Chương 92: Queen's Wrath - Time without the Queen - Final Part

After killing the rebel nobles in the throne room, Mifa walked through the palace corridors leaving a trail of blood behind.

She was on her way to Serien's room, where Veron was also, but she wasn't counting on what the duke had already planned.

Veron was in the bedroom with two of his children in his arms when the door opened with a bloody hand staining the white wood.

Upon opening the door, Mifa looked at Veron with a bloodlust that had been growing for almost two years, but when she stepped into the room, strange writings that were drawn on the floor glowed and began to tie themselves on her body.

Veron, who smiled kindly at his children, smiled victoriously while looking at Mifa from above.

"I see you got rid of that garbage for me." Said the man.

"W-what is this? What did you do?" Mifa asked and looked at Serien she seemed to be in a state of hypnosis while nursing her daughter. "Serien!"

Serien looked at Mifa with empty eyes, smiled and looked back at the girl who was sucking her breast hungrily.

"She can't do anything." Veron said as he laid his children down in the crib. "In order to not have to hurt my sweet love, I had to put her under an illusion."

"Bastard!" Mifa growled and screamed as she was hit by excruciating pain in her wrists and ankles.

"No, no... If you are so wild and disloyal to your master, the slavery seal will torture you."

Veron went to the closet and from inside a drawer took a dark metal collar and put it around Mifa's neck.

"My slaves have to wear this." Veron said as he walked away. "Um! Looks good on a bitch like you. Huhuhu..."

"What's your goal now?" Mifa asked, kneeling with fierce eyes.

"I will have Serien hand over the kingdom to me and together with his majesty, the king of Mizhar, I will rule the continent. The first man, the first emperor, to conquer the entire continent."

"As if the Basilicians were going to obey you..." Mifa scoffed and the pain was equal, making Mifa clench her teeth.

"If they don't obey, I will simply threaten to kill Serien, you, the children and make them obey."

Veron did not know that Basilica's coronation was something different.

One could only become king or queen in two ways and one of them, not even Serien knew.

Unlike any other kingdom, if someone with Serien's blood didn't crown him using the coronation skill, the people would never recognize him.

It was a strange skill that belonged solely to Serien's family. This skill had a territorial effect and only within the original territory of Basilica.

This skill caused a kind of brainwashing and engraved the face of the new ruler in people's minds.

The people may or may not be loyal to the new ruler, but they would always recognize the crowned one as ruler as long they recognized that person appearance.

Well, maybe, if there was enough time for the people, they would recognize the person just like in other kingdoms.

Anyway, Mifa knew all this because she had read it in an old diary in the forbidden wing of the library. Now she was Veron's slave, but that didn't mean she would voluntarily tell him everything that she knew.

Veron looked at Mifa's claws and felt a little nervous. Mifa was his, but that didn't mean she couldn't attack him.

"Let me tell you about the slavery seal. If-"

"Whatever I do to you, I will be punished equivalently." Mifa said with fierce eyes. "I know this spell."

Mifa had already read so many books and grimorios that she could be called an expert in magic. She knew all the spells had in the library and the 'Slavery Seal' was one of them.

"If I insult you or disobey you, I will feel pain. If I hurt you, I will be hurt in the same place, if I kill you..." Mifa said and Veron opened a big smile.

"Glad you know your place. Now..." Veron looked at Serien. "My sweet Serien..." The man kissed Serien's forehead affectionately and then caressed his daughter's face. "I will be the ruler of the kingdom, right?"

"..." Serien looked at the man and smiled sweetly.

"She was so against me putting my plan into action..." Veron smiled at Mifa who made a disgusted expression. "She even begged me to not do that. But of course she would be. Like it or not, she is the queen of this kingdom."

Mifa said nothing. Because if she did, she would feel pain for contradicting her master. But also why she saw an opportunity in this action.

"Then why don't you go to the throne room and sit on the throne? Didn't you get Serien's permission? You're almost the king of Basilica now." Mifa said.

She wanted to inflate Veron's ego as she, surreptitiously, began cast a ritual magic in her mind to awaken Serien.

This was a flaw of 'Slavery Seal'. The slave could still use magic and skill freely, but could not undo 'Slavery Seal' alone.

