TSMMT Ch 96

Shouldered Responsibility

Dianna recognized that the modest goodwill she had managed to build up completely crumbled under the noblewomen's resentful glares.

She strove to refrain from glaring at Saruvia. She might have orchestrated this eavesdropping, or Duchess Islag might have dispatched a lackey. In this crisis, who acted mattered little.

[Lady] "Your Majesty, will you not take responsibility for our safety?!"

[Lady] "How could you send away the knights meant to protect us?!"

Anxiety spread like a contagion among the gathered women. As they lost their composure, Dianna's expression hardened into stone. Noting her cold visage, the noblewomen silenced their clamor.

[Dianna] "Are you finished?"

The chilling tone made the crowd flinch. Dianna's unreadable expression intimidated them, her stark composure cutting through the heated panic like ice water.

[Saruvia] "Your Majesty, I am deeply dismayed!"

Saruvia cried out, tears welling in her eyes as if terrified, putting on a pitiful display.

[Saruvia] "I am so frightened! How could you send away the knights guarding this palace?!"

Her trembling form looked pathetic.

Looking toward Leonie, Dianna noted her brow furrowed in thought. Striving to maintain a calm and rational tone, she spoke.

[Dianna] "They call Lodbrog a realm of knights. Yet through the eyes of a foreigner, it hardly appears that way."

Hostility flared in their eyes at her words. Yet what did it matter? Since they would despise her regardless of her actions, speaking bluntly was far better.

[Dianna] "I hear that your husbands, sons, and house knights guard the perimeter outside the royal palace."

[Lady] "……"

[Dianna] "With such exceptional knights wielding swords outside, why would this palace be in danger?"

[Islag] "Those men can't enter the inner palace grounds. Only the royal knights can escort us."

Duchess Islag asserted. Dianna responded with an expression of complete bewilderment.

[Dianna] "It seems the horns of the Black Stag are not as sharp as claimed. I still hold the invitation where you declared that women too must possess the strength to defend themselves."

The Duchess's face contorted. The Black Stag was the emblem representing the House of Islag.

[Dianna] "Just as my husband defends this nation, I assumed your husbands and house knights could easily protect this place."

Dianna clicked her tongue. Duchess Islag's expression twisted further.

[Dianna] "You have yet to receive the reports, but the gargoyle swarm is vast, and the northern district stood on the brink of complete devastation. Though valiant knights and soldiers could hold them back, catastrophic losses were inevitable."

She explained with measured composure.

[Dianna] "As a native of Panborough, I know well how formidable your house's military might is. Trusting in that strength, I dispatched forces to rescue people in crisis. Is such an act so criminal?"

[Islag] "That is……!"

[Dianna] "Or should I have consulted with you before making troop deployments? Being a foreigner, I am ignorant of such protocol."

Dianna's firm tone struck them dumb. Excessive protestation bordered on insolent interference with royal authority. Specifically, questioning troop deployments could be branded as treason.

Right then, Revius, who had quietly observed the spectacle, spoke with a solemn expression.

[Revius] "Noble ladies, allow me to speak. The situation is difficult. The gargoyle swarm numbers approximately three hundred, and relying solely on the City Guard and Capital Defense Force is barely sufficient to neutralize them."

[Lady] "……"

[Revius] "Because a knight's duty is to protect the realm, the deployment was ordered. If you feel uneasy, why not have distinguished warriors from your own noble houses offer personal reinforcements instead of the royal knights?"

Speechless, the noblewomen wore stunned expressions. Who would rejoice when asked to surrender their own private troops?

Dianna found the sight absurd. While commoners died outside, their selfish reluctance to share their own resources showed plainly.

Revius continued.

[Revius] "Defending the nation is a knight's primary duty. In accordance with the chivalric code of Lodbrog, Her Majesty merely issued the command required. Had Her Majesty not issued the order, I would have requested it myself."

At the Prime Minister's words, their defensive posture softened as they cleared their throats.

Dianna stood amazed. Revius suddenly taking her side felt baffling, yet watching these women defer strictly to his words sparked utter disillusionment within her.

[Revius] "To guarantee the safety of our honored guests, twenty palace soldiers remain present. What are the odds that gargoyles could slaughter the city soldiers, the defense force, your private house knights, and the royal knights before ever reaching this inner sanctuary?"

The noblewomen's rigid expressions relaxed. Dianna addressed them.

[Dianna] "Your safety remains secure. Assisting helpless commoners is the duty of those in high positions, so rest assured……"

Right then, Saruvia spoke with an innocent expression.

[Saruvia] "In that case, why doesn't Your Majesty take the field as well?"

Why am I suddenly being brought into this?

Dianna knitted her brows. Saruvia's eyes sparkled.

[Saruvia] "After all, Your Majesty is a genius at archery!"

Duchess Islag chimed in as well.

[Islag] "That solves it. If aiding the weak is the duty of the highborn, is it not proper for Your Majesty to step forward as well?"

Silent pressure mounted from the crowd.

So you pull this scheme now?

Before she could utter a word, Revius spoke.

[Revius] "Is this true, Your Majesty?!"

Dianna flinched at the sudden, booming voice piercing her ears.

[Dianna] "……Pardon?"

[Revius] "We lacked archers as it stood! With the capital in such peril, it is only natural for Your Majesty to offer assistance!"

