Chapter 260

9. What’s wrong?

The Queen was almost frightened to the point of fainting.

But she could not faint yet!

The Queen grabbed Livra’s arm and hurriedly lifted her sleeve to check whether there were any wounds on her wrist, her face filled with heartache.

“And you even said she treated you well…! How could that witch do something like this! She used iron chains to lock you up?! Heavens… your Father King would be heartbroken if he knew. She clearly promised your Father King that she wouldn’t use violence on you! Livra, you are a princess of a nation! How could she… how could she treat you like a slave! No… we’re not going back. Livra, listen to your mother—no matter what your Father King says, we absolutely won’t go back!”

“N-No… that’s not it! Mother, that’s not what I meant! I meant that Princess Sheffy was like a teacher, pushing me forward strictly—it’s very inspiring!”

“What?! She even whipped you?! That beast, that beast! Where are the wounds? Not on your arms… was it on your legs, or your back? Hurry and let Mother see how serious it is, we’ll go find a healer!”

“Waaah—Mother, calm down…! Let me say two more sentences! Give me a chance to speak two sentences, I’ll definitely explain everything clearly within two sentences!”

Motherly love, sometimes, was like a mudslide.

When a mudslide erupted, it had nothing to do with whether it was raining. Once it collapsed, that force was unstoppable.

Fortunately, Livra was not the only one standing here.

There was also the one whose reputation had suffered severe damage—the bea… ahem, Demon Clan Princess, Miss Sheffy!

Shaya directly took a big step with her short legs, leaping in front of the two of them, raising both hands like cat paws and letting out a threatening sound.

“Ha~~~”^

“……”

“……”

See?

At times like this, only the unexpected could cool down tense emotions—this method never failed.

Taking advantage of the moment when Queen Maqiya and Livra were both stunned by her strange, cat-like outburst, Miss Shaya seized the opportunity to explain the misunderstanding.

“Your Majesty the Queen, you’ve misunderstood! I personally witnessed what a kind person the Demon Clan Princess is. She is mature and intellectual, well-educated and reasonable, compassionate toward the world, and most importantly, she’s an expert at fishing! She also treats Princess Livra extremely well. The ‘chains’ she mentioned just now actually refer to…”_

…………………………

After a round of frantic explanations, half of what she said was used to praise just how good the Demon Clan Princess was.^

Only when Miss Shaya talked herself dry and could no longer continue praising did she plop down and occupy the wooden chair the Queen had been sitting on to rest.

My mission to defend my reputation had been accomplished.

And now, it was the Queen’s turn to grab Livra by the ear and start lecturing her.

“You child…! You couldn’t explain things clearly, could you? So it turns out the Demon Clan Princess not only didn’t hit you, but even taught you magic? Sigh… it seems she truly showed goodwill for cooperation. If I hadn’t heard Miss Shaya’s explanation, I would’ve told your Father King to fight the Demon Domain to the bitter end! You, honestly—you’re always this thoughtless! Speaking only half of what you mean, asking for a beating!”_

“Wuwu… I didn’t. I was trying to explain just now… but the moment I spoke, you hit my head.”

“I was worried about you, afraid you were forcing yourself to act tough! And you still talk back!”

“……”

Ha, Sheffy felt this deeply.

No matter which world or which era it was, one should never try to reason with their parents.

They defined what was reasonable, so no matter what you said, you would never have the upper hand. What was the point of reasoning at all~

“But Livra, you totally deserved that! That first sentence you said was obviously on purpose, right? When you actually wanted to explain, you no longer had the chance. This is what you call asking for trouble and bringing it upon yourself!”

Sheffy didn’t like being lectured by her own parents, but she quite enjoyed listening to others get scolded by theirs—it felt great.

“You… with this attitude, how are you going to become the Queen of the Kingdom of Aurus in the future? You’re far too unstable. You need to temper your mindset.”

“I am training, I am training… huh?! Mother! You can’t say that out loud! Ah—ow ow ow…! My ear! My ear!”

“This is to teach you a lesson. I wouldn’t say it in front of your brothers and sisters, but this was personally decided by your Father King. You should have some self-awareness too!”

Hah, my mom also liked twisting my ears!

The more Shaya watched, the happier she became, inwardly cheering Queen Maqiya on to pull harder!

But it made sense—Livra inheriting the throne was an “open secret.” The old king was practically one step away from announcing it outright; anyone perceptive could see it clearly.

Some members of the royal family might have been dissatisfied, but ever since the Second Prince had been blown into ashes by Sheffy’s 【Extreme Dark Nova】 in the arena, the Aurus royal family had clearly become much more obedient. Respecting the king’s decision was, after all, a wise choice.

Livra struggled free from the hell of ear-twisting, looking frightened and disheveled—nothing like a future queen.

