Weapon Master of the Count’s Family

Chapter 74: The Queen’s Tears (1)

With the bookshelf between us, I briefly explained what had happened and Gaiard’s circumstances.

“…That’s the gist of it.”

“So Gaiard is still alive.”

Queen Bellain let out a sigh of relief.

“He’s alive, but…”

“But?”

“He’s probably on the verge of death. The kingdom’s top fighters must be after him.”

“No, that can’t be!”

The queen gasped, covering her face with both hands.

“Why… Why would they go that far!”

“Because the citizens believe you’re dead. They’re directing all their anger at Gaiard.”

The king’s scheme.

The queen, unaware of the full story and confined to the palace, was furious.

“That vile man! Not only using me but trying to kill the one who saved the kingdom.”

I felt a degree of sympathy for the queen’s anger.

Especially toward the king who orchestrated such a thing.

Perhaps because of this,

I felt a growing desire to help this powerless queen and the wronged Gaiard.

What started as a motive to escape this nightmare had now become genuine.

“I’ll help you. Let’s go meet Gaiard.”

At my proposal, the queen looked up and stared at me.

“Can you really do that?”

“Of course.”

The arrival of a savior.

Tears of joy welled in the queen’s eyes.

But soon, realizing the reality, her expression darkened.

“But it’ll be hard to get out. The Iris unit guarding me is now monitoring me. Not just them—everyone in here is watching me.”

“Didn’t seem like a big deal.”

“That can’t be…”

“As I said, Gaiard’s causing a ruckus, so most of the palace’s forces are gone, with only a few left.”

“But Aster will still be here.”

“Exactly.”

I might handle it alone, but with her, facing them was near impossible.

Of course, they wouldn’t try to kill the queen.

“Is there a secret passage here?”

“Here? No way. This is just a place to store books.”

Indeed, the study’s interior didn’t even have a small window.

The outer walls were too sturdy to be just for preventing book discoloration.

“Breaking through is impossible, then. No choice but to open the door and deal with Iris.”

“Is that possible? Each Iris member may not be an Executor, but together, the five of them could rival them.”

I partly agreed with the queen.

The strength of the Iris member I’d observed from behind the bookshelf was impressive.

But did that mean I had no way to deal with them?

Not at all.

“…There’s one way. But I’ll need your help, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

***

The Iris unit guarding the study’s door.

They stood on edge, swords at the ready, patrolling the area.

Their sole purpose:

To prevent the queen from leaving the palace.

Of course, the queen had only the strength to overpower a single adult man, so it wasn’t a major issue.

But reports that Gaiard had infiltrated the capital and was currently in combat were highly unsettling.

“Captain, everything’s fine, right?”

One of the members voiced concern to their leader.

The leader glared at the questioner before speaking.

“All the Executors except Lady Aster have gone. Plus, pre-arranged powerhouses are coming, and the Saint has gone to drive the final nail.”

“Why is Ernst so late?”

“No one knows that man’s intentions. But there are no variables. We just need to guard this place.”

The chance of Gaiard reaching here was near zero.

But what about this scenario?

What if someone Gaiard planted infiltrated the palace to extract the queen?

And what if news of that intruder reaching the inner castle hadn’t yet reached here?

Click!

As the study door opened, the Iris leader hurriedly turned her head.

“Finally coming out…”

And what she saw was me holding a sword to the queen’s neck.

“You’ve got three seconds. Get lost. Unless you want to see the queen’s head roll.”

“Save me…”

Tears streamed from the queen’s eyes.

“You! You madman! How dare you take her hostage—”

“One.”

The queen’s death was widely believed among the populace.

But that was a clear fabrication,

and her actual death would be a different story.

“If you harm Her Majesty even slightly…”

“Two?”

The queen’s neck was slightly cut, and blood trickled down the blade.

“Thr—”

“Everyone, stand back!”

All the Iris members stepped away.

But that wasn’t enough for me.

“Hey, all of you, get in there.”

I moved to herd them into the study.

“Hurry!”

With the queen as a hostage, they couldn’t act rashly.

Especially since the sword I held was Venus.

That sword is Lady Aster’s. Did she get taken down? No, that doesn’t make sense.

Infiltrating the palace was already absurd.

These two facts were enough to cloud the Iris unit’s judgment.

“Alright, just don’t harm Her Majesty’s body.”

“That depends on what you do.”

“F-Fine.”

The Iris members raised their hands and obediently entered the study.

Once they were all inside, I closed the door without letting my guard down.

Thud!

“If this door opens even slightly, you’ll see the queen’s head rolling on the floor.”

After one final threat, I hoisted the queen onto my back and ran down the corridor.

“Bear with the discomfort. We need speed now.”

“I understand.”

Whispering secretly, I ran with her in my arms.

“By the way, your acting was excellent.”

“Oh, that? I’ve seen a lot of plays, I suppose.”

“I see. With Your Majesty even bleeding, they won’t dare move rashly.”

“But it won’t last long. They’ll come after us soon.”

“Well, unless they’re idiots, they will.”

With that, a loud noise came from behind.

The door had opened.

“Not idiots, then. Excuse me for a moment.”

I slung the queen over my shoulder.

“Eek!”

“Sorry.”

I fired a sword aura backward with Venus.

Then, I slashed the door at the corridor’s end with my sword and kicked it open.

Boom!

