146 – World after Defeat – 1
Immediately after the fight with Olivia, great confusion came to the kingdom.
It was because the capital of the kingdom literally evaporated, and even Charlotte disappeared without a trace in the middle of a huge amount of casualties.
It was only natural that the confusion would come as the Absolute who held all authority and power had disappeared.
Moreover, even the royal knights who were preparing for battle in the palace were melted together by the fire that swept the capital, so the fact that there was virtually no one to quell this confusion was also very great.
Despite a desperate search by the Royal Knights, Charlotte was nowhere to be found. At least there was not even a trace of it.
All sorts of gossip was going on among the nobles.
Among the gossips, the one that circulated the most was that Charlotte had lost her life in the aftermath of a battle in the kingdom’s capital.
The old aristocrats, who had survived meeting Charlotte and watched her achievements intact, knew how powerful Charlotte was, so they vehemently denied the rumor.
On the contrary, he gave a fear-mixed warning to him not to do anything stupid. If His Majesty returns, all of you will be dead, so keep your mouth shut.
However, the nobles who claimed that Charlotte was dead also had their own grounds.
“It’s already been two weeks since that bitch hasn’t appeared. What if this isn’t the biggest evidence? Is that bitch a person who will lose her power even for a moment? Will she wait for her power to waver even a little bit? If he was alive, if he was still alive after the whole capital was blown up, he would have made an appearance.
That Charlotte is not trying to rectify the chaos spreading throughout the kingdom. That fact alone was enough to stir the agitation of the nobles.
Ever since reclaiming the throne from her brother, Charlotte has been in a state of extreme terror.
Those who rebelled even had their families exterminated, those who tried to climb had their limbs cut off and displayed, and sometimes they dragged people to the execution site as they pleased.
In particular, Charlotte was a human who, like a ghost, noticed even secret conversations in the basements of nobles’ villas or in wagons passing on the outskirts of the continent, and hung them on crosses.
A human with such a personality did not show up even though there were nobles who openly dismissed her as that bitch. What this meant was clear.
The nobles grew more and more confident. His words and actions became a little harsh.
“That bitch must be dead. Is that a bitch who will give up her power on her own? Absolutely not. She is a bitch who will look down on the nobles and give orders in an overbearing tone until the moment she is removed from the throne. It’s time for us to rise up, take back our dignity as nobles, and move forward with open chests and proud, rather than lying flat to death.”
Ironically, the nobles who most ardently joined in such a radical argument were middle-aged nobles who had experienced Charlotte’s character the closest.
It was because he knew what kind of temper Charlotte had, and changed his mind as soon as he realized that he did not show up even though his power was so shaken.
He died in that fight, so he couldn’t appear.
Fear turned into confidence. The suppressed desires came out one by one. Now that Charlotte was dead, there was nothing to fear.
The aristocrats, who had passed middle age long before and had already entered old age, still fiercely opposed the conspiracy.
If you don’t join that rebellion, you don’t know what the radicals will do to you. In the worst case, there was even a possibility of losing one’s life.
But if you join that rebellion, you won’t even have your life left to lose.
The nobles who had entered their old age were acutely aware of how cruel their king was through their past experiences. Therefore, all requests to join the rebellion were rejected.
Fortnight has passed.
Charlotte still hasn’t shown up.
The gang, which insisted that the nobles should rule the kingdom now that the king was dead, grew more arrogant and ran amok.
Now, instead of meeting in a secret place, such as a soundproofed basement, they were drinking alcohol and cursing at Charlotte openly in the mansion’s throne room.
Private soldiers began to gather in their respective territories. Parbals were busy coming and going to the territory of the radicals.
As the situation progressed, ordinary citizens and adventurers became anxious as well. Rumors of the kingdom’s capital evaporating and the king’s disappearance spread like wings.
In particular, the anxiety of ordinary citizens was enormous. It was unavoidable.
Even though Charlotte was a tyrant, she wasn’t a cancer soldier.
I hear the news that such a king has suddenly disappeared, and even rumors that the nobles are trying to revolt spread, and the public sentiment could not calm down.
It was around that time that Charlotte reappeared.
The time when the nobles rebelled after finishing their party, and people’s confusion reached its peak.
“I haven’t died yet. If you decide that I’m dead on my own, that sin will surely be paid for with annihilation.”
Charlotte reappeared above the devastated kingdom’s capital and used magic to loudly proclaim her return throughout the kingdom.
The outcome of the nobles who participated in the rebellion to establish a new country was obvious.
Charlotte wiped out all the rebels with a simple gesture, and she tore the limbs of the nobles who were in the vanguard wearing dazzling armor and displayed them in the air.
There were no exceptions for the nobles who participated in the rebellion, even if they were not in the vanguard.
