F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!!-Chapter 226: A ’Well-Deserved’ Vacation
"...Is something wrong, Esther-sama?" Elizabeth asks as I violently cleave several prisoners in two. I glance at Elizabeth, who easily picks up that something is off.
"I don’t know," I tell her honestly as she looks at me, confused.
"...Sorry, but I don’t understand. You seem furious, but you don’t know why?!" she says, as if wanting to be sure.
"Exactly, Elizabeth. I am angry, but I don’t know why." My blessing is to blame. It’s trying to warn me about something, but I don’t know what, and that frustrates me. Frustration turns to anger, anger turns to bloodlust, and without Evelyn here to give me her blood, I grow more violent due to a Ghoul’s instincts.
"I just want to kill people because I’m hungry." I can’t stop thinking about Evelyn, about eating a piece of her. Yet, something is obviously wrong. My blessing only does things that benefit me in some way.
In other words, the blessing trying to warn me and making me irritable must be a sign, with a hidden answer I need to find. Besides, Adam hasn’t come to give me the report he was supposed to.
Which is very strange. He should have come to deliver the latest information he found, but all contact with him has vanished. And since I’m on the battlefield by the Demon King’s orders, I can’t return yet.
"Esther-sama, do you want me to return to your mansion to try and find Adam?"
"No. I need you here in case of an emergency. For some reason, every means of communication with the kingdom has been disabled. We’re cut off from information, but it wasn’t the angels." This is strange.
’Could we have been sabotaged? But by whom? And why sabotage communications with the kingdom?’ Sabotaging communications is pointless. I am here, and that’s all that matters. No trap set by the enemies would work against me because my blessing would warn me.
’That’s the problem with having such an abstract ability.’ I have no idea what my blessing is trying to tell me. It’s like an instinctual "alarm" that screams something is happening, but doesn’t say what.
"Esther-sama, if you’re hungry, shouldn’t you eat something?"
"I know. That’s naturally obvious. But nothing is as delicious as my wife..." I lick my lips, remembering the magnificent taste of Evelyn. Even her hard scales are tasty.
"Since it’s a long mission, it will probably be a while before you see Evelyn again. Until then, all that’s available is the blood and flesh of the enemies... but if you want mine, I’d give it with a smile." Elizabeth offers herself to me in a somewhat forward manner.
"I don’t want that garbage."
"A-Ah... that’s so mean to me... but it’s okay... I’m sorry for overstepping. Do you want me to do something to calm your anger?"
"...Try to see how they’re sabotaging communications. You’re strong; if someone is hunting our messengers, you should be able to find them. But don’t stray too far from this area. The angels won’t stop attacking, and I might need you." I tell her, leaving the prisoner area where I’ve killed almost everyone.
’I need to find out what’s wrong as soon as possible.’ My blessing never fails. Its "alert" is important, and it’s happening constantly, just as the blessing activated on its own.
"Oh, Commander Esther, have you finished what you were doing?" A sub-general was passing by outside and sees me. He’s in a full suit of red armor that covers his entire body.
"Yes, I suppose you could say I’m finished. How is the situation with the angels?" I ask him, looking at the destroyed battlefield.
"It’s excellent. We’ve dealt with almost everything. They’re quite desperate to destroy the [Bridge] they built. They probably miscalculated, thinking they would keep the bridge for themselves."
"But since it was taken over very quickly, they ended up not keeping it. Now they’re actively making various attacks to try and reach it. However, since everything is being blocked, they’re just taking unnecessary casualties."
"That’s how it should be," I tell him, grabbing the sword Evelyn made. I want to test how good it is in real combat, and how destructive its lightning magic can be.
...
...
...
"This is perfect. Everything went according to plan." I slump into the throne as all the Shadows bow to me. Evelyn now bears all the blame for "my death," while I am free of all responsibilities.
Since no one but Esther knows the truth about my appearance being that of a small girl, no one will ever suspect that I didn’t die. Now I’ll just disappear and enjoy life.
"Finally, eternal vacation!!!" I look at my armor. It’s great to know I’ll never have to wear that thing again. Tomorrow they’ll hold the "funeral" for the Demon King. I’ll attend the funeral and then disappear.
