Chapter 99

Two people openly declare that they will execute her.

As they spoke, not just as threats but already having received the Assembly’s verdict, the Queen was engulfed in deep confusion.

“W-why… why are you doing this? What exactly have I… what have I done wrong?”

“I told you, it’s the crime of failing to govern this country properly.”

“Y-you’re saying you’ll kill me for that reason? Just for that…”

“Just for that?”

“!! Kugh!”

In that moment, the Queen’s neck was suddenly constricted.

Using magical power rather than physical means to apply pressure,

Queen Louis, merely an ordinary human, could do nothing but writhe in pain.

And then…

Looking at Queen Louis in such a state, Robes Fiora spoke in a chilling voice.

“Did you just say ‘just for that’? Do you know how many thousands have starved and died because of your ‘just’? If you’d simply taken your responsibilities seriously and acted properly while holding all the powers of this nation, this wouldn’t have happened! Not me! Not all those outraged people outside! Everyone could have lived happily and smiled!”

“Kuh… uh… ugh.”

Robes Fiora was releasing her furious rage as she spoke.

At that moment.

“Fiora, calm down. No matter what, you must endure this for now.”

“…Tch.”

With Nekker’s words, Robes Fiora barely restrained her emotions.

“Haah… haah… haah…”

With the pressure finally dissipated, the Queen gasped for air…

Watching her, Robes Fiora stood up.

“…Make sure to pray, for soon your head will be on the guillotine.”

“…U-uh…”

Leaving the trembling Queen behind, Robes Fiora exited to prevent further emotional turmoil.

Thus, only Minister Nekker and the Queen remained in that room.

“N-Nekker… um… please do something. You’re the one I put in that position.”

“Yes, that’s true… If not for you, Your Majesty, I would still be just an unnamed low noble.”

“N-Nekker…”

Nekker, speaking calmly.

The Queen secretly held a shred of hope, but…

Her such expectations didn’t last long.

“And to repay that grace, I have served you to the best of my ability until now. I have always pondered upon what you must do and how you should act, and I’ve offered my counsel.”

“I… I truly appreciate that… so…”

“But Your Majesty… what have you ever done in return? Have you ever once accepted my advice as it was?”

“!… But… the nobles’ opposition…”

“Yes, of course. But Your Majesty… you know very well that with your power… with the strong authority entrusted to you by the late king… you could have sufficiently suppressed the noble revolts.”

“…”

Nekker spoke in a cold voice.

To this, Queen Louis could not respond.

She knew, too.

Though she had turned her back on him, his requests were genuinely for her benefit… for the good of the kingdom.

Nekker’s policies, centered around confiscating the nobles’ resources to distribute among the people.

Had they progressed normally, the economic situation of this country would have drastically improved, and such a revolution wouldn’t have erupted.

Yet…

Still, she failed to carry them out in the end.

Every time she attempted to implement her policies, she simply could not suppress the outrage of the nobles, which came as a matter of course.

It was not because she lacked power.

The laws and institutions devised by the late king and Chancellor Eli guaranteed the absolute power of the king in dealing with the nobles.

Despite that, her failure stemmed simply from her timid nature…

At that time, she never suspected it could lead to such catastrophe…

It was merely that… she was terrified of the fierce opposition of the nobles right before her.

“I have given you countless opportunities, Your Majesty. Yet… you have ultimately failed to seize them, and here we are.”

“…A…Ah…”

Nekker’s words dripped with bitterness.

With the meaning of despair in those words… Queen Louis eventually began to weep.

She acknowledged her many shortcomings as a ruler.

At the same time, she had long known that she was unworthy of this position.

However, right after the death of the late king,

A crown that should have gone to her deceased siblings was automatically placed upon her head.

A position she had never once desired since birth…

The highest seat in this country, which also brought the greatest responsibility.

And now…

She was about to meet her end, crushed by the weight of this forcibly placed crown.

Not due to bandits in the mountains or the enemies’ generals…

But by the very courtiers who had bowed their heads and pledged their loyalty to her.

“I don’t want to die… I don’t want to end like this…”

Confronted by the inevitable reality, Queen Louis sank into the depths of despair.

And then…

Minister Nekker looked at her and calmly spoke.

“Soon, the execution ceremony led by General Rafael will commence. Given her character, she won’t drag this out. It might take a few days at most… but it could be today as well…”

“Ugh… ugh…”

Minister Nekker returned the cold reality to the sovereign.

In response, Queen Louis could only shed tears as she felt her heart crumble.

At that moment.

“And in this situation… the only counsel I can offer you now… is just one last thing.”

“L-last… counsel?”

A slightly different type of discourse from before.

To the Queen with tear-filled eyes blinking in confusion.

Minister Nekker extended a piece of paper and a bottle containing a red liquid.

“What will you do, Your Majesty? Will you accept my final counsel?”

“!”

*

Countless people gathered in the square.

In the center stood a large execution device being set up by the executioners.

Among them, Josephine, gently holding her daughter, cautiously asked the person next to her.

“What’s going on? Why are there so many people gathered here?”

“Well… I’m not quite sure, but I heard there’s going to be an execution.”

“An execution? W-who…”

“I don’t know, but installing something like that in the middle of the square doesn’t seem like a usual occurrence.”

“Hmm…”

A large device with a sharp blade, seemingly meant to stabilize something below.

It was clear that it was a tool for cutting something, but Josephine couldn’t understand its exact workings with her limited knowledge.

Feeling uneasy about the ‘execution,’ she developed a bit of curiosity about how they would execute someone, yet she didn’t leave and continued to gaze at the problematic execution device.

At that moment…

“Everyone, make way!”

“!”

A voice from behind rang out.

In response, Josephine and others standing in the square promptly moved aside.

Right after, the scene that caught Josephine’s eye was…

“Uh?”

An individual firmly seized by soldiers and being dragged away.

As she looked at them heading straight toward the execution device, a deep shock washed over Josephine’s face.

“W-what? That person is definitely…”

A person she had once happened to see.

A woman adorned in splendid clothing, escorted by numerous people.

Realizing who that strikingly beautiful woman was, even Josephine could recall it immediately.

“Louis… Queen?”

The revelation slipped out of her unexpectedly.

It seemed to act as a starting point, and people around her began to raise their voices.

“It’s… it’s real! That really is Queen Louis!”

“W-what? That woman is… our Frantz Kingdom’s Queen?”

“N-no. Why is that woman headed to the execution ground?”

It was true that they held some hatred towards the monarch.

They had genuinely felt anger when they saw the cart the King was riding earlier.

However… aside from that, the king was, for them, simply the king.

An existence seated in a position so high that they couldn’t even glare at it.

Witnessing such a figure being dragged toward the execution platform was delivering a heavy shock to the citizens.

“What is going on? Why… why is Her Majesty being dragged like that?”

“I… I don’t know… It seems something is happening, though…”

Lost in the confusion of this incomprehensible situation, the citizens were bewildered.

Yet, regardless of their reactions, the executioners dragged Queen Louis forward to the execution stand.