Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 45

“I’m waiting for the letter of annulment.”

 

Since when had he started thinking about breaking off the engagement?

 

According to the Original Story, the engagement began after the Salt Island explosion, at Cesaria’s request.

 

[My father wants me to marry into the Bethesda ducal house.] 

 

Instead of revealing that her father was behind the Salt Island explosion, Cesaria asked for an engagement with him.

 

Her justification was that she wanted to avoid marrying the much older heir of the Bethesda ducal house at all costs. Of course, all of this stemmed from Lucegno’s scheme to assassinate the crown prince.

 

But as the two became sincere with each other, the main plot of “The Blood-Soaked Moon” began in earnest.

 

So then, after the engagement, when did Sihien start thinking about breaking it off?

 

“Um, may I… ask why you want to break off the engagement?”

 

“Because that was the condition for the engagement.”

 

Ah, right. That’s how it was.

 

At first, the engagement on those terms was just like in the Original Story. But after that, did he never once have sincere feelings for Cesaria? Not even once? Sihien was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

 

“Sez.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“No matter what the young lady said, don’t worry about it.”

 

Suddenly, I remembered the sight of the grass turning yellow and dying in an instant. If I had drunk that tea, it wouldn’t have been the grass that collapsed, but me. My lips felt dry for no reason.

 

Was it because she loved Sihien too much? Or because she hated me so much? Or was it both?

 

If, after the engagement, she had truly been sincere as in the Original Story…

 

“The answer is.”

 

“Ah.”

 

One of his eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. Even that felt as if a sculpture had come to life.

 

Did Cesaria, like me, end up falling for him? To the point that even such a small movement caught her eye?

 

“…Yes.”

 

As I answered, Sihien let out a shallow breath. It felt as if he had been waiting for my reply, and a part of my chest stung.

 

In the Original Story, Cesaria and Sihien fall in love and it leads to a bad ending.

 

If I try to think hopefully, since the two didn’t end up together, maybe the ending could change. Maybe, with the rift of the Beasts closing, it could become a different ending.

 

Facing those golden eyes staring at me, I steeled myself to think positively about the future. If he didn’t have to end so tragically like in the Original Story, I wanted to do whatever I could as an Epilo. I never wanted to see the desperate look he had in the latter half of the Original Story in real life.

 

If there’s anything I can do to avoid the bad ending, to change the ending completely now that things have gone astray, I’ll do my best.

 

I clenched both fists tightly under the table.

 

‘Is it really okay to let things go like this?’

 

A worried voice echoed in one corner of my mind, but I forced myself to ignore it and steeled my resolve.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

Rain was falling outside the window.

 

Lying on the large bed, cesaria looked even more frail. Ever since returning from Enapok, her fever hadn’t gone down, and she’d been recuperating for a week already.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

She was in such bad shape that it was hard to have a proper conversation, so Duke Lucegno had just come by after hearing that his daughter had finally regained consciousness.

 

“I’m much better now. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

 

“You must have had a hard time traveling so far. Tsk, your face is half its usual size.”

 

Her voice was hoarse, and her face was sunken under her eyes. With the help of a maid, Cesaria managed to prop herself up against a pillow.

 

“So, is His Highness well?”

 

Cesaria’s shoulders flinched noticeably.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

He wasn’t really asking if the crown prince was doing well. Sighing, Duke Lucegno let out a breath.

 

“So he’s well, then.”

 

The concern in his voice quickly hardened. Cesaria bowed her head.

 

“I had high hopes this time. Tsk.”

 

The duke moved toward the rain-soaked window. His displeasure was evident in the way he stood with his hands behind his back.

 

For a moment, only the sound of rain filled the silence between father and daughter. The silence was so heavy that Cesaria just wanted to lie back down.

 

“Did you meet the slave?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Were the rumors true?”

 

The rumor was that she cherished the slave and even embraced him in front of everyone. She couldn’t say for sure if it was true, but she couldn’t deny that the crown prince treated that slave as someone special.

 

“I think that slave could become His Highness’s weakness.”

 

It was a way of saying, at least I found a weakness by going all the way to Enapok. Even if I couldn’t assassinate the crown prince, at least it wasn’t a wasted effort—she wanted to appeal that much.

 

“Tsk. To a mere slave. The daughter of Lucegno.”

 

But the duke’s reaction as he turned his gaze back to Cesaria was not what she expected.

 

“The word ‘competition’ itself makes no sense. What on earth is going on?”

 

“F-Father…”

 

“So you went all that way just to check on a rumor, is that it?”

 

She was in so much pain she could barely keep her eyes open. She thought she might never get up again. She had only just recovered enough to speak.

 

‘How hard must it have been for you to be this sick? You even faced a Beasts yourself. It must have been frightening.’

 

‘You went through so much, traveling so far.’

 

She thought she would hear words like that first. Even if he was disappointed, she thought he would at least acknowledge her hardship. Until now, even though he was blunt, she could feel her father’s affection for her. Now, it was as if he had become a different person.

