Hanan Rumayyan shared an extremely old story with us.

It was during the time she was alive and breathing.

The time that the ancient kingdom of Únĭo existed as the only country on the continent.

It was a memory of a thousand years ago that disappeared after being cut apart by the wind and buried under the sand.

– ……Jouri Venetiaan was this Queen’s Marquis. (TL: Pronounced Yuri but you know…Dutch) She was a Cardinal overflowing with ambition. He was the Old Chancellor of the East with magnificent momentum and achievements, making everybody adore him.

She continued in a dull voice.

Under the eye makeup that was red down to her temples, her beautiful eyes were getting nostalgic of the past.

The woman’s large body pulsed like a calm lake.

The cloth covering her head stretched out in all directions as if they were fingers drawing out the past.

The treasures that were visible beyond her soul sparkled like the milky way and sparkled endlessly for the Queen.

Candles fluttered in the distance and the ghosts were polite as they listened carefully to her words.

– This Queen also trusted and respected Jouri. Even after ascending to the throne, I learned a lot from him as my elder. He was frequently rude to those under him, but I thought he just did it that way to keep order in the palace. However……

Jouri Venetiaan held a darkness that was much deeper than the Queen had expected.

She was well aware of the fact that he had experienced a lot of rough things in his close to seventy years of life.

It was clear by how he managed to get past the Duke’s House of Riester, which was close to the Royal Family, to become the Prime Minister.

However, she heard that the Marquis held an extremely dangerous conviction.

No, dangerous was not strong enough of a word to describe it.

– To keep it simple, he believed that the political leader and the religious leader had to be the same. He believed that the Pope should rule over the continent.

I quickly turned to look at Marian.

The child, who was seated next to Sir Johann, nodded her head.

That was the start of conflict in Únĭo.

– I don’t know how faith is these days with the continent split into two, but at that time, the Pope and this Queen’s positions were similar. Some people followed the Pope more. However, this Queen’s opinion was different.

Hanan could be considered extremely progressive for that time.

Based on what we heard, the Rumayyan Royal family itself was originally from a noble family of ethnic minority.

She believed that the Pope’s authority would weaken with time.

The Almighty God did not reveal a physical appearance in the world.

There was a limit to controlling the people with religion, so she believed that a secular ruler needed to look after the country and fill the lacking areas.

Most importantly, she believed that authority needed to gather to one side for the country to strengthen.

It was a time when religion was quite more omnipotent than now, so it was truly amazing foresight.

– THe people are not stupid nor are they animals. How long could it continue with the Vatican collecting religious tax and the ruler collecting a national tax? That’s not the case now, is it?

“There is no Pope right now. And the Riester Empire does not collect any religious taxes.”

I stopped drinking water and quickly answered. I was a Marquis after all, so I did study a bit about taxes.

Ironically, I didn’t know the situation in Venetiaan.

“The Venetiaan Holy Kingdom does collect a religious tax. However, the difference from back then would be that the tax they collect goes into the Royal Treasury as well.”

Sir Johann explained in my place.

Hanan clicked her tongue and asked why the Pope was absent.

The Imperial Crown Prince stiffly answered this time. “The Almighty God did not assign one.”

The ghosts became shocked and started to whisper to each other. The Queen blinked in confusion.

“This still is a cruel world!” She lamented in response.

As such…… The conflict slowly became worse. Jouri openly started to gather forces. It wasn’t very hard since he was a Cardinal from an extremely powerful family. But this Queen was different. I was just a kid who had ascended the throne just two years ago. The only person who truly believed in this Queen’s political theory was Duke Lazare Riester.

Honestly, a rebellion was being prepared. Shadows were visible in her deep eyes.

Duke Riester was a famous swordmaster and the master of the Royal family’s sword arts. He also did not care about a person’s background, including if they were an ethnic minority, to train them to become knights.

He did not distinguish between nobles and commoners if they had the skills.

Basically, he was an outsider in the Únĭo political world.

Everybody was wary of him because he was wealthy and strong, but that was it.

They believed that he was not someone who could become the center of power.

– Accepting the Pope as the one and only Monarch would mean that only the priests and Holy Knights who follow him could gain power. But imagine if a religious figure was born in a normal noble family. No, you could say that the system became flipped. Only the families who managed to frequently pump out religious figures would become nobles.

“That does seem a bit shitty.”

Joanne stopped chewing on some jerky and interjected.

I got scared, thinking that she was being extremely disrespectful, but Hanan surprisingly didn’t seem to care.

She looked down at the artist and chuckled.

