Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!-Chapter 247 : Loyalty, Part Five

A royal carriage.

Melisa still couldn't believe it. Yet here she was, sitting in a carriage arranged by Queen Aria herself, watching the city roll past outside her window.

[Who would've thought?] She smirked to herself. [A year ago she was trying to have me arrested for killing her mother, and now...] She sighed. [No, no, Mel. Get over it. If she wants to move on from that, you should move on from that too.]

The newspaper in her lap drew her attention back to reality. There it was, right on the front page:

"MORE NIM INSURGENTS ATTACK NOBLE DISTRICT - Former Court Sorceress' Manor Set Ablaze"

Yep, the attack on Javir's manor had made the news. It was easy to forget since Melisa just saw Javir as a snarky teacher and not much more, but like she'd said before, she was the former court sorceress. She, like Melisa was slowly becoming now, was kind of a celebrity.

[They're not even trying to downplay it anymore,] Melisa thought, scanning the article. [At least they didn't mention Mom and Dad.] Melisa's eyes narrowed. [But, the question is: was Javir the only target... Or were those nim also trying to kill my parents?]

Quickly she tried to calm herself down, though. She was already mad enough.

The article went on about the "growing nim menace" and how "proper citizens should remain vigilant." Reading between the lines, Melisa could practically taste the fear.

"Proper citizens," she muttered. "Right."

The carriage hit a bump, making her bounce in her seat.

[Hopefully, Aria listens to me.] Melisa looked out the window. [I hope her attitude toward this problem hasn't changed.]

The carriage turned onto the palace road. Guards stood at attention every few feet, their armor gleaming in the morning sun.

The carriage turned onto the palace road. Guards stood at attention every few feet, their armor gleaming in the morning sun.

[They went too far this time,] Melisa's hands clenched in her lap. [I don't care if they're nim. I don't care if they're angry. They tried to kill my family.]

She needed to handle this. Before it got even more out of control. Before someone she cared about got hurt. Was that a selfish way of viewing this issue? Sure, but she didn't care.

The carriage came to a stop. A guard opened the door, offering his hand to help her down.

[Time to see if Her Majesty's ready to do something about this.]

---

The palace gardens were exactly as pristine as Melisa remembered them. Somehow, though, being back here felt like coming back home in a way. All that time with Zephyra in this place had made it feel nostalgic.

[Though the view's definitely improved since last time,] she thought, trying very hard not to stare at Aria too obviously.

The silver-haired queen had traded her usual formal gowns for something lighter, more suited to the garden. The dress she wore had one large slit on the right, showing off one of the queen's slender, pale legs.

Melisa forced herself to look away.

[Stop checking out the queen, you horny disaster.]

"Thanks- thank you for meeting with me," Melisa said, following Aria down one of the winding paths. She tried to sound a bit more professional.

Guards maintained a respectful distance behind them, but Melisa could feel their eyes on her back. Her mind went back to that walk she went on with Queen Melara.

[Still can't believe I actually got to keep my head on my shoulders.]

"Of course." Aria's voice was tired. Up close, Melisa could see the shadows under her eyes, poorly hidden by makeup. "Though I have to admit, your letter was... unexpected."

"Thought a nim wouldn't have the gall to write you directly?" Melisa smirked.

"Not many people write to me directly, period." Aria stopped by a marble bench, gesturing for Melisa to join her. "Besides, you aren't just any nim, Melisa."

[Well... At least I've got that going for me.]

Melisa sat down, careful to maintain a proper distance. Even if Aria's opinion of Melisa had gotten mildly better, she didn't want to invite any questions about how she might be using her pheromones or something.

Before they could really get into it, though...

"You look tired," Melisa said before she could stop herself.

Aria's lips twitched.

"Running a kingdom will do that. Especially when some of your citizens are setting each other's houses on fire."

[Right. The reason I'm here.]

"About that..." Melisa started, then paused.

How exactly do you tell a queen that you want to help hunt down your own people?

[Carefully. Very carefully.]

"I wanted to talk about the... nim issue we've got going on." She inhaled sharply. "You know that arson attack on former Court Sorceress Folden's house?"

"Yes...?"

"Well... My family lives there. They almost killed my family," Melisa said bluntly. No point dancing around it. "My parents, my little sister..."

"I... read the reports." Aria's fingers traced patterns on her dress. "I didn't realize your family had been staying with Miss Folden. I'm sorry that happened. Though I'm curious why you came to me about this. Surely the city guard-"

"The city guard is useless and we both know it." Melisa caught herself. "Your Majesty. They haven't managed to stop any of these attacks. Given what happened at the conference..."

Aria nodded.

"There's a chance they could have switched sides right under our noses. That would indeed be troubling."

"Yeah," Melisa nodded. "I feel like if anything's going to be done about this... It'll probably be us who do it."

"I agree. Though, I don't really know how we could get started on fighting this issue."

"I could think of a few things. Give me some time," Melisa replied. "But, that's just one topic I wanted to ask about."

"The other is...?"

"Armia Duskscale," Melisa said. "A darian friend of mine. Why is Armia being sent to the front lines?"

Aria's face tightened.

"Ah. That."

"She's a stellar mage, a dedicated student, and ironically, a patriot. Keeping her in the city would-"

"Would make perfect sense," Aria finished. 'I know."

[Oh.]

"... Politics?" Melisa asked, though she already knew the answer.

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Aria nodded.

"Due to the nim attacks, some nobles want action against the non-human inhabitants of Syux. Remind them of their place, their nationality, so to speak." Aria gave a bitter smile. "And, what better way to test a darian's loyalty than to have them fight other darians?"

"That's fucked up."

"That's being queen." Aria stood, walking to a nearby rose bush. "Do you know how many assassination attempts I've survived this year?"

Melisa blinked.

"What?"

"Three." Aria shrugged, staring at the roses. "All from my own court. Turns out, just throwing the Shadow Mages beneath the palace in jail didn't magically turn everyone against them. And, personally, I would like to delay the fourth for as long as possible. So yes, sometimes I have to send good people to do stupid things. Because the alternative is being removed from power by people who would do much, much worse."

...

Melisa didn't have much of an answer for that.