“The King should be in this room.”
Outside the room where Margaret and the others were hiding, several footsteps stopped, and a man’s voice was heard from beyond the door.
“You, that voice,”
“Indeed, it seems it was his doing that brought the Duchy’s people into the castle.”
The voice belonged to someone both Margaret and the King recognized.
“I will break down the door, so please step away.”
“A large magic reaction, everyone get down!”
A woman’s voice was heard from outside, and at the same time, Margaret, sensing a large flow of magic power, told those in the room to get down.
*WHOOSH*
Simultaneously, the door protecting the room blew open, and a mass of water entered the room.
“Waaahhh!”
One of the Royal Guard Knights, unable to react to Margaret’s words and not getting down, was caught by the mass of water and violently slammed against the wall. The Royal Guard Knights who narrowly escaped immediately formed a formation to protect the King.
“Oh my, oh my, I thought everyone in the room would have been blown away by that previous magic. What a shame.”
“You! You brought the Duchy’s people into my castle and plotted treason!”
A middle-aged man entered the room where Margaret and the others were. This man was a former minister of this country and Cedric’s father.
“I didn’t want to resort to such rough methods. But because of that woman there, my son suffered a terrible fate. He suddenly disappeared from before me, do you understand the hardship I went through searching for him?”
“That’s because your son cheated at school! That act is unforgivable. You received what you deserved, and you have no right to resent it!”
Cedric’s father, with a hateful expression, glared at Margaret as he spoke of the hardships of searching for his son. However, Margaret immediately retorted that he had received his just desserts due to his wrongdoing.
“Deserved? He merely manipulated the test scores slightly lower for a commoner. If he had done the same to an aristocrat, I could understand, but against a commoner? What’s wrong with that?”
“There is a fundamental principle in schools that nobles and commoners should be treated equally. If nobles were allowed to do as they pleased, it would disrupt the order of the school. Cheating is cheating. Therefore, everyone was punished equally, regardless of their status.”
“Silence! I don’t care about such things. Fortunately, I was relieved to learn that my son is living well in the Duchy. At that time, I learned that the Duchy has a plan to invade the Kingdom by force, and I took the opportunity to invite the Duchy’s Army into the castle when the defenses were weakened due to comprehensive training. The plan is going well, and with one more step, my revenge will be complete.”
Cedric’s father said this brazenly, and Margaret retorted. However, he paid no heed, gave a signal, and his subordinates and the Duchy’s soldiers all entered the room.
“We will protect our King!”
““Ooooh!””
At the same time, the Royal Guard Knights protecting the King moved and began attacking Cedric’s father’s subordinates and the Duchy’s soldiers.
“First, let’s reduce our numbers. Clara, prioritize attacking that man’s subordinates.”
“Understood.”
Margaret, while concerned for the King who had retreated to the rear, gave instructions to Clara. She had experienced the strength of the Duchy’s soldiers on the way to this room, so they decided to target Cedric’s father’s subordinates first to reduce their numbers.
“Eat this!”
“Pathetic! Now, it’s your turn.”
While the Royal Guard Knights held off the Duchy’s soldiers, Margaret created water bullets with magic and one by one targeted Cedric’s father’s subordinates. Clara moved in sync, defeating the subordinates.
(They’re still on guard, but there’s no sign of the magic user who blew up the door.)
While shooting water bullets, Margaret remained vigilant of the mage who had destroyed the door. No magic had come from them yet, but she expected the next magical attack would surely come.
“Are those women monsters?”
While remaining wary of enemy magical attacks, Margaret did not lessen her assault. Cedric’s father, losing subordinates one after another due to the attacks of the two, was initially defiant at the forefront, but as his subordinates dwindled, his expression became anxious, and he gradually retreated to the rear.
“Traitors will be punished!”
“Ngh, noooo!”
At that moment, Clara set Cedric’s father as her next target and closed in.
“Kyaa!”
