Chapter 10: The Curse Embraced by the Princess

 

The misunderstanding was quickly resolved.

 

The hero, who couldn’t meet my gaze for a while with a bright red face, finally regained his composure after apologizing several more times.

 

Back in the cave.

 

The hero, who listened to the story of Jörmungandr and the princess, nodded.

 

“The Kingdom of Trelinia… Can I escort you there?”

 

It wasn’t too far away.

 

If he walked for three days and nights without rest, he could make it.

 

Even though it would take a bit more time with the princess, it wasn’t a problem for Asgard, who was used to frequent camping.

 

There were no monsters in the vicinity that he couldn’t handle, except for Jörmungandr.

 

Besides, his destination was the Kingdom of Trelinia, so he could easily escort Elyserede there.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Elyserede hesitated.

 

Why?

 

Normally, she would have just gone back….

 

She lifted her head to look at Jörmungandr.

 

Those blue eyes gazing at her quietly.

 

As if they were leaving the choice up to her, Elyserede stared at them blankly, then shook her head.

 

“It’s okay. There’s no need to go to the kingdom right now. Instead, could you deliver a message for me?”

 

“Understood.”

 

The hero readily nodded.

 

Whatever choice Elyserede made, it was entirely hers.

 

Although he didn’t quite understand why she wanted to stay here, he trusted that she had her reasons.

 

‘There shouldn’t be any harm.’

 

Indeed.

 

Could the princess be harmed with Jörmungandr by her side?

 

He couldn’t even imagine it with his limited imagination.

 

For a moment, recalling his embarrassing history, his face started to redden, but he suppressed it with superhuman patience and regained his composure.

 

He reminded himself of the reason he had come to the borders of the Kingdom of Trelinia.

 

‘The flow of the battlefield is unusual.’

 

Therefore, he had hastened his steps.

 

“I will take my leave now.”

 

With that, the hero left.

 

Once again, only the princess and Jörmungandr remained in the cave.

 

As they went deeper into the cave, they were greeted by a completely destroyed, tattered cave.

 

[A.]

 

“Ah.”

 

They should have made the hero fix this before he left.

 

Expanding their senses, they found that the hero had already fled like an arrow.

 

In the end, Jörmungandr and Elyserede had to painstakingly repair the collapsed cave themselves.

 

* * *

 

Time passed,

 

Before they knew it, it had been a month since the princess came to the cave.

 

During that time, the cave had completely transformed.

 

Near the once desolate lake, flowers bloomed beautifully, trees bearing various fruits grew densely, and a bed where the princess could lie down was made.

 

“Huaa…!”

 

The princess threw herself onto the soft bed and rolled around.

 

The soft blanket wrapped around her. As for how there was a bed in the cave, Jörmungandr had ridden out to buy it.

 

It was quite fascinating to see the landscape change swiftly as he moved gently. Yet, it didn’t affect her at all, which showed his delicate care.

 

Anyway.

 

The cave, with the newly bought bed, was now like a godly fortress.

 

Moreover, with the glowing stones Jörmungandr brought placed beside the bed, the once crude place now looked quite decent.

 

And above all, the biggest gain was that in this one month, she had grown quite close to Jörmungandr.

 

Although she didn’t know what he thought of her, he would subtly approach and curl around her while she slept, and talk to her without hesitation.

 

When she curiously asked him various questions about Jörmungandr, he would grumble but answer diligently.

 

Furthermore, if she called his name, he would appear instantly from anywhere.

 

Elyserede thought Jörmungandr was quite adorable.

 

Of course, he had a huge build, and any monster that met his gaze would be so terrified it would lose control of its limbs, a strength she couldn’t even imagine.

 

But aside from that, they communicated well.

 

Although she thought it would be difficult for a beast to understand a person, Jörmungandr surprisingly showed great consideration for fragile humans.

 

He moved his large body to level the bumpy cave and placed glowing stones all around to brighten the dark cave.

 

“When I look closely, he seems like a person.”

 

Of course, that wouldn’t be the case.

 

Elyserede gently stroked Jörmungandr’s scales as he slept beside her.

 

It felt like touching a precious gem.

 

After stroking him for a while, Elyserede suddenly felt a pressure on her heart and clutched her chest.

 

“Again… my heart….”

 

Several years ago.

 

She had secretly called a priest to check her health without her father’s knowledge.

 

She was under a curse.

 

A very vicious, life-consuming curse.

 

* * *

 

King Cal Lediums of Calibargo raised an eyebrow upon hearing the news.

 

“Hmm, the King of Trelinia sacrificed his daughter to a dragon? As an offering?”

