Chapter 3

At that instant, William thought his heart had been crushed in someone’s grip. The pain was so overwhelming that he could barely breathe, yet he endured it as best he could.

Every one of his senses—not only hearing, taste, and smell, but even sight itself—seemed to have become concentrated upon the agony in his chest. Perhaps that was why an image of what was happening inside his own body, something he should never have been able to see, appeared vividly in William’s mind.

The cords that had once been translucent gradually changed from red to black. Wriggling like tentacles, they spread outward from around his heart into the blood vessels and nerves throughout his body, entwining with them, merging into them, and bringing them under their control. At the center of it all, the blood-inscribed talisman had adhered itself to his heart and squeezed tighter and tighter, as though suppressing its very beating.

Then Princess Kana’s voice descended upon him.

‘You will suffer less if you simply accept it.’

(I accept it! I accept it, so please, just make this stop!)

Cold sweat beaded across his skin as he desperately pleaded in his mind, but instead of subsiding, the pain only seemed to intensify. His hands and feet were already as cold as ice, and his body felt so heavy that he imagined it might sink straight into the floor.

Still, the talisman continued tightening mercilessly. Just as William thought his heart truly would be crushed—

It stopped.

“Ghk… ngh…”

A groan escaped through his clenched teeth despite himself. Yet his lungs, deprived of fresh air, seemed to have exhausted the last of what remained within them, and after that, even his voice failed him as he watched every function inside his body come to a halt.

He could see the talisman sinking into his heart as though being swallowed by it. At the same time, the characters written upon it began appearing directly across the surface of his heart, one after another. But within his fading consciousness, everything slowly blurred into a dark reddish haze… until at last the entirety of his vision was swallowed by mist.

THUMP!

His heart gave one enormous beat.

The agony that had tormented him until that moment vanished as though it had never existed, and his heart resumed beating normally. His body immediately grew lighter, and his lungs were once again able to draw in air.

“Haaaaah!”

He inhaled deeply. At once, the functions within his body began moving again, and he could feel warmth gradually returning to his chilled hands and feet. William continued breathing in and out deeply, obeying his body’s desperate demands, when a familiar scent tickled his nose. It was a deeply comforting fragrance that reminded him of when he was still a young child, and so he drew an even deeper breath.

“William…”

He heard someone call his name. Only then was he finally able to open his eyes, and the face reflected in his vision was that of his mother, looking down at him with concern.

Princess Kana watched as William, who had been clutching his chest in agony, finally began to breathe normally again. Just as she became certain the spell had succeeded, the king—who had until then been watching his son with bated breath—raised his voice.

“Wait! I will undergo that as well! So—!”

“M-me too! I’ll become one of your pieces or whatever you call it!”

Having confirmed that William was alive, Prince Alton also cried out as he tried to crawl closer to the princess.

“I refuse! I made this concession only because I considered the feelings of a mother willing to offer her own life to save her child. Did I not already tell you? I have no mercy to spare for either of you.”

Princess Kana’s answer was utterly merciless. Yet perhaps still unwilling to give up, the king persisted.

“Then I too was only trying to save my son’s life—”

At that instant, the pressure of her magical power surged and filled the chamber once more. For the third time, Princess Kana’s hair writhed in the force of it, while her sleeves and hems fluttered violently.

“And that is why you attempted to deceive me? You fool! If you wished to save your son’s life, you should have offered your own head as that mother did. A man who instead tries to trick me with such a scheme is not even worth making into one of my pieces!”

Her gaze toward the Second Prince was colder still.

“And you are no different. Had you remained obediently in your room, perhaps there might have been some consideration. But the moment you happily came to watch the execution of your own kin, you proved yourself worthless not merely as a piece, but as a human being.”

The princess glanced toward William, who was still somewhat dazed but whose breathing and complexion had recovered, then continued.

“It appears matters over there have been settled, so perhaps it is time to settle matters over here as well.”

At those words, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavy. Everyone understood at once that the thing they had feared was finally about to happen.

More than a few had apparently hoped that perhaps, like Prince William, the condemned might somehow escape execution—or at the very least that the sentence would not be carried out immediately, leaving time to persuade the princess to reconsider. Yet before a girl who showed neither mercy nor hesitation, no one dared voice such thoughts.

Some wore bitter expressions, while others kept their heads bowed, clearly unwilling to become involved and risk drawing her wrath upon themselves. Their reactions varied, but not a single person attempted to stop Princess Kana. Everyone remained silent and simply watched events unfold.

“Now then, I shall take three heads. This one, that one, and… that one.”

After pointing to the king and the Second Prince as “this one” and “that one,” Princess Kana indicated a third person.

It was not the queen.

It was Consort Trisha, still lying facedown on the floor.

“Eek…”

Trisha had just barely managed to raise her face and look around when the sudden death sentence fell upon her. A voiceless shriek escaped her. Her eyes widened in terror as she desperately tried to drag herself backward and escape, but in her condition there was no possibility of getting away.

