Shi-en’s immediate retort made Miltram hesitate for a moment.
It seemed her reaction was more active than he had imagined. With that, Miltram showed a slight look of contemplation.
His expression was one of wondering if he really should divulge this information.
But then, after a brief pause, Miltram burst out into a suppressed laugh.
Yes, after all, the game had already ended.
When considering the suffering the Imperial Princess would have to endure ahead, giving her a parting gift like this wouldn’t hurt. As a farewell gesture, he could at least let her know the truth.
“In fact, I’ve left a scent that beasts adore on you. It’s a subtle yet powerful curse…since the ultimate target was you anyway. However, no matter how long I waited, the monsters didn’t seem to attack you.”
The Imperial Princess’s cognitive circuits absorbed this statement as her thoughts raced at high speed.
“Curse” and “monster”—these were the fundamental keywords cutting straight through the mystery.
What kind of answer could these new clues lead to? Shi-en was now more on edge than ever.
“Well, we’ve been watching all this time, but there was never a chance to lift the curse. At least, not without something akin to holy water…Oh my.”
As Miltram continued his rambling explanation, an unexpected sigh escaped his lips.
It seemed as if he had come to some revelation.
Humming through his nose, he grinned with a disturbing smile once more.
“…Ian Fercurus.”
A scene flashed through the Imperial Princess’s mind.
A man had suddenly drenched her with water.
Speechless, Shi-en couldn’t say a word. Enraged guard knights rushed forward, and Sir Zeros lost an arm that day.
Finally, the incomprehensible events began to piece together like an intricately divided puzzle.
Of course, the one who noticed wasn’t solely the Imperial Princess. Miltram, who had already realized this, chuckled and broke into laughter.
“It’s too perfect to be called mere coincidence. Ian Fercurus, Ian Fercurus….”
Miltram nodded a couple of times and then smiled with a refreshing air.
“Seems that after dealing with you, I’ll need to look into this man next.”
With that, Miltram began to step forward.
The danger was growing closer, yet Shi-en couldn’t quite pull herself together.
She could only ask herself: “Why?”
According to this reasoning, the man had known that the Dark Cult was after the Imperial Princess. Even if he hadn’t, he at least suspected as such.
Which meant that he had lifted the curse on her in a way no one else could detect.
It wasn’t something anyone could imagine: that the holy water was contained in a regular water bottle.
The subsequent shocking scenes that unfolded were certainly enough to make anyone forget its contents.
Had he confessed that the liquid was holy water, the tale might have unfolded differently.
Whether the Head of the Academy or Sir Zeros, one of them always accompanied the Imperial Princess. Once they realized the curse had been lifted, Miltram would have surely devised another scheme.
However, Ian Fercurus lifted the curse in one collision and even sidelined Zeros, who was under Miltram’s control.
And in return, he sacrificed his own reputation, future, and important relationships.
Shi-en couldn’t bear this fact at all.
As if an obsessive-compulsive patient, she kept whispering to herself, “No, it’s a lie.”
That’s impossible, no matter how you think about it.
Ian Fercurus was human. That was a fact that would never change.
And all humans were selfish, greedy beings.
That was exactly what the Imperial Princess had observed all this time. A human who could selflessly dedicate themselves without a shred of greed for another simply did not exist.
This had been a belief she had firmly held since childhood and repeatedly proven.
Then why was her brain heating up like this?
With a groan, Shi-en clutched her head.
Her thoughts were rupturing. Sparks of fireworks ignited, devouring her memories.
It was an overt danger sign.
But Miltram only burst into laughter again while watching her state.
He seemed to take great delight in the Imperial Princess’s anguish.
After observing her with a pleased expression for a while, he finally shook his head and spoke.
“Well, let’s begin the task, shall we? If you don’t resist, I’ll make it painless. Just close your eyes…”
At that moment,
The blade pierced through Miltram’s body.
The woman’s eyes darted back to see Lady Airen standing there, forcing the sword into Miltram’s body with convulsive spasms in her arm.
Miltram couldn’t comprehend the situation right in front of him.
It was poison obtained from the Great Forest’s venomous insects.
