The bombshell from Princess Kanabi’s younger sister was about to come.
“Help me.” “Excuse me? Help?” “I’m going into the labyrinth!”
The moment I heard that, I slapped my forehead.
“If that’s the kind of help you need, I’m afraid I can’t cooperate.”
“You said you need to go into the labyrinth to treat my sister. So why won’t you cooperate?”
“The labyrinth is something even trained soldiers can’t endure. If the young princess enters the labyrinth and something goes wrong, what are you going to do? Princess Kanabi will be furious if she hears about this.”
It would be much better to help organize a party for entering the labyrinth.
“Hmph, follow me! I’ll show you, because it seems like you won’t believe me unless I show you.”
What is she going to show me?
The little princess’s boldness was making everyone even more nervous.
“Where are you going?”
“Stop talking and just follow me.”
Since she insisted, I had no choice but to follow.
She stepped out of the temple and walked into a dark, secluded forest.
“Why are we here…?”
“To make sure no one sees us.”
Is she planning to hit me in some isolated place?
A sigh escaped at the little princess’s unruliness.
My steps grew heavier as I followed, but finally, the little princess stopped.
“Alright. This should be perfect.”
Next to her was a boulder larger than her body.
The girl seemed pleased with it and smiled happily as she tapped it with her hand.
“The labyrinth is something even trained soldiers can’t handle, but I came all the way here to show you that I can do it. What you see from here on is a secret of our royal family, so keep it to yourself. Understood?”
I really didn’t want to know the royal family’s secret.
I wanted to ask if it was possible to just not show me, but I didn’t dare say it. I had a feeling the little princess would retaliate directly on my body if I did.
“Even though I’m young, I’m not foolish enough to insist that I can do what can’t be done. I didn’t grow up in a flower garden, you know. There’s a reason for everything.”
The little princess clenched her fist and struck the boulder.
“Stop…!”
I quickly tried to stop her, but her hand came down forcefully on the rock without hesitation.
What could happen if she swung her small fist?
Wouldn’t she just hurt her hand?
Crash!
But to my ears, the sound was something you’d hear when two solid objects collide.
At the same time, the sight in front of me was just as surprising.
“????”
“Hmph!”
The boulder crumbled down.
It split into two pieces, and then shattered into many smaller chunks that rolled onto the ground.
There was no way a large boulder would suddenly split like that unless the princess’s punch had caused it.
“Strength… what…?”
Did the little princess trick me?
Had she struck a pre-cracked boulder to fool me…?
‘No, that can’t be right.’
I had seen that boulder perfectly intact just moments ago.
So, the sight in front of me couldn’t be a lie.
“Our royal family has special blood. When you’re born a royal, you inherit a unique power. I was born with this strength, and as I grow, it only gets stronger. With this power, I can handle any monster in the labyrinth.”
So, she was planning to enter the labyrinth because she believed in her strength.
I’m relieved she didn’t make an impulsive, reckless decision, but that doesn’t mean I can just help her.
“Just being strong doesn’t mean you can kill monsters.”
“Do you think I haven’t trained the strength passed down through my blood? Right now, I could defeat you with just one finger. Want to try?”
I didn’t need to experience it to know the outcome.
Could I lose to just one of her fingers? There’s more than enough chance of that!
In the end, I decided to change the topic.
“…May I ask what kind of help you’re asking for?”
She must be asking for help to convince Princess Kanabi, right?
“I’m going to form my own party to enter the labyrinth!”
“Well, then?”
“I want you to be a member of my party.”
What kind of a request is this?
“Have you forgotten that I’m Princess Kanabi’s personal healer?”
“I know. That’s why I trust you and want you to join me as a companion.”
“If I leave, Princess Kanabi will suffer.”
It seems like she wants to keep something hidden from Princess Kanabi, but since it wouldn’t be easy to persuade her without revealing the truth, I spoke honestly.
“I need to treat her multiple times a day. How could I leave?”
Even if I asked another priest to take over, would she trust them right away? It took a long time for me to build trust with her. A different priest would be even harder to accept.
Given that Princess Kanabi was already physically weakened, she wouldn’t be able to handle the mental strain of someone else treating her.
“I have a way.”
“Are you planning to call another priest to treat her in my place?”
“Princess Kanabi doesn’t trust anyone easily. Even if I brought another priest, she wouldn’t like it.”
