Chapter 133: Viki (Part One)
I ruffled my hair, which had been blown to the heavens by the gusty winds, and gaped with wide eyes and a dropped jaw at Victoria’s calm turn and nonchalant return to the sofa. It was as if the chaos unfolding in front of me was just a minor inconvenience.
She gathered her hair, bent down to pick up a handkerchief that had fallen at her feet, wiped her hands, and tossed it on the floor like it was yesterday’s news.
The handkerchief landed on the carpet, quickly absorbing a corner of the soup that had spilled on it.
Seeing this scene caused my brain to short-circuit for a moment, before I suddenly snapped back to reality like I had just been hit with a dose of enlightenment.
…My Captain Gray!!!
It’s all over.
Whether it was dinner or Captain Gray or the exquisite carpet beneath my feet, all was lost after Victoria’s sudden, explosive punch.
Dinner? Wasted! The scene before me was akin to a battlefield. Bottles lay on their sides, still spewing wine all over the carpet. I quickly lunged to upright one, only for a Captain Gray to roll directly under my feet.
…I can still pick it up and eat it.
Realizing this brought my nearly frantic state down a notch.
At this moment, Victoria’s relatives were finally coming to their senses.
“Viki! What on earth have you done?!”
“You are the queen of a nation! How could you lay hands on someone? You’ve offended the Clive family to the core!”
“Impulsive… so impulsive…”
A group of well-fed nobles in their thirties and forties, royal members of Ethanbel, were in complete disarray. One plump woman, after her initial shock, dashed for the exit without a backward glance, muttering, “I don’t know, I didn’t see anything, this has nothing to do with me…”
Victoria didn’t stop her.
The Iron Guards outside seemed to realize that something was amiss from the commotion inside, but with the Sword of Kanli blocking the door, the atmosphere grew tense.
“Everyone, shut up,” Victoria said softly.
“Shut up? Viki! This was supposed to be simple! Now how do we wrap this up? What do you suggest, huh?!”
Faced with the furious accusations of a portly middle-aged man, Victoria merely shot him a calm glance.
“This is my affair.”
“Your affair? You’re involving us! And we’re all here! Who knows what the Clive family will think!”
“That’s your problem.”
“You—! You’re impossible! Do you even see me as your uncle?!”
Victoria suddenly stood up again.
Her movement startled her angry uncle, who instinctively stepped back. But Victoria simply walked by him to the nearby cabinet and picked up another bottle of wine the servant had left there. With a flick of her wrist, she popped the cork off with a flourish.
She accepted a clean glass from Rect, pouring herself some wine.
Her crimson lips met the rim of the glass, the dark liquid flowed into her mouth, her lovely neck rolling as she downed the entire glass in one go.
“I’m thinking…” she said, coldly staring at the prince, “what gave you the courage to shout at me? Is it because you’re my father’s brother?”
“You—!”
The prince trembled in fury.
He glared at Victoria for ages but ultimately couldn’t find the words to respond.
“Viki, your uncle may be angry, but he’s saying this for your own good…”
Another noblewoman tried to mediate.
“Don’t call me Viki,” Victoria interrupted her.
“Uh… No, Viki, listen to me…”
“Don’t call me Viki.”
When she repeated this, her tone grew firmer.
It was the first time I heard any emotion in her words.
The insistence, the authoritative undertone, tangled with complex feelings—disappointment, perhaps? That was something only I could sense.
“You are not my family,” she stated.
“You don’t deserve to be.”
Silence returned to the room.
Those left behind were all wide-eyed, staring at Victoria as if she were some strange, incredible creature.
The prince’s face flushed red, and after a long pause, he finally said, “Look at what you’re saying! I wish your mother could hear this—”
“Rect.”
“Yes.”
“Throw him out.”
“Understood.”
After this brief exchange, the Forgiveness Head, who had been silent since the beginning, darkened his expression as he approached.
“You dare!” the prince yelled angrily.
“Sword of Kanli, what do you plan to do!”
The noblewoman, who seemed to be Victoria’s aunt, glared at Rect, but he ignored her completely.
“Wait! I can walk myself… ah—!”
The prince, utterly powerless before Rect, was yanked by the collar and dragged to the door, while the noblewoman clawed at him in desperation. Rect simply lifted his arm to block her and then tossed her out the door with ease.
“Victoria!” the noblewoman screeched, her voice piercing as she shouted back, “We’ll see each other in the council!”
Of course, Victoria didn’t respond; she merely shot her a withering glare before exiting rather awkwardly.
After all that, Rect moved over to Bart, who was passed out cold, flinging him out as well.
As soon as Bart landed outside, the Iron Guards erupted into a frenzy. Amidst the chaotic shouts, Rect gestured toward us, and when Victoria nodded slightly, he stepped out too.
What followed were sounds of heavy impacts and a few shrieks. Gradually, the commotion outside began to quiet down.
Throughout this ordeal, no one dared to speak.
It seemed the royal family understood.
Whether she was a niece or a sister, this young queen before them had made up her mind to be obstinate and would show no mercy to anyone.
Once they realized this, they began to retreat, albeit hesitantly.
Victoria was smart enough to see through them in a heartbeat; in fact, this was likely what she had hoped for all along, so she said, “You all should leave too.”
It seemed she had no intention of making it difficult for them.
After all, her punch to Bart was much harder than any I had seen back at the academy—perhaps it could even lead to a facial fracture… And as for that loudmouthed prince? She simply tossed him out.
Family… maybe?
But since she had reached her goal, she wouldn’t invite them to dinner anymore.
The tea table was no more…
Hearing Victoria’s words, the nobles exchanged hesitant glances.
“This… sigh—”
“So young… so impulsive…”
“Let’s wait and see how the empress handles this… sigh… Looks like she’s following the footsteps of the late king…”
They were blowing hot and cold, shaking their heads in false sympathy as they hurriedly left the residence.
In no time, the grand residence was left with just the two of us.
The courtyard outside seemed quiet too, and once everything settled, I suddenly felt my left leg go a little numb.
As an onlooker, I had been sitting too long without changing positions.
So, I squirmed around, decided to kick off my shoes, and curled my two pale legs up, snuggling into the corner of the sofa, feeling comfy before I tilted my head to look at Victoria.
She had started drinking alone again.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat, wanting to say something, but couldn’t find a good opening.
The atmosphere had turned a bit uncomfortable.
Honestly, I wanted to ask her how we would clean up after the chaos… who would pay for the door repairs… but now didn’t seem like the right time.
“You don’t need to worry about the repairs,” Victoria suddenly said, startling me a little.
This woman… can she read minds or something…?
What kind of genius of the Wind Order is she? More like a mind-reading prodigy!
“…Oh.”
I really wanted to say more…
After a moment, Victoria stood up.
“Someone will come to clean all this up…” she said, staring intently at the messy living room. After a few seconds, she continued, “They’ll be here shortly.”
With that, she took the wine bottle and glass and turned to head upstairs.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you going?”
“Just to get some fresh air,” she said.
Her figure looked even more fragile than the last time I saw her.