Not only did it bind magical energy, but it also had an anesthetic effect. Even an expert had limits to their endurance.
And wasn’t Lady Airen’s entire body trembling like a leaf?
Then the answer was only one.
She had poured all of her remaining magic into this final blow. The exhausted Lady Airen’s body slid down the blade.
Miltram fell silent momentarily. Then, he slowly pulled the knife from his chest.
Blood and water spurted out. A faint smile curved Lady Airen’s lips as she watched.
She finally succeeded in protecting the princess.
Her expression was filled with emotion as if tears might fall, no doubt due to the long-lasting guilt she’d carried.
But her happiness was short-lived.
With a casual flick, Miltram tossed the blood-stained blade to the ground.
Lady Airen’s gaze, hearing the sharp sound of collision, stared blankly at Miltram. The wound that should have been fatal was now sealing up with bubbling flesh.
It should have been a critical injury.
Yet Miltram didn’t seem affected at all as he glanced down at Lady Airen. His reaction would have been more passionate even if he had merely cut his finger on paper.
His gaze carried disdain.
“Your effort was commendable, Lady Airen. As much as I would like to kill you outright, you are rare material, so I’ll let you live.”
“Material?” Was Lady Airen going to be subjected to the same unknown experiments under this dark priest as the Head of the Academy?
Lady Airen’s gaze wavered, but Miltram didn’t linger. She stepped forward and stood before the Imperial Princess.
Already weakened by the poison, the Imperial Princess couldn’t maintain her posture.
She only heaved with heavy eyes, lost deep in thought.
Of course, this was no concern for Miltram.
Miltram’s hand roughly grabbed her by the hair.
A kind smile graced her lips, as if acting out the master of the body she occupied.
“I’m about to perform an eye extraction. It may hurt a bit, so please stay still.”
Upon hearing the explicit words “eye extraction,” Shi-en snapped back to her senses.
She hadn’t even noticed when Miltram had gotten so close. Moreover, the dark priest’s hand was already forcing her eyelids open.
The approaching fingers were too obvious in their intent. An overwhelming fear gripped the Imperial Princess’s entire body.
She couldn’t bear it anymore and screamed.
“No! Uh, Ah… Gyahhhhhhh!”
The tears burst forth.
She regretted it.
All her decisions she regretted.
What if she hadn’t applied to the Academy? What if she had been more suspicious of those around her? Waves of possibility flooded her mind.
And then,
What would have happened if she had trusted Ian Fercurus a little more?
It was all too late now.
Time could not be reversed. The Imperial Princess tried her best to shut her eyes, but it was futile.
Just as Miltram’s fingertips were about to pierce her ashen eyes,
A silver lightning bolt descended from the sky.
It was a sharp trajectory. Like a blade from a guillotine, it severed both of Miltram’s arms in an instant.
The two severed arms tumbled helplessly to the dirt.
The blood that gushed out drenched the muddy ground, and the warmth caused a strange steam to rise in the cave.
It seemed even a modified body needed time to regenerate after such amputation.
Only now freed from her constraints, the Imperial Princess collapsed to the ground, gasping. Miltram indifferently looked down at her regenerating limbs with bubbling sound effects.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the silent cave.
The Imperial Princess, Miltram, and even Lady Airen, who was barely holding onto her consciousness, all turned their gazes to the back.
A man was approaching.
Black hair, golden eyes blazing like will-o’-the-wisps in midair.
His breathing seemed a bit strained, likely from rushing. Nonetheless, he exhaled a faint sigh with apparent relief.
It was lucky he hadn’t arrived too late.
He gripped his thigh as he panted, then smiled faintly and spoke.
“Hey.”
Miltram slowly turned around.
As if she had finally encountered a true rival, a vague smile played on her lips.
Regardless, the man continued talking.
“Why are you trying to finish everything already? We haven’t even played yet… How disappointing.”
A hoarse laugh escaped Miltram’s lips.
Her eyes filled with madness as she murmured the man’s name.
“Ian Fercurus.”
While the Imperial Princess watched, the two beasts confronted each other.
This marked the beginning of the battle signaling the end of the festival.
