Chapter 118

I think I had a dream.

The infirmary of the Kreutz ducal castle. Through my blurred vision, I saw myself lying there.

My clothes were torn in several places and soaked with blood, and my blond hair was a mess.

It seemed to be a moment from the past, when I had collapsed after rescuing Lucas, who had been trapped at Ahili’s Circus.

When the physician declared me dead, the people around me wailed.

Calypse, who remained until the very end, seemed unable to let me go. He placed my body in a cold room so that it would not decay, then left.

And after a long time had passed.

Someone appeared.

Purple eyes filled with curiosity showed between fluttering strands of white hair.

It was Kyle.

“Live a little longer.”

After saying that as he looked at me, he stomped his foot against the floor and injected his magical energy into me.

The magical energy that flowed into my body met my own, then suddenly began racing somewhere at full speed.

It passed through the castle gates and crossed the enormous ice wall guarded by the Kreutz knights.

The white snowfield and blue horizon collided, casting off a piercing light.

The end of the world had opened before me.

The mass of magical energy shot forward as swiftly as a bird gliding through the sky.

When I lowered my gaze, I spotted monsters scattered across the snowfield.

And then it went deeper still. Once it entered the depths of the snowfield where even members of House Kreutz had never ventured, an enormous castle made of wooden planks appeared.

No, it was not a castle.

This was a village.

Ramshackle houses painted in garish colors were packed tightly around a four-story building made of planks.

Here and there, giant orcs carried enormous boards, while creatures as small as dwarfs diligently sharpened axe blades.

After circling the village once, the magical energy entered through a window on the top floor of the four-story building.

Inside the dark room.

A dwarf wearing a pointed hat stood there.

“O king of the monsters, our leader. The time has come to judge the humans who stole our sanctuary. Please, return to the place where you belong... Hm?”

The dwarf, who had been muttering as though entranced by something, turned his head.

He had noticed the magical energy.

“What an interesting little thing. Who are you?”

After examining the magical energy floating in the air for some time, a gleam of slick madness passed through the dwarf’s eyes.

“What very peculiar magical energy. Come closer to me.”

A hand as rough as crocodile scales gradually swallowed my entire field of vision.

“If you join us as well, we will become invincible.”

My vision turned black, leaving me unable to move.

After wandering through the darkness for a while, I suddenly came to my senses as though waking from a dream.

***

“Huh.”

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was an old-fashioned ceiling decorated with a famous painting.

A dream? So it was a dream.

The bizarre monster’s eyes kept flickering before me like an afterimage. My heart was still pounding.

Was what I just saw really only a dream, or was it a memory from the past?

If it really was a memory, then when I died after rescuing Lucas, was Kyle the one who brought me back to life...?

Anyway.

The last place I remembered collapsing was the classroom, but once again there was an unfamiliar ceiling in front of me.

Judging by the famous painting, I seemed to still be in the royal castle.

At this point, I had fainted so many times that I was not even flustered anymore.

Is this the part where I’m supposed to say, “Where am I, and who am I?”

“All right, explain yourselves!”

I put strength into my body and abruptly sat upright. Everyone around me jumped and stared.

“Aisha!”

Kyle, who had been closest to me, practically threw himself around me in a hug.

I felt a faint tremble in the arms wrapped around my neck. The shoulder where he had buried his face slowly grew damp.

“Aisha. I’m sorry. I did something wrong. I doubted Aisha, so Aisha fainted. Aisha has a glass brain and a glass body. You didn’t lose your memory, did you?”

“Ghk.”

Whimpering like a puppy that had finally found its owner again, he tightened his grip around my neck.

When I started smacking his arm because I could not breathe—

“Kyle. Princess Aisha needs rest, so get off her.”

Knox hurried over, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and pulled him up. As Kyle was dragged away, he burst into tears like a little child.

“Aisha, you can’t forget me! Waaaah!”

“Ah. Assistant Knox, I’ll take care of Kyle.”

Flustered by the sight, I grabbed Kyle’s hand.

He must have been badly frightened after seeing me collapse right in front of him.

“...Please remember that this demon is considerably stronger than you are, Princess Aisha.”

“What good is being strong? He can’t live without me.”

There are no bad children in this world. They are simply starved for attention.

I spread my little palm and cooed at him.

“Come here, Kyle. That’s it. There, there.”

“Aisha is mine.”

As though he had been waiting for permission, Kyle immediately burrowed into my arms.

“Ghk.”

I could almost hear my ribs cracking under the strength in the little demon’s arms.

But.

“Y-yeah.”

I could not abandon the boy whimpering like a puppy.

Sacrificing yourself for your child is a mother’s heart.

Once again reminding myself that I was the one who had taken Kyle in, I stroked his soft head and slowly began dying.

That was when—

“Have you recovered your strength?”

“Your Majesty Grace?”

