There Is No Way You Love Me

‘Disgusting. Ugly.’

‘They call her the Monster Duchess, and that’s exactly right.’

‘Don’t let me see you, you filthy thing!’

 

A multitude of voices whispered in Alyssa’s ear. She tried to answer Kieran’s question, but she couldn’t open her mouth because of the words that echoed in her mind.

 

‘Go tell your father—’

 

The voices quickly merged into one sharp, female voice.

‘Tell him you’re not my child!’

 

A piercing scream, sharp and cutting, broke through the noise.

 

“You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to.”

 

Alyssa opened her eyes at those words. Her vision, still covered by the white sheet, remained blurry, but the whispering voices in her ear had disappeared.

 

“No… no, it’s nothing.”

 

Her hand, which she had been clenching tightly, was now drenched in cold sweat. Slowly loosening her trembling fingers, Alyssa took a deep breath.

 

“I know that growing my hair out isn’t the most pleasant to look at. But my bare face is so ugly…”

 

Kieran quietly listened to her, his attitude neither overly concerned nor dismissive.

 

“It’s not a contagious disease or a scar, but ever since I was a child, when people looked at my face, they would shudder in disgust. I had no other way to cover it…”

 

She had always walked with her head down, her hair hanging forward, ever since she was very young. It was uncomfortable, but there was no other choice.

 

“A mask is expensive, and it was difficult to hide my face with my hands. Growing my hair out to cover it was the best option… Ah.”

 

Alyssa suddenly stopped speaking. She had just remembered something that, foolishly, she hadn’t realized before.

 

When Alyssa was young, she didn’t even have enough bread to get through the day, let alone a mask to cover her face. And that hadn’t changed much even after she rose to the position of head of the family.

 

But not anymore. Alyssa now had enough money to buy an expensive teacup.

 

‘I can buy a mask now.’

 

Much had changed, but there were still many things Alyssa hadn’t realized.

 

Now, no one was coming to her room to hit her, yet she still feared the sound of footsteps, as if she expected it.

 

“I see.”

 

Kieran responded calmly, neither affirming nor denying, just answering simply.

 

“The servants have prepared a mask and scissors. Once you’ve fixed your bangs, you can wear the mask.”

 

At his words, Alyssa quietly nodded. Kieran paused for a moment, then quietly continued.

 

“But if you don’t want to wear it, don’t.”

 

His tone was flat, and it was clear he had carefully chosen his words. Alyssa found herself smiling softly without even realizing it.

 

Soon after, as Kieran left, Mirika entered holding a silver tray. On it were a black half-mask and scissors.

 

Alyssa gestured for Mirika to leave as she tried to help her, then covered her face with the half-mask and roughly cut the frozen part of her hair.

 

She had always done her own hair maintenance and also didn’t want anyone else touching the part of her hair that had been affected by the monster’s attack.

 

“I can handle the clothing, so go bring Kanut.”

 

Mirika, who had been quietly holding the clothes, nodded lightly and left the room.

 

By the time Alyssa had finished changing, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, followed by a loud knock.

 

“Commnder. It’s Kanut .”

 

As Alyssa adjusted her clothes, the door opened, and Kanut entered, his face wrapped tightly in bandages.

 

His face was unusually clear today, and Alyssa hesitated for a moment, knowing it was because she had removed her bangs and put on a mask.

 

“You woke up in only one day this time. You must have gotten up early because your husband was waiting for you.”

 

“Report,Kanut.”

 

Alyssa ignored Kanut, who was joking with a mischievous smile. With a slightly regretful look on his face, he opened his mouth.

 

“Well… let’s start with the basics. We’ve sent people to rebuild the northern wall that was broken.We’ve stitched up the wounded well.”

 

As soon as the formal exchange of information was over, Alyssa asked a question.

 

“What about the investigation into the spring attacks and the humanoid monsters? Are we certain that these creatures do not attack humans?”

 

“Should I say yes, or should I say no…?”

 

Kanut, who had taken a deep breath as if struggling with his words, continued with a troubled expression.

 

“Well, it’s true that they don’t attack humans. But the latter part is incorrect.”

 

Alyssa frowned in confusion, and Kanut revealed an unbelievable truth.

 

“Those monsters… they’re human.”

 

Alyssa was about to deny it without even hearing more, but Kanut‘s words kept coming.

 

“We’ve verified it several times. Their skin and teeth hardness are completely human.”