Suō rotated one forepaw in a circle, and several cords writhed through the air before wrapping around the consort’s body and face. They entangled her completely and dragged her over beside the king and princes.

“Wait, just wait! Please! We still—”

“Stop! I don’t want to die! Why does my brother get to live?! If you’re taking my mother’s head, then it only makes sense that you spare me! Let me go right now!”

“How disgraceful. Is this truly how the lord of a castle and his son meet their ends? Suō!”

“At once.”

Suō moved his forepaw again, and several layers of cords immediately wrapped around both men’s mouths, silencing them.

“I was brought into this world without so much as being asked, was I not? I could not even exchange words of farewell with those who had been beside me. Compared with that, I would say you have been given more than enough time.”

As she spoke, Princess Kana stepped before the three captives lying gagged on the floor and peered down into their faces.

“And the moment I arrived in a place wholly unknown to me, its inhabitants told me that I was expected to solve what they themselves were incapable of resolving.”

“Forgive my impertinence, Lady Kana, but Prince William asked for your help. He never ordered you to do anything…”

Knight Commander Beaton apparently hoped to smooth matters over even a little and attempted to correct Princess Kana’s wording, but she scoffed at him.

“Hah. Do not speak such foolishness. A young girl was dragged into an unknown place and told that she could never return home. In such circumstances, do you truly believe she could normally refuse the ‘request’ of the very people offering to provide her protection? If you genuinely believe that is possible, then all of you must be an exceptionally fortunate collection of fools.”

At those words, Beaton and everyone else in the chamber had no choice but to fall silent.

“Very well, Suō, Kaō. I leave it to you. Ah, but do not dirty the floor.”

“At once!”

“Strip!”

Kaō brought one forepaw down with a sharp thump as he spoke, and in that instant the king, Second Prince, and consort were pulled forward. At the same time, their clothing was stripped away, leaving all three in their undergarments.

“Sever!”

“Freeze!”

Suō and Kaō spoke simultaneously.

A rush of wind swept through the room, followed by a crystalline chime—

Thud. Thump. Thud.

The three heads fell from their bodies.

It happened almost absurdly quickly. Yet no blood sprayed from the severed necks. Instead, the cut surfaces somehow glittered faintly. In the oppressive silence, many stared at the strange sight, but not one person dared ask about it.

The instant the three heads fell, Princess Kana felt her rage drain away all at once, like the receding tide. It was as though a roaring inferno that had until then burned with deafening force had suddenly transformed into quiet embers.

(My anger has not vanished… yet this sensation is deeply unpleasant.)

Princess Kana frowned and sank into thought when a confused voice addressed her.

“Um… Lady Kana, why was it not me…?”

The voice belonged to the queen, who had been unable to tear her eyes away from the carnage that had just unfolded. Her face was pale, and her gaze toward the three unmoving bodies was filled with pain. Yet despite the trembling of her hands, she continued to hold her son tightly against herself.

“The moment they attempted to deceive me, I decided that I would take three heads. I merely considered which of you would be more useful to me if left alive. That woman appeared unlikely to be of any use, so I decided I had no need of her. You, however, seem useful enough.”

After answering, Princess Kana addressed the knight commander, who still stood frozen, staring at the bodies of the king and the others.

“Beaton, was it? I apologize, but would you see to cleaning this up? However, those bodies are frozen, so take care not to touch them directly or you may suffer frostbite. Also, I have something I wish to ask of Shaila, so I would like you to tend to that man as well. It would be best to take him to his bedchamber. I doubt he should be moved about any more today.”

“…Understood.”

“Do not worry. As far as abducting me is concerned, I have no intention of demanding any further payment.”

With that, Princess Kana urged Knight Commander Beaton, who was looking anxiously toward the queen, to hurry and take charge of William. The knight commander helped the prince, who had finally regained enough strength to stand on his own, and seated him in one of the few chairs that had somehow survived intact.

“Shaila, if you do not object, I would have you guide me. There are two or three matters I wish to attend to.”

With that, she began walking away with the still-pale queen following behind her. But when she reached the door, she stopped and turned around.

“Ah. Before that, I shall show you something amusing.”

As she spoke, she deliberately drew a blade from inside her robe and cut the outer side of her own arm where everyone could clearly see.

The act drew shocked stares from everyone present and instantly froze what little warmth remained in the already oppressive chamber.

“Ugh… ngh!”

In the next instant, Prince William grimaced in pain and clutched his arm. Princess Kana watched him with satisfaction, then turned a smile toward everyone else in the room.

“If anyone injures me, all the pain will be transferred to him. Poison works the same way. He will be the one writhing in agony. Remember that well.”

She then turned on her heel and left the room with the queen following behind her.

Click.

The sound of the door closing echoed through the chamber, and at the same moment, the true meaning of her words slowly sank into everyone present.

《The prince had been made the Saintess’s hostage.》