“Your Majesty the Empress!”
The next one to come out of the passage was Ryan.
Ryan was coming this way while cutting down the monsters.
“Your Majesty!”
Tion called out to Ecelion.
“What should we do? This is impossible…”
He couldn’t bring himself to continue talking. The monsters surrounded them. He had to swing his sword before he could figure out why the monsters had moved through sorcery.
He thought about running away with Lasilia in the carriage, but there was an inn nearby. Not only that, but the city was close by. In the end, it meant that he had to deal with the monsters. But that wasn’t enough, the Sword Master of the Empire jumped out.
The fact that they had used the same passage meant that they had brought the monsters with them when they moved through sorcery in the Empire. It also meant that if you deal with the monsters, you would eventually have to deal with the knights of the empire.
“…There is no way.”
Tion gritted his teeth and muttered.
Ecelion swung his sword and replied.
“I will deal with the knights of the empire. In the meantime, you guard Lady Lasilia. Make sure she never gets off the carriage.”
“Is that possible?”
Thump, thump!
As if to prove his point, Lasilia was struggling to open the door inside the carriage.
In the end, he had to ask this question.
“Is it true that Lady Lasilia wants to escape like this?”
“…Haat!”
Ecelion avoided answering and ran towards Ryan. However, the passage was not closed yet.
Kiuuuk!
The monsters continued to pour out.
Even if you added up the number of monsters that had appeared at Duke Pielion’s residence, it wasn’t this many. At this point, it was suspicious that the Empire was raising monsters.
The reason was revealed when Ecelion and Ryan faced each other with swords.
“You’d better run away.”
Ryan grinned and took Ecelion’s sword.
“Now you’re a wanted person in the Empire.”
“You?”
“Then what do you say to the wanted person?”
Kang!
Ecelion gave off a cursed aura.
“You alone can’t stop me.”
“Ah, that’s why I brought you here. To tie up your hands.”
“What… A monster?”
“His Majesty of Eliadon is not a person who cares about others.”
Ecelion showed contempt in his expression.
“Is that the emperor? Knowing that those monsters are after Lady Lasilia?”
“Well, that’s none of your business.”
When Ryan had said that,
“Beep!”
A bright red flame flew from the passage where the monsters were still pouring out.
Ecelion’s face changed.
“Phoenix…”
He had seen that flame before. What surprised Ecelion was the size of the flame.
The flame that had been so small it was laughable back then was now as big as a person’s head.
“Beep!”
The phoenix that had turned into flame passed him by and let out a harsh sound. He couldn’t help but know that it was his curse.
Whaaaaah!
Because the phoenix had vomited flames at him.
“Tsk!”
Ecelion stepped back to avoid the flames.
“Beep!”
The phoenix, which snorted at him, flew towards the carriage Lasilia was riding in.
“Beep!”
Kyauuuk!
Kyau!
The flames grew stronger. The monsters that were touched by the flames screamed strangely. And then, the emperor of the empire walked out of the passage with his golden eyes flashing brighter than the flames.
Ss, ss!
He swung his left arm holding his sword and cut down the monsters. The monsters did not disappear into black smoke, but split in half and flapped even more violently.
“On purpose…!”
Ecelion screamed.
If his eyes were not wrong, the emperor of the empire was intentionally increasing the number of monsters. Now he could understand the number of monsters that had increased in an instant.
He had increased it on purpose. To chase after Lady Lacillia. To cut off his escape route to take Lady Lacillia.
“Are you crazy! You’re increasing the number of monsters for that reason? Can’t you see Kelion City over there with those eyes? There are people living there!”
Swinging his left hand absentmindedly, Lescal walked all the way down the passage.
His right hand was not human. It was covered in black scales, revealing red nails.
“What does that have to do with me?”
The moment he faced the golden eyes, the fluff on his skin stood on end.
The emperor of the empire was not human. A being with eyes that looked at a human like that could not possibly be human.
The golden eyes looked at him as something infinitely meaningless, something without any sense of kinship. Something so insignificant that there was no need to get angry.
A being like that could not possibly love a human.
Even if she were his companion, it would be the same. Lady Lasilia was human. A person who had feelings, was hurt, and understood loneliness and pain just like him.
“Lady Lasilia…”
…Doesn’t love you.
Someone like him didn’t understand human love. Her affection shouldn’t be directed at him.
Ecelion was about to say that. But Lescal was fast.
“Ryan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
That was the signal.
At the same time that Ryan blocked Ecelion’s right side, Lescal passed him and approached the carriage.
Ssut, Kang!
Ryan deliberately leaned his head close to Ecelion and said.
“Are you going to let all your men die?”
“That…”
“Beg now. Say you were wrong. Then you won’t know. Your Majesty hates to do anything that would put Her Majesty in the wrong, so she might spare your neck.”
“Shut your mouth,”
Snap!
The sound of something breaking was heard behind him.
He turned his head and saw Tion lying on the ground in the distance.
Yenion blocked the Emperor’s path.
