The 108 ceremonial cannons fell silent at last, their brilliant bursts of colorful mist still drifting lazily across the sky. The heart of the capital was packed shoulder to shoulder, a sea of people so dense that not even a drop of water could slip through. Every face turned upward toward the high platform where the groom and bride stood—the happiest couple the kingdom had ever known.
Queen Renner wore a crown of gleaming gold, and she answered the roaring cheers of the crowd below with a warm smile. At her side stood the groom, Climb. Today he was dressed in a crisp, pure-white military uniform that made his tall, handsome figure even more striking.
His right hand was tightly laced with Queen Renner's left, fingers interlocked, their love so sweet it seemed to overflow. Every subject watching felt a pang of envy and offered the most heartfelt blessings to the newlyweds.
Queen Renner held Climb's hand as if she feared he might vanish, terrified that the scene before her was only a dream. His palm was strong and solid, pouring the pure strength of love into her.
She waved to the people gathered beneath the platform, her heart brimming with rosy-pink joy. She knew she had finally claimed everything she had ever longed for.
Power. The throne. Command of the army. Riches. And the man she loved more than life itself. Queen Renner leaned gently against Climb, and he gazed back at her with the same tender warmth, making no attempt to hide the depth of his devotion.
After countless hardships, after wading through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, after threading her way through the thorn-choked forest of schemes and betrayals, Queen Renner had at last reached the finish line of her happiness.
…
In the roaring heat of a kingdom-wide celebration, the wedding ceremony drew to a flawless close.
Queen Renner still wore her dazzling golden crown and now a flowing gown of pure white lace. Climb stood beside her in his own crisp, pure-white formal military uniform. She slipped her arm through his, and together they walked into the palace's sacred hall, step by step deeper into its halls until they reached the royal bedchamber.
An enormous bed of the softest silk brocade waited for them, covered by a cashmere quilt light as drifting clouds. Renner sat on the edge of the wide pink bed and looked deeply into the eyes of her beloved Climb.
"Finally," she whispered, "I can stay with the person I love most for the rest of my life… together, forever and ever."
Queen Renner's heart hammered like a startled deer racing through the woods. In the midst of savage political bloodbaths and cutthroat intrigue, her mind had always stayed ice-calm, but now, facing her new husband, a shy, rosy blush spread across her cheeks—sweet and innocent.
"You're so beautiful," Climb said, the words rising straight from his heart. He gazed into Queen Renner's sapphire eyes, his own overflowing with endless, deep love.
Her heart thumped wildly. Queen Renner slowly closed her stunning eyes, tense yet eager, waiting.
Waiting… waiting…
Waiting for Climb to wrap his arms around her waist, for his lips to meet hers, for him to slip her wedding gown from her body…
Seeing the longing in his bride's eyes, Climb answered with pure tenderness.
He reached out with his strong, muscular arms and gently encircled Queen Renner's slender waist, still wrapped in layers of white lace. His lips lowered softly, about to kiss her lovely, rose-red mouth…
"SURPRISE! MOTHERFUCKER!"
A furious roar exploded from the ceiling like thunder, shattering the sweet pink haze in an instant.
A black figure dropped from above, crashing down hard between Renner and Climb and forcing the newlyweds apart.
"ASSASSIN!" Queen Renner screamed in terror, but before the word fully left her lips, a man darted out from the corner and jammed a magic wand into her mouth. She gave two muffled grunts and could make no more sound.
Climb reacted in a heartbeat. Rage boiling over, he lunged at the black figure. The intruder extended a slender but iron-strong arm, seized him by the throat, and lifted him clean off the ground. Climb struggled helplessly.
Queen Renner collapsed to the floor. Only then did she clearly see the face of the black figure—it was EeDechi.
EeDechi held Climb suspended in the air and turned her gaze downward to the fallen queen. Her eyes held neither sorrow nor joy.
"Long time no see, Princess Renner ."
Queen Renner's mouth hung wide open as she stared at EeDechi in utter disbelief. Despair flooded her eyes, as if she were looking at a vengeful spirit clawing its way out of the deepest abyss of Hell, come to drag her down and claim her life.
