I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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The command transmission system of the Demon King’s Army was shattered. The orders previously given to the Gargoyle Queen needed proper adjustments, but that didn’t happen. The massive explosion had a devastating effect on the surrounding magical energy, and the Demon King was temporarily unable to issue commands to the Gargoyle.

Naturally, the Gargoyle Queen acted according to the information she received earlier.

“The earth-shattering explosion means that the Hero and his companions have all been obliterated.”

The Gargoyle Queen muttered to herself.

“Now is the time to lead my army south into the Empire as commanded by His Majesty. Let’s go! The first to enter the system will be none other than this Gargoyle Queen!”

Having already wiped out the Hero’s party, the Demon King had plotted to annihilate the Empire after destroying all military bases of the Imperial Army, with the Gargoyle Queen at the forefront. True to her pre-planned actions, after a few days of simple preparations, the Gargoyle Queen marched south with her army of 100,000. For a brief moment, it seemed nothing could stop her.

However, it wasn’t long before the last surviving member of the Gargoyle race encountered someone she had never expected to face.

With flaming red hair and glimmering steel armor, Crown Princess Rose Caprice, leading thousands of Ironclad Knights from behind, confronted the Gargoyle Queen and her army of 100,000.

“W-what?! This isn’t what I heard! The Hero’s companions should have all died!”

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing the Gargoyle Queen’s words, Rose jumped off her horse.

“Then that was indeed the sound of Walter’s death. Was he the only one who was supposed to die while we were all meant to perish together?”

Rose drew her Holy Sword. She was not the rightful user of the Holy Sword, hence the blade emitted no light. With a blank expression, the Crown Princess pointed the sword tip at the Gargoyle.

“Die. If not, there’s no other way to express my rage. The only way to soothe my sorrow is by killing you. Let’s stop the fooling around. Today, you shall truly die.”

“I have no idea how you got here or how you’re still alive, but it doesn’t matter! Facing 100,000 soldiers with just thousands of you? Bring it on! I will smash your Noble Knights and your pretty little face today!”

The Gargoyle Queen charged forward, leading the charge against Rose. Rose, in her stance with the Holy Sword raised, clashed head-on with the Gargoyle Queen.

But at that moment, something completely unexpected occurred.

As Rose swung her sword with all her might, the Holy Sword emitted a brilliant white light, unleashing the most powerful sword strike in human history.

Even Rose herself was shocked. It was something she couldn’t even begin to explain. The destructive power granted by Iron Wall’s Protection and the pure cutting force of the Holy Sword merged into a miracle-like strength.

The Gargoyle Queen’s diamond-like neck was sliced off easily, like tofu. When Rose had completed her swing, one of the strongest lords of the Demon King’s Army was no longer a living being. Rose stood still for a moment, with the Holy Sword still raised, and then, realizing what had just happened, tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“I just swung that… It wasn’t my power.”

Rose muttered.

“Inside me, inside me…”

The Crown Princess lightly touched her belly, swallowing back her sobs. The tears that had already spilled couldn’t be helped, but crying out loud in front of her subordinates was something Rose Caprice’s pride wouldn’t allow.

“There’s a child inside me.”

Rose hurriedly put the Holy Sword back in its sheath. Using the magical power of an unborn child could have a fatal negative impact on its development. Mounting her horse once more, she pointed towards the confused multitude of 100,000, watching the fallen Gargoyle Queen.

“Smash them.”

“Yes! Your Highness!”

And the Royal Knight Order charged forward. This order was a deviant of iron and a hammer of the Empire, a merciless punisher against the disordered rabble.

Unlike usual, today Rose moved leisurely in the middle of the ranks instead of leading the charge. But just because Rose wasn’t at the forefront didn’t mean the strength of the Knight Order diminished. Judging that they could not confront these troops without the Gargoyle Queen, several Orcs hastily retreated their units back to the east, and Rose commanded, “Chase appropriately, then return.”

The Royal Knight Order took advantage of the chaos caused by the explosion to temporarily breach the enemy’s defense lines and had reached far north, but they didn’t push the enemies all the way here. Delving too deeply was actually dangerous.

Yet, beyond that, Rose now had a true reason not to push herself too hard. She remained on her horse, continually pressing her hand against her belly, looking incredulously at what had just transpired.

The new heir of the Empire was already nestled within her womb, the child of her and Walter. And only now did Rose realize this fact.

“Rose.”

Right after the battle concluded, a Grand Mage dressed in a blue robe walked slowly toward Rose, calling her name. Upon hearing Jeongjae’s voice, Rose hopped off her horse with a beaming expression.

“Grand Mage. Is this for military support? Regarding mop-up operations?”

“Hmm.”

Seeing Jeongjae’s face cloud over, Rose bowed her head. Looking around at the surrounding knights, Rose put her index finger to her lips.

“I know as well.”

“What do you know?”

“What happened here. And that someone who shouldn’t have left us has left.”

Jeongjae was greatly surprised to see Rose’s reaction which was oddly calm. But perhaps it was only natural. She was strong. Much stronger than a normal person.

“I just… can’t cry here. That’s the burden I carry as royalty. So let’s save the details for later.”

Or maybe she was a person with a weaker side than what an ordinary person would expect. After nodding, Jeongjae then asked Rose.

“What will you do moving forward?”

“I suppose I must retire.”

Rose chuckled softly. Jeongjae blinked, suddenly wearing an expression of realization.

“Retire? Wait, ah…”

“Why are you looking like you figured something out? What’s with you?”

