The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 90

Nonsense. Giving up on the first Bahamut? Why now?

Veronica bit her lip as she wandered through the bustling soldiers, her mind racing. No matter how many times she asked herself, the answer remained the same. It was because of her.

Just as Leon couldn’t step back when citizens relied on him, now he couldn’t run away because of Veronica, who stood before him.

“I sincerely hope you survive and find happiness.”

The memory of his low voice caused Veronica to stop in her tracks, standing amidst the chaos of the military camp like a lost child.

“You act like you were willing to go to hell with me.”

She muttered while stepping into a puddle of muddy rainwater. Ripples spread from her foot.

Perhaps he would never mention love. That’s the kind of man Leon Berg was—someone who would choose surrender over destruction, someone who couldn’t bear to see someone he loved fall apart.

“How foolish.”

The taste of blood from her bitten lip stung her tongue. Leon’s reasoning was a mess. To abandon the chance to destroy Bahamut? That was essentially saying he’d ignore the deaths of billions just to save her.

It didn’t add up. It was too heavy a burden for one person to bear alone. The guilt was too overwhelming for him to carry alone.

Tired of crying, Veronica’s eyes burned again. She covered her face with her hands, trying to contain her emotions. Everything was a mess. This wasn’t the honest conversation she’d hoped to have when she rose that morning. All she wanted was to confirm his feelings. Why had it come to this?

“Ah, I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

A firm hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts. Startled, Veronica looked up to see Joachim, his face flushed and breath labored as if he’d been running through the camp searching for her. The sight of him brought her crashing back to reality.

Oh, right. I just ran out without saying anything.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time.”

Her sentence trailed off as her gaze shifted over Joachim’s shoulder. Veronica’s eyes widened in shock. What she saw made her momentarily forget even Leon. Joachim noticed her reaction and turned to follow her line of sight. In the background of the snow-white walls, soldiers were pulling several large black cages with military horses. Inside the massive iron bars was…

“What is that…?”

Veronica’s voice was barely a whisper. It wasn’t a question borne out of ignorance. Her narrowed eyes simply wanted to deny the reality before them. What she saw, bound tightly with chains, was unmistakably a Bahamut.

A real, living Bahamut. And there wasn’t just one. Over a dozen sturdy cages were lined up in succession.

“Captured Bahamut,” replied Joachim absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the fortress wall. “They’re being transported to the imperial palace.”

“The palace? Why? For experiments?”

“If only it were for such a productive purpose…”

Joachim’s voice trailed off as the rattling cages drew closer. Soldiers and camp followers stopped what they were doing to stare at the strange procession. When the clanging iron bars passed directly in front of her, Veronica instinctively held her breath. 

The Bahamut’s massive limbs and neck were bound tightly, preventing any movement, but its chest heaved visibly as it breathed. Its enormous face, eyes closed, drooled saliva that dripped to the ground, causing onlookers to flinch. The curses and prayers whispered around her formed an odd contrast.

She didn’t want to imagine how many lives had been lost to capture such a creature. Surely, there had to be an important reason for this…

“They’re being taken to serve as entertainment for a banquet.”

Veronica’s head snapped toward Joachim. She couldn’t believe her ears. As she glared at him for clarification, Joachim reluctantly elaborated.

“Since the landslide, the imperial palace has been hosting nightly banquets. They’ve been using the wine and food prepared for the founding festival, enjoying music from orchestras and performances by jesters. Not all Kart’s nobles attend, of course, but I’ve heard that tonight they plan to pit a captured Bahamut against imperial knights for amusement.”

His enunciation was clear, but the words sounded distant and muffled, as though spoken underwater. Veronica’s stunned expression gave way to a hollow laugh. It was an outrageously dangerous idea. Using a living bomb as entertainment? Did no one realize it could awaken at any moment, now that its head had started forming?

It felt like a cruel joke. Leon had been protecting the wall at the brink of death, and here were people laughing, drinking, and treating battle as sport.

It was hard to believe, yet at the same time, it wasn’t. Something about it felt familiar. “Pitting a Bahamut against imperial knights”—Veronica had experienced that before.

Memories of the duel in the imperial palace resurfaced, and her shoulders trembled with disgust. She was furious at this exclusive high society that only they understood. Outside Kart, countless people were wandering homeless, starving to death because of Bahamut.

