I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 45 - It was nothing more than an illusion
The holy power was being drained─.
I could feel the holy power slowly fading away.
Even though it had just recovered, it was disappearing at an incredible speed.
It felt just like losing bl00d.
Every time a dazzling light burst out, the magical beasts disappeared, but more and more kept appearing without end.
(I can’t… wipe them all out.)
Realizing this, I tried to lead the others to safety.
But no matter how many magical beasts I defeated to clear a path, more kept coming.
My whole body felt hot, as if I had a fever.
(My body temperature… is dropping…)
Probably, my body was trying to create heat to stop the temperature from falling. My hands and feet were starting to go numb.
Every time I used holy power, the wind would swirl, and my hair would get messy.
(Just a little more… If I can just erase one more group of magical beasts─)
If I could defeat the ones I could see all at once, there would be a small opening.
So I loosened the release of holy power a little, waited for the right timing, and then let it all out at once.
At the end, I heard someone gasp.
A dazzling light burst out─and when the light disappeared, there were no magical beasts in sight.
(…Now!)
I quickly turned around and said to the woman,
“Let’s go!! Stand up!!”
Thankfully, none of them were hurt.
I helped her stand, and the children followed her lead.
We ran through the familiar castle town.
While running, I caught sight of a sign saying this was District 5.
(If that’s true, then if we head east, there should be a gate…!)
The woman must have thought the same.
We nodded to each other and ran toward the gate─
But cruelly, the city gate was already shut.
“W-Why…”
The woman muttered in shock.
She had brown curly hair and wore a white hat. She slowly collapsed to the ground.
The children stared in shock at the closed gate.
“Why… Why is it closed!? Open it, please open it!! There are still people here, help us! Help!!”
The woman rushed to the gate and began banging on it, but there was no sign of anyone on the other side.
Everyone had evacuated. And as they left the castle town, they must have shut the gate to stop the magical beasts from following them.
I also walked up and touched the gate, but it seemed to be barred from the other side. It wouldn’t budge.
The iron gate was strong. If they had shut it and taken shelter before the attack, the city wouldn’t have been ruined.
Most likely, the magical beasts entered the city so fast that no one had time to prepare.
There were no signs of battle with weapons in the ruined city.
It was clear they hadn’t even had time to get ready to fight. The beast attack was sudden and over in a flash.
(…We’re trapped.)
The exit we were trying to use was already sealed.
(If it’s the gate I passed when I came down the hill… maybe that one isn’t sealed yet.)
That thought crossed my mind, but it might already be locked. And it was in the complete opposite direction.
What should I do─
As I was struggling with that thought, I suddenly heard someone’s voice.
“Oh…! There are still people here.”
It was a man who had been hiding in the rubble.
He wasn’t alone—men and women appeared behind him.
“We couldn’t escape in time.”
“We thought about climbing over the gate, but there were too many magical beasts. So we hid.”
They started speaking in low voices.
Among them, a young blonde woman carefully spoke to us.
“Who are you…? Why are you here?”
The woman who had been with me seemed to calm down.
Suddenly, with a look of realization, she spoke excitedly.
“She saved me when I was in danger. This is Lady Chalize!! The Holy Saint has come to save us!!”
The people gasped at her loud words.
“That’s─”
Before I could correct her and say I never claimed that, they murmured in disbelief.
“Lady Chalize…”
“She really does look like the portrait…”
“Blonde hair… green eyes…”
Blonde hair and green eyes aren’t rare in Victoire.
But still, in this situation—’The Holy Saint Chalize appears while the castle town is under attack’—whether true or not, it was enough to give them hope.
If they thought about it calmly, they’d realize it was unlikely I was Chalize.
Queen Chalize drank poison and died. There’s no way I should be alive.
They must know that. But the emergency and hope of being saved made them cling to me.
They immediately knelt before me and bowed their heads.
“Please save us!! Lady Chalize, please, have mercy!!”
“Holy Saint, Lady Chalize!!”
“We’re sorry for everything! Please, forgive us!”
“Please give us salvation!! Save us, Holy Saint…!!!!”
“You’ll save us, right, Holy Saint!?”
As they pleaded desperately, I held my breath.
──
I didn’t think their words were ‘convenient.’
They had called Queen Chalize evil, a wicked woman, a traitor who disturbed the peace of the kingdom.
And now, they begged for my help. It was convenient.
Louis and Noah would probably say that.
I could clearly imagine their reactions and let out a bitter smile.
But the people kneeling and bowing their heads didn’t see that.
It was too convenient.
But still, I think… that’s just how humans are.
That’s human nature.
Surely, there were people in the kingdom who believed in me and never spoke ill.
There must be some who now feel guilty for insulting me.
But most of the people weren’t like that.
Human nature is simple.
Unless you have very high education and knowledge, you’re easily influenced by others.
And Victoire’s education level is lower than other countries.
The royal family made sure of that—forcing people to work instead of study for generations.
The literacy rate drops drastically in the outskirts.
For generations, the kings have prioritized labor over education.
That’s why… they don’t have the knowledge they need.
Most people of Victoire probably don’t even feel guilty asking help from someone they once hated.
I don’t think that’s evil.
As queen, I couldn’t understand the people’s feelings.
But now that I think about it, that should’ve been the first thing I tried to understand.
The people of Victoire are who I wanted to guide and help as queen.
People have hearts.
So first, I needed to connect with theirs.
I should have explained what I was doing, why it mattered. I didn’t. In the end, I acted selfishly.
“I am not Chalize.”
“But─”
The woman cried out, like a scream.
It wasn’t the fact that I wasn’t Chalize—it was the fear that no one was here to save them.
“I’m not Chalize, but I am a saint. And as a saint, I have a duty to help you─”
─Just then, the wind blew fiercely.
Caught in a whirlwind, my hair lifted into the air.
As I instinctively reached to hold it down, I realized someone was standing in front of me.
“Is that really so?”
It was a voice I recognized.
I opened my eyes wide. He was still facing away from me, speaking to the others.
“If she is Queen Chalize, then why did she die? You people drove her to death—and now you dare ask her for help?”