Translator: Haruto.

When I was little, I, Haruka Archaia, was just like any other girl. I enjoyed playing with dolls and liked beautiful and adorable things. My mother, a concubine, was always kind and loved me more than anything. I was happy and thought I had it all, but my life changed completely one day.

…No, perhaps things had always been that bad, and the truth simply revealed itself to me.

I lost the duel that would secure my right to the throne and my mother was executed as punishment. Having no talent for magic or swordsmanship and living in a country ruled by the law of the strongest such as Archaia, even protecting the life of my own mother was out of my reach.

From that day on, I dedicated my life to the sword, longing to become as strong as possible. The rest of the royal family treated me as a nuisance, but I kept training regardless in the hopes of one day showing them what I was worth.

Years later, the Great Heroes arrived in Archaia, and sometime after that, the man they regarded as their master did so as well. I knew I had to take that chance to ask him to train me and become even stronger. Thankfully, none of the other members of the royal family even considered doing the same since they’re actually pretty skeptical of the heroes and everything related to them. Most of the royal family secretly believes that the Great Heroes owe everything to luck and the sky castle’s blessing.

I’m not going to deny that the blessing of the sky castle, which was bestowed upon them by the gods, was a considerable factor in their success, however, I believe there’s more to the heroes than just that.

From the moment I first met them, I’ve known how gentle, heart-warming, and undoubtedly strong those girls are, and I’m not just referring to their physical abilities; their minds are also incredibly strong.

Lulune-sama even told me about their time as slaves, which was both inspiring and a reminder that despite it all, I was still in a position of privilege.

That is not to say, however, that I’ve forgotten how my mother was taken away from me on that fateful day. I can still remember clearly how she looked with her arms and legs tied in the middle of the castle’s execution grounds, and how much I cried and screamed but was ultimately unable to change her fate.

But above all—

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!” I shout, waking up drenched in sweat from a nightmare.

My arms and legs are bound to a wooden stake, making it impossible to move them freely. I also have a blindfold over my eyes, so I can’t see where I am.

What if… someone from the royal family got angry at me because of how close I’ve gotten to the heroes and kidnapped me? But, no, that doesn’t seem to be the case since…

“I see you’re finally awake, Princess. Ahh, don’t move, will you? You won’t be able to free yourself no matter how much you try, and more importantly, I’m in the middle of a very intricate task.”

I’ve never heard that voice before. If the person who kidnapped me were a royal, I’d at least be able to recognize their voice, but the awfully cold voice I just heard is completely unknown to me.

“…Who are you?”

“Me? I’m a demon known as Zizinha and I occupy the fourth seat of our army’s round table.”

A demon?! They’re still alive?!

I almost cried out in shock, but I somehow managed to contain myself.

“And… what do you plan to do with me?” I ask him.

I hear him stand up and walk over to me. He then unties my blindfold and says, “I’ll have you become the core of that devil over there. The devil Gushire feeds on negative emotions and that makes you the perfect candidate, wouldn’t you agree?”

An unsightly thing rests quietly on a sort of platform before me. I assume it’s empty at the moment and as its future core, I’m supposed to go inside it.

I see, now I understand why those awful memories resurfaced all of a sudden…

There’s no doubt that I want to escape and avoid such a gruesome death, however, I also feel like there’s a part of me that has accepted it already. Ever since I wasn’t able to save my mother, a part of me has thought that my life holds no value.

“Huh, I thought you’d freak out or something, but you’re taking it quite calmly.”

“…Screaming and thrashing about seems pointless since I doubt anyone will come to my rescue right away.”

“Oh, impressive. You’re right. We’re in the Cemetery Labyrinth’s deepest part. It takes no less than ten hours to reach this place by horse from the capital. No one will be bothering us any time soon.” And it appears Zizinha is planning to complete the summoning spell before someone arrives.

I don’t want to become a tool for the destruction of my home, but somewhere in my heart, I also feel the desire to make the people who put me through all that suffering pay. Perhaps that’s the real reason why I’m not lifting a finger to stop Zizinha.

“Still, I wonder how long it’ll actually take them to get here. We’ll be having so much fun…”

And as he gets closer to finishing his task, my end also draws nearer and nearer.

Previous Chapter – Contents – Next Chapter