For the first time, Veronica learned that anger could bring laughter.

Human beings truly are strange creatures. Surely, God must find eternal amusement just watching them.

“A banquet, when Kart could collapse at any moment? Are they out of their minds?”

“Shh, keep your voice down. And you must not understand; it’s because Kart might collapse that they’re indulging in revelry. At the last banquet, His Imperial Majesty even quoted Friedrich II, saying, ‘Revelry is the master of the end.’”

Joachim spoke in a hushed tone, as though afraid someone might overhear.

“He was a tyrant.”

When Veronica retorted bluntly, Joachim merely shrugged, showing no inclination to defend the imperial family or the nobles.

“In any case, now that your curiosity has been satisfied, you should return to the camp. You’ve come too close to the wall; this is too far out.”

“But…”

“I’d rather not earn the ire of Sir Berg. I personally hold him in high regard.”

Veronica abruptly looked up at Joachim’s words, laden with multiple layers of meaning. His youthful face, full of color, bore a slightly mischievous smile. At first, his wary demeanor had made her think he might be aligned with Philip or Oscar, but he seemed more quick to warm than she’d expected.

As she observed his disarming smile, something suddenly struck her. It was like a bolt of realization, a hunch bordering on intuition.

“Then shouldn’t your priority be not earning my ire? You don’t know what I might tell Leon.”

“Tell him what?”

“Oh, plenty. Like how an apprentice knight, who should be loyal to God, has fallen for me and keeps following me around.”

Joachim’s previously smug face quickly turned incredulous. Veronica smiled faintly, just as he had earlier.

He belonged to the Holy Knights, an order composed of noble blood. The fact that he had led Veronica’s escort meant he likely came from a respectable family. But knowing the details of tonight’s banquet plans? That wasn’t something just anyone could know.

“Before we head back to the camp, I have a question for you. Something has been bothering me.”

Blonde hair and blue eyes, just like Princess Johanna. The friendly and charming features were unmistakable. Why had she only noticed now?

***

“This is madness.”

“I know. That’s why I sent a message to the Deputy Commander just before we entered. I told him I’d coerced you into helping, so don’t worry about it.”

Stepping into the Imperial Palace after such a long time felt surreal. Or perhaps the strange feeling stemmed from walking beside the princess’s half-brother.

Skipping his long string of titles, the apprentice knight’s name was Joachim von Kaisenmeer, the twenty-second imperial prince. Due to his tenuous position in the line of succession, his mother had sent him to a monastery at an early age. Becoming a holy knight, at least, would grant him honor.

“I didn’t mean sneaking out of camp was madness. I meant coming here voluntarily is insane. Are you planning to fight another duel?”

“How did you know?”

Her curt reply made Joachim tilt his head, as if he were truly looking at a madwoman. Veronica glanced at him and let out a chuckle that didn’t suit the situation.

Leon would be furious if he found out. What she was about to do was incredibly dangerous. But her premonition was too ominous to ignore. She couldn’t just let it pass.

Rushing out of the tent and taking a detour had turned out to be a brilliant move. By now, the other soldiers assigned to watch Veronica were likely scattered all over the military camp, searching aimlessly. Escaping suddenly and unexpectedly at dawn had made the evasion possible.

“Why are we heading underground? Last time, the duel was on the palace rooftop.”

“Because it has to be safe even if Bahamut goes on a rampage, and, as you know, word of this getting out to the public would cause trouble.”

Joachim answered as he followed the attendant down the stairs. In hindsight, saving him had been the right decision. Now, Joachim was repaying the debt by risking his life to help her. Despite being a member of the imperial family, the twenty-second son born of a foreign concubine had no real power. All Veronica could hope was that he wouldn’t become a liability.

Suddenly, Joachim turned around and asked, “By the way, I’ve been curious. How did Sir Berg recover so quickly?”

“Ah, that’s probably thanks to this Croix necklace.”

When she fiddled with the cross, Joachim’s eyes widened. The face that had been wagging its tail like a puppy moments ago now looked startled.

“But that Croix is…”

The Croix is what? She waited for an explanation, but the rest of his words were drowned out by music spilling from the now-open door. Both turned to face the scene ahead, and Veronica forgot her question in the face of what lay before them.