However, something resembling the water bullets Margaret was firing suddenly flew from an unknown direction, hit Clara, and blew her away.
“Your Majesty Queen, I’m so s… *cough cough* Gakuh!”
“Clara!”
Clara, unable to react to the sudden attack, fell to the floor and vomited the contents of her stomach.
“Perhaps it’s my turn now. You all, rest.”
Then, with a voice, a female soldier of the Duchy’s Army entered the room. The battle between the Royal Guard Knights and the Duchy’s soldiers had ended with the victory of the Duchy’s soldiers. However, the remaining Duchy’s soldiers had barely won, and those who remained were few and looked exhausted. The woman told the remaining soldiers to rest.
“It wasn’t fun defeating enemies with magic one-sidedly. I never thought I’d have a magic match here. Hehehe, only you and I can fight properly. Now, let’s have the final battle to see if the Duchy wins or the Kingdom wins. Oh, and by the way, I’m the commander of the Duchy’s Army Magic Squad. Let’s go!”
“It seems we have no choice but to fight. I will protect our King, even at the cost of my life!”
The defense forces protecting the Royal Castle had lost their ability to fight under the Duchy’s Army’s attack. The King of this country was not skilled in combat and had no means to protect himself. Margaret, the only one among those remaining who could fight against the Duchy, resolved to protect her husband, the King, even at the cost of her life.
“As a parting gift, I’ll introduce my Contract Fairy. Undine, come out.”
“Yes, yes! Called and appeared, pan-pan-pa-n! Undine-chan has arrived!”
When the squad leader called out, a beautiful woman with long blue hair appeared before Margaret.
“What a cheerful fairy. But behind that cheerfulness hides immense magic power that I can feel tingling on my skin. She looks like a Mid-ranking Fairy. It’s easy to see how frightening she can be when she appears as an enemy.”
“Oh? You can tell she’s a Mid-ranking Fairy? The Kingdom’s Queen is quite capable. Since we’re both water element, our magic will clash, but can you withstand our attacks? Undine, take care of that Big Titty Lady.”
“Who are you calling Big Titty Lady! I’m angry. Once I defeat the fairy, it’s your turn.”
The squad leader ordered Undine and moved to the rear to avoid Margaret’s attacks.
(Damn, if she retreats to that position, I can’t directly attack her contractor. It seems the only way to win is to defeat the fairy in front of me.)
Margaret had intended to attack the contractor, the squad leader, first, but she was experienced in combat and skillfully retreated, leaving Margaret in a situation where she could not attack unless she defeated Undine first.
“I’m sorry, it’s an order. Here I go! Ho, ho, ho-hoo!”
“S-so fast! Ngh, I’m struggling just to defend.”
Undine spread her hands and began firing water bullets at Margaret one after another. Margaret deployed a defensive water wall to block the water bullets.
“You’re quite good. This is the first time my water bullets have been blocked this much. But how long can you withstand it? Ho, ho, ho-hoo, ho, ho!”
“M-my water wall is failing.”
The water wall Margaret had deployed for defense gradually lost its thickness and became thinner.
“M-my water wall… Kya! Ngh!”
Finally, the water wall deployed by Margaret could no longer withstand Undine’s water bullets and dissipated. Without a protective wall, water bullets struck Margaret one after another, and she was blown away and slammed against the wall.
“Not yet! I can’t lose yet.”
“Oh? Is it over already?”
Margaret mustered her magic power and fired water balls, which were less effective than water bullets, at Undine, but they were easily batted away.
“Margaret, it’s no use. If I just hand over my head, that’s all. Please, save her alone!”
“Ah, Your Majesty!”
With her magicpower depleted and no longer able to resist, the King shielded Margaret from above, begging her to save only Margaret.
“Huh? Royalty is meant to be killed, of course. Undine, you wait. I’ll handle the rest.”
The squad leader, judging that the Kingdom had no means to resist, swiftly drew the sword she carried and took a stance. Then, she slowly began to walk towards the King and Margaret.