"Hm…" Veron narrowed his eyes still smiling. "You're right, let's go."

Veron left the room feeling victorious and Mifa followed behind as she cast the spell on Serien.

As a ritual, the magic would take a while to take effect, but once Serien regained consciousness, she would be free, or so Mifa hoped.

With a smug attitude, Veron entered the throne room, passed the servants cleaning the bodies without even looking, and started up the ten steps that led to the thrones.

This caught the attention of the knights present there. No one climbed the steps except Athena, Serien or Mifa.

There were some exceptions like messengers and servants, but these were for work and Veron didn't work in Basilica.

As soon as Veron reached the last step and touched the arm of Athena's throne, the swords were drawn all at once.

Veron quickly turned around with wide eyes. This was the second time Mifa had seen him without a smile.

"Lord, step away from the throne!" Said in a low voice the knight on the left side of the thrones.

"What do you think you are doing?" Veron said in a choked voice. "Her Highness, Princess Serien has ordered me to take care of the affairs of the kingdom, right Miss Mifa?"

Mifa smiled, she would feel pain, but it would be worth it. "He is lying!" Mifa said, the marks on her body glowed and she screamed as she fell writhing in pain.

The knights looked at Mifa and were momentarily stunned, but then turned back to Veron.

"What have you done to the princess consort?"

"N-no, I didn't do anything!" Veron was beginning to see his mistake.

He got carried away by greed and forgot to prepare the ground for such a situation.

Perhaps if he had looked at the servants cleaning the bodies there, he would have seen the mind control crystal he had given Duke Ewllen, but his pomp would not allow it.

Few words from Mifa made Veron fall into that situation. No, that wasn't Mifa's fault, but his greed, his anxiety for true power.

"Mifa, do you think it will stay this way? I'll get out of here without a single scratch."

Mifa smiled a pained but victorious smile. "Yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

"Transform into giant wolf form and kill everyone here!" Veron shouted the order, but Mifa refused, screamed and fainted from the pain.

The knights looked at Mifa and their faces, which were invisible to Veron because of the helmets, were twisted in anger.

The throne room soon became a battleground.

The knights advanced with skills, spells and fencing towards Veron who responded with his spells.

He didn't have more mana than the knights who also used martial energy, but he was more skillful.

Veron cast spells with speed and low mana consumption. This opened a breach in the encirclement of the knights and the man took the opportunity to flee after knocking out four knights.

He ran through the corridors with twenty-six other knights in his track.

He used {Haste} to increase his speed and get away from the knights. When he entered the room, he used {Petrify} on the door, turning it into a hard wall of stone.

However, Serien was inside the room and was already conscious.

Without waiting for Veron turn to her, Serien launch {Holy Arrow} and hit Veron in the back.

Or so it should be.

When Serien's magic struck her husband's back, the golden arrow of light shattered without causing any harm.

"Seri..." Veron said with a troubled look. "You..."

"You bastard!" Serien roared with an expression of an angry lioness. "You threatened your own children!"

Even though she was trapped in an illusion, Serien was still there, in the back of her mind, listening to everything that was happening in the room.

She couldn't forgive Veron for using her children like that. She felt her heart being crushed by the love she felt for that man and from the debris, hatred and disgust aroused.

Serien cast another four holy spells with a real desire to kill Veron. Those were {Holyfire}, {Hand of Justice}, {Sacred Judgment} and {Divine Rain}, but nothing happened to Veron who approached with each spell cast.

Every time a spell hit Veron, his chest glowed green and nothing else happened. With tears in his eyes, Veron cast {Sleep} on Serien who fell asleep in his arms instantly.

He was in a hurry, the stone wall he created was starting to crack with every impact that came from the outside.

Veron laid Serien on the bed and went to the crib where three babies slept despite all the noise.

Thena, a girl with thick black hair, Seron, a boy with silvery brown hair, and Verien, a boy with silver hair.

With the exception of the hair, the three were very similar, no, identical. Veron loved them with all his heart and couldn't bear to be away from his children forever.

"Seri, forgive me." Veron whispered an apology he thought was futile and hugged Thena and Verien.

When the knights entered, Veron and two of the babies were gone. Serien screamed like a wounded animal when she woke up and couldn't find her children.

Since then, the princess has never been the same.