WYMYEB - Chapter 134



Purifying the flower in front of your eyes wasn't actually that difficult.

Of course, this holds powerful magic.

But it didn't seem like it would be impossible if I took the time to do it, like I did when I purified the seeds.

So, I was ready to do any hard work, if only the Emperor would promise to send me back.

However.

"Are you saying you want to go back to his arms?"

The Emperor's gaze, which had seemed relaxed, suddenly became fierce.

And that wasn't all.

His pupils appeared to gradually turn red.

An eerie sense of crisis came over me.

I instinctively took a step back, feeling goosebumps run down my skin.

The Emperor took a step closer to me and let out a rough sound like the roar of an animal.

"You want to go back to the arms of the man who tried to take your life and robbed you?"

"..."

"How can you be so foolish?"

He reached out and grabbed my shoulder tightly.

It wasn't the evil power of an ordinary person.

I shouted in a panic, feeling like my shoulders were going to break.

"Father!"

"That guy won't do. Only that guy... That vicious guy will kill us someday. Once he gets his hands on you, he will definitely...!"

"Let go!!"

I couldn't bear it any longer when I saw him muttering with the face of a madman.

I used all my might to shake off his hand and ran away to a corner of the warehouse.

'Why all of a sudden... do the symptoms of pollution get worse when he gets excited?'

Just making eye contact gave me the creeps.

I warned him, panting from the corner.

"If you can't promise to send me to the Grand Duke's palace, then I can't lift the curse either."

"Ha."

He laughed as if he were dumbfounded.

Fortunately, the signs of contamination that appeared briefly have subsided in the meantime.

The eye color also returned to its original blue.

He seemed to be thinking, then opened his mouth.

"Yes, try to hold out like that for a while. Even if you do, you won't have to go back there. Eventually, you'll realize what a horrible monster that guy is and you'll thank me."

In other words, the negotiations have broken down.

He didn't seem to have any intention of sending me to the Grand Duke's residence.

It seemed as if he thought that if he kept me locked up like this and waited, I would give up and lift the curse.

'Removing the curse is the last card I have. I must never lift the curse until I receive a promise to return to the Grand Duke.'

I didn't have the naive thought that if I lifted the curse and cured his madness, he would come back to his senses and let me go.

Even when he was of sound mind, he had been unwilling to send Letie, whom he considered to be his true savior, to Kissian.

So it will be the same this time too.

I vowed again that I would never follow the Emperor's will, no matter how they tried to persuade or threaten me.

The Emperor looked at me as if he found me ridiculous, and then said to the soldiers waiting outside.

"Take the Princess back to her room! Don't let her take a single step until I give you my order!"

Perhaps hoping that I would hear it and fall into despair, he was issuing open orders to confine me.

I stared at him for a long time, my teeth chattering.

***

The first thing Kishian did upon arriving at the Grand Duchy was to contact the northern houses that supported him and summon their lords and knights.

Quickly, he prepared for war.

They gathered troops and supplies, stockpiled food, and diligently prepared transportation.

Although it was uncertain whether it was really the Emperor who took Elona, it was not difficult to come up with a justification for war.

The Emperor, who had been in a state of madness, tortured and killed countless people for no reason, despite the protests of his vassals and supporters.

Since the public sentiment toward him was not good, there was ample justification to attack him even without mentioning Elona's case.

As he busily prepared, the imperial family noticed this and, of course, sent messengers to warn him.

Kishian responded by sending them back after their supplies.

Now that he's expressed his intentions so strongly, it's too late to turn back.

He had no intention of turning back.

Rather, he only regretted not striking the royal family sooner.

'Just wait a moment. I'll get you out of there in no time.'

The Emperor would never harm Elona.

There was no way he could dare harm the savior he had so desperately wanted.

Despite knowing that fact, Kishian hurried to prepare, overcome with impatience.

The dark clouds were gathering so clearly that it could not be denied.

***

The Emperor hasn't come to see me since that incident.

He told me to call him when I felt like lifting the royal curse, and left me alone.

I was still imprisoned in the room Letie had used when she was alive, passing the time.

'What is Kishian doing now?"

I was anxious because I couldn't hear any news.

There was no way Kishian could stay still while I was gone.

He must be desperately looking for me, but the Emperor has completely blocked me from even hearing news of him.

Even when I tried to ask the maids who served me, they just shook their heads and avoided answering.

'Something feels ominous... Is there no way to escape from here on my own?'

I looked at the chains that bound my ankles.

The maids and attendants here wouldn't be able to help me, so I had to do it on my own.

To do that, I had to deal with these chains first, but of course, they weren't something that could be broken by brute force.

If I could just use that black strength that came out the last time I was being chased by soldiers, it would make my escape a little easier, but no matter what I did, I couldn't summon that strength again.

What on earth was that...

It was when I had no choice but to just stare at the chains.

Suddenly, soldiers came into the room and reported.

"Please come with us. His Majesty has given us orders."

Denial didn't work.

As I sighed, the soldiers released my chains and held me from both sides to prevent me from running away.

The place we arrived at, led by their hands, was the barracks.

There, soldiers who appeared to be contaminated were gathered together and held in custody.

"Why are there so many contaminated people? Did they get contaminated while subduing the monsters?"

I asked that question, but the soldiers did not answer. It seemed as if they did not want to give me any information.

They just told me what to do. 

"Heal them."

It was an unpleasant attitude, but there was no use holding on now.

I approached the contaminated ones obediently and purified their magic.

It wasn't difficult since I had done it many times.

All I have to do is put my hand on it and wait a moment.

So I purified about twenty people.

At that point, I had no more thoughts, so I started moving my hands instinctively, emptying my mind.

That must have been why we couldn't respond quickly to the sudden crisis.

"...!!"

One of the polluters ran towards me.

I thought all of his hands and feet were properly bound, but it seemed that he had cut the ropes himself while the other soldiers were looking away for a moment.

He glared at me with bloodshot eyes and grabbed me by the throat.

"Your Highness, the Princess!!"

Late, healthy soldiers came running towards us, but my neck was already in the grip of the contaminated one.

He shouted in a rough voice like the roar of a beast.

"Don't come any closer!! If you don't want to see this woman die!!"

The contaminated being who had lost his senses didn't even realize that I was a Princess.

He grabbed me from behind and put his forearms around my neck, like kidnappers do when they're holding a hostage.

"Breath, breath..."

"Shut up!!"

I couldn't breathe, so I scratched his arm with my fingertips, but it was no use.

He was out of his mind, and he didn't care whether my breathing was suffocating or not; he just put strength into his arms.

As the air became blocked, my vision became blurry and my thoughts became dull...

The soldiers who brought me were also in a situation where they could not easily leave because I was being held hostage.

'I can't breathe. It hurts so much...'

The polluter's cries of frustration gradually became less audible.

In a last desperate attempt, I scratched the contaminated man's arm with such force that blood formed on my fingertips.

Of course, this time it was no use either.

I felt my consciousness fading.

'I'm going to die like this...? Ηere, in such a futile way?'

I survived when I faced the monster and when Letie swung her sword, so why am I going to die in such an absurd accident at this moment?

This is truly a dog's death.

Just before I lost consciousness, I was overcome by an intense desire to survive.

And that was the moment.

The strength that had not been displayed despite so much effort was finally displayed.

"Ugh!!"

The polluter who had been holding me was startled and pushed my body away.

His forearms were burning with pitch-black flames.


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