I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution

Chapter 243: 243. Abyssal Holy War – Final Resistance (2)

Episode 243. Abyssal Holy War – Final Resistance (2)

After Pierre de Lafayette had left.

"Ugh..."

Lying in bed, Eris clamped a hand over her mouth and writhed.

After struggling in pain for a while, she slowly removed her hand from her mouth and stared blankly at the dark red blood staining it.

The aura sent flying by Baal’s sword, who was likely the leader of the demons—she instinctively realized that while it was an aura, it was not a simple one.

It had shattered Eris's divine power and scattered as if its energy was spent.

At least, that's what Pierre and the other soldiers must have thought.

But that wasn't what truly happened.

The sword attack that had destroyed her divine power had then tracked its caster and savaged Eris from the inside.If her realization had been even a moment too late, she might have been torn to shreds right before Pierre's eyes.

Recalling the chilling sensation, as if her very soul was being sliced, Eris wrapped her arms around her trembling body.

The thought of having to face that terror again was endlessly horrifying.

"Hic, sob..."

It hurt, and she was scared.

Eris wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Some people think she knows no fear, that she doesn't treasure her own life.

In reality, that isn't true.

When Eris feels pain, she suffers just like anyone else, and whenever she stands on a dangerous battlefield, she must struggle to calm her trembling heart.

"...Your Majesty."

Eris flinched, then smiled as she accepted the water-soaked towel Lord Beaumont offered her.

"Thank you, Uncle Frank."

"Are you all right?"

Without answering, Eris took the towel, wiped her eyes, and then cleaned her dirtied hands.

Instead of asking more, Lord Beaumont said something else.

"It seems I've gotten quite old. To think a Royal Guard Knight is always slower than Marquis Lafayette. Youth truly is a fine thing. Haha. Perhaps it's time for me to retire?"

Eris shot him a look and replied.

"Wow, are you planning to run away and leave me all alone as Queen? After all the hardship we've been through together, how could you?"

"Hoho, if Her Majesty the Queen were to compensate me for all my unpaid labor with some funds from her private treasury, I might reconsider."

Eris let out a groan.

"You know full well there's barely anything left after all the charity. Ugh, but if I squeeze every last drop, maybe a little?"

"My, I'm at a loss serving such a frugal queen. As your humble subject, I am sorry to say this, but for Her Majesty, an unscrupulous superior, to accuse the Marquis of being a swindler seems a bit problematic—"

"Ack! Th-that was a joke!"

When Eris finally couldn't hold back and shrieked, Lord Beaumont chuckled and asked.

"...Are you feeling a little better now?"

Only then could Eris manage a small smile.

"Thank you."

Lord Beaumont answered with a smile of his own.

A comfortable silence fell for a moment.

The knight who had protected her and her mother since long ago in the palace slowly opened his mouth.

"How about you rest during this battle?"

I want to.

Eris replied only in her heart, smiling.

But outside, the battle was still raging.

The sound of shelling and the urgent footsteps of messengers running back and forth never ceased.

Those men, who had already lost their morale once, were fighting so hard. The very person who made it possible couldn't just stand by.

Lord Beaumont, Uncle Frank, probably knew this as well.

He knew, yet he must have said what needed to be said.

Eris gazed at Lord Beaumont for a moment and then smiled.

"Uncle Frank."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"...Please don't just thank me with words while ignoring what I say, Your Majesty."

Eris simply offered a smile.

He was surely seeing her mother, not Eris herself.

She knew that, aside from her hair and eye color, her appearance was the spitting image of her mother.

Nevertheless, she knew that if he hadn't been there, she wouldn't be able to smile as she did now.

Even in her previous life, which could hardly be called happy, she had made it as far as she did because he was there.

Eris slowly closed her eyes to rest, but opened them upon hearing a set of familiar, distinctive footsteps.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty, Lord Beaumont."

Christine Aquitaine, having entered the barracks, offered a formal greeting.

