SBWCM 29

Chapter 29

Naikel, the princess of Nuit, had been imprisoned in a dungeon for several months.

“Tell us about the treasure. If you do, we shall grant you a pardon.”

Her nation had fallen, and her father’s head had been severed.

Naikel knew full well that it was the fault of her father, who had broken the under-the-table treaty with Wesselwolf to plunder and slaughter civilian settlements.

The moment Wesselwolf’s soldiers slaughtered the king, they marched straight upon the capital and seized the royal family.

Crazy wolf bastards.

They had claimed they would release her if she showed intent to surrender, only to go back on their word and refuse to let her go until she told them about that damn treasure—or whatever it was.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know!”

Naikel truly felt like crying. They claimed that a treasure capable of neutralizing supernatural abilities had been discovered, but it was honestly something she knew nothing about.

In fact, if such a thing had existed in Nuit, her wretched excuse of a father would have long since auctioned it off.

Thinking back to how her teeth had ached with fury upon hearing that he had replaced her bathing water with precious milk all for the sake of his beloved young concubine’s skin!

At any rate, she simply claimed ignorance because she genuinely did not know. She truly held no knowledge. Yet no one believed her. It was enough to drive her insane.

She had two daughters who were like little rabbits—no, like baby bears.

Just then, the music of Nuit came drifting in. Naikel focused her attention on that melody. In her desolate prison life, the music wrapped softly and gently around her ears.

Was a musician captured as well?

It served as a small handful of solace in Naikel’s dungeon life. The cold stone walls, a single ray of light filtering through the window—I want to return. To my homeland, I want to go back.

At the music echoing through the dark each night, Naikel sobbed quietly. When she heard a song she used to sing with her children, her weeping grew even deeper.

She truly wished to go back. She even wanted to lie if it meant returning.

But how? How could she make up a lie about something that neutralized supernatural abilities?

She wept for a long time. The following day, her interrogation commenced.

The person who entered was a woman.

“Hello.”

Had she been screaming all day? Her raspy, hoarse voice sounded strange.

She was a woman surrounded by a peculiar aura. Her delicate appearance suggested she had never broken a single blade of grass in her life.

And in reality, that was precisely the case. The way her face twisted in distress upon taking in the sight of the interrogation room made her look like a flower nurtured in a greenhouse.

“Why don’t you drop this pathetic farce?”

Seeing that despicable display, Naikel flared up with venomous rage.

“By the looks of it, you were the one who ordered this sort of torture.”

The moment she laid eyes on that woman, Naikel understood why she had been hearing that music.

Naikel was no fool. They were playing songs of Nuit to win over her heart. It truly felt as though it would drive her mad.

She missed her homeland terribly, yet she could think of no way to return. Should she simply beg on her knees instead?

What should she do…… She felt like bashing her head against the stone wall and dying instead.

“Did you like my music?”

“What?”

“Having lived a wandering life, I found that to be a defining trait of the Nuit people. Loving and yearning for their homeland……”

“Do you not wish to go back?”

She was a truly strange woman. She looked terrified, yet her eyes sparkled as she asked if she enjoyed her music.

“If you share information regarding the treasure…… I will release you. I hear you have children. Shouldn’t you go see them?”

Yes, my children haven’t been captured yet. That was the single reason Naikel could maintain her composure.

“It’s not that I’m withholding it on purpose. I genuinely do not know.”

“I really…… do not know……”

Watching her break down into sobs as she said this, Eda let out a soft sigh.

And so, Eda went to visit the princess day after day. She conversed with her every day and shared stories of the outside world.

At times, she even performed music from Nuit for her.

While Naikel remained cold and distant as always, she never lost her temper with Eda. Occasionally, she would even point out that Eda had hit a wrong note.

Listening to that music, the Princess of Nuit shed tears, yet she never once demanded that the music stop.

“I miss my daughters.”

According to Bulder, the princess—who had previously maintained a fierce and unyielding posture—was becoming emotionally unstable just days after listening to the music.

“If you simply ask me where Nuit’s ‘real’ treasures are, I will tell you.”

“I will tell you the location of the treasure that grants the power to transform into a bird, as well as the treasure imbued with the supernatural power to command fire, both of which I stashed away from my father.”

Behind Eda, Bulder’s brow furrowed sharply. Naikel had never once disclosed the location of such treasures.

