Chapter 30 – An Inconceivable Story
“Do you know?”
Long ago, there was a mighty kingdom—wealthy, powerful, its people led by a wise young king who ruled with a heart full of zeal. He dreamed of guiding his people to even greater heights.
But there was one matter that troubled everyone: though already past twenty, the king had neither queen nor heir. The people, who adored him, grew anxious. The nobles urged him to wed and secure a future for the realm, but the king only smiled and said his eyes were fixed on loftier goals.
“Heh heh… the young king, bold and ambitious,” the black-robed woman rasped, laughing like broken glass. “Isn’t it inspiring? Stirring? Worthy of admiration?”
“…I suppose…”
Leticia pressed her fingers to the hasty bandage around her torn throat, wary. “But why are you telling me this?”
The woman’s earlier words still haunted her: a half-baked handmaiden, a witch who didn’t die. What did those mean? Was she truly what the Church called a demon’s handmaiden, one to be slain on sight? And this woman—a witch? What was “half-baked”? What was “not dead”?
“Why so impatient?”
Her ruined voice made the tone unreadable—was it gentle, or cold? “I’ve taught you useful things. Forget them, and I’ll bite through your neck and tear off that pretty head of yours.”
…Holy sh—
Leticia swallowed her curses. Outwardly, she shrank back.
“Good. Then listen.”
The woman’s laughter was all edges. “No, better—tell me. What do you think happened to that kingdom?”
“Obviously…”
Leticia grimaced as pain lanced her neck with every word. “…obviously it won’t be a happy ending.”
“Ho ho… correct.”
The woman’s eyes glinted. “Clever little girl.”
“No,” Leticia shot back, frowning. “I just know—any story coming out of your mouth won’t end well.”
“…Indeed.”
The woman chuckled. “The kingdom flourished for a time. But then came an enemy they could never have foreseen: the Church.”
“The… Church? Hh—gods, it hurts…”
Leticia sucked in a breath. “Why fight the Church?”
“Mm. Little one, you don’t sound afraid of them at all.”
“I’m just a country bumpkin. To me the Church is only… a place that feeds us.”
“Ha… hahahahaha!”
The woman doubled over laughing, her veiled body shaking, blood still staining her cloth. “Just a place to eat! Oh, if only the Church thought that way… how different the world might be!”
Then her tone hardened. “The truth is simple. Missionaries met resistance in that kingdom. That was all it took. The Church nudged a neighboring empire into action. The empire feared the young king’s growing strength, so they agreed. And the empire’s armies marched.”
“…So that’s how it is.”
Leticia shivered. It was like watching one of the dry histories she’d once memorized for school come alive in front of her.
“The people suffered,” the woman went on, unheeding. “The empire conquered the kingdom. But the young king escaped.”
Leticia’s pulse quickened. A revenge tale? A comeback?
“And then?”
“At the time, the Church thought nothing of it. They only wanted the kingdom erased. What neither they nor the empire knew, what even his own people never guessed, was why the young king never took a queen.”
“…Why?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed in amusement. “Because he had a confidante. A woman, hidden from all the world.”
Leticia’s eyes widened. A strange familiarity prickled her skin. The words didn’t belong to her memories—but the feeling did.
“Yes,” the woman purred. “A man who lived a woman’s life, who shared a bond deeper than friendship with a gentle lady… who, with her help, wrought vengeance after his kingdom’s fall.”
Her veil shifted as her smile curved.
“Well? Doesn’t it feel… familiar?”