Chapter 575: Jealousy is My Power (75)
Chapter 575: Jealousy is My Power (75)
"You're rolling on the ground so miserably. Just like a bug... Though, it's not as if this only started today. After all, you're just like me. Even when it came to love, wasn't it the same?"
Haa, haa.
Cien breathed heavily, her eyes darting away to avoid Seria's gaze.
To be honest, she was terrified.
This woman was insane. Her status as a princess would provide no shield here. It wouldn't be strange at all if the current Seria decided to wring the princess's neck this very instant.
Unpredictable.
The more intelligent a person was, the more they pathologically avoided individuals like this. A being that defied calculation had to be excluded from any plan from the start.
And so, Cien's spirit broke. She couldn't even meet the other woman's eyes, merely averting her gaze.
The girl's whisper flowed stickily into the coward's ear.
"You've been doing nothing but feeling jealous every single day. But you were too scared to show it, and on the other hand, you were terrified that your feelings would be rejected... So you stayed huddled in your corner, and oh? Look at that. My love has gone far, far away."
"...J-Jealousy is..."
Was it an instinct to somehow prolong her life?
Or perhaps it was the last shred of her pride. Cien's lips parted involuntarily as she swallowed a rising groan along with her tears.
"Ugh, hic... It's not... jealousy. How could someone like me ever..."
"Aha, those words."
Seria let out a hollow exclamation. Then, with a movement like a lightning strike, she yanked the sword from Cien's thigh.
Cien had no time to prepare for it.
The sensation of her tightly contracted muscles being torn apart struck the princess's mind once again.
"Agh, aaaaaaaahhh!"
"It's chilling how similar you are to me. Your Highness can just stay huddled in your room crying for the rest of your life."
As she spoke, Seria licked the blood off the blade. Slowly and meticulously, like a cat licking its paw.
That was it.
Before she knew it, those blue eyes were looking down at the princess in silence. It was the gaze of a judge contemplating what sentence to pass.
Should I kill her?
Or perhaps she might be useful. It might have been a misunderstanding, but the princess couldn't shake the feeling that her opponent was thinking exactly that.
That realization made Cien feel even more pathetic and indignant.
She was already backed into a corner. It was hard to expect survival, yet her life as a member of the Imperial Family made it impossible to beg for mercy.
How dare you... who do you think you are?
To look down on Cien, the Fifth Princess of the Empire?
Hostility and resentment toward the person who had inflicted unimaginable pain upon her turned into a twisted rage, scorching her mind. The driving force that allowed the girl to let out a roar was based purely on that irrational emotion.
"Is that... is that so wrong?!"
At that counter-question, Seria let out a low hum.
A hint of contemplation flickered in her slightly narrowed eyes. If this were the princess's usual self, she would have reconsidered the intensity of her words to increase her chances of survival at this point.
Of course, that was only "usual."
It wasn't something Cien, whose anger had already reached its peak, would consider.
"I am... a sinner... How could someone like you understand my heart?! That feeling of regretting and regretting, yet being unable to change anything?! What if he thinks I've overstepped my bounds? What if he thinks I'm arrogant?!"
Whether it was a final struggle or a desperate cry, her words were uttered without a single speck of falsehood. Perhaps even Seria couldn't ignore this, as she let out another deep hum.
"Hmm..."
"I'd rather just stay by his side! If the alternative is being hated, I'd rather just watch him quietly from the sidelines! What... what's so wrong with that!"
These were words she had kept buried for a long time.
It was a story from long ago.
The whole world hated the girl. So, the girl decided to hate the world back.
Only one person had truly cared for her. Yet, the girl had committed a sin against him and faced immense condemnation; that childhood nightmare had merged with the wound, leaving an even deeper scar in her heart.
Cien was not normal.
To begin with, she hadn't gone through a normal upbringing, and the series of events that occurred on the day her life was threatened were enough to shatter her psyche.
Everyone around her blamed the princess.
In truth, she knew it was nothing more than an evasion of responsibility. Because they didn't want to admit they had condemned an innocent person, they blamed someone else for giving them false information.
It was a predictable story.
