Chapter 11 - The Girl Wants to Be M*rdered

**Episode 11: Consumed** * * * **The morning of the hunting competition's commencement.** Tessa, the library's diligent librarian who once boldly declared she would never lift anything heavier than a book, was humming as she organized her collection, just as she always did. "The wounded cypress has lost its words~♬" ㅡWhirr! "Eeek!?" Perhaps due to exerting too much force, or perhaps because the book had simply aged, the volume she had grabbed tore apart at the seams, scattering into countless pieces on the floor. The book lay there, fully spread open and in disarray, and a notebook slipped out that appeared to have been left there by someone. It must have been left and forgotten by whoever owned it, Tessa thought, noting the unusual thickness when she picked it up. With a heavy sigh stemming from the thought of the clean-up ahead, she resolved to first gather the fragments strewn about. "...Hmm? 'The Correlation Between Human Psyche and Sorcery'? Who would read such a forbidding book... Oh!" Upon seeing the cover, Tessa recognized the title. Her thoughts drifted back to a certain princess who had visited the library long ago, seeking books on sorcery. Aris Akaia, a princess renowned throughout the kingdom. Her academic talents left even the most esteemed scholars in awe, and her swordsmanship, acknowledged by the former leader of the knight order, was beyond impressive. Even the word "genius" fell short of capturing her entirety. Add to that her fairy-like appearance and cheerful aura, and it's easy to see why there were even ridiculous rumors that seeing her could bless someone with good fortune. But what was it that drew such a princess to delve into books on sorcery? Out of respect, Tessa had refrained from asking at the time, but curiosity lingered on. "The handwriting... These rounded letters must belong to the princess..." Muttering to herself after seeing the large "To Anna!" written across the top, Tessa began to peruse the notes more closely. As an academic herself, a curiosity unfulfilled was like an itch she couldn't ignore. With answers seemingly so close at hand, how could she resist? Though she chuckled initially at the sight of Princess Aris emphasizing Anna's name with underlines and stars, her expression grew more twisted the more she read. It was becoming clear that something was amiss. Her face turned pale. Stricken by fear. ㅡFlutter "...What is this?" [Anna has been acting very strange lately.] [The other day, she grabbed my hair and yanked it hard. It wasn't the usual gaze she gives me.] [We collided sharply, but without a word, she abandoned me and left alone.] The contents were simply unbelievable for Tessa. The princesses were famously close. Although there had been whispers of their relationship cooling recently, this!? Her growing unease made her read even more frantically. [What could be the reason for Anna's change?] [It seems like the black pearl earrings she started wearing are suspicious.] [A maid mentioned she received them from a certain duke.] [His name is, Duke Akiten.] Mouthing the name Duke Akiten, Tessa reflected. He was a man of infamy — known for all the wrong reasons. It's said mysterious screams echo from his manor at night, accompanied by foul odors. Some claim to have seen a cloaked dwarf coming and going from his residence, while others speak of a fearsome monster living inside. Her hands were already shaking. The tremors grew so intense that she could no longer read the notes and had to set them down on the table before resuming. There was no turning back now. What was the title of the book these notes had been tucked into? A princess's sudden change in personality, the duke's gift, and the enigmatic rumors surrounding his home. Piece by piece, several puzzles were starting to align in her mind. [They say that someone under a mind-altering spell has eyes that turn pitch black like ink.] [Yesterday, outside my sister's room. She didn’t come out, but through the window, I saw eyes like that staring at me.] [The eyes were so dark, they frightened me.] [When I looked again, they were gone.] [Those couldn’t have been my sister's eyes. They mustn't be.] [I want to see the sister I used to know.] "...!!!" She remembered the rumors swirling around the castle lately — no, they were first-hand accounts. Stories that Anna Akaia had become as if bewitched. Bewitched, cursed, —sorcery Tessa mouthed these words to herself. Dwarfs, witches, sorcerers. She was edging ever closer to the truth. Tessa felt her breath coming in heavy gasps. Her mouth grew dry, tinged with an unfamiliar taste. But could she realize? That she had read the notes at precisely the time Aris had calculated. That the scattering of the books was anything but coincidental. That the notes were purposefully left in such a way. Everything. [I overheard our parents discussing. They said her stress was due to academics, nothing Mother should worry herself about.] [I'm clueless about sorcery, so I must be wrong, right? Father must be right?] [They’re hosting the hunting competition. They say it will relieve her stress and that she’ll return to normal.] [Right...?] [I hope so...] [I want to play with her again...] [I'm done with looking at books.] ㅡTremble "No... no!!!" With her hands shaking violently, she forced