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The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 7
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 07:22:16 +0000 UTCChapter 7: Love and Sacrifice (1)
***
-Whoosh!
I felt it—a translucent sphere hurtling towards my back, accompanied by the sound of air ripping apart.
'If I twist my body to the right at this moment… I can dodge it.'
And until that magic hits me…
3…
2…
1…
-Thwack!
A loud impact resounded from my back, and my body rolled across the ground.
I hadn't dodged, even though I knew the magic was coming.
-Click clack click.
She. Lili.
Approached me in a beautiful dress, a sight that had become almost 'commonplace.'
…Now, befitting her status as Imperial Princess, she was accompanied by a gaggle of noblewomen, her entourage.
'You've grown up so beautifully, Lili.'
"…To think Mother died trying to save a fool who can't even dodge something like that."
Unlike me, secretly admiring her growth into a beautiful young woman, she glared at me with undisguised disgust.
Her gaze fixed on the scar peeking through my torn clothes… the large scar on my back from saving the Emperor.
Tsk.
Her click of disapproval was the prelude to the noblewomen's mocking laughter, echoing through the garden.
"And because of a lowly commoner, no less…"
"Exactly, Your Highness! I've been telling you, haven't I? You shouldn't allow such low-class servants into the palace… Is there a reason you keep him as your personal attendant?"
"Of course there's a reason."
A reason to keep this despicable thing here, despite the utter revulsion he evokes.
…I knew what she would say next.
The Emperor's decree.
-This boy was saved by my Empress at the cost of her own life. To punish him would be to disrespect her sacrifice. Therefore, this boy will not be punished.
The actual announcement was much longer and more elaborate, but that was the gist of it. I heard it the day after she regained consciousness, summoned by her.
-…I heard everything. That Mother died because of you, not me.
-…That she died trying to save you, caught in the landslide.
-Forgive you…? Why should I forgive you? My Mother died because of you….
-And even Father being saved… that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't caused Mother's death in the first place, would it?
-Father might be grateful that you saved him… but to me… you're the one who almost killed him too….
-What? You're begging for your life? Ha… so your life is precious to you? Fine… don't worry about that… If Father said so… I can't just kill you.
-But… I will make you pay for your sins… slowly… and painfully.
-You will suffer… just like I did, losing my only mother… just like Mother did, dying so horribly because of you… No, even more so…!
…You will suffer in pain and agony….
That's what she said.
"This lowly commoner… will live as my punching bag, my toy, suffering for the rest of his life… Right?"
And so, she began grinding her heel into the scar on my back, as if I were a toy.
The noblewomen continued to fawn over her, even as she did this. Their faces were so expertly masked that even I could barely detect the twitching of their eyebrows.
'You're the ones who instigated this, you bitches.'
And now you're scared of her?
…They say the quickest way to befriend someone is to join them in criticizing someone they dislike.
These women, understanding this principle, had ingratiated themselves with Lili by belittling me and fueling her hatred.
"Oh, Your Highness~ A toy? Calling him your toy is too much of an honor for that commoner~"
"Indeed, Your Highness~ He's more like… a magical experiment subject? Or a training dummy~"
…Just like now.
'…This is why I didn't want to resort to this.'
I had worried that this choice would trap her in a cycle of anger and hatred.
I had agonized over it.
But time was running out, and my romance-addled brain couldn't come up with a better way to heal her heart.
'…It's been almost two years, hasn't it?'
The bullying wasn't this severe at first. She wasn't as powerful, and she didn't have these malicious followers.
And the nobles, pleased by the Empress's demise, hadn't bothered targeting me.
'…But things have changed.'
The elixir must have been potent. She could already use all the magic spells taught to first-year academy students.
Unlike before, she now possessed:
Captivating beauty.
Magical prowess surpassing her peers.
And significantly more power as the Imperial Princess.
Her torment, fueled by her entourage of sycophants, had become blatant and cruel, escalating to the point of openly attacking me with magic in broad daylight.
"Get out of my sight. Don't ruin my tea party with the other noble ladies with your disgusting face."
She glared at me, her eyes filled with loathing… or perhaps, killing intent.
As if to prove she could kill with a single glance, she continued to glare at me as I fled the garden.
….
….
…What?
I understood her increased magical power from the elixir, and her restored beauty… but where did this sudden surge in political power come from?
Well…
***
"…Earl… Earl Borter. Is that you?"
In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep…
Startled by my voice in the darkness, Earl Borter frantically tried to call for the guards.
"G-…!"
But his cry died in his throat. I had severed his vocal cords.
"Seems I have the right person."
My icy tone made him tremble. He tried to flee.
-Thud.
But his attempt was futile. I had severed his Achilles tendon.
"…Trying to run away? At least answer my questions before you try that… Don't you think that's common courtesy, parasite?"
"…!!"
Earl Borter stared at me, his eyes wide with terror. Tears streamed down his face.
A grown man, reduced to a sobbing mess by the fear of death.
'Damn it.'