I blanked out for a bit because her face looked much gentler when she smiled.

– Yes, it was shitty. I thought that even the families who did not give birth to religious figures deserved to have a voice. There were many families like that among the ethnic minorities. Mages, swordsmen, poets, painters. People skilled in public works and constructions…

Theologians, scientists… Inventors and fortune-tellers. Alchemists! The Queen’s eyes were sparkling.

Her gaze looked extremely sentimental as if she was drawing a distant star.

I could be sure about something despite not knowing her very well.

Hanan deeply loved her country and was a ruler who had a clear vision about her dream paradise.

“Then why did Marquis Venetiaan only like religious figures? Was it because he himself was a Cardinal, your Majesty? Was he just greedy?”

Our theologian, Marian, chirped quietly like a sparrow.

She was shaking, but she was a brave and smart child.

Sir Johann chuckled quietly and put a blanket around the child’s shoulders.

The Queen looked at the little girl for a moment before slowly answering.

– Looking back…… Jouri must have decided that to be the rational thing. I believed that the Monarch had to carry the weight of the country, but he wanted one where the Pope was at the center. Honestly speaking, that was the easier path. The respect that the people had toward religious figures came naturally. There was no need to work hard to gather support and no need to care about what they had to say.

Lazare called him a snake-like old man, but that was a judgment that came from years of experience. She said that last part almost in a sigh.

Her anger, after having lasted so long, had turned black and white, allowing the woman to slowly start to understand the opposing viewpoint of the man she could never understand while she was alive.

The ghosts looked at her and their shoulders sulked.

A heavy silence filled the burial room for a while. Sand was the one who cautiously started to speak.

“Umm…… I heard that my ancestor betrayed you, your Majesty. Bu, umm… With all due respect, our history books do not teach us anything about that…… I truly apologize for my lack of knowledge, your Majesty.”

The priest’s round back curled forward.

“I’m also the youngest, so my family did not teach me much either.” His voice was very quiet as he said that.

– ……Ha.

The Queen scoffed. Her face instantly stiffened like a rock.

She quietly looked up at the ceiling, took some deep breaths, and then-

– Paaaaat!

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaasp!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

She released an intense aura! We were flung back without having any time to prepare.

I tightly held Demy and Tithé in my arms and curled up.

My eyes closed on their own after sensing that I was floating. This burial room was full of sturdy pillars and stone walls.

‘Please don’t hit my head, please!’

– Plop! Plop, plop! Clang!

“Ahh!”

“Ow ow ow.”

“Mommy!”

– Squeak!

‘……It hurt a lot less than I expected!’ I slowly blinked.

I was shocked, but I only ended up lightly rolling across the hill of golden coins.

Some other things must be underneath as the bottom was softer than I had expected.

THe other divine beasts, my friends, and Marian were all fine as well.

The crown prince punk, who was seated next to me, was loosening his wrists. ‘I guess he must have rolled to land safely.’

– Pinwheel……! Pinwheel……!

The ghosts eerily shouted while pointing at Sir Johann. Everybody’s eyes were wide open.

I smiled and nodded at the Cardinal.

The man respected with a mischievous nod as well.

‘Oh, we were safe thanks to his power.’

– Haaaaa, hoooo…… Matthijs Els Roosegaarde was……

This Queen’s friend. Hanan, who had released all that anger, struggled to say those words. It was in the past tense.

The two of them had been friends since they were four years old.

They studied together in the Temple of Boundaries and were always hanging out together.

The combination of the wild and rough crown princess and the cowardly young master who always had his face buried in a book was surprising to all.

But Hanan liked the guy who looked at her weak side and said that it was fine and that she was cool.

As for Matthijs, Hanan was his only close friend who took a bookworm like him to all sorts of places.

THe two of them grew up like that to become Queen and Pope.

– Purple smoke came out of the temple chimney and the paten had his name. Even Count Roosegaarde was surprised at the fact that his son became the Pope. To be more specific, every citizen of Únĭo gasped in astonishment. He wasn’t even a Cardinal. This Queen was the only one who was calm.

I always thought that he was deserving to become Pope. The woman’s voice was so quiet it felt like it might disappear.

Her fluttering clothes calmed down. We forgot to even breathe as we paid close attention to what she had to say.

– Around the time the rebellion started to show itself, I went to Matthijs for help. I knew that he felt the same way that I did.

“Did he say no?”

Joanne bluntly asked. She already seemed angry at Matthijs. Her ability to immerse herself into the story was amazing.

