Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 79

It doesn’t matter.

As someone who no longer considers the nomadic tribes allies, I reflected on the words of Her Majesty Queen Liesenlotte.

Whatever happens, I don’t care.

As long as Robert-sama’s enemies are avenged, I have no lingering attachments to this world.

Even if I were to be punished for the crime of killing Robert-sama, it wouldn’t matter to me.

—

“Lord Polydoro, I believe we should start the reinvestigation immediately. As you suggested, let’s question each petitioner from the three days before Robert-sama was murdered and make a grand announcement about the reinvestigation.”

“…”

Lord Polydoro said nothing, his face filled with bitter agony.

Why hesitate?

I will say it as many times as necessary.

I don’t care what happens to the nomadic tribes anymore.

—

“Lord Michael, I cannot decide. This case cannot be resolved simply by executing the culprit.”

“You are the one who deduced the answer to this incident, Lord Polydoro.”

“The issue arises if that answer was correct. Do you understand the implications of what you’re saying about the nomadic tribes?”

—

The nomadic tribes will likely be annihilated.

They were always despised.

We are nothing but a discriminated group who were given a place to settle and jobs out of Robert-sama’s mercy.

He is gone—no, he was murdered.

Despite the noble cause associated with the work Robert-sama did while alive, I have heard that the nomadic tribes suffered from discrimination.

It’s utterly foolish and ridiculous.

They are like people who are tightening the noose around their own necks.

—

“Whether nobility or commoner, if one is found guilty of assassinating King Consort Robert, their entire family will be executed. It’s collective responsibility. And the same applies to the nomadic tribes.”

“That’s not enough!”

—

The cry of Her Majesty Queen Liesenlotte.

She should be the one most eager for revenge.

I was saved and given everything by Robert-sama.

The one Robert-sama loved most in this world was you.

Therefore, you should have the greatest right to revenge.

Why hesitate?

—

“If everything becomes clear, I won’t be able to avoid executing. I will have to kill all the nomadic people living in the capital of Anhalt. Robert was beloved by many. He corresponded with the Emperor of the Holy Gusten Empire and the Pope. I must report Robert’s assassin. Both the Emperor and the Pope would say, ‘So, all of Robert’s mercy was meaningless.’ It will be announced in the Gusten Empire and its member states that it’s not a sin to kill the nomadic tribes anymore. All nomadic people will be massacred.”

—

That’s how it will be.

The nomadic tribes, already infamous, killed the benefactor who reached out to help them.

No one will treat them as human anymore.

What of it!

I stared into the eyes of Her Majesty the Queen.

Her eyes had already shifted from the gentle gaze of a private person to the cold eyes of an Elector.

—

“Michael, this matter must be handled with caution. It hasn’t been as simple as it used to be. We are in a situation where we cannot simply settle it with emotions and must consider hiding the truth.”

“Do you not hate the murderer, Your Majesty?”

“Beloved, do not avenge yourself. Let it be left to the wrath of God.”

—

Her Majesty the Queen muttered in a bitterly cold voice.

Romans 12:19 from the New Testament.

Unlike other nomadic people who only superficially adhere to the faith, I actually read the Bible.

Honestly, I don’t need to believe in God, but it’s educational, so I read it as per Robert-sama’s earnest advice.

She muttered that verse in a bitterly cold voice.

But Her Majesty’s true intention was not merely in those words.

—

“Honestly, I don’t care what the Bible says or what happens to the nomadic tribes.”

Deeper emotions are involved.

A deep love for Robert-sama lies at the root.

“But what then becomes of all that Robert did? My husband used his trust as power, persuading everyone: me, the Emperor, the Pope, the nobles, the representatives of the commoners’ guilds. He negotiated, petitioned, sometimes even bowed his head, and worked hard. For what purpose was all this? I know how hard Robert worked. Michael, this has been since before you even met him. I know everything he did.”

“Your Majesty Queen Liesenlotte.”

“It’s unforgivable. Everything done through Robert’s compassion being dismissed as worthless—it’s unbearable that such a thing could be called a waste. That this could be the truth…”

Her Majesty’s emotions were already uncontrollable.

Despite her stoic expression, the tremor in her lips was undeniable.

Her public facade and personal feelings must be chaotically clashing.

“It was foolish of me to want to uncover the truth. If it brings such pain, then I wish to know nothing more. I sought peace of mind in this reinvestigation. If the truth is cruel, I do not wish to know it. What good does it do? Is Robert going to come back to life? What is there to gain after building mountains of corpses and rivers of blood?”

“…”

“End the investigation. I don’t want to hear any more. Lord Polydoro, Lord Wesperman, I apologize. My heart can no longer bear this burden.”

Lord Polydoro, sitting opposite, said nothing.

He just listened to Her Majesty’s words with a face full of agony.

Lord Wesperman, seated beside him, felt the same.

Her Majesty, the client of the investigation, had screamed out in despair.

As a knight sworn to loyalty to the royal family, there was nothing more they could do.

But such things, I, who am merely Robert-sama’s servant, need not concern myself with.

My loyalty is not to Queen Liesenlotte.

It was solely for Robert-sama.

This was commanded by Queen Liesenlotte herself.

