༺ Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (46) ༻
“…Curse?”
Not expecting Cien to actively interact with her, Mitram was taken aback when Cien immediately reacted to the curse she thoughtlessly mentioned.
Then, after briefly contemplating whether she should disclose the information, her lips twisted into a sneer as she burst into laughter.
After all, it was already over for the princess, and the outcome was practically set in stone.
Considering the pain the princess would have to soon endure, Mitram felt that giving her one last gift wasn’t so bad. She could, at the very least, reveal the truth to the princess as a parting gift.
“You see, since you’re our primary target, I’ve actually imprinted you with a scent that demonic beasts just absolutely love. It’s a crafty and powerful curse… But no matter how much I waited, the demonic beasts never pounced on you.”
The gears in Cien’s head worked rapidly to store all the information.
‘Curse’ and ‘demonic beasts’ were the keywords to solving the puzzle.
Cien heightened her focus, concentrating to see what more these new clues would reveal.
“I’ve been watching you all this time, and there was nothing that could have broken the curse. It requires an item on par with holy water to lift… Aha.”
Mitram abruptly stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed as if coming to a realization.
A repulsive smile decorated her face once more.
“…Ian Percus.”
A memory of a man splashing her with water suddenly flashed through the princess’s mind.
At that time, she was so stunned that she couldn’t speak, and her enraged knights rushed in. That was the day Knight Zeros lost his arm.
All the pieces of puzzles she couldn’t comprehend before began to fall into place and connect.
However, Cien wasn’t the only one to realize who it was that had secretly helped her.
Mitram, who had realized the truth earlier, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Kuku… Everything was done too perfectly to be a mere coincidence… Ian Percus… Ian Percus~”
Mitram nodded a few times and flashed a refreshing smile.
“It seems I’ll have to look into that young man after dealing with you.”
With that, Mitram took a step forward.
Despite the approaching danger, only a single question revolved around in her mind as she failed to come to her senses.
‘Why?’
If her thoughts were correct, it meant the man knew the Dark Order was targeting her, and even if he wasn’t certain, he at least suspected it.
That was why he had used such an unsuspecting method to lift her curse. No one would ever imagine that his canteen would contain a precious item like holy water.
Not only that, what happened afterwards was shocking enough to draw attention away from the contents of the canteen he had doused her in.
Had the fact that the liquid was holy water been revealed, the story would have turned out differently.
She was always accompanied by either the head maid or Knight Zeros, so the moment Mitram realized that the curse had been lifted, she would have come up with another plan.
But Ian Percus… that man had not only lifted the curse, but he had also removed Zeros, who was controlled by Mitram, from her side with a single confrontation.
And to do so, he had sacrificed his own reputation, his future, and the people he held dear.
Cien couldn’t bear this truth. Like someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she refused to believe it and repeatedly attempted to brainwash herself into believing that it wasn’t true.
That’s right. It’s a lie.
Such a thing is impossible.
Ian Percus is a human, and humans are selfish, greedy existences.
Based on everything she saw and experienced since her childhood, there was no such thing as a human who acted selflessly for others without any underlying motives.
So why was it that her mind was in so much turmoil?
Letting out a groan, Cien clutched her head.
Her thoughts felt like they were bursting apart as if firecrackers were consuming and exploding her memories.
It was a clear sign of impending danger.
Mitram burst into laughter, taking pleasure in Cien’s agony.
After delightfully watching her for a while, Mitram finally opened her mouth as she shook her head.
“Now, shall we begin? As long as you don’t resist, I’ll only take your eyes without inflicting any pai-“
It was at that moment.
-Puk!
A blade pierced through Mitram’s body.
Hurriedly looking behind her, she found Irene, who had forcefully moved her violently spasming arms to stab through her.
For a moment, Mitram couldn’t comprehend the reality before her eyes.
Irene shouldn’t have been able to move.
It was a poison harvested from a venomous insect originating from the Great Forest that not even experts would be able to withstand. Not only did it stop the flow of mana, but it also had an anesthetic effect.
