Chapter 176 – Chapter 35: Battle #3 (1/2)

Chapter 176 – Chapter 35: Battle #3

Silvan, Felicia, Chris, and Caitlin returned to their mansions in the evening, with Anastasia at the forefront.

In contrast to what he had expected, Anastasia only left In-gong’s mansion after finishing dinner. She noticed Chris’ looks before and after the meal but continued as though she didn’t care. Caitlin smiled because she thought it was an opportunity to get closer to Anastasia, but Chris was different. In Chris’ eyes, Anastasia was just staying to spy on them.

Although his mood wasn’t great, Chris didn’t explain about what had happened on his mission. However, Caitlin briefly explained that he had done moderately well fighting against the creatures.

Anastasia was more curious about In-gong’s life among the lizardmen than Chris’ life. She knew In-gong and Felicia had stayed at the Dragon Temple, which could be called the sanctuary of the lizardmen, but she couldn’t understand what they had been doing there.

In-gong just smiled while Felicia talked about the brilliant appearance of the Dragon Temple. It felt like the conversation at Baikal’s tea party.

“The Dragon Temple seems amazing.”

Although Caitlin seemed satisfied, Anastasia and Chris didn’t look that good. Chris frowned while Anastasia hid her displeasure behind her elegant appearance.

“Let’s talk again in the future.”

In-gong said in a small voice to Chris, who was the last one to leave his mansion. When he was finally alone, In-gong sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Carack asked from behind him,

“Prince, what is it?”

“I still have a conversation left.”

Carack made a puzzled sound, but In-gong just headed upstairs. He didn’t forget to give instructions to Flora whom he met along the way.

‘Master, you seem to be nervous.’

“Yes.”

In-gong took a deep breath in front of his bedroom door before opening it.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Your Majesty the 4th Queen.”

4th Queen Elaine Moonlight was sitting in a very comfortable position on In-gong’s bed. She wore a blue dress with a narrow skirt, but it fit well with her dark blue hair.

“My appearance isn’t a surprise?”

“The appearance of the 4th Queen is within the expected range.”

In-gong laughed bitterly as he closed his bedroom door. Without opening the mini-map, he could feel Ludwig’s presence on the balcony. Elaine frowned slightly before smiling at him.

“Hmm, did you notice that I broke into your bedroom?”

“I am a little sensitive.”

In-gong responded appropriately as he stood before the window which led to the balcony. Elaine smiled once again since it was exactly opposite from where Ludwig was hiding.

“I heard about Curtis. Anastasia doesn’t have the same personality as her mother. Well, no, to be precise, there are only several layers of bark on top of the egg… at least for now.”

“For now?”

Elaine nodded pleasantly at In-gong’s question.

“Isabella said so. You are an older sister killer. Don’t you turn your older sisters into fools?”

Elaine laughed like she found it very amusing, while In-gong gave a soulless laugh.

“Hah, how interesting. Anyway, there are several reasons for me to visit today. Can you come over here?”

Elaine patted the area of the bed next to her. As In-gong approached reluctantly, she pulled a necklace out of a box she had prepared in advance.

“This…?”

“This is the Lycanthrope Tears.”

It was a yellow jewel lodged in a wolf’s claws. This was the first time In-gong had seen it.

‘Is the Lycanthrope Tears also part of the tears series?’

A total of three tears had appeared in Knight Saga:

The Tears of a Dark Elf gave a powerful mental defense;

The Succubus Tears could create a love potion;

And the Draconian Tears restored the wearer’s magic power. Yet now, there was the Lycanthrope Tears.

‘Could it be that there is one for each queen?’

It was a moderately interesting story. In-gong was able to understand why this was the first time he had seen the Lycanthrope Tears.

In Knight Saga, Silvan had cut off Elaine’s head. Zephyr hadn’t participated in the lycanthrope subjugation until the end. Zephyr’s purpose had been to wipe out the lycanthropes and weaken the other children of the demon king, not build up his own merits.

‘Then is there a Gandharva Tears? Will something happen if I collect all five in the set?’

It was like a game idea, but it really seemed like that might happen.

‘I’ll need to check.’

If the Gandharva Tears existed, then there was a high possibility it would be with the remains of the 5th Queen.

“Shutra?”

In-gong raised his head at the voice he heard from right beside him. He turned toward Elaine only to see her face right before him.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, I was just a little surprised.”

In-gong responded quickly and pulled back, increasing the distance with Elaine again. Elaine stared at In-gong before leaning toward him. Then she placed the necklace around his neck.

“The Lycanthrope Tears gives the owner a powerful regenerative ability. Have it. It will be very helpful.”

Despite how small the three necklaces were, they stood out. He would switch all three pendants onto a single chain later.

‘Is this why she said she would return before?’

Elaine had said she would return with something in exchange for killing Gerard.

“The next thing is about the court gathering.”

Elaine frowned and changed the topic.

“At this court gathering, the 1st Queen and 2nd Queen are likely to participate. Sylvia is also participating. So, in fact, all the queens of the palace will be present.”

1st Queen Aishar Ragnaros and 2nd Queen Titania Nekrion… In-gong knew why Elaine wasn’t comfortable. In Knight Saga, the relationship between 2nd Queen Titania and 4th Queen Elaine had been very bad. The two of them were an example of a cat-dog relationship.

“You have already experienced the court gatherings a few times, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. Rather, the problem is the back issues.”

The court gathering was essentially a venue for publicity. Even though 3rd Queen Sylvia had appeared suddenly at the last one, it hadn’t caused a problem to the process itself. It was after the court gathering that Sylvia’s tea party invitation had appeared.

“1st Queen Aishar isn’t a big problem. The problem is 2nd Queen Titania… She isn’t the same as Anastasia. She is a really scary woman. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

1st Queen Aishar had a similar nature to 1st Prince Baikal. She was very gentle and rarely left her mansion, spending most of her time on gardening and reading books. However, Titania was different. She was a thorny rose, a poisonous flower.