Chapter 1356: 19.15 Second Red Star - The Upset Queen
At the King's Palace...
Titania Ambrosia dressed appropriately as the queen and then made her way over to see King Augustus Kaiser once more. Upon his arrival, he witnessed Colonel Cyril Bailey and Marquess Conrad Silver paying a visit to the Zerg monarch. The two did not appear surprised when he arrived, despite the fact that they had anticipated it. As usual, Marquess Conrad Silver disregarded him.
Colonel Cyril, on the other hand, stops by to offer him some tea.
Colonel Cyril Bailey said after serving tea to his table, "Please wait for a while. Your Majesty is still busy as my husband is still reporting the result of training with that spiritual cultivation technique. There is a lot of opposition from the noble's side."
"That's as expected. There isn't much problem with the female zergs; how's the situation with the male zergs?" Queen Titania asked discreetly.
Colonel Cyril Bailey smiled kindly and pretended that he didn't notice the hidden intention in the Zerg Queen's words.
"It's a bit bad. The male zergs are too used to authority. The moment they tried to return to their tyrant ways, my husband turned them all into cripples. They became weaker than they used to be after being beaten up. There were a lot of complaints, but King Augustus ignored them and left everything to my husband.
In the end, they relented and had no choice but to train quietly," Colonel Cyril Bailey said.
Queen Titania felt uneasy at this point because of Colonel Cyril Bailey's amiable smile. Seeing as how he ended up grinning while telling him about the torment the male zergs endured under this duo, it is obvious that this smiling girl is not your typical human. The zerg Queen's face betrayed none of his nervousness. Throughout the conversation, he maintained his composure and won Colonel Cyril over.
Marquess Conrad had just finished his report at this point and was coming over to their table.
He said to the Queen, "You Highness, the queen. The King had called for you. As for my wife and me, we shall take our leave. Do excuse us."
When they received their next assignment, Marquess Conrad and his wife, Colonel Cyril Bailey, took their leave and departed from the king's palace. They were instructed to grip the male zergs' reins tightly.
The only thing that can be done to stop Queen Titania from eradicating the Zergs is to chastise them—rigorous disciplinary training to dispel their preconceived notions that they are superior to the Female Zergs.
Following their departure, Queen Titania reappeared before King Augustus. From his appearance alone, the latter does not appear to have altered much since their last meeting, but Queen Titania can sense the strong fluctuation of his aura. Though his physique may give the impression that he is feeble, this delicate look ultimately falls short of the menacing aura that this monarch is giving off.
While Marquess Conrad left him with the profiles, King Augustus began perusing them. Their analysis revealed that these were some of the females who best matched Lord Hei's characteristics. There are quite a few, and when Queen Titania arrived, King Augustus's plans to travel covertly to see how these people were doing were derailed.
"You're here again. I thought I told you. You are free to do as you wish," King Augustus said.
Queen Titania didn't mind this king's temper and said, "This time I would like to have permission to go out of the Hive. Only with your majesty's permission can I leave without problems."
"Is it because of those halflings you caught? Is it worthy of you to move personally?" King Augustus asked. "Give me an honest answer."
"I'm bored and wanted to flex my body to fight outside for a bit, and on the way, try giving those halflings one last chance for fun," Queen Titania answered honestly.
King Augustus's hand quivers momentarily. His eyes flicker for a single second with confusion, but before the Zerg Queen in front of him can notice, he settles himself quickly.
Sigh~
King Augustus asked, "Are you going alone?"
"No. I will be one of my direct subordinates. Just five at most. Don't worry, I won't reveal my identity unless necessary," Queen Titania said.
King Augustus thought for a moment and said, "You may go, but remember that there are among the human race that can use mental abilities as well. In this case, the humans called guides are not that different from a make-zerg. Keep this in mind."
Hearing the cold-hearted king give him a fair warning left Queen Titania speechless for a moment before responding, "I know. There shouldn't be that powerful a guide among the human race of this era."
"No. There is. In every world there is a person called a heroine or a protagonist shou. They will always pair up with the strongest human and would be the greatest support of this man. Don't be arrogant. There is always someone stronger than someone," King Augustus warned.
Feeling a bit belittled, Queen Titania looked upset and said, "I will never lose to a mere human! Excuse me. I will need to make final preparations before departing."
The Zerg Queen was a little miffed that he was being treated with contempt when, in truth, King Augustus was only concerned that he would venture beyond the area under his guard. Nevertheless, Augustus Kaiser kept his word and released the Queen, as he had promised with the first ship he now possesses.
King Augustus murmured, "Yue, come!"
Upon summoning the little moon system, System Yue, who was about to leave with Queen Titania, had no choice but to come back to his lord.
System Yue said, [Yes, Lord. You called?]
