The monster Prince Kumcheok summoned was a manticore, far larger than the griffin from moments earlier.
A huge, agile-looking lion’s body.
Hideous bat wings.
And a writhing scorpion tail.
From beneath that monster’s feet came an urgent voice.
"S-Save me!"
It was not Princess Sia or Prince Sirean’s voice.
Of course, it was not Trine or Cat either.
The owner of that terrified voice was Prince Kumcheok.
"T-This body is a prince of the Romer Empire!"
As if mocking him, the monster dug its claws into his shoulder.
When Prince Kumcheok screamed, the monster made a satisfied expression,
And yet its gaze remained fixed on Trine’s group.
Prince Sirean snorted.
"How pathetic do you have to be to fail at controlling even the monster you summoned?"
At that, Cat flinched beside him and replied,
"Is this really the time to be saying that? That thing is way stronger than a Forest Grizzly!"
It was a vicious monster that loved to toy with its prey.
They said it would relentlessly chase anyone who fled in fear,
So running away together like this would surely be impossible.
"Aaaaaaaaaagh!"
When the monster dug into Prince Kumcheok’s shoulder, his screams grew even harsher.
At this rate, he would die within minutes.
After that, it would surely target someone else.
There did not even seem to be time to wait for reinforcements.
Prince Sirean clicked his tongue and drew his gun from inside his clothes.
"Trine, I am sorry, but stay with my stubbornness to the end."
Trine took out a grimoire from inside his clothes and answered briefly,
"Roger."
Then he glanced at Cat and said,
"Cat, take the princess and run first."
For some reason, Princess Sia also drew her gun and stepped forward.
"I will fight with you."
"Pardon?"
"If even one of you dies, I intend to take my own life as well."
"Are you insane? No, what kind of absurd nonsense-"
"So let us all survive together. Understood?"
Princess Sia showed him a bright smile.
Trine stared blankly for a moment.
It was a smile that seemed somehow different from usual.
Had her personality changed somewhat after her curse was broken?
Or was she feeling some kind of responsibility?
Either way, it seemed stopping her would be useless.
In the meantime, Cat scratched his head roughly and grumbled.
"Damn it, you are all insane. I cannot possibly go along with this, so may I run away alone?"
At that, Trine replied,
"I will not blame you, so you may go."
At that, Cat stood beside Trine and said,
"That was a joke, you rotten master."
In the end, all four of them stood before the grotesque monster without leaving.
Trine sighed at length with a somewhat tired face.
Then he smiled theatrically and shouted,
"Fine! Let us all see the end of this damn story together!"
A loud rooster’s cry announced the start of the battle.
***
Surely, one would be far happier not dreaming at all.
'Princess, you are fated to die when you turn fifteen.'
Sia had understood the meaning of those words when she was already five.
She had been able to accept her fate easily.
After all, she had not yet known the emotion called despair.
Rather, what tormented her was hope.
'I will definitely break your curse, Princess!'
'If I can only decipher this book, I am sure I can save you.'
'Do not worry. I will never let you die, Princess.'
The tempting voices around her had never ceased.
But the moment Sia placed even the slightest expectation in them,
She was eventually dragged back down to the bottom of despair.
'I am sorry. I failed.'
'I-I was wrong! It was a lie that I deciphered it!'
'If you want the Book of Walpurgis returned, pay up.'
It did not take long for her to realize that giving up meant she would not suffer.
She decided not to trust anyone.
She decided not to show her true feelings to anyone.
She decided never again to open the door to her heart to anyone.
That was why she had given up on dreaming of hope.
But...
'Do not live recklessly just because you are going to die soon. Doing this will only make you suffer more.'
'I promise I will unconditionally be on your side until your curse is broken, Princess Sia.'
'Why wouldn’t I know?! I’m your knight!'
He had forced his way through the door to her heart,
Imposed hope on her after she had given up,
Dragged out the emotions she had desperately tried to forget,
And in the end, arbitrarily freed her from the shackles of her curse.
Thanks to that, Sia could dream again.
A dream of living a new life with him after her curse was broken.
And yet, despite all that, he had never once properly looked back at Sia.
'Then please do not say it to the very end. That would be better for both of us.'
Ironically, it hurt far more than before she met him.
If it was going to be like this, he should never have saved her.
She knew better than anyone how selfish and wicked that thought was.
But even knowing that, she could not suppress the emotions welling up inside her.
...That was why she decided to hate him.
"Goddess of jealousy! If it cannot burn, then freeze everything instead!"
At Sia’s cry, a huge pillar of ice rose up.
While the monster stopped to avoid it as it charged at Trine,
Cat threw a large orb with all his might.
"Eat this!"
The orb exploded with a bright flash like fireworks,
And the monster was blasted backward and rolled across the ground.
Prince Sirean did not miss that opening and fired his pistol wildly.
"Take out its tail first while we have the chance!"
Trine charged at the monster with his purple sword in hand.
While the monster was electrocuted and unable to move, he tried to cut off its tail, but-
"Watch out!"
At Cat’s shout, Trine reflexively pulled his body back.
The stinger on the tail barely grazed past Trine.
Trine flailed for a moment and shouted,
"This bastard was pretending to be electrocuted!"
The stinger flew in wildly.
While Trine was distracted dodging,
A front paw crushed him beneath it.
"Damn it!"
The monster tried to bite off Trine’s head as he lay pinned beneath its foot.
"Get away from him!"
Sia’s bullet exploded inside the monster’s mouth.
While the monster gagged with its jaw frozen,
Sirean rushed in and drove a dagger into its front paw.
"Let us see if you can endure this too!"
He channeled electricity into the dagger.
