You are at the End of the Downfall

Kaela hid behind a thick tree, glancing furtively at the stable. At this point, it was clear she was being foolish.

No, she already knew she was foolish, but did the world have to keep reminding her of this fact? The world wasn’t helping her.

There were numerous stables within Lusenford Castle, all filled with well-fed warhorses, but Kaela didn’t dare approach them.

If she made a move now, the knights would immediately ride out. The stable keeper wouldn’t be crazy enough to give such a precious horse to a skinny Grand Duchess. Kaela had enough sense to know that.

But at the same time, she knew her body couldn’t possibly walk all the way to the evil dragon’s domain. Kaela hated herself for even considering this dilemma.

What was she going to do there anyway? “Excuse me, hello, Mr. Evil Dragon, I’m your neighbor. I don’t know what’s going on, but could you please cry more quietly? It’s too noisy. I’m just here to quickly look for my husband who might be around. Please understand.” Would she say something like that? The dragon wouldn’t understand her anyway, so communication was unlikely.

‘Should I give up? Let’s give up. Give up.’

Her mind quickly shifted from deliberation to conclusion. Giving up was easier on the body. Even when she tried until her heart was worn out, nothing was achieved, so it was obvious what the outcome would be if she tried now.

Kaela was terribly unlucky, and unlike others, she was someone whose efforts were never rewarded.

If she asked for a horse now and went, people would just point fingers, saying the Grand Duchess had lost her mind. Taking out a horse so important for war, and then entering the dangerous domain of the evil dragon alone!

Hmm. Yes. Even Kaela thought it was insane. So, let’s stop peeking at the stable from behind the tree. She already felt tired from moving a little. She should go lie down.

Squeak!

A small animal sound was heard. Kaela looked down to her left. Then she was startled.

Squeak squeak!

It was a creature she had never seen before. Its purple eyes, reminiscent of Peon, were brimming with tears, and its black fur gleamed.

Its body was small enough to fit on her palm, but it had a very full and large tail, making it look as cute as a squirrel.

But squirrels don’t have large fluttering ears, nor do they approach people fearlessly as if they recognize them. It was so cute and pretty it seemed enchanting, but it was a monster.

Kaela swallowed the scream that was about to escape and took a step back. She shouldn’t scream.

Not provoking monsters was common sense known to everyone who came to Lusenford. Even if it looked this cute, it was obviously a terrifying monster that would pounce and gouge out people’s eyes and tear their throats.

Squeak squeak squeak!

The tiny monster squeaked urgently again. Shedding tears, it seemed to be telling her something in an incomprehensible language.

How did this monster get in here? The knights should be tightly guarding the castle walls. That’s why Kaela didn’t dare to go out, but this monster boldly came in.

Squeak squeak!

The monster, which had been standing up and pointing behind itself with its front paws while squeaking, finally started tugging hard on Kaela’s shoelaces as she remained still.

It was scary. Too scary. Knowing that even small monsters could easily kill people, Kaela tightly closed her eyes. Although she had chosen death, she had desperately avoided painful deaths. She hated that too much.

Squeak! Squeeeeak!

The monster, unable to make loud noises, clearly had business with her. It seemed to be crying along with the dragon wailing in the distance.

Kaela barely opened one eye to look at the monster. The little creature kept squeaking, seemingly asking her to come along. Tears fell from its purple eyes, darker than Peon’s.

The couple had regressed, the evil dragon was wailing, the monster was crying, and Peon had disappeared like magic. And the Grand Duchess had to fulfill her duties until death. Kaela closed her eyes tightly again and barely opened them. Then she squeezed out her voice.

“Do I have to go?”

The monster immediately let go of her shoelace and squeaked, nodding its head vigorously. Good heavens, it could understand her. Well, in a world where regression was possible, there was no rule against communicating with monsters.

The sound of the evil dragon crying continued to pull at her soul. Even Kaela, who didn’t want to do anything, was driven to the brink of madness by it. It kept scratching at her eardrums. Strangely, this situation felt like an inevitable fate.

“By any chance…”

Feeling crazy for attempting to talk to a monster, Kaela closed her eyes and swallowed dryly.

“Is my husband there?”

My husband. It was a phrase that felt awkward even to pronounce.

Squeeeeeak!

