Chapter 4
“What to do, indeed….”
As far as the man knew, Bation had two daughters left. He had heard that one was still young, so the woman in front of him was probably the next tool for a marriage alliance. The allied troops that continued to pour in through the princesses’ marriages, especially the Razan, were a constant nuisance to the Federation army.
The man slowly tilted his head. His gaze remained fixed on Daphne’s eyes.
『…….』
Daphne trembled as she stared at her own reflection in his bright blue eyes. The man seemed to be contemplating what to do with her.
An enemy woman wandering outside the castle alone. He could kill her on the spot, or take her as a war trophy. Daphne knew what happened to those taken prisoner by the enemy. It was simply the difference between being killed swiftly and living only as long as one could endure.
She needed to say something to avoid being dragged away, but the man’s presence was inherently intimidating. The combination of his relaxed tone, narrowed eyes, and leisurely gaze made him appear incredibly arrogant, exuding a unique sense of pressure.
Just as the man seemed about to declare his decision, slowly opening his lips, Daphne squeezed her eyes shut and tried to relax her body. At that moment, she couldn’t think of anything else to do but to stop thinking and pretend to faint again. She could only hope for a stroke of luck, that the man, like the boy named Leopold, would let his guard down and show a weakness.
However, her body’s trembling wouldn’t stop. At this rate, it felt like she would actually faint and wake up in the middle of the enemy camp, rather than just pretending.
“Haha.”
Just then, the man chuckled softly. Far from showing weakness, it was a laugh resembling a sneer, as if he found the situation absurd.
She knew it wouldn’t work, but it was still despairing.
Hic.
She was so scared and bewildered that she started to hiccup. Daphne reflexively covered her mouth and looked at him with terrified eyes. The man’s lips twitched, and he furrowed his brows slightly. A rather playful smile formed. However, to Daphne, it was nothing but terrifying.
Regardless, the man abruptly picked up the dagger that had fallen beside Daphne and examined it. Aside from being ornamental, the blade was completely dull from lack of care. She couldn’t properly kill anyone with something like this. His anger seemingly subsided, he tossed the dagger away and muttered to himself,
“Up close, your acting is really quite poor.”
His voice sounded strangely amused.
Hic.
Daphne couldn’t hide her nervousness. Her trapped heart gradually beat faster, and the damned hiccups continued. Should she reveal that she was a princess? If she did, she might be able to expect some degree of decent treatment. Just as she was trying to use her barely functioning mind,
“How did a princess get all the way out here alone?”
…How did he know? Her mind went blank again.
The man’s eyes curved into a narrow crescent as he watched her violet eyes waver. As expected, the woman seemed to understand the common language. This was unexpected again. The curve of the man’s lips deepened into a more pronounced smile.
『Do you understand the Inacos common language?』
He deliberately asked in the Bellares language.
Daphne moved her lips a few times before she could finally make a sound.
“This is the land of the Goddess Enna.”
Daphne deliberately answered in the Inacos common language, sensing the man’s interest in her.
“Ah. The goddess worshipped by Bellares.”
As if Daphne’s guess was correct, the man replied cheerfully. She wasn’t sure if that could even be considered an answer….
“Nothing should be killed here….”
“Aha.”
Daphne hesitated at the man’s deliberately playful response.
“But I believe in a different god.”
This time, his tone was teasing, as if he was saying, “What are you going to do about it?”
“…An intelligent person should respect other religions….”
Every word she spoke felt like treading on thin ice.
“Intelligent person?”
Daphne’s mouth closed at the sudden change in his demeanor. The corners of the man’s lips were still slightly upturned, but his eyes clearly expressed displeasure.
“According to Bellares, I’m a barbarian, am I not?”
It seemed she had completely misstepped. Daphne finally realized her mistake.
“Of course, you’re not wrong. I’m certainly less educated.”
“What, I meant….”
“Though it seems more barbaric to take pleasure in killing people while intoxicated with drugs, as you please.”
As the man said, the royalty and nobles of Bellares spent their days intoxicated with drugs in the safest place while the war raged, and their entertainment was killing slaves.
What good was it if their outer shell resembled a god’s? The ruling class of Bellares were the truly violent barbarians. Just recalling the beginning of this war made her think so. A feeling of shame welled up within her, as someone who shared the same hair and eyes as them.
She was ashamed.
She was ashamed, but… still, Daphne wanted to live.
“…I want to live.”
And so, she desperately uttered a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a moan. Although her life was like that of an animal in a cage, it was precious. She still didn’t want it to end like this. Daphne bit her lower lip hard to suppress the rising emotions. It was difficult to maintain her composure.
The man was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, after a while, he asked a rather unexpected question.
“How do you understand the Inacos common language?”
Daphne stammered at the unexpected question.
“…I, learned it.”
“Learned it?”
Everything Daphne knew came from Sione. Sione had created this small world for her.
The man watched Daphne silently for a while. Then, he suddenly straightened his upper body.
Daphne was startled by the sudden movement.
Was he really going to drag her away? Just like this?
No.
But she couldn’t think of anything else she could do.
That was when it happened.
“If you desire an honorable death.”
“…….”
“Don’t ever leave the castle again, Princess.”
“…….”
“There are warriors from seven nations gathered in those barracks, and they’re all completely different, from their appearance to their language to their thoughts.”
The man’s smile as he spoke seemed almost merciful. With those words, the man took the boy named Leopold and abruptly disappeared.
Silence returned to the forest. Daphne slowly raised her upper body. It felt as if she had woken up from a nightmare. However, the pain and stiffness throughout her body told her that it was definitely not a dream.
I’m alive.
『Why…?』
The surroundings had completely brightened.
💎
Leopold followed Johannes with his long strides, but kept looking back at the forest where the woman had been left behind. Finally, the woman’s figure completely disappeared from view. As soon as they left the forest, Leopold called out to his brother as if he had been waiting.
“Johannes.”
However, Johannes didn’t stop walking, as if he hadn’t heard Leopold’s voice. Leopold stopped in his tracks and raised his voice.
“Johan!”
Johannes finally stopped and turned to look at Leopold.
“A princess, you say?”
Leopold asked, gesturing towards the forest with his chin. Johannes casually shrugged.
“She looked exactly like Bation’s son.”
Eight years ago, Johannes had set foot on the Westel Continent. He had suddenly lost his parents and been forced onto the battlefield as soon as he became the king of Itium. He was fourteen years old at the time.
Princess Johanna, the regent, and the old nobles had hoped the boy king would die and return from the battlefield. But contrary to their wishes, in the very year Johannes went to war, he killed Bation’s son and instantly became a legendary figure within the Federation army.
“She must be the eighth or ninth princess.”
He spoke indifferently.
“What?”
Leopold’s eyes and mouth widened into round shapes.
“Then, then you should have captured her! Or killed her!”
Johannes stared at Leopold, who was acting quite like a warrior, for a moment without saying anything. Under his intense gaze, Leopold’s face crumpled.
“…What’s with you all of a sudden?”
Leopold was Johannes’ only remaining family. At fourteen, when he first went to war, he had no one to entrust his younger brother to. In the end, he had no choice but to bring the four-year-old child to the middle of the battlefield. Leopold grew up on the battlefield. Johannes always felt uneasy about that.
“Johan?”
And Johannes didn’t want Leopold to become accustomed to killing. He wanted him to run through fields of lush green grass, not fields littered with corpses. He believed that since he was still twelve, it wasn’t too late.