As expected from a younger sister, she seemed to understand Princess Kanabi better than I did. But then, why would someone who knows that still insist on taking me into the labyrinth? I didn’t understand.
“So, what’s your plan?” The bold princess, who had been speaking confidently until now, hesitated for a moment.
“Our royal family has a special medicine that can only be used by royals.”
Is it some sort of panacea?
No, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have asked me to join her in the labyrinth.
“It’s a medicine that can freeze the body for a certain amount of time.”
“!!”
Freezing the body’s physical functions means it could also halt the progress of a curse.
“How long can it freeze the body?”
“There’s one pill for my sister and one for me. Each pill can stop the body for a year.”
“So, two years in total.” In two years, we would need to find and kill the monster in the labyrinth.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to search the labyrinth for two years and kill the monster than try to find a cure from scratch?’
No, I shouldn’t think so optimistically.
I need to prepare for the possibility of failure.
So, it might be a good idea to try both approaches.
“The medicine is precious, and each royal can only use one. My plan is to kill the monster and break the curse within a year. If you bring a skilled healer that Princess Kanabi trusts, the success rate will be much higher.”
The little princess seemed confident that they could find and kill the monster within the year, probably because she knew where the monsters resided in the labyrinth.
But honestly, even two years might not be enough.
‘The suggestion I made to Princess Kanabi was already a stretch.’
I couldn’t say that to the little princess, though.
“I can’t make this decision on my own. I need Princess Kanabi’s permission, and we’ll also need approval from the Holy Kingdom.”
“I will pay a sufficient price to the Holy Empire. And to you, of course. I swear on the honor of the empire. I swear on my name, Princess Lasiell!”
So, the little princess’s name is Princess Lasiell.
“Please, I beg of you. Enter the labyrinth with me.”
I understood the situation, but my doubts weren’t fully resolved.
“I’m sorry, but that alone doesn’t answer all my questions. It would be much easier to bring another priest along. Why are you so determined to use the medicine to take me with you?”
She probably didn’t know that the path to the labyrinth could change, so it would have made sense for her to leave me behind and bring another priest to catch the monster.
“…You never let anything go, do you?”
Princess Lasiell glared at me with a touch of resentment in her eyes at my question.
“My life is on the line, too, you know?”
“You will protect her no matter what! Ugh, to explain this, I’d have to reveal the royal family’s secrets…”
Why does the royal family have so many secrets and hidden matters?
“Since we’re already tangled up in everything, just tell me already.”
I already knew enough about how messy their family situation was.
“…Alright. It wouldn’t be fair to ask you to take such a risk while hiding things. The reason we failed to capture the monster last time was due to interference from inside spies.”
“!!”
“It was internal traitors who caused the trouble. If not for them, my sister wouldn’t have been cursed. Someone has been trying to kill her repeatedly. That’s why I need someone I can trust.”
It seemed the same forces that had approached me before were still tormenting Princess Kanabi. I hadn’t expected them to interfere in the second hunt as well.
Now, I understood why she wanted me on her team.
“How will you save the others?”
“My childhood friends are coming here. I trust them. Of course, I won’t completely lower my guard, but I trust them.”
The situation was complicated.
There was nothing more dangerous than internal betrayal.
Since the traitors were repeatedly sabotaging things, it was probably best if I sided with Princess Kanabi’s side and helped her move forward.
‘I should have convinced her to stop, but now I’m the one being convinced.’
It was a sign that Princess Kanabi’s situation was bad enough for her to rely on that girl.
Eventually, I gave a response that was almost an approval.
“If you get the permission of the Holy Empire and Princess Kanabi, I will enter the labyrinth with you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Just make sure to prepare properly. If you try to go in without proper preparations, I will refuse.”
I had become quite close with Princess Kanabi, and I didn’t want her to die so easily, consumed by the curse.
“Of course! Don’t worry!! I’ll make sure to prepare properly and come back for you. Wait until then!”
Convincing Princess Kanavi wouldn’t be easy, and persuading the Holy Empire to let me go into the labyrinth was no simple task either.
Also, forming a team without any internal traitors would be difficult.
We can know the depths of the waters, but we can never fully understand the depths of a person’s heart.
However, maybe because her thoughts were focused on saving her sister, Princess Lasiell was full of determination. She seemed like she would resolve everything quickly and come back with approval.
Of course…
‘Reality is harsh.’
As expected, Princess Lasiell’s plan would face many obstacles.