 

“They have the power of monsters, Kanut.”

 

At Alyssa’s sharp words, Kanut sighed.

 

“It’s a bit different. Monsters are inherently born with special powers, but those creatures  used their powers with something like an eerie stave ,didn’t they?”

 

“…”

 

“The source of their power is that stave. They said they processed monster corpses with their own unique technique to invent it.”

 

Despite this, Alyssa still couldn’t relax her expression. Understanding, Kanut continued.

 

“That’s right. The Empire doesn’t have the technology to harness monster power. But those creatures, didn’t they come out of the Monster Forest?”

 

That, too, was one of the reasons Alyssa couldn’t believe the creatures were ordinary humans.

 

The Monster Forest is an unknown space. On the Empire’s map, only the border between the forest and the Duchy is marked, and no one knew the exact size of the forest.

 

The reason for that is because humans cannot step into the forest. The forest itself, being filled with monsters, despises humans and never leaves any intruders alive who trespass on its territory.

 

It’s possible that people live and nations have been established on the other side of the Monster Forest, but she would never meet them in her lifetime.

 

For humans, it is absolutely impossible to cross the forest.

 

Yes, impossible for humans.

 

A hypothesis surfaced in Alyssa’s mind. 

 

The Empire has never developed the technology to harness the power of monsters.

 

But what if that technology was developed in the land beyond the Monster Forest?

 

Could those with such power really be unable to cross into the Monster Forest?

 

To Alyssa’s doubt, Kanut confirmed it firmly.

 

“They are from the land beyond the forest.”

 

---

A moment later, in Alyssa’s office.

 

“It is my first time greeting you in this way, distinguished guests from the New Continent. I am Alma from the Pendulum Kingdom.”

 

Alyssa looked at the man who bowed to her with an awkward gaze.

 

Even when she first encountered him on the battlefield, and now as she had him summoned to her office for the formal investigation, he still felt unfamiliar to her.

 

From the way he raised his hand in greeting, to his deep copper-colored skin, and the gleaming blue eyes—everything about him was something she had never seen before.

 

“Truly, I’m alive thanks to you. The artifact was almost broken, and without your help, I would have surely died. Ha ha!”

 

Alma answered cheerfully, speaking very fluent Imperial language. Still unable to let her guard down Alyssa asked again.

 

“What is an artifact?”

 

“Ah, it’s a magical medium made from the remains of monsters. The staves we were carrying, and this gem I’m holding now, are both artifacts.”

 

Alma shook the yellow gem, which was about the size of an adult’s fist, in his hand.

 

“The power of each artifact is different. This one is for translation purposes. But no matter what artifact it is, once the power inside is exhausted, it tends to break.”

 

Alma, who had been gently spinning the yellow gem, let out a deep sigh and grasped it with both hands.

 

“We packed all sorts of artifacts when we left the homeland, but after spending about a month in the Dark Forest, we used them all up…”

 

“A month?!”

 

Kanut, who had been quietly listening, spoke with shock. Alyssa was equally surprised.

 

Even Alysa herself couldn’t last half a day in the Monster’s Forest, yet these people were saying they survived for a month.

 

“Haha, honestly, we didn’t think it would be this dangerous or take so long! We thought we’d find new land after about a week.”

 

“Why did you think that?”

 

“We didn’t think. Hahaha!”

 

Alma’s bold answer left Kanut looking unusually bewildered.

 

“How could you be so bold?”

 

“Curiosity about knowledge. People from the Pendulum Kingdom are all scholars, and I’m one of the most exceptional among them.”

 

Alma, who had been smiling awkwardly, winked.

 

“But how could we not leave? Our small country had already been thoroughly explored, and there was nothing left to hope for except what lay beyond the forest!”

 

Alma’s already gleaming eyes shone even brighter as he smiled again.

 

“Everyone warned us not to go in, but no one knew what was actually in the forest or how big it was. Honestly, I thought maybe the fear was keeping people from exploring it, so I figured we might as well give it a shot. A week should’ve been enough to map out the forest.”

 

“…”

 

“But the grown-ups were right! Even after running for a month, all we found were crazy monsters, and when we barely managed to escape, they chased us to the land we had barely discovered!”

 

After hearing this, Alyssa and Kanut began to piece together the details of the spring attacks. It seemed like the chaos had been caused by those running wild inside the forest.

 

“…They really seem like dangerous ones.”

 

Kanut whispered to Alyssa.