– No, we made a promise to each other. As Queen, as a friend, as an equal ruler…… He said that he would always respect this Queen. He said that those who did not receive the authority of the Almighty God should not be pushed out of the Almighty God’s embrace. He said such glib words. As such, this Queen committed the sin of letting my guard down.

She then took a moment to rest. The story concluded with an extremely short ending.

– The day the Venetiaan faction attacked the palace, I received an ultimatum with the seal of the Pope.

“……”

– I denied that it was really happening. I watched as my vassals and knights shed blood and died around me but still did not believe that it was Matthijs’s will. I shouted until my voice gave out that I will personally meet him to figure things out and destroyed anything and everything as I fought. But that guy…didn’t take a single step out of the temple. Until I……

Until I died in this place.

She whispered. That was the end. Hanan lowered her eyes and closed her mouth.

The ghosts leaned against each other and barely held their souls together. We all fell into silence.

I didn’t know what to say to console her, if anything I said would even console her, or if she even wanted to be consoled.

I couldn’t open my mouth because I didn’t know anything at all.

Perry poked his nose out of Sand’s arms at that moment.

He then screeched toward the Queen!

– Screeeech!

‘Aigoo!’ I gasped and clenched my lips together. The woman silently stared at the divine beast.

The priest didn’t know what to do about her looking at him, but he slowly started opening his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about this as well, and umm…”

– …….

“I, I am still completely clueless. I do not know why he made such a decision or why he betrayed you, your Majesty. So you might find it uncomfortable and detestable for me to say this. However…… What is true is that my ancestor left you an extremely deep scar. For you to have been in pain for 1,000 years recalling those events……”

– …….

“As for me, as his descendant, I got to live a life with many benefits. That is why I believe that I am in a position…… That requires me to apologize to you.”

– …….

“My apologies, your Majesty.”

Sand bowed deeply toward her. Perry lowered his tail as well.

She let out a short scoff.

We all lowered our eyes as if we made an agreement and waited for Hanan’s answer.

I felt anxious and nervous the longer the silence continued.

It would be great if she accepted his apology, but after being imprisoned in this tomb for so long-

– ……As such, I will make two wishes. You living beings make sure you remember clearly so that you do not need to ask again.

“Huh?”

I quickly raised my head. Joanne looked as if her jaw was about to fall out.

We could not believe the Queen’s reaction.

The ghosts seemed just as shocked as the ones who looked like knights rushed over and knelt down in front of Hanan.

They desperately looked up at her and started lamenting as well.

– Ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah……!

– Your Majesty, your Majesty! How could you, so easily!

– Revenge, revenge, revenge……!

The red souls were shaking and spreading like tears of blood.

These souls, who had forgotten many things after all this time, couldn’t even make proper sentences.

Hanan slowly raised her arm that was full of decorations.

The area instantly became quiet.

– This Queen wishes for all of you to rest in peace.

– …….

– I know that you all have not been able to rest until now because you were caught up in my anger. Was there any joy in being tied up in our past that you wandered the desert as a soul, unable to get your eternal rest? Have you felt any fulfillment as you did back when you were alive?

– …….

– It is a relief that you all did not bear a grudge toward this Queen.

– Ah ah, no, no!

– Don’t send us away. Don’t send us away. Don’t send us away……!

The ghosts screeched.

Some bowed down at the Queen’s ankles and lamented without tears while others dangled on her clothes and shouted.

It was hard to watch because of how emotional it felt.

However, Hanan stood up straight and only looked at us. Her closed mouth and sharp eyes showed no hesitation at all.

I looked back at her and thought to myself.

‘I’m sure she was a good ruler when she was alive as well. She must have been loved by her people.’

– That is why I will not let this opportunity go. I plan on letting you all rest in peace, allowing you to escape from this dreadful bridle of faith.

“I am at your command, your Majesty. We are ready to serve.”

That was why I said it without any hesitation. I wanted to help her out.

If it was something we could do, as long as it did not hurt anybody, we were happy to help.

– …The souls wandering the desert are all those who used to serve me. Inform the rulers to place headstones all around and pray so that they can go rest in peace. Also dispatch a priest who is at least an Archbishop to console the souls with sacrament. Then we should be able to send them to the Almighty God.

“As you command, your Majesty.”

I made sure to be extremely respectful. My friends bowed as well.

The screeching of the ghosts continued without stopping. The Queen wasn’t affected and continued to speak.

– I also wish for a living body. It would be best if it was someone with deep faith.

“Yes, your Majesty. Wait, excuse me?”

I gasped and squeaked those last words!

—
Translator’s Comments

A living body?!

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