TDDCS

Chapter 117 - Queen's Sword

“The child named Nadia is not of Ardenian blood.”

“Yes……?”

Valerian’s eyes widened at Fabian’s bombshell remark.

“She looks a lot like Heila, but she is not Heila’s child.”

“How, how did you know that?”

Fabian recalled a time when she took Nadia to the ‘Hall of Glory’ after her introductory meeting with the nobility.

She was a calm child without fear or embarrassment, even as she suddenly came out of the temple where she had lived all her life and came to live in the Palace. The priest, who took her there, looked at her with joy, saying that her resolute appearance is like a person who would become the next Queen, but Fabian couldn’t shake the feeling of reluctance for the entire time she was there.

However, she prayed earnestly that Nadia would be Heila’s daughter. That way she could end this dreadful succession fight and free herself from the pressure to get Liddell and Erdin to marry. And her own lifespan was getting closer and closer.

So she sent all the rest away and was terrified as she led Nadia to the throne in the Hall of Glory. It would be more accurate to say that she led her not to the throne, but to the Queen’s treasured sword that was embedded next to the throne.

The Queen’s Sword. It was an object used when a family of the two Duchies swore allegiance, the Queen would tap it on their shoulders and declare that she accepted the oath. It wasn’t too flashy and it didn’t look great, and it rarely went out of the Hall of Glory, so people thought it was just an ordinary thing. Maybe they think it should be changed to a new sword every time.

However, the Queen’s Sword was actually the most important item among all the treasures in the Palace. And the secret of the sword was only passed down from Queen to Queen.

“If you succeed to the throne, all of the blood relatives of both Duchies will swear an oath of allegiance to you here. At that time, you just need to lightly touch their left shoulder with this sword and say, ‘I accept the oath.’ Would you like to try it?”

Nadia took a deep breath and took hold of the handle of the sword, thrilled that she would receive the oath of allegiance from the Duchies. It was embedded next to the throne in granite cut in the shape of a cube.

“I’ll take this out…… huh? Ex, excuse me, Your Majesty…… The sword is very heavy.”

Nadia couldn’t even lift the sword with her two hands. And Fabian’s eyes, seeing it, were instantly dyed with conflict.

“Your majesty…… ?”

Fabian’s eyelids blinked slowly while Nadia hesitated, not knowing what to do. Once, twice, thrice…… Behind the third blinking eyelid, the eyes that had no more remnants of conflict looked straight at the last option left to her.

“If the sword is too heavy, let’s change the sword.”

“Yes. That’s better. I can’t even lift it.”

Nadia smiled bashfully as if she was relieved, and Fabian, as if nothing special, led Nadia out of the Hall of Glory. But her stomach was not comfortable.

‘The Ardenian dynasty is over…….’

The reason why the Queen’s precious sword is important is that, firstly, only Ardenian blood can lift it properly, and secondly, it is the Queen’s only weapon that can easily cut through the blood of both Duchies. Therefore, the sword used to swear allegiance had to be the same sword.