The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 37

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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 37
The first thing that caught my eye was the blue-grey skin with veins transparently visible beneath its surface. Thin scales, as if delicately carved, lay across it in neat rows.
It resembled the forearm of a serpent that had clumsily borrowed human form.
An entirely foreign language system and unfamiliar appearance. Yet another intelligent being possessed of sufficient intellect to wield a weapon as a threat and conduct a hostage negotiation.
I didn’t need anyone to tell me. This creature was unmistakably one of the Belgrum Race.
And one of the Belgrum’s four-pronged fingers was pointing at—
‘…Food?’
It gestured toward the pile of dried meat and withered vegetables we had stacked in preparation for our meal.
“Do you want supplies?”
At the familiar voice, I turned my gaze. Wolfgang stood with his cool, composed face, twirling his sword. With one hand, he pointed to the provisions just as the Belgrum did.
“Shik.”
So that was a yes. I couldn’t fathom why we were attempting conversation when our languages were mutually incomprehensible.
Still, I could piece together a rough assessment.
‘This creature is alone.’
A Belgrum wandering the desolate Snowy Mountains without companions, attempting to extort food from an alien race.
I couldn’t say what circumstances had driven it to this, but one thing was clear—this being too was struggling to survive.
‘That’s why it targeted me.’
It had observed the encampment of foreign warriors nearby and selected the weakest-appearing individual as a hostage. A calculation no worse than starving to death.
My pride wasn’t particularly wounded. It would have been stranger if it hadn’t chosen me among knights of such exceptional build.
“Will you withdraw quietly if we hand over the provisions?”
Wolfgang gestured in sequence toward the supplies, the Belgrum, and the weapon aimed at me as he posed the question.
“Shik.”
The Belgrum answered curtly. An affirmation, presumably.
Wolfgang nodded, then lowered his sword to the ground. Without taking his eyes from me and the Belgrum, he walked toward the supplies.
Was he truly about to surrender the provisions? My mouth had gone dry.
‘Our supplies are already insufficient.’
For days now, we had halved our daily rations. Even so, I’d heard that once we reached Drakenloch and faced the Belgrum in open conflict, our situation would become untenable.
To lose more provisions here? How much? I swallowed my anxiety and watched Wolfgang’s movements.
“Here, take it.”
“!”
Wolfgang hurled a bundle of dried meat. Precisely over the Belgrum’s head.
“Shiiiiik!”
The creature instinctively raised its head. The moment it lifted its free hand to snatch the bundle—
“Elise.”
At the whisper from somewhere, my body reacted before my mind could process it. As I stumbled backward, a massive shadow erupted from the forest.
“Shaaaa!”
The Belgrum belatedly registered Rotar Eisenrit’s presence, but it was already too late.
The moment the creature’s weapon withdrew from my throat, he raised his blade. In one fluid, practiced motion, he struck the Belgrum’s neck with the hilt, rendering it unconscious—everything unfolded in an instant, economical and masterful.
“Shht.”
The Belgrum collapsed with a final, strangled cry.
The moment Rotar Eisenrit landed, he rushed toward the Belgrum sprawled across the ground. He quickly searched the unconscious creature’s body, confirmed there were no dangerous objects, then accepted a thick rope and began binding it securely.
“Are you alright?”
Wolfgang, who had approached in the meantime, looked me over as I stood unsteadily and asked.
Only then did the tension drain from my body, and I felt the pain in the back of my neck. When I touched it with my hand, a little blood came away on my fingers.
“Yeah. Just barely avoided having my throat pierced.”
“He didn’t seem skilled with a blade at all. Since it’s not a deep wound, it should heal without scarring.”
“Did you and Rotar work out some kind of plan?”
“Well, more of a… understanding, really.”
Wolfgang shrugged and glanced toward Rotar.
“When you’ve fought alongside someone long enough, you can sense their intentions just by meeting their eyes. Especially in something as clumsy as this hostage situation.”
Unskilled swordwork. A clumsy hostage attempt.
“So he’s not a warrior, then?”
I finally examined the Belgrum lying on the ground more carefully.
And yet.
‘Hmm.’
I was beginning to understand why the topic of this alien race’s appearance kept coming up.