As proof, Irene’s entire body was trembling like a fragile leaf in the wind, and her body gradually buckled to the floor after having exhausted all her strength and mana to deliver her final blow.
After momentarily staring at Irene, Mitram slowly and silently pulled out the sword piercing through her chest.
A surge of blood erupted.
Irene felt moved, watching the bloody visage in front of her, and her lips curled into a faint smile as tears threatened to well up in her eyes.
She had finally managed to protect her princess after a long struggle with self-reproach.
However, her happiness did not last long.
-Claaank!
A sharp sound rang through the tunnel as Mitram nonchalantly tossed the blood-stained sword onto the ground.
Irene dazedly shifted her gaze towards Mitram.
On her chest, where a fatal wound should have been, her flesh was instead visibly regenerating.
It was supposed to have been lethal.
However, Mitram contemptuously looked down at her as if her sword had done no damage and that a paper cut would warrant more of a reaction.
“…Your effort was commendable, Knight Irene. I would love to kill you, but you make for a rare human subject, so I shall spare your life.”
‘Human subject?’
Irene’s eyes shook violently at the thought of becoming a live human test subject of the dark priest, much like the head maid.
Mitram did not delay any further. Ignoring Irene, she walked up to Cien, who could barely keep herself upright after being poisoned.
Even then, Cien, whose breaths became heavy, seemed to be engrossed deep in her thoughts, but that was of no concern to her.
Mitram’s hand violently grasped the princess’ hair and lifted her head as she showed a kind smile.
“From now on, I will be extracting your eyeballs. It might hurt a bit, so please stay still.”
Cien finally snapped back to reality only after directly hearing that the dark priest would be ‘extracting’ her eyes, but before she knew it, Mitram was already right in front of her, prying her eyes open.
Fear enveloped her entire body as the fingers gradually inched closer with a clear intent to pull out her eyes.
“N-No! uuu… ah- ahhhhh, KYAAAAAAAAAA!”
Tears burst out as regret gripped her.
She regretted all her decisions.
What if she had never entered the Academy? What if she had been more wary of the people around her?
A world of possibilities swept through her mind like a flood.
And… And what if… what if she had trusted Ian Percus a little more?
But they were now worthless, pointless regrets. It was too late, and time could not be reversed.
Cien tried to shut her eyes with all her might, but it was futile.
At that critical moment, right when Mitram’s fingers were about to dig into her gray eyes, a silver ray of light struck down from above.
A sharp trajectory. Like the blade of a guillotine, a sword slashed down and severed Mitram’s arms in an instant.
The two arms, cut off from the rest of her body, pitifully rolled on the ground as warm blood belatedly exploded out, drenching the ground in its red hue and unexpectedly giving rise to steam.
No matter how much the body had been modified, it seemed that regenerating severed limbs would take a while.
Having finally regained her freedom, Cien weakly collapsed to the ground with a gasp.
Simultaneously, Mitram indifferently looked down at her bubbling flesh as her arms began regenerating.
-Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the silent cave, causing Cien, Mitram, and even Irene, who was barely clinging onto her consciousness, to look towards the direction of the entrance.
With black hair and bright, golden eyes blazing like ghastly will-o’-wisps, a young man was steadily making his way towards them.
Perhaps due to rushing over, his breathing was ragged, but he soon sighed in relief, glad to not have been late.
Catching his breath, he leaned on his thigh, then broke the silence with a smile.
“…Hey.”
Mitram slowly turned around, a vague smile creeping onto her face as if she was glad to have finally met a worthy opponent.
Regardless, the man continued.
“Why are you trying to finish up already? You’re making me sad… You haven’t even played with me yet.”
“Kekeke… Ian Percus…”
With eyes filled with madness and a maniacal voice, Mitram uttered the man’s name.
In Cien’s sight were two monsters ready to face off against each other, heralding the battle that would signal the conclusion of the Homecoming Festival.
