Looking Forward to Another World

Yanivette’s words were undoubtedly an ultimatum.

At the very least, the Aertel sisters, Anna and Lenna, clearly understood that.

As the saying went, serving a ruler was like living beside a tiger, and the queen who had awakened again after centuries of slumber was undoubtedly the most difficult kind of monarch to serve.

Even so, the impossible remained impossible.

In the end, the Aertel sisters lowered their heads and closed their eyes, looking as though they were quietly waiting for execution.

”Very well...”

Yanivette slowly raised a hand, white mist rippling around her fingers.

It was frost formed from an extreme, absolute cold.

As soon as she released it, the beautiful twin sisters before her would inevitably become a pair of ice sculptures worthy of display in the finest art museum.

Before that could happen, however, Riezel, who had been watching in silence the entire time, finally spoke.

”Did something happen to your queen?”

Riezel’s sudden question not only made Yanivette stop but also caused the Aertel sisters to look up.

Two pairs of identical eyes fixed themselves on Riezel, filled with surprise and disbelief.

”Let us see her,” Riezel continued calmly, paying no attention to their astonishment. ”At least let us know what condition she’s in.”

Hearing that, the Aertel sisters instinctively looked toward Yanivette, only to see her silently lower her hand, seemingly accepting Riezel’s suggestion.

Both sisters glanced at Riezel again, this time with far greater seriousness.

It couldn’t be helped.

The fact that this young man could persuade such a domineering queen to back down was enough to offer a glimpse of just how extraordinary he truly was.

As for Riezel’s request, they naturally had no reason to refuse.

”Count Beryl personally contacted us and requested an audience on your behalf.”

”Her Majesty has already granted permission. Please follow us.”

Both sisters moved with perfect coordination—one stepped to the left while the other stepped to the right.

After making way at the entrance, they pushed the door open.

””Please.””

Everyone exchanged glances before following Yanivette into the queen’s bedchamber, though calling it a bedchamber would have been an understatement, since it was more like an enormous gallery hall.

Not only was the floor covered with luxurious carpets, but countless works of art also adorned the walls. Every piece of furniture had been arranged with remarkable precision and elegance.

At the very end of the hall stood a raised bed.

Riezel and the others immediately noticed the figure lying upon it.

She was a noble-looking lady who appeared to be over forty years old, with faint crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes. She lay motionless with her eyes closed, sleeping so deeply that she looked almost dead. If not for her faint breathing, everyone might have mistaken her for a corpse.

’So she’s the queen of Theresis?’

’Is she the queen?’

Seeing the lady, those two thoughts flashed through Ivy’s and Leo’s minds simultaneously.

”W-What’s wrong with her?”

Lizbeth was the first to notice something unusual about the noble lady and asked.

”Hmm?”

Euryale merely tilted her head in confusion as usual.

Only Riezel, Yanivette, and Lilith showed subtle changes in their expressions.

”Master...”

Lilith stepped closer and quietly called out beside Riezel’s ear.

”I know...” Riezel said with a frown. ”She’s been cursed.”

If Riezel or Lizbeth activated Transparent World at this moment, they would have seen a visible black aura rising and falling around the noble lady’s body.

It was unquestionably a curse.

Not only that, it was an extraordinarily powerful curse—one so potent that even Riezel could not tell whether Dia Fratel would be capable of removing it.

Such a powerful curse immediately reminded him of the Theresis Clan that Yanivette had mentioned not long ago.

One should remember that the Theresis bloodline, which had survived from the ancient magic civilization, had become infamous for its unnaturally short lifespans because of this very curse.

”...How long has she been like this?”

Yanivette’s brow furrowed even more deeply than Riezel’s as she questioned the accompanying Aertel sisters.

”It’s already been a long time.”

”Ever since Her Majesty turned forty-six years ago, she’s remained like this.”

Both of them answered honestly without hiding anything.

”Hm, that makes no sense...”

Yanivette calmly shook her head.

”The current royal family has intermarried with outsiders for centuries, so their bloodline should already be so diluted that almost nothing remains. Even if traces of the curse still lingered, it shouldn’t activate when she’s only forty.”

”A curse manifesting at that age only happened among a small number of core members with exceptionally pure bloodlines, even in the old Theresis Tribe.”

”And I can tell that this woman’s bloodline isn’t pure. Even if she lived out her full natural lifespan, the remaining curse shouldn’t have had any chance of awakening.”

In other words, the queen’s current condition was highly abnormal.

”Could the curse have mutated?” Riezel suggested as he looked at Yanivette. ”Even though it’s a hereditary curse, curses naturally vary from person to person. Depending on the individual, they can undergo unknown changes, making them either stronger or weaker.”

”If that were the case, this woman wouldn’t have suddenly triggered the curse only after reaching forty...” Yanivette frowned even more deeply. ”A mutation of that kind should have appeared much earlier. At the very least, there should have been some warning signs.”

