Second Breath (1)

December 25, 1891

Alex is playing chess with Kumpeu.

Alsophila came up to him quietly but was slow to speak.

"What's the matter?" Alex lowered his head and thought hard.

Alsophila spinulosa: "...Last month, Coco and I went to the back mountain and saw something..."

Alex stopped and looked up: "What is it?"

Perhaps he had made up his mind, and the red tree also spoke quickly: "We saw a village with many people living in it, but there was something like a magic barrier outside the village."

Quinpeu immediately stood up and took a mirror from the table.

This is another mirror that Inger made specifically for Alex.

Alex took it with a serious expression, injected magic power into it, and waited for a few short seconds before Inger answered the call.

"What's wrong?"

"It's urgent. Please come and check on Alsophila and Coco. They found something in the back hills."

Alex asked Alsophila to repeat it again.

Inger pinched his brows and said, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?! Wait, I'll be there right now."

In 1891, they still had to attend the Winter Fire Feast as usual, so Inger asked his family to bring people there early.

After entering the palace, he sneaked into Alex's palace.

Inger examined the bodies of Alsophila and the confused Coco, and found no trace of magic.

Coco didn't know why she had to have the check-up. Alex just told her it was a routine physical health check-up, gave her a basket of desserts, and coaxed her back to sleep.

Inger's voice was more serious: "Coco is still young, don't you know the seriousness of this matter?"

Alsophila was silent for a while and said, "I will report it in time next time."

Inger thought about her past and felt a headache.

[You can't count on her to help. ]

Alex asked Alsophila and Kumpeophagus to go out first.

Alex said slowly: "...It's the material for blood sacrifice."

Inger sat down and said, "It was kept so close, yet it was not discovered. The queen is really well connected in the palace."

Alex: “………Then how do we save them?”

Inger thought to himself: [Sure enough, this is the first thing I thought of. ]

Inger: "I guess the queen must have used a detection circle around the village, but it's the same as what I used before. It can only detect magic power. As for ordinary people, they can't get in, and they can easily be discovered by the guards. The red tree also has the ability to hide and escape, so they were able to slip back."

As he was talking, he frowned: "Did she just ask why Keke suddenly wanted to go into the back mountain?"

"No, but she was still young, and she sneaked out to play..." Alex realized something was wrong halfway through his speech. "Just now Alsophila said that they found the village very easily, and they didn't wander around. Alsophila went there under the guidance of Coco, so how did Coco know there was a village there?"

They looked at each other and called Coco over again.

Coco thought for a moment and said, "This is a secret. My sister said I can't tell anyone else."

Alex asked, “Me too?”

Coco smiled and said, "No."

Inger nodded to Alex and let Coco go back. They then went to ask Alsophila for details.

"Speaking of which...she likes to feed small animals, such as birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc. When she was in the mountains, she often had birds on her hands...and she also imitated the birds' calls."

"The people in the village... their accents are a little different from those of people in the north. I can hear their accents. Some of them have typical southern accents, but I don't know about others. There are men, women, young and old. They don't feel like they are being held captive in the village. They also grow crops and flowers."

Inger let her reply and concluded: "Strange, probably talking to animals or something like that."

Alex asked, "Can't you talk to animals, too?"

Inger: "I need to rely on spells, she doesn't."

Alex: "We have to at least go and see that group of people."

Inger: "It's easy to scare people. Don't worry, let's analyze where these people came from."

In fact, they had already guessed this.

Alex: "Didn't you say before that the knight next to her was with Pombo Hughes? I guess she got a lot of precious ingredients for potions from him."

Inger: "Yes, performing the blood ritual will cause great damage to her body in a short period of time. She needs these potions to save her life."

Alex: "Although the mastermind of the human trafficking incident in the western border and southwestern border was not found in the end, based on the clues we have, we can be sure that the person is in the capital."

Inger: "This village is already here. It is certain that the Queen sent someone to do this. She specifically targeted homeless people and people who were alone, so it was difficult for them to be discovered."

Alex asked, "But Duke Mond told me that the kidnapper received a huge sum of money."

Inger: "That's why so many people kidnap people for her, because the people they kidnap are not nobles, the risk is low and the benefits are high, and the transfer method is cautious, so they are rarely caught."

He continued, "I know you want to know where the money came from. Do you remember that father and son in the Harunga Territory allowed poison to run rampant?"

Alex understood this time: "All that money went to the Queen, but why did he do this? Did the Queen promise him any benefits?"

Inger spread his hands and said, "Who knows? I only remember that Legolas has not yet been tried by the noble court. The process has been delayed for too long."