It wasn't the etiquette of a Lady in a dress, but a military salute in an admiral's uniform, yet it was so natural it seemed as if it had always been hers. Eris was struck with fresh admiration.

"Welcome, Countess. You must be busy with the rear and supply management..."

"It is part of my duties."

Christine replied simply as she approached and placed the box she was carrying at Eris's bedside.

"These are Divine Power Amplification Crystals. I secured as many as I could, but with all of the Magic Tower's core forces having sallied forth, four was the limit."

"Thank you. I know you went to great effort to secure them."

Hearing Eris's words, Christine offered a faint smile, but it quickly vanished as she began to speak.

"As the one who will be using them, I'm sure you are aware, Your Majesty. Power that exceeds the body's vessel becomes a poison. Even if it is divine power, as long as it operates based on mana, it is no different."

Divine power is a power that helps people by borrowing God's power through mana as a medium. But even if it is a beneficial power for the recipients, it ultimately becomes a burden to the one who consumes their own mana.

Moreover, an amplification crystal is ultimately a means to draw upon power that one cannot normally handle. Eris was well aware that the insane euphoria one's body feels upon using it is akin to that of a drug.

The mind is ecstatic, but in the end, it is no different from shaving away one's own lifespan.

"...I know. Thank you for your concern, Countess."

Christine Aquitaine let out a small sigh, but she didn't tell her to refrain from using them.

Even if she said anything, Eris would use them, and Christine knew that when she brought them. No, it was more likely she brought them because she hoped Eris would use them to help Pierre de Lafayette.

Nevertheless, the fact that she had to give a warning in the end revealed Christine's character, and Eris smiled faintly as she reached out and took Christine's hand.

"...Your Majesty."

The hand, though it had flinched, was not pulled away. It was warm.

No, rather, she realized her own hand was much colder, and she gave an awkward smile.

"I mean it when I say thank you. With these, I'm sure I can save many more people."

"You are always so full of conviction, Your Majesty."

Christine said as much, but Eris only smiled.

In reality, that isn't true.

If not for the many people who believed in her, Eris would have broken long ago—no, she had already broken once before.

The result of acting passively due to a lack of faith in herself, yet being unable to completely turn away, was meeting her end as a witch at the guillotine.

"This may not be the right time to say this, but I... that version of Your Majesty..."

Christine Aquitaine started to say something, but then closed her mouth and shook her head.

"It is nothing, Your Majesty. It was a slip of the tongue."

Christine did not say it, but...

-I was jealous.

Eris, who knew without having to hear it, suddenly pulled Christine into an embrace.

"Ugh, Your Majesty?"

"I'm very fond of you, Christine."

Christine remained frozen for a long moment before asking a very short question.

"Why?"

Some praise Eris as if she were a noble, selfless, and absolutely perfect saintess.

In reality, that isn't true.

She, too, likes sweet fruits, enjoys delicious meals, and sometimes imagines herself in a picturesque, luxurious dress.

The reason she insists on wearing only a simple white robe, hardly befitting the status of a saintess and queen, is merely to constantly remind herself of her own resolve.

Just as Christine Aquitaine had been wary of and jealous of Eris, Eris had also been quite envious of Christine.

A lady anyone would admire, a capable person who could be honest with her emotions and who could devote everything for the one she holds most dear.

Someone who was Eris's complete opposite.

Christine doesn't sympathize with Eris's ideals; rather, she is wary of them. Afraid that Pierre might become disillusioned with her because of Eris.

Despite that, Christine has always actively protected and supported Eris. For the sole reason that Pierre de Lafayette wanted it.

For that reason alone, she can suppress all her own emotions and help with all her might.

In that sense, Christine is also terribly similar to Eris.

"...And I'm very sorry. To both of you."

"..."

Christine probably wouldn't understand why, but Eris purely felt that way.

Pierre de Lafayette was probably—no, certainly.

The one who returned because of Eris's prayer.

It was not a prayer offered for Pierre de Lafayette.

A prayer that could have been for anyone willing to change this ending, one she offered without even expecting it to be granted herself.