"Remove the silence spell from her," EeDechi said coldly.
"As you command, Captain!" Franco answered. He waved his wand in a quick circle over Renner's head. He and EeDechi had slipped into the palace together and hidden themselves inside this very bedchamber.
Franco had already cast a soundproofing spell and a magical barrier beforehand. Even if Renner screamed until her throat tore apart, no sound would escape the room, and no magical message could get out.
"It looks like you already know everything that happened before," Queen Renner said, her head drooping in defeat. She didn't dare meet EeDechi's eyes.
"Princess Renner, you betrayed me," EeDechi said sternly, her black eyes freezing with icy contempt as she stared at the queen.
"I'm sorry." Renner sat on the floor, her face filled with despair.
EeDechi flung Climb aside like a rag doll. Franco instantly conjured an enchanted rope and wrapped it tightly around him, binding him completely.
Climb burned with rage. He fought and strained with every ounce of strength, but he couldn't move a muscle.
EeDechi crouched down and spoke to Queen Renner in a voice as cold as steel. "I only suspected you at first. But after seeing how you reacted, I'm one hundred percent certain now."
"I'm sorry…" Queen Renner whispered. She had always been quick-tongued and sharp-witted, able to out-argue the most cunning and treacherous nobles without ever losing ground. Yet now she had nothing left to say and could only repeat the same dull "I'm sorry" again and again.
EeDechi activated her Innate Talent and glanced at Queen Renner's Justice Value. It read 102, showing that the queen truly was wracked with painful remorse deep in her heart, not desperately scheming some way to fight back.
Queen Renner's voice trembled as she spoke. "I know what I did. To seize the throne, to get what I wanted, I stopped at nothing. I piled up a mountain of blood debts. I lived every day in terror, terrified that the day of reckoning would finally catch up to me… and now it has."
She wept softly, tears streaming down her face without end.
"If you do wrong, you have to pay for it. Don't you agree?" EeDechi looked at Queen Renner, her eyes showing not a trace of pity.
"You can kill me outright or torture me however you like—I won't utter a single word of complaint," Queen Renner said, lifting her head and pleading with EeDechi. "Just… please spare Climb. He's innocent. He had no part in any of the crimes I committed. I beg you…"
"Your Majesty!" Climb cried out in anguish from the floor. Hearing his queen's desperate plea gave him a sudden burst of raw strength. He thrashed wildly against the enchanted ropes, fighting to break free.
Franco saw it and instantly reinforced the magical chains around Climb. He conjured a tall wooden chair, strapped Climb tightly to it, and stuffed a gag into his mouth.
"Captain, we need to punish them properly!" Franco declared, his voice righteous and firm.
EeDechi gave a small nod of approval, but she still hadn't decided exactly how to punish Renner—or whether she should kill her at all.
While the dreamer EeDechi was still thinking, the man of action Franco had already started.
He turned the chair Climb was bound to so that it faced the wedding bed directly. Then, with a dab of magical glue, he sealed Climb's upper and lower eyelids open. Climb would be forced to stare straight at the bed and would not be able to close his eyes even for a second.
Franco hauled the collapsed Queen Renner up from the floor. Right in front of Climb, he crushed his lips against hers in a fierce, deep kiss, holding it for several long, deliberate seconds.
"!"
EeDechi's eyes flew wide open, as if she had been struck by lightning.
But it wasn't over yet. Franco slammed Queen Renner down onto the wedding bed and ripped her wedding gown open with both hands.
The expensive white lace wedding dress tore apart in an instant, exposing her fair skin and white underwear.
"NO! DON'T!" Queen Renner screamed in horror.
Her new husband Climb's eyes bulged with rage, the veins at his forehead ready to burst. He thrashed like a madman, but the enchanted ropes held him fast to the chair. With his eyelids glued open by magic, he couldn't even shut his eyes.
"What the hell are you doing!" EeDechi grabbed Franco by the back of the neck and yanked him off Renner. His hand had already slipped inside her underwear.
