THE sound of grass being stepped on; broken tree limbs; leaves being swiped by something; and irregular breathing could be heard faintly from a distance. Traversing the trail is even longer; the voice grew more apparent, and now someone whispered. I then pulled the horse's reins, causing the soldiers behind to stop. Along with it, a group of people came out of the forest.
We exchanged glances.
They wore poor-quality clothes and carried weapons; one of them carried a gunny sack on his back. His face immediately showed anxiety after seeing the flag symbol held by the soldier. Frangipani flowers flanked by two crossed swords; the tip of the blade behind is crossed to the left, and the end of the edge in front is struck to the right, the emblem of the Adenium Empire.
Judging from their appearance, they seemed to have taken the wrong path while escaping. Instead of going to a safe place, they even went into the lion's den. They were giving life for free.
The man with the most considerable stature looked at me with trembling legs along with the sword he took out from the sheath.
"If you already know, you should just run away," I smirked. "But even running away is useless."
The ones behind glanced at each other, indecisive. Alternately looking at each other and then staring at the back of the leader for a long time. Unexpectedly, Hamon jumped down from his black horse.
"I will immediately take care of this matter, Your Majesty."
Face to face with the Emperor nicknamed The Blood Drinker, the Adenium sword, Hamon Quante, and the entourage of knights; they already know their position is impossible even to live in. Trembling eyes, pale face, and sweat that suddenly fell; anxiety strikes after knowing this so well.
"No need."
Jumping down from the horse and drawing the sword from the scabbard, they immediately lunged without giving a chance to turn around to run away. One by one, without having time to use weapons to attack, they fell and breathed on the ground. The night blue uniform with black bottoms and a matching robe suddenly has an abstract red and wet pattern.
The screams of pain that broke the peace were greeted by the chirping of birds flying away from the forest, like the background noise, as my sword ripped through his chest diagonally. The sack on his shoulder fell along with his body collapsing. However, he is not dead because his heart is still beating to maintain life.
With shallow breaths and weak eyes staring; his right hand moved slowly to hold the toe of my shoe and begged,
"P—please save... m—me, Your... Your Highness...."
The blade's tip lodged in his heart after he finished the sentence. Eyeballs that seemed to want to come out; his upper body lifted, his mouth opened, and his body convulsed seconds before he became a corpse.
I wiped the blood that hit my left cheek with the back of my hand; I shook off the sword-dripping red liquid before putting it back into the sheath. The burlap sack that flicked caught my attention before turning around.
"Check it."
Hamon swiftly stepped forward. Just about to bend down to open the tree root fibers that bind, the bonds loosened, and soon a head emerged from within.
Our eyes met.
Wavy yellow hair, sweaty face, pale lips, and bright green eyes looked at me innocently; she had two features that were not unusual. Hamon was silent stiffly while the soldier behind whispered. The daughter who now stands has a feature only the Emperor's bloodline has. Everyone present was both shocked and confused, and so was I.
"... Your Majesty."
She slowly crawled out of the burlap sack and stepped on with both feet bare. Holding his hands together, she tilted his head; looked at me with a confused expression without blinking. The wind blew away the bottom of her thin, tattered white dress. It's like a funny fate; a weak variable appeared before me.
Sick.
I hate seeing physical appearances like mini versions of myself with a different gender. Those eyes reminded me of the previous Emperor, making my desire to kill churn. And so, I drew my sword again, put it around the neck, and let her feel the fear as humility I give.
I said in a cold, low voice, "You must die."
Meanwhile, the little girl didn't seem to flinch at all, even when her blood had dripped down her neck and stained the side of the sword. He did not struggle, beg for life, or even cry. She instead closed his eyes; as if resigned to what I do next. Her attitude made it easier for me to wave the sword, but I put it back in the sheath.
"We're leaving now."
I turned around and immediately got on the horse, followed by Hamon, who did the same. I took one last look from the saddle I sat on before stamping both feet slightly against the mare's belly and moving past him.
"Your Majesty." Hamon, who was not far behind, asked, "What about the kid?"
"Leave it. After all, she will die by himself."
With the galloping horse, I recalled the massacre of the entire Emperor's family in CCCXIII; to ensure that not a single individual of the Emperor's bloodline remains. Despite being sure that all had been killed, I'm still wondering about the various possibilities because the girl's shadow keeps appearing.
Did anyone manage to escape at that time?
However, thinking as hard as it is, I still objected because the entire territory had been searched, be it the territory of the kingdom or the part of other countries, to ensure that all bloodlines and people who had ties with the empire disappeared from the face of the earth. Therefore, I firmly believe that there is nothing left. There's also no way that she was a mistake I made because I have hated women from the past until now and have never thought of touching them.
The fact that she looked like me was just an odd coincidence. Not that it's not annoying. Meeting something you don't believe in certainly creates a lot of stress.
The sudden appearance of something whose origin is unknown is always accompanied by something else, who knows what. It was a growing belief in Adenium. The previous incident had accidentally led me to a superstition, making me think it could be happening now.
The accidental encounter left something in my chest, but along with the horse running farther, my common sense went against it. I had already let her live, but there was a chance she could have died there from starvation or being eaten by wild animals. Such a small and weak child would not be able to survive alone. Therefore, I became calm again after the inner struggle and thoughts that occurred a few minutes ago.
"HIYA!"
I accelerated the horse's pace as soon as I saw the gate from a distance. Increasingly shortening the distance, I cast a spell, and soon a dark purple cloud of smoke appeared and grew bigger and bigger. The horse I was riding galloped through the portal, followed by a line of knights. Passing through a tunnel that is not too long, in the end, there is a white light which is the end of the tunnel.
After passing through it, we arrived at the outskirts of the capital. I started to reduce the horse's speed because I had to pass through the city center, which was filled with people. The Adenium I left for two years because of the war greeted me with purple, pink, and violet daisies blooming in the streets, indicating that summer in Adenium has taken place. []