[ Chapter 39 ]
“Why, why? Why are you telling me to run away?”
Tears seemed to be coming, but overwhelming fear dominated my entire body, not even giving me a chance for tears to well up in my eyes. Tree branches approached like ghosts, mercilessly striking my face. I soon realized this was a dream after wandering through the forest sobbing for a while.
Could it be that this is a continuation of the previous dream?
“You didn’t even tell me your name. At least tell me your name before you leave.”
A clumsy way of speaking unsuitable for my age slipped out of my mouth. However, even as I blamed the boy, my steps did not stop, and even when thin branches touched my ankles, I showed no signs of surprise. This was because I had absolute faith in his warning.
Finally, when a white bell tower appeared, the fear that had built up gradually began to dissipate. He had told me to go to the main road, but if they were from the Western Empire again, search parties would be deployed in the village as well. It was wiser to enter the bell tower where no one would be.
The old wooden door made a strained sound. Without hesitation, I ran up the stairs, and in the mirror illuminating the corridor, my reflection seemed to flash by.
Following my movement, a natural glow circled around my fluttering blond hair. My gaze directed upstairs had violet eyes set in them that were as mystical as amethysts. In the dream, I seemed to be a Remonian around 5 years old. Could it be that I was possessing my body and seeing the past?
My personal doubts disappeared as I climbed the stairs, panting heavily. It should have been tiring, but where did this endless stamina come from?
It must be because of the boy.
I, the young Lemony who had made it to the rooftop, raised myself on my tiptoes to look over the wall that was slightly taller than my height. Fortunately, the boy was found not far from the bell tower.
“No way.”
But the violet eyes that had been filled with anticipation instantly froze like ice.
“We have found the divine beast.”
“…shinsu? Did you just say Shinsu? That guy?”
Knights bearing shields engraved with Rozelia flowers, fully clad in iron armor, surrounded the boy. They were undoubtedly the knights from the Western Empire who had been chasing me.
Bright crimson eyes, almost blood-red in color, were regarded as nearly sacred existences among humans. This was because among beasts, they were known to have the highest intelligence, possessing a human form while also having the robustness of beasts. Furthermore, divine beasts without any human blood could transform into animals several times larger than regular beasts.
To some humans, they were considered a valuable species. Perhaps not only because of their abilities, but also because it was rare to even encounter them, let alone hunt them.
The heel I had raised to observe the situation began to tremble.
“…The knights said they were going to kidnap me because of my insensitivity to pain. But he’s much stronger than me, so they must be…”
Kidnapping him.
As the undeniable truth surfaced, I felt anguished.
That must not happen. If the Christina family caught wind of their attempt to kidnap me, the entire Southern Empire would prepare for war. But if that boy was kidnapped, the entire Southern Empire might come to watch. He would become a trophy for the humans.
I, who had been dazed while assessing the situation, suddenly dashed off as if bewitched. My destination was where the boy had been.
“Hey!”
The situation was even more dreadful than I had thought. Without realizing it, I shouted towards the boy, and the gazes of the surrounding knights fixated on me, the young Lemony. As expected, the young boy was fiercely resisting. Along with scratches on his nose and cheeks, he had bruises on his knees that were painful just to look at. He must have been dragged by the knights’ hands as he resisted.
“I told you to go to the white bell tower.”
However, the expression that appeared on the boy’s face as he met my gaze was one of anger.
“I went there like you said!”
It sounded like a massive beast growling. The boy, with a contorted nose bridge from anger, exhaled roughly. It was as if he even felt a sense of betrayal from me, suddenly charging at me to the point where the knights had to restrain him.
“That’s, I did go there, but you were like that there.”
The words weren’t coming out properly.
For me, the young Lemony, this was the first time I had received such immense anger from someone. My heart was pounding, and my whole body felt as stiff as a rock. However, the knight who had been restraining the boy with an annoyed expression furrowed his brow and gestured to another comrade.
“Don’t! Don’t do it! If you take him, you’re the ones who will lose! Let me give you a piece of advice since you seem clueless—he’s a high-ranking nobleman of the Southern Empire!”
Of course, the boy, who couldn’t miss that, resisted even more fiercely.
“Put a muzzle on him or something. Why is this so-called divine beast making such a racket like an ordinary brat?”
