CHAPTER 496: IF STORY - THE INITIAL DRAFT (4)

0% “Princess? What are you doing?”

“...”

“Princess?”

Ever since witnessing Frey’s suspicious behavior on her birthday, Clana had added a new activity to her leisure time.

“Why are you staring blankly in the same position for 30 minutes?”

“...Shh.”

It was none other than meditation.

“I am training to find inner peace.”

“Uh... I see...”

Hearing Clana’s excuse, the young maid scratched her head and murmured.

“But even if it’s training... does anyone meditate for over five hours without eating or drinking?”

“...You’re being disruptive. Please leave.”

Clana dismissed the maid curtly and returned to staring blankly into space.

“Understood, but please don’t overdo it. Anything in excess can be harmful...”

“... Just leave please.”

The maid, murmuring in concern, looked at Clana with a worried gaze before shaking her head and stepping out of the room.

“She’s definitely going through puberty... What should I do about this...”

“...”

The remark might have been slightly rude, but Clana paid no heed.

Her mind was already elsewhere.

He definitely took something out of the box...

Physically and mentally.

- Clatter, clatter...

Did he already take everything out?

Through the canary she had planted in Frey’s room and swapped consciousness with, Clana observed his suspicious movements as he sat at his desk.

That’s...!

Her canary eyes widened as she focused on the sight before her.

Those are... treasures that should be in the Imperial Vault!?

Priceless treasures, each valuable enough to purchase an entire small country, continued to emerge from Frey’s bag.

The Stone of Domination, the Hero’s Armament, the Mask of Deception, and... even the Ring of Oath.

If news of the theft were to spread, the entire empire would be thrown into an uproar.

Yet, these items shimmered quietly in Frey’s hands.

“...Alright.”

By the time all the treasures had been revealed from the bag—

“The preparations are mostly complete.”

Frey muttered in a low voice.

So... were you truly a villain all along?

Hearing his voice, Clana fell into a somber thought.

But surely... you...

Crushed under years of abuse and oppression, Clana was still a raw gem that, if refined, could shine brighter than anything.

Something about this doesn’t add up...

Though she had no solid evidence, Clana had already started to notice a pattern.

Despite his apparent misdeeds, Frey’s actions had an uncanny way of benefiting the Empire or bringing fortune to others.

Of course, this was nothing more than a weak hunch without any logical backing.

But having observed Frey closely for the past year, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was onto something.

But right now... what’s before me is solid proof. He has committed a crime, and those artifacts in his hands could endanger the empire.

“Hey.”

So, what exactly should I do...?

“Oi.”

Just as Clana was deep in thought, struggling with the contradiction between her gut feeling and the hard evidence—

“...Are you spacing out again?”

“......!”

A finger suddenly reached out toward Clana—more precisely, the canary she was possessing.

“Chirp! C-chirp!”

“You’re just as dumb-looking as ever.”

At some point, Frey had risen from his seat and reached into the cage hanging on the wall, gently stroking the canary.

H-how dare you... Calling a princess dumb...

“You remind me of the Princess.”

“...Chirp?”

Only a few days had passed since Clana infiltrated his room, yet she had already been discovered, captured in a cage, and reduced to a pet.

Though she could disconnect from the canary at any time, whenever she possessed it, she had no choice but to be confined and treated as Frey’s pet.

“That blank stare is exactly the same.”

“...”

“Our princess often makes that dazed expression too.”

For Clana, who was well aware of her royal status, this situation had initially been unbearable.

- Swoosh, swoosh...

...Ugh.

After capturing her from under his bed and locking her in the cage, Frey had frequently reached in to groom her with his hands.

“There, there.”

...There, there? Seriously?!

At first, she wanted to scream and protest at being groomed like a mere pet.

But after spending several weeks in this situation—

Clana had grown strangely accustomed to his touch.

“...Lately, it feels like you’re the one rubbing against me more.”

“Chirp, chirp.”

In fact, she had gone a step further.

Now, whenever Frey’s finger entered the cage, she would instinctively hop over to nibble at it or rub her cheek against it.

“You even do that exactly like the Princess.”

“...”

Not realizing what she was doing, Clana froze when she heard Frey mutter those words.

...W-when did I ever rub against you?!

Though she had, just a few days ago, hugged Frey tightly while pretending to talk in her sleep after he drugged her—

That had only been a strategic move to test his true intentions since he had never once laid a finger on her despite watching over her sleeping form for a whole year.

Her plan to uncover his hidden desires had failed when he immediately struck the back of his own neck in panic—

But at the very least, she had confirmed that he had no improper intentions.

And yet... he was dismissing all of that as simple “rubbing against him”?!

- Beep, beep...

“Chirp?”

As Clana shot Frey a slightly annoyed look, she noticed him manipulating a communication crystal.

“Bang, bangg.”

“...Chirp.”

