### Chapter Six: Assassination
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room gasped.
“What…”
“Her Majesty the Queen…”
“A demon… how could…”
“How can you say that…”
“She’s just like Sister Teresa… both are heroes of the Royal City… why…”
The crowd was in utter disbelief, their faces frozen in shock.
They couldn’t fathom why Her Majesty would say such a thing, but it had come from the mouth of her mother, the Empress… Surely the Empress wouldn’t drop such ridiculous lies.
And so, they stood there, befuddled and at a loss.
But I heard clearly—Victoria had not said anything of the sort; the Empress was deliberately slandering her. While her tactics were lowbrow at best, the surrounding reactions showed they had made quite the impact.
At today’s funeral, those gathered in this church were undoubtedly individuals of stature in the Royal City. Beyond the nobility, there were even representatives of the afflicted citizens among them. If someone wanted to spread public sentiment, this was undoubtedly the perfect setting.
Moreover, the implication in the Empress’s earlier words was clearly aimed at inciting discord between the Queen and the Church.
She wanted to destroy Victoria’s reputation completely.
Given what had happened with Teresa, Victoria had quite a following among the people. If she could take advantage of this opportunity and do something substantial for the Royal City, she would surely become a beloved queen. I guessed the Empress didn’t want that… or rather, someone didn’t want that.
And thus, we had today’s drama. What should have been a smooth event was now muddled by the Empress’s interference… leaving Victoria utterly speechless. No matter her subsequent explanations, there would always be a portion of people harboring doubts, spreading the rumor, which would soon traverse the Royal City… and possibly even beyond.
I quickly pieced everything together.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s uncle stepped forward, seizing the moment to interject, “Victoria! How can you slander the heroes of the Royal City… You’re being too rash! You—oh, what can I say!”
He sighed heavily, his face scrunched up as if he was mourning a lost cause, his eyebrows nearly knitting together in despair.
I coldly regarded their little act, clearing my throat slightly.
“I didn’t hear Victoria mention the word ‘demon’ at all.”
I stepped forward, standing right before the Empress, adjusting my helmet and tilting my head back, peering through the narrow slit to fixate on her feigned look of shock.
“Or do you know something, Auntie Empress?”
“I know!” the Empress instinctively took a step back, eyes wide as she shouted, “All I know is that Miss Silvya is a hero, and I truly respect you. But what happened today is just heartbreaking! I want you to speak clearly as a hero! Why can’t we send Sister Teresa off properly? Why?!”
After this outburst, unfriendly murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.
“Her Majesty… seems to want to seize this opportunity to undermine the Church’s authority in the Royal City…”
“…but that can’t be…”
A spark ignited in my mind, and I immediately stood on my toes, scanning the crowd for the source of the voice, eager to identify the instigator.
But with the church packed to the brim and my view severely obstructed, I ended up failing in my quest.
Yet the atmosphere was already shifting.
“Sister Teresa… is a hero… I once received her kindness…”
“Still young… reckless…”
“Whatever happens… you can’t slander a deity’s follower… that’d bring down divine punishment… we’ll all suffer divine punishment…”
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Margaret across from me remained silent, her gaze flickering as if she were devising a counter-strategy.
The sound of voices grew more raucous, and in the midst of the chaos, Victoria uttered a word.
“Mother…”
Her tone remained calm and collected.
“Is this your final stand?”
…Huh?
What did Victoria mean by that…
“I just don’t want to see a hero so wantonly slandered! Victoria… you’re the Queen of Ethanbel and my daughter; you can’t let this happen! It brings shame upon me and all the people of the Royal City!”
“No one is slandering heroes.” Margaret interjected quietly, “Empress, please calm down so we can clarify this. Your current demeanor really is quite rude.”
The Empress was deaf to reason.
Like a madwoman, her voice rose in pitch as she lashed out, “This can’t be! Victoria, you can’t allow this! Sister Teresa is a hero, our hero—!”
“She’s not a demon!”
The uncle chimed in, raising his own voice.
“She is our hero!”
Immediately, people in the crowd echoed, “Sister Teresa… is a hero!”
“She is our hero!”
“Sister Teresa is our hero!”
“Hero! Hero! Hero—!”
The shouts grew louder, like waves crashing in a storm, drowning out all reason, and chaos erupted in the church.
“Please everyone, quiet down! This is a misunderstanding!”
Margaret’s voice got lost in the clamor.
In the front, the Empress raised her right arm, passionately appealing to the crowd, yet the corners of her mouth tugged into an almost imperceptible smirk.
I noticed Victoria drawing her sword from her waist.
In the next moment, a piercing shriek accompanied by collective gasps erupted from behind me.
Oh no…
A sinking feeling gripped me as I spun around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the commotion behind me—but in my haste, the ill-fitting helmet hadn’t turned with my head, rendering my vision completely obscured and plunging everything into darkness.
I was furious, disregarding all semblance of decorum. I fumbled for the helmet’s latch, swiftly unbuckling it, and as the black satin cascade fell, the clash of weapons echoed in my ears.
Clang—
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a cloaked figure thrusting a glimmering dagger toward the back of Victoria’s knee, targeting the unprotected area of her armor.
It’s poisoned…
Victoria deflected the attack with her sword, but the assailant wasn’t done; he lunged again with another poisoned dagger aimed at the same spot.
It all happened in an instant.
I mustered all my strength and kicked at the man’s arm.
Crack.
“Ah—”
The assassin’s arm snapped under my blow, twisting into a grotesque shape, and the dagger went flying, landing at the feet of the crowd to the left.
Gasps finally erupted around us.
“Oh my god!”
“Someone is attempting to assassinate Her Majesty!”
“Quick, seize him!”
“Ahhh—!”
The assassin howled in agony, the excruciating pain causing tears and snot to flow freely. His legs buckled, and he looked ready to collapse, but Victoria seized his collar, dislodging his other hand clutching a longsword, and began poking him with her finger, producing a ‘whoosh’ sound as she jabbed him at the shoulders and thighs.
Thud thud thud—
A terrifying gust exploded through his body, creating gruesome holes at multiple points. His eyes bulged crimson, veins in his neck bulging, and he let out a faint whimper before his head lolled to the side, and he collapsed unconscious.
