“B, blood!”
Adelaide gagged from the blood that had splashed all over her. It smelled like a rotting fish in the middle of the summer, or the most nasty and stingy things all mixed in one.
Adelaide covered her mouth with her hands and took a few steps back. Right then, the monster without a leg vigorously squirmed. The knight who had cut its leg off yelled, “Watch out!” and swung his sword again.
Adelaide could hear steel clashing with bone followed by a thumping sound. Then the half-sliced body of the monster rolled in front of her.
Its foul blood gushed out, but Adelaide was already at the verge of passing out. When the intestines spilled out from the cut and started to bloat, Adelaide threw up everything she had for breakfast.
There were no servants around to support her. Adelaide stumbled and dropped on the ground.
Kalion brushed his arm that Adelaide had been holding on to and observed the dead monster and Adelaide.
He could see Adelaide’s skin was rashing up from the monster’s blood. There were already some blisters forming. Adelaide always put in extra care for her skin.
There was an instance where she had refused to leave her room because she had something on her face. From what the Hessenguard spies disguised as servants have said, Adelaide had cried as if the world was ending because a small pimple had appeared on her face.
She would probably faint again once she sees herself in the mirror.
What’s for sure is that she will never come out until she fully recovers.
A look of satisfaction was smeared all over Kalion’s face. He turned his head to the dead monster.
The monster was called a crone. It was one of the weakest monsters known that Hessenguard knights did not even consider it as a monster.
Its looks were horrible, but the crone’s underdeveloped chin made its bite weak. It also carried a low level of poison that, even when in contact with its blood, the skin would just tingle and rash up a bit.
The Hessenguard knights didn’t even react at all from a crone’s blood as they have been covered in all kinds of monsters’ blood and developed tolerance to it.
The few crones they had locked up in the dungeon for research purposes had come into great use today.
Kalion looked around to see if some blood had splashed on him. He then ordered the knights to bring in the Haband maids who had been waiting outside.
“Your Highness!”
Their faces became pale as they saw her on the ground. Kalion yelled as if he was in shock too.
“Hurry! Send Lady Adelaide back to her residence!”
One maid came back to her senses and asked as the rest quickly lifted up Adelaide, who was covered in blood and unconscious.
“W, what happened?”
“The princess asked to see the monster, so she came in with us, but suddenly, the monster raged. One of our knights was able to stop it, but I’m guessing the sight was too much for her.”
The maid was a little skeptical towards Kalion as he explained that it was an unexpected incident. She was aware that Hessenguard knights knew well about monsters. Could they really have not seen it coming?
However, Kalion was also covered in blood. His appearance looked as messy as Adelaide. Also, talking back to the duke was out of the maid’s place.
“I’ll send a doctor well-versed in monster blood. I will tell him to take extra good care of her. There is no need to worry.”
“…Thank you for your courtesy.”
On top of that, he didn’t even check himself and looked desperate to help regain Adelaide’s health. The maid could only thank him.
The maid quickly left and headed back to the castle with Adelaide, covered in vomit and blood.
I’m done with her now, thought Kalion. He was sure that Adelaide would not follow him to the conquest. In fact, he was certain that she would not even leave her room until he returned.
What a show-off.
She was practically wearing a dress when she had come to join him. Her ignorance and underestimation of the monsters almost angered him.
Kalion headed out of the gymnasium. He climbed onto his horse and marched out along with the knights that had been waiting for him.
As he exited the castle, Kalion took a glimpse of the building.
He left the castle today and Erna also will in a few days.
Everything went as planned here, but…
He wondered how Erna would leave Ruben behind. He wanted to watch when it happened, but he knew he could not.
As he rode his horse, Kalion longed for the day he would meet Erna again. Just like that, Kalion and the Hessenguard knights left the castle and started their routine patrol and conquest.
* * *
Ruben was in an exceptionally good mood today.
“Kalion Hessenguard has left… and Erna asked me to come to her room tonight.”
It seemed obvious what her intentions were tonight. She had always come in conflict with Kalion, but it still seemed like she found it difficult to have intercourse with Ruben when Kalion was around.
Which is why she called him as soon as Kalion left the castle.
Ruben picked out the nicest outfit from his wardrobe and smiled as he sat on his sofa.
He was also a royal member from outside, but unlike Adelaide, he was nothing but a pain in the ass in Hessenguard.
I would’ve been in trouble if it weren’t for Erna Hessenguard.
If Erna had not accepted him and cared for him, he would have already been tied up and sent back to Aether. Or, he might have been secretly decapitated.
My brother is quite soft-hearted.
Ruben thought back to the time Kalion drank poison. The poison was sent by the oldest prince.
I simply acted as the guide.
Kalion’s poisoning incident was planned by Ruben and the oldest prince.