Right after speaking, she turned toward the Aertel sisters.

”Before this happened, did she ever show any physical or mental abnormalities?”

Anna and Lenna answered without the slightest hesitation.

””No. Her Majesty had always been in excellent physical and mental health and rarely even became ill before this.””

Their perfectly synchronized reply only confirmed how abnormal the situation truly was.

”...You just said she approved our audience in advance, didn’t you?” Riezel asked after pondering for a moment. ”So, she isn’t asleep like this all the time?”

”Yes.”

”Her Majesty wakes up from time to time, but there’s no pattern to it.”

Both sisters answered truthfully once again.

Now everyone finally understood the current queen’s condition.

Even though she had been cursed, she occasionally regained consciousness, but she was so weak that she could neither leave her room nor even stand up from her bed. Her sudden collapse had caused Theresis’ authority to fracture, completely dividing the queendom into the Prince Faction and the Princess Faction.

For six years, the nation had lacked a true queen capable of holding everything together. As a result, the long-buried problems within the kingdom had finally exploded into full-scale internal conflict.

It was also because of this that the northern nations had begun making preparations, eventually forming an alliance against Theresis.

Naturally, the royal family had concealed this information from the outside world, which was why rumors had spread that the queen had merely secluded herself and refused to appear in public.

”Heh, so that’s how it is. No wonder I awakened at this time.”

After learning the full story, Yanivette let out a cold laugh, and the way she looked at the current queen lying on the bed now carried a faint trace of sympathy before she turned back to the Aertel sisters.

”I’ll uncover the truth behind this curse, but before that... I’ll reclaim this country.”

Yanivette declared calmly, but her calm declaration was no less earth-shattering than before.

In an instant, the expressions of the Aertel sisters changed slightly, yet they found themselves unable to object.

As the current queen’s closest attendants, they naturally knew about the ’doll’ and understood exactly who the young woman standing before them really was.

Because of that, they also knew Yanivette had every right to make such a declaration.

Even so...

”Please think everything through carefully before taking action.”

”Our country can no longer withstand any more major turmoil.”

Anna and Lenna finally knelt before Yanivette and pleaded earnestly.

”I don’t need your reminder.” Yanivette turned away without sparing them a glance. ”I know exactly what I should do. Watch over your queen. Inform me immediately the moment she wakes up. I’ll be staying here, and when the time is right, I’ll ascend the throne once again. Now make the necessary arrangements. See that everyone who came here with me is properly accommodated.”

After issuing a series of commands, she glanced at Riezel before turning her gaze back to the Aertel sisters.

”Speaking of which, the royal library hasn’t been opened yet, has it?”

At that sudden question, the Aertel sisters were briefly startled before nodding in unison.

”Good...” Yanivette replied coldly. ”Open the Royal Library. I’ll be using it tomorrow.”

Riezel already knew quite a bit about Theresis’s Royal Library.

It was the accumulated legacy of countless generations of the royal family, containing magic books, swordsmanship manuals, documents from ancient ruins, priceless collections of books, and perhaps even the Theresis Clan’s accumulated knowledge from tens of thousands of years.

Ordinarily, only members of the royal family and court magicians personally authorized by the queen were permitted to enter. Outsiders did not even know where the Royal Library was located.

It was also protected by powerful barriers and magical security mechanisms. Even if someone managed to force their way inside, those mechanisms would immediately activate and could potentially destroy every single book within.

After learning about that, Riezel had privately been grateful that he had not acted on his earlier impulse to simply break in.

Otherwise, he might have accomplished nothing.

Furthermore, every time the Royal Library was opened, an extremely complicated unlocking procedure had to be carried out, requiring approximately an entire day to complete, which was why Yanivette intended to use it the following day.

Naturally, only the reigning queen normally possessed the authority to open the Royal Library, and no one else had such a privilege.

However, since Yanivette had spoken, the Aertel sisters naturally could not refuse.

””Yes.””

In the end, the two lowered their heads and accepted the order.

Only then did everyone leave the queen’s bedchamber.

===

Following the arrangements made by the Aertel sisters, Riezel’s group all moved into the royal palace and temporarily settled there.

However, while Riezel and the others stayed in guest rooms, Yanivette moved into one of the royal bedchambers that had been used by generations of queens.

Riezel, Lizbeth, and Euryale still shared the same room.

Fortunately, every room there was spacious, and the beds were equally large.

Unfortunately, however, Riezel never got the chance to find out just how comfortable the bed actually was, as an invitation suddenly arrived for him.

On the signature line was a name that could be considered one of the most famous throughout Theresis—

Charlotte Miraveth, the legendary Valkyrie of Theresis.

===

[A bonus Chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]

[Support and get early access to upcoming Chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]