Chapter 11 ….
Because a servant opened the door for her, Eila was able to carry the tray inside.
Parakel stood, took the tray, and set it down.
On it were the cold tea he liked and the herbal tea Helen preferred.
“I thought you might be thirsty since you started talking right away….”
Parakel hesitated as he looked at his younger sister speaking. Her short brown hair looked awkward, but the round forehead was rather cute, her blue eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were chubby.
“Huh? She’s actually pretty.”
He’d heard their mother call Eila “an unfortunate ugly one” so often that Eila’s image in his mind had been plain.
“Well, blood’s blood,” he thought amusedly, and he smiled, bending down to meet her eye level.
“Sorry I snapped earlier, Eila. It was my fault.” Parakel said.
Eila’s eyes widened.
“Surprised, huh? Hmm, seeing this haircut more, it’s not so bad.” Parakel reached out and smoothed her hair. Short hair is easier to pat.
When he stroked her hair, his sister giggled, “Ehehe.”
“Huh?” Parakel felt something thump in his chest.
“What is this? She’s actually cute?” Having lived overshadowed by his older sister’s presence, seeing the smile of his younger sister opened a whole new world for Parakel.
Helen seemed to read his mind. “Right? Cute, isn’t she?”
“Uh? Uh—yeah, she’s cute.” Parakel stammered.
Helen, looking puzzled, said to Eila, “I told him our little sister is cute. But this one acts as if he doesn’t believe it?”
“No, I just realized it now. My sister is cute.” Parakel replied.
Even the casualness of their talk surprised Eila — and the content of it surprised her even more.
She didn’t know whether the two of them were teasing her or what, and felt helpless.
Parakel asked, “Didn’t you bring anything to drink? Let’s drink together.”
“Huh? Yes!” Eila answered.
After tugging the cord to order drinks from a maid, the three of them sat around in Parakel’s parlor sharing refreshments.
This was something Eila had never experienced in her life; she was nervous and felt oddly strange.
“I didn’t know my sister and brother were this close.” She thought. They really looked like siblings. And she was included with them.
Just that made her heart flutter strangely — a soft, bubbling sensation, as if something tickled her chest.
While she sat there she heard more “you’re so cute”s than she’d ever heard in her life, her face warmed, and she excused herself from the room.
Fish Ornament
The sage’s class was held at a villa near the capital. By the time Eila set out, her clothes trunk had become a whole luggage load.
Helen regretted losing Eila, the resourceful Solalune, but she decided to content herself by teasing Parakel.
This was the first time Eila left while her family saw her off, so she kept waving from the carriage window until it receded into the distance.
Only after sitting properly in the carriage did Eila realize she would meet the Crown Prince in a few days.
‘The Crown Prince…’ In Eila’s memories he wasn’t that important.
‘Well, I mean, he did kill me. But he hardly ever attended social events and left most things to the Crown Princess, so there wasn’t much chance of an entanglement…’ she remembered.
She recalled Luka saying, “The Crown Prince is almost mad, and the palace has a hard time with him.” So he was a gloomy recluse who stayed out of society.
Eila vividly remembered her last memory.
The Crown Princess had to be a demon, she thought — if she could just kill the woman, everything would be over. Eila had used all the influence she had to get into the Night Palace. Her only asset was the prestige of the Solalune household; for a duke’s daughter, slipping into a palace ball at night wasn’t that difficult. It only took a long time waiting for the Crown Princess to be alone.
After the party ended, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince took a walk. She had heard from Luka that the Crown Princess walked the disturbed Crown Prince every night.
Eila could remember that moment clearly.
“Thunk—!”
She hurled the stone she’d been clutching and struck the Crown Princess’s head.
With the sound of something hard cracking, the body of the Crown Princess who had been strolling in the night garden collapsed. The Crown Prince stood rooted to the spot, either shocked or unsure what to do. Honestly, Eila hadn’t even noticed the Crown Prince in her vision at that moment.
“Bullseye!” she thought, swallowed, and ran toward the Crown Princess. This was the moment the woman’s true nature would be revealed — she couldn’t back down. The Crown Prince turned toward Eila when he noticed her presence. He stared at her with wide eyes; the crescent moon was dim and Eila couldn’t read his expression well.
Eila eyed the sword at his waist warily, but he didn’t move at all.
Eila hurriedly said, “Your Highness, look at this woman’s eyes! She’s a demon! So—”
“My goodness.” Then the Crown Princess stirred and rose slowly. She lightly pressed at the cracked portion of her head with her hand and said,
“Brain matter is spilling out, isn’t it? If she were an ordinary human she’d be dead immediately. Terrible. No—amazing! Miss Eila. Wonderful. A rock to the skull?” She spoke with a breezy laugh.
Eila froze. The Crown Princess laughed, hiccupping as she stood up shakily. Blood dripped from her head in strings, but she didn’t care and kept laughing.
“Did you come to avenge Luka and Sada? How noble. But what a pity. This won’t kill me.” The Crown Princess said.
In retrospect Eila thought she should have run then, but her judgment was slow in that instant. Then again, even if she’d fled it might have been a problem; the Crown Princess noticed Eila’s momentary paralysis. Black tendrils shot up from the ground and snatched both of Eila’s ankles backward.
Eila tumbled face-first and ugly onto the ground. “Ugh!” she cried.
The Crown Princess smoothed her silver hair, though it was matted with blood and brain matter. Her right pupil had turned red — heterochromia indicating a demon.
“Honey, my head’s a mess. Oh, look. Can you see my brain?” The Crown Princess pretended to pout and looked at the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince remained motionless, staring at her.
Eila shouted, “Did you see? You saw it! She’s a demon! Quick—!”
“Hahahaha!” The Crown Princess’s laugh rang out clear and bright, like a bell in a forest — but it made Eila feel sick.
“Even in this situation, keeping secrets between a married couple — it’s admirable. Truly admirable. Now then, my love, this naughty child tried to kill me. Kill her, please.” The Crown Princess indicated Eila and sobbed playfully.
“Come to think of it, Sada Ult also died recently, didn’t she? If we send Eila, her childhood friend, back to them, wouldn’t both be delighted? Or would they hate us for chasing this far? Miss Eila, did you know those two despised you? They told me many times that you clung to them one-sidedly.” Her words stabbed at Eila’s ribs.
Eila struggled, clawing at the ground to pull off the tentacle wrapped around her ankle.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” she shouted.
“Ah, but I failed, didn’t I? Come on now. Oh, really. I didn’t think I could kill someone from Solalune. This is—” The Crown Princess bit her nails in excitement. Standing before Eila, the Crown Prince finally spoke.
“…Can’t we just let her go? No one will believe this woman anyway.” he said.
Eila fell into despair and stared at him. Lying flat on the ground, she couldn’t see his face properly.
“Keep the contract, Alsariel. Now, bark, will you?” the Crown Princess commanded.
“Woof.” The Crown Prince made a barking sound, and Eila was stunned. The Crown Princess burst into laughter. Eila could see the tip of the Crown Prince’s sword trembling.
Angry, Eila shouted, “Aren’t you ashamed to bark?! Aren’t you ashamed of having a contract with demons! You bastard! You vile creature!” She cried out.
The Crown Princess ignored Eila’s shrieks and murmured, “Shall we keep her alive to play with instead? I feel like I could get plenty of screams from her, darling—”
At that moment the Crown Prince’s sword flashed swiftly. From behind to front, it pierced her heart in one stroke.
“Gah…!” A death rattle escaped, and through her blurring vision she could see his hand go limp.
“Didn’t I tell you not to kill her!” The Crown Princess shouted nervously and then slapped him sharply.
Everything faded.
