I Will Become the Queen of the Enemy Country

Haltbin spoke politely. He had seen the warriors’ lips crumble.

The king of Bedrokka didn’t particularly fancy the banquet he was hosting, but the warriors of Tetris deserved to enjoy the banquet.

“A banquet…”

Karan and Haltbin shared the same thought. However, there was something more important than the warriors’ rest, morale, and will.

Karan looked back at Elise. Elise nodded her head.

Karan pushed through the warriors and went out.

“Thank you for inviting me to the banquet. If time permits, I will attend.”

Chase smiled faintly and slowly shifted his gaze to Elise.

Seeing the slightly disheveled appearance of Elise, his throat rumbled.

“If there’s nothing more to say, you may go.”

Chase’s gaze on Elise was becoming increasingly deep. Karan disliked it intensely.

“…I’m glad you’re safe.”

Chase’s words, scattered into the air like a monologue, were clearly directed at Elise.

Karan raised his eyebrows sharply.

Even though it was over, he wanted to beat up Chase, who couldn’t let go of his feelings for Elise.

‘No matter how stupid, what you learn by getting hit wouldn’t easily fade away.’

For every hit, he should know that Elise only belongs to him.

Maybe he would only understand after about a hundred hits.

He was having these bad thoughts when Karan felt the warm and soft touch in his hand.

“Your Highness, I want to rest.”

Elise leaned her head gently on Karan’s arm.

Then Karan suddenly lifted Elise in his arms.

“Rest, in my arms.”

Karan turned his body straight away so that Chase couldn’t see Elise’s face.

“I will remember your invitation, Your Highness. Please take care.”

Whether Chase heard his greeting or not, Karan just said what he had to say and moved on with big strides.

Soon after, the warriors of Tetris also dispersed to their respective lodgings.

The king’s garden, which had been noisy with heat and cheers, became quiet in an instant.

Chase, who was left alone there, stared hotly at the path Karan had taken.

[In my arms…]

It was an ungentlemanly attitude to hold Elise in his arms where everyone could see.

Didn’t everyone see Elise’s petticoat?

Didn’t they all sneak peeks at her thin ankles wrapped in leather boots?

Remembering that sight, Chase’s belly tightened.

This frustration, this burning thirst, all stemmed from Elise.

So, Elise.

‘You have to be mine again.’

Chase turned his body. The palace was right in front of him.

The place where the king’s bedroom and office are.

It would be enough to hold you there.

Chase’s eyes were burning.

***

At the ripe hour of the banquet, unlike the bustling banquet hall, the sound of a bird’s wings could be heard clearly in the quiet corridor, along with the rustling of clothes.

A figure, who had flipped their robe over their head, pressed their back against the wall of the corridor and moved their steps. Their steps were very cautious.

As if making a secret contact, they looked around and stopped, hiding in the darkness at the slightest sound.

After a while, they stopped where a faint light was seeping through the gap in the door.

Phew. The breath suppressed by tension burst out between their lips.

The beating of their heart echoed in their ears like thunder.

Elise hoped no one had caught her.

Praying that she had not been spotted by anyone, she withdrew her hand from within the robe.

And she knocked on the door lightly, like a feather.

Knock, knock, knock knock knock.

She knocked on the door with a rhythmic pattern. The soft knocks, barely audible if one did not strain to listen, repeated a few times.

‘Perhaps he has forgotten.’

There was no sound from within. It had only been a minute or so, but it felt like an eternity had passed.

Her bitten lips had swollen up plumply. Her eyes darted aimlessly.

‘If he has forgotten the appointment…should I turn back?’

She could not just wait here indefinitely. She had stepped out from the banquet, saying she was going to the powder room.

If she was gone for too long, someone might come looking for her.

‘Looks like he couldn’t get away.’

Just as Elise was about to turn and leave, disappointment evident,

Thud.

But a very faint sound stopped her in her tracks.

Then the sound of a heavy door creaking open was heard. A door that had been firmly shut for over a decade.

“Ugh…”

A light groan was heard.

As the locking spell was broken, a gust of wind blew back her hood.

Her fine, golden hair fluttered in the wind.

“Elise, please come in.”

A beckoning hand gesture was visible from within the doorway. The owner of the long, slender hand was David.

Elise took one last look around, then squeezed her body through the small opening.

