Chapter 1

Chapter-1

The heavy curtains shut out any sunlight that would have entered the room. A dark room dimly lit with mana stones had a grim look to it. But the queen liked it better this way, it helped her think logically and it gave her some sense of respite from the eyes of her advisors, who would jump at the chance to take over when they saw her condition.

Alexandria was in her bed, coughing into a red silk handkerchief, which did little to conceal the blood she had stained it with. She had her eyes tightly shut, refusing to show weakness. The queen had to maintain an illusion of the strong, to keep her people's morale high…, especially at times like these.

"My Queen, You must see reason!" an advisor, beside her barked, "You are in no fit state to manage all of the kingdom's accounts. You must pass on your duties! Claire is of age and she is a competent leader as you know. Perhaps if you-"

Oh, so that was what this was about. Claire was eligible to be queen. She had been so, for the last 2 years. However, being eligible didn't mean that she was ready for the responsibilities that came with the title. An unwilling soul would only lead the kingdom to doom.

Alexandria sent a cold look towards the advisor who immediately backtracked.

"I think," The queen said, "that I know very well what I must do. Claire is not ready for the throne." Of course, she wasn't. Queenship was a privilege, not meant to be forced on anyone. A duty to the people was meant to be cherished, not despised.

… But the advisor had a point, her health made it impossible for her to even go outside to the public eye to see her. And the seer said that she had no more than several months left to live. The odds of Claire changing her opinion of the throne at that time were laughably low. But a mother could still hope.

And then suddenly, there was a knock on the door and a soldier came into the room and Knelt stiffly with the sword on the floor, but also not leaving contact with her hand.

"Your majesty," she said "Her highness wishes for an audience with you"

Alexandria sighed.

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Claire glared out through her window. She was furious. All efforts by her to drive the demons away seemed more futile than it ever was, most of the border forces were wiped out and the demon attacks were seemingly getting worse. Of course, the demons didn't outnumber them or anything, no there were only a couple thousand demons in total, and that was including the peaceful ones.

The demons, with their massive stamina and natural affinity for magic, were far more vicious than most humans could ever hope to be. While humans can borrow the power of nature and use it to some extent, the demons had achieved total mastery in the art.

Claire unconsciously reached for her sword. She was a princess, and with her mother, the queen's ailing body, she would soon be queen herself. It wasn't that she was not ready for the responsibility really. But it was…

Claire sighed. All that mattered was that she refused to take up the mantle.

Of course, as the princess, Claire had been trained to be Queen for as long as she could remember. But this also meant that she knew all the intricacies of politics, the power struggle of the nobles, and the growing poverty due to the corrupt lords.

She sighed.

'I have to do something'

Her musings were interrupted by the door in front of her opening. Through it came the short, armoured woman she had sent inside.

"The Queen shall see you now," she said, kneeling on a leg, fist on her chest over the heart.

Conversations with the palace staff were always the same. Short, precise, respectful. They were no better than robots. Claire doubted there was anyone in the entire castle who would speak their mind.

'Well… I guess there is one.'

Shaking her head as she focused on the royal guard, she nodded and went through the door. To her mother's room.

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The room was dimly lit. The curtains were pulled to block the sunlight and mana stones were used to light the place. The queen was seated on her bed, looking as serene and beautiful as ever. Nobody would ever suspect she was ill.

Kneeling on a leg, Claire bowed.

"My Queen," she said.

Her mother, Alexandria, nodded.

"You wanted to see me?" The queen said simply, no small talk. Not that Claire could blame her. Ever since she took ill, she'd spent every conversation with her trying to get her to take the throne.

Claire rebelled. Her mother was unwell, and she had, maybe, a few months more to live, taking the throne from her was just too final. Of course, she could just order her to do just that but, for some unknown reason, she did not.

That aside though, what she was about to say made her cringe thinking about her mother's reaction.

"We have found a lead," she said after a pause. Of course, she meant a lead on the demons. A small town was annihilated, with no survivors at all.

"So it seems," said the queen with no surprise at all. She already knew.

"I wish to go investigate." Claire managed to say under Alexandria's gaze. Her palms were beginning to tremble.

Her mother was a kind woman, she loved and laughed with her. But right now she was not talking with her mother. She was dealing with the queen.

The queen had a big reputation. She was renowned as 'The Queen of Ice' throughout the land. And that was not just because of her proficiency in ice magic, but because of her cold expression that would make people freeze up when talking to her. The cold expression that betrayed nothing.

And now Claire was on the receiving end of that expression.

"The kingdom needs a queen, Claire," said her mother.

"And it has one," Claire didn't know what possessed her to say that, but her mother had to understand. She was queen, and she would always be queen… at least to her

"We've been through this Claire," the mother said "Numerous times. The country is being raided by demons. A weak leader like me cannot hope to control the kingdom. I left many of the kingdom's decisions to the nobles. But the nobles. They are becoming bolder each day. Taking advantage of my absence to pass decrees that I wouldn't approve of. And illegally increasing the taxes in the name of war."

Alexandria continued.

"Not to mention the army. With each passing day their morale drops. They too are beginning to suspect I'm not fit to lead the country."

"That's not true…" Claire wanted to shout, but all that came out was a whisper.

Alexandria was unperturbed. "We both know that it is," she said, locking eyes with her daughter. Her eyes were fierce and Claire could not keep her gaze. She looked down, clenching her teeth.

"I shall allow it." Claire heard the queen say after a while. It took her a while until she understood what her mother meant. And when she did, her head snapped up, bewildered. Her eyes were wide.

"But the next time you come back you shall take the throne," said the queen.

Claire opened her mouth to speak, but the queen overrode her.

"It's a royal decree," she said calmly

It seemed that the queen had finally reached the end of her patience.

Claire knew her mother was using her love for her. But even if she did, she couldn't do anything. Claire knew Alexandria would come back in a couple of weeks, even if the investigation yielded no results. She could not leave her dying mother by herself.

Claire stared at her mother for a while. Then she bowed.

"I understand," she said. Then she got up and took one last look at the queen. She wasn't even looking at her. She hadn't been looking her in the eyes from the day she did the one thing she hated more than anything.

She had lied to her mother.

"I do not wish to be Queen" She'd said