Side Story.9

“I just can’t understand.”

Looking down at the three walking away from their small, shabby home, Hyperion furrowed his brow.

Proof of worth.

Whenever he demanded it, humans so far……

‘Really? If we fulfill that condition, you’ll truly help us? You’ll grant any wish……?’

They only kept confirming his promise, then rushed toward the impossible and met a terrible death.

‘How could you ask for such a miracle! How could anyone do that without your help!’

In other cases, they clung to his ankles, begging pathetically for a miracle, only to be abandoned and left to wallow in self-pity.

As for what sort of end they met, he neither knew nor cared.

“……Are they out of their minds?”

Hyperion, who had always scorned and ridiculed those who met one of these two ends, now felt an unfamiliar emotion at the boy who had chosen a completely unprecedented path by rejecting him outright.

Or should he call it unfamiliar……?

He didn’t know.

Hyperion scowled at Adelstein, revealing his rising irritation.

He was smiling and talking with the red-haired woman.

Even though only tragic death awaited at the end of that road.

Why didn’t they beg for his help, for his mercy?

Did they actually believe their revenge would succeed?

If so, there was no one more arrogant and foolish than that boy.

“Right, he’s just stupid.”

Hyperion defined it that way, then forcibly turned his gaze away, trying to ignore his own heart being drawn to the hopeless revenge of the foolish boys whose fate he could already see.

* * *

“So this is Uperta’s stronghold……”

It took three full months of a difficult journey to finally arrive.

Maia stared blankly at his palace.

They said people were attacked and killed by monsters so often that there was no chance for technology to develop……

“Brick?”

Uperta’s castle was built of brick.

Stacked only with brown bricks, its exterior was crude, but its scale and grandeur were almost comparable to the imperial palace of the distant future.

‘How…… is this possible?’

Maia covered her open mouth, unable to take her eyes off the palace.

Did monsters not invade this region?

“Maria, I’ve arranged our lodgings. Let’s go.”

Adelstein approached Maia, noticed where she was looking, and also gazed at the palace.

“……Amazing. To build such a magnificent structure in such a chaotic world.”

“Monsters must not invade here.”

“Do you think so? That’s strange.”

As they chatted quietly—

“How can someone be so clueless about the world?”

A person who had been passing by suddenly stopped and turned toward them.

“……Yes?”

“Who……”

Wearing a brown hood pulled all the way down, the person’s face was hard to see. From the voice, Maia guessed it was a woman. What was this, suddenly?

Maia, a bit flustered, stared at the stranger who had interrupted.

Despite being a stranger, she spoke in an agitated voice.

“It’s amazing that monsters don’t attack here. But that’s all because Uperta made the people of Ilaya Kingdom line up outside the city as human shields!”

“……What?”

Maia’s face turned to shock.

The stranger twisted her head and muttered quietly.

“After gorging themselves on the kingdom’s people, the monsters have no reason to bother invading the city. If someone killed that bastard, I’d be grateful for the rest of my life!”

The emotion that rose on Adelstein’s face shifted from shock to anger.

Maia, her face twisted in disgust, recalled the name ‘Ilaya’ from the woman’s words and quickly spoke up.

“If it’s the Kingdom of Ilaya, that’s where Princess Seiya lives, right?”

“Of course. Uperta, lusting after our Princess, deliberately built his palace close to hers!”

Maia looked up at Adelstein.

He also wore a slightly complicated expression.

Princess Seiya.

Because Maia resembled her, she and Adelstein’s grandfather, they were captured by Uperta’s men. Maia escaped, but Adelstein’s grandfather died.

It was a tragedy that essentially triggered Adelstein’s journey to change the world.

But Princess Seiya herself was blameless.

She too was just a victim, suffering at the hands of a cruel and greedy villain.

“Are you a citizen of the Kingdom of Ilaya?”

Thus, Maia and Adelstein, during the long journey it took for them to arrive here, made their plans.

“……Yes. You seem to be outsiders, so why did you come to a city ruled by that wicked man?”

“We came all the way to this city to take revenge on Uperta.”

In truth, it was impossible to kill Uperta with only their own strength. No matter how much hope they added, it was impossible.

If so, they decided to seek help from the one existence where Uperta might reveal a weakness.

“……What did you say?”