Breaking the door, I ran straight toward the garden.

“Do you have a destination? You’re not heading to the central hall, are you?”

“No. There’s a rat hole.”

“A rat hole?”

I dashed into the garden and leaped into a patch of grass.

More precisely, into an abandoned well hidden behind the grass.

“Kyaa!”

The queen screamed at the sensation of being airborne.

Thud!

I grimaced, feeling the impact in my knees.

“Ugh! Don’t misunderstand. It’s not because Your Majesty is heavy—I just jumped a bit high.”

“Are you alright?”

“Even if I’m not, we have to go.”

“By the way, this is where we’re going? This place is full of traps and magic…”

The queen glanced around the underground waterworks.

“I’ve cleared them all. Well, except one.”

I worried about the muddied spirits.

If they were still active, how would I get the queen out?

And the spirits were still there.

But they had become mud spirits, entangled in sludge.

Splat!

“What are those?”

“They used to be water spirits. Stay close behind me.”

Unless controlled by a summoner, spirits typically lacked self-awareness.

They were given objectives to act,

and these spirits’ objective was to stop intruders.

What’s wrong with them? They’re not just sluggish—something’s off.

Their programmed command was their raison d’être.

But now, they were confused.

A clear intruder and the royalty they were meant to protect were right next to each other.

Splat splat!

Their conflicting identities made the spirits tremble,

and I quickly noticed the oddity.

“Your Majesty, excuse me, but I need you to be my shield for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Pardon me.”

And I was a man who used any means necessary.

Holding the queen under her armpits, I pushed forward, using her as a shield.

“Get out of the way! You’ll hurt the queen!”

As the queen approached, the spirits pressed against the wall.

But since we rushed in so fast, we both ended up covered in mud.

“Ptoo! Let’s go!”

“Ugh!”

Spitting out the mud in our mouths, we ran.

Behind us, the Iris unit was already fighting the spirits,

who seemed to have identified them as intruders.

Good. I’ve bought a little time!

I kept running until we reached the ladder of the well we’d come down.

“I’ll go up first. Follow me!”

Climbing the ladder, the moment moonlight hit my face,

my vision went black.

***

I had almost succeeded in extracting the queen, only to fail at the last moment.

“You lunatic! We were so close!”

My frustration turned to anger, directed at Gaiard.

“Couldn’t you hold out for five or three more minutes? It’s not about winning, just enduring!”

“What more do you expect me to do? The entire kingdom was out to kill me!”

We both believed our tasks were the harder ones,

and we traded insults back and forth.

“I was about to bring out the Queen Bellain you so desperately wanted!”

“…What?”

Unlike my lingering anger, Gaiard froze at the mention of her name.

“Bellain is alive? Really?”

“Yes! The one with golden hair, incredibly beautiful—she was alive!”

“How…”

Gaiard sighed in relief and bowed his head.

“Are you crying?”

“What nonsense.”

He spoke but didn’t show his face to me.

“Let’s go. Now that I know she’s alive, I’ll meet her myself this time.”

“Music to my ears.”

“One favor on the way.”

“What?”

Gaiard’s request was utterly outrageous.

“Hold off the Saint and the other Executors for me. Just until I meet and talk with the queen. That might let us escape this nightmare.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How am I supposed to stop them all?”

Even for me, taking them all on was impossible.

Especially holding a position in one place.

“It’ll be tough. But I’m asking anyway. In return, I’ll give you power.”

With that, Gaiard plunged his hand into his own torso.

“Whoa! Why are you hurting yourself?”

He pulled out his hand

and handed me something.

“Take it. This is the essence containing the power of the vampire clan.”

It was a red gem,

the size of a human eyeball.

“It’s only half, but it’ll help you endure. Absorb it into Venus.”

“Will that work? This sword handles elemental powers.”

“You’ll see.”

Gaiard pressed the gem against the magic sword.

A light flashed, the gem vanished, and Venus began to change.

“This magic sword was forged from our clan’s blood and black iron to absorb power.”

The blade of Venus turned red.

“So it can wield our clan’s power too.”

“Oh.”

“That should be enough to hold out.”

Gaiard had given me sufficient power.

But I still wanted something more from him.

“Wait. That’s not enough.”

“What?”

“Let’s be honest—I came to save you. And I’m even helping you meet the queen.”

“So?”

“Giving me power is a given. Don’t you think you owe me something else?”

“You want a reward? If it’s about that, I can give you treasure…”

Gaiard promised monetary compensation.

Having once owned this mansion and island, he surely had wealth.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

“I’ve got plenty of money.”

“Then what?”

“Promise never to harm me and to help me no matter what. Through a blood contract.”

“What? Do you even know what that means? A contract that only death can end? With those terms?”

This contract was typically used by the vampire clan when offering their power or payment.

Naturally, the vampires held the superior position in such contracts.

But my words meant Gaiard would take the subordinate role.

“You think I’d agree to that…”

But Gaiard thought to himself.

Even if a contract was made, everything in this space would reset with regression.

I thought he was smart, but he’s surprisingly foolish.

The contract would ultimately be meaningless, nullified.

It might be a far cheaper price than paying with money.

“Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll make the contract.”

“Good.”

But Gaiard overlooked two critical points.

First, I had thoroughly studied the information on vampires and other monsters in the compendium.

Second, the law of regression didn’t fully apply to me in this situation.