THSMW 48

chapter 48

“…Ariel.”

I had hoped it would end quickly, but no matter how long I waited, the pain never came.

Instead, Siegfried’s voice, rough with heavy breathing, echoed through the darkness.

I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was a broad back clad in a tattered, shredded shirt.

Behind him, a golden eyeball the size of a fist rolled across the floor. At some point, my hand had become empty.

Siegfried had taken the sword. He was now holding it upright and jamming it into the monster’s mouth.

The monster blinked its large eyes in confusion, as if it couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Then, with disgusting drool dripping from its jaws, it tried to close its mouth.

Siegfried used that moment to pull me back. With my arms wrapped around his neck, I looked back at the monster. It was massive, like a mountain, but clearly had low intelligence.

Because it shut its mouth with the sword still inside, the blade pierced through the roof of its mouth and jutted out.

— Grrraaargh!

The monster screamed and struggled to remove the sword. I let out a long breath.

It was good that the monster was injured, but now both swords we had brought were unusable. What should we do next?

I looked up at Siegfried. He was a complete mess, having fought the monster alone without any weapons.

“This won’t end like this. Are you hurt?”

“…I’m fine. I really liked this nightgown, though.”

“Yeah. It really suited you.”

“What the—so you were looking, even though you pretended not to.”

“No, I wasn’t pretending…”

The monster continued to rampage, and Siegfried’s voice near me became hard to hear. Just as I was about to respond to his words, a flash of white steel reflected in the firelight cut through the darkness.

“Are you all right?!”

Finally, Abussion appeared with the knights. His hair was a complete mess, as if he had run all the way here in a panic.

It was a relief they arrived before the monster destroyed the entire mansion. I relaxed and leaned my head on Siegfried’s shoulder.

“…Ugh.”

“Oh, sorry! Are you hurt?”

“It’s fine. You should evacuate now. That thing’s on another level compared to sirens. It’ll probably take dozens of knights to bring it down.”

Siegfried gently released me from his arms as he spoke. Just as he finished, several knights were thrown aside by the monster’s massive swinging arm. Frowning, I asked,

“Then what about Your Highness?”

“It’s not like I can just stand by and watch.”

That goes for me too, though. But Siegfried pointed toward the staircase, urging me to leave.

When the monster first appeared, the flames were small, but now the stairs were half-destroyed, swallowed by the growing fire.

“I’ll stay. We need every fighter we can get, right?”

“You have a point, but… you’re wearing a torn-up nightgown…”

“So is Your Highness.”

Unable to argue, Siegfried silently pressed his lips together. Sweat rolled down his cheek in the growing heat.

“That monster… it came out of a summoning stone Milliad got from someone who works in the Crown Prince’s palace.”

“I’ve heard of a monster summoning stone, but the source…”

“Maybe it’s because of our conversation earlier today, but I doubt this is a coincidence.”

“It can’t be. My brother must’ve finally lost it. I guess he’s suspicious since I’ve stayed in Elifritz for so long.”

Siegfried sighed. He picked up a nearby shard and hurled it at the monster’s head.

— Graaah!

The shard hit its mark, and the monster clutched its head. Abussion seized the moment and drove his sword into the monster’s thigh, slashing downward.

The monster howled in agony. Siegfried picked up a fallen knight’s sword.

“Count Abussion, attack with me again.”

“Be careful.”

Abussion nodded, wiping the sweat from his jaw. Fighting the monster was hard enough, but the suffocating heat was becoming just as dangerous.

Abussion targeted the monster’s other thigh. As expected, it turned its attention toward him.

Siegfried ran up the sword I had previously embedded in the monster’s back, clearly aiming for its head.

— Crash!

Another window shattered under the monster’s claws—dozens had already been broken.

But this time, it wasn’t the monster. I saw a familiar face appear at the broken window and gasped.

“…What is all this commotion? In the middle of the night?”

It was Killian—someone I hadn’t seen since returning to the mansion.

He looked at Siegfried, who was aiming at the monster’s head, said nothing, and jumped in through the window.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ariel, the fire could be seen even from the village. And some maids had run all the way there.”

So everyone had safely escaped. I was relieved no innocent lives were lost.

“I also met the young master of the mansion on the way. A monster summoning stone, you say? That’s one of the Crown Prince’s collectibles. Why it’s here… well, it makes sense now.”

Killian pointed at Siegfried, who was drenched in the monster’s blue blood.

“Killian, do you have any spare swords?”

“I only carry one.”

“Oh, I see. Well then, go help His Highness already. Are you just going to watch your master struggle?”

“You’re still treating me like a slave, huh.”

“Well, you are a slave.”

I shoved Killian forward. He looked back at me, speechless, then drew his sword.

— Grrraaaargh!

“Though… it looks like I won’t get a chance to shine.”

“Huh?”

As I spoke, I saw Siegfried successfully plunge the sword into the top of the monster’s skull and leap away.

With a final violent thrash, the monster slowly collapsed.

— Boom!

“D-d-did it die…?”

One of the knights stammered. Siegfried checked its dilated pupils and raised the sword once more.

— Shlunk!

He drove the blade deep into the back of its neck. The monster didn’t move again.

“It’s dead…! It’s really dead!”

“Don’t just celebrate—go help the injured!”

Abussion gave orders as he sheathed his sword. I finally tore my eyes away from the monster and looked around.

A massive hole gaped in the ceiling, every window near the monster shattered.

One wall had collapsed completely, revealing the rear garden beyond the mansion.

After confirming the wounded were being moved to a safer spot, I spoke.

“…First, we need to put out the fire.”

At this rate, the entire mansion would be engulfed.

“Ariel, are you hurt?”

Abussion came over and asked. I paused from checking on the injured and replied,

“I’m okay. I look terrible, though.”

Even Abussion’s face was smeared with soot and smoke from the fire.

I wasn’t much better—my skirt was torn nearly to my thigh, and my bare feet were filthy from stepping over debris. But at least I wasn’t injured.

“Milliad explained some of it to me. That kid was sobbing uncontrollably.”

“Well, the monster did come from the summoning stone he brought.”

“Why would he accept something like that? Now half the mansion’s gone.”

Abussion muttered while wiping his face. The few remaining able knights were running around trying to find water to put out the fire.

Siegfried stood silently, staring at the burning monster. His bare torso, soaked with sweat, was covered in cuts and scrapes from debris.

“Your Highness.”

Abussion and I approached him. Siegfried didn’t respond, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Killian, who had been crouching nearby poking at the monster, looked up that Siegfried finally acknowledged us.

“…”

His expression was twisted in a way I couldn’t describe. I couldn’t bring myself to reach out to him.

“This is all… my fault.”

“Milliad was the one who brought the summoning stone.”

Abussion quickly cut in.

Honestly, I thought Abussion would surely blame Siegfried.

If Siegfried hadn’t come to Elifritz, this would never have happened.

But looking at Siegfried’s face, on the verge of tears, how could anyone say such a thing?

He had faced scorn, humiliation, and hardship from the moment he was born, constantly targeted by his half-brother.

And now, even in Elifritz—where he hoped to find some peace—Eisa wouldn’t leave him alone.