“Well, um… there was a reason I could figure it out. It’s certainly not some perverted reason. Trust me.”

Rose laughed while tossing her head back in disbelief. In truth, due to strange reasons, Jeongjae had learned of Rose’s pregnancy before she did, making him the only living human to know. From Jeongjae’s flustered reaction, Rose realized the Grand Mage truly knew about her condition.

She decided not to pry into it any further. Walter had always selectively disclosed subtle secrets to those around him. It was likely someone already knew about this death as well. Someone who she trusted to remain silent and could perform the role she wanted could have already heard the secret from Walter.

She was out of the loop. That was only natural. If she had known Walter was going to die, she would have done anything to stop him.

“Um, Your Highness…”

From behind Jeongjae, the Great Sage of the Magic Tower appeared, leaning on her staff. Spotting Jenis, Rose waved and saluted her.

“Jenis Harker. It’s been a while since we met face to face.”

“I won’t say much. Please accept this.”

Jenis knelt before Rose, respectfully lifting Walter’s monocle above her head. Surprised by Jenis’s gesture, Rose was even more shocked when she saw the glasses resting in Jenis’s small hands.

Rose’s expression twisted into a strange shape for a moment, then bit her lower lip hard as if realizing something. She seemed to hesitate over whether to accept the glasses, but eventually snatched them from Jenis’s hands without a word.

From Rose’s expression, Jeongjae understood she roughly guessed what had gone on between Jenis and Walter. Rose was exceptionally quick-witted.

Instead of getting angry or reacting immediately, Rose slowly turned and began walking back to her horse. Watching her retreating figure, Jeongjae reached out and called after her.

“Rose.”

“What is it?”

“If you’re not going to fight for a while, give me the Holy Sword.”

Rose turned back to Jeongjae wordlessly. Her gaze was terrifyingly empty of emotion. As if about to draw her sword, Rose placed her hand on her waist, then simply let the sword slip from her belt, dropping it to the ground. Was this enough? Jeongjae nodded slightly in reply to Rose’s gaze. Seeing Rose mount her horse, Jenis knelt on both knees and bowed her head toward Rose.

As Rose sat on her horse, looking down at Jenis, she asked coldly.

“I’ll ask you one thing, child.”

Rose said.

“Did you have a choice?”

Upon hearing Rose’s words, Jenis turned pale. Shaking all over, Jenis finally managed to answer Rose.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Seeing Rose’s lips quivering slightly, Jeongjae thought that perhaps he should intervene and deploy a protective magic circle. But Rose merely looked down at Jenis with a perplexed expression but didn’t ask or act further.

“Let’s go back.”

With that, the Knight Order turned their horse heads around and headed south. Jenis watched as Rose’s troops departed, unable to move from her spot for quite some time. Jeongjae, aware that this choice would torment Jenis even more in the future, found himself at a loss for words in terms of consolation.

The scars left on everyone were too deep, but the relationship between Jenis and Rose had crossed the river of irreparable catastrophe. Even if they could understand each other’s positions intellectually, a chasm would always remain in their hearts that forbade them from becoming intimate again.

Though previously their confrontation had been heated, now it was colder than ice. Jeongjae thought that the fervor would be easier to cool than this endless, unresolvable, hellish absolute zero.

“We should… go back.”

Jenis rose to her feet, stumbling. Jeongjae reached out to support her, but Jenis refused.

“I’m not physically tired.”

“But if that’s the case…”

“I didn’t hesitate for even a moment. Do you understand? Not a single moment of hesitation.”

Jenis said.

“It was a chance for me to reaffirm who I am. I see nothing but what I want to protect and what I want to achieve. Everything else doesn’t factor into my judgment. He was a person who could sacrifice even the most precious things for the sake of the noble. Yet I could never… never become that kind of person. I’m far too arrogant and selfish for that.”

“Jenis…”

“If Rose Caprice steps down, and the professor finally rises to the center of it all, then the command of the entire army will be executed by me. If I request it, surely the professor will grant me that power?”

“If you want it, I’ll entrust you with a great deal.”

“Please do so. So I may truly bring an end to all this.”

From Jenis’s face, Jeongjae once again witnessed that chilling gaze, reminiscent of that time she swore with the blood of her father. He felt compassion for this child. Just like Walter, who had unwillingly been thrust into the position of Hero and had to fight for ten years, this girl had been thrown into war due to her own ambitions and was burdened with an unexpected number of wounds.

But it wasn’t just humans who felt complicated emotions during this ordeal. Upon hearing the news of the Gargoyle Queen’s death, the Demon King seated in the Demon King’s Castle muttered with a look of despair.

“The Gargoyle is dead. Even though she clearly killed the Hero, we have lost more than we gained. Machines can be repaired, but where can I find another ruler like her?”

The Succubus Queen cautiously approached the Demon King, who hung his head in distress. Seeing the weakened form of the Demon King, a side of her that had been suppressed was instigated. Violet, witnessing her mother approach, tightly grasped her hand.

“Don’t stray too far, Mother. In this palace where the loyal are foolish and the clever are untrustworthy, if I lose you too, who can I trust to continue this fight?”

“It’s alright, Your Majesty.”

The Succubus Queen wrapped her arms around the Demon King lightly.

“It will be okay, Your Majesty.”

On a normal day, Violet Moriarty wouldn’t have accepted such behavior for the sake of her dignity, but today she received the Succubus Queen’s embrace a bit more gently. It was the first heartfelt hug between mother and daughter in nearly 100 years.