But the prayer was granted, and almost all of history leading up to the death she remembered was changed.

All because of a single person's struggle, and the changes born from that struggle.

Pierre de Lafayette found her when she was not even self-aware and changed countless things.

He has fought without rest until now. Probably in more battles, more harshly, and more fiercely than in the life where he had met his death.

He was someone she had never even met in her previous life.

All because of her, with whom he had a nonexistent relationship, having only heard each other's names once or twice.

Just because of a prayer she offered at the moment of her death, filled with her grievance and sadness, her loved one was now so desperately...

If she knew that even at this moment, he was fighting a desperate struggle for his life.

What would Christine accuse Eris of?

Eris mocked herself.

What swindler. In fact, she knew.

That the accusations she'd jokingly thrown at him before regaining her memories were, in reality, a ridiculously reversed case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Even if she had offered the prayer with pure intentions, if it was because of it that he ended up in such a desperate struggle.

Even now that she knew, she who was still relying on his struggle to hope for a slightly better future.

Wasn't she closer to a witch manipulating a knight than a saintess?

"How strange."

Eris's self-mocking thoughts were shattered by Christine's voice.

"Pardon?"

"A relationship where both sides mistakenly think they're using the other and feel sorry for it."

"What does that..."

As Eris murmured blankly, Christine gave a deep smile, gently tapped Eris's hand to release it, and took a step back.

"Your Majesty, do you regret the path you have traveled so far?"

"...No."

"Then, let me ask. Do you think Pierre regrets the path he has traveled? Do you think a person like that could fight the way he does?"

As Eris was at a loss for words, Christine offered her a bow.

Compared to when she first arrived, she greeted her with a somewhat casual, almost disrespectful attitude, and smiled.

"I think the two of you should be thanking each other, not feeling sorry. Well then, I have much to do, so I will take my leave."

Christine turned and began to walk away, then glanced back at Eris and said.

"To add to that, the moments when I do my best for Pierre, and the moments when he does his best for me, are when I am happiest."

"..."

"I trust that Your Majesty will do her best for Pierre, and for all those who believe in and follow you."

With that, Christine left the barracks.

A moment passed before Lord Beaumont let out a breath.

"Ahem, ahem. That married couple is certainly a storm, the both of them..."

"Ahaha."

He was then taken aback to see Eris burst into laughter.

"Your Majesty?"

I see.

The truth is, she doesn't want to be called a saintess.

She doesn't want to strive to be a role model for everyone.

Sometimes, she just wants to play happily, eat delicious food, and live a comfortable, enjoyable life.

She is afraid, and terrified.

The reason she has fought despite all that is...

Because she has power. Because she was taught that the things she has enjoyed since birth came from the people, and so she must repay them.

Because the person who returned due to her prayer is fighting so desperately, and she feels guilt toward him.

Even if she didn't want it, as a queen, as a leader of the people.

She must fulfill her responsibility to give them a better future.

However.

-Marquis, are you happy?

To that question, Pierre de Lafayette had already given his answer.

-I believe I am.

Pierre de Lafayette is fighting.

Christine Aquitaine is also fighting.

Not because of Eris, but for themselves.

Others are fighting, too. To seize a better future for themselves.

Eris shot up from her seat.

God had granted her prayer, which she hadn't expected to be heard.

He had changed the scene she saw at the guillotine that day, that tragic ending.

If that's the case.

-If I try my best, and everyone becomes even a little bit happier.

Even that childish wish from her younger days.

-Then someday, before those who have passed on... ...before my mother, I can be proud, right?

They must be watching.

Eris picked up the crystal Christine had left behind.

"Uncle Frank."

"At your service, Your Majesty."

Eris smiled at him and said.

"This is the first and the last time."

"Pardon?"

"Thank you for raising me all this time, Dad."

Eris ran past the speechless Frank.

And as soon as she saw the massive aura flying in from the distance, she stretched out her hand—

and, clutching the crystal in her hand, she prayed.

Please, to everyone who struggles for the future.

Grant them Your blessing.