Queen Elizard had finally made it to the outskirts of London, but the military horse was completely exhausted. But then, it had run nearly 50 kilometers across asphalt, so it had done quite well for a horse.
"I really am sorry about this. I've been doing nothing but troubling you this whole time. If I manage to get my political power back, I may even make you the first horse in the world to receive a military decoration," she said anxiously.
The queen held a bucket full of water. She and the horse were on a plain, but it turned into a manmade pasture a little further on. She had stolen the water from a barn there.
The horse continued to point its head in the direction of London as if to say "What are you saying!? I can keep going. I can keep going for quite some time!!", but it truly wouldn't last much longer if it didn't take a rest. The queen gripped the reins rather forcefully to force its head down to drink the water.
The horse was somewhat excited, but the water must have helped it realize how tired it was, because it then folded its legs up underneath itself to sit on the ground. It then started eating the short undergrowth that was growing next to the asphalt.
(…I really am causing trouble for everyone.)
The queen frowned as she thought not just of the horse, but of everyone fighting across the United Kingdom.
She looked down at Curtana Second.
(…I have a feeling this would go faster if I just fully opened up Curtana's power and started running, but I want to avoid doing that for a long period of time.)
And then…
"F-fheee…. Riding a horse certainly does wear you out when you aren't used to it."
The person who had ruined the solemn mood with that comment was a blonde woman bending over and pressing on her back, Laura Stuart.
Elizard looked over at her with a look of scorn that was quite different from her previous expression.
"You sure are weak. And you wore out the horse's stamina by not matching your movements to its rhythm."
Perhaps in response to Elizard's sharp tone, the horse stopped eating the grass and looked over at her. Its kind eyes seemed to be saying, "Now, now. Carrying people and things is my job."
(Even this horse looks more capable right now.)
That was when Elizard heard a rustling noise.
Her sharp gaze rushed over and found a single figure.
"Oh, what a hungry horse. Do you want one of my carrots?" said a soft female voice.
The queen's hand had been gripping Curtana Second despite it having lost most of its power, but she relaxed upon hearing that voice.
"Rimea?"
"Yes, it's me, Mother."
The monocled first princess smiled while holding an orange carrot in one hand.
Elizard looked at her own daughter with a puzzled look on her face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you, mother. From the knights' transmissions I intercepted, I knew where you had disappeared, so I concluded this was the most likely route you would head through to get to London."
"…What do you want? I know you and you aren't just going to join forces with me so easily. In fact, given your thought patterns, you're more likely to try to defeat me here so you can take Curtana Second and use it in some plan to defeat Carissa."
"I did consider such a plan at one point, but fighting using Curtana Second now that it has lost most of its power would be too much of a bother. I would rather use my intellect in order to play a smarter role."
"…So says my daughter with a meaningful smile on her face and rough-looking spiritual items rolling around at her feet. And I'm willing to bet that wire stretching from that thicket over there connects to a Claymore mine. Normal cars might drive through here, so remove it."
In compliance with Elizard's casual-sounding instruction, Rimea removed the wire stretching across the road horizontally, with her tongue sticking out slightly.
"There we go. By the way, is it true that horses love carrots?"
"They are herbivores, so they'll probably eat them, but it isn't like they love them more than anything else. They mainly eat grass."
"Oh, so it's similar to the fact that goats don't actually eat paper. Sorry."
Rimea started to pull back her hand holding the carrot, but the horse stretched out its neck and grabbed the orange vegetable as if to say, "Why? I'll eat anything you'll give me."
"Good, good," Rimea said with a smile as she petted the horse's head.
Elizard looked on almost in shock.
"You really do show your true face around those who have no political power or interests, don't you?"
"Of course, mother. I do not intend to give my trust to anyone that knows who I am. I want to trust those who treat me kindly despite not knowing I am a princess."
"I will admit that is one important aspect of a leader, but…why are all of my daughters at such extremes? The oldest strategizes everything and does not trust people, the second gets so caught up in fighting that she gets everything around her wrapped up in it, and the third takes others into such high consideration that she barely has opinions of her own."
Elizard scratched at her bangs.
A thin smile appeared on Rimea's lips.
"How unexpected. Are you really in a position where you can preach at us like that? Perhaps the problem lies in your principle of noninterference, combined with that incredibly harsh training you gave us? If you had wanted to, you could have at least given Villian a comfortable life."
"What are you saying? If I didn't let you develop your personalities on your own, it would have just invited you to be dependent on me. And that is especially true with Villian's benevolence. She could easily end up simply relying on others, so I can't just give her easy help like that. If you look at the long term, my methods are not wrong. Unlike you three, I am a sensible person."
"Oh, but who was it that used Curtana Second to teach the politicians a lesson after they tried to use Villian as bait to gain South America ten years ago?"