“Then, I will confront them directly. I remember the details. In the three days before Robert-sama was murdered, a representative of the nomadic people indeed came to petition. He was the director of an opera house. Due to our shared ethnicity, I had avoided being present, but I remember the knights and pages of that time. Oh, I recall now. Her Majesty’s favorite bureaucrat and the page who became her husband. Both were competent and will remember the events well.”

If asked, it will soon become clear.

Everything will be laid bare.

How heinous my own people were.

What judgment befits such acts.

Even if it leads to mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, it does not concern me.

“Michael. People are going to die. Many people will die. It would have been better if they were simply the targets of hatred. If they were foolish enough to not think twice about hiding their crime and killing Robert, ending them all together with their families in a gruesome fate would have been sufficient. I could have found peace of mind by exacting revenge. But the truth is cruel. No one will be saved. Who benefits from resolving this case?”

“The culprit has been tormented by guilt? Whether or not there was intent to kill is irrelevant. Crimes must be met with severe punishment. That’s how humans should live. I will seek vengeance. Just as when I was ten years old, I used the knife Robert-sama gave me to kill my own mother.”

I was given life as a human by Robert-sama.

I was once merely livestock, a castrated chicken of the nomadic people, singing only to earn a meager living through our suffering.

Robbed of reproductive functions, reduced to merely a voice that could not be called either male or female.

Now it is different.

Now it is different.

My existence in this world has been affirmed by Robert-sama.

“I have kept my worthless life going just for this moment.”

What I sing now is not the music of the nomads but an aria.

A song of revenge.

Not against the whole world, but against the fool who killed the benefactor who gave me life as a human, the culmination of five years of murderous intent.

The flames of revenge burned hellishly within my heart.

“Who can stop this murderous intent? The right to revenge is mine, and I will repay Robert-sama with this.”

“Do you think Robert would want such a thing?”

“Probably not.”

Her Majesty had just said that killing wouldn’t bring Robert back.

So, what, she expects me to just let it go?

That is impossible.

The vengeance for the taking of Robert-sama’s life should be terribly exacted.

“Robert-sama was truly a kind man. If he could understand that his death was without malice, he might have forgiven it as an accident. That’s precisely why I cannot forgive.”

Forgiveness is impossible.

That much is impossible.

“I will kill the villain who took the life of that kind man. That alone is justice. There is no other end for me that is conceivable.”

If I can accomplish that, if I can fulfill this final wish that has kept the light of my life burning, even if I fall into hell, I will be able to smile forever.

The expression of agony.

Lord Polydoro, who had been observing me, maintaining that expression, finally spoke up.

“A suggestion.”

Lord Polydoro, who had uncovered the suspect in this case, spoke up, and I couldn’t interrupt him.

“We have not yet confirmed the culprit. However, I believe this case is not as straightforward as it seems. We need to proceed with the investigation cautiously.”

“Faust! I said that’s enough!” 

“Liesenlotte, I cannot claim to understand your heart, nor can I imagine how difficult this is for you. But if we do not seek the truth now, you will live the rest of your life with regrets.”

Despite his distressed expression, he spoke in a profoundly gentle voice. His words were filled with care, and even Her Majesty was at a loss for words. Neither I, Lord Wesperman, nor anyone else could oppose his voice.

“We will conduct the investigation. We will seek out the truth, but let’s proceed with caution. Let’s ensure that the perpetrator does not suspect anything. We will do this quietly, unnoticed by anyone.”

“What will you do?”

How exactly does he intend to proceed? I asked.

“If I, as the head of the investigation, make a move, it might blow things up. Let’s call only the bureaucrat who was present when the nomadic leader made his petition, and her page husband, to the rose garden. Tell them that Her Majesty wishes to reminisce about those times. Ensure that they understand the need for secrecy. Is that possible?”

“Those two won’t tell anyone.”

They were trustworthy, competent people. Those two would take their secrets to the grave.

“But remember, we have not yet confirmed the truth. However, if it turns out that the suspected individual is indeed the perpetrator…”

Where is he planning to take this case? I listened intently.

“Let them die quietly, by the same poison that killed Robert-sama.”

To kill only the perpetrator. To execute the vengeance quietly. A requiem for Robert-sama. That seemed fitting.

“I have no objections.”

It was a compromise. While I was engulfed by the feeling that everything in the world could just be destroyed, it seemed Her Majesty’s heart could not endure it. She could not bear for Robert-sama’s efforts to have been in vain. Therefore, I compromised.

“However, please let me carry out the revenge. Is that acceptable, Queen Liesenlotte?”

I sought permission for revenge, from the person Robert-sama loved the most.

“I no longer wish to be involved. I don’t want to hear anything. If you insist on continuing… just report the outcome to me, Michael, to Faust.”

Her Majesty muttered quietly, granting permission.

She entrusted everything to me and Lord Polydoro. Lord Polydoro spoke again.

“As I said earlier, if I, as the head of the investigation, get involved, it might escalate things. Questioning the opera house director will likely fall to you, Lord Michael. Well, nothing is certain yet—”

Everything was still undecided. Lord Polydoro closed his eyes at the garden table and murmured quietly to himself.

Yes, nothing had been confirmed yet. It was all hypothetical. We were still at the stage of speculation—but everyone somewhat understood.

There is nothing more cruel and merciless than the truths of this world.

Now, we were just experiencing the quiet before we reached that inevitable reality.