Chapter 29
Claire hurriedly averted her sight from his.
That was a nail-biter.
This was the location where she first met Eiden three years before. It was also where she came with him again recently while on her way to the Valles Monastery.
He would have been suspicious if she had pretended to recognize the location.
The sister of Duke Stanton, who was supposedly confined and not allowed to leave, would have never known this location.
“I mentioned it because the lady seemed to be interested.”
“No, I never said…”
Claire shook her head furiously. Eiden, on the other hand, continued to converse casually.
“I’m planning on staying at the monastery tonight.”
“Valles Monastery? But wouldn’t that cause us to be late?”
Richard inquired, his head tilted.
Claire’s ears perked up. They would be at the Valles Monastery soon if she had just heard right.
“Of course it would. We’re taking a deliberate detour.”
“Do you have a reason for wanting to go there?”
She, too, was intrigued. Of course, she would love a visit to the Valles Monastery.
She couldn’t even enter the monastery’s gates the previous time she went on an errand because Philip was staring at her and asked her to wait outside.
She would have seen the Director if she had been able to enter the monastery this time. Even if she couldn’t recognize her in Alicia’s guise, just seeing the dear Directorshe she had missed would be nice.
“Let’s just say it’s a personal matter.”
Eiden mumbled, resting his chin on his palm and staring carefully at Claire.
“We should get going before it gets dark. I’ve heard there are monster habitats nearby.”
“There are no such things as monsters.”
“Pardon?”
“I killed them all.”
“…”
Richard looked at Eiden, puzzled.
The carriage abruptly came to a standstill.
Then there was a frantic knock on the carriage door, and the outside became raucous.
4.
Frantic footsteps approached from outside the carriage after it had halted.
Soon after that.
Bang, boom, boom!
“Your Majesty!”
Eliott yelled as he beat on the carriage door.
Eiden had already opened the door and ran out before the call ended.
The outside bustle surged in as the door opened. The knights’ anxious cries were blended with the piercing sound of clashing metal.
“Is it a monster?”
“I thought you were the one who killed them all?”
Claire and Richard exchanged astonished looks after hearing Eiden and Eliott’s chat.
“I’ve already killed them all.”
“Then don’t come out for a while…”
A violent scream drowned out Eliott’s voice at that moment.
Krowarwarwa!
Kyakagakak, kyakagakak!
The boom shook the entire forest like someone was drilling a hole in their head.
“Brother.”
“It’s fine. Stay put. Never go out.”
Richard swiftly headed outside after reassuring Claire.
Claire gripped the glass, watching what was going on outside. She noticed Richard drawing his sword and approaching Eiden.
Eiden and Eliott sat in the carriage’s front seat. Eiden was lost in contemplation as she glanced forward.
Kuwung, kuwung, kuwung. The ground shook.
It wasn’t just one or two people. They were leaping between the trees at breakneck speed, closing the gap as if they had a specific goal.
Claire caught her breath as she gazed out into the shadowy woodland. Soon, a true monster would materialize. Her chest constricted with worry. She questioned whether it was appropriate for her to remain in the carriage while everyone else faced the beast.
Eiden suddenly turned his head and glanced at her. His frigid eyes glowed with contempt.
Why is he staring at me so intently?
Claire was intimidated for no apparent reason. Even as he averted his gaze, her startled expression did not fade.
Swish!
A monster with lumpy, thick skin fell from the sky with a strong gust of wind.
Thud. The monster landed with its sharp claws sunk into the ground and peered about, its red eyes searching for something.
The knights with swords surrounded the beast and approached it with caution. The other knights were on the lookout for any more monsters.
The creature was unconcerned about the knights. Its fiery gaze finally locked onto a single target.
“Gasp.”
Claire took a deep breath. The creature locked his gaze on her.
Eiden and Richard both turned to look at her at the same time.
“Eliott!”
In response to Eiden’s yell, Eliott dashed to the carriage, flinging the door wide.
“Lady Alicia, please come out quickly!”
Eliott snatched Claire’s arm and yanked her out of the carriage. Eliott dragged Claire outside.
“Alicia!”
Richard rushed at her, screaming in desperation.
Krowarara!
The monstrous beast bellowed and lunged.
Claire extended her long arm toward the advancing beast. As if in slow motion, she noticed every aspect of its long claws, pointed snout, and fiery eyes.
Fear had rendered her immobile. Richard’s desperate yells were lost on her.
The beast shrieked, its mouth wide open.
Eliott raised his sword in front of her.
However, it was too late. The monster was poised to sever Eliott and Claire in one fell swoop.
That’s when it started.
She locked her gaze once more on the creature.
