Chapter 111: The One Who Commands Monsters

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“Just in case, I’ve put the soldiers on standby. If a problem arises, we’ll be able to respond immediately.”

Gazeff handed the polished sword to Cabelenus.

Cabelenus grasped and released the sword’s hilt several times, as if gauging it.

He had held countless swords, but somehow today’s sword felt heavy.

Gazeff looked back and forth between Cabelenus and Alicia, then spoke cautiously.

“…Are the monsters really going to appear?”

“Yes. They will definitely come.”

Alicia nodded as if it were only natural.

Though it was her first time summoning the monsters, she seemed to know what to do.

She had already called upon them once before.

“It was the same that day, too.”

“That day?” 

Instead of answering, Alicia gave a faint smile.

Gazeff furrowed his brow.

Honestly, a delicate-looking woman and a monster were not a very fitting combination.

Judging by her deathly pale face, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Alicia collapsed right there.

“That day, eight years ago, when I left Schwarhan.”

“If you mean eight years ago…”

Gazeff fell silent.

That year, Alicia wasn’t the only one who had vanished.

Along with her, all the monsters disappeared.

There was clearly something between Alicia and the monsters.

But Gazeff chose to swallow his doubts rather than voice them.

A loyal retainer knew clearly what he had to do.

“I understand. Then I will prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. And…”

Gazeff stepped back slightly and looked at Cabelenus and Alicia.

At first, he thought they didn’t suit each other at all, but now seeing the two of them apart felt even stranger.

“My aunt will be watching over you.”

"..." 

“Everything will be fine.”

“…Thank you, as always.”

Gazeff answered with a smile, then left.

“Sir Claude is truly a good person.”

“He resembles Madame Morco a lot.”

“That’s right.”

Alicia smiled faintly.

Cabelenus silently took Alicia’s hand.

“That’s reassuring.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Before he even finished speaking, his hand tensed.

Their interlaced fingers were tightly entwined, as though they would never come apart.

Alicia took several deep breaths, then slowly closed her eyes.

“I’ll begin now.”

With her eyes closed, the warmth in her hand felt even more vivid.

Only then did Alicia gently let out the breath that had been trapped between her lips and tighten her grip.

・・・・・

‘Just how much time has passed?’

Anxious, Cabelenus bit his lips as he studied Alicia’s complexion.

Even though quite some time seemed to have passed, Alicia didn’t move at all.

With her eyes closed, she didn’t move an inch from her original position.

"..." 

Only when he tasted the metallic tang on his tongue did Cabelenus realise his lips were split.

Cabelenus frowned deeply and let out a rough breath.

He had no intention of interfering, but by now he was starting to feel anxious.

No matter how hard he tried not to think about it, the woman with her pale face and closed eyes reminded him of a corpse.

Even though he knew she was breathing, he kept holding his own breath, straining to hear her sound.

‘If only I could be the one doing it.’

 The taste of blood in his mouth grew stronger, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

He just felt a pang in his chest.

If he could take her place, he would gladly do so, but the fact that he couldn’t was agonising.

“...How is it?”

After a long silence, the voice he had been longing to hear finally reached him.

Cabelenus swallowed reflexively.

He had always liked looking at Alicia, but right now, the feeling was different.

The moment he saw her eyes beneath her slowly lifted eyelids, it was as if he had been struck on the back of the head. His mind went blank.

He simply couldn’t look away from her eyes.

“Are the monsters showing any reaction?”

When no answer came, Alicia asked again.

But this time too, Cabelenus said nothing.

“I was sure I made contact, but…”

Alicia frowned and looked around.

However, contrary to what she had expected, there were only Cabelenus and herself in the room.

“I must’ve failed. I’ll have to try again… Wait, what happened to your lips?”

As Alicia finally looked at Cabelenus’s face, her expression crumpled like paper.

But Cabelenus just stared at her blankly.

“You’re bleeding.”

Alicia’s expression grew fierce despite herself.

On closer look, the man didn’t seem to care about his own body at all.

“Did you bite your lip?”

“...There’s a scent.”

“What?”

Her hand, which had been hovering near his lips without daring to touch them, was suddenly caught in his.

Alicia blinked, closing her eyes and then opening them again.

The man’s eyes, as he looked at her, were different from usual.

He was dazed, as if drunk with sleep.

“Your eyes are glazing over.”

“What about my eyes?”

Cabelenus gave a languid smile.

“Right now, you—”

“I’d rather you called me by my name instead of ‘you.’”

“What?”

"I told you I like it; the sound of my name when you say it."

Alicia’s cheeks flushed pink.

She knew something was off about Cabelenus’s condition, yet her face grew warm all the same.

The way he smiled with his eyes and clung to her was disarmingly seductive.

“You really do smell wonderful.”

“I don’t smell like anything, though.”

“No. There’s a scent. I can sense it.”

As he spoke, Cabelenus rested his head on Alicia’s shoulder.

The woman’s scent hit his nose so sharply that it made his head spin.

"I wish I could devour you just like this."

His murmured words didn’t sound like a joke.

