Leading the punitive force since dawn. Kishian looked around on his way to the nearby forest.
Although the monsters have never directly appeared outside the forest, the forest itself is so close to the houses that the damage caused by pollution in the vicinity is severe.
They passed through fields devastated by pollution and slowly entered deep into the forest.
As he got closer to the place where the demons appeared, the level of contamination became more severe, and eventually, he could feel the demonic energy rising from the ground on his skin.
But he could hardly feel any tension.
That was why the face of the Archduchess he saw last night kept coming to mind.
'Did I speak too harshly yesterday again?'
He could not remain in his right mind when the Grand Duchess approached the contaminated one and was in danger.
It was a feeling like his eyes were turning upside down and his heart was plummeting to the floor.
That horrible feeling, like the whole world is falling apart.
Be really never wanted to feel that way again.
That's why Kishian got so angry as soon as he got back to his room, but later he regretted that he may have gone a little too far.
There was no need to hurt her that much...
"Your Highness, it is around here."
The soldier who was giving directions while holding a map spoke like this, pulling Kishian out of his thoughts.
Kishian checked the map once and informed the soldiers following him.
"From here on out, get off your horse and approach quietly."
The soldiers who heard the order quickly dismounted from their horses and packed up their weapons.
They took with them weapons commonly used to subdue monsters, such as iron nets, bows, and crossbows and began their search as quietly as possible.
It seemed as if they had come to the right place, as they occasionally saw traces of monsters' claw marks and footprints nearby.
While he was searching like that, the back of Kishian's neck suddenly felt cold.
His sharp senses, honed over three years of ceaseless efforts to subdue monsters, told him this.
The prey is nearby.
After ordering the soldiers to stand guard and wait a while, a familiar growling sound was heard.
Grrrrrrrrrr
It was a chilling sound, like blood boiling in one's throat.
The sound was heard from the top of a low hill ahead.
As they looked there, something huge slowly emerged from the top of the hill.
It was a wolf-shaped monster with bright yellow eyes.
The soldiers who witnessed it seemed surprised by its unusual size, but Kishian was a little puzzled for another reason.
'It's not humanoid.'
The report sent by Baron Valdeck clearly stated that it was a humanoid monster.
However, no matter how he looked at it, the monster that was visible now had a shape close to that of a beast.
Kishian felt something was wrong, but he didn't have time to think deeply about it.
"Attack!"
The soldiers who had been waiting with crossbows and bows fired them all at once at Kishian's command.
But nothing touched the monster's body.
The bastard dodged the attack as if mocking it and jumped towards the soldiers.
A giant shadow of a monster loomed overhead.
Finally, with a thud! The body that landed in front of them with a heavy thud hit the ground and was as large as a small house.
***
It was in the late afternoon that Baron Valdeck finally handed me the Traumelbaum.
It was so dry that I could use it right away, and I was even given a bowl and matches to use with it.
As I took it quietly, the Baron asked me a question indirectly.
"Are you going to use it on Gert?"
"Yes. While I'm putting him to sleep, there's something I want to check for a moment. Maybe it's just my imagination but I really want to check it out."
That strange feeling I got when I saw Gert.
I wanted to see what it was...
I thought the Baron might refuse since I was forcing his son to sleep.. but he showed no sign of doing so.
He started walking towards the attic ahead of me without saying a word as if telling me to just follow him.
After climbing the stairs and finally arriving at the room, the Baron calmly began to open the door.
Gert's scream-like scream could be heard from within the room as if the sound of keys clinking was heard.
"You fucking dogs!! I'm going to kill you all!!"
It was painful to hear him swearing so much that he almost vomited blood.
I lit the herb with the match I was holding, put it in a bowl, and pushed it through the open door.
After that, I closed the door again and waited for a while.
Until the herbal smoke fills the room.
After waiting for a generous twenty minutes, the outside of the door became quiet.
I exchanged glances with the Baron, then covered my windpipe with my sleeve and slowly opened the door.
The interior was thick with smoke and stuffy.
The smoke made the Baron and I both hurriedly open the window to ventilate the room so that we wouldn't fall asleep.
Afterward, I quietly approached the bed where Gert was tied up.
'Did you sleep well?'
I put him to sleep so that he wouldn't suddenly rush at me like he did yesterday, but I didn't know.
If the medicine didn't work properly, he might suddenly open his eyes and run towards me again.
Only after I confirmed that Gert's breathing had become more regular did I slowly approach him.
The red eyes that had given me the creeps were hidden behind his eyelids and out of sight.
I observed him quietly in that state, and finally, I was able to be sure.
'That strange feeling I had when I saw Gert... it wasn't an illusion.'
Even now, when I saw him again, I could still feel that feeling clearly.
A strange energy flowed through his body and a vague feeling that I could purify it if I touched it.
I cautiously reached out to check the identity of the vague sensation that kept bothering me.
It was at that moment that I was about to place my hand on Gert's forehead.
"Your Highness the Grand Duchess!!"
For a moment I didn't realize what was happening to me.
My body was pulled with a strong force.
My vision shook violently, and Baron Valdeck's screams pierced my ears.
It was only when I met the red eyes looking down at me that I realized what had happened to me.
'You weren't asleep...?'
Gert was awake.
The moment I reached out, he was the first to grab my collar and pull me towards him.
When I came to my senses, he was already crushing my neck.
'Why... didn't Traumelbaum's effect work because he was contaminated...?'
I tried to grasp the situation even as I was strangled by a strong evil force.
Perhaps because it was already so contaminated with magic, it seemed to have developed some kind of resistance to other substances.
There wasn't a single trace of sleep in Gert's eyes as he glared at me.
"Hehehe, what did you try to do to me, die!!"
Gert muttered in a state of madness as he put his weight on my neck.
It was so hard to breathe, that I felt like my neck was going to break.
Baron Valdeck belatedly rushed in to try to get Gert away from me, but it wasn't enough.
The Baron ran quickly out the door as if to ask for help from others.
Will I be able to make it in time? Will I be able to hold out until then?
Despair consumed my body and mind.
Now that Kishian is no longer around, I have to somehow handle this situation on my own.
"Ugh, ugh..."
As my breathing became more difficult, my thoughts gradually became dull.
I heard Baron Valdeck calling his servants from outside, but before that, my neck felt like it was going to snap.
While I was struggling in despair and pain, something suddenly occurred to me.
The reason I came into this room in the first place.
'Confirm... Confirm now...'
I haven't checked yet. What was that vague feeling I had the moment I saw Gert?
I raised my hands with difficulty, trembling.
And then I touched Gert's forehead.
At first glance, there seemed to be no reaction.
But if I look closely, I can see a very small amount of light streaming out from beyond my palm.
As the faint, gentle light touched Gert's forehead, a slight change occurred.
'It's sinking.'
The ominous energy that had been pulsing throughout his body was slowly, very slowly, subsiding.
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