Chapter 103

Napoleona felt something every time she saw General Rafael.

While he was an excellent figure both in character and military talent, there were notable shortcomings in his political dealings.

Whether it was because he was a nice person or simply lacked political sense, he often struggled with the politics of pushing through actions while grasping onto a justification.

For instance, just like now.

“No matter how much one claims to have lost power on paper… that’s not everything, is it?”

The royal family of the Kingdom of Frantz had wielded powerful authority for three generations.

Although that declined significantly under Queen Louis’s reign, a king’s word still held weight in this country.

To put it bluntly, if one simply sent sealed letters to local lords, it wouldn’t be impossible to gather an army of 200,000 from various regions.

Unaware of this fact, General Rafael decided to leave the queen in the care of the Pirate King solely to avoid potential security issues.

But… looking at it another way, this might have stemmed from his good-hearted nature.

Considering that Robes Fiora and the revolutionary army aimed to kill the queen without reason, it could seem safer to leave her with the Pirate King, someone trustworthy with no particular grudges.

No matter the reason, it felt like a frustrating decision typical of General Rafael.

Thus, Napoleona moved on to take over the forces of Robes Fiora.

*

The place she arrived at with the man named Ezra Drake was a large building located on the outskirts of the city.

It was far from luxurious, yet it didn’t feel dirty.

Upon arrival, Ezra Drake left her in a room and stepped outside, saying, “Wait here, I’ll fetch someone to guide you.”

“Yes. Understood.”

With that, Ezra Drake exited the room. Left alone, Queen Louis sat quietly.

The fluttering emotions from moments earlier quickly faded as she was left alone.

Just as she regained what could be called a calm… a deep sense of unease began to swell within her.

Honestly, she had no idea what her future held anymore.

Thanks to that man… Ezra, she had saved her life, but as a monarch who had lost power, she had no clue what to do moving forward.

Sitting there overwhelmed with vague anxieties, she found herself still dressed in the clothing she wore just before her execution—her tattered attire evoking a strange sense of pity.

At that moment…

-Creeeak.

“Ah… finally arrived…”

“…!”

As the door suddenly swung open, a woman cautiously stepped inside.

The moment Queen Louis saw her, her face turned pale.

Dressed in a soiled apron with crimson stains, one hand dripping with blood holding a butchering knife… she had a terrifying appearance as if she had emerged from an abyss.

Had she encountered this figure in the dark of night, she surely would have fainted, and her blood ran cold at the sight.

At that moment…

“What’s this? You look a bit underwhelming. Are you sure you can work like this?”

“W-What do you mean…”

Following the menacing woman was another woman with a lively demeanor.

Queen Louis fell into confusion, stammering at their words.

“W-Well, you’ll get used to it as you work, right? Let’s hurry up. There are plenty of people waiting.”

“Follow me. There’s a lot… to do.”

With the lively woman gesturing as if she had been waiting, and the frightening-looking woman calmly insisting, Queen Louis thought to herself that something felt amiss…

Yet, she couldn’t muster the courage to speak up.

The reason was simple: she was scared.

With the thought that her blood might mingle with the blood on that butchering knife, Queen Louis obeyed the orders of the terrifying woman and the lively one.

At that moment, the fearsome-looking woman asked lightly, “By the way, what’s your name? My name is Franklin. For now, I’m acting on behalf of our temporarily absent captain.”

“I’m the one directly under her, Elkana.”

“A-Um… then… m-my name is…”

Just as Queen Louis was about to utter her true name, she hesitated involuntarily.

Though it ended in failure, having just escaped execution made her feel all the more apprehensive about sharing her true name.

“Ugh…”

“…?”

In a situation where she couldn’t reveal her name, Queen Louis became momentarily speechless.

At that moment…

“Ah… could it be you’re in a position where if your real name is known, you’ll be dragged off to execution or something like that?”

“!… W-What…?”

It felt like the woman named Elkana could see right through her thoughts.

Unconsciously reacting, Queen Louis felt a wave of panic and hurriedly closed her mouth.

“Haha, you don’t need to be that surprised. I’m in a similar position, you know. But while you’re here, there’s no need to worry; as long as you’re under our captain, no one would dare touch you.”

“…Hmm…”

In truth, she had been saved by that captain… Ezra Drake, so she could sympathize with that point.

Yet, the unease lingered…

More specifically, Queen Louis felt pressure under the intense gaze of the fearsome woman, Franklin, making her reluctant to share her name.

At that moment.

“Hmm, if it’s burdensome, you can just call yourself anything.”

“What… do you mean?”

“Great! From now on, your name is Chomski.”

“…!?”

A strange name of unknown origin.

However, before Queen Louis could object, Franklin spoke in a quiet yet chilling voice.

“Let’s end the chit-chat here and get moving. We’re running out of time.”

“Ahaha… understood. Please don’t be angry, Franklin.”

“Ah… got it.”

Elkana, showing a slight sign of nervousness, urged her to move along.

Thus, with heavy tension, they arrived at a large kitchen located inside the building.

A man frantically cooking and a girl peeling potatoes on the floor.

And above the girl, an indistinguishable bundle of fur curled up.

The man glanced over, voice laced with annoyance, and said, “Hey, why are you so late? Aren’t you moving quickly?”

“Sorry, sorry, I got delayed bringing the new recruit.”

“We don’t have time for a chat, let’s save that for later. Elkana, wash the dishes, and Chomski?… Anyway, you, peel those onions over there.”

“Me?… Am I really supposed to?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Ah… no, nothing at all…”

Though she had only seen onions once, had never peeled one before…

At that moment, she couldn’t find the words to refuse.

She couldn’t possibly say anything now about being a queen, nor could she muster the courage to say anything in the presence of Franklin, who was expertly wielding a knife with a terrifying demeanor.

In the end, Queen Louis squatted down and obediently picked up an onion.

It was her first time physically handling an unprepared onion.

As she thought, ‘Is it supposed to be peeled first?’, she picked up the nearby knife and cautiously began to peel the onion’s skin.

Then…

“Ah!”

A sudden stinging sensation by her eyes.

Soon after, tears began to stream down Queen Louis’s cheeks.

‘It’s true… is this how it’s supposed to be done?’

She had heard that peeling onions would make one cry.

Believing that this seemed correct, she devoted herself to peeling the onion’s skin.

At that moment…

“…Um…”

“Y-Yes?”

The potato-peeling girl spoke up as she watched.

“That’s not how you do it.”

“Ah… so… is it not?”

With a slightly incredulous expression, the girl picked up the onion in front of her.

Then, with her bare hands, she removed the thin outer layer before skillfully cutting off the stem and roots with a knife.

Meanwhile, Queen Louis, who had struggled with the knife for nearly five minutes, was left in a daze watching the girl finish in mere seconds.

“Is this your first time doing something like this?”

“…S-Sorry.”

“It’s okay, everyone starts off similar. If you have questions, ask away.”

With those words, the girl resumed peeling the potatoes.

Watching her, Queen Louis felt a touch of embarrassment and began to peel the onion in the way the girl had shown her.

It was still stinging her eyes, but it was less intense than before.

Thus, the queen of this land spent her time quietly enduring the pain while tears streamed down her face.