That was to join forces with Princess Seiya.

“You people are insane?”

The mysterious woman stammered, genuinely dumbfounded.

“We are not insane. It’s pure sincerity.”

Adelstein answered in a serious voice.

Princess Seiya, who hid herself deep within the Ilaya royal palace to escape the grip of a fearful tyrant, was said to be the most beautiful in the world, yet no one could see her.

If she decided to help, the possibility of killing Uperta would become infinite.

“How long does it take to reach the Ilaya royal palace?”

“You really are crazy, you two……”

The woman muttered as if exhausted.

She hesitated, took a few steps back, then, for some reason, looked up at Adelstein’s face again and blankly murmured.

“You seem clueless about the world, but your face is as beautiful as if God Himself descended to earth……”

By pure coincidence, the gaze hidden under her hood shifted to Maia’s hair, which was also hidden by a hood.

“Red hair……!”

With a startled murmur that sounded as if her eyes had widened.

“Can you follow me?”

A white hand darted out from beneath the cloak and grabbed Maia’s wrist.

“……”

Maia couldn’t understand the sudden change in attitude.

“Let’s just follow for now.”

Maia glanced up at Adelstein, who, after a moment’s hesitation, suggested they follow the woman.

“……Where are we going?”

Maia asked in a low voice, so as not to be overheard.

The mysterious woman lifted her hood slightly, revealing a smile.

“To the place you wish to go, the royal palace of Ilaya.”

Maia and Adelstein’s eyes widened.

* * *

“I am a maid serving Princess Seiya.”

“I see……”

The young woman, with a plain appearance and light freckles, led Adelstein and Maia forward, saying only palace servants knew this passage.

It was a dark, narrow tunnel.

They walked for quite a while before finally seeing the light.

“This is the royal palace of Ilaya.”

The exterior of the palace they finally entered resembled Uperta’s castle.

Except that it was a bit more modest and somehow looked older.

“That bastard who deserves to be torn apart has even been plundering the taxes of Ilaya’s people, so the country’s situation is dire.”

The princess’s maid spoke through gritted teeth.

As Maia wandered the maze-like palace, she felt keenly what it meant that Princess Seiya had locked herself deep within the palace to escape the villain.

“……Where are you taking us?”

“Sorry for the late explanation. We’re here.”

At a large arched door, the maid turned to look at Adelstein and Maia.

“Could you please take off your hood completely?”

They could see her face already, so why bother?

Maia felt a strange anxiety at the maid’s intense focus, as if nothing else mattered, and removed the cloth from her head.

“Ah……”

A gasp escaped the maid’s lips.

“That red hair, such a beautiful face……”

Her light brown eyes scanned Maia’s features, and she murmured in pure admiration.

“No one will ever suspect you. I never imagined you’d resemble the princess so much……!”

“……Excuse me?”

Resemble the princess?

Maia frowned slightly and asked again.

She’d dyed her hair, so the color was similar, but did she look like her too?

“……This is going to take some explaining.”

The maid, suddenly composed, hardened her expression and opened the door

“This is Princess Seiya’s bedchamber.”

What?

Maia was shocked by the unexpected destination, but only for a moment.

As soon as the door opened, cold air swept over her face and body.

“……It’s the princess’s room, but why is it so cold?”

Something felt ominous. Maia rubbed her goosebumped arm and looked up at Adelstein.

“……Let’s go in.”

Adelstein, with a slightly tense face, gently reassured Maia and patted her back.

They walked through the room, where white curtains billowed.

As they felt themselves drawing closer to something at the end of the path, the maid stopped and turned to them.

“……Her Highness will be glad you’ve come to the palace.”

As she stepped aside, what was revealed was—

“……A coffin.”

A single coffin.

Inside the pure white coffin, red curly hair—just like Maia’s—was spread out beautifully.

And with it—

“……It looks like she’s been dead for at least two years.”

A white skeleton, completely out of place with the vivid hair, lay peacefully among a pile of withered flowers.

“There is a truth the Kingdom has been hiding all this time.”

The maid, who had been silently watching the shocked Adelstein and Maia, spoke.

“The most beautiful woman on the continent, the one Uperta cannot sleep for longing.”

Whether she was suppressing her sorrow or had become numb, her voice was calm.