Yes, it said. The monster nodded its small head several times, crying out desperately.

“Ha…”

She was dumbfounded. The monster might be lying. But given the circumstances, the fact that Peon still hadn’t appeared meant there was a reason he couldn’t. For instance, being held captive in the evil dragon’s domain.

She swallowed hard and carefully stepped back. No. This wasn’t right. No matter what, this couldn’t be right.

Squeak? Squeak!

The monster hopped up and down again. It seemed to be scolding her, saying she shouldn’t do that, but somehow she felt a strong urge to follow the monster, though her reason said otherwise.

Kaela kept suppressing her screams as she slowly stepped back, one foot at a time. She rolled her eyes, looking for someone who could help her.

From the eastern stable to the eastern gate stretched a straight line. And the castle walls spread out on both sides. There were soldiers there too, but they were all focused on guarding the north, where the evil dragon’s domain was.

Squeak!

The cute squirrel-like monster hopped around and finally let out a short cry. At that moment, a commotion broke out on the northern wall.

“Monsters!”

“Attack!”

“Monsters appearing in the north!”

The soldiers and knights on the eastern wall immediately ran north. The sound of monsters rampaging could be heard, but Kaela, who was slowly retreating, furrowed her brow. That sound somehow seemed less sincere.

Squeak!

Yes, the desperate squeaking sound asking her to come closer now sounded much more sincere. No, still, a monster is a monster. She needed to come to her senses and move away.

A dark shadow fell over Kaela as she stepped further back. She looked up to see the enormous something covering her head. Before she could identify it, large wings swiftly enveloped her.

The wings lifted her up and disappeared beyond the castle walls. No one noticed the Grand Duchess vanishing from there.

Kaela was enveloped in something very soft yet inescapable as she was moved. It felt like she had been tucked into a comfortable pouch. The only vague sensation was that this pouch was flying through the sky.

‘If I fall, I’ll die from the impact.’

Kaela crouched down, hugging her knees and burying her face between them. A scream escaped, but she knew she shouldn’t scream. It was forbidden to provoke unnecessarily. And it drained her energy. It was all to her disadvantage.

Squeak squeak!

The squirrel-like monster that was in the pouch with her approached her feet and babbled something again.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Her squeezed-out voice mumbled.

Squeak squeak squeak!

“I said I can’t understand. Go away.”

She barely managed to say while trembling.

Squeeeeak…

The fluttering ears drooped. The purple eyes, sparkling like jewels, also became downcast. What did it want her to do?

She was a human who had been fighting against the evil dragon all this time, so what did they expect from her? Were they planning to hold her hostage in Lusenford? She would be a worthless hostage.

At that moment, the short flight ended. The pouch that seemed to be floating in the air descended, and her view brightened.

‘Where is this?’

What she saw were drooping vines, dense trees, and the entrance to a cave. Kaela turned around. The pouch that had brought her wasn’t a pouch at all, but an enormously large monster with giant wings.

And behind it, the spirits of the evil dragon, emitting a pale blue light, were watching her. Lusenford Castle was nowhere to be seen. Kaela unconsciously swallowed hard. This was far crazier than running away from home.

Squeak!

The purple squirrel that had brought her here hopped a few steps towards the cave, then squeaked at her again. It seemed to be telling her to enter the cave, its entrance cleverly hidden by vines and trees.

The monsters and spirits themselves stayed far back from the cave entrance, unable to approach, just watching her. Somehow, these beings different from humans seemed very anxious.

Boom!

The flashing lightning and thunder were clearer here. And the evil dragon’s wailing was louder too. Even the bird-like monster that had brought Kaela here lowered its head and gently nudged her back.

“Eek…!”

Startled, Kaela turned to look at the monster and stepped back. The monster that had carried out the abduction gazed at her blankly.

They were telling her to go. To enter that cave. Countless spirits and monsters were watching her, holding their breath.

Peon must be in there. Kaela had no choice but to move. She couldn’t retreat, so she had to move forward.

Neither the tiny squeaking monster nor anyone else followed Kaela. She now headed towards the cave at the forefront.

The little monster that had come to fetch her quickly retreated and trembled as soon as she passed by. It seems it was scared too.

What could be so frightening? She’d find out when she went in. Kaela dragged her feet forcibly as she entered.

