TL/Editor: Butter Cat
Status: 4/week mon-thurs
Illustrations: none
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〈 Chapter 11 〉 Chapter 11. It Devours.
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On the morning of the hunting competition.
Tessa, the librarian, who had proudly declared in front of everyone that she would never lift anything heavier than a book in her life, was sorting books while humming a tune, as usual."The wounded old pine tree~ has lost its words~♬"
—Rip!
"Eeeek!?"
Was it because she used too much force, or was the book already too worn out?
The book she had picked up tore at its binding, splitting into dozens of pieces that scattered on the floor.
The fallen book lay open, its pages sprawled in disarray, and a notepad, presumably filled with someone's writing, tumbled out.
Someone must have slipped it in and forgotten about it.
The book had felt unusually thick when she picked it up; that must have been the reason.
Sighing deeply at the thought of having to clean it up, she decided to pick up the scattered pieces of the book first.
"...Huh? 'The Correlation between the Human Mind and Shamanism'? Who would read such a gloomy book... Ah!"
Tessa recognized the title of the book by looking at the cover.
It reminded her of a young princess who had visited the library quite a while ago, researching books related to shamanism.
Princess Aris Akaia, a princess so famous that there was no one in the kingdom who didn't know her name.
Her academic talents, which amazed even renowned scholars, her swordsmanship skills that were acknowledged even by the former knight captain, these things made the word 'genius' insufficient to describe her. In addition, her fairy-like beauty and cheerful demeanor were just a bonus.
There was even an absurd rumor that good fortune would come to those who saw her.
Why would such a person read a book about shamanism?
At the time, she didn't ask the reason because it might have been rude, but her curiosity remained.
"Notes... This round handwriting couldn't belong to anyone but the princess..."
Muttering, "It must be her, judging by the large 'Big sis Anna!!' written here...," Tessa began to read the notes carefully.
As a scholar herself, she couldn't resist the urge to delve into her curiosity.
With the answer right in front of her, how could she resist?
She chuckled at the sight of Princess Aris drawing underlines and stars under Princess Anna's name, but as she read on, her face contorted into a strange expression.
An expression that sensed something was wrong.
An expression that turned pale.
An expression of fear.
—Flip.
"....What, is this..."
[Big sis Anna has been acting strange lately.]
[The other day, she grabbed my hair and pulled it hard. Her eyes weren't how she usually looks at me.]
[I bumped into her hard, but she just left me alone and walked away without saying a word.]
Tessa found it hard to comprehend the unbelievable things were written in the notepad.
They were princesses known for their close relationship.
She had heard that they had grown distant lately, but something like this had happened!?
A sense of unease grew within her heart, and her eyes scanned the notes even faster.
[I wonder why big sis Anna has become so strange.]
[I think the black pearl earrings she's wearing are strange.]
[I asked her maid, and she said she received them from a Duke.]
[His name is Duke Aquitaine.]
Duke Aquitaine, Tessa thought as she mouthed his name.
He was a famous man — for bad rumors.
People said that every night, strange screams and foul smells emanated from his house.
Some said they saw a dwarf in a shabby cloak going in and out of his house, while others said a terrifying monster lived inside.
Her hands were already trembling.
The trembling intensified, making it impossible to continue reading the notes, so she put them down on the desk and started reading again.
She couldn't turn back now.
She thought.
What was the title of the book that contained these notes?
The princess's sudden change in personality. Duke Aquitaine's gift. The mysterious rumors surrounding his house.
Several puzzle pieces started to fit together in her mind.
[It is said that the eyes of a person afflicted with a mind-altering curse turn pitch black.]
[Yesterday, I went to big sis's room. She didn't come out, but through the gap in her window, I saw eyes that were exactly like that, watching me.]
[Those eyes were so dark, they scared me.]
[When I looked back, the eyes were gone.]
[Those weren't big sis's eyes. They shouldn't be.]
[I miss the old big sis.]
"...!!!"
She recalled the rumors, no, the firsthand accounts circulating within the castle lately.
About Princess Anna Akaia acting like she was possessed.
Possessed, bewitched, cursed, —shamanism
Tessa muttered those words under her breath.
Dwarves, witches, shamans.
She was getting closer to the answer.
Tessa realized her breathing was becoming ragged.
Her mouth grew dry, and a sweet scent started to mix with it.
Did she know?
That she
At the exact time Aris had calculated,
Had read the notes exactly as she had planned.
That the book had unnaturally scattered.
That the notes had been left so conveniently visible.
Everything.
[I overheard Mom and Dad talking. They said it was stress from her studies, and that Mom shouldn't worry too much.]
[I don't know much about shamanism, so I must be wrong, right? Dad must be right, right?]
[They're holding a hunting competition. They said that big sis will go back to her usual self after relieving her stress.]
[That's... right, right?]
[I hope so...]
[I want to play with big sis again...]
[I decided to stop reading books.]
—Trembling.
"No... No!!!"
Her hands shaking uncontrollably, she forced her legs, which wouldn't obey her commands, to move, and ran outside.
The thought of organizing the bookshelves had long since vanished.
Bang, she kicked open the door that she would normally have carefully opened and closed. She was outside, but there were almost no people in sight.
She shouted.
