I like crossing the most

Chapter 1043 The Last Routine 222
Alice stared at her in astonishment, but at the same time fell into deep thought: If I leave the flowers in the palace, everyone will be saved, those flowers…

“…I understand.” Alice made up her mind, looked at the Queen of Hearts, Claire, and said, “Among your collection—”

"No! We can't agree to those conditions!!" At this moment, March Hare 'Rain' suddenly shouted this at Alice, and the playing card soldier tried to stop her but was instead suppressed by her.

"Miss March Hare!?"

Alice hadn't expected her to be so powerful.

The March Hare, 'Rain,' said somewhat sadly, 'Is it really okay to stay in the palace all the time? I can't join everyone for tea parties or sing together!'

“Um…!” Alice bit her lower lip. She remembered that she had complained to Claire before that the other party was unreasonable and that it wouldn’t hurt to go outside for a little while.

“There is no unfree life in the palace; instead, you will lose true freedom!” The March Hare ‘Rain’ reminded Alice of herself now, and it seemed there was no difference.

"Shut up!" Queen of Hearts Claire shouted, "I will love her for the rest of my life, so there's no problem!"

"What a selfish queen... And what are the little girl's wishes?" At some point, the top-hatted 'Barnier' had also subdued the playing card soldier who was bothering him, and he asked Alice about her true thoughts.

"Lady Alice's wishes?" Queen Claire looked at them arrogantly and said, "What matters is my wishes, isn't it? I said, just show me love, and that's enough, isn't it?"

These words reminded Alice of Claire's earlier words: "Lady Alice, please calm down, I'm very worried about you—"

Clearly, they are not the same.

“I take back what I said about you resembling Claire!” Alice pointed at her and shouted, “Queen of Hearts, are you only thinking of yourself?!”

“Yes,” said the Queen of Hearts, Claire, as a matter of course. “Because I am the Queen, my happiness is the happiness of everyone else, isn’t it?”

"That's...wrong! Responding to everyone's feelings is the true duty of a king!" Alice drew her longsword. "I will stop you, even if it costs me my life!"

Upon seeing Alice draw her longsword, the Queen of Hearts, Claire, widened her eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, "That...that sword, could it be the legendary...?!"

She subconsciously distanced herself from Alice, and the arrogant and rampant look on her face was no longer there.

"Hahaha—" Top Hat 'Barnier' laughed heartily and said, "Well said, little girl, I'll help too!"

"Rather than be executed, let's fight!" White Rabbit 'Kobayashi' shouted loudly, "Damn it!"

The poker soldiers who arrived right behind them gaped wide-eyed and shouted, "These guys, when... they should be in prison!?"

At this moment, along with the playing card soldiers, appeared the Cheshire Cat, Megumin, who shouted, "Hahaha!! Picking locks is a piece of cake for me! My strength has been restored, I'm here to help!"

“Miss Cheshire Cat!? Thank you!” Alice said, deeply moved, upon seeing her.

"Damn it...!" Seeing them all gathered together, Queen of Hearts 'Claire' bit her lip in frustration, then shouted angrily at her subordinates, "What are you doing, card soldiers! Arrest them all!!"

"Lady Alice! Wield the Holy Sword!!" March Hare 'Raine' shouted.

Alice, having received this request, also raised her longsword and said, "I intended to avoid a fight, but there's no other way... Extilon!!"

With just one move, all the poker soldiers were defeated.

"Wow, what amazing swordsmanship!?" The Queen of Hearts gaped in disbelief and said, "I never imagined that one person could defeat so many playing card soldiers..." Then, she said with unusual fascination, "Not only are you cute, but you are also powerful... I want to make you mine more and more."

"It is this kind of thinking that has led the kingdom to its downfall," Alice said, looking at her as she defeated more playing card soldiers. "The king cares for the people and protects the kingdom for them! Queen of Hearts, you are wrong!"

"That's right! Execution like that with underwear is wrong!!" White Rabbit 'Kobayashi' also took the opportunity to shout this at her.

The March Hare, 'Rain,' rolled her eyes in annoyance and scolded, 'Mr. White Rabbit, that's enough, shut up!'

"...I don't want to hurt the beautiful Lady Alice, but things have come to this point, there's no other way." With a wave of her hand, the Queen of Hearts 'Claire' caused the entire palace to tremble violently. A large amount of dust fell from the ceiling, and the surrounding pillars showed obvious cracks.

"Hey, hey, hey, what on earth happened?!"

"Awake! Fire dragon entwined in the karmic flames of the Red Lotus!"

As the Queen of Hearts, Claire, shouted this, a huge red dragon appeared before everyone. It unceremoniously breathed fire at them, engulfing a large part of the palace in flames.

"It's so hot! It's so hot!!" White Rabbit 'Xiao Lin' shouted, grimacing. "We're all going to be roasted alive!"

"Everyone, please step back!" Alice called out, urging everyone to hide behind her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you all!"

Alice's resolute appearance delighted the Queen of Hearts. However, she could not simply retreat, and instead shouted at them, "Well, isn't it time to surrender? If so, I might save one of you!" Clearly, she had no intention of letting anyone else live; Alice was of utmost importance to her.

"I refuse!" Alice refused without hesitation, and shouted, "I don't want to save myself! I want to... protect everyone!" Perhaps because she had made up her mind, the holy sword in her hand began to emit a bright light.

"What is this!? The sword is starting to glow...!?"

"As expected, Lady Alice is the legendary...!"

Megumin the Cheshire Cat and Reyne the March Hare watched Alice fight the red dragon with deep emotion, while Alice herself raised her holy sword high and shouted, "This is the 'Calibur' that Father gave me! I will use this sword to protect everyone!"