The problem was that the target happened to be the princess.
A truly sick person doesn't even know they are ill.
If she hadn't been placed in such an extreme environment as today, Cien would never have been able to vomit out the words she had accumulated in her heart. She hadn't even known the nature of the stake driven into her own chest.
In her spite, the princess didn't even realize that fact. She simply raised her voice as her heart dictated.
Cold blue eyes and bloodshot, light gray eyes clashed in the air.
The silence didn't last long. Seria eventually began to nod her head in agreement.
"You're right, it's not bad. That heart that doesn't want to hurt anyone, and in exchange, doesn't want to be hurt itself. That consideration... who could call it bad?"
"Yes, so...!"
But the princess couldn't even finish her sentence.
Thuck.
Seria's sword pierced Cien's remaining thigh.
It felt as if she had been injected with a painkiller. It didn't take long for her rage-heated head to cool rapidly and for the raw pain to surge.
A sensation hotter than fire, more jarring than electricity, and colder than ice.
Her closed vocal cords began to scream once more.
"Ah, ugh, aaaaaaaahhh!"
"It's just pathetic. What's the point of living your whole life like that? A life where you can't have a single thing you want... Hehe, being a Royal isn't all that special. You acted so proud of your Dragon's Bloodline, but in the end, you're just a foolish, stupid coward..."
It was a plain, yet exceptionally cruel, gouging of her soul.
Upon hearing this, the princess showed a dramatic change. To be precise, there was one word in particular that grated on her nerves.
'Royal.'
The moment that word was spoken, Cien's eyes snapped wide open to their limit. The girl's rage was so great that the sound of her grinding her teeth echoed in the air.
"Those words... ghk... apologize...! How dare you insult the Imperial Family? Our family, which hasn't lost its honor and respect for hundreds of years? My father, and my Great-Grandfather... they aren't people to be laughed at by the likes of you...!"
She was a princess who had lived as a member of the Imperial Family her entire life.
Naturally, the pride she held as a member of the family was second to none. Moreover, had she not grown up under the care of a kind father and the strongest Great-Grandfather?
Cien's anger was justified.
To insult the Imperial Family was no different from insulting all the elders of the family.
It was just that this battlefield was a place where social common sense did not apply.
"Let's just call it the price for having an idiot for a daughter."
Cien tried her best to struggle, but the momentum had already shifted.
With a smack, the back of Seria's blade struck Cien's jaw.
There were few superhumans who could withstand an impact that rattled the brain. In the end, the princess could no longer resist and collapsed face-down.
Her vision was blurry.
Her mind was hazy, and it was difficult even to lift her eyelids. Her wavering focus could not find its place.
However, tears streamed down her face out of sheer frustration. In her entire life, had she ever felt such a piercing sense of helplessness?
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
Yes, in truth, Seria was right.
Those who only run away and negotiate can never have what they want. Wasn't that a truth she had been taught since childhood?
And yet, she was afraid.
Afraid that in order to gain one thing, she would lose everything.
Did I lack the resolve for that?
Is this how my life ends?
Like a fool, like a fool.
Tears flowed down, but she couldn't muster any strength in her body. Only her twitching limbs were undergoing the final tremors of life.
Seria slowly raised her sword. With bored eyes, as if finishing a long-overdue chore.
"Then, please sleep for a while... Since your blood is quite excellent, I'll put it to good use...!"
It was right then.
With a thunderous boom, the sword in Seria's hand went flying into the air. Her stunned blue eyes turned toward her own hand that had been holding the blade.
Something had collided with it.
A flash—no, was it a hand axe?
Despite that terrifying speed, the back of Seria's hand remained intact. It was nothing short of miraculous durability, yet Seria's pupils couldn't help but dilate to their limit.
No way.
At this exact moment?
But in the entire continent, there were few who could handle a hand axe with such ghostly skill. Even fewer could throw it, and above all, perform the feat of having it spin in the air and return to them.
Seria froze on the spot, and the sound of a man's ragged breathing settled through the silence.
"...Hello, Seria."
Black hair, golden eyes.
She could no longer deny it.
Ian Percus had arrived.