Alex chuckled. "Then the queen asked the Duke of Southwest Amiel to use the opportunity of reporting and paying homage to the emperor to quietly send the two dukes to the back mountain. She is really good at scheming."

This series of events were linked together, and the spearhead was directed at the Queen.

And she had apparently been planning this many years ago, which shows how deep her scheming was.

Inger felt a chill in his heart.

He suddenly thought of something else. He licked his dry lips and said, "...Do you remember when we went for the actual combat exercise?"

Alex suddenly shut up.

Inger continued, "Including the monster riot you had before, I later thought that something was wrong, because of the nature of the Red Baby Beast, other monsters would not easily approach it, how did it wake up?"

Alex continued: "...unless someone provokes it."

He added: "...it was no coincidence that Rudolph was there..."

Inger could sense the tremor in his voice.

Rudolf was in the camp that was hostile to the Queen, so they had never considered this before, but this is the best explanation.

Rudolf wanted Alex dead, and so did the queen; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Looking at the whole picture afterwards, the truth becomes clear.

The queen knew the news and location of their field internship and revealed it to Rudolf.

They didn't know how she managed to convince Rudolph.

This meticulous layout is enough to make people tremble with fear.

But what worries them most is not the past.

Today, in the comics, is the day when the empress kills the emperor, performs a blood sacrifice, and flees.

Alex failed to stop her that time.

She fled to the newly born Zalambra and joined forces with Andrenon, which led to the subsequent tragedy.

This time, we must not repeat the same mistake.

Inger and Alex found a way to invite the Pope, Orbid, Duke of Mond, the twins' brother, the Hughes sisters and others to the banquet, and also reminded Ola of this matter.

These people now at least have a good impression of them, are able to listen to their suggestions and lend a helping hand at critical moments.

This means that if we want to save these people, we only have one chance today.

"We need someone to go in and check the situation first, but it can't be the two of us." Inger made a quick decision: "Let Alsophila go. She succeeded once and knows the route."

Alsophila spinulosa was called over again.

"…Are you demons?"

"There are only monsters in this world, no demons."

【But there are demons. 】

Alsophila had no way to refuse. They signed a life and death contract. In exchange for her freedom, she had to work for this man for the rest of her life and could not disobey his wishes. She used this as atonement.

Before the banquet started, Alsophila rubripes sneaked into the back mountain to investigate the situation with a look of ready death.

She left quickly, but came back just before the banquet was about to start.

Inger almost thought she would never come back.

"The situation is a bit strange... I talked to the people in the village through the wall for a while. But even though they were captured, they didn't show any intention of coming out."

"What do you mean?"

"According to that person, most of them feel that life inside is much better than outside. They don't have to worry about food and clothing, don't have to pay taxes, don't have to worry about being beaten by the nobles, and don't have to worry about committing crimes. That person is relatively kind and didn't ask anyone to arrest me. He said he hadn't seen anyone from outside for a long time."

"Did you tell him that the Queen wants them dead?"

"…said…he said that if that was what she wanted, they would be willing to die for her. He said that they had lived like dogs before, but now at least they were living like human beings, and they were satisfied."

Inger and Alex were silent after hearing this.

Alex finally said: "He alone cannot represent the opinions of everyone. The Queen has no right to decide anyone's life or death."

【But these people can at least decide their own life and death. 】

Inger felt complicated.

Out of humanitarianism, these people must be rescued, but even if they are rescued, it will be a very troublesome task.

Some people are willing to be deceived and used. What can others say?

He and Alex are on opposite sides of this issue.

But he wouldn't tell Alex that.

At the Winter Fire Feast, they nervously prepared for the Queen to attack, and Alex even went to the King's bedroom, which he had not entered for a long time, to wait there.

Except for the emperor who was half dead on the bed.

The queen never showed any sign of abnormality. She stayed in the hall socializing and never left.

The palace was lit all night long.

A river of candlelight flows through the city.

Alex stayed by the king's side all night.

While others were watching the beautiful fireworks rising into the sky, while others were dancing to their heart's content, Inger was staring at the queen and hearing the clock strike midnight.

Amid the splashing bubbles of Cupitoo, the flying pink petals, and the clinking of wine glasses, the flawless face with the perfect smile seemed to lose its smile for a moment.

She stood by the window, facing the silent night sky, gazing into the distance, becoming the only silent presence in this hustle and bustle.

Unable to suppress the clamor in his heart, Inger glanced at the mechanical clock. It was now 1891.12.26.

Important historical events are rewritten at this moment.