 

Cesaria blinked up at Duke Lucegno.

 

“Cesaria. Was I really that unreliable as a father?”

 

“What…?”

 

“I’m sure I told you I would take responsibility for everything.”

 

“Ah. That’s not it…”

 

“I thought I had given you my trust, but it seems I was mistaken.”

 

It was the first time since meeting her father that his gaze had been so cold.

 

“I’m sorry. That’s not what I—”

 

“Tsk. Enough. Rest.”

 

The duke clicked his tongue and left the room. He didn’t even seem interested in hearing what she had to say. His eyes were not those of a father looking at his sick daughter, but of a commander looking at a subordinate who had failed a mission.

 

“Cough, cough.”

 

She tried to call after her father, but only a fit of coughing came out.

 

All this time, she had gritted her teeth for fear of becoming a stain on the family. As a noble, she had to endure harsh days until she became natural at it.

 

But it was her father’s affectionate gaze that had allowed her to come this far. She had lived wanting to repay that affection.

 

But failing to assassinate the crown prince seemed to be more important to the duke. Whether his daughter was sick or had suffered—none of that seemed to matter at all right now.

 

The indifferent eyes of Duke Lucegno overlapped, for a moment, completely with the golden gaze she had met in Enapok.

 

“Oh my, miss!”

 

As the maid Sally rushed in after the duke left, Cesaria lost consciousness again.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

The village of Deloi near Enapok.

 

It was said to be the closest to the front line, but you had to cross a dense forest and run across plains to get there. It was such a small place that every other house was related by blood.

 

Marlo, the carpenter who lived in that village, was on his way to the village well because the water he’d drawn had run dry. Carrying a wooden bucket, he suddenly had a strange feeling and stopped walking.

 

“What the—?”

 

The shadow of a tree behind the well seemed to grow longer. The dark shade covered the well and in an instant reached right above his head.

 

“Huh?”

 

The bucket in his hand rolled across the ground. When he looked up, something huge was completely blocking his view. An eyeball as big as the well rolled around, scanning the area.

 

A shape covered entirely in black was moving. It was so massive it blocked out the sky.

 

“Aaaaah!”

 

Someone else in the village saw it too. Thump—the black shape took a step. With that sudden movement, the well was destroyed and a tree toppled over.

 

“R-Run!”

 

Even worse, another shape of the same size appeared behind them.

 

That same day, in another nearby village.

 

“Woof! Woof!”

 

“Grrr, grrr.”

 

Every dog in the village started barking at once, as if on cue.

 

“Why are you making such a racket? Be quiet!”

 

An old man scolded the dogs, banging his cane on the ground. All the young people were out in the fields, so the barking sounded even louder.

 

“Yap! Yap!”

 

“You little—!”

 

When the dogs didn’t calm down and only got louder, the old man stepped forward to scold them himself.

 

Thump, thump. Just then, the ground shook as if in an earthquake.

 

“Hm?”

 

Suddenly, the sky darkened. With a chill, he looked around and saw something he’d never seen before. Squinting, the old man glared at it. Covered in fur, it looked as if a pillar had suddenly sprung up from the earth.

 

“W-Why is a Beasts here?!”

 

Backing away, the old man fell on his bottom. The black-furred monster said to appear only in Enapok—a Beasts he’d only seen in books—was right in front of his eyes. Reflected in his cloudy pupils was the sight of the village houses being mercilessly destroyed.

 

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

 

The urgent sound of hooves passed through the forest. Blood spattered in the wake of the galloping horse.

 

A man was racing toward the front line, a place he would never normally go near.

 

Running frantically, he saw a wooden fence. In front of it, Thorn Knights stood guard.

 

“Halt!”

 

Despite the charging horse, two knights bravely stepped forward without backing down.

 

Whinny!

 

The horse, which looked ready to break through the fence, reared up and slowed down.

 

“Sir Knight!”

 

The man practically fell off his horse. Blood ran down from his head, staining one side of his face red.

 

“Please, save us! Please, save us!”

 

“What’s going on?!”

 

“I must see His Highness!”

 

He looked as if he was about to dash into Enapok.

 

“I said, what’s going on?!”

 

“A-A Beasts has appeared!”

 

“What? Where?!”

 

“Deloi, and Ocon too! The villages are in danger right now!”

 

The knights froze for a moment, then snapped to attention. Until now, even when Beasts appeared outside the Enapok fortress, it was within visible range. Deloi and Ocon were nearby villages, but still quite a distance away.

 

A bad feeling swept over them.

 

And soon, the news was reported to the center of Enapok. The somber mood was brief; the knights immediately split into three units, each assigned to their tasks.

 

Baslo and Arnic each led their units to Deloi and Ocon first. Captain Lekes stayed behind to defend Enapok. The crown prince headed to Ocon, the village the man had fled from.

 

He looked back as if leaving something behind, but soon his black horse sped off at a gallop.