Adelaide's POV
"May darkness looms over Tempest.
That was the prophecy that annoying holy priest had received five years ago. So why would a dark magician know of such a prophecy? For five years I've done everything I could to avoid the darkness. But why does my effort seems pointless?
"Your majesty, may I wash your body now?" I nodded before Sarah started taking care of my bath.
"Did you heard what that magician said? How is it possible that that man knew about the prophecy? The imperial family didn't announced anything publicly. The only people who knew was our closest aides,"
Did our aides betray us? In my case, the closest person who does is the butler and Sarah, And since Sarah came from this village, she might have something to do with the organization. So why did she ask for my help?
"Are you doubtful of me, your majesty?" Well-
"Yes- anything is possible. Who knows you might even poison me for so long. You're the best candidate to do that since you work the closest with me." Sarah chuckled.
"Your words are as sharp as a knife, your majesty." I hummed,
"But again if you truly wish for the empire's demise, you should have known better than to use magicians against me. Magicians are nothing but insects that invading my garden. It's easy to deal with them now since we have the North on our side."
And Astoria seems to have a deep hatred towards dark magicians. I can sense it."You saw Astoria in action, right? How was it? Did she use the sword like she supposed to?" Sarah hummed.
"She used a dagger to subdue the magicians. The only time she used the sword was when her majesty ordered the magicians death." I hummed, I heard stories from the captain of Claymore Knights about Astoria, I was intrigued if I could see her talent with swords myself.
That is why I left the palace at the hands of the consort and came here,
"Your majesty, how many Claymore Knights you brought with you?" Huh? Why would Sarah be asking me that?
"Just enough to protect me in my travels, Besides, I brought the palace wizard with me, It wouldn't be that hard for me to travel back and forth from this village to the palace." Sarah hummed.
"I think Lady Aspen has captured the people associated with the secret organization." Huh? How come? I got up from the wooden bathtub before walking towards the window while Sarah covering my body with a robe.
"That woman-" I laughed at how amazing it is to see that woman subdued a man twice her size, I got myself decent before walking down to where Astoria and her knights are. By this time, villagers who heard the commotion finally gathered around Sarah's home.
"What do we have here?" The man seems to realize who I am, Why do I have a feeling I've seen this man before?
"That is the eldest son of count Trevor, Jeremiah, He is the overseer of this village. Since Lady Aspen caught him, he's probably responsible for allowing the secret organization to built its base here." Oh, I see. Count Trevor works at the palace as part of the emperor's aides.
Oh Victor will have a field day once he knows this."Are the rest of them members of the organization? What happened to the man in white?" I asked one of the knights.
"Oh, he was about to use his weapon against the commander. So she taught him a lesson. I laughed when I heard the reason, Sarah had to stop me by clearing her throat. It has become quite a sight for me because it's been a while since I've had such an amusing experience.
I apologized for my misconduct and told the knights to bring the wrong doers back to the capital, I looked around to see if Astoria was around but I couldn't see her.
"Where is Lady Aspen?" The knights told me that the lady is currently treating her wounds,
"Wounds?" The knights nodded.
"It was a deep cut but it's not fatal. The commander is probably by the well," I walked towards the well and saw Astoria washing her wound on her shoulder with the well water.
"I thought you're invincible." Astoria was surprised to hear my voice.
"Oh- your majesty. I'm sorry for such a sight. I need to treat my wounds," Huh- wounds? That's when I realized that her left thigh was bleeding.
"How did you get hurt?" I asked while watching Astoria taking care of her wound,
"I didn't realize a swordman is protecting the secret base. I just got in and got hurt in the process. My knights often tell me that fighting humans is different from fighting monsters, I'm sorry for such sight." I stood there, keeping my eyes on this woman whom I choose to be my lover.
We just met and I don't even know her deeply enough so why am I worried when she got hurt, My eyes widen whenshe removes her armour and reveals her body filled with scar, The shirt she was wearing are not so thick to cover her flesh, Her body is like a canvas of how she live her life.
In comparison to mine, she must have been growing in such a state that requires her to be wary of her surroundings.
"Did it hurt?" I asked about the huge scar on her back
"Ah-it was. I got them when I was battling a red dragon, I thought I would die but luckily I got a trustworthy physician working for me." I see.
"Do you have to go into battle everyday?" Astoria shook her head no.
"There is a time where the monster would hibernate, That's the only peaceful month we had. That's when we get to work on the field and harvest as much food as we can, But the weather in the North is unpredictable. It's hard for the people to survive so they would send their young ones out to their relatives who live outside of the North." I always thought that the budget the palace sent was enough to keep things afloat but that's not the case.
"What about the budget the North received from the palace? Is it not enough to buy enough food for the people to survive in case of a emergency?" Astoria seems confused.
"Budget? What budget, your majesty." Huh? Didn't she know that the palace would send a budget every month to support the lord in keeping their land prosper?
"The budget given by the palace to every lord. Did the North receive any?" Astoria shook his head no.
"I was not aware of this. What budget?" We finally realized what was happening. Astoria's body language seems to change for the worse,
"Those greedy old farts. They took the budget without giving it to the people!" I watched as Astoria grabbed hersword before stabbing the ground with so much force, it almost split in half.
"Calm down, I'm sure they now heard your current situation. They are probably doing what they can to cover their embezzlement. I will send my trusted people to help you rebuild the once great North. For now, focus on getting yourself treated." I got up before smiling at Astoria.
Astoria apologized for her action before I walked back to the house. Sarah was pouring a cup of tea for me when I made it back.
"Your majesty?" Sarah called out to me.
"Would it be possible to visit the North, Sarah?" Sarah hummed.
"That would be hard. It will take a whole month just to travel to the North from the capital." I guess. I don't know how to explain these feelings but my heart is telling me to help Astoria and her people.
Is there no other way for me to-
"There is a way" .There is?
"Wouldn't it be better for the wizard to travel to the North and set up a teleportation circle that will connect her majesty to the North? If the emperor asked, just tell him that you need to see your lover without a need to travel for so long. I'm sure his majesty will allow it."
Sarah-
"You're a genius!"