The Queen turned to Jason in surprise, and she wondered how Jason managed to figure out what was really happening! The reason why the Queen had been speaking so timidly back then was because she knew that the guards who went outside were still capable of hearing their conversation. The guards were all very powerful, and their senses were sharp as well, so even if they had gone to a separate room, it was still possible for them to hear what she was saying, and if she had given a wrong answer to Jason’s question or if she said something that the King didn’t approve of then they would’ve reported it to the King and she would’ve suffered for it.
Jason watched the Queen shuffle slightly in place as she looked around and spoke in a low voice.
"How do I know they can’t hear me. I-I don’t want to get in trouble."
Jason’s eyes narrowed as he felt a surge of anger fill his heart. What in the world did that King do to this woman for her to be this terrified of him? Wasn’t she his wife? The only reason she would be this scared to even talk about him is if he caused her some sort of massive trauma. Jason let out a calm sigh, and then he set a condition on the world.
[A Condition has been placed on the world]
[Condition of the Land of Lost Shadows: Every Word Spoken Must Be True]
The Queen looked up in shock as she heard a voice echo in her head, and she wondered what that was. But once the Queen heard the condition, she turned to Jason in shock. What just happened?
"I placed a condition on this world to make sure neither of us can lie anymore. I promise that no one outside this world can hear anything that you’ll say in here. And no matter what you tell me, I won’t let anyone harm you. I’ll protect you."
The Queen felt her eyes tearing up once she heard Jason say this, and for a long while she still felt hesitant to speak. The Queen had been through so much, and she didn’t ever think anyone would care to help her, so she didn’t know if she could trust Jason either! But there was something about Jason’s presence that made it difficult for her to stay silent. Jason looked like someone who would never go back on his word, and the Queen decided that this might be her only chance to save herself. If she couldn’t even rely on the Overlord of her domain, then there was no one else she could rely on!
And so, the Queen began speaking, and she told Jason everything.
Jason learned that the Queen’s name was Phina and she was once the daughter of a noble who ruled over a farming region in L’horm. He learned about how the King’s hatred drove him to hate his younger brother, and he also learned about how the King forced Phina to marry him, even though he knew that Phina really loved the younger brother. Phina spoke about the mysterious poisoning that paralysed the Prince, and she told Jason how the King sent his own brother to the freezing landscapes of the eastern continent out of jealousy! At this point, Phina was bawling her eyes out like a baby, and Jason had to give her a few seconds to get herself under control before she continued while sniffling miserably.
"Prince Makin came back a few years later with a mercenary group called the Jamani, and they attacked the palace with great strength. The soldiers fought them for months, but there was nothing they could do against those mercenaries. It was like the mercenaries were built specifically for war. They had strength and viciousness unlike anything the L’horm soldiers had prepared for. It wasn’t long before King Vanix was forced to flee from L’horm, and since I am his trophy wife, I was dragged along with him. I would have preferred to stay back and die in that war. I wanted to die so many times. Please, my lord. Save me from that monster. I don’t want to live like this anymore."
Queen Phina wrapped her arms around her body desperately, and she fell to her knees in the murky, shadowy water beneath her. Jason could see genuine misery on the Queen’s face, and Jason knew that everything the Queen said to him just now was the truth.
Jason had been right about Vanix’s story not adding up. Vanix did not seem like the sort of benevolent king who would be attacked without any reason, and now that Jason knew the truth, Jason had to really think about what he would do next. The obvious course of action right now was to do everything in his power to liberate L’horm from Vanix, but Jason knew that the obvious path wasn’t always the best path in situations like this.
In truth, Jason actually did not have any right to involve himself in anything that had happened on L’horm. Although Jason was the Overlord, and it was his job to protect his domain, his jurisdiction only extended to interworld events. It was only when the actions of a certain world began to affect another one that Jason had a right to interfere. Everything that had happened between the King, his brother, and Queen Phina was completely outside of Jason’s jurisdiction, and the Primordial Treaty would actually punish Jason if he dared to interfere. But at the same time, Jason couldn’t just turn a blind eye to the obvious tyranny going on in his domain. Jason might not be able to interfere directly with the affairs of the royal family, but the fact that the younger brother, Makin, had hired mercenaries to support his takeover meant that Jason now had a legitimate reason to get involved.
And if Jason was going to get involved, then he would clean up this whole mess once and for all!
Jason crouched and put his hand on Phina’s shoulder before speaking kindly.
"Thank you for telling me everything. You’ve been really helpful."
Phina was still crying intensely, and she turned to Jason with a tear-stricken face and asked him if he was going to help her.
"Please don’t abandon me, my lord. You’re my only hope. Please."
Phina spoke in a broken voice that showed just how desperate she was for help. Phina had spoken to many elders and nobles back on her world about how much she was suffering at the King’s hand, but she had been turned away by them every time since no one wanted to get on the wrong side of the King. If Jason also abandoned her, then Phina would have no choice but to kill herself!
Jason gave Phina a kind smile, and Phina felt all her worries melting away when she heard his next words.
"Don’t worry, Phina. I’ll make sure the King never hurts you again. I swear it on my name."
Phina was absolutely captivated by the confidence on Jason’s face, and in that moment she felt something that she had locked away years ago slowly beginning to fill her heart again. Hope. Jason had only given her his word, but Phina felt like this was the only thing she needed, and it wasn’t long before Phina began to bawl her eyes out once again as she launched forward and hugged Jason desperately!
Jason pat Phina’s back kindly as he allowed her to cry her heart out, and his eyes narrowed into a heavy look as he began to put together a plan.