[Leonie] "Indeed, Her Majesty did slay an Echidna."

Leonie looked at Dianna and backed his claim. Why was Leonie, whom Dianna trusted, joining in?

Expectation shone on Leonie's face—an expression entirely different from Saruvia's sinister innocence.

Expectation upon a fierce face……

Could she actually expect me to fight?

Seeing Leonie nod encouragingly, Dianna's face contorted.

So she believed I wasn't boasting……

Of course, it was no boast. Still……

[Saruvia] "You will keep us safe, won't you?"

Dianna recognized that she had been trapped.

---

[Dianna] "Did you not claim royalty fulfills its role merely by remaining safe?"

As Revius led her away, she spoke cold words. Deep discontent toward him filled her for escalating the situation rather than defusing it.

[Revius] "Your Majesty, demanding sacrifice from others without stepping forward yourself only makes you a laughingstock. The people of Lodbrog value action above all else. No matter how brilliantly you speak in that hall, you will earn only ridicule. This realm differs from Panborough."

[Dianna] "Sacrifice……"

[Revius] "To them, it is a sacrifice—surrendering the vital knights meant to guard their own bodies."

[Dianna] "……"

[Revius] "Furthermore, you seem unaware that the royal palace is currently surrounded by private noble armies in an unprecedented concentration."

[Dianna] "……"

[Revius] "What if someone assassinates Your Majesty amid the chaos and usurps the throne?"

Dianna raised her gaze to look at Revius. Gravity filled his face. That danger had not crossed her mind. She knew Guiscard's strength and ruthlessness, assuming no one would attempt treason over something so minor. Though treason offered no gains, current circumstances differed from her past life.

Was that why Leonie urged me to go as well……? No, knowing that simple-minded woman, she probably pushed me out just to see me fight monsters……

[Revius] "Besides, rumors indicate that Your Majesty excels at archery. Is that not true?"

[Dianna] "……"

[Revius] "You reformed the palace and earned recognition among the noblewomen. Simply shoot a few arrows and hit the mark. The people will kiss the feet of their foreign Queen. The Vargrhati Order will assist you."

She spoke no further. Considering the risks, taking the field might prove safer than remaining in the palace. She accepted the situation.

---

[Logaple] "What on earth……"

Logaple stared in utter shock as Dianna emerged in practical attire. Clad in trousers, she averted her gaze out of awkwardness.

[Bill] "What is happening?! Why is Your Majesty taking the field?!"

Bill Barda roared. Revius spoke soothingly to calm them.

[Revius] "As you see, Her Majesty must join the monster subjugation."

[Bill] "Her Majesty should be receiving protection in the safest place! Is everyone mistaking Her Majesty for the King?!"

[Revius] "Yet leaving Her Majesty alone there while private noble armies surround the palace is hardly a better option, is it?"

HIs words shifted the expressions of the Vargrhati Order. That exact concern weighed heaviest on their minds as well.

[Bill] "Damn it all. They stand safely outside holding swords for show, yet push Her Majesty out to die."

Bill muttered curses against the nobility. Revius spoke with a smile.

[Revius] "Don't worry so much. Is Her Majesty not a genius at archery?"

[Inez] "What are you talking about? Her Majesty only picked up a bow recently."

Inez stated in bewilderment.

[Inez] "Her Majesty can't even hit the target consistently……"

[Dianna] "Let us depart immediately."

Averting her eyes, Dianna approached her horse. Ignoring their doubtful gazes, she mounted her steed.

[Dianna] "Do you intend to waste time standing here?"

Agreeing with her words, the knights mounted their horses.

Fortunately, Dianna possessed fine horsemanship, enabling her to keep pace with the knights.

Passing the nobility's greetings, she rode out. Watching the Queen set off for monster subjugation personally, complex expressions washed over the aristocrats.

Passing those pathetic figures, she spurred her horse forward. Come to think of it, riding unarmored into the heart of the Lodbrog capital was a first for her.

Naturally, participating in monster subjugation was a first as well.

[Vargrhati] "Stay close by my side, Your Majesty."

[Vargrhati] "We shall protect you."

Several Vargrhati knights spoke with solemn determination. Spotting Dianna's obvious tension, the knights expected no heroic feats from her. They believed that merely stepping into this danger represented a splendid fulfillment of her duty.

When the knights reached the northern district, hell had already unfolded before them. The flying gargoyles displayed their sheer cruelty, snatching people into the air before dropping them, tearing corpses to shreds, and devouring human prey like playthings. The knights' expressions hardened at the sight.

Unlike massive wyverns, the gargoyles' smaller bodies rendered throwing spears and arrows far less accurate, hindering swift suppression. Just as the knights readied spears and bows—

While they painstakingly aimed at the gargoyle swarm, an arrow pierced a gargoyle's head cleanly.

A lucky shot, they assumed. Yet another arrow flew, piercing another gargoyle's skull, followed instantly by a third strike taking down yet another beast.

Whoever shoots, a master archer walks among us!

Forgetting their tension, the knights looked toward the source. The Queen they were meant to protect held a beginner's bow, leveling an arrow at a gargoyle.

Thwip!

Another gargoyle's head was pierced, sending the creature plummeting to the earth.

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