I Will Become the Queen of the Enemy Country

Haltbin was very happy. Wings had sprouted on him.

Flying freely in the sky was something Haltbin had dreamed of all his life!

He was so happy that he completely forgot the conversation they had during the meeting.

[There’s a plant-type monster habitat at the entrance that emits a hallucinogenic scent. It’s a monster that makes you dream happy dreams. When you wake up from the dream, you’ll already be wrapped in the monster’s vines.]

[There are thorns on it. If you try to wriggle out, it digs deeper into your flesh.]

[There’s only one entrance. We absolutely have to pass through here.]

Elise had warned him, but Haltbin, who had a sensitive sense of smell, was unknowingly controlled by the hallucinogenic scent.

Haltbin was very diligently heading towards the pile of vines.

“Haltbin, come back here right now!”

Karan shouted desperately, but there was no way he could hear. He was already deeply immersed in a sweet dream.

While they were rolling their feet, one of Haltbin’s feet already went up on the vine forest.

“You crazy kid!”

Karan pulled Haltbin’s arm. The incident happened so quickly, he forgot Elise’s warning that he should never take a deep breath.

“Huff!”

Karan and Haltbin fell over tangled. At that moment, Karan also became trapped in a fantasy.

–Your Highness, come over here.

It was Elise’s voice. Karan looked around.

–Your Highness, over here!

He chased after her voice. After a while, Elise popped out.

Wearing a red dress, with her long hair twisted up, Elise spun around in front of Karan.

–Your Highness, how do I look? Everything I wear is thanks to you.

As she said, Elise was adorned only with gifts from Karan.

–Now, please make me yours too.

Just that request alone, coupled with her charming demeanor, embracing him with affection, Karan couldn’t gather his thoughts.

“Elise.”

Karan held her tightly in his arms, so strong that Elise couldn’t escape.

–I’ll do as you wish. Just tell me what you want.

Elise spoke the words Karan wanted to hear.

“Don’t get hurt.”

Elise nodded her head up and down.

“Don’t disappear in front of me.”

Elise kissed Karan on the chin. A tingling sensation surged through him.

Right now, she would fulfill any of Karan’s demands.

It was truly a dreamlike situation. He decided to be a little more ambitious.

“Look only at me, listen only to me. No matter what happens, stay by my side.”

–I understand. I will do that.

It was a euphoric statement. More than saying she loved him, it was a statement that made Karan even more excited.

“It’s a promise. If you don’t keep it…”

A damp emotion rose up in him that was too frightening to imagine.

Karan envisioned locking her in his room and not letting her see anymore. If he said it now, she might even agree.

“Elise, you in my room…ugh!”

He felt a pain in his arm as if it was on fire. His vision, which had been dark, brightened instantly.

His head throbbed. Karan held his forehead and staggered.

Blood dripped from his arm. The smell of blood brought Karan back to his senses as if he had been doused with cold water.

“Elise?”

He steadied himself and looked around.

Elise was just cutting Haltbin’s arm.

“The best thing is not to inhale the scent of the hallucinogenic herb, but if you do and fall into a hallucination, there is one way out. It’s to hurt your body. I’ll do it. Because women don’t fall into the hallucinations of the hallucinogenic herb.”

Elise didn’t want to do that job. But foolishly, they were caught by the hallucinogenic herb.

‘Pathetic.’

Karan realized that what he had just experienced was an illusion created by the hallucinogenic herb.

‘From where to where…’

From the beginning to the end.

A hollow laugh slipped out. It was always new to realize his feelings for Elise.

Karan took a breath and came out of the aftereffects of the hallucination.

Then, Joseph’s voice, who had not yet come out of the hallucination, was heard.

“It’s gold! I’m rich now! With this, I’ll buy all the treasures of the continent! No! That’s a treasure. The dream treasure I’ve been looking for, oh, my angel!”

‘That guy is crazy about gold and treasures.’

To Karan, it was a useless thing. He chuckled and moved to help Elise.

“Your Highness, I will treat you.”

Leber caught him.

Leber joined the subjugation force for this moment.

But Karan had no answer. He was completely frozen.

“Could it be that Elise…”

Did she hear what I said? His dark intentions revealed in his delirium?

His eyes quickly followed Elise. Elise, who had finished her work, was wiping her blood-stained hands.

Feeling his gaze, Elise looked up. Their eyes met.

When Elise made eye contact with Karan, she reflexively turned her head.

Then, realizing that it was a very rude thing to do, she looked at him again. She saw Karan was being treated by Leber.

As Elise was wondering whether to go to Karan, Haltbin spoke.

“You’ve worked hard, Elise.”

“Oh! No, I didn’t. But I didn’t stab too deep, did I?”

Elise had a very deep conversation with Leber in case of an emergency.

Where and how to stab so there would be no aftereffects.

