Queen of Revenge - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31
Demons are cunning.
They excel at disrupting the human mind, and their actions defy prediction.
That is precisely what makes them so troublesome.
I realized far too late that one cannot approach non-human entities through human logic and calculation.
‘I made a mistake…’
The calculation that they would eagerly seize an enticing alternative was rational only from a human perspective.
[How much time should I give them—three minutes?]
The Demon pretended to peer at a wristwatch that didn’t exist.
One of the Guard Knights cried out.
“What guarantee does this contract hold? What assurance do we have that you will honor your word?”
[Well, what should I wager? I typically stake some part of my body in contracts—perhaps my head? Haha, by the way, I’m particularly fond of my heart, so I’d appreciate it if everyone would be careful with that part.]
“Then stake your head.”
The one called Sir Lexer drew his sword.
“Do not stop me, Vice Commander.”
Following his lead, the Guard Knights drew their blades in succession.
My body reacted before my mind could.
Lexer’s teeth ground together as he saw Lucian blocking his path.
“Honestly, Vice Commander, if you had only made your decision a bit faster, we wouldn’t have reached this point. Do you think we wish to cut down a defenseless woman’s life?”
My lips remained sealed, as though glued shut.
Hostility poured down like a rain of arrows.
“The Crown Princess commanded it, so we follow her orders out of trust. Why do you alone posture as righteous? You showed no particular interest in the Princess before either, did you? I don’t know what scheme the Princess used to sway you, but now one thing is abundantly clear!”
Catherine’s Guard Knights all fixed their gaze upon Lucian.
“Vice Commander, you have no intention of killing the Princess.”
In that instant, I pushed off the ground and began to run.
The Demon’s cackling laughter clung to my back like a heavy tail.
Lexer roared.
“Seize her!”
The Border Guard Soldiers, who had been frozen in place, gave chase.
Though they were a depleted force, they were still sturdy men. I could not flee far before strong hands seized me.
The fur cloak that Bara had carefully tied beneath my chin pulled taut and finally tore.
A soldier grabbed my shoulders from behind and forced me to my knees, preventing my escape.
The Guard Knight who had caught up drew a short blade from his belt.
“It will be over quickly, Princess. Hold her steady.”
I twisted my body with desperate strength.
When my small nails raked across the soldier’s jaw, he wrenched both my wrists behind me in a viselike grip.
“Not the neck.”
A small, pleading voice escaped beneath my disheveled golden hair.
My complexion had turned deathly pale.
“Please, not the neck.”
Lucian witnessed every moment of it. He heard her voice, broken and gasping, every word of it.
It was a plea that seemed somehow wrong for a human trapped beneath the terror of death.
The Princess had been strange until the very end. Yet there was no denying that her fragile voice had completely twisted some critical point in his reasoning.
Reason ceased to function.
The Guard Knight struck on the back of his head with the hilt of his sword tumbled forward. Another Guard Knight watching Lucian cried out in shock.
“Vice Commander, sir—if you do this—!”
Lucian’s gaze did not turn toward him.
The distance Iolet had covered in her desperate dash was not vast, but it was far enough that he could not reach it in mere seconds.
“Damn it…!”
Lucian’s hand found his thigh, drawing the dagger from its holster.
Almost simultaneously with Lucian hurling it, the Guard Knight standing before Iolet raised his short sword high.
“Forgive me, Your Highness.”
The Guard Knight’s eyes, reciting the words by rote, gleamed with annoyance.
With the short sword raised above his head, the Guard Knight drove it down with all his strength toward Iolet.
The blade tore through the air.
In the moment when the sound of splitting air became dizzying, her vision flashed white. It felt as though a burning arrow had pierced her heart.
‘…Ah.’
Iolet sighed soundlessly.
What a terrible déjà vu.
Death—no matter how many times one experienced it, one could never grow accustomed to it.
* * *
“Gahhk!”
The dagger, hurled through the air, buried itself in the Guard Knight’s shoulder blade. For a projectile thrown from such distance, its force was considerable.
The Guard Knight dropped his short sword and staggered backward. The Princess pinned beneath him convulsed.
The Guard Knight, breathing heavily, pulled the short sword from the Princess’s chest. Blood spurted forth like a fountain.
Only then did he cry out in pain, clutching his shoulder. Before he could even remove the embedded dagger, a kick came flying at him.
The Guard Knight screamed, rolling across the Snowy Field.
“Vice… Vice Commander….”
The Guard Knight who had been holding the Princess’s shoulders from behind released her and rolled to the side. A sword came crashing down where she had just been.
Lucian hurled the blade carelessly, embedding it into the frozen ground. His breath came in ragged gasps. Yet there was no time to steady it.
He lifted the Princess, who lay sprawled across the Snowy Field, into his arms.
“Your Highness?”
The weight cradled against him was surprisingly light.
The moment he assessed her condition, words that had been about to spill from his lips evaporated in an instant.
Lucian froze like an ice pillar.
The two hands supporting the Princess were drenched with warmth.
Her heart, convulsing, spilled its blood into his palms, pouring down in torrents.
The Princess’s eyes, half-covered by her eyelids, were hollow and vacant.
….
The entire blade of the short sword had pierced through her heart before being withdrawn.
A vital point had been pierced clean through.
It was a mortal wound from which there was no recovery.
The sight of her entire body going limp and spilling blood felt utterly unreal.
“…Ah….”
The moment strength drained from Lucian’s arms, the Princess’s body slid smoothly across the Snowy Field. Her golden hair, cascading to the ground, was soaked in blood.
Lucian hastily pulled her back into his embrace. Iolet’s body heat was draining away at an alarming rate.
The Princess was dead.
Iolet was dead. …At last.
[Ah, I said don’t touch the heart! What a waste!]
The Demon, who had been lying sprawled out watching as if observing some ridiculous farce, scrambled hastily to its feet.
It rushed to Lucian’s back and craned its neck to examine Iolet.
[Tsk, this one was defective after all. Nothing worth eating—completely hollow inside.]
The Demon smacked its lips with a wet sound.
In that moment, time, which had paused briefly, began to flow once more.
The Guard Knights, who had fallen back at a distance, shouted at the Demon.
“We’ve disposed of the Princess according to your demands. Now disappear!”
The Border Guard Soldiers, bewildered by how the situation was unfolding, hastily rushed to join them.
The Demon clutched its belly and laughed raucously.
[I knew it! Not all humans are righteous and full of responsibility. That’s what makes it fun. No matter how much I see, I never tire of it!]
After a bout of laughter, the Demon’s gaze swept across Lucian and the Guard Knights in turn. Thirst glimmered in its crimson eyes.
[So it seems this black-haired one is the ‘Vice Commander,’ yes? That’s right, isn’t it? Then you’re the highest-ranking human here now?]
“….”
[How about one more round? If you kill this one, I’ll definitely send the rest back alive.]
The Guard Knights’ faces contorted brutally.
“What are you saying? That’s not what we agreed to!”
[I haven’t broken my contract. Look, my head is still intact, isn’t it? Haha, that game from a moment ago is finished now. What I’m proposing is an entirely new contract.]
The Demon had now completely lost interest in Iolet’s heart. Fresher, more delicious lives lay before it like a feast.
The Guard Knights sensed it instinctively. If things continued like this, that damned ‘game’ would not end until they were all annihilated.
The Vice Commander remained motionless, still cradling the Princess, frozen solid.
[Huh? Backing away? Giving up? Oh, oh dear. But well, your lifeline looks long enough, so I’ll be satisfied for today—.]
The Demon, which had been giggling, suddenly wiped the smile from its face.
[He comes.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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