The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 128

Mikel nodded and turned away. The subordinate opened the tightly locked iron gate and dragged Hendrick Regan out as if hauling him.

The bound prince staggered to a stop in front of Islay. With a flick, Mikel yanked off the rough covering over Hendrick’s head, revealing his gagged, grotesque face.

He looked like a beggar. It felt like a fantasy that he had once adorned himself flamboyantly and boasted of being a noble prince.

Islay roughly yanked the gag from Hendrick’s mouth.

“Ugh… Y-you filthy bastards!”

Freed, the prince immediately launched into a barrage of curses.

“You worthless scum! You dirty Northerners who don’t know your place! Get your hands off me right now!”

“…Should I just kill him?”

Unable to hold back, Mikel asked. Islay responded only with a dry look that told him to stay quiet.

Seeing how the man was still so feisty, it was hard to tell whether he was just full of venom or genuinely believed the ‘great empire’ would rescue him.

And what about the letter from Pantege? Completely oblivious to their impending doom, they scribbled down a ridiculously arrogant negotiation.

“Grand Duke Peruno. I don’t know what scheme you’re plotting…”

Changing his tone, Hendrick started to grovel.

“But whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Land, jewels—just name it. His Majesty the Emperor of Pantege can bestow anything.”

“……”

“Or women… That’s it! You’ve wanted that princess from the start, haven’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t touch her. You can have her, just let me go.”

As if he’d found the perfect solution, Hendrick grinned and babbled on. Islay looked down at him with indifferent eyes.

Now he could understand why the people of Largo had raged at Pantege’s letter offering the return of former Largo territory in exchange for the prince’s release. If Pantege were a man, it would be this one.

A coward, trash willing to offer anything to save his own skin, and too arrogant to see even one step ahead.

Wasn’t he the one who, when Islay burst into his forest villa, tried to offer up Stella instead of facing danger himself?

As his thoughts drifted to her, emotion surged. A cold flame lit in Islay’s previously impassive gaze.

Should I kill this bastard here and now? I want to carve him up so thoroughly that no part of his body would be recognizable. If I could break every joint and turn him to pulp…

“Grand Duke, are you listening?”

The moment Hendrick uttered a title so ill-suited for Islay, his patience snapped. In a flash, Islay seized the prince by the hair.

“Ack!”

His large hand clamped down as if to crush Hendrick’s skull. Like that, Islay began walking down the path toward the gorge. He wasn’t about to butcher the prince out of rage.

A lure for a swift victory. And a death befitting the man. He intended to claim both.

When he reached the gorge’s entrance, Islay threw Hendrick to the ground and untied him. Then, in an indifferent voice, he said:

“Run.”

“W-what?”

“Run. Go back to your great empire.”

A strange light flickered in the prince’s confused eyes. Islay, as if on impulse, grabbed Hendrick’s wrist and snapped it with a crack. It was the filthy hand that had once lusted after Stella.

“Aaargh!”

The shrill scream echoed down into the gorge. That should be enough to draw the attention of the enemy scouts hiding on the slope.

Glaring with hateful eyes, Hendrick eventually turned and bolted. It was only after his wrist was broken that he seemed to sense real danger. The Northerners watched his retreat leisurely from the mouth of the gorge.

“Hey! Hey!”

Hendrick Regan ran down the desolate path, shouting loudly.

“Where is everyone?! Save me! It’s me! I said it’s me! Come out, now!”

Of course, no one came out rolling out a red carpet. Understandably so—today was far earlier than the date Pantege had proposed for the negotiation. As they were preparing the ambush, and visibility was poor, there was no way they’d spot a beggar-like prince.

As the enemy ambushers focused on the running Hendrick, the Northerners silently crept up behind them and drew their weapons. Thus began a one-sided slaughter.

The sound of blades slicing through the air rang from all directions, mingled with grotesque groans. Islay also drew his sword from his waist.

“Begin.”

“Yes!”

They moved swiftly, slipping through side paths. Islay strode purposefully toward the bewildered Hendrick Regan.

***

“Off to pray again today, Your Highness?”

“…Ah, yes. I should.”

Seeing Stella putting on her summer robe, Dora hurried over to help.

“Your devotion is tireless. Surely the Lord will be moved by your sincerity and watch over the expeditionary force.”

Stella gave only a faint smile in reply. Visiting the chapel every day wasn’t solely for prayer.

It had been more than ten days since the expedition set out.

Gabriel, having received a message from the liaison at the front, had reported that the Northern army had seized the strategic gorge, and the trailing Largo forces had safely rejoined them on the plains.

According to the latest letter, they had already captured two of Pantege’s bases. With the Calis forces leading the charge, they likely took several more afterward.

Word came that the march into the imperial capital might be ahead of schedule. Stella, who had been planning to leave for Metlica in a few days, also had to hasten her preparations.

She watched silently as Dora fastened the floral brooch on her robe. The maid’s careful touch protected her lady from even the gentlest breeze. Just as Islay had done. Just as Alexio had done.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes.”

Stella quietly left her room, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she saw the maid’s smiling face.

***

“This route is the shortest way to Metlica.”

Gabriel pointed to the main road on a map spread across a stained table in the small wine cellar behind the chapel. Stella furrowed her brow in concern.

“It looks too open for quiet movement. Is there no alternative path?”

“Unfortunately, no. This mark suggests there might be a side road, but it’s uncertain and likely unpaved.”

Metlica was just a tiny mark on the map. The road leading there wouldn’t have been maintained for frequent travel.

In the end, they had to take the main road. It drew attention and posed risks of encountering deserters or bandits, but they had no other choice.

“Don’t worry. The monastery’s knights will protect Your Highness with their lives.”

Gabriel explained that gathering the entire knight order at once would raise suspicion, so he had disguised them and stationed them outside the court over several days. Stella didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her, but she soon nodded with a determined expression.

“All right. Let’s do it.”

That night, Stella slipped out of her room.

The guards were stationed at the archway leading to her chamber, not right outside her door, allowing her to evade them. It was a small concession Alexio had made, thinking of his sister who had suffered so long under confinement and surveillance.

She walked toward a side door at the end of the corridor. Like the night she had stargazed with Islay, she was heading toward the fortress walls.

Having changed into a hooded priest’s robe, she met Gabriel waiting for her there. Concealing her face completely, she stepped outside and walked the long stretch of the ramparts in silence.

One patrolling soldier glanced her way but quickly looked away.

In this time of war, when priests and their blessings were in demand everywhere, it seemed natural for Gabriel and his young apprentice to move about at night.

And so, Stella made it out of the court. The journey to Metlica had begun.