Leaving all responsibilities, duties, and problems to my children. A few things went off-plan, like Evelyn just accepting everything and not trying to defend herself. But my plan was perfect, and even her accepting the blame doesn’t change much.
"Shadows, now that I’m leaving, you must stay here and serve the new Demon King who will emerge. But don’t forget, what happened must never be told." The Shadows never told anyone the fact that it was all a setup.
"Understood, Your Majesty..."
"No need to call me that. I won’t be around anymore. I’m just going to enjoy my life under the new name Crimson." I tell them, waving my hand. I still hold the title of Demon King, but I’ll soon lose it when I’m succeeded. I just accelerated my retirement a little.
"Crimson-sama, then what do you wish done with Evelyn? Should we kill her to avoid loose ends?" One of the Shadows questions. It would make sense to kill Evelyn; that was my original plan.
I wanted her to claim innocence so she could be accused and executed with "evidence." After all, even though the story is well-made, it has several holes, but everyone will ignore those holes to protect themselves.
’Killing Evelyn...’ It would be easy. She’s imprisoned, and if by some chance a supposed guard were to kill Evelyn "by accident," no one would care. After all, she’s the "traitor" who killed the Demon King.
"No, you can let her live. Her being alive or dead won’t make a difference. She will never be able to clear her name. Besides, killing her after she ’confessed’ to the crime would be bad." Esther would be furious.
And Esther is the one with the highest chance of becoming the Demon King. If Evelyn had been executed justly, Esther would be angry but couldn’t do much since it would be the law, even if she found out it was a setup.
But if Evelyn dies in an "unjust" way, like being killed in prison after her punishment is supposed to be just imprisonment and torture, Esther will snoop around too much and look for culprits to destroy.
And eventually, she would find me, revealing to everyone that I’m alive, and I don’t want them to know I’m alive and didn’t really die. As long as Evelyn remains alive, Esther will "ignore" what happened to a certain extent.
’Besides, considering how opportunistic Esther can be, no doubt Esther will use this to get even closer to Evelyn.’ Esther, as angry as she might be about what happened, will also "gain" something from it, so she won’t have as many reasons to try and find me, even if she suspects I’m not dead.
"Understood, Crimson-sama. If Lady Esther decides to start investigating, should we stop her?"
’...’ I think for a moment.
"No. Just ensure she can’t find anything indicating I’m alive. But don’t hinder her." If they hinder her, Esther will search more vigorously. So it’s better to let her search and find nothing on her own. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"We have already begun eliminating all traces, Crimson-sama. It will take 3 days at most, and there will be nothing left to indicate the fact that you are still alive... aside from, of course, the fact that you appeared before several nobles and Evelyn herself."
"Excellent." It’s obvious that with the physical description, Esther, who already knows my appearance, will deduce it was me. But with just the appearance, she won’t have any real indication that I’m alive, and even if she thinks I’m alive, she won’t know where to find me.
"And how is what I asked for before?"
"Your request has been completed, Crimson-sama. The storage ring contains everything you need for a luxurious and pleasant life. The paradise island you chose already has relics deployed to hide it from everyone and has all possible constructions for a perfect life."
"Great!!! Perfect, indeed. I can’t wait to enjoy my private island with no one to bother me."
"Now you may go. Finish everything that needs to be done for tomorrow’s funeral, and have the teleportation relic ready. I want to vanish from this continent as soon as the funeral ends." I sit sloppily in the throne on purpose, no longer having to care about my image.
"Goodbye, useless work life, and hello perfect paradise life!" I smile excitedly about this. I don’t care that I framed my daughter and threw her in prison. I’ve worked too much for this kingdom; I deserve my vacation with no one coming to bother me.
And to achieve that, accusing a daughter of a horrible crime is the least I could do. I would do much worse if it meant having the peaceful life I desire.
I DESERVE this vacation. I worked 21 hours a day, 7 days a week for over 200 years. I’m just taking the peace I deserve, and I no longer have the patience to wait for the competition for the throne to end, since this stupid war could delay the succession and force me to stay and help!!
Now all that’s left is for me to enjoy my life, which will be wonderful from now on. I can almost feel the beach sun on my body and the delicious taste of food without having to worry about responsibilities after the meal. I’m going to love my sweet, well-deserved, perfect retirement.