Noticing Clana’s gaze, Frey made a finger-gun gesture and mimicked shooting at her.

...Surely the grooming isn’t affecting my mind, right?

Unconsciously reacting to his little game, Clana flopped over, then inwardly scolded herself.

“Kania, you know I’ll be going on a business trip soon.”

“...?”

As Clana lay there, Frey, who had been stroking her with gentle eyes, started a conversation over the crystal.

“If I don’t return in a week...”

“Chirp.”

“...Then please take care of the bird in my room.”

After saying that, Frey pulled the crystal away from his ear, wincing at the sudden loud shouting coming from the other side.

“I’m counting on you.”

A business trip...?

Feeling a strange sense of unease, Clana quietly pecked at the feed in Frey’s hand.

.

.

.

.

.

- Booooooom...!

“Hold the stronghold!!”

“If this place falls, it’s all over!!”

TWO WEEKS LATER.

“A-our casualties are too severe!”

“...At this rate, the defensive line...!”

“Ah...”

Surprisingly, Clana stood in the heart of a battlefield, where an intense war raged.

“Hey, you there! Get a hold of yourself!!”

“...Ugh.”

How had things come to this?

For months, the signs of impending war had been quietly spreading across the Empire, and now, it had become a harsh reality.

The largest full-scale war in centuries had erupted.

The great conflict between the Cloud Kingdom and the Sunrise Empire appeared, on the surface, to be a mere clash of hostilities between two nations.

But beneath the surface lay a tangled web of complex political interests.

“Wh-when did the kingdom’s army become this powerful...?”

“They’ve been hiding such a deadly blade all this time...?”

The result was an unmitigated disaster.

...It’s not that the Cloud Kingdom is strong.

Having secretly enlisted as a mere soldier with Serena’s help to hide her royal identity, Clana stood frozen in the midst of the carnage, lost in thought.

The Empire... has grown far too weak.

As she suspected, the imperial army was in complete disarray—so much so that calling them a ragtag force would be an understatement.

The only reason the Empire was still holding its ground was Serena’s genius command at the frontlines.

Even that, however, was on the verge of collapse under the overwhelming difference in power.

“This... is supposed to be an empire with a thousand years of history?”

In this desperate situation, Clana watched as soldiers slowly retreated, murmuring in a hushed voice.

“...Do we really have no hope left?”

Through her golden eyes, she saw the enemy commander rampaging like a blizzard.

“You wretched imperials...”

A girl with an Aishi, delicate appearance—but in stark contrast, she was slaughtering imperial soldiers without mercy.

“...Your end is near.”

This was the arrival of Aishi, the Ice Princess, and the heir apparent of the rapidly rising Cloud Kingdom.

- Shrrrrrk...

Before Clana realized it, Aishi had already reached her, conjuring massive chunks of ice in all directions.

“...A child?”

“...”

Letting out a cold breath, Aishi looked down at Clana.

If I use the Sun Mana here...

“You’re armed, which means you’ve accepted the risk of death.”

...But it’s nighttime, and the sun isn’t out.

“You and I are in the same boat.”

As the vibrating chunks of ice aimed at her, Clana bit her lip and slowly raised her hand.

“Die.”

Is this it...?

Faced with an overwhelming difference in magical power, Clana instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

- CRACKLE—!!

At that moment, just as the Aishi lances rained down mercilessly upon her—

- THWACK—!

“...Huh?”

Someone swiftly intervened, barely managing to block the attack in time.

“As the one who allows you to join this battle... I’m responsible for your safety.”

“S-Serena...?”

Serena, who had been desperately directing the battlefield, had finally revealed herself before the enemy.

“The commander?”

“To think you’d walk right into our hands.”

“Are you here to beg for your life?”

“Judging by your demeanor, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Having pushed Clana backward with all her might, Serena faced the enemy with her fan covering her face.

“Even though you are my enemy, I must respect your resolve.”

However, as she staggered from the wounds she sustained while blocking the attack aimed at Clana, Serena collapsed onto the ground.

“I shall grant you a painless death, as a special courtesy.”

“...Frey...”

Realizing she couldn’t move anymore, her body trembling, Serena whispered as she struggled to rise.

“...I curse your existence.”

“Farewell, loyalists of the Empire.”

“...May you suffer as much as possible, struggle wretchedly, and die in disgrace.”

Just as she uttered those words filled with deep resentment—

“May your soul suffer eternal torment, even in hell.”

“...The Moonlight Family’s ancestral curse?”

“...?!?”

A voice suddenly rang out behind her.

“Y-you...?”

Forcing her frozen body to move, Serena slowly turned around in disbelief—

“......Who?”

There, a masked man clad in radiant armor stood, quietly raising his sword.

“The one who suffers from that curse... will go through quite the ordeal.”

Gently picking up Serena in his arms, the masked man lifted his blade.

“...Try to take it easy on me.”