Queen Of Adis

Present Day

Haru heard Graves cleared his throat to get her attention. "Your Majesty, I think it's about time for us to head back to the castle. The King strictly instructed that you must be back before sunset."

She was currently busy looking for different designs of gloves for men. Haru would like to make one for Adis before the banquet.

Upon hearing Graves' suggestion, she looked up to the sky and noticed that he was right. Time really flies so fast when you're having fun.

"Oh, you're right. Very well, then. Mr. Store Manager, I would like to buy this brochure for my reference, please." Haru requested to the Red *Oni Store Manager as she fished out some silver coins inside her purse.

The store manager panicked. "Ah, Your Majesty, you don't have to pay for anything. Everything in Umbra is yours. As a matter of fact, if you wish to take this entire store, this humble servant will be more than happy to give it to you."

She creased her brows as she gently refused, "But that's not right. This is business and you must earn your keep. No one from the royal family and noble houses must take advantage of their status. His Majesty, the King, wouldn't want that. Here, take this money. Keep up the great work," she smiled kindly.

The store manager and the onlookers around were very touched by her kindness and sense of propriety. They all thought that it was indeed a blessing that she was their queen. She brought a lot of ideas that elevated the people of Umbra's livelihood. Now, even the aloof human realm looked at them in a new light. To them, no one could replace the Queen in their hearts.

Everyone kowtowed and exclaimed their praises. Haru helplessly accepted it and commanded them to stand up and return to their own businesses.

"Your Majesty, the carriage has arrived," Graves announced. "The Imperial Knights and I will be riding our horses around the carriage."

"Thank you, Graves," she nodded and got in the carriage with her two maids.

Once inside the carriage, Haru finally pulled down the hood of her thick snow white cloak. One of the many rules Adis imposed whenever she's playing outside of the dark palace was to always wear a thick cloak, winter dress, and gloves. The temperature in the dark realm was always cold regardless of the season. To the citizens of Umbra, it was a normal phenomenon. But for her, its a totally different story, particularly during winter.

The winter would become freezing cold and she would usually get sick. Yes, despite being blessed by the three kings, her body's constitution was still very delicate compared to this realm's creatures. Whenever she's sick, Adis would always make a big deal out of it and the entire palace would be in chaos. Hence, she obediently followed his numerous orders by the book.

Haru reached out for the brochure she just bought to entertain herself while her maids prepared hot tea and snack for her. As she flipped the pages, the carriage came to a halt, making the wheels of the royal carriage to screech and the neighing of the horses.

Her eyes grew wide in surprise but immediately steadied herself in her seat. She clenched her fists and her heart beat frantically at the thought of an accident in front.

"What happened?" She asked loudly and attempted to lift the curtain on the window to look outside.

Hannah immediately held her hand and shook her head. The only reply she heard from the outside was a loud commotion and Graves' angry roar.

Are they being ambushed? And by the sound of it, they were outnumbered! Who would dare attack the Queen in broad daylight and in her own turf? Whoever it was, he must have gone crazy to even wish of challenging the Demon King's wrath.

Haru's amber eyes darkened and her complexion paled at the sudden realization of their situation. She's worried about the lives of her people. She abruptly stood up but was immediately stopped by her loyal maids again.

"Your Majesty, remember the King's order. In times of danger, stay hidden and do not reveal yourself. General Graves will surely take care of everything," Millie reminded her sternly.

Haru helplessly agreed and sat back on her seat. They were right. Even if she revealed herself, there's nothing she could do. She would just be a hindrance to everyone. In times like this, she wished she was a sorcerer or a powerful warrior instead of just a damsel in distress.

Millie hugged her protectively when the carriage shook again. Hannah stood in front of them with different small bottles of potions in her hands, courageously shielding the Queen with her own body in case someone dared to open the door.

The three women listened attentively to the chaos outside of their carriage.

It was obvious that the assassins were not from Umbra as they were all human beings, but due to long exposure to the dark miasma in the air, they looked more like walking corpses -- body slowly corroding and their flesh was either exploding or falling apart, giving off a burnt and sickening stench. It seemed that their senses to feel any kind of pain was already paralyzed. The only instinct left was to kill, hacking and slashing anyone in their way.

Graves roared like a menacing black thunder. "How dare you attack the royal family of Umbra? I, General Graves Ignis, will deliver your heads to my King! Imperial Knights of Umbra, let us offer our lives to protect our Queen! Rawrrr!"

The brave general slit the assassin's throat in front of him, blood spurted and tainted his face. He then grabbed another assassin on the head with his beastly right hand and squeezed it tightly until the head burst from the intense pressure, splattering the blood and brain fluids on the ground.

The Imperial Knights also displayed their impressive prowess, intending to lay their lives on the line to protect revered Queen. The clashes of weapons and magic caused the ground to shake and crack. However, no matter how many assassins they killed, it seemed that there was no end to it.

No one knew how they suddenly appeared in Umbra. These great numbers of assassins would have been found out by the citizens or dark soldiers patrolling around. Unless... someone with a high status from Umbra was behind all this.

An eerily howl of a horn was blown by one of the imperial knights, signaling the nearby dark soldiers for backup.

Out of nowhere, a bulky man with noble stature appeared from a distance and watched with an indifferent expression on his face. Beside him stood an almost n.a.k.e.d s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s, hugging his arm lasciviously.

"Duke Pier, we must hurry and leave. If anyone sees us here, we're going to be in trouble." The s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s coquettishly said while rubbing her body against his muscled arms. "Remember, the King's grim reaper was hot on your trail. He already wiped out your four accomplices. I'm risking my beautiful noble a.s.s to hide you here in the dark realm."

"Give me a second," he coldly replied. He was hoping to have a glimpse of his spring maiden. His beloved had stayed in the dark realm for quite a while now and he missed her dearly.

Yes, the suicidal assassins were his. The ambush was out of his plan and he understood the risk of his action. But now that he's also in Umbra, he felt that she's now within his reach and he had to do something. Just a short glimpse would do.

All of a sudden, a magician assassin cast an enormous fireball and shot it towards the royal carriage. A devastating explosion came after and all hell broke loose.

"QUEEN HARU!"