Leber explained about tendons and fascia for a long time and even drew lines on the bodies of the warriors.

[Just here. Nowhere else.]

It was very hard to use a knife along the line that Leber drew.

The warriors were shaking their bodies here and there in their delirium.

Nevertheless, Elise did it. It was a commendable achievement. But Elise, without showing off, quietly continued her work.

She explained the situation to those who had come to their senses, and gave them medicine after stopping the bleeding.

The effective painkiller that Leber brought worked.

“Elise, did you…hear?”

Karan approached Elise, who had finished her work.

“Yes?”

Elise, who was intoxicated by the other’s praise, opened her eyes wide.

“Could you say that again?”

Elise asked politely. Karan exhaled thinly. He regretted asking. If he had pretended not to know, even if she had heard, Elise would have pretended not to hear.

“Your Highness?”

“It’s about the words I said under the influence of the hallucinogenic herb. They’re not sincere.”

So Karan lied.

“Having experienced it, it seems so.”

Elise blinked her eyes. She wondered why Karan suddenly said such a thing. Then she found the answer.

The reason Elise avoided her eyes. And the reason Karan felt awkward about Elise.

It was all because of the mishap caused by the hallucinogenic herb.

“Your Highness, are you worried about the words you said under the influence of the hallucinogenic herb? Don’t worry. That…I know well that it’s not sincere.”

A slight wrinkle formed on Karan’s forehead. He had said it was a lie, but it felt strange that Elise believed it so easily.

“But what hallucination did you see? You were so passionate, I really thought you loved me. If we weren’t a couple with a contract, I would have been fooled. I thought the hallucinogenic herb showed the hallucination it wanted, but it seems not. Right?”

Karan shut his mouth tightly. He had added a stone while trying to remove a stone.

He tried to hide his dark intentions, but he ended up denying his feelings.

If he says no here, that it was actually sincere, would Elise be scared? Would she look at him and say it’s disgusting? Would she point fingers and call him a barbarian?

Karan didn’t know what to answer, so he shut his mouth.

It was rare for Karan, who usually answers straightforwardly, to not find an answer. That rare event became frequent when he met Elise.

“It seems the treatment is all over. Your Highness, shall we depart now?”

While Karan was choosing an appropriate answer, Elise turned her body.

“I’ll go over there. I want to check if the others are okay.”

Karan tried to stop Elise, who didn’t have to do such a thing, but failed.

Why was she in such a hurry? Elise quickly moved away from him, unlike when she came to him.

As she moved away, his arm burned. The pain was so unbearable that Karan’s temples throbbed.

Damn it.

Karan wanted to cut off his arm. Even though he knew the pain was not because of the wound on his arm, Karan couldn’t help but resent the wound on his arm.

“Your Highness, come quickly!”

Haltbin, who had half his body in the gate entrance, shouted.

Karan shook off his trivial thoughts and headed for the gate.

Finally, it was time to enter the gate.

****

Chase thought of the expeditionary force that David would organize.

He would receive the support of reliable sages, and the queen’s family would generously provide support funds.

If he were to lead the expeditionary force, he would head to the gate with more knights and supplies than he could ever dream of.

‘Should I be glad I didn’t step forward.’

If David had taken his hand, he would have realized his miserable reality and almost despaired.

He missed Elise at times like this.

If she were here, she would have found a way to properly set up his pawn.

‘Damn barbarian.’

When he thought of Elise, Karan also came to mind. Chase’s trapezius muscle tensed up.

“Phew, I really need to rest today.”

With this mood, anything he did would be a mess.

“It’s not time to rest, Your Highness.”

Someone opened the door to his bedroom, a place where no one, not even Elise, was allowed to roam freely.

“Iris?”

She moved around Chase’s space as if it was nothing.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Your Highness.”

“In my room?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Iris’s confident attitude was problematic enough to make Chase feel uncomfortable.

“I was waiting in the room because it seemed like the meeting was getting late, is that okay?”

Iris leaned her slender body towards him and made a sultry sound.

“Well, it doesn’t look particularly good.”

“Now is not the time to nitpick about minor etiquette, Your Highness. A gate has opened in Tetris. And do you know who entered that gate?”

Scholars who had predicted that the gate of Bedrokka would open said that other regions would not be different.

Therefore, the opening of a gate in Tetris was neither surprising nor new news.

What she wanted to say was the latter part.

“Who entered, that it made you wait for me for so long.”

Not long ago, Chase was stood up by Iris the next time because he was exactly 5 minutes late for their meeting.

Since then, they have only exchanged formal contacts.

Chase and Iris were in a useless power struggle.

In the midst of that, she came to find him and waited for him.

“Who is it, that person.”

“It’s Elise and Karan.”

How about it?

Iris said with a wink. A flash of light struck Chase’s eyes.