If he was capable of truly saving the Queen, he was an enemy.
Perhaps reacting to their hostile aura, an overwhelming presence erupted into the hall through the doors.
The audience froze and the Queen watched with interest as a dark-haired youth entered.
At a glance, he looked weak, not even able to control the Divine Energy leaking from his body.
However, they could feel the heavy aura of death on him.
The guards reacted.
"Who are you!? Apprehend him!"
They swiftly encircled Neo and pointed their weapons at him.
His aura made him look like a monster ready to pounce on them.
They mistook him for an intruder.
"Let him be," the Queen spoke.
The ministers wanted to advice the Queen against letting such a dangerous person free.
However, they noticed something wrong about her expression.
She was…
Smiling.
Her lips, soft and succulent, were stretched into a small, irresistible smile.
A chill went down everyone's back.
"It's the sign of the slaughter's arrival…"
Someone muttered.
The Queen maintained her gaze on Neo.
Her eyes were glowing and, hovering before Neo, she could see something no one could.
[Name: Neo Hargraves]
[Rank: Grade 5 Awakened]
[Bloodline: Monarch of Death]
The audience hall was enveloped in blanket of silence.
It was broken by Neo who was in a daze.
"You…"
He stared at the thick aura of Death covering the Queen.
His strong Death Affinity allowed him to roughly guess the time of arrival of other's death.
Death had touched her already.
She was resisting its call through her overwhelming might.
But…
"You will die in 3 days."
Neo's words brought a catastrophic change to the mood in the audience hall.
Some were sceptical of his words.
A few looked distraught.
Most of them were happy.
Amelia grabbed his wrist.
"W-what? How can you be so sure? We have the Divine Water pond—"
"The Divine Water won't help. You can use it to concoct potions and elixirs but it's already too late for her."
She would die.
Just like how she died in the novel.
The Tyrant Queen maintained a calm expression despite the news.
Looking at her, no one could guess she was at death's door.
"Today's audience is adjourned," the Queen spoke.
Her smile snapped the people out of their stupor.
Thinking carefully, how could an Awakened Demigod like Neo guess the time of the Tyrant Queen's death.
However, it was weird. The Queen was not killing him after his discourteous words.
They suddenly had a terrible thought.
Was this the Queen's plan, to see who supported her death, and she planned to kill those who she deemed guilty?
While the ministers were dragging their feet out of the hall, the Queen told Clara,
"Bring him to my office."
She stood up and left.
Neo turned to Amelia and saw her staring at the floor with a blank gaze and clenched fists.
"Please follow me," Clara spoke.
She took Neo to another room.
The door were not as big as the audience hall but equally majestic.
"He is here, my Queen," Clara spoke after knocking the door.
"Send him in."
Entering inside, the first thing Neo noticed was the Tyrant Queen, Elizabeth.
She was preparing tea with a smile.
"I never thought I would meet a kin of the Great Death God, Hades, in my life. A recently Awakened Demigod at that," she spoke while beckoning him to sit. "Why are you here?"
"To sell the Divine Water pond."
He sat on the sofa.
His eyes were unconsciously drawn to the potted plants next to the window.
"Is this why Amelia brought you here? I have to refuse your offer. I don't need the Divine Water since I'm going to die either way."
As expected, she knew.
However, the fact she called Neo to meet her meant he had something she needed.
"However…" she added. "I could think about it if you, the Death's Inheritor, could save me."
"I can try, but I need to know what is happening to you."
Neo knew why she was about to die.
He still needed to hear it from her mouth.
Because it would be suspicious if he knew something no one other than the Queen did.
"I'm cursed."
She revealed the answer easily.
Neo thought he would've had to bargain more.
He faked a thoughtful expression.
In truth, there was no need to think, this was the reason why he came here.
To collect the hidden piece that allowed the villain to destroy the Mermaid Kingdom singlehandedly.
The Tremor-ranked Magic Spell he asked for was just a smokescreen.
"I can save you. Of course, you must also give me the Tremor-ranked Magic Spell that the princess promised."
The vulnerabilities hiding behind her calm expression showed for a split second.
But she hid them quickly.
She brought the two tea cups and placed them on the table.
As she sat across Neo, she poured tea into the cup.
Elizabeth had asked him if he could cure her as he was the blood of Death.
Never did she imagine he could actually do it.
She stopped her arms from trembling and spoke calmly,
"If you have this much confidence, you must have something you want from me."
"Your most prized possession." He smiled. "Give it to me."
He couldn't say it outright that he wanted her weapon, the replica of Poseidon's Trident.
His words, however, were direct enough for her to understand him.
"You want the Poseidon—"
She stopped speaking and turned to the doors.
A playful smile appeared on her face.
She spoke loudly as if she wanted the person hiding behind the doors to hear her.
"My most prized possession. You want my kingdom? You'll have to marry my daughter for that to happen."
"What?"
Neo did not understand what she was talking about.
Why did she suddenly change the subject from Poseidon's Trident to the marriage?
"Oh dear, I don't mind it since you have a noble bloodline, but I don't want to force my daughter into a political marriage. Not when you are weaker than her."
"I don't want to marry your daughter."
Neo, irritated, decided to answer back.
"If your Kingdom is your most prized possession, I'd rather marry the Queen and become the King, instead of being the princess' fiancé."
The Queen cupped her face with one hand.
"My goodness, are you saying you want me?"
...
A/N:
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