As the maid took a step forward, the imperial princess let out a scream.
“…Don’t come near!”
With that cry, a high-level spell began to manifest in Shi-en’s hands.
Even though she was a first-year student, she was the top of the Magic Department. Naturally, her combat abilities were outstanding.
However, the maid only tilted her head in confusion, as if she still didn’t understand. The maid, standing tall, muttered in a faint voice.
The stuttering voice escaped her mouth, slowly twisting into something bizarre.
“Wh-why is everyone? Why? W-why… th-this, ugh… uuuuuh, heeeeeee, kyaaahhhhhh!”
Soon, the maid grabbed her own neck as if she were having a seizure.
A tremor continued for a while. Each crackling sound echoed as her arms and legs twisted grotesquely.
There was no way to describe it as normal.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the imperial princess as she faced this horrid sight for the first time. She had just come of age.
Her mental fortitude to remain calm in the face of such a crisis was nowhere to be found.
After a while of writhing and squeaking, the maid’s body regained stability.
The atmosphere had changed.
Up until just a moment ago, she had exuded a gentle aura, but now the maid exuded an inexplicable chilling presence.
The maid’s head, which had been tilted back, faced forward again.
A faint crimson glow lingered in her brown eyes. With an exaggerated grin that seemed almost too wide, she spoke.
“Nice to meet you, Your Highness.”
It was a voice that bubbled up from deep within.
The imperial princess trembled silently at the tone that hinted at madness.
Listening to the voice escaping the maid’s lips, the princess couldn’t help but instinctively realize.
It was different.
This was not the sweet tone the maid always had. Instead, it felt rough and rugged.
The human in front of her spoke through the maid’s body, but it was not the maid.
Shi-en’s trembling hands could not be hidden. Still, she forced herself to ask with a semblance of calm.
“…Who are you?”
Heh heh, the maid let out a mocking laugh. A glint of joy flickered in her eyes.
Her head tilted down. It seemed like a respectful gesture, but in reality, it was anything but.
It was mockery.
There was not even a hint of respect in that series of movements. It was more akin to a derisive greeting.
“How remarkable, that the descendant of dragons would ask in such a beautiful voice… how can this humble one not respond? Though I’ve lived for decades hiding my true identity, ah! But I shall speak just for today to commemorate this special connection, Your Highness.”
After finishing her mockery, the maid regained her posture.
Then, with a single step, she closed the distance between herself and Shi-en.
That alone was enough to instill fear in the princess. A panicked scream escaped her lips.
“Don’t come near! If you get any closer, I will… uhh, kyaaahhhhhh!”
However, the princess’s desperate warning was utterly useless.
The maid’s hand, drawn out like lightning, shot two poisoned needles.
With a sound of puncturing, the imperial princess stumbled back with a shriek, her shoulders pierced by the needles.
The mana wave that had been gathered in her hands dispersed. Seeing this, the maid sneered and offered advice.
“Your Highness, warnings should be conveyed through actions, not words… which kind-hearted enemy would heed the pleas of a trembling little girl?”
The moment the princess heard the maid’s leisurely voice, her gaze sharpened.
An overwhelming emotion rose up in her throat.
In truth, it was closer to desperation than anger. It was the last vestige of pride that one displays when cornered.
But at that moment, Shi-en had no energy left to distinguish between the two emotions.
The princess’s defiant voice soon resonated through the chamber.
“I-I am not just a little girl! I am the fifth of the great imperial court…”
“You are just a little girl.”
No, it almost slipped from her grasp.
However, the woman’s voice was so nonchalant, as if speaking the truth, that the princess’s mouth snapped shut.
“Or perhaps, would you care to prove it? It wouldn’t be too difficult, would it? You could take me down with that esteemed power of the imperial court.”
As she said this, the maid shrugged.
It was an attitude that dared the princess to try, and Shi-en found herself lost in memories of the past.
When she thought about it, it was a warning she had heard not long ago.
Ian Fercurus, that detestable and fearsome man.
