CH 47

“A sweet scent ? Is that what you smell?”

“Huh? It does have a smell… like some kind of sweet… dessert…”

“Fusaki-kun?”

Something is wrong.

Fusaki-kun, who was fine just a moment ago, suddenly goes pale.

He starts to sway and his eyelids look heavy.

“This… can’t be…”

“What’s wrong, Fusaki-kun…?”

Huh?

I suddenly feel heavy and sluggish…

“Dammit, I let my guard down… Nee-san, you can’t inhale any more. This is poison.”

“P-Poison?”

“The sweet smell is the smell of poison. They scattered a small amount that was so faint we didn’t notice, and it dulled our senses.”

Fusaki-kun bites his lip, trying to stay conscious.

Thanks to the smell of the nuts, I’m not feeling the full effects of the poison yet.

And if it’s poison, I can make an antidote potion.

When I try to take it out, an arrow comes flying at me.

“Nee-san!”

Fusaki-kun pushes me out of the way and the arrow misses me.

I can tell he’s pushing himself even though he’s unsteady.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Good. Let’s leave this place for now——.”

He could have dodged it if it were usual circumstances.

The poison had been wafting through the forest long before we noticed it.

We must have been breathing it in faintly, our senses dulled.

The poison’s concentration suddenly intensified, and I couldn’t tell if I was standing or collapsing.

Despite the situation, he shielded me, consciously trying to protect me.

That’s why he overlooked himself and didn’t notice the sword being swung down from behind.

“Gah…”

“Fusaki-kun!”

A man with the appearance of a villain stood behind him.

The blade was swung down, slashing Fusaki-kun’s back.

I reached out to him, feeling dizzy.

My hand couldn’t reach him and was caught by another man.

“Hey there, Young Lady. You’re coming with us. We were told to bring you.”

“What?! Let go!”

“Nee-san…”

“Fusaki-kun!”

Blood flowed heavily from his back.

He still stood despite the wound that could make him collapse due to pain and shock.

He had a knife in his hand, ready to save me.

“Let go of her.”

“This one is tough. I’ll take her, you deal with him.”

“Understood. Can I kill him?”

“Yeah, the boss only said to bring this woman with us.”

Boss?

Is he their leader?

Did someone order them to kidnap me?

Who…no, it doesn’t matter right now.

“Let go! I need to treat Fusaki-kun!”

“Shut up! He’s going to die anyway, so who cares? Just shut up and sleep!”

“Ugh!”

I was forced to drink a liquid.

It had a bitter taste but a sweet smell.

Was it the original poison they scattered?

My thoughts stopped.

My consciousness suddenly plummeted, and I couldn’t think of anything.

◇◇◇

Dark and cold.

My consciousness sank into the water.

I realized that I was about to drown and struggled desperately.

Digging through the water like remembering, I ascend higher and higher.

“——Ugh, wh-where is this…”

As I woke up, I was bewildered by an unfamiliar landscape.

The ground and walls were made of rocks, and flames flickered in the darkness.

Droplets of water fell from the ceiling onto my cheeks.

I tried to move my body.

Clang.

A metallic sound echoed.

Before I knew it, my hands and feet were bound by chains, and I couldn’t move.

“W-What is this?”

“It seems like you’ve just woken up.”

“Eh——?”

I felt frightened by the voice coming from the darkness.

It was a voice I knew.

I never wanted to hear it again, and I thought I would never hear it again.

That’s because he was…

“Prince…Laurus?”

“I’m not a prince anymore, thanks to you.”

The former prince, who had become a shabby figure, appeared from the darkness.

He had used and set me up, and eventually confessed to all his sins and was punished for them.

So why was he here?

“Why are you here…”

“Oh? Didn’t you know? We were banished from that country.”

“Banished…? And when you say ‘we’…”

“Ah, me and her.”

Thud, thud.

Another person appeared from behind him.

Another person I didn’t want to see if possible.

But more than Laurus, I was more curious about how things turned out with this person.

“Celica?”

“…”.

My sister, who had helped Laurus as a Transmutation Master.

She was also banished from the kingdom.

There was no vitality in her appearance, and her eyes were dry like a doll’s.

“Now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries, shall we get to the main topic?”

“The main topic…!”

I suddenly remembered.

Fusaki-kun, whose back was slashed in front of me, and his safety.

“What happened to Fusaki-kun?!”

“Oh? The kid who was with you? Who knows what happened to him? The poison I spread just caused numbness, and I haven’t heard anything about it, but… I think he’s dead.”

“T-That can’t be…”

Fusaki-kun…is dead?

Someone else has been hurt because of me again…

“But that doesn’t matter right now. There’s something you need to do for me.”

Laurus leans in closer to me.

“Will you work for me?”

He shows a smile.

I’ve seen that gentle smile many times before… but it was all false.

Right now, I don’t feel any kindness.

I shudder at his creepy smile filled with madness and malice.