“What exactly is this…”
She was perplexed. She had felt the same way when the creature Tos had captured at the Duke’s mansion attacked her.
It felt like it was talking to her.
It was an odd occurrence. Why would the creature address her? Even if it did, she would still not comprehend.
She was frozen, engrossed in her thoughts.
The beast was flung to the side unexpectedly. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The thing that hit the ground writhed and whimpered. The five holes in its head oozed blood.
“Your Majesty!”
Claire finally looked up in response to Eliott’s call and saw a towering, powerful figure before her.
Eiden. He was the one who had grabbed the creature’s head and flung it.
He had genuinely excellent strength to smash the creature’s head so simply.
“Everyone, stay still.”
Eiden approached the fallen beast, his calm, glistening sword raised to kill it down.
“Bark! Bark!”
Tos leaped from the bushes and came at the monster like lightning, its dark eyes gleaming as it bit and shook its neck ferociously.
“Tos, it’s dangerous!”
Claire was terrified that Eiden’s blade might injure Tos, but Eliott halted her in her tracks.
“How troublesome.”
Eiden sheathed his sword and clicked his tongue.
“Growl.”
Tos bared its teeth at Eiden even as it tore at the creature’s throat.
Eiden laughed and grabbed Tos by the scruff of the neck, muttering something into its ear while its little legs flailed. Then he threw it away.
“Tos!”
Claire dashed over to Tos, who had fallen to the ground. Tos tried to charge at the monster again, stumbling and barking.
“Sit. You’re just going to get in the way.”
Claire gave a firm command while pointing to the ground.
Tos paused, his gaze divided between the beast and Claire. He eventually yielded and sat down with his tail between his legs.
“Good job, boy.”
Claire looked up after soothing the still-agitated Tos.
Eiden could be seen in the distance.
He had already killed the first beast and was now confronted by another that had appeared.
A thick tree was cleanly cut and fell when he swung his sword. A thing concealed within the tree roared and lunged at him.
It was roughly twice the size of a human.
The creature swung its long front limbs, its rough back covered in sharp spikes.
Eiden swung his sword and dodged at the same time.
The beast yelled in pain, holding up its severed limb with a shrieking sound.
Eiden leaped into the air, grasping and tearing apart the creature’s maw with his free hand.
The enormous beast landed with a crash. Eiden stabbed the belly of another beast racing at him with his blade without hesitation.
It was a terrifyingly terrible and unearthly move.
While Eiden faced the creatures alone, other knights and troops could not approach.
“I didn’t expect to get this much.”
Richard murmured, his face tense.
No one could touch the hem of Eiden’s shirt while he was effortlessly murdering the creatures.
He finally turned around after killing all of the remaining beasts. Under the mask, his eyes flashed menacingly.
Claire clutched Tss tightly and swallowed, partly because of his penetrating, active gaze.
* * *
The jungle, which was littered with monster corpses, was strangely silent.
Everyone was frozen in the aftermath of the slaughter that had just occurred.
With a heavy sigh, Eliott broke the strained silence.
“Wow, that was unexpected, wasn’t it? His Majesty has dispatched all the beasts so that you can rest easy.”
Eliott wiped the sweat from his brow, his laid-back demeanor calming the anxious mood.
“His Majesty is… as impressive as anything I’ve heard.”
Richard still had a frozen expression when he stared at Eiden.
“He’s not an ordinary person.”
“Decades of skilled knights would have to rush in to kill such monsters. How did he kill so many by himself?”
“That’s always the part that surprises people when they see His Majesty killing monsters. Anyway, this will take some time to resolve.”
Eliott shifted the subject, suggesting he no longer wanted to linger on it.
Claire focused on Eliott, who hastily diverted his gaze and reached for Toss.
“By the way, this little guy is quite the brave dog.”
“Arf arf arf.”
“Oh, that’s right, he doesn’t like that.”
Eliott was soon bitten.
“When will the road be cleared?”
Richard inquired.
“I’m not certain. Given the enormity of those objects, it might take some time.”
“It’s a problem. We don’t know when the creatures will strike again.”
“I highly doubt that will happen.”
Eliott cast a glance at Eiden.
Eiden stood contemplatively, although he didn’t appear to be on guard. His beast-like senses would not be quiet if there were any monsters nearby.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
Richard was still suspicious.
“Why be concerned about monsters reappearing? His Majesty has arrived.”
Eliott shook his head and turned to face Claire.
“Lady Alicia, you were surprised earlier, weren’t you? I thought my heart would cease racing when I imagined the thing crashing into the carriage. You are now free to board the carriage.”
“Wait a second.”