Chapter 183 - As Splendid as a Flame (2)

After that, Karl could no longer plead with the Queen to step down from the wall.

She wouldn't have listened anyway, and the situation did not permit her to retreat.

With an absurdly insufficient number of troops barely holding off the vast outer wall, the number of enemies that had scaled it was already considerable even though the battle had just begun. If the Imperial Knights concentrated here were to scatter in all directions, a few points would collapse in an instant.

The Queen also seemed to know better than anyone else what role she was playing.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be constantly shouting to flaunt her presence to the enemies.

She even changed positions when necessary to lure the enemies.

"Moving to the east!"

At her command, Karl and the Royal Knights fought with all their might to open a path.

And when she stopped, they stood their ground alongside her, cutting down the swarming enemies.

Karl exhaled a ragged, sweet-tasting breath of exhaustion as he cut down another enemy. Looking around, the other Royal Knights were also breathing heavily.

Their once-dazzling sword light had already grown faint.

Karl gritted his teeth.

Even the Queen was fighting, firing her bow until her fingers were stained bright red.

As a knight, he could not dare show weakness.

"Hold out just a little longer."

As he was squeezing out every ounce of his mana circuit and cutting down enemies, the Queen's voice reached him.

"I will hold out!"

He had no time to think about what he was holding out for. Karl simply cut down the enemies with all his might.

Right then, a commotion broke out from inside the walls.

Countless footsteps echoed as people climbed the stairs.

"O Queen! I, Bielefeld! As ordered, I have gathered citizens with resolve and arrived!"

And the Grand Marshal appeared. Dozens of knights from the Marshal's Office were with him.

"Two thousand citizens of The Capital! All are fully armed and have completed their battle preparations! Just give the command!"

At the Grand Marshal's words, the Queen commanded in a voice still full of vigor.

"What is there to wait for? Wipe out the enemies on the wall."

"I receive your command!"

The Grand Marshal, who had briefly knelt before the Queen, sprang to his feet and shouted.

"Citizens of The Capital, assist our knights and soldiers and drive out the enemies!"

At the Grand Marshal's roar, shouts erupted from all directions.

"Beat the dogs of the Empire to death!"

"Protect the Queen!"

Although the citizen soldiers who climbed the wall were not professionally trained in martial arts, their spirit was soaring high.

Prepared to die, they recklessly thrust their spears and swords, and the Imperial Army, unable to withstand their surging momentum, was continuously pushed back.

But falling back on a narrow wall left nowhere to go. Driven to the edge of the wall, they gritted their teeth and attacked the citizen soldiers.

"Aargh!"

"My arm!"

Under the venomous offensive of the Imperial Army, the citizen soldiers died in an instant.

"Capital Defense Force! What are you doing right now! Are you just going to stand by and watch the citizens you are supposed to protect die by the enemies' spears and swords!"

Having caught their breath thanks to the citizen soldiers' intrusion, the defenders of The Capital angrily thrust their swords and spears at the Imperial Army.

The knights scattered sword light as their Sword Resonance rang out.

Unable to withstand that momentum any longer, the Imperial Army also retreated from the wall.

Thus, the first battle with the Imperial Army that had besieged The Capital came to an end.

But the crisis was not over; when the next day came, the enemies attacked the wall with even greater ferocity than the day before.

The soldiers and citizens of The Capital resisted their attacks with one heart and one mind.

At the front, the soldiers and citizen soldiers thrust their swords, and at the back, women and children carried stones and boiling oil.

"Three days at most! Two days at the earliest! If we hold out just that long, the Iron Lion Knights will come!"

The commanders shouted at the top of their lungs, reminding them of the reinforcements that would arrive soon.

However, they were not the only ones who knew of the reinforcements' existence. The enemies were also aware of the kingdom's elite knightly order and their army that would soon storm in.

The Empire's forces were desperate to occupy The Capital and capture the bloodline of the Royal House of Leonberk before they arrived, no matter what.

The battle continued day and night.

"Hold out for just one more day!"

Noble Royal Knights collapsed from exhaustion under the pincer attacks of the Imperial Knights, and the valiant knights of The Capital died in battle while fighting at the vanguard.

The highly loyal defenders of The Capital and the Central Army, the high-spirited citizen soldiers, and the boys and women who rolled up their sleeves just to protect their home, all fell one by one before the enemies' fierce attacks.

"Sir Karl."

The Queen, who had not stepped down from the wall for a single moment over the past three days, remained unwavering despite her exhaustion.

At her voice, as hard as cast iron, Karl Ulrich rather felt his heart constrict.

"The time has come, so you must grant my request."

He had hoped so desperately that it wasn't true, but the Queen was preparing for the end.

"I cannot comply. How could I dare..."

In a voice that sounded like he was coughing up blood, Karl Ulrich pleaded with her to withdraw her request.

"Once the enemies breach the outer wall and tighten their encirclement, there will not even be a chance. Do what you must do."