“Of course, that wouldn’t be possible… haha, that was a joke. It seems I’ve been remiss in introducing myself.”
However, the woman showed no signs of caring whether the princess bit her lips or not.
It was as if she was convinced that no matter what Shi-en did, she could not escape this trap.
It made sense.
This was a secret passage known only to royalty, and the personnel who should have protected her had just been annihilated before her eyes.
Furthermore, the princess’s group had not informed anyone of their destination, leaving them with no escape route.
The confidence radiating from the maid was not mere bravado. She finally introduced herself with that self-assuredness.
“My name is Miltram.”
It was a voice masquerading as joy, reminiscent of a jester.
And she did indeed seem to exude cheerfulness. The one who introduced herself as ‘Miltram’ showed no intention of hiding her booming laughter.
“I serve the true masters of this world. So, to put it in simpler terms…”
With a twist, the princess’s knees buckled.
The poison from the needles began to circulate. A faint whimper escaped her lips.
As her trembling hazel eyes focused on the chuckling ‘maid’, she said.
“…You’re a Dark Priest.”
It was only natural that Shi-en’s gaze blanked as she faced that twisted smile.
‘Dark Priest,’ a name she had only heard in words.
The minions serving the Evil God Omelos and their terrestrial representative, Delphrium.
After the War of Deities, their influence had rapidly dwindled, and she had heard that only remnants remained.
Could it be that they still possess such power?
It was a story hard to believe.
The imperial court’s eyes stretched across the empire. No matter how secretive an organization, it would be challenging to escape their wide-reaching gaze.
Especially, if they had the capacity to command hundreds of monsters.
Yet the reality Shi-en faced now insisted that Miltram’s words were true.
Only the Dark Cult could mobilize hundreds of monsters.
They could also manipulate those closest to the royal family and create grotesque beasts.
If all these incredible tales were tied to the organization called the ‘Dark Cult,’ it would make sense.
Even though they had fallen, they were once beings who nearly brought ruin to this world.
Still, suspicions lingered. The princess clung to her fading consciousness and asked with a trembling voice.
“…Wh-what have you done?”
Miltram’s gaze was fixed on the imperial princess.
As if asking what she was talking about, yet it wouldn’t be long before the question was answered.
“What about the maid? What did you do…!”
Ah, Miltram finally seemed to realize, glancing at the body she was inhabiting.
After nodding her head a few times, she now radiated a chilling glow.
She appeared to be quite pleased.
“Ah, she’s quite the precious specimen. I kidnapped her during my time as a spy and made some modifications. In fact, I had a few more specimens like this…”
Miltram’s brows furrowed deeply at that moment.
It was a reaction that was rarely seen, one that shown displeasure. It was the response someone gave when something wasn’t going quite right.
“…Why did our Lord Zerros end up losing an arm to some mad noble?”
Hearing those words, Shi-en’s thoughts deepened ominously.
The name ‘Zerros’ rang familiar to her ears. It was only natural.
He was the princess’s escort knight.
However, he had retired not long ago under the pretense of recuperation.
It was because he had lost an arm to that Ian Fercurus.
It may have been coincidental.
Yet, as her previously held suspicions and this newly acquired fact intertwined, the princess’s thoughts became a tangled mess.
The advice to strengthen the escort and Zerros’ retirement.
Information that could solidify her doubts would soon surface.
A moan escaped Miltram’s lips just as the princess was lost in contemplation.
The head using the maid’s body tilted slightly. Then came a voice filled with suspicion.
“Now that I think about it, why didn’t the monsters react? They have been stalking and monitoring all day long. I didn’t think there would be an opportunity to lift the curse…”
“…The curse?”
The princess’s immediate retort came in response to the new piece of information.
At that, Miltram’s expression quickly turned to one of realization.
The princess instinctively understood.
This information might be the key to unraveling all the mysteries that had been tormenting her for so long.
Shi-en felt the sound of dry swallowing resonate from her throat.
