Chapter 104

“Sniff… sniff…”

Queen Louis, with tears streaming down her face, was busy peeling onions.

As the queen of this nation, it was hard for her to understand why she had to do such work, but she had no choice but to do her best at whatever she was commanded.

It wasn’t merely that she found it hard to speak up; the current situation in front of her was incredibly hectic.

Starting with the girl peeling potatoes, and then moving on to the man finely chopping those potatoes until they were almost powdered.

The various ingredients, including the chopped potatoes, were being hurriedly transported by Elkana, while Franklin, dripping with sweat, was the last to place those ingredients into a gigantic pot and boil them.

In this situation, where everyone was working seriously without even a moment to talk or get distracted, Queen Louis felt compelled to act just as diligently.

At the same time, she began to realize.

The luxurious meals she had always taken for granted while sitting on the throne were actually made through such hard and exhausting processes.

‘… There was a reason the late king never fussed about food… It’s so hard just to peel an onion…’

Regretting her past behavior of asking for meals to be remade just because they didn’t suit her taste, Queen Louis sighed softly as she gazed at the mountain of onions that seemed never-ending.

Just then…

—Crash!

“Huh?”

“What?”

The sharp sound that echoed caught everyone’s attention, including Queen Louis, and they turned to look in the direction of the noise…

“Ugh.”

Elkana’s voice slipped out in surprise.

“Tch… I thought something felt a bit off…”

A man known as Magellan, his brows furrowed in concern, held a kitchen knife that had been cleanly broken.

If he had just been cutting normally, such an incident would have hardly occurred.

However, Magellan had been using a lot of force while grating the potatoes, which inevitably put a strain on the cooking tool.

Ultimately, the already worn-out knife had snapped.

With a slightly irritated voice, Magellan looked around and asked, “Do we have any knives left? Anything of medium size will do.”

“Ah… Sorry… That was the last big one. I barely found it while searching the kitchen, and there’s no blacksmith nearby.”

“Tch… With no time to spare, this had to happen… Am I really going to have to use Calaborg?”

He looked at the broken knife with a distressed expression.

At that moment…

“May I take a look for a moment?”

“Huh? This?”

Seeing Magellan’s situation, Queen Louis carefully spoke up.

Following that, she began to examine the broken kitchen knife he had handed over.

Then, without hesitation, she walked over to the nearby hearth with the neatly broken knife in hand.

“Excuse me, newcomer? What are you doing now?”

“Didn’t you say we were in a hurry? Just wait a moment.”

“What do you mean—”

—Whoosh!

In response to Elkana’s question, Queen Louis used the flames used to boil the pot to ignite the hearth.

After lighting the kindling that had been prepared inside for easy use, she simply washed the broken knife and grabbed a flat stone and a small hammer used for chopping meat.

The series of actions flowed effortlessly, as if she had done this many times before.

As she set to work, everyone, including Elkana and Magellan, who had been puzzled by her previous struggle with the onion skin, paused to watch her.

Heating the broken blade in the hearth using the cooking tools, shortly after the metal began to glow red, she took out the small hammer and began to tap the small iron piece meant for the joint onto the broken knife.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each strike of the hammer was accurate, without the slightest hint of sloppiness.

Watching her, those present gazed in awe, silent as they took in the scene.

After a repetitive cycle of heating and hammering that lasted about 20 minutes—though a short duration—it left Queen Louis drenched in sweat from her unwavering labor.

And then…

—Sizzle!

Finally, she submerged the knife in water and pulled it out, holding a kitchen knife that looked as good as new.

“Wow…”

“What’s with you? Were you a blacksmith? This is pretty impressive!”

“It was just a simple hobby. Besides, for now, it’s just a temporary fix, so don’t get your hopes up too much. Still, it should hold up for a few days without issue.”

“Thank you. That should be enough.”

With a pleased smile, Magellan took the knife back, while the girl watched with sparkling eyes, intrigued.

Meanwhile, Franklin, who had been silent until now, also cast an impressed look at them.

Seeing that they were more pleased than she had expected, Queen Louis felt a slight flush creeping to her cheeks.

‘Could it be… that my usual hobby could help like this…?’

Queen Louis, known for her timid nature, had been lacking in many ways as a ruler.

Yet, she had one unique joy in life—her hobby.

Specifically, it was blacksmithing, crafting locks or intricate mechanisms, and Queen Louis had even set up a large forge within the palace for this very purpose.

Striking metal while recalling the irritating faces of the nobles always left her feeling refreshed.

With skills and knowledge that rivaled an expert, having perfectly forged even tiny scrap pieces of metal, repairing a knife temporarily was child’s play for her.

In reality, such a hobby couldn’t be considered suited for a ruler.

However, those moments spent hammering away at metal were the only times she felt peace amid the endless demands of her royal duties.

And now, Queen Louis recognized that her display of this hobby had transformed the perceptions of those around her completely.

Gratitude, appreciation, and surprise.

Feeling a deep sense of joy as she experienced this much-anticipated attention after a long time, she naturally found herself smiling shyly.

“By the way, could you check my dagger later? It’s been getting dull lately, but I haven’t had the time to drop it off.”

“Sure. I’ll make time for that.”

“Please take a look at the rapier I just got as well.”

Accepting these requests happily, Queen Louis felt the awkwardness she had sensed among them begin to fade away.

*

“Where has she been? Oh, she was over there doing that.”

As I watched Queen Louis mingling with the cooking team, a slightly peculiar expression crossed my face.

It was surprising to see the queen, who had lived without a single drop of water on her hands, naturally laughing, crying, and chatting over there.

That scene felt surprisingly comfortable.

“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding… should we go call her?”

Auriell asked cautiously.

However, I slowly shook my head in response.

“Let’s just leave her be for now. Either Napoleona or someone else will be coming for her soon enough. It won’t hurt to let her enjoy herself until then, right?”

Honestly, I had no idea about the etiquette and treatment of a king, so I had no desire to fuss over such matters.

Thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let her have some fun in this moment, I left the area with Auriell.

However…

At that moment, I had no clue.

The revolutionary army, whom I thought would arrive soon, would take days and weeks to come for the queen.

No, they practically abandoned her with blatant refusal.

*

In the city of Loren, located in the East of the Kingdom of Frantz. Originally part of the Holy Empire’s territory, it had been completely absorbed by the Kingdom of Frantz about a hundred years ago following the results of a religious war.

Here, two people, Charlotte and Maraang, were feeling utterly deflated.

“She’s back. They said they found Queen Louis.”

“Damn! So what the hell have we been doing until now?”

Having waited in this border region for almost two months, eating and sleeping while waiting for the queen to arrive, they realized their efforts had been futile.

In the beginning, it was unlikely, but they thought this was their best chance, and now they felt like a dog chasing a chicken.

“Sigh… Let’s go back.”

“What the hell is this…?”

Yet, they couldn’t blame anyone since the outcome was a result of their planning and execution.

As they felt regret and frustration over not having made contact sooner, they summoned their soldiers and hurriedly turned back.

At that moment…

“Huh?”

“… What… is that?”

At that moment, something started to come into view before them.

Emerging slowly from beyond the river.

As they recognized what it was, their faces turned pale.

“… Th-That’s…”

“Holy Empire Army?”