"Why go to such lengths for the sake of the lower classes...!?" Queen of Hearts 'Claire' was at a loss for words when she saw how strong and decisive she was.

“It has nothing to do with my identity,” Alice said firmly, shaking her head slightly. “I don’t even know if I’m that legendary girl. But I only know one thing—no matter what, I will protect the people important to me! Sacred Explode!!”

A dazzling white light enveloped the entire room, and the once invincible red dragon was completely annihilated after letting out a violent roar.

“Finally did it!”

"I've always believed in you, little girl, you can do it!"

"See our power?! Lock the Queen of Hearts and the Playing Card Soldier in jail!" White Rabbit 'Kobayashi' said with a sinister look, and the others felt helpless seeing him like this.

"White Rabbit was basically just hiding; what a despicable person."

"That sounds like something a white rabbit would say."

Others also expressed their disdain for this.

"Well done, Lady Alice..." Queen of Hearts 'Claire' acknowledged her defeat after seeing the Red Dragon defeated in one move. She looked at Alice and exclaimed, "You wielding the Holy Sword are truly mesmerizing. Seeing that figure, I have no regrets. Alright, cut off my head. I would be willing to be killed by you."

"Do you think you can be forgiven just like that?" the white rabbit 'Kobayashi' said smugly. "First of all, put on a maid outfit and let me rest my head on your lap."

"Mr. White Rabbit, we can't talk anymore, you'd better shut up." March Hare 'Raine' covered his mouth.

The top-hatted 'Barnier' then said, 'Little girl, you are the victor. The Queen's fate is up to you.'

"What are you going to do, Alice?" asked Megumin the Cheshire Cat.

“…I will not execute her,” Alice said, her words eliciting gasps from the crowd. Even the Queen of Hearts, Claire, frowned slightly and said, “I am the proud Queen of Hearts, I do not need anyone's pity…!”

"Queen of Hearts, I know someone who looks a lot like you. That person is really stubborn and unreasonable... a very worrier. That's only because she cares about me a lot," Alice said with a smile.

"What are you trying to say? That's just a waste of time. Get your head out of your chest—"

“I’m not trying to deny your desire to protect your collection, but… please use that same desire on the people of this kingdom… you can definitely do it.” With that, Alice smiled innocently, showing her utmost kindness, leaving the Queen of Hearts momentarily stunned.

“Ah, Lady Alice…” Queen of Hearts 'Claire' wiped her eyes with emotion, “What a lovely smile! If I were to be looked at by such a smile… I would have no choice but to agree!”

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked completely mesmerized. She quickly composed herself, nodded earnestly, and said, "I understand. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf. First, let's abolish the kingdom's penal system."

"That's not enough. You should also pay a small favor."

"Mr. White Rabbit, greed will destroy you, you know? And Lady Alice, what a beautiful judgment."

The White Rabbit 'Kobayashi' and the March Hare 'Rain' remained the same as before, with the latter even praising Alice's decision to break off their relationship. But Alice shook her head and said, "Everyone fails sometimes, and so do I... Let's work together to become great kings, Queen of Hearts."

"Lady Alice————"

The Queen of Hearts was overjoyed, and just like that, the story came to an end, and the dumpling-making ending was quite... quite...

"Lady Alice, Lady Alice—Lady Alice!!"

As Claire called, Alice opened her sleepy eyes and looked around to find that she was not in Wonderland, but in her bed in the palace. She seemed to have fallen asleep without realizing it.

"...Finally awake?" Claire said, somewhat relieved. "Do you know how long you've been asleep?"

Rein said worriedly, "I can't wake him up no matter what I do, it's really worrying."

Alice's two guards looked at her with concern. Claire pursed her lips and said, "I'm sorry to say this so soon after you woke up, but... I really want to apologize for what happened earlier."

"What happened just now... Ah!" Alice suddenly remembered that before going to sleep, she had asked Claire to do well in both her official duties and her daily studies, hoping that she could have some time to go out and play. However, her request was refused, and the two of them had an argument because of it.

"I was too harsh, I'm very sorry," Claire said sadly, sincerely apologizing to Alice.

Rein also bowed her head and said, "I was also offended, I'm very sorry..."

“No, I should be the one apologizing to you both.” Alice shook her head and said, “I deeply understand how worried you both are about me, how much you care about me…” As she spoke, she also bowed earnestly and said, “Please forgive me, I’m so sorry for saying such willful things.”

"I... I really don't deserve to hear that! Please lift your head!" Claire said quickly, while helping Alice, who was bowing in apology, to her feet.

Rein smiled and said, "After that, I also talked to Lady Claire... Indeed, it's suffocating to stay in the castle all the time. You can go out regularly."

"Ah! Thank you, Rhine, Claire!" Alice said, deeply moved. "So, how about next week!?"

"Next week!?" Claire instinctively wanted to retort, "Lady Alice, this is really too sudden—"

"Next week isn't with my brother... but with Claire and Rein, for a reconciliation trip." Alice indicated that she didn't want to see Kobayashi, but rather hoped to improve her relationship with the two guards, then pleaded, "Is that not allowed?"

"Ah!! Lady Alice!!"

Claire was immediately subdued; she had no way to resist Alice's pleas. In fact, if Alice hadn't been so forceful before and had begged her in the same way, Claire would have eventually agreed, even if she hadn't initially agreed.

"Hehe..." Rein looked at her somewhat flustered boss and asked with a smile, "How is it, Lady Claire?"

"...How could I possibly refuse being gazed upon by that angelic smile?!" Claire declared that she would immediately make arrangements for the outing, promising to create a perfect schedule for Alice to look forward to next week.

And so, the princess was allowed to go out to some extent.

(End of this chapter)