If he was a hyena, he should act like one, fight back, bite…
This pathetic display of weakness was disgusting. The sight of a villain feigning innocence.
I sat on his stomach and told him why he was going to die.
"…You don't even manage your territory properly… yet you collect exorbitant taxes… Strange, isn't it? It seems like just yesterday you were whining in the audience chamber about poor harvests and lack of tax revenue…"
"…So why is your warehouse full of high-quality silk? You're not even in the silk business."
I recalled the shimmering piles of silk in his warehouse, enough to last his family several lifetimes. I stumbled across them searching for a specific artifact.
"…So, these are your crimes. Frequent slander against the Imperial family, tax evasion, exploitation, fraud… Too many to list. Let's just end this. You deserve to die."
As I raised my sword, he frantically pointed a trembling finger under his desk.
'…This again?'
Why did they all try to bribe their way out at the last moment?
"Sigh…."
I walked over to the desk, ripped open the locked drawer, and found it filled with glittering jewels and gold, gleaming even in the darkness.
I glanced at him. He nodded vigorously, offering me his wealth in exchange for his life.
'…You're still as disgusting as ever…'
…Thank you.
For remaining a piece of trash in this life too.
"…Did you really think I would accept this?"
-Slash.
I drew a thin, swift line across his throat. A fountain of hot, crimson blood erupted.
When the bleeding stopped, I wrote a single word on the wall with his blood, as I always did.
-Retribution.
I scattered evidence of his crimes over his corpse. Before leaving, I looked down at what was him and said,
"Actually, the biggest reason you're dying… is something else entirely."
"Because I still remember… what you… said and did to her… to her when she lost her parents and everything, when she was banished from her own home, the palace."
My eyes, burning with unquenchable rage, reflected in the moonlight streaming through the window.
"…You dared… to Her Highness…."
-Your Highness? No, no… I can't call you that anymore, can I? Lilisiana? Heh….
-You know why you're being banished? Why your parents died looking for your medicine? Why your pathetic attendant is now a cripple…?
-It's all because of you….
-If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have to antagonize the Emperor….
-Huh… You dare glare at me, you lowly commoner?!
-…Yes, a slap seems to have brought you to your senses. Now get out. You don't belong here anymore.
-You imbecile of a former Princess.
"The sin of speaking such filth to her with your disgusting mouth."
"The sin of laying your filthy hands on Lili."
-Clench.
Recalling that moment, my fists clenched involuntarily. I wouldn't be able to quell this rage until I had punished everyone involved in her death.
"That is why you die."
'Though you wouldn't understand why.'
And that was why her power had grown.
Because I remembered every noble who had wronged her in my previous life.
I killed those I could, and for those I couldn't, I gathered evidence of their crimes and exposed them…
'…So that they, too, would eventually fall to a position where I could kill them.'
Just like Earl Borter.
And that was why I was known as the Punisher… or the Emperor's Shadow.
Because with every act of mine, the Emperor's power grew.
'Yet, even the Emperor, whose shadow I am, is searching for my identity…'
Let alone the Emperor, no one in this world would suspect that the Punisher was a lowly attendant, bullied by the Imperial Princess.
The overwhelming amount of information I gathered, based on my knowledge of the original story.
The exquisite swordsmanship and animalistic senses inherited from Finn.
Who would imagine that the Punisher, possessing such abilities, was a commoner attendant, powerless against the Princess's torment?
'…Though I still can't fully utilize my swordsmanship…'
Because my body… unlike Lili, who had grown significantly stronger… remained small and frail, perhaps even weaker than before.
…The reason was obvious. Lili's relentless torment, even during mealtimes.
-From today onwards, you will eat under my table, like a dog.
She had ordered that I, and only I, eat under her table, instead of with the other servants in the servants' dining hall.
-What? Your meal? Once a day is enough, isn't it? You're just an animal.
Despite needing five meals a day to sustain my growing body, I was given only one. And it was usually leftovers.
-…You disgusting creature. You can still eat after causing someone's death?
Every time I ate quickly, driven by hunger, I was met with such taunts.
-Why did you even go there? What gave you the right? A clueless commoner like you? Why? Did you want to kill Mother? Did you want the title of 'Imperial Family Assassin' so badly?
And since the elixir, the reason for her recovery, was officially attributed to the Emperor's efforts, thanks to my request…
…there were no extenuating circumstances for me.
" Sniffle…"
Tears welled up in my eyes.
"…Damn it… Why am I crying… like an idiot…."
I hadn't anticipated the pain of being hated by the one I loved.
…Because I had never been loved before.
Except by her.
"But thanks to this, I can infiltrate easily… Let's think positive…."
…Yes, this wouldn't last forever.
The academy entrance ceremony was less than a year away.
I could free her from this cycle of hatred.
I could free myself from her hatred.
…Everything was prepared. All I had to do was wait.
"The moon is unusually beautiful tonight… unlike my heart…."
Unlike my tear-filled eyes, shimmering like jewels in the moonlight…
My heart…
Felt heavy and hollow, just like the night I made my decision.