‘I felt it when I saw his arm earlier too.’
The Belgrum appeared as though reptile and human had been grotesquely merged.
A flattened, streamlined head, a massive snout split horizontally with a gaping maw. An unnaturally elongated neck and a narrow torso to match.
They had arms and legs and walked upright like humans, but aside from that, they bore far closer resemblance to some enormous serpent.
‘No wonder the Empire’s people would be horrified by such a sight.’
Like many religions, the Pelmira Faith regarded snakes as ill-omened beasts—creatures that seduced mortals with their sinister, cunning appearance and stole lives with their deadly venom, or so the teachings went.
If such a serpent were to crudely mimic human form, it would be all the more unsettling. Especially if it opened that cavernous mouth, flicked its forked tongue, and emitted only incomprehensible sounds.
‘Come to think of it, demons are said to resemble serpents as well.’
The knights behind me were regarding the Belgrum with undisguised revulsion. The Holy Knights in particular were repeatedly making the sign of the cross before their faces, struggling to compose themselves.
Yet Rotar’s face, as he bound the Belgrum, bore not a single furrow of disgust. As though the creature’s ugliness was utterly beneath his notice.
However.
“Still, it seems the Crown Prince is quite angry.”
“….”
His expression was murderous.
Rotar looked as though he might sever the Belgrum’s limbs and display them as warnings throughout the land at any moment.
Once he finished binding it and rose to his feet, he walked directly toward me and grasped both my shoulders.
Wolfgang, who had been speaking with me moments before, seemed to vanish from his awareness entirely as he examined my neck wound with an intense gaze before speaking.
“Does it hurt much?”
“No. Just a bit stinging? It should be fine once I apply some medicine.”
“I apologize. For allowing such a thing to happen to you.”
“No, you saved me—what more could I ask for?”
To be honest, since the blade had cut into flesh, it stung more than a needle prick would. But seeing the darkness in Rotar’s eyes, I found myself unwilling to exaggerate my suffering.
“….”
Yet no matter what I said, there was no sign of his expression softening.
He brushed dust from my shoulder with his leather-gloved hand and spoke in a low voice.
“We must dispose of him immediately.”
“…What?”
“He attempted to kill Elise. He doesn’t speak our language, and given that he appears to be alone without difficulty, he’s likely a fugitive criminal.”
“No, wait a moment.”
Rotar Eisenrit’s reasons for why the Belgrum had to die spilled from his lips one after another. His hand already rested on the hilt where his sword was sheathed.
I quickly grabbed Rotar Eisenrit’s arm and objected.
“Just wait. I’m against it.”
“Why is that?”
“Anyone can see he’s an intelligent being who thinks and moves like we do. There’s plenty of room for communication.”
The inability to speak the same language doesn’t make communication impossible. Just moments ago, Wolfgang and the Belgrum had used gestures and movements to confirm each other’s intentions, hadn’t they?
“What we lack is information. How does Belgrum society function? What are their customs and traditions? What is their view toward the Empire?… There’s so much information we could extract, and you want to kill him?”
Rotar Eisenrit’s expression showed no particular change upon hearing my words. If anything, it seemed to grow colder.
He lowered his head. A shadow fell across his face as it drew closer.
“We can capture another Belgrum instead.”
He replied in a voice as sinister as it was quiet.
“A bit further ahead lies the Belgrum Lands. They’ll be everywhere there. So why should I spare someone who tried to harm Elise for such a reason?”
Ah.
Only then did I realize why Rotar Eisenrit was so furious.
It was because of me. I had nearly died.
I wasn’t certain whether the Belgrum had truly rushed at me with intent to kill.
From Rotar Eisenrit’s perspective, the fact that the creature had attacked me was already disqualifying.
The punishment for a Belgrum who had laid hands on me weighed far heavier than any advantage gained from keeping the creature alive.
But.
“…”
Instead of responding to Rotar Eisenrit’s words, I shifted my gaze.
Toward the unconscious Belgrum lying before me. More precisely, toward his left hand.
I hadn’t noticed it when he was held captive.
I’d caught it only belatedly as I scanned him earlier.
The hand that gripped the blade, however clumsily.
Two of the four fingers extending from it were nowhere to be seen.

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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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