“Sir Bulder, she truly seems not to know.”

At Eda’s words, Bulder nodded his head with a somber, heavy expression. Eda let out a sigh.

“By the way, if such treasures existed, why on earth were they not deployed in the war?”

At Eda’s question, Naikel wore a speechlessly stunned expression.

“I hid them for fear that severed-neck bastard would auction them off……”

“Pardon?”

“You know it as well as I do. That severed-neck father of mine lost his mind over his young concubine and ruined the entire nation.”

Her words were so icy cold that it was hard to believe she was referring to her own father.

“Why, does it make you uncomfortable to hear me condemn my own father?”

“Hardly. I do not like my father either. At times, I simply wish for him to suffer the absolute worst.”

At Eda’s response, Naikel burst into laughter.

On her way back, Eda let out a low sigh.

“You have worked hard, Your Highness.”

Bulder said. Nieve placed a hand on Eda’s shoulder as well.

“Are you familiar with the music of Nuit?”

“I had occasion to learn it in the past.”

Every single one of the Nuit wanderers she had encountered shared the trait of missing their homeland, possessing a profound love for their roots.

They had taught Eda the music of their birthplace, and at times, they wept as they asked her to play it for them.

Because they suffered persecution as barbarians, they were a people bound by exceptionally strong ties. Eda felt a deep sense of pity for them.

“She truly seems not to know. It is late tonight, so tomorrow, after making the princess presentable, let her meet with her daughters.”

“Understood.”

“Phew, today will finally be the last day those daughters throw their wild tantrums, then.”

Eda had not informed her that her children had arrived here.

Because had Naikel known her daughters were here, she would surely have felt even greater hostility, assuming her children were being used as hostages.

Still, since she had assured the daughters that they would meet their mother before long, their long wait was coming to an end as well.

“In that case, we shall order the knights to track down the locations of those treasures.”

“Though we could not uncover the truth regarding the artifact, this alone is a monumental yield.”

“What a relief.”

As she walked, Eda suddenly halted her steps and turned to look at Bulder.

“By the way…… is it truly alright for you to follow my judgment like this?”

“The princess might still be harboring secrets…… Is it truly fine to let her meet her children regardless?”

Eda felt bewildered by how submissively Bulder complied with her thoughts. What if I am wrong? What if I make a mistake……

“Is this not the result brought about by the method Your Highness the Grand Duchess conceived?”

To think that people were following the words uttered by someone as insignificant as herself, nodding in agreement with her conclusion to allow them to meet.

“Had I truly deemed it misguided, I would have voiced a direct objection.”

“Pardon my presumption, but in my eyes, you have done extraordinarily well.”

Eda’s two cheeks flushed deep red.

Returning to her bedchamber, Eda reflected upon what she had accomplished. Her opinion, which she had always regarded as the most worthless thing in the world, had been respected.

“If possible, we too wish to learn the truth through humane methods rather than torture.”

Her words, pleading against torture, had been honored. At any rate, she had succeeded.

In the end, Naikel had opened her heart to Eda and spoken to her with complete honesty.

Eda washed away that lingering excitement. Just as Eda was about to reach for her instrument……

“Fire!”

Sharp, frantic screams pierced the air. A bird fluttered in through the window.

Huh? A bird?

The tiny bird transformed into a young girl with vivid red hair. Wait, isn’t that girl one of the royal descendants of Nuit?

With eyes stained with raw fury, the girl screamed at Eda:

“You enemy of my mother, die!”

“Wait……”

Before Eda could even utter a word, the room erupted into flames.

In that split second, Eda realized:

She said she knew the location of the treasure that allows one to transform into a bird, as well as the one that commands fire, right?

If so, there was a high probability that her daughters knew the locations of those treasures as well.

Just like that, crimson flames swallowed her whole.

Is this the end? Eda stared blankly into the raging red fire. Breathing became difficult. Her vision blurred and grew dim.

At that moment, Eda saw the faint silhouette of a blue wolf sweeping toward her.

All at once, it assumed human form and wrapped its arms around Eda. It was a man with jet-black hair and striking, sapphire-blue eyes.

Staring down at the fire-enveloped Eda, he flashed a gentle smile and pulled her tight into his embrace.

‹You know, don’t you? No one in this world can bring you harm.›

Eda remained cradled within that embrace.

As if that very phrase were a signal, Eda collapsed completely within his arms.