Taming Her Highness the Princess

48 – Judgment for whom? (7)

The human heart was fickle.

Although she ran away thinking that she shouldn’t be a nuisance to Jennie Earl, when she meets Jennie Earl, she is relieved that she is not alone in the last moments of her life.

Radne, who let out a short laugh, opened her words, holding on to her mind that was about to become clouded.

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“…… I’m curious. How did you find me?”

She thought she had fooled everyone and removed as much traces as possible. But Jennie Earl came to visit as if he knew in advance that he was here.

It was both strange and questionable, so when I asked, Jeniel opened his tightly closed mouth. He looked tired in some way.

“The bloodstains continued to the forest behind the clearing. Naturally, I ordered the guards to search for blood. But something was strange. After passing through the entrance of the forest for some time, the bloodstains stopped unnaturally.”

Dersal, the head of the guard, suggested that Radne tore off the clothes she was wearing and plugged the part where her blood was oozing out before fleeing, but Jennie Earl thought otherwise.

“The method is a little different, but it seems to have followed the werewolf’s method. It seemed to lure people into the forest. I was puzzled there. Why did he lure people into the forest where he was when he ran away to avoid being caught?”

That was because Radne wasn’t in the forest.

“You, who left the path to the forest using the falling blood, deployed space movement magic. That would more than explain why the bloodstains disappeared without a trace. All that remained was to find out where you had fled to using your space travel magic.”

Space movement magic is not as omnipotent as you might think. Short range can only be used within visual range, and if you want to move far, you can only use the place you remember.

It was impossible to travel ridiculously long distances, even to places I remembered. This is because the cost of mana consumed increases as the distance increases.

From that point of view, it is clear that Radne could not have gone far. Just because she had a lot of demonic energy in her body didn’t mean she was rich in mana.

“I wondered where I could hide without being too far away. When I thought about it, this slum immediately came to mind. There are no people and there are many empty houses, so it must be a good place to hide for a while.”

After gathering people in the forest, he inversely hides in an abandoned house in a slum. It was a truly clever decision. If it hadn’t been for Jenny Earl, she might have been fooled.

However, the plan to face death alone at the point of being caught was like nothing. A bitter smile forms on Ladne’s lips.

“So?”

Even if Jeniel found him, nothing changed.

“Did you come to comfort me at the end? If that’s the case, I’m impressed…… You better not get involved with me.”

I couldn’t kill the Heretic Judge. So soon, the Heretic Judge would inform the Empire and the Holy Kingdom that Radne was a demon.

The moment the heretic judge’s words are confirmed to be true, Ladne and Xenial lose their place in the empire.

An empire that enshrines the same god as the Holy Kingdom basically rejects demons. If the pressure from the Seongguk was added to that, no matter how Jeniel was, he would not be able to pass without a blow.

“So, please.”

The tone-deprived voice cracks low.

“Before misunderstanding…… I want you to kill me with your own hands.”

What is the only way for Jenial to get away from the crime of hiding Mine? When you think about it, it was surprisingly simple. Jeniel just needs to kill the demon with his own hands.

He didn’t know that he was a demon. OK, so she killed. If you say that in court, all of Jeniel’s sins will be pardoned and he will be able to return to his usual routine.

But Jeniel didn’t visit Radne with that in mind. Rather, he came to Radne with the opposite idea.

“Those fangs…… Are you a vampire?”

Radne weakly nodded her head. All because she didn’t want to hide her identity in the dying yard.

Paradoxically, it wasn’t until her death that she was able to be proud of herself. She found it both sad and funny, and Radne gave her a twisted smile.

She said, “I thought she was smart, but she’s stupid in this way. I just found out…….”

“No. I knew it, but I just double-checked it. You must be a vampire to overcome the current situation.”

Breaking out the situation? As Radne looks up with her doubts, Jenny Earl moves closer to her and sits her down on one knee.

The moment their eyes met, Jennie Earl raised her hand and cupped Radne’s cheek. In the moment of wanting to do something, she puts her finger inside her radne’s mouth.

“…… B-up?”

Using his thumb to open Radne’s mouth, Jenny Earl confirmed that her fangs were in perfect condition.

Jenial confirmed the other side as well, and removed his hand from Radne’s cheek. Said Jennie Earl, who took her handkerchief from her bosom and wiped Radne’s spittle from her hand.

“I don’t think his fangs were broken during the battle, so there shouldn’t be any problem with vampirism. Can her body move a little?”

A question mark rises above Radne’s head as she stares blankly at Jeniel. Because she didn’t know what the hell she was talking about.

“…… Are you bloodsucking? What are you trying to do?”

“I’m not very knowledgeable about demons, but I know that high-ranking demons like you can heal both internal and external wounds with a single vamp.”

It was for this reason that during the Great War, a unit made up of vampires was feared around the world. No matter how much he was injured, he would quickly recover from a single vamp and continue fighting again.

