The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 111

“This can’t be…”

Just as Stella trailed off, the crypt door burst open.

“Your Highness!”

Roderick Elgin, breaking protocol by entering the royal burial chamber, shouted urgently. The siblings leapt to their feet simultaneously.

“It’s an attack!”

“Could it be Pantege?”

“Without a doubt. They’re boldly waving their lion-emblazoned flag.”

Alexio took a deep breath. This was bad. The conscription request he’d sent to the vassals had only just begun, and standing orders had gone out to the standing army only yesterday. Even at the earliest, they wouldn’t arrive at the palace until tomorrow evening.

For now, the only forces left in the capital were the royal guards and the elite troops who had followed Alexio from Haverport. Victory would depend on the size of the Pantege force.

“Where are they? What’s their estimated number?” Alexio asked after a quick calculation.

Roderick responded at once, “They should be lined up outside the gates by now. Roughly five thousand troops, and they’ve brought several siege weapons.”

Five thousand soldiers. Not an overwhelming number, but clearly they were at a disadvantage. Largo had strong, tall walls and gates, but a proper strategy couldn’t be formed until they saw the enemy’s siege weapons for themselves.

Alexio grabbed Stella’s pale wrist. “Sir Elgin, take the princess to the monastery at once.”

“Understood. Let’s go, Your Highness!”

Stella couldn’t bring herself to say she wished to stay by her brother’s side and followed Roderick. The skirmish from the day Maurice was deposed had involved only a few dozen, but this was on another scale. In such a battle, she would only be a burden.

“Brother, you must be careful…!”

As soon as they emerged from the underground crypt, Stella shouted—but couldn’t finish. The situation was so urgent that Alexio had already turned and sprinted off. It seemed he hadn’t even heard her.

“Your Highness, hurry!”

Roderick raised his voice again, nearly ready to lift her onto his back. Stella finally began to move. Truly, at this moment, there was nothing she could do.

***

Upon reaching the battlements and joining the Largo knights, Alexio frowned the moment he saw the enemy spread across the plain before the gates.

The Pantege troops made rhythmic, intimidating noise by slamming their spears to the ground. It was certainly a threatening display. Though the distance was great, the sheer number was enough to dampen morale.

Five thousand troops and five siege weapons—Roderick’s count had been exact. However, something stood out oddly: the enemy carried an unusual number of torches, so many it was strange they weren’t trying to hide them. In other words, their position was clearly exposed.

Was this truly a surprise attack?

Of course, given that it was midnight, carrying torches wasn’t suspicious in itself. Still, Alexio couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.

“…Something’s off.”

At that moment, a shout rang out—”Fire!”—and a sudden bustle stirred among the enemy. Turning his eyes swiftly, Alexio saw Pantege soldiers loading stones into catapults and preparing to fire.

Yes… catapults. But they were small ones—not suited for breaching walls. From his elevated vantage, Alexio, ever sharp, judged them too weak for real siege work.

Some of the guards on the walls began murmuring. Alexio raised a hand for silence and signaled for everyone to wait and watch. They swallowed hard and nodded.

Bang!

A projectile launched from the lever arm of the catapult flew toward the wall at terrifying speed. Some flinched and ducked behind the parapets in shock. Alexio watched the arcing stone with cold eyes.

With a thud, the rock struck the wall. Alexio didn’t even flinch—only his gaze followed it.

As expected, the stone hadn’t even reached the height of the battlements. At most, it chipped a bit of stone from the wall.

It wasn’t a full-force assault. Was it just a scare tactic? Or…

“Is their real goal a siege at all?”

Were they truly here to bring down the castle?

Though their forces were outnumbered, five thousand troops did not constitute a great army. Alexio narrowed his eyes and looked down.

There wasn’t even a battering ram in sight—the most effective weapon for breaking through a gate. Then why bring catapults too weak to be decisive?

Perhaps the real goal was to make noise—to draw Largo’s forces together in one place. From a distance, it was hard to gauge the size of the weapons, and until the first shot landed, their power was unclear. Above all, the weapons were ideal for fast transport all the way to Largo.

Bang! Bang! The rocks continued slamming into the wall, but Alexio didn’t blink.

Too many torches, almost as if to announce their presence. A massive banner so large it took two men to carry—it was as if it were all a distraction.

A ruse. And a lapse in vigilance.

Alexio sharply turned his head. “Count Bruno, have you found the rat hole yet?”

“Pardon?”

“You said the Pantege knights and King Maurice must’ve prepared a hole to escape through the court. I’m asking if you found it.”

The count’s face turned pale. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, not yet.”

“Not yet, huh…”

A vein bulged on Alexio’s temple as he clenched his fist tightly.

“Deploy all elite troops to the monastery where Estella is. Right now!”

***

Meanwhile—

Not only Stella, but Dora, several noblewomen, a few ladies-in-waiting, and Father Gabriel had taken refuge in the monastery.

Relieved to find all the familiar faces unharmed, Stella let out a breath of relief—but only for a moment.

The monastery, located in a remote corner of the palace grounds, had been designated as a tacit evacuation site. But no one had expected to return here so soon.

Stella sat with her fists tightly clenched. If she didn’t, the rising anxiety might cause her to pace frantically or bite her nails. Among everyone present, she had to remain the most composed.

“Your Highness.”

Dora, having approached quietly, sat beside her. She reached out and gently held Stella’s icy hand.

“Are you all right?”

“Mm… no, not really. But when I think about the knights fighting on the front lines, I need to stay strong. My brother too…”

Stella couldn’t finish, choked by the sorrow rising in her throat. Why must Alexio’s fate always hang by a thread? She couldn’t bear the cruel fate that refused to leave them be.

“Please don’t worry too much.”

Dora consoled her in a voice completely free of fear.

“His Highness and the knights will all be fine.”

“Y-yeah… they have to be.”

“It’ll be over soon. That’s what I believe.”

Her voice, one word after another, held unwavering conviction. Stella turned her bowed head and looked at Dora. Her maid’s face reflected nothing but steadfast faith.

Even Stella, who fully believed in Alexio and his loyal knights, felt her fingers tremble—but not Dora.

What gave her such strength? As Stella marveled silently, she tilted her head.

“Dora, is there something you want to tell me…”

That was when everyone in the monastery turned toward the entrance.

From outside came the clash of blades and a chilling scream.

Someone was cutting someone down. Had the enemies already broken through the gate and stormed this place too? Was Alexio safe?

Stella shoved her chair back and stood, staring desperately at the door.

And just before it opened, she saw the face of the one standing behind it clearly.

She had perceived his identity in advance with her Mind’s Eye—but whether that was of any help, she couldn’t be sure. Her mind went blank, and her legs buckled beneath her. Had Dora and Father Gabriel not caught her, she surely would have collapsed.

Creak—the door opened, and torch-bearing knight

Dora’s eyes, so full of faith, filled now with shock. She had been certain help would come.

The man leading the guards was—

“Estella Lassa!”

Hendrick Regan.

With arms spread wide, he appeared among the terrified crowd wearing an unnervingly delighted face.

“Where are you? So many people—makes you hard to find.”

“……”

“Estella? Where are you, my princess?”

Hendrick raised a hand to his brow as if searching, and the Pantege soldiers blocking the entrance chuckled.

The Largo citizens, confronted by the invading soldiers, couldn’t utter a single word.

Father Gabriel rolled his eyes anxiously, then quietly stepped in front of Stella in a futile attempt to shield her.

But Stella was no longer a small girl who could hide behind a priest’s robes.