Amid the loud crackling sparks, the monster finally lifted its front paw.
"Now!"
Trine quickly rose, then cut off the monster’s tail in a single blow.
While the monster suffered in agony,
Sirean and Trine quickly retreated.
"Good!"
"Do not let your guard down yet!"
The monster roared in fury and soared high into the sky.
Then it tried to spew a fireball from its mouth.
Sirean fired at the monster’s wing, but his bullets were blocked by an invisible wall.
"That bastard even uses a barrier!"
The cat shouted urgently.
"Hurry and do something! That breath is dangerous!"
It was already too late.
When the massive fireball was fired,
Sia suddenly stepped forward.
"Goddess of jealousy!"
Layers of ice barriers rose up and collided with the fireball,
Then vanished while releasing thick steam.
"It is about to fire again!"
At that, Sia suddenly hugged Trine from behind.
"W-What is this all of a sudden?!"
"To this sorrowful beast that crawls upon the earth, lend wings to walk in freedom!"
Sia and Trine’s bodies shot powerfully into the air.
Though they swayed dangerously,
They eventually succeeded in flying above the monster’s head.
Trine gripped his sword with both hands and said,
"Drop me right over the monster’s head!"
However, Princess Sia did not release him immediately.
"I have decided to hate you, Trine."
"...Pardon?"
Because she hated him, she decided to torment him.
If he would never look back at her,
Then she would force him to turn around herself.
"So I will do something you will dislike, Trine."
Princess Sia whispered into Trine’s ear.
"I love you."
-For a moment, Trine felt as though time had stopped.
The sky is illuminated only by moonlight.
The silence, as if they were floating in a dream.
That one sentence drove deep into his chest.
After struggling to draw in a breath, Trine opened his mouth.
"Princess, I-"
Without waiting for Trine’s words, Sia let him go.
"So prepare yourself from now on!"
"That damned princess, seriously!"
But, he see.
She had finally become able to speak of tomorrow.
"This ends it!"
As Trine fell, he drove his sword into the monster’s neck.
With a purple flash, the monster’s neck was pierced.
While Trine jumped down, grabbed Sia’s arm, and descended,
The monster finally let out a death cry and crashed down.
With that,
The long, long journey to break Princess Sia’s curse came to an end.
***
Rumors that Princess Sia’s curse had been broken spread quickly.
The exploits of the Academy’s knight department were printed in huge headlines in the newspaper,
And thanks to that, the Altoria Kingdom was completely in a festive mood for several days.
However, the knight department students themselves could not take part in that festive atmosphere at all.
"Final exams begin next week, so everyone get a hold of yourselves and study!"
At Instructor Eloy’s declaration, the students in the knight department classroom went into an uproar.
"Exams right after we got back?!"
"None of us studied at all!"
"What if our knight department ends up in last place?"
At that, Instructor Eloy struck the desk roughly and said,
"Quiet! If you fail to take first place despite being in the knight department, then all of you can consider your vacation gone!"
At that, Jize shouted,
"This is unfair! We should just ask Princess Sia to-"
Lizbette hurriedly covered Jize’s mouth.
At the same time, every student glanced at Trine.
The knight who had devoted himself to Princess Sia.
And the unfortunate protagonist who had been unilaterally dumped by Princess Sia.
On top of that, the news of that broken engagement had been printed in huge letters in the newspaper.
Perhaps because of that, Trine still had a terribly sorrowful expression.
Regardless, Instructor Eloy said to Trine,
"Class representative! Take responsibility and lead the others so they get good grades!"
At that, Trine waved his hand halfheartedly and said,
"I am going to become the director of the grand library after graduation anyway, so I will take the exams moderately."
...In truth, Trine looking depressed was entirely an act.
Naturally, Trine had been the one to request that the engagement be broken.
Princess Sia had accepted it obediently in exchange for slapping Trine once.
The fact that Princess Sia officially requested the broken engagement first was likely her final consideration.
Thanks to that, Trine had finally been freed from every shackle and returned to his original listless self.
That was why Trine was slumped in complete relief, but...
Instructor Eloy grinned and said,
"Really? In that case, you have even more reason to get good grades."
"What?"
"Princess Sia sent a letter to all of you."
Instructor Eloy cleared her throat, then began reading the letter aloud.
...Everyone in the knight department,
I am sorry I left without properly saying goodbye.
Father summoned me back to the castle immediately.
For the time being, I think I will be busy going around to greet people.
I will not say thank you in a letter.
A mere letter like this could never convey my feelings.
So I will meet all of you properly soon and say it to you in person.
Lizbette. Barbara. Lilian. Narsha.
Jize. Ranken. Mekail. And Brother Sirean.
Let us meet again soon.
s.
Trine, did you know?
If you become a duke, polygyny is permitted.
So I have decided to raise you to the rank of duke with my own hands.
Therefore, for now, please take first place in the entire school on this semester’s final exams.
If you do not, the promise regarding the director position is void.
...After hearing the contents of the letter, Trine sprang to his feet and shouted,
"I am dropping out!"
He tried to run out of the classroom.
However, Prince Sirean tripped Trine and knocked him down.
"Explain why the word polygyny suddenly came up, you son of a bitch!"
At the same time, Jize pounced on Trine.
"Where do you think you are running, class representative?!"
At that, the other students also rose and rushed at Trine.
They began grabbing Trine’s arms and legs from all sides.
"You made us suffer like hell, so take responsibility and raise our grades!"
"You also have to confess everything that happened between you and Princess Sia!"
"Starting today, it is group study plus Trine interrogation time!"
Trine struggled and screamed.
"Please just leave me alone!"