No matter how much it was, Radne didn’t want to suck Jenial’s blood. No, there were several reasons not to do it right now.

“You don’t seem to know what vampirism means… ….”

“I know. Not enough to be part of your household, so demonic energy will flow through my blood.”

“…… You know?”

Why do you want to be vampirized by yourself when you know it so well? There’s no way you don’t know that living as a demon in the Empire isn’t easy.

In addition, if you are discovered by a high-ranking cleric who can detect demonic energy, you will not be able to deny anything.

Most priests cannot sense the demonic energy, but some high-ranking priests, such as the Heretic Judge, were able to sense the demonic energy flowing through the other person’s body.

I couldn’t recommend letting Jeniel live the same life as him. So Radne shook her head even though the chance to live came.

“I don’t want to. Living alone in the empire is enough for me alone. Therefore-“

“With the two of us, we are no longer alone.”

I will be in the same position as you and live in the empire. Radne’s heart beat a little faster at Jenial’s words with such meaning.

“Are you saying you know what it means to become a Mine? Maybe she has to hide all her life.”

“Before that happens, I will stop it from my line. Also, if things go wrong, that’s my problem.”

“No, you don’t know. How does it feel to be abandoned by everyone-“

“I know.”

Jeniel interrupted Radne again and looked at Radne with serious eyes. The sincerity in her dark blue eyes makes Radne shut up.

“I may not be able to explain everything to you, but I have the experience of letting a lot of people go first. Countless people who could not be saved even if they wanted to be saved died in front of my eyes. I wanted to ask them for forgiveness, but I couldn’t. Because they have already left me.”

Now that I have a new life, I vowed not to let anyone around me die. If I had to make a sacrifice, I would rather do it myself.

That was the only repayment for the woman who gave her a new life, and the conviction that Jeniel had. So she won’t just watch Radne meet her death here.

“Of course, Radne, I won’t stop you if you want to die here. But don’t ask just one. Do you really want to die here? Do you want to give up her life without any meaning, just because she is a demon?”

Are you really born to die like this? Radne’s eyes come back to life as she gazes at the muttering Jeniel, and water begins to form.

‘No.’

I wasn’t born into this world because I wanted to die like this. I wanted to travel the wide world freely, I wanted to eat delicious food, and I wanted to build a family and live a happy life in the distant future.

I didn’t live to die in a deserted house in a slum like this. However, the feeling that she did not want to cause a nuisance to Jennie Earl was suppressing her will to survive.

“I want you… ….”

I was going to say that you can’t vampirize. But first, Jenial grabbed Ladne’s hand. Even in the midst of dying, I can feel that it is a really warm and big hand.

“It’s okay not to look far away. Sometimes, you can act by being guided by the desire right in front of you.”

Even if life seems difficult, if you take a step back, it’s a simple law. It was clear what Radne had to do if she put all her worries behind her and put her survival desire first.

However, there were always people who maintained their reason even in the face of death. Radne was that kind of person, so she refused Jenial’s favor until the very end.

It was also a consideration that he could not bring the pain he had been through to Jenny Earl. However, such selfish consideration was not what Jeniel wanted.

Jenny Earl stretched out his hand and hugged Radne lightly. Thanks to her, Radne’s chin rests on Jennie Earl’s shoulder. Just by opening her mouth and biting, Radne could heal her own wounds.

“… ….”

Jeniel didn’t say anything and just hugged Ladne. The choice is yours, and I felt an unspoken will to respect your choice.

Radne, holding back her cry, raised her trembling hand and held Jennie Earl’s shoulder. After thinking about it, Ladne whispered in Jeniel’s ear.

“I may have to walk the hard road because of this choice.”

“Maybe.”

“Then why are you trying to help me?”

“Because I don’t want to see you die without any guilt.”

Imperial people who say that demons are innocent. Laughter flows low because it is absurd. But that laugh soon turned into sobs.

For some reason, it seemed that my life so far was being healed. Because each and every word Jenial said was telling you that there was nothing wrong with you.

Maybe that’s why the more we talked, the stronger the desire to live. Hardly swallowing her cries, Radne opened his teeth and bit Jenny Earl’s neck.

Quick…… !

Fangs are lodged in Jenial’s neck. Radne closed her eyes and sobbed low as she drank Jenial’s blood. Sensing her body trembling, Jenny Earl raised his hand and lightly stroked the back of Radne’s head.

“… ….”

Jeniel still didn’t say anything, but Ladne felt the silence as the warmest comfort.

Radne finally let go of the tears she had been holding back and hugged Jeniel a little closer. These are her words while secretly recalling her maid’s words that the world outside her is no different from a fairy tale.

Of course, it is not known whether the end of this story will be a happy ending for everyone. However, Radne decided not to care about that fact anymore.

As Jeniel said, sometimes you have to look at the present with your back to the future.

So for now, I decided to treasure this moment.