“And besides… things in the future can be talked about later! It’s still far away. With Father King and Mother supporting me, I can live freely for decades~ I still have plenty of time to grow. Hehe, so thank you, Father King and Mother—you’re the best~”

For some reason,

Maqiya hesitated upon hearing this.

From the shape of her mouth, and from the usual things parents said to their children, Shaya inferred that she probably wanted to say something like, “Have some ambition. If you could take on responsibility earlier, we could retire sooner and enjoy life.”

But she didn’t say it.

There was a strange urgency in her daze, yet that urgency remained unspoken, resulting in this hesitation.

“Mother?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll say this again—you must broaden your own horizons. You can’t always rely on your parents’ support. Remember, you are a princess of the Kingdom of Aurus. Never forget that in the future, you will stand tall as a king, someone who bears the fate of the nation.”

“Mother…? Wh-what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly saying all this…?”

Shaya also stopped rocking the wooden chair.

Even the flower petals falling from the branches seemed to hang midair, trembling as if about to fall but not quite.

Livra was perceptive enough—just a slight pause in her mother’s words already made her heart sink like a heavy stone rolling down a mountain ravine.

—Something was wrong.

Only then did she realize that when her mother had first seen her return, her face had been filled with worry. Although much of it faded the moment she saw her, even now, the gloom had not dispersed.

That meant… what her mother was worried about was not just her.

She should have noticed earlier!

“Mother! Where is Father King?”

“Your Father King, he…” The hesitation flickering in Maqiya’s eyes wavered before she finally looked straight at Livra, grabbed her arm, and forced a smile. “Your Father King is handling affairs in the council hall. He’s quite busy—you might not be able to see him today…”

After hearing this, Livra felt no sense of relief at all.

Instead, she immediately turned her head toward Sheffy.

The Eyes of True Sight that saw through lies shimmered faintly—this level of magic could still be controlled within the palace’s alarm-triggering limits.

Then, she shook her head.

This meant— the Queen was lying.

Livra’s heart skipped a beat. In truth, there was no need to ask Teacher Shaya to confirm it; just from her mother’s reaction, it was already enough to tell.

But she had been unwilling to believe it, still clinging to a trace of wishful thinking, not daring to draw a conclusion.

Now, Sheffy’s head shake completely extinguished that last bit of hope.

Livra’s hands unconsciously tightened as she grabbed Maqiya’s arms in return, gripping even harder.

“Mother…! Please don’t hide this from me. What exactly happened to Father King… When I left last time, his condition was already not very good. Didn’t you say it was just a cold? It’s been so long—if it were just a cold, he should’ve recovered by now! He’s not in the council hall at all, is he!”

“Livra… your Father King really is discussing matters with the ministers. Why… why would I lie to you?”

“You were just telling me earlier! Not to force myself to act tough. If you’re like this, then even if I die in the Demon Domain in the future, I won’t tell you anything!”

“!”

You foolish child…

If you died, how would you even speak?

But fortunately,

Livra’s words struck directly at Maqiya’s weak spot.

That was true…

If she herself couldn’t uphold the lessons she taught Livra, then how much weight would those words carry?

If Livra were to become king in the future, these were burdens she would inevitably have to bear—there was no avoiding them.

Maqiya placed her hand lightly over her chest, taking a deep breath to steady her chaotic emotions.

When she felt she could finally face things calmly, the evasiveness in her expression when looking at Livra completely turned into seriousness.

Then, she turned and stepped forward.

She was leading the way.

“Come with me. Your Father King’s illness is indeed more serious than you think. Listen carefully—no matter what happens, you must be mentally prepared.”

“I understand! Is Father King in the bedchamber?”

“Yes… hm?”

Hearing more than one set of footsteps, the Queen turned back in surprise.

Maqiya realized that it wasn’t just Livra following behind her.

There was also Shaya, carrying a wooden chair above her head, trailing along.

“Miss Shaya… what are you doing?”

“I’m afraid there won’t be a place to sit later. The chair is quite nice, so I brought it along.”

“Uh… I didn’t mean the chair. I meant, are you coming along too…?”

Going to the inner palace where the king rested—given Shaya’s identity as a member of the little knight order, it didn’t seem very appropriate.

Knights were responsible for guarding. Even with the title of an earl, there was no precedent of entering the inner palace without being summoned.

But at this moment, Livra spoke with absolute decisiveness.

“Mother, please let Miss Shaya come with us. She knows a lot—far more than I do. She’s very capable. I think she might be able to help us! Even if she can’t… I still hope she can… come with me.”

The last sentence was spoken very, very softly, almost inaudible—within that helplessness was a dependence hidden beneath the princess’s strong exterior.

“But…”

“I guarantee it!”

“Sigh… fine. Since you insist… then let Miss Shaya come along. Anyway, the situation can’t get any worse…”

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