 

The Kingdom of Trelinia was located right next to his kingdom. Even if the royal family had thoroughly hidden the fact, it couldn’t be concealed from the Kingdom of Calibargo.

 

It was located right next to their nation, and many knights had accompanied the princess during her journey.

 

Moreover, since the Kingdom of Calibargo had been watching the Kingdom of Trelinia, they were even more aware.

 

This incident left a significant obstacle for Calibargo.

 

“Then we can’t use her as a pawn.”

 

Several years ago.

 

There had been an incident where his kingdom collaborated with the demonic realm.

 

It involved placing a curse on the princess of the Kingdom of Trelinia. The black magic prevalent in the demonic realm was primarily filled with malice and hatred.

 

Therefore, their magic was always vicious and horrifying.

 

The black magic cast on the royalty of Trelinia was practically a curse.

 

A curse that slowly ate away at the victim’s lifespan, eventually turning them into a terrible disaster once the threshold was exceeded.

 

What would happen if a monster appeared in the middle of the capital?

 

Even if they somehow managed to deal with the monster, the Kingdom of Trelinia would undoubtedly fall into great chaos.

 

The more noble the blood the curse took, the stronger the monster it would create.

 

Yes.

 

There was no need to say more.

 

Cal Lediums intended to devour the Kingdom of Trelinia.

 

“If I could devour that kingdom… I could become the Emperor.”

 

An arrogant ambition to establish an empire.

 

Unlike the Kingdom of Trelinia, which had deep roots for a long time, the Kingdom of Calibargo was a newly founded kingdom.

 

To be precise, it wasn’t even a kingdom.

 

It was merely a small village that grew in size by invading other foreign powers, eventually becoming a kingdom.

 

That was the Kingdom of Calibargo.

 

Naturally, such actions drew the scrutiny of neighboring kingdoms, but they crushed them all.

 

His kingdom possessed overwhelming military power.

 

He swallowed up all the dissatisfied kingdoms.

 

He invaded, pillaged, and took everything.

 

So this was the final step.

 

His kingdom was covered in blood.

 

To wash it away, Cal Lediums thought he needed to become the most noble empire on the continent.

 

Therefore, he had allied with the demons.

 

Using their black magic, he cast a terrible spell that turned people into monsters, not on just anyone, but on royalty. He had been steadily preparing for this.

 

What if the princess found out about the curse?

 

It didn’t matter.

 

He had sacrificed hundreds of his own people for the curse.

 

No human could defy him.

 

It was a curse woven with the blood of his people.

 

Even if they knew it was a curse, they wouldn’t know how it affected them.

 

It was impossible to lift the curse.

 

The way to lift that curse did not exist in the human world.

 

He hoped the king would struggle even harder to lift the curse. The more it was stimulated by matching energy, the more fiercely it would consume the victim’s life.

 

He thought it was a perfect plan.

 

“I didn’t think that weak king would abandon his child…….”

 

But it seemed he had miscalculated.

 

Offering her as a sacrifice to a dragon of all things.

 

“Khrmph…”

 

He found it amusing.

 

When he suggested attacking another kingdom, he had thought the king would not commit such an act for the sake of his people.

 

From the moment he saw that utterly foolish look in his eyes, he had planned to invade his kingdom.

 

Thus, he cursed the princess of Trelinia, threatened other kingdoms to prevent them from sending troops to the front lines to weaken the national defense.

 

“And now, khrat! He sacrificed his child.”

 

To a dragon that might not even exist!

 

He thought it was laughable.

 

At the same time, he felt a bit troubled.

 

This might hinder his plans.

 

The day when the princess would die and the curse would create a monstrous creature was not far off.

 

But the curse had been twisted since it left the kingdom.

 

Even if she was devoured by a dragon, the curse would activate… but it would be less effective outside the kingdom.

 

[She is still alive.]

 

A black-skinned human suddenly appeared from behind.

 

However, Cal Lediums nodded as if it were a familiar occurrence.

 

He was the demon who had allied with the kingdom.

 

With black skin, eyes mixing white and black, a mouth full of sharp teeth like a shark, and horns like those of a goat.

 

Cal Lediums pondered over the words the demon had conveyed.

 

‘What should I do….’

 

It seemed the dragon hadn’t killed the princess yet.

 

In that case, he had to bring the princess back somehow.

 

“Dispatch the troops.”

 

To tear apart the arrogant dragon.

 

Under the guise of rescuing the princess.

 

[Yes.]

 

The demon smiled secretly, lifting the corners of his mouth.