Raydor Holy Sword War Journal

Long time no see, Your Highness. Long time, Your Highness.

As soon as Lockwood sees the queen, he hurriedly breaks his hip and bows his head.

Shanoir was dressed in a navy blue dress, with a simple appearance, her purplish hair braided behind her head. In her hand she held a fan adorned with bird feathers, and a white feather decoration floated in the dimness of the dimmed hallway.

(Why in the world ...... why on earth would the queen ......?)

While bowing deeply, Lockwood ponders the purpose of the queen's arrival.

Shanoyar is a young lady who married from a neighboring country five years ago.

The Queen, who came to the capital city, taking the place of Raydor, is from the Kingdom of Aterna. It is a small country on the west side of the Zain Kingdom.

A steep mountain range separates the two kingdoms. They were distant neighbors who had not communicated with each other for a long time, except for the occasional curious traveler or merchant crossing the mountains. However, recent advances in navigation technology have opened up the Northern Passage and the beginning of trade by sea, which has allowed the two countries to forge a friendship between them.

As proof of this friendship, the niece of the present King Aterna, Chanoir, married into the Kingdom of Zain.

The position of Shanoir, who had come from afar to marry into the kingdom, was not high.

Some of the nobles of the kingdom want to marry off their daughters to King Granard and become his queen. With few allies, life in the royal palace must have been a needle in a haystack.

Chanoir tended to keep to the inner sanctum of the palace and avoided public appearances, except for the bare minimum of official business, such as ceremonies.

The queen had asked for her vizier, Lockwood. It did not seem to be an unusual situation.

'Yes, it's been a long time. Prime Minister Marcel. May I come into your room?

Of course. I apologize for the clutter, but you are welcome to come in.

Shanoor asks permission to enter the room with a calm voice sound. Lockwood, of course, nodded immediately.

'You may close the door, if you wish. It will be cold tonight.'

"...... is the right thing to do.

While twitching his eyebrows at the queen's words, the vizier instructs the soldiers standing guard in front of the room to close the door.

Normally, when the queen, the chanoir, visits a man's room, it is customary to leave the door open while he is entering the room so that he will not be suspected of infidelity. If she dares to break the door, it means that she is going to tell him something that he cannot hear.

Lockwood suggested a chair to Chanoir, with an unsettled feeling in his heart.

'...... So, what can I do for you today, sir?'

As soon as he saw that Shanoar was sitting in his chair, Lockwood asked him point-blank.

Normally, it would be polite to make small talk before getting down to business, but Lockwood was more concerned about the queen's purpose. He was so busy with his official duties that he couldn't resist rushing the conversation.

Such an attitude of the Prime Minister could be perceived as rude, and Chanoir, hiding his mouth with his fan, began to speak.

''The royal palace has become very noisy lately. War with the Empire. And ...... is it the rebellion of the king's brother Lord?

"Your Highness, Your Royal Highness Raydor, has committed treason and more: ......

'Yes, I haven't woken you up yet. But isn't it just a matter of time?

Chanoir asserts without hesitation.

As you know, I married five years ago from a neighboring country. It was not a happy life for me personally in a foreign country, but it was a necessary political marriage for my country, Aterna. Aterna was long and weary from the war against the barbarians of the south, and the benefits of trade with this country could not be ignored as a cost of war.

............

'My husband, Granard, never neglected me. But he didn't take a stand for a wife who was despised and shadowed by the nobility of this country. It's only natural. If he neglected the aristocrats of this country in favor of me, he would reduce his own number of supporters by that much. I guess he was more interested in impressing the fox, who might betray him, than his wife, who couldn't escape anyway.

'...... What do you mean by that? My Queen.

Numbly, Lockwood asked the euphemistically worded chanoir. The queen looked back at the vizier with cold eyes, folding her fan and slapping her palm with a pasty hand.

'It means I have no righteousness to have a heart-to-heart with this country. I'm not saying that I have no love for my husband as if I didn't. But I have no intention of sinking with him.

It's ...... no way. ......

Yes, as you can imagine.

Shanoar smiled at Lockwood, who opened his eyes slightly and smiled at him in a bewitching manner. Her red-painted lips hung in a crescent shape.

''I will be leaving this country soon. I will be returning to my parents' home.