"Help me!!! Anyone!! Quickly!!"
Today was the day the princesses were going to the hunting grounds for a recreational trip.
The soldiers who usually patrolled the royal palace without a gap, the servants who were always bustling about with errands, were nowhere to be seen today.
But she kept shouting.
It was the only thing she could do right now.
As if her wish had been heard—
"—What's wrong!!"
"Ah...!!"
A voice reached Tessa's ears, which were filled with her own frantic cries.
Hearing that voice, Tessa felt a sense of relief.
It was the voice of an old knight, who was the most trustworthy person she could think of right now.
The former knight captain.
And the man who had been Princess Aris' swordsmanship instructor.
"I'm Fayne, currently retired and serving as an instructor. May I ask why you're in such a hurry —"
"—It's dangerous!!"
Tessa wanted to speak. But her ragged breathing and spinning head forced her mouth shut.
Anything.
Please, I have to speak!!
You useless mouth!! Move!!
Please!!!!
Thump, thump, Tessa pounded her chest with her fist. The air trapped in her lungs was expelled rapidly, and gasping for breath, she finally managed to speak a few words.
Disjointed words, sounding like the ramblings of a madwoman to anyone who heard.
But it was enough.
"At this rate... Princess Aris will die!!"
"...!!!"
**
It was still early, the sun not yet reaching its zenith.
A knight carrying a woman on his horse rode out of the royal palace.
**
Deep in the forest, far beyond the royal family's hunting grounds.
I was hunting there.
Hunting.
Crrreak, I nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring.
In front of me was my prey, trying desperately to escape, bleeding from an arrow wound in its leg.
It propped itself up with its front legs, dragging its injured leg and slowly crawling at an excruciatingly slow pace, trying to escape.
It was such a comical sight.
"Heeheehee."
Twang, the arrow flew with a light sound.
A distance of only a few meters, the arrow flew true, hitting its target without fail.
Into the two hands supporting its body.
Thud, with a sound like that.
"—Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Hahahahahahahaha—!!!!"
Just as I aimed, the arrow pierced the back of her hand.
The prey stopped crawling and writhed in pain.
Clutching her hand, pierced through by the arrow, my prey looked at me, tears streaming down her face.
Why?
You can still run away.
Come on, don't stop.
Or else, —you'll die?
I silently took another arrow from my quiver and nocked it. As if sensing something from my actions, the prey tried to escape with a look of terror on her face.
Drag.
Drag.
I guess being smart also means being perceptive? She follows my instructions well.
Ah, you shouldn't go that way.
"B-Big sis...!!"
"—Shut up."
—Twang.
"Don't, call me big sis."
I aimed for the annoying ear, slightly to the right of her head, and released the arrow.
Perhaps because the target was small, or maybe I was just bad at archery, the arrow missed her ear and hit the ground right next to her.
Seeing that, she screamed, even though she wasn't hit.
Haha, there's no one here to hear your screams.
Scream all you want.
"Hiiieek—!!"
"Now, run. Crawl, scream in agony, curse the world."
"Ah.... Aaaah...!!"
I missed, but I succeeded in guiding the prey to its destination, so let's call it a success.
By the way, is she getting used to the pain? She couldn't walk properly, but she managed to get up and walk, staggering, unlike before when she was crawling on the ground.
If she continued crawling, she wouldn't reach her destination even by nightfall, which would be nice for me, though.
"Hahahahaha!"
Its body covered in dirt, limping on one leg, stumbling along, it looks pitiful.
Every time I see *IT* like that, the headache that plagues me intensifies.
Does it hurt?
You're asking if it hurts?
A fire rages inside me. It shows no sign of extinguishing, only consuming my heart even more.
Does that, hurt?
I surrender myself to the flames.
—Thud.
"...Aaack!!"
"Me too… It hurts too... I hurts!!"
I run towards the now-detestable object of my hatred.
I trip its legs and knock it down. Screaming loud enough to make the forest ring out, it collapses helplessly.
It’s fear-filled eyes look at me.
I won't go easy on you.
I slowly lifted my foot and placed it on its thigh.
Where the long, red arrow was still deeply embedded.
"..Aaah... N-No... I don't like this... Nooo..."
"...Ha."
Does it know what I'm about to do? It shakes its head frantically, pleading with me relentlessly.
You don't like it?
I don't like you either.
—Crush!!
I slowly put my weight on my foot. I felt her body trembling madly beneath my foot, every time my foot pressed deep into her thigh, nudging the arrow.
Infuriated by it struggling to escape from under my leg, I pressed down even harder.
"Ah... Aaaah... —Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
"....Haha.... Haha... HAHAHAHA!!"
I see a cliff in the distance.
I tilted the arrow in that direction, and her screams flowed out like a song. After tilting it a few times, as if understanding my intention, it started crawling slowly in the direction I was tilting the arrow.
The destination is, there.
What kind of face will it make when it reaches the cliff?
In a place where there's nowhere else to run, where no one will come to her rescue.
Will you feel the same despair as I do?
In the fairy tale book that Remi loves, the monster is eventually pushed off a cliff and killed by the protagonist, Alice. (TL Note: Another reference to Alice in Wonderland, more specifically Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. The “monster” she’s referring to is the Jabberwocky.)
What will happen to you?
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