"You… who are you people!?"
"You're actually accusing Minister Mukade of treason!? You're trying to frame him!"
The moment Yagami explained about Mukade's betrayal and the Ryūmyaku's misuse, Sārah's expression twisted with anger.
To her, Mukade wasn't a traitor—he was a loyal minister who upheld her mother's dying wish and devoted himself to Rōran.
Naturally, she refused to believe Yagami's words.
To her, they were the suspicious ones.
"Your Majesty… Queen Sārah…"
A timid voice rose from the shadows nearby.
A group of ragged women, elderly villagers, and even children stepped out, clutching hoes, sticks, and whatever makeshift weapons they could find.
They were citizens of Rōran—people who had been planning to sneak into the central tower to find the Queen.
Unexpectedly, they found her here instead.
"You… what are you doing!?"
Sārah stiffened, instinctively stepping back.
Pampered or not, she wasn't ignorant—an angry crowd was dangerous.
"Are you really the Queen?"
One villager asked cautiously.
Sārah nodded hesitantly.
A woman stepped forward, eyes red with worry.
"Then please! Your Majesty… give my husband back!"
"What… husband?"
Sārah blinked in confusion.
"And my brother!"
"My father!"
"My son!"
More cries rose at once—raw, desperate pleas erupting from the crowd.
Sārah's head spun.
"What husband? Brother? Father? Son? What are you talking about?"
She looked from face to face, lost.
"Did Your Majesty forget…?"
The first woman continued quietly, trembling.
"Your Majesty ordered us to send our male relatives to the central tower but since then, none of them ever came back…"
"Nonsense! I never gave such an order!!"
Sārah's voice cracked with disbelief.
"It was Mukade," Yagami said calmly.
"And he used your name."
Every head snapped toward him.
"I'm guessing Mukade took these people's relatives for his own purposes. And he never intended to return them."
His voice was quiet, but it hit like thunder.
Because in these two days, Yagami hadn't been idle.
Kagura's Mind's Eye had already scanned the earth beneath Rōran.
"You're saying… Mukade really…?"
Sārah's knees trembled.
She had always believed her minister was loyal and devoted.
But now—
He'd lied to her.
Used her authority.
And secretly abducted her people.
"Did Her Majesty really not know?"
A pudgy child spoke innocently from the crowd.
"No wonder everyone said Her Majesty Sārah is a… puppet princess."
"Salai! Don't say such rude things!!"
The women around him covered his mouth and bowed frantically to Sārah.
But the damage was done.
"Puppet… princess?"
A hollow smile crossed Sārah's lips.
She never imagined that this—this powerless, ignorant image—was how her people truly saw her.
"Please… take me to them."
She bowed deeply to Yagami.
"I will rescue them myself!"
Yagami watched her silently.
Despite her shaken heart, she still stepped forward.
She still wanted to save her people.
"Alright… but first—"
He looked down at Naruko.
She was still hugging his arm tightly, refusing to move.
"Let go now."
Naruko pressed her face deeper into his chest.
"No… it's rare that I get to cuddle Daddy like this! Let me stay a little longer…"
People of Rōran stared.
A teenage girl calling someone her own age "Daddy"—and clinging to him like a limpet—left everyone speechless.
Yagami could only sigh internally.
So my daughter is clingy as hell in the future… great.
Naruko continued to hold on.
Finally, Yagami gently pried her off.
He'd have to raise her strictly, apparently.
This level of clinginess is dangerous… he thought, exasperated.
"Come with me," Yagami said.
Kagura's Mind's Eye opened again, and he led the group toward the darkness ahead.
Kakashi, both versions of him, and Tekuno followed closely.
"Everyone, return home. I promise—I will bring your loved ones back!"
Sārah turned to the villagers firmly.
Then she hurried after Yagami's group, determination burning in her eyes.
"Your Majesty Sārah! I'm coming too!"
The woman who had begged for her husband earlier broke into a run, joining the Queen without hesitation.
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