"Why are you stopping me?" Franco asked, eyes wide and face the picture of innocence. "It's their wedding night. Tie up the groom, then do whatever you want to the bride right in front of him. Isn't that the classic NTR plot?"
"You…" EeDechi was so furious she could barely speak, smoke practically pouring from her ears.
"Sorry, force of habit." Franco realized his mistake and immediately slunk obediently into the corner.
EeDechi turned her gaze back to Queen Renner. The queen now lay sprawled on the bed, hair disheveled, wedding gown torn open, arms clutched protectively over her chest, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes—a perfect picture of fragile, pitiful beauty.
"How long are you going to keep up the helpless act?" EeDechi stared at her with a blank expression. "Aren't you going to use the power Ainz gave you?"
Renner gave a bitter smile. "What good would my power do in front of you?"
EeDechi reached toward Climb, murderous intent radiating from her like a blade of ice. "Then I'll kill him first."
"Please! I beg you, spare him!" Renner cried out, but EeDechi ignored her completely.
Just as EeDechi's fingers were about to close around Climb's throat, Renner suddenly sprang up from the bed. She floated in mid-air, a pair of black demonic wings unfurling behind her. Two sharp demon horns pushed out from her forehead, and a long, black, spiked tail slid out from beneath the torn wedding gown.
This demonic imp form was the exact power Ainz had granted her. She was no longer human—she had been transformed into a demonic imp.
Climb's eyes darted from EeDechi's hand to the hovering Renner. His already wide eyes bulged even larger, filled with pure disbelief.
From the time he was a boy, he had held himself to the strict code of a knight and had grown into a true model of chivalry, living up to every expectation.
In his heart, Renner had always been a noble, pure, and flawless being, like a pristine white magnolia blossom. Even when rumors of her bloody methods behind the scenes reached his ears, he had dismissed them as nothing but ridiculous gossip.
He could never have imagined that Renner would ever look like this—a real, living demon!
"Release Climb!" Renner shouted. She dove straight at EeDechi like a black streak, but EeDechi's hand had already closed around Climb's throat.
"Now that's more like it," EeDechi said. In a flash she changed direction, seized Renner by the neck, and lifted her into the air. "A husband and wife should be completely honest with each other, after all."
Renner thrashed in mid-air, strangled by EeDechi's iron grip. She was slowly suffocating.
EeDechi hurled her to the floor like a discarded rat.
Renner slammed face-down onto the cold marble tiles and lay there motionless. The black demonic wings on her back twitched helplessly.
Then EeDechi planted one foot on Queen Renner's back, leaned down, grabbed both of the queen's sharp demon horns with her hands, and twisted with a little force.
Crack!
The two pairs of black demon horns snapped clean off in EeDechi's grasp.
"AH!" Renner screamed in agony.
EeDechi seized one demonic wing in each hand and gave a sharp tug.
Riiip!
The two pairs of demonic wings were ripped out by the roots in a spray of blood. The fascia where the wings joined her back tore apart, splattering red flesh across the floor.
"AAAHHH!!" Queen Renner's scream this time was even louder and more agonized.
But it still wasn't over. EeDechi reached under the torn wedding gown skirt, grabbed the base of the tail, and yanked with brutal force.
Riiip!
Renner's demonic tail was ripped clean off in EeDechi's grip!
"AAAHHH!!!" Renner unleashed a blood-curdling shriek.
EeDechi flung the blood-drenched tail onto the ground in disgust. Even severed from its owner, the pointed appendage—still trailing strands of raw red flesh—twisted and writhed like a gecko's severed tail.
Franco grinned with delight from the side. "Whoa, that's some serious brutality, Captain! I love it! Next, do we snap off her fingers one by one?"
"Enough," EeDechi said. She hauled the limp Renner up and flung her onto the bed like a filthy rag.
Crimson blood soaked into the pure white wedding gown, staining her tangled golden hair.
Renner lay on the bed, sobbing softly with no resistance at all, looking pitiful and small like a child who had just been bullied.
EeDechi stepped in front of her. "I should have killed you. Even if Ainz himself were standing here, he couldn't save your life.
