Eve of the Festival – Part 05

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Translator: Kell | Editor: Ryunakama


“Sorry you have to share a room with me.”

Zero was given a guest room, while I had to stay at the stables where Raul lived. Zero insisted on sharing a room with me, but the princess wouldn’t budge, saying that she didn’t want to bother the laundry staff by having the sheets covered in fur, or that it was best for a Beastfallen to stay in the stables.

It looked like their back and forth would take a while, so I took the liberty of asking Raul to take me to the stables. If Zero wanted to, she would come to the stables anyway.

Raul’s stables were apparently located at the back of the castle. We climbed back up the grand stairs to the surface, then walked around to the backyard where I spotted a house made of logs. It didn’t look like a stable at first glance.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“Yes,” Raul replied.

It had a door like a normal house, with the knob positioned high enough for Raul. As I stepped into the room, my mouth dropped.

“It’s an actual house,” I muttered.

Raul chuckled. “Why yes, it’s my house.” He took out a pot from the cupboard, filled it with water, and put it on the fire.

His place had a cupboard and a kitchen. Curtains hung on the windows, and there was even a wardrobe.

There was a separate room that looked like a bedroom, and when I peeked into it, I saw a pile of straws covered with a fine silk sheet. It must be Raul’s bed. Armor and spear stood on display beside it.

“They treat you very well,” I said. “Definitely not like an animal.”

“As soon as the princess picked me up, she asked His Majesty the King to make it for me. Until then, I slept in the same stables as other horses. The princess said since I was half-horse and half-human, I needed a place that was half human house and half stable. I live comfortably, thanks to her.”

Raul placed a steaming cup on the table. It seemed to be boiled herbs that added aroma to the water. When I took a sip, a refreshing fragrance went straight to my nose.

“Are you a spear user?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“I saw one in your bedroom.”

“Oh.” Raul smiled. “That’s just for decor. Do I look like I can fight?”

“Who knows? I’ve never seen a Beastfallen like you, so I can’t say for sure. You don’t have to worry about falling off a horse, and you look fast on your legs.”

“Please sit down. I have chairs here.”

There was indeed a chair for guests near the table. I took his offer and sat down. I removed the cloak I borrowed from him and put it over the chair.

“You’ve had a rough day,” Raul said. “You were attacked by a dragon, and your ship sank.”

“I was thrown into jail and chained by a tyrannical princess.”

It was meant to be a joke, but Raul’s expression clouded. “Please don’t think too badly of the princess. She tends to focus on what is correct or efficient, but she always does what’s best for someone.”

“I know that already. She put me in chains so I wouldn’t frighten the townspeople.”

And that also protected me. A person driven by fear could be extremely aggressive. Ignoring my feelings, the best option was to put me in chains and treat me like an animal.

“But what’s best means choosing to kill one person in order to save a hundred. There would definitely be people against it. It’s the same with this festival. The Holy Dragon Festival, was it? I heard there’s gonna be a sacrifice.”

“The princess is the sacrifice.”

“What?!” I leaned forward. “Sh-She’s the only successor, isn’t she? She said the Holy Dragon Festival was also for her coronation!”

“She said she would revive an ancient ritual, but she didn’t mention actually offering sacrifices. For the sake of convenience, we call it the ‘Holy Dragon Festival’, but the purpose of this festival is not to offer sacrifices to the dragon to appease it.”

“Then what the hell is it for?”

“We use a sacrifice as bait to lure the dragon and kill it. It’s the Dragon Slaying Festival. The king of Altaria used Magic to attack the dragon. Now it attacks people with high magical power. The princess believes that the best option is for her to be the bait and kill the dragon.”

“That’s ridiculous… If she fails, she’s dead! Hell, there’s a huge chance of her failing!”

“That’s why she’s the one who took the role. If one person has to die to save a hundred, the princess will always choose herself. Isn’t she just softhearted?” Raul cocked his head, as though asking for an agreement. There was sorrow in his eyes, not pride.

“She’s the only heir. She must’ve thought about what would happen after she died. She’s not stupid.”

“If the princess dies, there will surely be chaos for a time. But it will only be temporary. There have been many great rulers throughout history. They live and die, but the kingdom still survives. The princess has read plenty of books about the history of various nations since she was a child. She realized that there were many who could take her place.”

She knows just how insignificant a person can be. That’s a genius for you, I guess.

“Besides, if we don’t kill the dragon, the kingdom will fall anway. She said there’s no point in saving herself. Right after the king passed away, the princess gathered all citizens, and said, ‘I will give you my life, so please give me yours.”

I thought the princess was an arrogant, ruthless, and nasty woman. My opinion was still the same. But perhaps that arrogance and ruthlessness was also directed at herself.

“I see. She doesn’t sound so bad, I guess.”

Raul’s expression softened. He drank the contents of his cup. “I’m glad you’re a nice person,” he said.

“What did you say?! That’s an insult for us mercenaries!”

“Oh, my bad! Then you’re a good guy?”

“They both mean the same thing! I’m neither nice nor good! I’m a cold-blooded mercenary hired with coin to fight wars!”

“Uhm… Is this the part where I act scared?”

“No. No need to be weird about it. And stop looking at me like you’re sorry. You don’t have to say anything else. I’m hitting the sack.”

Great. An herbivore, half-assed Beastfallen who was pretty much just an effeminate man from waist up made me, a carnivorous Beastfallen, feel miserable.

“Wait!”

“What is it now?!”

“You never told me what happened to the owner of the knife.”

My brows furrowed. “You wanna hear it now?”

“We might not be alive tomorrow.”

“How about you not smile while saying something so disturbing?”

Letting out a deep sigh, I settled back down my chair.

“Why do you even want to know?”

“Because it’s inspiring.”

“Inspiring? What? How?”

Smiling, Raul sat down on the cloth laid out by the window. He rested his elbow on the sill, which was just at the right height.

“I’ve been by the princess’s side for a long time under her protection. I want to know what life is like out there for Beastfallen. Normal humans despise our kind, yet you somehow made a friend. I want to know how. Is that strange?”

I didn’t know how to answer his question. “Do you want to run away from here?” I asked.

“Absolutely not!” Raul shook his head. “They treat me so well here. Why would I run away? I belong by the princess’s side, and I’m happy with that. But it’s not like I’m not interested in the outside world. It’s just that… Sometimes I wish I could travel one day. I know it will never come true, though.”

“Travel with the princess?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” I looked up at the ceiling. My expression loosened, but not in a mocking way.

That night, I told Raul the story of my journey until the sky turned white.


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