Chapter 7

It was already the fourth day that would end the long journey. As they got further away from Sepion and entered Finn, Chesney could see a few of the monsters that she’d only read about in books.

“Whoa. Bobbi, is that an imp?”

“Yep.”

They’re gathering a lot.”

Finishing her breakfast, Chesney was reading a book as she eavesdropped on a conversation between Cerulian and Bobbi.

“Your Majesty, have you ever seen an imp?” He smiled showing his straight, white teeth while Chesney occupied the space next to him.

“No. There are hardly any monsters in Hanella. On top of that, even if someone does see one, the guards come in and take care of it.”

“That’s a blessing. You don’t have to see these ugly things.”

Thanks to her reading books, Chesney knew that an imp was pink in color, slightly bigger than a mouse, and resembled a mole.

“By the way, Your Majesty, by chance did you put on perfume? I sensed it from earlier, but I smell something sweet when I get near you.”

When he leaned toward her and sniffed, Bobbi rushed in and grabbed him by the collar before throwing him to the floor. It wasn’t until after he was splayed out on the tile floor that he realized his problematic behavior, so he lifted himself and mumbled, “I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“It’s all r-r-right.”

Feeling embarrassed, Chesney nodded with her hand on her rushing chest. There was no need to be competitive like this.

The further north they went, the colder the air was getting. Though she had a jacket over her autumn dress, she could still feel the cold. They were on a white birch forest path. Thin trees that stretched high into the sky filled the forest. As the road narrowed as they entered the forest, the carriage rattled slightly. Chesney, who was uncomfortable with Bobbi sitting opposite the carriage, closed her eyes and went to sleep. A little while later, Cerulian, who joined them, sat next to his wife and loosened the dagger he was wearing on his waist.

“I checked thirty yards out, but it’s clean. I thought the monsters would have a field day if a human appeared, but I’m unscathed.”

“Cel.”

“We’re fine. Though they’re loud, no doubt they won’t come near us when we’re sleeping.”

“Anyway, are going to stop playing around with us, Chesney?” asked Cerulian.

“You should.” Thanks to this, Chesney became unable to close her eyes. Bobbi’s voice was shaky. Chesney suddenly felt embarrassed and guilt that they knew that she was an illegitimate child.

“Hmmm, I don’t like being tricked, you know.” Did Cerulian also hate her? Chesney felt the urge to run out of this carriage right now.

“Rather, nullifying the marriage–“ Bobbi’s words were cut off by a disturbance outside.

“It’s a lelang.”

Lelangs, the monsters’ number one protector. It was a monster rarely seen even if the entire continent of Finn and Euron were unified.

Apart from being protectors, lelangs were classified as harmful. It was not known in detail in Euron, but the reason was the powder buried in a lelang’s wings.

Lelang’s powder has an ingredient that induces sleep, and surprisingly, this ingredient elicits contradictory reactions depending on the species. In the case of a human, if someone inhales it they’ll have terrible nightmares when they sleep. However, all living species on Finn fall into happy dreams, not nightmares. When you fall victim to the addiction, you’ll waste away your life and eventually become unable to live such a shabby life. And if you exceed the lethal dose, it’s eternal sleep, that is, death. In other words, it is a scary monster that makes you descend into death. And it is an expensive monster traded illegally.

“Oh yes! Wanna get some pocket money?”

“Cerulian Winsol!?”

“It was a joke.”

As Bobbi gritted her teeth and stared with a brutal look, Cerulian made a hasty excuse and swung the dagger that had not been taken out.

“I’ll only chase them out.”

When he opened the door and went out, a lelang a little larger than an average man’s hand flew in like a butterfly through the gap.

“Damn. There’s one in here!”

“What? Wait, I’ll get it.”

“No, I’ll get it out. You just close the door!”

As the chaos grew, Chesney kept her eyes on the lelang flying around the carriage, staring at it as if trying to beam a hole through it. Why was such a beautiful monster designated as a harmful creature? She couldn’t take her eyes off the ecstatic figure.

“Your Majesty, don’t breathe.”

At Bobbi’s command, Chesney urgently held her breath. She pulled her head back and widened the distance from the lelang as much as possible.

“If anyone breathes the powder…”

But it was already too late. Chesney’s eyelids fell heavily, and Bobbi’s voice faded further and further away.