her unwilling legs to move and burst outside. Any thoughts of reorganizing the shelves had long since vanished. Bang, she kicked open the door she would usually open and close with precision. Despite being outside, not a soul was in sight. She cried out. "Help!!! Somebody, please!! Hurry!!" Today was the day when the princesses were off for their collective hunt. Typically, soldiers patrolled every inch of the palace, and servants bustled to and fro on errands, but today, none of them crossed her path. Still, she cried out. Because crying out was all she could do at the moment. Was it because of her desperate plea— "What is going on here!!" "Ah...!!" Her frantic yelling was met with a response that gave her a shred of relief. It was the voice of an elderly knight she trusted above all others. The former leader of the knights. And the man who had been Princess Aris’ swordsmanship instructor. "I am Payren, now retired and serving as an instructor. May I ask why you are in such a hurry—" "—It's dangerous!!" Tessa wanted to speak, yet her labored breathing and spinning mind clamped her mouth shut. Say something. Please, she had to say something!! Her stubborn lips! Move, now!! Please!!!! Quivering, she struck her chest with a fist. Expelled of air, she gasped before managing to utter some words, albeit barely intelligible and incoherent. Ravings that might be dismissed as insane. But they were enough. "At this rate... Princess Aris will die!!" "...!!!" ** It was still early in the day, long before the sun reached its peak. A knight rode out of the palace with a young woman on his horse. ** Away from the royal hunting grounds and deep into the forest. I was hunting there. Hunting. Crunch, I nocked an arrow and pulled the string back. Ahead lay prey with an arrowhead embedded in one leg, bleeding, and struggling to escape. It dragged itself slowly, crawling awkwardly with a wounded leg, an almost laughable sight. "Hehehe." Thwack, the arrow sprung from the bowstring with a light twang. At a distance of just a few meters, the arrow found its target without fail. To the hands trying to leave the ground, Thwap. "—Aaarghhh!!!!!" "Hahahahaha—!!!!" As precisely as intended, the arrow pierced through the back of the hand. The prey that had been crawling stopped writhing in pain, clutching at the hand fully run through with an arrow, and turned its tear-filled gaze toward me. Why. You can still flee, can't you? Come on, don't stop. Otherwise, you'll —die? Without a word, I retrieved another arrow from my quiver and nocked it. As if realizing something, the prey attempted to flee in terror. Dragging and dragging. Indeed, intelligence leads to quick wits, perhaps? It responds well. Ah, not that direction. "U-Unnie...!!" —Silence. —Thwack "Don't call me Unnie." The arrow was aimed slightly to the right of its head, targeting the bothersome ear, but it landed on the ground instead. Maybe the target was too small, or perhaps it was just my poor aim, but the arrow failed to pierce that infuriating ear. Yet it screamed as though struck. Ha, there's no one here to hear your cries anyway. Scream all you like. "Eek—!!" "Come on, flee. Crawl, scream in agony, curse the world." "Ah... ah...!!" Though I missed my aim, at least I was able to steer my prey towards the intended destination, so it was a success. Walking seems to have become familiar with the pain. Though it didn’t run properly, having crawled just earlier, the creature now rose on shaky legs and staggered away. Had it only crawled, it would never reach there by day's end, which suits me just fine. "Hahahaha!" Covered in dirt, limping on one leg, it waddled pitifully. The sight intensified the headache that frequently besieged my mind. Does it hurt? Are you in pain? A flame blazes within me. The fire shows no sign of extinguishing, consuming me further. Does it hurt, you say? I surrender myself to the flames. —Thump "...Aagh!!" "I was in pain, too... I hurt!!" I rushed toward my loathsome target of scorn. Kicking at its legs, I tripped it. With a scream loud enough to echo through the forest, it collapsed powerlessly. Fear-filled eyes turned towards me. No mercy. I slowly lifted my foot, placing it on her thigh. There, where the long red arrow was still deeply embedded. "No... No, I don't want..." "...Hah." Understanding what I was about to do, it shook its head frantically, pleading with me. Don't want to? I don't want you either. —Crack!! I applied weight to my foot slowly. Every time my foot pressed deeper, every time the arrow was disturbed, I could feel the body beneath thrashing madly. The sensation of it struggling to escape from beneath my leg was so infuriating, I pressed harder still. "Ah... Aah...—Aaaaaaaaah!!!!" "...Haha...Hahaha...Hahahaha!!" In the distance, a cliff loomed. As I angled my arrow towards it, a voice cried out like a song. Several angled shots later, realizing my intentions, it began to crawl in the direction I indicated. The destination, there. When it reached the cliff's edge, what expression would it wear? A place where there was nowhere else to run, where no one would come to its aid. Would it experience the same despair as I have? In Remi's favorite fairytale, the monster is ultimately defeated by the heroine Alice and falls to its death from the cliff. What would become of you? ** * *