I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 4 - The Saint of Salvation, Chalize
“Chalize is dead? …Really?”
The young man, who held the title of prince, widened his eyes.
He had been enjoying a game of chess, but his fingers stopped moving as he elegantly placed a hand on his chin.
The one who delivered the report was his servant and close aide.
“Hmm… I see.”
“You are not going to take action?”
“At this moment? If handled poorly, it could lead to national division and war.”
Saying this, the man picked up a chess piece again.
As he placed it on the board, the opposing piece moved on its own, even though no one was sitting across from him.
Watching his master enjoy the game, the aide continued speaking.
“Then, I will issue orders to continue monitoring the situation.”
With a deep bow, he left the room.
This was the rooftop of a tower—the terrace of a rooftop garden.
It was nighttime. Under the dark sky, the man muttered softly.
“—Even if I do nothing, that country will not last much longer.”
The future of Victorie had only two possible outcomes.
Either the people, realizing the truth, would begin a bl00d-soaked purge.
Or—a new hero would emerge.
Either way, the current Victoire was nothing more than a castle built on sand.
This place was the Arcana Empire, a neighboring country to Victoire.
For years, it had engaged in skirmishes with Victoire’s border region, Utis.
Although its land was only about two-thirds the size of Victoire, it had superior military power and controlled numerous vassal states.
The silver-haired man enjoying chess—his name was Lawrence Arcana.
He was the third prince of the Arcana Empire.
Lawrence gazed up at the starry sky and sighed.
Slowly, he leaned back in his chair.
“…I finally understood the cause of the skirmishes in Utis and even proposed a way to prevent them… but the current king of Victoire is an even greater fool than I imagined. The previous king wasn’t this bad.”
Muttering to himself, he spoke softly.
Victorie’s downfall had already begun.
☆
One month had passed since Queen Chalize’s execution.
The people’s excitement had already faded.
There were more pressing concerns.
“What do you mean they raised taxes!?”
A woman screamed, clutching a newspaper.
A newspaper delivery boy frowned at her reaction.
She grabbed his arm and shouted.
“What’s going on!? They executed Chalize because she kept raising taxes, didn’t they!? Then why is this still happening!?”
“I-I don’t know! Maybe it’s Queen Stella’s fault?”
“Queen Stella was a commoner! There’s no way she would do something that would make our lives harder!”
“Then why is this happening!? Even I don’t understand!”
People around them started to pay attention to their argument.
Before long, passersby stopped and joined the conversation.
“Isn’t Queen Stella from the same family as Chalize? Then…”
“No, Queen Stella was an orphan taken in by a noble family. Didn’t she say she would change the country for us?”
The woman responded hysterically.
As if infected by her emotions, the man shouted back.
“Then why are taxes going up!? People are saying it’s because of Queen Stella’s lavish spending!”
“That can’t be true! Queen Stella would never—!!”
The argument grew more heated, and soon some people started fighting physically.
Onlookers hurried to call the guards, but by then, fights had already broken out all over.
Just a month ago, these same people had been celebrating loudly.
Now, there was no trace of that joy.
Public order deteriorated rapidly, and prices soared.
Then, one day, people began to realize something.
“Could it be… that Queen Chalize was someone who should never have been executed?”
No one knew who said it first, but the words sounded like the truth.
Yet, people looked away from this realization.
They had rioted, insulted, and condemned her.
As a result, Chalize had been executed by the king.
For those who had once loudly demanded her execution, it was not so easy to admit they had been wrong.
If they did, they would have to accept that they had unjustly killed an innocent woman.
That thought was terrifying—so terrifying it sent chills down their spines.
But as if to confirm their worst fears, life kept getting harder.
Taxes continued to rise.
The temple spoke comforting words, but life remained unbearable.
The people had believed that Queen Stella, a former commoner, would improve their lives—
But then, the darkest period in Victorie’s history began, a time so terrible that it would be remembered for generations to come.
Until now, magical beasts had never entered human settlements.
But suddenly, they began appearing everywhere.
Before, they had only lived deep in the forests.
Now, they invaded towns and villages.
That day, a horde of magical beasts descended upon the royal capital.
“Aaaaahhh! Magical beasts! A whole horde is coming this way!!”
“Stay inside your homes! Hold out until the priestesses arrive!!”
The people clung to this belief, praying and waiting desperately for the priestesses to come to their aid—
But no help arrived.
The temple had already ceased to function properly.
There were too many magical beasts.
And their ferocity was far beyond anything seen before.
The priestesses of the temple were powerless against them, and more and more people were being tainted by magical corruption.
The temple had branches in various locations, but they were already overflowing with patients infected by magic. There were not enough healers to treat them all.
Something was clearly wrong.
People had heard that magical beasts were increasing in number—but this collapse had happened too suddenly.
A terrifying thought crossed their minds.
“Could it be…”
“Maybe…”
Chalize’s achievements had all been real, hadn’t they?
And now that she was gone, wasn’t this the result?
The temple had claimed that her accomplishments were lies.
But wasn’t that the real lie?
Slowly, regret and fear began to spread through the people.