"I don't care what means you use. Investigate the real relationship between Augustus Kaiser and Titania Ambrosia. I want every piece of information about them, including their past. Also, you will go with him when he leaves the Hive. This is your priority," King Augustus said.
System Yue was in disbelief. He was surprised when the lord took Queen Titania under his wing. Even though the lord solely shows possessiveness toward Lord Hei, this protection is nonetheless surprising for such a little system.
[My lord, do you also think...]
"No. Gather the information I want. You are not to return until you find everything I tasked you to find! Leave!" King Augustus said.
[It's been a while since I saw the blackened version of the Lord. If Queen Titania and the real King Augustus happened to have a real relationship, what in hell would happen in this case? Chaos would definitely befall in the hive. How scary!]
The idea that perhaps Queen Titania is actually Lord Hei's soul fragment appalled System Yue, who senses the growing anger in this man's heart. If such is the case, though, would not it imply that Lord Hei has fallen in love with someone unrelated to the God of Void? It makes sense why the King of Zergs is on the verge of losing his mind. When his master evicted him, he fled right away.
Walking away from the lonesome, shadowy form of King Augustus, whose obsidian eyes changed to rich scarlet irises. These red orbs are swirling with madness, fury, and darkness. When the craziness inside it would blow out was uncertain.
"Impossible. You are mine, you can only be mine. If your relationship with Augustus is real, then you can't be my Jing'er. My Jing'er will never fall in love with any other man than I am!" These are the crazed words mumbled by King Augustus, who had fallen into deep madness.
---
Unaware of the madness he had left behind, Queen Titania was upset. His subjects greeted him with confusion on their faces when he returned in a foul temper to his palace. He is genuinely offended by what King Augustus said to him. At this point, his pleasant demeanor toward the queen became sour.
"Your Highness, are you alright? Did the King not agree for us to leave the hive? Though this is to be expected, I..."
"He agreed. We can leave the hive anytime. I am upset about another thing. Hmp! That man. I thought he was different from the others, but...
It seems that he is no different from them. So annoying!" Queen Titania said. "He called me weak; who wouldn't be angry about that?"
With bewilderment in their eyes, the female zerg warriors in the room turned to face their superior. What about them if the Zerg Queen himself was deemed feeble, a trash? However, judging by the Queen's demeanor, he appears to be only irritated rather than truly furious. They suspected there had been a misunderstanding between them, or that the King had not intended to refer to the Queen as feeble.
"You Highness, can you tell us the details of your conversation with the king?"
Because she was so furious, Queen Titania told everyone what had transpired and did not want to keep anything hidden. As he repeated to them what had happened in the King's Chambers, his displeasure grew. However, instead of the fury the Queen had anticipated from his subordinates, they gave him a smile, as though they were at a loss for words.
"What's wrong? Did I say something else? He is calling me weak indirectly, right? I'm not wrong, aren't I?!" Queen Titania said.
Silence~
His query was met with a collective hush from his subordinates. A few elderly individuals stared in shock at their queen. However, there is no resentment at being denigrated by a man of zerg, such as King Augustus.
"Your Highness, did you have a misunderstanding?"
Looking confused, Queen Titania looked at his subordinates and asked, "What do you mean?"
"General, no matter how many times we listen to your explanation, it's obvious that the king is worried about your safety. All the words he told you were all warnings: asking if sir is going to bring us your subordinates or asking sir to keep in mind the existence of the humans known as guides.
Lastly, that quote about someone being stronger than another, isn't that just a suggestion of letting sir keep his guard up at all times?"
"Your Highness, since you went, have you gotten closer to the king?"
"But the king is right. All those warnings are indeed something to keep in mind."
Queen Titania looked at them with a frown and disbelief on his face. He said, "Are you telling me that the king is worried for my well-being? Have you guys gone insane? Either way, about this now. Go, and make the final preparations. I will head to the dungeons first."
After the zerg queen left, his subordinates all looked at his back, getting smaller in the distance. His followers all turned to face him, shrinking in the distance. What the zerg king had done had left them feeling confused as well. They are all aware, after all, that King Augustus had feelings of inferiority toward their commander. Even if he were acting, he would never say something so nice.
He is that conceited and haughty.
"Don't you think that your majesty has changed a lot after his growth?"
"He matured a bit and also suddenly stopped looking down on us, female zergs. Moreover, he is now willing to punish the male zergs, which he has never done before. It was as if he never cared about the gender of his people all of a sudden."
"Stop gossiping! We are leaving the hive soon. We have to make sure to keep Highness safe. Unless we want to get executed the moment he returns home without the queen,"
"Yes~"
With this, the departure of Queen Titania from the Hive had been finalized. King Augustus Kaiser gave Queen Titania Ambrosia permission to leave the hive for a specific purpose. The three halflings that were detained in the subterranean dungeon of the Imperial Palace—where the majority of criminals were housed—are important to his schemes.