“Understood—”
It was at that moment. The knight who was about to continue his words abruptly turned his head. It was because he was accidentally hit by the fist of the boy, who was struggling to break free. The boy himself seemed to not have expected it, freezing with a startled expression.
“I, I didn’t mean to…”
“This beast!”
All of a sudden, the knight’s face turned bright red as his eyes changed, and he raised his long leg to kick the boy in the stomach. The 5-year-old Lemony willingly rushed over and took the knight’s assault instead.
“How dare you hit a princess!”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
The girl’s body was flung like a leaf, slamming against the ground. The captain of the knights, who belatedly grasped the situation, did not have a good look on his face. It was only natural. To make a good deal, the product had to be in good condition. But if she was already injured, the Southern Empire would definitely object. Especially the Christina noble family would make a fuss.
Even the beasts living in the middle grounds knew that relations between the Western and Southern Empires were not good. The two empires, separated by the wedged middle grounds that prevented any exchange, began to vent their curiosity towards each other in strange ways. Especially the Western Empire lent an ear to rumors about the princess who could not feel pain from faraway neighboring empires.
For some reason, they liked strange things.
“You…”
As the stunned boy’s mouth opened, the young Lemony defiantly rose from the ground.
And pleased that she had saved the boy, she looked at the knights of the empire and asked innocently,
“Are you guys angry because of this?”
◆
“Ah.”
As I opened my eyes and returned to reality, a small exclamation lingered on my lips. So this was Lemony’s past. But their relationship was this deep? Lemony is just an extra character, right?
…Is she really just an extra?
◆
“We need to get an apology first.”
Through the window, gray rain poured relentlessly over the lush forest visible beyond the horizon. It was as if a dense mist like a blanket had settled over the entire forest. With the weather unlikely to clear up anytime soon, we decided to postpone our departure and pass the time in our respective rooms.
“…An apology?”
And now, Leilia was not only teaching me shooting lessons but also human lessons.
“Wouldn’t Lemony be angry after enduring such humiliation last night? If I had gone through that, I would be furious.”
Her green eyes flickered like leaves scorched by fire. Turning my head away from her intense gaze, I pondered for a while before shrugging.
“I am a bit angry.”
“You are?”
“But apart from that time, I’m grateful he protected me.”
“Now Lemony can protect herself, can’t she?”
At her words about being able to protect myself, I fell silent.
Her words made me fall silent.
At the beginning of my time in Lemonie’s body, I had been so detached that I thought dying would be better, and I had even made bold demands of Deon. But at some point, as I spent more time with them, I had become accustomed to it.
It was like the law of the jungle. Deon and Ian were stronger than the monsters. Being with them guaranteed my life, so I decided to endure until the escape. And once I started feeling pain in my numb body, I found myself more and more intimidated.
“You’re not in some sort of contract relationship, are you?”
Her continuous questioning made my purple eyes slowly open.
“He doesn’t demand strange things in exchange for protecting Lemonie, right?”
Surely not.
“Lemony?”
“Because Miss Lemony has things to do, too. It’s something only Miss Lemony can do.”
Was that how my words sounded to Leilia?
“I’ll get an apology.”
“What?”
Leilia’s hand dropped from her chin at my sudden change in attitude.
“I’ll get an apology from Ian and make him promise never to do it again.”
I wasn’t planning on doing the same with Deon. We had an understanding that as long as he didn’t use strange behavior, I wouldn’t use command magic.
“Are you going to do it right now?”
As I stood up, slinging the shotgun on my back that was leaning against the wall, she rose at the same time.
“…Your ability to take action is astounding, Lemony.”
“That’s how I’ve survived.”
I bluntly retorted and nodded at her before leaving the room. I wondered if Cedric, the watcher, saw me the same way. If a stranger like Leilia saw me that way, it was likely Cedric did too.
“Ian.”
I politely knocked, and the sound of footsteps approaching the door came from the other side. Suddenly recalling the torture chamber incident, my nape stiffened, but it would be okay since Deon and Leilia were present. If anything happened, I just had to scream immediately to call for help…
“…Lemony?”
But when I saw Ian, I was too shocked even to scream.
“I was taking a bath, what’s going on for you to come find me first? Is something wrong?”
He had come out with dripping wet, and shirtless.
◆
Thank you for reading! ♡
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[ There Are No Bad Military Dogs ]
