I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 58 - The Future of Victoire

“─Ah…”

When I closed my eyes, it happened in an instant.

When I opened them again, I was already there.

“Chalize…!!”

The royal castle, in the audience chamber.

Just recently, Henry had been sitting on that throne.

But now─

“Noah…!”

Last night, Victoire welcomed a new king. The one who received the crown was Noah Victoire, only eighteen years old. He is the younger brother of the former king and the one who led the revolution.

☆

After that, I went to the forest of Utis with Tino. It ended surprisingly fast.

That’s because Tino had already explored the underground of Utis.

Just like he said before—vampires rarely die—he reached the deepest part safely.

What Tino saw there was just as we had imagined.

Many traps had been set up to get rid of intruders, and Tino almost died many times, but neither poison nor physical attacks could kill him. The nerve poison only made him unable to move for a while, but after some time (once the poison was gone), he could move again.

By repeating that process, Tino reached the deepest part.

(I thought, if any vampire can go into the underground of Utis, isn’t the barrier useless? But…)

When I asked, Tino answered with his own opinion.

“The location of the barrier… the marker stone and the spring were found only because I was with Saint Chalize. Even in the past, some people from the Empire tried to explore the forest of Utis, but all of them failed. They couldn’t even find the marker stone, let alone the basement.”

In other words, the marker stone had a special setup that only the saint could find.
And even if someone did find the stone and discover the basement, there were traps all over to get rid of intruders, so ordinary people couldn’t survive it.

Because of that, for many years, no one had been able to enter that basement.

Only a saint who could guide someone to the marker stone and an almost immortal vampire who could explore the underground together could finally uncover the mystery of that basement.

When I found that out, I was a little confused.

If Victoire made the barrier to guard against Arcana, they should have built it to completely keep vampires out. So why did they add traps even humans couldn’t get through?

Even while wondering, I went underground with Tino. Tino said he had already destroyed all the traps for intruders, so it was completely safe on the way.

(Tino… I’m sure he really pushed himself to get to the end.)

How many times did he almost die? He got close to death, but he didn’t die. Neither nerve poison nor injuries could kill him.

But Tino didn’t let me see that struggle. Even though he must’ve been in a lot of pain.

(He used to cry so easily and was always scared…)

When I thought about how he must have felt, my heart felt both heavy and ticklish. Because everything Tino did was clearly out of care for me. Seeing him guide me like it was nothing made my chest tighten again.

What Tino and I saw at the back of the basement was the remains of a vampire─used as the core of the barrier protecting Utis.

Their body was wrapped in bandages, so we couldn’t see their face.

They were lying on a stone bed, as if sleeping. Their hands were joined together as if praying, and in all four corners of the room, holy lamps were lit for the barrier. The room was very bright. Because the barrier was made using the vampire’s remains, holy power filled the space.

The one who made this barrier must have had a lot of holy power. I could tell the moment I stepped into the room. You could feel it on your skin—or rather, it felt like it pierced through your body.

Even after thousands of years, this much holy power remained. It must’ve been even stronger back then. As expected, Tino looked uncomfortable and quickly told me he was feeling sick.

Holy power, being the opposite of magic power, harms vampires.

After checking the remains, we left the basement and decided to go report it to the royal castle after talking it over.

It was the day after the new king’s coronation.

Tino used transformation magic to turn me into a butterfly, and we flew straight to the castle.
That feeling can only be described as really ‘flying.’

Fourteen years ago, in the backyard of Zenefelder, in the viola flower field, when I asked Tino how he got there, he said, ‘I flew.’

Back then, I didn’t understand what he meant. But now that I traveled the same way, I finally understood his feeling.

Yes, this really is the feeling of ‘flying.’

Then, Tino and I met Noah, who had officially become the king of Victoire. I had sent a letter in advance to make an appointment.

So, in the audience chamber, there were only four people: me, Tino, Noah, and Louis.

I had written in the letter how we would arrive, but seeing it with his own eyes must have surprised him. Noah slightly gasped. But then he quickly ran over to us.

“Chalize…!!”

“Noah…! I’m sorry we’re late. Louis, thank you too. You stayed by Noah’s side, didn’t you?”

I spoke to the man standing behind Noah. Louis placed a hand on his chest and gave a knight’s salute. After seeing that, I looked at Noah again.

“…Congratulations on your coronation, King Noah.”

“…It feels a bit strange to hear that from you. But… yes. I’ve become king. I’m now the king of Victoire.”

Noah furrowed his brows and gave a faint smile. He probably hasn’t slept much since the revolution ended. There were dark circles under his eyes. Honestly, I wanted him to rest right away. But I also understood he couldn’t.

Right now, Noah has too many things he must do. Victoire is tired and weakened. If they don’t act before the poison spreads completely, nearby countries might cause trouble.

So, at least for now, he must not rest.

Besides, even if I suggested he rest, I doubt he would listen. Because I believe he thinks just like I do.

I’ve known Noah for a long time. I understand how he thinks.

So, I decided to get to the point quickly. Just finding time for this meeting must’ve been hard for him.

“I have something to report about Utis. I did mention it in my letter beforehand.”

“I read it. …I haven’t seen that code in a while.”

Noah gave a small laugh.

The letter I sent him used a code we had used for years, in case someone else saw it.

Since I was executed as Queen Chalize about six months ago, we hadn’t used it, so I guess it brought back memories.

I was relieved Noah noticed the code. I thought he would, but I couldn’t stop worrying about the small chance he might miss it.

I nodded and told him the whole story about the forest of Utis again. Since Noah had read the letter beforehand, he listened to me with a serious face.

It had only been one day since his coronation. Only about two months had passed since the revolution. But still, he already had the presence of a king. I believe that’s because Noah truly sees himself as a king, understands the weight of that role more than anyone.

After hearing my story, Noah lowered his platinum eyelashes.

“…I also thought there was something in the forest of Utis. But I didn’t expect they used the remains of a royal from the Arcana Empire as a catalyst… No, more than that, I never imagined the people of Arcana were vampires, or that the demons in Victoire’s founding legend were actually people of the Arcana Empire.”