Elise couldn’t adjust to the gap and tightly closed her eyes.

While she was adjusting to the light, David firmly locked the door.

“We don’t have much time. I opened the door to the forbidden library with my blood, but the keeper will be here soon. You have to find the information you want inside. Can you do it?”

“I have to try.”

Elise slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

In a space that felt empty, bookshelves the height of an adult man were arranged in a hexagonal shape.

The scenery of Bedrokka’s forbidden library, where the most noble or dangerous books are gathered, was not very special.

However, the moment she saw the ancient books that clearly bore the traces of time, Elise’s back stiffened.

‘I have to be careful.’

Elise began to examine the ancient books, which were even burdensome to touch, holding her skirt.

David watched Elise with his arms crossed.

Elise carefully opened the books and put them down repeatedly.

He didn’t know what she was looking for, but her eyes were serious, and her touch was desperate.

David, who had been watching her for a while, suddenly became curious.

What is she trying to find in the forbidden library?

It was surprising that the condition she wanted in exchange for the gate subjugation was to look at the forbidden library.

It was also surprising that she asked for skeleton bones.

But at least the skeleton bones are tangible, you can’t steal the books in the forbidden library.

Also, although it’s called a forbidden library, its contents aren’t anything special.

It’s all just books that recorded ancient myths. Although scholars made a fuss about it.

From David’s point of view, it was not much different from the books on the market that simply summarized myths.

When Elise said she wanted to go to the forbidden library, David explained it in detail.

[There won’t be anything special to note. It’s not much different from what you learn at the academy. But you still want to see the forbidden library? Even though you can ask for something bigger in return for helping with the subjugation?]

[Yes, Your Highness. I must look around the forbidden library.]

What on earth is she looking for?

The side of her face as she flipped through the books was quite solemn.

Time passed faithfully. David glanced at the hourglass he had turned over in advance.

“Elise, twenty minutes have passed. You have ten minutes left.”

The library doesn’t need a guard. Because only the blood of the royal family can open the door.

Nevertheless, there was a separate administrator for the library.

Those who were conveniently called library keepers had a duty to come and check within 30 minutes if there was any change inside.

Because there were only bookshelves in the library, Elise would have nowhere to hide.

So she had to leave before the library keeper came.

“Elise.”

“Just a moment, Your Highness.”

Elise responded urgently. David was fixated on the book, as if he didn’t have time to look elsewhere.

Elise bit her lip.

‘It has to be there. It should be there.’

A way to unblock Karan’s tightly blocked mana channel.

Elise’s touch gradually drifted towards the ancient records.

And finally, a picture that caught Elise’s eye appeared.

A curse spell written next to the picture of Ragnaros. She couldn’t understand the exact content, but she knew it was the language used by dragons.

And next to it, a picture of a wolf that had received the dragon’s curse in full.

‘Silver wolf?’

That was the symbol of the Lysandro family. Elise looked more closely at the picture.

There was a large hole in the wolf’s chest. Even in the simply expressed picture, she could feel the pain.

‘Could it be that Karan can’t use magic because of Ragnaros’s curse? Why? What does Ragnaros have to do with Lysandro?’

Elise shook off the complex questions that were pressing in. She needed to look at the next page quickly.

For now, she was focused on finding information. She could solve the puzzle later.

From one page to the next, Elise’s fingers moved quickly.

‘This is it!’

The wolf’s hollow chest was gradually being filled.

Or rather, a magic circle was drawn on its hollow chest.

The magic circle became more complete as the pages turned.

‘Is the channel opened through the magic circle?’

“Elise, we really don’t have time.”

David grabbed Elise’s shoulder.

‘I have to memorize this magic circle. I have to.’

Even Elise, who was very smart, couldn’t immediately memorize the small and complex magic circle.

Elise was conflicted for a moment. Her pupils rolled around.

“Elise, time is…”

As David opened his mouth to give the final push, Elise closed her eyes tightly.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Elise apologized to David.

“Do you mean you won’t leave? Do you know what will happen if you get caught here?”

“No, I’ll go. I’ll go, but…I can’t just leave.”

Strength entered Elise’s hand. With a pull, the ancient book was torn.

The torn page of the ancient book was in Elise’s hand.

“…!”

David let out a silent scream.