Chapter 186

“Who goes there?!”

Even in his drunken state, the king reacted to my sudden appearance.

Though, said reaction consisted of him grabbing the small sake cup beside him and pointing it at me, so it was quite the sight.

Anyway, as I gazed at the king radiating alcohol fumes, I began to speak.

“Consider me a wandering traveler. I overheard you’re having marital troubles with Her Majesty, correct?”

“Ho, how did you…?”

“Skipping the dull details of how I know. Allow me to make a proposal.”

The king, his face flushed from drink, merely frowned at me.

Well, considering he’s facing a random girl spouting suspicious words and hasn’t even called for help yet, it’s clear he’s too drunk to think straight.

Makes things easier for me though – simpler is better.

“Do you wish to reconcile with the queen?”

At my words, the king, unable to think clearly, looked at me with blurry eyes.

Then he slowly nodded his head.

“I want reconciliation! With the queen! The woman I love! Why must we be separated?! Why was such a… such a little beast born to her?! Why in heavens name?!”

The king, brimming with pent-up frustration, unleashed another wave of royal wrath.

With an opponent this disheveled, getting what I want should be a breeze.

“Very well. I shall assist in resolving the issue regarding the birth of the little beast to the queen. However, there is one condition.”

“Condition? What is it? Do you desire gold and treasure? If so, I can provide it without hesitation!”

Truly, the words of a wealthy city-state king.

But that’s not what I’m after.

“I’ve heard of a certain ‘monster’ – a little beastman – living in this city. Hand him over to me, and I’ll offer my aid.”

“That monster? For what purpose?”

“For various uses.”

After pondering for a moment, the king readily agreed.

“Fine. I don’t know what you plan to do with that nuisance, but taking him off our hands is doing us a favor! Take him as you wish!”

Without a shred of hesitation, the king sold out his own child. My, what a heartless father.

Though, from the king’s perspective, it’s not his own child but someone else’s. It’s understandable, given the lack of modern genetic testing.

He wouldn’t believe that the so-called ‘monster’ is truly his son.

Thus…

“Then first, let me take a strand of your hair.”

“My hair? Why?”

“To resolve the problem. If you prefer, a drop of blood would suffice too. Just a simple verification process.”

“A strand of hair will do?”

The king promptly plucked a strand and handed it to me.

Was drawing blood really that distasteful?

“Excellent. One strand of hair. I’ll put it to good use.”

“But can this really lead to reconciliation with my wife through just a strand of hair?”

“Of course.”

“How exactly?”

I simply smiled faintly at the king.

It’s tedious explaining things to someone too drunk to comprehend properly.

“Just by eliminating the cause of the argument.”

Since they suspected infidelity due to the birth of a little beastman, proving that the little beastman is indeed their biological child should resolve the conflict.

Though, new conflicts might arise after this one is settled… but hey, not my problem!

I just need to take the little beastman and that’s all.

“Once this is done, rest for a bit. After a good nap, everything will be resolved.”

Having lulled the drunken king to sleep, I stealthily exited the room.

My next destination: where the queen resides.

Unlike the king drowning in liquor, the queen sat with a sorrowful expression, caressing a small garment.

The queen, deeply immersed in grief, pale-faced, continued to stroke the clothing.

“That poor child… what sin has it committed…”

The queen sighed deeply again and again.

“If there was any sin, it’s mine for not being able to give birth to a human child. How could you cast the child into the underground labyrinth, Your Majesty?! Truly unforgivable…”

Hmph. Unlike the king, the queen considers the child labeled as a ‘monster’ her own.

In that case, the story becomes simpler.

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

“Wh-who’s there?!”

“Just a passing traveler.”

While uttering something that wouldn’t convince anyone, I flashed a small smile.

“I’ve heard rumors about a little beastman called a ‘monster’ and came to investigate. Judging by your appearance, this child belongs to you, does it not?”

“Wh-who?! Intruder?! There’s an intruder!!!”

“We were in the middle of a conversation, weren’t we? Though, that is the normal reaction.”

The king, who drunkenly conversed with a stranger appearing out of nowhere, is the abnormal one.

“No matter how much you shout, the people outside won’t hear you, so don’t waste your energy. Ah, the door won’t open either.”

The queen, seemingly ignoring my words, gripped the tightly shut door and struggled against it, but the barrier-fixed door wouldn’t budge.

I merely wanted to have a calm chat. Well, talking with unexpected intruders isn’t exactly normal either.

“Stop your futile efforts and let’s have a chat instead, Queen. Don’t you wish to save your child?”

At this, the queen paused her attempt to open the door. Child. The queen’s child. The child called a ‘monster’.

“Just now, what did you say…?”

“Exactly as it sounds. Isn’t the child in the underground labyrinth? Don’t you feel pity for them?”

Even with rumors spreading about the ‘monster’, holding the child’s garment in hand and yearning for them as a mother… only sadness would remain.

So, let’s exploit that.

“If I help, I can retrieve the child from there.”

Here, I propose something different from what the king desires. The king seeks reconciliation with the queen. And what the queen desires… must be to rescue the child in the underground labyrinth.

If I can satisfy both, then I’ll fulfill promises made to both sides.

“What do you think? Are you interested in hearing more?”

I smiled faintly, while the queen, tense, hesitated slightly.

——————————–

“Isn’t this excessive, Your Majesty?!”

“Yes, it is excessive.”

“Even though the child was born a little beastman! A child from my womb! A child I endured painful labor to bring into the world! Just because the child has horns of a cow! You refuse to recognize it as your own!!”

“Indeed, yes. Quite excessive.”

“Normally praising the beastmen as sturdy and reliable, how could His Majesty so easily change attitude like flipping a palm?! Isn’t this excessive?!”

“That’s true! That’s right! Going back a couple generations, there might be beastmen mixed in. There’s even a possibility that one of the king’s grandmothers was a beastwoman.”

“That’s right! Exactly! The only man I’ve ever loved is His Majesty!!! To doubt someone like me like this!!! I never knew His Majesty could be so petty!!!”

“All men are like that. A little suspicion can completely change their attitude. Or maybe His Majesty was like that from the start, and you just had rose-tinted glasses on.”

“Exactly! Honestly! Nowadays, His Majesty is so deep into drinking that he neglects his duties entirely! It’s truly excessive!”

“What can be done. Thought it was pure love, but now doubts of NTR have crept in, affecting His Majesty’s judgment. From your perspective, it’s been pure love all along.”

“Pure love? What’s that?”

“Pure and clean affection. Seeing only one person, loving only one person, a sincere and intense love without room for anything else.”

“Oh my… what a splendid phrase.”

“Isn’t it? Pure love is great. Pure love forever! Shout it with me!!! Pure love forever!!!”

“Pure love forever!!!”

And thus, somehow, the queen and I became friends.

Hmm. Didn’t expect to become this friendly.

“Anyway, I’m working on retrieving your child from the underground labyrinth, so if it’s alright, could you spare a strand of your hair?”

“A strand of hair? Of course, even a handful if it means rescuing my child!”

And with that, the queen grabbed a fistful of her hair. No need to go that far…

“Just one strand will suffice, so don’t pull too much.”

Following which, the queen plucked a single strand and handed it to me.

“So how exactly will a strand of hair help rescue my child?”

“It’s nothing special. Just proving the blood relation between the king and the child. If we can definitively prove their blood relation, the king shouldn’t have any other objections, right?”

“How exactly is that possible?”

I took out the king’s previously stored strand of hair.

“The body contains life information, so it’s possible to prove relations using that.”

Explaining genetics and such would be too difficult. This vague explanation should suffice.