The Mad Princess's Tale of Doom and Survival

TL note- Hello, dear readers! It’s Nosha, I’ll be using the honorific for Astel as ‘Lady’ from now on. Sorry for any inconvenience!

  “Lady, should we return to the mansion now?”

 

  “Let’s go.”

 

  I climbed into the carriage and looked outside.

 

  The scenery was passing by quickly through the window.

 

  Kael was quite an impressive man. Not just in appearance, but I really liked his attitude.

 

  He was full of suspicion and quick in calculations.

 

  As expected, he was someone who moved according to his own interests rather than emotions.

 

  If I became beneficial to him, he wouldn’t easily betray me.

 

  Of course, he would discard me as soon as the benefits disappeared.

 

  ‘Well, it’s the same for us too.’

 

  He was an excellent partner for negotiation.

 

  ‘For the first outing, it was quite successful.’

 

  “What? 100,000 points?”

 

  It was a much larger amount than the average sponsorship.

 

  ‘How did this happen? It’s rare to receive this much even for hunting monsters…’

 

  After tirelessly beating and killing monsters, something sweet came out, and it seemed like I went crazy.

 

  I accepted all the missions and turned my gaze back out the window.

 

  When I regained my composure, I noticed that the carriage was moving slowly, like a turtle. It seemed to get worse as we got closer to the square.

 

  Genia leaned her head out of the window and peered ahead.

 

  “Oh? The entrance to the plaza is blocked. What’s going on? Should I go and find out?”

 

  “No.”

 

  “Are you sure? The gate isn’t open again, is it?”

 

  “It’s unlikely.”

 

  It was still early on, so the gates wouldn’t open consecutively.

 

  Most likely, Kael had contacted someone.

 

  There might be more live monsters.

 

  “Or he could have personally intervened.”

 

 Genia, who had been observant, asked discreetly.

 

  “Lady, if monsters appear and threaten people, will you help?”

 

  “If it’s that guy from earlier, no.”

 

  “May I ask for the reason?”

 

  “I don’t have the money.”

 

  “Well, I see… Then, if that monster threatens me?”

 

  “Do you think you’ve shown enough value for me to endure the trouble and save you?”

 

  “I… I will do my best.”

 

  Genia lowered her head with a gloomy expression.

 

  I turned my head back out of the window.

 

  No matter how long I waited, the situation didn’t improve. They were completely blocking the entire square and conducting an extensive search.

 

  I had no choice but to turn the carriage around.

 

  Fortunately, there were few people on the route we took, which bypassed the square.

 

  As the speed gradually increased, it was becoming increasingly frustrating, and it felt like my patience was wearing thin.

 

  Thump!

 

  Something forcefully collided with the side of the carriage.

 

  The carriage tilted as if it could topple over from the tremendous impact.

 

  Creak! The carriage wheels made an ominous sound and squeaked.

 

  A scream erupted from Genia’s mouth.

 

  “Ah!”

 

  I quickly grabbed onto the window frame and pulled Genia towards me.

 

  Genia, who was flying in the opposite direction, was brought back by the forceful pull. Fortunately, it was just before her head hit the window.

 

  Eeek!

 

  Startled, the four horses reared and thrashed around.

 

  The carriage wobbled, as if there was something wrong with one of the wheels.

 

  “Whoa! Whoa!”

 

  The coachman struggled outside, trying to calm the horses, but it was in vain.

 

  The speed increased even more.

 

  At this rate, the carriage could be dragged while overturned.

 

  “In the current situation, jumping off is the only option.”

 

  I hesitated for a moment, holding onto the carriage door handle.

 

  ‘But what about Genia?’

 

  I was confident that I could jump off the running carriage unharmed.

 

  However, it was too risky for Genia to jump off with me. The possibility of her getting injured was too great.

 

  But leaving Genia inside the carriage was out of the question.

 

  ‘Genia must not get hurt.’

 

  She is the breadwinner, taking care of her sick younger sibling alone.

 

  To make ends meet, she has to work tirelessly and earn money.

 

  ‘Saan, are you really not going to college? If you win a medal in this Olympics, you could easily get into a decent sports department.’

 

  “That’s the thing. Even though you can easily get into universities that others can’t go to, why are you giving up? Isn’t it a waste?”

