~Chapter 104~
The day of the trial.
Among those who fled outside to escape the beasts was Wilhelm.
Charlotte let others pass, but when Wilhelm ran out, she stuck her foot out and tripped him.
The Count, who had shouted boldly at whoever dared do such a thing, turned pale the moment he saw Charlotte.
By her side stood a beast.
“P-please, spare me. Even if you’re not my real daughter, we lived together for decades, as father and child!”
“If you truly thought that, then you should never have dragged me down in front of all those people.”
She remembered the whispers and mockery, the way they laughed and pointed fingers at her for being denied. Every time, her blood boiled.
As long as she lived in the Empire, those voices would never leave her.
That was why she had used the magic book Marquis Blancia had given her. Not to run away with Wilhelm, but to destroy everything that had ruined her.
“Aaaaghhh!”
Crunch—
The beast bit into Wilhelm as he turned to flee.
The sight of the man who always called her worthless now begging for his life—
It felt like this moment was the very reason she had lived until now.
And yet…
‘Why… why did I become like this?’
Charlotte looked down at her hands. They were no longer human hands, but blackened and smeared with dark-red sticky liquid.
She licked it from her fingers. The metallic taste slid down her throat, and suddenly her foggy mind cleared.
‘That’s right. I came outside… because I was so thirsty…’
She realized she was standing in the street, crushing something beneath her feet.
And when she noticed it was a person—
“Kyaaaah!”
A scream ripped out beneath her.
“Monster!”
A terrified woman pointed at her, while children cried and fell to the ground.
“Mommy!”
“Get up, hurry!”
The woman dragged her children away.
Others poked their heads out of houses, only to scream as well.
The streets fell into chaos, the word monster echoing again and again.
I’m not a monster…
Screeeech—
She tried to shout her denial, but only a shrill, metallic screech came out.
She tried to follow, but froze. Her legs were long, thin, and sharp—completely unfamiliar.
Truthfully, she had noticed long ago. Even before she came fully conscious, people already looked small, like cats.
‘When… when did I become a monster?’
Her blurry head couldn’t remember. Was it when she dipped her hand in the reagent? Or when Wilhelm lost his title?
Then one name rose in her mind, making her scowl.
Bella.
The moment she thought it, the feeling of hatred doubled.
Yes… I became like this because of Bella. That woman stole everything from me.
If she wanted revenge, she needed strength. But she was nothing but a powerless monster. She knew well how easily beasts like her fell to knights’ swords.
‘Then I need allies. More of them.’
If skill was lacking, numbers could overwhelm.
Charlotte scratched the air with her claws.
Where once she had needed a book and blood to open rifts, now her claws ripped them open easily.
From the cracks, beasts emerged one by one.
Skreeeech.
Kiiiiiik!
Hearing their varied cries, Charlotte laughed.
In that eerie sound, no trace of humanity remained.
Bella was at the scene.
Specifically, before one of the cracks beasts had been using as a passage.
Her job was to close them, to stop new monsters from entering.
Armians hated letting her go. “Doesn’t the Empire have enough magicians, that we must send someone barely an adult?”
But no other magician could close them. Even after she explained the method again and again, only Bella succeeded.
So she had no choice but to be on the front lines.
“This time, there are a lot of them…”
Bella gave a weary smile at the many cracks spread around.
Camilla agreed.
“Yes. They seem to be increasing in number.”
A dozen imperial knights, including Camilla, guarded Bella to protect this new vital asset.
“Are you well?” Camilla asked quickly.
“If you’re too tired, perhaps it’s better to rest a while?”
“Thank you for worrying, but resting won’t solve anything.”
Her voice was astonishingly calm.
“Isn’t it better to finish quickly, and then rest? I’m sure you’d prefer a more relaxed date too.”
“…Please don’t tease me.”
Ever since it became known that Camilla and Leon were lovers, Bella had enjoyed teasing her in passing.
Camilla lowered her gaze, embarrassed. Because of it, she didn’t notice Bella’s expression turning heavier as she examined each crack.
‘The cracks are increasing in number… and size.’
Bella closed another, and Richard’s words came back to her.
“The more you use magic, the greater the price you must pay.”
If that was true, what price would she bear?
As she thought, she was suddenly pulled back. Camilla had grabbed her.
Only then did Bella notice the crack in front of her, large as herself. If Camilla hadn’t stopped her, she might have fallen in.
“Th-thank you.”
“Be careful.”
But Camilla noticed something odd.
The girl who always rushed to act, now only stood there staring.
“…My Lady?”
“Ah. It’s just strange.”
“The crack?”
“Yes. This one looks fresh.”
“That means… isn’t it dangerous?”
Normally, after some time, cracks stopped working as passages for beasts. That was why Armians had allowed Bella to close only the “dead” ones.
“Then shouldn’t we close it quickly, before more come through?”
Bella measured the distance with her eyes.
“And this place isn’t far from the palace either.”
Inside the palace was Isabel.
People thought she stayed behind to calm the citizens, but the truth was different. On the day the cracks first appeared, Isabel collapsed unconscious and hadn’t woken since.
Only a few, including Armians, knew.
They couldn’t carry her out, so the best solution was to remove the nearby cracks before anything happened.
Camilla let Bella go, and Bella began.
The sight was still wondrous. Threads of magic sewed the air shut like stitches, sealing the crack until it vanished as if it had never existed.
Even though this one was as tall as Bella, the process was the same. It shrank, smaller and smaller—until it was just the size of a head.
Then—
“!”
Bella staggered and clamped a hand over her mouth. Blood seeped out between her fingers.
“My Lady!”
Camilla caught her as she collapsed, shocked at how pale her face had turned.
“We should leave at once—”
But Bella’s eyes opened.
“Here… where is this?”
“You’re still outside. You fainted while closing the last crack.”
“The last… you mean that one?”
Bella pointed weakly at the small floating crack still left.
“Yes. But you don’t need to force yourself. You’ve already closed so many today…”
“This place… it’s near the palace, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Then we must close it. That’s where the Emperor resides.”
Her words were logical—but…
Why does she sound like someone who has never had this conversation before?
Camilla felt a chill run down her spine.