After removing all the memories from the corpse’s head, Charlotte slaughtered every single human involved in the rebellion. The place of execution was soaked in blood after a long time.
“You have given me unwavering loyalty. I will reward you for that.”
The old nobles who were imprisoned after refusing an invitation to join the rebellion, unable to completely eradicate their fear of Charlotte, won a fortune worth well five times what they had as a reward.
It was property confiscated from nobles who participated in the rebellion.
“Listen. Listen to the orders of your immortal King.”
What Charlotte did after reappearing and filling the execution ground with human blood was to rebuild the kingdom’s capital.
Under Charlotte’s beckoning, collapsed buildings were erected and the land that had turned into a land of death replenished energy. The ashes falling from the sky turned into clear air.
The capital of the kingdom regained its former appearance overnight.
The royal palace was also newly created. Twice as long and twice as tall as the previous palace. People were astonished at its absurd scale.
Rumors of Charlotte’s return spread much faster than rumors of Charlotte’s disappearance.
It was because no one in the kingdom denied that their king was a tyrant, so if someone unlucky enough to curse the king, everyone could use it as an excuse to die.
Of course, no one could curse the king even after seeing the nobles who plotted a rebellion howling and hanging in the center of each territory with all their limbs torn off.
The humans who tried to do something in the gap where Charlotte was gone were all taken to the execution site, so they had to be even more cautious.
one month.
A month has passed since the boy was kidnapped.
After all the chaos was settled, Charlotte leaned back on the throne, crossed her legs, and knelt on her toes, staring at a knight bowing her head on her knees.
It was a knight with silver armor and burning red hair that symbolized the Royal Knights.
“Recite it.”
Charlotte opened her mouth in a hard voice. Permission was given, and the red hair bowed even deeper.
“I understand, Your Majesty. Commander of the 7th Royal Knights, Alessia Beneviento, would like to report to Her Majesty King Gargantua.”
That knight was Alessia.
Unlike the other royal knights who returned to the palace after the black blood monster situation had mostly calmed down, the late return due to being dispatched to the edge of the continent came back as a blessing.
The same was true of the knights under her command. The mischievous grumbling that their return was the slowest was replaced by the title of the only surviving Knights.
“A total of eight Royal Knight Commanders, from the 2nd to the 6th Knight Commander, and from the 8th to the 10th, and 88 Royal Knights under their command, were involved in the demonic descent that occurred in the kingdom’s capital a month ago. He was swept away and died. The body was not found, and it is believed that he died as it was.”
Demon Descent Incident.
It was the reason for putting forward the truth instead of the fact that there was a battle with Olivia.
Claims that the devil descended on the capital city and burned the entire area, changing it into a kind of hell-like environment, and was forced to purify the capital city.
Charlotte explained that the reason she disappeared for 15 days was because the concept of time in hell was different from reality.
He slain the demons and escaped right away, but in reality, it took 15 days.
It was easy to convince people. According to the testimony of eyewitnesses who were barely within reach of the disaster, a ball of fire struck from the sky to the ground, as if it contained hell.
The identity of the fireball was purgatory, the magic that Charlotte had cast down, but ordinary people did not even know that such a high-level destructive magic existed.
And the wizards who knew the existence of such high-level destructive magic were completely swept away in the aftermath of the battle, and the few who barely survived were kept silent forever.
Most people believed it.
For those who don’t believe, Charlotte killed her to go to hell and ask the devil herself.
“And, the first knight commander of the royal family is…”
Alessia was speechless and hesitated. Commander of the 1st Royal Knights. It was a title for Serena.
According to the boy’s original plan, he should have given up his position in the Royal Knights a long time ago, but the cause was that the time was delayed due to the black blood monsters’ action.
“Ignore that bitch.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Alessia bowed her head at Charlotte’s title of that bitch, thinking that the careless bitch had to pay the price she deserved in the end, but the reality was a little different.
There was no reason to respect Serena by using the title Commander of the Royal Knights, so it was close to ignoring Serena and crushing her.
It was a misunderstanding that occurred because Alessia could not have noticed the relationship between Charlotte and Serena. Alessia continued to report, convinced to herself.
“Currently, the 7th Knights under my command have been dispatched to various parts of the kingdom as ordered by His Majesty, and are focusing their energy on maintaining public order. People say that the news of His Majesty’s return is quickly regaining stability.”
“I understood, so I just had to stop reporting. You may go out and take a look.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Alessia, who got up, exited the throne room with a controlled movement. In the middle of the vast room, only Charlotte remained, enjoying the quiet silence.
“……You.”
Charlotte murmured a vague word and took out a small box tucked into the waistband of her uniform.
The box was opened with a cautious gesture. Inside it was a shabby and simple ring, close to ocher.
It was an ancient dragon ring.