I had no idea how long she had been there, but Grace asked about my condition with a worried expression.

Unlike usual, she was wearing glasses and trousers that allowed her to move comfortably. She lightly tapped the glass bottle connected to the rope tied around my wrist.

“Fortunately, quite a lot of the magical energy has been absorbed. You almost couldn’t withstand it and ended up in real danger. It was fortunate that you collapsed in the royal castle.”

“Wha...?”

Couldn’t withstand the magical energy? Danger?

I tilted my head at the words I could not understand.

Grace nodded with an utterly rational expression.

“It means you nearly died, Aisha.”

“What?!”

“Your Majesty. Forgive me for interrupting, but Princess Aisha has only just woken up.”

“Ah. Right. Get some rest first. Sorry—”

“This is terrible!”

At that moment.

The door flew open, and Count Dell rushed inside, his face completely pale.

“Princess Aisha’s magical energy...”

“Quiet.”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Ah.”

At Grace and Knox’s sharp rebukes, Count Dell’s eyes went round like a rabbit’s. Then his gaze met mine.

He flinched.

“Princess Aisha, you... you’re awake. Ha ha ha. Did you sleep well?”

He abruptly lowered his voice as he greeted me, then mouthed words toward Grace.

Somewhere else. Talk.

Then he spun around and disappeared.

“......”

“......”

For a moment, silence settled over the space he had left behind.

“What happened? I’m fine now.”

My head did not hurt anymore, and I was no longer nauseous.

I sat up properly and asked for an explanation. Knox and Grace stared at me for a moment, then glanced at one another.

And answered at the exact same time.

“It’s nothing.”

“It is nothing.”

...What?

I snapped my head up and blinked as I looked back and forth between them.

“It’s nothing important. You woke up healthy, Aisha. All you need to do is eat and play with children your age.”

Boing.

Grace smiled and gently stretched my cheek without hurting me.

“Yes. That is correct. The only things Princess Aisha needs to do are eat and play.”

Pat, pat.

Knox wore a bizarre smile that did not suit him at all as he stroked my head.

“I’ll have them bring dessert, so rest a little longer, Aisha. Even if you believe you’re fine, you still need rest.”

“Her Majesty is correct. We will step outside for a moment so that we do not disturb you. Kyle, take good care of the Princess.”

Knox, who almost never willingly left Kyle attached to me, actually pushed him toward me before quickly leaving the room with Grace.

They were moving with such urgency that it looked as though they were fleeing.

“......”

It was so unnatural that there was no way I could miss it.

Everything they had just done had been an act meant to keep me from learning anything.

You’d think everyone would have figured it out by now... but I’m not an ordinary five-year-old.

Even if nobody else knows, Grace and Knox certainly do.

And yet they seemed determined to forcibly turn me into an ordinary five-year-old whether I was one or not.

“Do they take me for a fool?”

I muttered to the world.

“Or is the world trying to make me into a fool?”

“Aisha? What are you doing?”

At my soul-filled monologue, Kyle tilted his head from where he was nestled in my arms.

“Kyle. Don’t you think something seems strange?”

“What? I’m just happy Aisha woke up.”

“What exactly did you hear here?”

“Knox told me to play nicely with Aisha.”

Kyle, who had thoroughly heard only the things he wanted to hear, rubbed his face against me.

Right.

Kyle was an idiot.

Hmm... I wonder what Her Majesty Grace and Knox are going to talk about. I want to hear it.

Should I secretly eavesdrop?

I could suppress my presence and follow them without being noticed.

For someone who had received spy training from childhood, that much was easy.

But.

“I don’t think I can leave this room unless I get rid of this rope.”

Unfortunately, the rope wrapped around my wrist kept me from getting out of bed.

Judging from what Grace had said, it seemed to be extracting the magical energy from inside my body.

It feels like taking this off and leaving would be a very bad idea, doesn’t it?

If I could not move, I would have to make someone else do it.

And there was only one person here whom I could order around in this situation...

“......”

My gaze moved away from the glass bottle and settled on Kyle.

I don’t know whether this little kitten can actually pull it off... but if he fails, I’ll just take the scolding.

“Kyle.”

“Yeah?”

“This is a special mission.”

“A special mission?”

Ah. Maybe he doesn’t know what “special mission” means.

I thought hard for a moment, then bravely raised my eyebrows and gave him an order.

“I have a favor to ask! If you do exactly what I ask...”

“If I do?”

“...When we go back to the ducal castle, I’ll play with you all day, from morning until bedtime!”

“?!”

Kyle’s brown eyes, the result of the transformation potion he had taken for today’s lesson, widened into circles.

I did not stop there.

“And once you turn back into a cat... I’ll even let you sleep with me again!”

Drop.

At my words, Kyle let go of the rope he had been fiddling with, solemnly dropped to one knee, and swore his loyalty.