The sobbing princess did not seem to be in her right mind.
It was understandable. Though she was called by the grand title of ‘princess,’ her true essence was little more than that of a newly adult woman.
By age, she was a girl not yet twenty.
In the face of a sudden attack by a legion of monsters, her knights became living bombs, and the maid she trusted was being manipulated by an unidentified dark priest.
It was a situation where anyone would struggle to maintain their sanity.
She was, after all, the one responsible for her party.
Having to bear the weight of that responsibility only added to her anguish. The guilt and self-loathing that came from knowing that many people had died because of her would be gnawing at her heart like a parasite.
Dozens had died or been injured at the hands of those targeting the princess.
Some of them had been people she had laughed and talked with. Knights and the head maid, whose titles inherently positioned them as the princess’s closest aides.
That alone was a fatal blow to her mental fortitude.
It wouldn’t be strange if she burst into tears and recited apologies like a broken record. Moreover, the princess was currently weakened, intoxicated by the effects of anesthesia.
“I-I’m so, so sorry… I’m sorry, Sir Ian…”
Clear tears fell one after the other.
The sight of the noble woman with dark bluish hair crying held a sort of artistic value in itself.
However, I didn’t have the luxury to leisurely appreciate that scene.
My eyes glanced behind me.
Miltram’s body was ablaze. More precisely, it was the body of the head maid he controlled.
Typically, a burnt corpse does not regenerate.
No matter how great a necromancer is, extracting a soul from a burned corpse is all they could manage. So it was right to assume that Miltram was no longer combat-worthy.
Yet, I felt an inexplicable urgency.
I had to evacuate her quickly.
That thought clawed at my mind like a seizure.
Though I had drunk the antidote, it seemed impossible for the princess and the knight to continue fighting. Yet, I couldn’t just wake the knights who were collapsed without a plan.
Some of them had been modified into living bombs.
There were only difficult choices left. My pondering gaze returned to the princess.
She was still just apologizing like a broken phonograph.
“I-I, I did wrong… I’m, I’m so—sniff—I’m sorry, everyone, it was all my pitiful pride…”
Eventually, I let out a sigh.
Sometimes, complicated calculations can make problems unnecessarily tangled.
I decided to think simply, just simply.
I threw my arm around the trembling princess’s shoulder. The girl, even after raising her body, frantically wiped away her overflowing tears.
It was then that a low voice slipped from my mouth.
“…Your Highness.”
The princess’s gray eyes flicked toward me. With a bewildered expression, she looked at me filled with questions.
Those glistening eyes were rather beautiful.
Of course, I was not foolish enough to openly express such sentiment.
Looking somewhat anxious, the princess stammered as she asked me.
“Y-Yes?”
And in that fleeting moment, as her dazed voice trailed off.
With a sharp sound, the princess’s body flew through the air.
My fist had struck her cheek.
Even in that moment of being hit, the princess seemed not to realize what had happened. Her mouth hung open, reflecting her emotions.
Her body, which had floated up, rolled several times on the ground. It was a blow delivered with genuine intent.
It might have been too difficult for the frail girl to handle.
However, it seemed the psychological shock was greater than the physical one. The princess’s eyes, inhaling a halting breath, appeared confused.
Before her gray eyes could turn toward me, I grabbed her by the collar.
“Stop whining, Your Highness.”
My voice, spat out with fervor, turned the princess’s complexion pale.
I had no way of knowing how I appeared to her. With my blood-soaked hair and ominously burning gaze, I might have looked like a monster.
“Sorry? Are you saying that all those people were hurt or killed because of you? As Miltram said, that may be true, but…”
In truth, the princess didn’t have much fault.
Within the academy, I was quite the unpredictable presence.
Even if I suddenly splashed water on the princess, it would just add another deed to my list of misbehavior; it was hard to think there was any sane reason behind it.
A member of royalty ought to repay indignities.
Although touching my family and acquaintances may have crossed a line, I didn’t think the princess was entirely in the wrong from the outset.