"What do you intend to do, Your Highness!"

"Though I have lived as a noble lady residing in the royal palace for decades, it seems my soul has always remained in the North, where the harsh northern winds rage."

At those words, Karl Ulrich's heart sank.

It was because he did not fail to understand what the soul of a Northerner she spoke of meant.

A valiant bloodline that wished to fight until exhausted and ultimately lie down upon the snowfields swept by the northern winds—she was intending to die right now alongside the falling Capital.

"Only if the Queen preserves her health can His Majesty the King and His Highness the Prince remain steadfast! How can the mother of a nation seek to share her fate with a mere wall!"

"My brother also perished in the northern winds to protect that mere wall, as did my father and my grandfather. For me, sharing my fate with a wall is nothing new."

"Please survive and plan for the future! The Queen can do so much more!"

Looking at Karl Ulrich, who was now practically on the verge of tears, the Queen smiled gently.

"If I leave, their anger will be entirely directed at the citizens of The Capital. After burning The Capital, they will scatter like migratory birds. And the kingdom will have to struggle against the Empire while leaving the seeds of turmoil in its rear."

The Queen said someone had to stay behind and hold them off until the Iron Lions arrived. And she emphasized that only she could fulfill that role.

"Hurry. The net they have cast is still loose, but it will soon tighten."

No sooner had she finished speaking than one of the soldiers of the Capital Defense Force shouted.

"The western wall has fallen!"

"There is no time to delay."

The Queen pushed Karl Ulrich's back.

"Please, please... I hope to see you again..."

"One hundred cavalry and knights of The Capital will be waiting in front of the North Gate."

Karl Ulrich turned around and left. A dozen Royal Knights, receiving a glance from the Queen, followed after him and disappeared.

The Queen, who quietly watched their retreating figures, grabbed her bow again and glared at the enemies.

She gripped the bow with fingers so crushed they were unrecognizable.

Then, with an unwavering expression, she drew the bowstring.

One shot, two shots, three shots.

She loosed the string and let the arrows fly.

Four shots, five shots, six shots.

Every time an arrow flew through the sky, an enemy's life was extinguished.

But far more defenders and citizens were dying than that.

Seven shots, eight shots.

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through her mind.

The face of a certain man came to mind—a man who, despite missing a single shot while aiming at a stationary target fifty paces away, had looked at her with a triumphant expression as if he owned the world.

People of Ballorhard could hit such a trifling target with their eyes closed. She remembered struggling to hold back her laughter because it was so funny how he puffed up his chest as if it were a great accomplishment.

In the end, while trying to suppress her laughter, she had shot two arrows into the empty air.

["You call yourself a master archer, so why did you miss your shot that day?"]

Time passed and the man became king, but he wondered about the events of that day for a long time. To his face, she couldn't dare say she had made a mistake because she was trying to hold back her laughter at how ridiculous he looked.

She couldn't say that the tip of her bow wavered unconsciously out of pity, imagining the man who would become the king of a nation agonizing for three years and practicing archery just because he couldn't win over a single woman.

So she had just smiled.

At that, the man arbitrarily misunderstood, thinking she had done so because she was pleased with him.

That was funny, so she laughed again.

Forgetting even the pain, she smiled like that and slowly drew the bowstring with her crushed fingers.

And then she held her breath and aimed at an enemy.

"Huu."

She took a short breath and stopped her breathing.

At that moment, the bowstring was released.

The arrow flew through the sky. Unlike before, there was no missing the target this time.

The tenth arrow flew through the sky. An unnamed knight, who had climbed the wall to encourage his soldiers, died instantly with the arrow lodged in the gap of his armor.

The eleventh arrow, the twelfth arrow—neither missed.

"Thirteen. Fourteen."

She muttered softly.

"Fifteen."

The arrows that left the bowstring pierced through a life each time.

"Sixte..."

And just as she was about to pull the string to fire the sixteenth arrow, the bowstring snapped with a twang.

Due to the grueling battles over the past three days, even the strong bow of the North had finally reached the end of its life.

Margarita threw the beloved bow she had been with her entire life onto the ground.

And then she drew the sword from her waist.

"There's the Queen!"

The Imperial Army, which had blackened the wall as it climbed up at some point, saw her and rushed in immediately.

"I am only sorry. Promising individuals like yourselves have met the wrong master and are facing such a harsh fate."

"Please do not say such things. There was never a single moment during our service that was not honorable."

Saying so, the Royal Knights gave a small bow.

"We wish to serve you to the end, but it seems that will not be possible. We offer our farewells in advance. Please take care of yourself."

"Infinite respect to Queen Margarita!"

With those words, the Royal Knights scattered their swords toward the swarming enemies.

Faced with the desperate struggle of the kingdom's most elite knights who were prepared to die, the Imperial Army could not easily approach.

