory in the little girl’s heart and a great significance for the great of her life.
***
The size difference of 80,000 to 40,000 changed greatly.
Queen Leila’s speech caused the citizens to rise up and led to a large number of civilian militia. Thankfully, the Lester Kingdom’s capital had enough weapons to immediately arm 60,000 civilians.
As with all battles, the number of troops during a siege is very helpful. It was tremendously helpful to quickly teach the civilians to shoot arrows and station them up on the walls.
However, there was still an element of anxiety: the number of Masters.
“Duke Palan. Amongst the Republican Masters, is there anyone you can’t handle?”
“Even if Duke Schweiker or General Barron gets up from their graves and comes back to life, I will try my hardest to stop them, Your Majesty.”
Although Duke Palan’s answer was full of loyalty and seemed dependable, it wasn’t the answer Leila wanted.
“We need to be objective and a.s.sess it. Don’t be hot-headed about it and tell me.”
Duke Palan thought for a moment before speaking.
“I can handle Siegfried or McCarthy O’Brian, but Jake…”
“It’ll be difficult?”
“Unless Marquis Taker comes, it’ll be difficult for everyone in the Lester Kingdom, Your Majesty.”
“Ah… I see.”
Leila fell into deep thought. Not only was there a difference in the quant.i.ty of Master, 3:2, but there was even an opponent they couldn’t handle.
“Where are the Republicans right now?”
“Two hours ago, I heard that the Georgmann Castle had fallen, Your Majesty. They’re probably…”
“So they’ll most likely reach the capital either at dawn or tomorrow morning.”
The Republican Army was now very close.
‘We don’t have time to ask anyone to send out the Masters first. In that case…’
Queen Leila thought about what they could do. Her strong point was to find even the faintest possibility of success without giving up until the very end. And she ultimately found out what she could do.
“I’ll be away for a while.”
“Please have a safe trip, Your Majesty.”
He didn’t even ask where she was going or for what. Having served her longer than anyone else had, Duke Palan trusted her.
***
Queen Leila left without any escort. She arrived at an underground prison located in the deepest part under the royal palace.
A guard bowed deeply when he saw her.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
“Is the criminal alive?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Just as you’ve ordered, we’ve been keeping her alive.”
“I want to see her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Then…”
The guard opened the prison door and Leila went in to see the criminal.
“Raise your head.”
“...Lei…la.”
With cold eyes, Leila looked at the criminal before speaking.
“The only thing I could trust about you were your looks, but now, even that’s not enough.”
“......”
“How do you feel, Claudia Vamos?”
The criminal Leila had come to see was Claudia Vamos.
***
Even if Claudia was cla.s.sified as a villain, compared to Siegfried or Eliza, she was just a small fry. At one point, she had married a prince of the Lester Kingdom and had become a wicked woman during the race to the throne. But now, she was insignificant.
However, apart from the gravity of her sins, she held significance for Leila. To Leila, Claudia was the enemy who had killed her mother and brother. She herself had almost died, but managed to survive with the help of Duke Palan. Afterwards, she had made a comeback and with Milton’s help, had gotten the throne, but she had never forgotten about her revenge. It wasn’t just revenge for Leila, it was an emotional obligation for her. That was why she had talked one-on-one with Siegfried to get Claudia in her hands.
Leila had only given Claudia one punishment: starvation. Leila hadn’t felt the need to hear Claudia confess her sins and was even less willing to forgive her. Leila just made Claudia pay for her sins.
She wanted to make Claudia’s life a living h.e.l.l by torturing her, but that would shorten her life span and Leila wanted her to suffer as long as possible. For the rest of her life, if possible.
So, Leila had sentenced her to confinement with minimal food - literally the minimum amount needed to survive. Thanks to that, Claudia had to live on an empty stomach, it was like living in purgatory. In a secret room where anything that could be used to commit suicide had been disposed of, preventing her from taking her own life, she was becoming increasingly thin.
Truthfully, Leila never intended to visit Claudia. Leila had planned to just leave her alone until she died. But, the reason she had come to see Claudia was because she was useful.
“I’m not the type to beat around the bush. I came here to give you a chance.”
Claudia’s eyes wavered at Leila’s blunt remark.
“...Chan...ce?”
“That’s right. A chance to live.”