Crunch!
The Emperor’s right hand grabbed Yenion’s hand as he tried to remove the cloth covering his eyes. Yenion, whose wrist was broken, opened his mouth and let out a silent groan.
Kii-iuk!
The monsters that survived the Phoenix’s flame rushed at Tion.
“Tion…!”
Ecelion unleashed a cursed aura.
Evil! But as if he had been waiting, Ryan’s Aura cut it down.
“One at a time. And I need time to focus.”
Ryan grinned.
“I think I’ve already won. Just surrender. Then I’ll save that human’s life.”
“…huh,”
Ecelion bit his lip.
* * *
Suddenly the door opened!
“Your Majesty!”
That face was the happiest thing in the world.
Lasilia unconsciously spread her arms and tried to stand up toward Lescal.
“No, no.”
“…Yes?”
Knock.
The carriage door closed again.
Lescal’s face disappeared from her sight.
“Your Majesty. Please open the door.”
Lescal’s small voice was heard from behind the closed door.
“Not yet. Wait a moment.”
“Why do I have to do that?”
“It’s noisy outside. I need to clean up.”
The word “clean up” had many meanings. First, he had to deal with Ecelion and his party, and he had to eliminate all the monsters. The monsters were after Lasilia. He couldn’t just show himself.
“There are a lot of monsters. You might be in danger.”
“…Well then.”
Lasilia nodded from inside the carriage. She couldn’t risk herself just because she was happy to see him. Instead of saying she would go out, Lasilia sat right next to the door.
She could see Lescal’s back through the window.
She felt like she could touch him if she just stretched out her hand a little.
“Can’t you even open the window?”
At those words, Lescal shrugged his shoulders and turned his head.
“The window… why?”
“I wanted to touch you for a moment.”
“So… why?”
“Because I got to see you again?”
“…”
Lescal smiled without answering.
As usual, Lasilia didn’t immediately understand his reaction.
“If not, I’ll just stay that way.”
“That…”
Suddenly!
Lescal turned around and opened the window. He grabbed the window frame and lowered his head, their noses almost touching.
“You shouldn’t say that.”
“Why?”
Lasilia reached out and brushed back the bangs that were falling down as Lescal lowered his head.
Lescal grabbed her hand and placed his lips on her palm.
“Then this is what will happen.”
“What do you mean, like this?”
“Holding, touching. Listening to your breathing, I will confirm that you have not left my side… No matter what else happens.”
“Ah… I see.”
He must have been very surprised. More surprised than she was.
Lasilia guessed what would have happened after she disappeared.
“How long has it been since I disappeared? How did you get here? …Oh, and Pipi! Sir Sigress too. Both of you are cursed…”
“They are both fine.”
Lescal pursed his lips.
“Ryan cut the curse… I was the one who was not okay.”
“What happened to Peha?”
“You disappeared.”
Lescal let out a hot breath as he recalled that moment.
That was the worst thing that could happen to Lescal. If the tracking magic hadn’t been working continuously, he wouldn’t have been able to remain in human form now.
“It was terrible.”
“…I see.”
Lasilia finally understood Lescal’s situation. It seemed a bit joking to say that he was the only one who wasn’t okay when there were others who were cursed, but the shock he must have felt must have been different.
Lasilia’s hands stroking Lescal’s hair became more affectionate. But that wasn’t enough. For a moment, she wanted to hold him who must have been in such a terrible place for a long time.
“Can I still go out?”
Lescal let out a low groan for no reason.
“…No.”
“I think it’s okay since Your Majesty is still by my side. What happened to His Highness Ecelion and his party?”
Lescal didn’t mention that he had thrown Tion to the ground and broken Yenion’s wrist.
“Ryan is handling it well.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any danger.”
“There are monsters. Quite a few.”
The reason he came with the monsters was simple.
There was no time to deal with the monsters. Decan opened a passage with sorcery, and the guards drove the monsters into it.
He had planned to eliminate the monsters while moving, but he changed his mind. It would be better to use the monsters to tie their feet. If he used a magic scroll like he did when he escaped from the empire and disappeared again, he might lose sight of Lasilia.
As his thoughts came to a close, his hands moved on their own. If he was going to use them, he might as well use them properly. As Lescal and Ryan swung their swords together, the number of monsters increased exponentially.
Of course, he didn’t forget that the monsters were after Lasilia. He just didn’t care.
There was no way he couldn’t protect Lasilia from such a lowly being.
In fact, now was the time to get involved in eliminating the monsters. It was something that even the immature bird and Ryan could do, but the sooner he eliminated them, the sooner he could return. But now, he didn’t want to leave Lasilia’s side even a single step. He thought it was irrational, but his body wouldn’t move.
“If the monster is the problem, I think it’s okay to leave.”
But Lasilia said this.
“Why?”
Lasilia raised her body a little and put her hand on Lescal’s ear.
“Can you hear me?”
“…What.”
“The monster’s voice has changed.”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on August, 24.
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