But a single hand could not block ten hands, and ultimately, under the pincer attacks of the Imperial Knights, they all died a heroic death.

Filling the empty spots left by the Royal Knights were the citizens of The Capital.

"Queen! We will buy you some time! Hurry and get out of here!"

Facing opponents that even the Royal Knights could not withstand, people who would fall like leaves from a single sword strike fearlessly thrust their spears and stood against the Imperial Knights.

"It has been an honor to be with you all."

"Please do not say such things. We will absolutely protect you. So please, hurry and leave this..."

A broadly-built man spoke boldly before turning into a headless corpse just like that.

"Protect the Queen!"

The men screamed and formed a wall with their own bodies.

But the knights' swords were sharp enough to cleave through a wall made of soft flesh in a single strike, and they soon fell, spraying blood.

Their empty places were filled once again by women.

They were the maids of the royal palace.

Gripping daggers they couldn't even stab properly with, trembling all over, they refused to step aside until the very end.

An Imperial Knight spat out a curse.

The way they stepped back, as if intending to suddenly cry out for chivalry now that things had come to this, was truly ridiculous.

"Step back. I am not one to hide behind my people, but one who must stand in front of them."

The Queen adjusted her grip on her sword and commanded the maids.

But they did not step aside to the bitter end.

The knights stepped back, and the soldiers thrust their spears forward.

Their eyes were filled with base lust as they looked at the beautiful figures of the maids, whom bastards like them couldn't even dare to dream of touching.

"What you must protect is not my safety, but your own virtue."

As she spat out harsh words like chewing on a blade,

FWOOSH. BANG! BANG!

A signal flare rose from afar.

It went off twice in total.

The first flare was a signal that the princes and princesses had all safely escaped The Capital, and the second was a signal that the Grand Marshal was retreating after rallying the surviving troops.

Normally, she was supposed to fire the third flare.

But she did not even take out her flare, nor did she turn and flee, even belatedly.

From the very beginning, she had no intention whatsoever of escaping The Capital.

Someone had to stay behind to draw attention while the allies escaped, and if possible, delay the enemies until the Iron Lions arrived.

And she believed that role was hers.

In fact, thanks to her drawing their attention on the wall, the Imperial Army was not even paying attention to the two groups that had fled The Capital.

She prided herself on having completed her given mission quite excellently with this.

The final moment was imminent.

The soldiers turned their spears around and approached, shoving the maids.

Even as they were shoved and knocked down, the maids did not stop resisting, swinging their daggers. But they ultimately could not match the fierce soldiers, and they were soon destined to suffer disgrace.

And so, rather than live only to suffer disgrace, the maids chose to embrace the soldiers and throw themselves off the wall.

Twenty maids each grabbed onto a soldier and plunged down the wall.

The soldiers looked down the wall with appalled faces.

"If you surrender, we will let you keep your life. Of course, you will have to endure disgrace."

The knights who had briefly stepped back came forward and advised the Queen to surrender.

The Queen dropped her sword.

The Imperial Knights seemed to think she had decided to surrender, but that was not true.

"I had to live as if my fire was extinguished, but to be able to burn like a flame in my final moments—this is enough."

Instead of abandoning her sword and entrusting herself to the hands of the Imperial Knights, she walked toward the edge of the wall.

"S-Stop her!"

Realizing the situation belatedly, the knights rushed at her urgently.

But before the knights could even grab her, she threw herself down the wall.

'Do not be angry that I failed to keep our promise to leave on the same day at the same time.'

'Please accomplish everything and come late, very late.'

Amidst a distant feeling of floating, Margarita closed her eyes.

* * *

<Born as the eldest daughter of House Ballorhard, Margarita was called the greatest archer of the North until she became the consort of Crown Prince Lionel Leonberk at the relatively young age of 17, and even after becoming Crown Princess, she protected her husband from countless assassin attacks.

Her wisdom and gentleness were not lacking for the role of the mistress of a nation, and she even finally raised her only blemish, First Prince Adrian Leonberk, into a hero of the North through unyielding discipline.

In the war with the Empire, she saved The Capital that was nearly overthrown by the dark schemes of the Imperial House of Bourgogne, faced the Empire's death squad besieging The Capital to let the royal family and key figures including the Grand Marshal escape, and when faced with the crisis of being taken prisoner, she maintained her spirit by throwing herself from the wall.

By the time she threw herself during the siege of The Capital at the age of 43, the number of Imperial soldiers shot dead by her hands reached a staggering one hundred and fifty, and no one was unamazed when it became known that the number of Imperial Knights and commanders who lost their lives to her reached a whopping seventy.

Whether influenced by her heroic end like a flame, after her death the kingdom's army...>

<Excerpt from the life of the Woman of Flame, Queen Margarita Ballorhard Leonberk, from the records concerning the Lion of the North, the Leonberk family, directly observed, felt, and written as objectively as possible by Nicolo Marchiadell>