"But the political situation in Re-Estize has only just stabilized. If I kill you now, Re-Estize will be thrown into a massive power vacuum.
"The royal family, the nobles, the powerhouses, and the merchants would start slaughtering each other for control again. Conflicts would flare up, wars might break out, and the People of Re-Estize would suffer once more. Because of that, I've decided to spare you for the time being."
Queen Renner stopped her quiet sobbing. Choking back tears, she said, "Thank you for your mercy. I am endlessly grateful! I swear I will do everything in my power to protect the People of Re-Estize! I have loved the People of this kingdom from the bottom of my heart. Ever since I gained power, I have never stopped working to help them live better lives."
"Hahaha." EeDechi let out a scornful laugh. "I've never believed for a second that someone capable of murdering her own family, someone who wouldn't hesitate to cut down subordinates who served them for years, would actually care about People she's never even met. That kind of fairy tale only works on children."
Queen Renner stayed silent for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Yes, the truth is that I never loved the People. I only pretended to love them, hoping their gratitude and praise would boost my reputation and prestige and help me gain even more power so I could finally be with Climb."
"That doesn't matter," EeDechi said, looking down at her with a faint smile. "As long as you can keep pretending for the rest of your life. I'll be watching you the whole time."
Earlier, EeDechi had brutally ripped out every demonic feature from Renner's body, but that didn't mean she had reverted from her demon form to human. She was still a demonic imp.
Even though Renner's Justice Value fluctuated wildly and dramatically, EeDechi still stepped onto the bed, pulled out a golden fountain pen, and—under Renner's terrified stare—pressed the tip to her forehead and infused her with Justice Value.
EeDechi put the pen away and gazed at the cowering Renner. She let out a soft sigh. If it had been Barrett, he would have chopped Queen Renner's head off long ago. That was probably why Barrett hadn't joined the operation.
"Draw a long-distance teleportation circle," EeDechi ordered Franco.
"What's the destination?" Franco unrolled a world map and said seriously, "I have to warn you first: without exact coordinates, the landing spot can be way off target! I'm not joking—the farther the distance, the harder it is to control, and the bigger the deviation will be!"
EeDechi glanced at the world map and pointed casually at a spot. "This one. The primeval forest south of the Draconic Kingdom. Send Renner there. As for how far off the mark it lands… that's up to Princess Renner's own luck."
"No problem!"
Franco was a true professional mage. In no time at all, he drew a magical teleportation circle right on the bedroom floor.
EeDechi shoved Queen Renner onto the circle. "The thing I hate most in this life is being betrayed by someone I trusted! I didn't kill you—that's already the height of mercy. As for what happens after you get teleported… that depends on your own wilderness survival skills."
Queen Renner hung her head, crystal tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, but she didn't dare resist at all. She just gave a weak "Mm, mm" and nodded.
Whoosh! A flash of white light burst from the teleportation circle, and Queen Renner vanished from the bedroom.
Climb watched his beloved disappear. He struggled in agony on the chair, but his strength finally gave out.
Tears had begun streaming down his face at some point. He cried silently, unsure whether it was because his love had been taken from him on their wedding day, or because the pure, flawless woman he loved had secretly become a demon behind his back all along.
EeDechi untied the enchanted ropes from his body and yanked the gag from his mouth. Climb stood up in confusion, wiping away his tears, unsure what EeDechi planned to do with him.
EeDechi spun Climb around to face the bedroom door, then kicked him in the ass and shouted:
"Go on, brave knight! Grab your longsword, put on your sturdy armor, and rescue the princess! Isn't that how all the fairy tales go? And remember—if you dare run off and tattle to anyone else, both your lives are finished."
Climb stumbled forward two steps from the kick and ran out of the bedroom. He knew there was nothing he could do right now; he had no power to fight EeDechi anyway.
Besides, deep down he understood that his beloved had indeed betrayed EeDechi. Not being killed was already a merciful outcome. If it had been one of the hundredth-level demon gods from the Sorcerer Kingdom, they would have torn Queen Renner to pieces long ago.
Climb stripped off the cumbersome groom's formal wear and raced desperately out of the palace to save his princess.