"D-don't bring that up. There are some actions that a parent must take."
"…No, that kind of thing isn't going to make her go soft," muttered Laura from the side.
"Oh, right. Speaking of being at an extreme, Carissa's methods this time are rather pointed."
"So you think Carissa is after expanding Curtana's effective area, too?"
"Yes," nodded Rimea. "Curtana Original is a spiritual item that applies the concept of Michael, the leader of the angels, to the head of state within the United Kingdom. But if Curtana's effects could be used outside the country, the Queen of England could become a disaster that overruns all of Europe. She would carry out divine punishment on targets of her own choosing and create more deaths on her own than a hydrogen bomb or the Black Death."
"That sword is like a conductor's baton that controls the massive spell put together geographically by the 4 cultures that make up the United Kingdom. The knights could use all their strength to protect the United Kingdom while Carissa single-handedly uses Curtana to demolish Europe. …That method could actually end up working. After all, it is possible that human magic would not be able to harm her if she fully released Curtana Original's power."
If that happened, it would be almost impossible for anyone to rival Carissa unless a true angel or possibly a Magic God stepped forward.
"…But is that really all?"
"What?"
"I had a spy at the Edinburgh base of New Light, the group used and disposed of by Carissa. Heh heh. Perhaps it is a special privilege of intellectual types to say something clichéd as 'I won't tell you until I have proof.'"
Rimea had said she had a spy, but that did not refer to a magician that served the royal family or a military intelligence agent. She especially hated those types of pros and elites that held political power. The person in Edinburgh was likely someone she had formed a bond with without using her political power during one of her frequent trips outside of the palace as someone other than a princess.
(Her self reliance and independence gained under her own power is the best of the three sisters. If only it wasn't rooted in mistrust. Not being able to open up can't be fun.)
Elizard sighed.
When Rimea started to feed the horse another carrot, the queen looked at her suspiciously.
"Hey, where did you get that food?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Just a bit ago, the remnants of the church had gathered around here to have a last supper. It seems they left the tools and cooking equipment not needed for fighting here. I assume they are planning on coming back for it if they win."
"Wha-?"
"Don't worry. I gave a taste of the different foods to my pet and none of it seems to have anything dangerous added in."
The first princess gave three quick clicks of her tongue which was her signal for calling her small indoor dog.
However, there was no sign of a pet coming out at Rimea's signal.
"?"
The first princess looked around to find a calico cat and an indoor dog glaring at each other at close quarters outside of a small cage with a broken door. Their low growls seemed to be saying "Who the hell are you!?" and "This is my country!!"
"Oh, what a cute cat. I've been interested in Asian cats for a while, but they're so much cuter than I expected."
Rimea picked up the cat with a completely defenseless childlike smile and the indoor dog barked seeming to say "Hey! I'm the one that risked his life tasting that carrot!!"
However, that was not what caught Queen Elizard's interest.
"Dammit!! Something that delicious was going on not too long ago!? There had to have been things going on there on the level of pulling a picture of your lover from your pocket and saying you're going to marry her once the war is over!! Am I just fated to miss out on the best parts!?"
"It seems they all proudly headed off towards the center of London."
"And they left me behind!? D-damn. Let's go, horse! I have to get to London as soon as possible!!"
Seeming to say, "Sure thing. Now this is how a queen should be," the horse stood up.
Elizard easily mounted the military horse and grabbed Laura Stuart with one hand pulling her up onto the back of the horse.
"Hey. How's the preparation of the flag going?" she asked the Archbishop.
"It's probably about halfway done. It was mixed in with the normal displays in the British Museum, so not many people would have realized it was a spiritual item. It should be usable if Charles Conder did what he was supposed to."
"A normal worker, hm? If the knights notice what he is doing, his life could be at risk… I have to show my respect to the gentlemen of this country."
After saying that, Elizard remained silent for a bit.
She thought within her heart.
She thought of the people who had prepared at that campground and headed for London. She also thought of the other people risking their lives to help who could not even use magic.
(…Hm. Carissa gaining the ability to use Curtana outside of the country and attacking Europe while becoming nigh invincible using the position of the leader of the angels is certainly a problem, but…)
The look on the queen's face changed.
Her expression turned grim as she stared in the direction of London.
(Have you forgotten that she already has that power here within the United Kingdom? You are heading off to fight someone more dreadful than a hydrogen bomb and who could easily destroy all of Europe single-handedly!!)
"Those fools! Even if the fate of England hangs in the balance, how can they head off to the final battle with no real trump card and with nothing at their disposal but their fighting spirit and their guts!? It's not my fault if they die!!"
"Heh heh. For what you're saying, you sound rather happy, mother."