And if we were to discern right from wrong, all blame lay with the Dark Cult.
If they hadn’t targeted the princess, if they hadn’t unleashed monsters and assaulted her towards that end, no one would have needed to sacrifice themselves.
Even so, I didn’t bother to point that out.
Everything had already been framed as her fault by Miltram. It would be inefficient to dismantle existing beliefs in a situation like this.
Instead, my mouth spewed forth unfiltered sincerity.
“If all you do is whine and shed tears, who’s going to solve things for you? You’re scared and it’s hard? So now I have to clean up your mess too, Your Highness?”
“Ah, n-no, that’s not…”
The sudden reprimand seemed to leave the princess flustered.
The impact of my slap had been quite effective. She fumbled and couldn’t meet my gaze properly.
Tears began to well up again in the princess’s eyes.
I hadn’t realized it before, since she always acted so tough, but in truth, she cried easily. No, it might even be fair to call her a ‘crybaby.’
That was not a sin.
Everyone had the right to be weak.
Nevertheless, the reason I was yelling at her was that there is indeed a right time and place for tears.
The princess was a highborn individual.
The nobility of the empire bears burdens as heavy as their rights. This holds true even for royalty.
“If you understand, stop crying.”
At my cold warning, the princess shut her mouth with a squeak.
Her expression was one that seemed about to burst into tears at any moment, but there was nothing I could do. If this helped her regain her senses, that was good enough.
Her gray eyes, brimming with tears, were looking at me. Seeing those eyes, I felt my resolve weakening, and I let out a deep sigh.
In fact, I had one more genuine sentiment I wanted to convey.
I stammered as I opened my mouth again.
“And, and…”
“Sir Ian!”
It was then I heard the lady knight’s piercing scream.
As soon as I heard her voice, I instinctively embraced the princess and hurled myself forward. With a sharp sound, something wrapped around my ankle.
My hand immediately gripped my hatchet. I raised my upper body and struck down several times at the magical binding that held my ankle.
Clang, clang, clang!
Every time the hatchet met the magical binding, it resonated with a sound like metal clashing. Sparks exploded, painting my vision, and my teeth clenched instinctively.
With a snap, the magical binding was finally severed. However, my ankle was already battered, having endured a horrific pressure just before the binding broke.
I thought I heard the joint of my ankle click. A groan escaped through my teeth.
“Ugh, ah…”
The princess was hiccuping, perhaps too shocked. Regardless, I staggered to my feet. Behind me lay the charred corpse of Miltram.
No, could it even be called a corpse?
The countless magical bindings were entwining the dismembered bodies of the surrounding knights. And those shattered limbs were being drawn one by one to attach themselves to the corpse.
Creak, crack, snap.
With a grotesque noise, the scattered body parts crumbled to bones. The more this happened, the more the charred shells that had wrapped around the woman’s body peeled away.
Soon, bright red muscles were revealed, followed by white skin regenerating.
At last, the wind that had passed through the hollow curvature regained its voice.
A laughter, almost choking, spilled from those lips.
Before that monster could complete its transformation, I quickly threw the princess onto the lady knight.
“Run, at once, now!”
With a thud, the princess’s body rolled on the ground once more, but no one raised a question about it.
The lady knight hesitated for a moment but then embraced the princess. Seeing that, I reattached my hatchet to my hip and drew my sword.
But the crisis was far from over.
The cavern emitted a harsh roar as if it were trembling.
Dirt rained down from the ceiling. It was a tremor strong enough to make me stagger for a moment. Fear flickered in the eyes of the lady knight and the princess she held.
There was only one significant cause for it.
Before long, Miltram, having regained his corporeal form, flashed a captivating smile in response to my gaze.
“You have a keen intuition, Ian Fercurus? I never thought you would be wary of even the burnt corpse.”
Amid the falling dirt, I faced off against the monster.
With the princess and the lady knight behind me, I held my breath in silence.
This long day was finally coming to an end.
