The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 121

“Ugh…”

“Why did Pantege go so far as to send dispatched troops just to take me away?”

Hendrick, who had been struck twice by iron-like fists, groaned in pain.

“Ugh… you wicked… If I tell Largo about this, what will I get in return?”

“What did you say?”

“What you’re asking is a top-secret matter known only to a very few in Pantege! You ignorant little…”

Hendrick stopped mid-curse and glanced nervously at Mikel. Stella let out a quiet breath.

“Tell me. What do you want in exchange?”

“From this moment on, not a single bit of violence is to be used against me. And my person must be preserved and safely returned to Pantege.”

Hendrick, as if waiting for the moment, promptly listed his conditions. He was essentially saying he’d give up the information if they released him, their hostage, unharmed.

Looking at the prince who demanded so brazenly, Stella didn’t respond. She showed no sign of hesitation or agitation. Roderick Elgin, who had been observing the situation unfold, fell into thought instead.

The prince’s demand was essentially a prisoner exchange. Was this truly a matter the princess could decide on her own? Hendrick wasn’t just any soldier—he was the heir to the Pantege throne.

This was something that needed to be discussed with Alexio before she could make a decision. Alexio, who held a very hardline stance toward Pantege, had no intention of letting the prince go so easily.

‘What now…’

The reason Alexio had assigned his close aide Roderick to guard her wasn’t just concern for his sister, it was also because he didn’t know what unpredictable thing she might do.

Feeling it was time to intervene, Roderick stepped forward.

“Your Highness…”

Just as he opened his mouth, Mikel extended an arm as if to signal him to wait. Stella, without a word, silently looked down at Hendrick. Grinding his teeth, Hendrick met her eyes—and suddenly fell silent.

The prince’s pupils dilated wordlessly, his lips parted. His face looked utterly entranced. Stella, staring at that dazed face, felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

She had seen a similar reaction once—at the Ice Castle during a torrential downpour, when she had demanded entry from the guards in front of the tower to meet Islay. That distant expression, as though being sucked into her gaze.

Perhaps, at this moment, he was incapable of defying her will.

Sensing that, Stella unfurled a scroll without taking her eyes off Hendrick. It was a drawing of the temple she had seen in her dream.

“Please hold the torch so the prince can see properly.”

“Yes.”

“This place is what was once called the ‘Abandoned Temple’ a very long time ago. As you can see, it’s built underground, and the entrance is hidden by overgrown bushes. These columns beside the stairs leading downward are the only visible markers.”

When she showed the drawing of the temple’s interior next, Hendrick blinked with a vacant expression.

“Upon entering, you’ll see statues facing each other and a long flight of stairs like this. At the highest point, as you can see, is an altar with a gemstone embedded in it.”

Finishing her explanation, Stella snapped the scroll shut.

“Do you know where this place is?”

“……”

“If you do, answer.”

“…Metlica.”

When the prince muttered his answer in a daze, Mikel and Roderick exchanged a puzzled look.

Metlica? It was a name they had never heard before, but that didn’t matter. Stella’s eyes sparkled, and her heart pounded wildly.

He knew the location of the temple. The very one that housed the ancient gemstone—the relic so many had searched desperately for.

“Metlica. Are you certain?”

“Yeah… discovering that ancient temple was pure coincidence. That damned Peruno’s tribute day was approaching, and I was looking for a jewel to offer… There was a large mineral embedded in a worn-down altar, and I thought it might be something valuable. But the High Priest didn’t seem very convinced. We couldn’t extract it anyway… and it didn’t seem to possess much power, so we just left it alone.”

Hendrick mumbled of an unsolicited past as if dreaming.

This too was something Calis had already discovered earlier. Because the power contained in the relic had been used long ago to curse Peruno, it was presumed to have lost its strength and become a mere shell. Moreover, it was believed that only she could recognize the traces of that sacred power…

Stella tilted her head slightly. “But you definitely mentioned the gem when you came to the inn in Nortelli. Has the gem taken on another meaning?”

“To restore the old glory of our great empire Pantege, we offered the sacred power of twenty priests and pleaded to the gods for a revelation.”

At his statement, which hinted at human sacrifice, Roderick furrowed his brow.

Stella swallowed dryly and asked, “And what was the answer you received?”

Hendrick, caught somewhere between unconsciousness and madness, wore an eerie smile on his expressionless face.

“‘The wish of the one who desires most shall be granted through the forgotten gem and beautiful starlight.'”

Stella’s golden eyes sparkled. The moment when all the vague assumptions finally became certain.

***

Leaving the underground prison, Stella hastily made her way to the royal library, where various tomes were kept. Roderick, as if heading to report to Alexio, bowed his head and turned away midway, while Mikel trailed behind her like a shadow.

Regardless of what they were doing, Stella was busy searching for a map that recorded the names of places across the continent in detail.

‘Metlica, Metlica…’

After tracing the paper with her fingertip for quite some time, she finally found the destination.

It was a highland area located in the central-western part of Pantege, not far from the sacred site Nortelli.

Perhaps Metlica had once belonged to Nortelli? The sacred site had long been plundered by Pantege for its numerous treasures. If so, it made sense that this temple would exist on Pantege land.

“Estella.”

Startled, Stella lifted her head from the map she had been staring at intently. At some point, Islay had approached and was calmly looking down at her.

She hadn’t even noticed his approach—when had he arrived here?

“Uh… Is the strategy meeting over?”

“Just now. I was thinking of going to find you since I couldn’t shake what happened earlier, and I happened to hear you were at the library.”

Lowering his gaze, Islay stared at the map spread out before her. A faint crease appeared between his brows.

“Why are you looking at the map?”

“Ah, this.”

Stella hesitated for a moment, then continued. It wasn’t something she could hide anyway.

“I actually went to see Prince Hendrick.”

“…The imprisoned fox?”

“Yes. And I gained important information. We found out the location of the ancient gem ‘we’ had been searching for so desperately. Just as we suspected, Pantege also received a revelation.”

Seeing Stella answer so readily, Islay let out a sigh of disbelief. His expression showed he was utterly frustrated with her refusal to back down, even in the face of Alexio’s fierce opposition.

“Estella, were you always this stubborn?”

“I guess it’s because I believe I’m right.”

Stella looked up at him calmly with both hands resting on the desk. Islay was too flustered to respond. The rise and fall of his broad chest made it clear that his composure had been shaken.

Stella continued resolutely, “What’s left for us now is to make a decision. Not to waste time on pointless fights.”

“Don’t you think your one-sided decision is what starts those fights?”

Islay twisted his normally straight lips.

“And if it’s about decisions, I made mine long ago. In fact, it was when I sent you away from the castle.”

“Is that so? Mine was much earlier. The moment I realized I loved you, I decided I would do anything.”

Islay, whose chest had been heaving with rising fury again, froze at the word ‘love.’ Mikel, who had been standing a few steps away, discreetly shifted position.

Stella spoke in a steady, clear voice, “I no longer even think of it as a sacrifice. Like I said, I want to live. I want to live the rest of my life as your woman, living an ordinary life. That’s why I can’t help but want to try any possibility.”