The Immortal Queen Cannot Escape the Lies and Obsession of the Demon — Not That She Wants To - Chapter 01

In the magnificent grand hall of the royal palace.

The evening party hosted by Queen Ariana, the sole royal of the Fenizard Kingdom, was proceeding with splendid elegance and solemnity.

“—Your Majesty!”

A perilous voice suddenly rang out.

The waltz music stopped, and the invited guests who had been enjoying dancing and conversation held their breath, turning their gazes toward the source of the voice.

Cough… Hah…

“Guards! Her Majesty vomited blood the moment she drank the fruit water! Fetch a doctor immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

Valerio, her fiancé who had been at Ariana’s side, issued instructions to the rushing guards along with the situation.

Kneeling, he watched as the bright blood she had spat out seeped into the pearl-blue dress spread across the floor. At the sight, Valerio instinctively hesitated to touch her back.

“Everyone, calm yourselves.”

To all those panicking, cowering, and moving to respond even amidst the chaos, a dignified voice admonished them.

In the tumultuous hall, that voice younger than anyone yet nobler than anyone imposed silence.

“Some of you, including Valerio, may be seeing this for the first time. Very well, those unaccustomed to the sight of blood are permitted to look away.”

Ariana stood up, swaying her bloodstained dress with composure.

After a glance at her white satin dress gloves splattered with red, she wiped the blood from her mouth without hesitation, deeming them no longer usable.

“The nobles of Fenizard need not be troubled. As you can see, my body is immortal.”

Gasps arose from here and there.

It had been roughly a year since her coronation. Although information about two previous assassination attempts on Queen Ariana had been leaked, the majority still reacted with disbelief.

They must have thought that talk of her returning from the brink of death was metaphorical, and that in reality, treatment had simply succeeded.

So they had tried to poison her again, unaware it was futile and learning nothing from past failures? While coughing up additional blood, Ariana finished observing her surroundings.

“Now. My apologies to all who gathered here, but I have urgent matters to attend to. I leave the rest to Valerio.”

“U-understood.”

Ariana swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape at the sight of her pale-faced fiancé, still in the throes of shock.

He was six years older than Ariana and the third son of a ducal house, but he had only been her fiancé and begun training to become prince consort for a month.

She was aware she was imposing a terrible burden on him, but there was no helping it.

“Then, do your best. Ah, no need to escort me.”

As Ariana began walking with a composed expression, the guests parted like a receding tide to see the queen off.

“…So, the rumors were true?”

As Ariana’s back receded into the distance, a young nobleman somewhere in the crowd murmured quietly.

His voice acted as a catalyst, and people began whispering among themselves in hushed tones, careful not to reach the queen’s ears.

“There were stories that Her Majesty took a poisoned arrow yet stood up alone, was that true?”

“Perhaps she received some blessing that makes her immune to poison?”

“Surely not. What just happened wasn’t merely part of the entertainment?”

“It’s true she received a slash to the neck during the coronation.”

“Her Majesty always chooses classical dresses, doesn’t she? To hide the scars?”

“And to think she’s still a debutante.”

“Terrifying to think of the future.”

Whisper whisper. Murmur murmur.

Feeling the insect-like buzzing at her back, Ariana departed without looking back.

Quickly rushing to her side after she left the venue was Nala, the head of the queen’s personal maids.

Nala remained silent, following behind Ariana while maintaining an exact, unchanging distance.

When the two reached the residential area of the castle, Ariana spoke.

“Nala.”

“Yes, Lady Ariana.”

A smooth, refreshing voice.

The moment she was called “Lady Ariana” instead of “Your Majesty” by Nala, the public-private switch inside Ariana flipped from formal “I” to informal “me.”

While feeling pleasantly relieved, a cold sweat broke out all over her.

“This poison is outrageous. It hurts quite a bit, so there must be holes in my internal organs. It’ll heal by tomorrow, but based on experience, I’ll develop a fever tonight.”

“Understood. I will prepare for all contingencies.”

“Also, could you place your hand on my back? Just until we reach my room is fine. There shouldn’t be any blood splatter, so— sigh, thank you, ow ow ow…!”

“Lady Ariana, please endure until we reach your room.”

“I’m in critical condition right now. The fact that I can even walk back to my room is praiseworthy, don’t you think?”

Hunching her previously straightened back, she endured the intense pain burning in her abdomen from the poison and voiced her complaint as if it couldn’t be helped.

Although they were in the residential area, it was unbecoming to show such a state outside her private chambers, and Nala’s admonishment was reasonable. Ariana herself fully understood that it was an undignified spectacle unbefitting a queen.

However, between the searing, nagging pain and the warmth placed against her chilled back, a word of weakness slipped out.

“Hey, Nala! Can I still have today’s cake tomorrow?”

The annual tradition, Nala’s special orange and chocolate cake.

She had been told that this year it would be a chocolate gateau using orange peel and jam, and she had been looking forward to it immensely.

“I will make a new one tomorrow or later.”

“That’s not it. I want the cake you made today, Nala.”

At Ariana’s selfishness, Nala pressed her lips together to suppress her welling emotions.

Then she lowered her eyebrows as if to say “there’s no helping it.”

“…As you wish, Lady Ariana. It is entirely at your discretion.”

Later, the events of that night would be publicly announced as the third assassination attempt on the Queen of Fenizard.

Officially recorded as the third instance.

The first was during the coronation.

In the middle of the ceremony, she suffered a laceration to her neck from an assault by a disguised clergyman, yet she survived.

The second was during the celebratory parade.

Originally scheduled to take place right after the ceremony, it was postponed and held safely a month later. In the midst of the festive atmosphere as she was presented to the citizens, poisoned arrows rained down from assassins of a fallen nation.

Amid casualties among the knight guards and spectators, the queen, who was also struck by an arrow, survived.

And now, the third assassination attempt at the evening party.

The first had only a few witnesses among high-ranking nobles and clergy. The second had only guards and spectators. The rumors never progressed beyond speculation.

But this time, the third attempt had numerous witnesses, so the rumors gained credibility and began to be whispered as fact.

Queen Ariana Fenizard was blessed by the gods, the king among kings.

Therefore, her body was immortal——it was said.