 

  “Hey, guys, stop it. Saan has decided to join the unemployment team. Didn’t he even sign a contract?”

 

  “Why?”

 

  “Well, Saan is an orphan. He doesn’t have parents like us. He doesn’t have time to go to college. He has to earn money.”

 

  “Well, if you only have your body, you starve the moment you take a break. What are we going to do about poor Saan?”

 

  My hand holding the door handle didn’t move.

 

  I knew that hesitating in this situation was foolish.

 

  However, I couldn’t move.

 

  ‘I can play around until I get better, but even a single day off work would have a big impact on Genia.’

 

  In that moment of hesitation, the carriage tilted weakly, unable to withstand the pressure.

 

  Crack! The sound of the axle snapping could be heard.

 

  “Fuck!”

 

  I let go of the carriage door handle and pulled Genia close.

 

  “Lady, Lady!”

 

  “Don’t struggle! You’ll get hurt if you move!”

 

  One of the wobbling carriage wheels came off.

 

  Thud! With a loud noise, the carriage shook violently.

 

  The weight shifted to one side. I held Genia tightly, bracing myself to prevent us from being crushed.

 

  Thanks to that, the carriage didn’t immediately crash, but it was only a matter of time.

 

  The teetering carriage slowly tipped over.

 

  I tensed my body, preparing for the tremendous impact.

 

  And then…

 

  A brilliant light enveloped the carriage. Simultaneously, the carriage floated in mid-air.

 

  At the same time, it felt as if my whole body was being lifted up by an invisible force, and my buttocks left the seat.

 

  “Uh…?”

 

  For a moment, the strength in my arms, holding onto Genia, loosened.

 

  It was a fleeting moment, but it felt like an eternity.

 

  Silently, the carriage gently descended to the ground.

 

  My hair, which had floated upwards, fell back down.

 

  Only then did gravity return, and my body felt heavy again.

 

  Instinctively, I held onto Genia and realized. The carriage that had been racing madly was surprisingly motionless.

 

  “Lady, Lady, did the carriage just… float? What, what happened? Are we still alive? I have to survive! My, my younger sibling is at home!”

 

  “We’re alive, so calm down.”

 

  I reassured the flustered Genia and stepped out of the carriage.

 

  The coachman, his face pale, seemed to have exerted all his strength and was hanging on for dear life.

 

  As he stumbled down from the carriage, he immediately emptied his stomach.

 

  “Uweeek!”

 

  I bypassed the coachman and surveyed the road.

 

  The narrow dirt path was filled with signs of intense struggle.

 

  The wreckage of the carriage was scattered here and there, and deep tire tracks were imprinted on the ground.

 

  As I examined the lingering traces, I inspected the exterior of the carriage.

 

‘Bloodstains?’

 

  It seemed that something alive had collided with the carriage. That’s why it was startled and took off.

 

  ‘What could have collided with it? An animal, perhaps?’

 

  Lost in thought, I suddenly felt a presence.

 

  I turned my head and widened my eyes.

 

  “…A mask? Is this for real?”

 

  There stood a tall man in front of the road.

 

  I thought I was seeing things, but it wasn’t a mistake. The man was indeed wearing a black mask over his head.

 

  “He’s a hunter!”

 

  Whether he was insane or just peculiar, I couldn’t say for sure, but the man’s identity was that of a hunter.

 

  There were scattered monster corpses at his feet.

 

  It seemed that the monster, while fleeing from him, collided with the running carriage without noticing.

 

  I glared at the man.

 

  “It’s you?”

 

  The man, looking flustered, almost bent his waist in half to greet me.

 

  Rather than a greeting, it was more like an apology.

 

  “Where did such a crazy person come from… Ah, my neck.”

 

  I rubbed my sore neck.

 

  Not only my neck, but my entire body that had collided with various obstacles while holding onto Genia was bruised and aching.

 

  I impatiently pushed back my hood and ruffled my hair roughly. Then, I cracked my knuckles.

 

  “What kind of etiquette is it to stand far away and just crack your neck? Come here.”

 

  The man shook his head vigorously.

 

  “It won’t end well if I come closer. But still, won’t you come?”

 

  He hesitated, leaning back slightly.

 

  Without warning, I kicked the ground and sprang forward.