Inside the cave was a bit colder, cooler, and of course, darker. The entrance was smaller than expected, but the inside was much wider. And strangely, no sound could be heard.

‘I can’t even hear the evil dragon’s crying well.’

It’s strange. The moment she entered the cave, all sounds were cut off. Only by turning back and focusing intently on the entrance could she faintly hear the evil dragon’s wailing.

The further in she went, the less she could hear. Kaela continued walking, hunching her shoulders.

The path was too bumpy, making it uncomfortable to walk. The silent, dark place was frightening. It was like the cold, cool, lightless North Tower.

“…Hic…”

Her breathing gradually became rough, and occasionally, choked sounds could be heard between breaths. It was the sound of suppressed screams or cries leaking out.

Kaela moved forward, feeling the cave wall, just as she had done in the North Tower.

She was doing as told, moving forward because she couldn’t go back to where the evil dragon’s minions were densely packed, but she didn’t know how far she had to go. What could Kaela possibly do in a place that even monsters and spirits feared!

“…Ugh, hic…”

She shouldn’t cry. But despite knowing this, fear-filled sobs escaped. See? Nothing she did was right. She couldn’t even do the one thing of holding back properly. Forcibly dragging her body forward was the best she could do.

In the tower too, she had felt the floor, groped the walls, and knocked on the door. She had desperately hoped for the door to open. She had hoped Peon would come to apologize, saying he had been mistaken.

There was nothing she could do except hope for the impossible. So she dreamed. Dreams were the only thing she could have, so she only dreamed. It was a dream of the man who had the sole authority to open the tower, to erase her sins, coming for her.

She knew. He wouldn’t come. Peon lived his own life, and Kaela had to painfully crawl along the dark path full of his traces, struggling to breathe.

She felt angry, wronged, and ultimately just wanted to give up. She knew he wouldn’t come anyway.

But why did she have to be pushed by the monsters to forcibly enter this scary cave?

‘…I want to stop.’

Why should she try again when even if she went on and finally met him, she couldn’t reach him? Kaela looked around at her surroundings where nothing but pitch darkness was visible, and finally cried silently. She was so scared.

The tears she had been holding back started to flow. The sobs she had suppressed in her throat also burst out.

“Hic…”

Breathing was so difficult. Self-loathing poured out. Stupid. You can’t do anything but cry. In the darkness where she couldn’t see an inch ahead, her foot caught on something.

The hand that had been feeling the wall also slipped. She fell straight forward. Thinking only that it would hurt a lot. She didn’t want to feel pain.

“Ah.”

Instead of the bumpy and hard floor, soft and firm arms caught her and pulled her up again.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Kaela. Are you okay?”

The arms also apologized. It was a familiar voice. It was her husband, who had insisted that monsters would be here. The informal way of speaking, not the respectful form he used out of respect for her, but the tone from when they were close, felt somehow strange.

It was too dark in the cave to see him properly. The left arm that held her felt completely bare.

She could barely see his chin, handsome lips, nose, and left ear far above. Kaela furrowed her brow. She couldn’t see him well.

“Why are you breathing…? Kaela, are you crying?”

Purple eyes that had been sleeping in the darkness opened clearly. Large fingers very carefully wiped her eyes.

“Was I too late again?”

Those eyes twisted painfully. Was he crying? Peon’s face, which had come very close, looked as if tears were flowing down abundantly.

“I’m sorry. I should have known right away, but I was late again this time.”

His voice, full of self-blame, trembled painfully. No. He wasn’t shedding tears.

Kaela opened her eyes wide. Clear tears rolled down, and Peon’s face came into focus in her clearer vision. What had flowed down under his purple eyes wasn’t tear tracks, but blood trails.

His cheeks were all red, wet with how much bright red blood he had shed. The trail of blood that had flowed down his neck from under his ear was clear. It was as if his eye had been gouged out or his ear cut off.

“I’m really sorry. Where are you hurt? Show me. Does it hurt a lot?”

His large, warm hands also had vivid blood marks as if each finger joint had been cut off. Especially around his wrist, blood had splattered and the marks above it were unusual.

Kaela looked up at Peon, who was examining her with great concern.

A face full of kindness yet unsettling was waiting for her answer. Through the frightening silence, she thought she could faintly hear the evil dragon wailing in the distance.