Alicia hesitated, then tightened her grip on Cabelenus’s hand.

“Cabelenus.”

"..." 

His golden eyes wavered.

Without missing a moment, Alicia called the man’s name again.

Perhaps because she called his name, the man’s eyes had regained more focus than before.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m sorry, but I need to step back for a moment. The scent coming from you is…”

“The scent?”

Alicia tilted her head and leaned toward Cabelenus.

At the same time, Cabelenus covered his nose with his free hand.

“It seems it’s due to the monster’s blood.”

“Then I guess it’s not completely ineffective.”

She thought it yielded nothing, but it seemed she was wrong.

Only then did Alicia let out a relieved breath.

"..." 

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“If it’s alright with you, may I try one more time?”

Alicia nodded vigorously with a resolute expression.

If there was a possibility, it was necessary to make enough attempts.

There was still much she needed to hear from the monsters.

“If it’s hard for you to endure, it’s okay for you to stay outside. I’m fine on my own.”

Yet her expression clearly said she didn’t want to be left alone.

Cabelenus clicked his tongue inwardly but gripped her hand even more firmly.

Feeling the faint tremor through her grasp, he knew he could never let go.

“…I’ll try to endure it as much as I can.”

Alicia’s expression brightened at Cabelenus’s response.

“I’ll have to send the signal a bit more strongly than before. I think I sent it too weakly earlier.”

Alicia quickly closed her eyes and focused.

Dragging it out would only make things harder for Cabelenus.

It was better to finish it quickly, in one go.

‘Come here. I’m right here.’

Alicia’s tightly shut eyelids twitched.

Summoning the monsters didn’t require some grand incantation.

If she needed them, they would appear.

Eight years ago, the monsters appearing that day were no coincidence.

They had come because she had wished for it.

[You called. Us.]

Alicia’s eyes snapped open at the voice ringing in her head.

But when she looked around, there was no sign of a monster.

“Why…”

Alicia couldn’t bring herself to speak and froze in place.

The voice that had been faint at first gradually became clearer.

And there wasn’t just one voice.

“The monsters have come. I can hear their voices.”

Her voice trembled with excitement.

Her heart was racing at the fact that she finally had something she could do.

"What voices do you hear?”

Cabelenus turned his head, trying not to lose himself to the increasingly strong scent.

Contrary to Alicia’s words, he heard nothing.

“They’re pleased that I called them. And it’s not just one or two… huh?”

For a moment, Alicia’s pupils dilated.

The voices that rushed in all at once filled her mind.

The humming voices made her vision shake on its own, and her stomach churned.

[Our King.]

[The Great One.]

[You seek us. At last.]

“Ah…”

A splitting headache made Alicia clutch her ears in urgency.

But the voice wasn’t heard through the ears.

Even with her ears covered, the cries of the monsters were painfully clear.

“…Alicia?”

Noticing that Alicia’s condition was unusual, Cabelenus quickly grabbed her shoulders.

But her unfocused eyes weren’t looking at him.

She was staring at something beyond.

“Alicia!”

Cabelenus shook Alicia’s body.

But she showed hardly any reaction.

She swayed back and forth like a marionette, and the moment Cabelenus stopped, she went limp as if the strings had snapped.

“No…”

Cabelenus let out a hollow sigh.

Tears were streaming from her unfocused eyes.

Then, a harsh banging on the door sounded beside him.

“Your Highness, there’s an emergency!”

Gazeff burst through the door, bracing himself against the wall.

He was gasping heavily, as if he had run over in a single dash.

“Monsters! An enormous number of them suddenly appeared from somewhere and have surrounded the castle walls!”

“…Monsters?”

Cabelenus’s head creaked like a rusted machine as he turned it.

Gazeff instinctively drew in a sharp breath as he met Cabelenus’s bloodshot, veined eyes.

Cradling Alicia in his arms, Cabelenus was trembling.

・・・・・

[Overexerted, you.]

[Your strength has weakened.]

[It’s broken.]

The moment she regained her senses, voices pierced her mind as if they had been waiting.

Alicia frowned and struggled to lift herself up.

The landscape unfolding before her was familiar to her.

“Where is this…”

[This is your subconscious.]

[And this is where we dwell.]

“…You stayed here?”

Alicia’s gaze passed over the thickly piled snow and fell on the carriage, shattered beyond recognition.

Starting from the carriage, bloodstains spread across the pure white snow, forming a long, blotchy trail, but it lasted only for a very short while.

In the falling snow, the bloodstains gradually faded, eventually disappearing completely.

If it weren’t for the scattered remnants of the carriage, the endless snowfield would have looked peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.

The scene before her was none other than that day, eight years ago.

[You wished for it. That we remain here.] 

[We obey.]

[Still, we were lonely.]

[Necessary. Us. You.]

[We always waited.]

The moment a single word was spoken, their voices poured out as if they had been waiting for it all along.

Alicia swallowed hard as she saw the countless eyes fixed on her.

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Translator's Corner:

Apologies for the late update for AUP! >_< I'll aim to get some more translated for this week. Until then, hope you all have a pleasant week~

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