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Chapter 80

After kicking down the door of the warehouse, there were several cages inside.
Most of the cages contained demi-human children, all with eyes like dead fish.

Inside the cages were two containers, one for meals and the other for excrement.

「This is terrible…」

In the warehouse reeking of feces, the scene was nothing short of despicable.
Lilith’s expression turned to anger in the midst of the nauseating malice.

Then, a beastman girl inside one of the cages looked our way.
As soon as she spotted Cordelia’s uncle, her face contorted in fear.

「Please stop the whip!」

The girl screamed, crouching down and covering her face.
She continued to tremble uncontrollably.

「You don’t have to be so scared.」

As I approached, the girl screamed louder.

「She’s scared of me too. No, it seems like she’s afraid of men.」

Lilith’s expression of anger turned into one of wrath.

「…I see. This is truly the worst feeling, a warehouse for slaves.」

I nodded in agreement with Lilith’s words.
It seems these children, aged around ten to thirteen, are receiving anything but a pleasant treatment.

「…I was originally supposed to become a sex slave too. There’s no real difference between me and the girls here. I was rescued by my father before being sold, and then… I met Lute. That’s the only difference.」

「Yeah, that’s right.」

「…Hey, Lute? Can we free everyone here later? Is that okay?」

「There seem to be dozens of them here. Of course, I have no objections to freeing them, but what about where they’ll go next? Let’s ask some acquaintances about that. Anyway…」

I yanked Cordelia’s uncle’s nose as if I was about to tear it off.

「Hey!」

「It’s tearing… it’s tearing off! Please stop… please stop!」

「Hey, have you ever listened to what these guys have to say?」

I lightly kicked his thigh.
Cordelia’s uncle grimaced in pain and collapsed on the spot.

「Where’s Liz?」

Cordelia’s uncle pointed to a small room at the back of the warehouse.

Side: Liz

I’m in a cage right now.

My name is Liz Magnus.

I was born and raised as the child of an elf and a beastman.
My mother is the former queen of a small elf nation.

Once upon a time, the elf nation, defeated in a war against the beastman country, was reportedly ravaged recklessly.

And the elf nation lost the war.
Treasures, lands, houses, fields, and of course, the people living there, and even the trees and grass, all became the property of the victorious nation.

Elves are generally classified among the beautiful in terms of appearance.
Naturally, elf women were distributed to officers as war commodities.

It’s said the situation became horrendous, whether sold as slaves or kept as pets.

And my mother, as the queen of the elves, was no exception.
In the royal family of the beastmen, my mother became a plaything for a while.

However, something unusual happened there.
The second heir to the beastman throne… My father fell genuinely in love with my mother.

Father didn’t have a legal wife or concubines.
There were rumors of him being homosexual in some circles… but that’s beside the point.

As a defeated nation’s queen, making my mother his legal wife after she had been defiled so terribly would have caused diplomatic issues.

As a result, my mother became one of my father’s concubines.
At first, she was said to have been in despair, devoid of the will to live and with a frozen heart.

But apparently, she gradually opened up after realizing that my father was serious.

The truth is that it is extremely rare for beastmen and elves to have children.
The beastman royal family probably had no problem keeping sex slaves as concubines.

However, things got complicated.
In other words, the two of them had a very close relationship… perhaps because of true love, and in the meantime, a daughter was born.

–That’s me.

Currently, the beastman country where I was born has adopted a completely hierarchical society.
There are beastmen kings and aristocrats, beastmen warrior class, beastmen commoners, humans and other demi-humans, beastmen ex-convicts, and at the bottom the elves.

According to the system, if the king’s second son’s only child was born to an elf… that would be extremely unsavory in terms of the political system.

This is especially true if the king’s eldest son has no children.
No, it’s a matter of life and death.

After all, right now… if I don’t do something wrong, the right to inherit the throne could fall to me.

Therefore, people from factions opposed to my grandfather and others who disliked my existence attempted to take my life.

Three months ago, my mother, instead of me, ingested poison mixed into my food, damaging her nervous system, leaving one of her legs immobile.
Despite my father’s efforts to suppress opposing factions, their tactics have become increasingly ruthless recently, pushing him to his limits.

Realizing he couldn’t protect me anymore, my father, along with a few trusted Royal Guards, smuggled me into this city.
However, the beastman nation had already extended its reach into this city, and members of the Royal Guard, including Himizu-onee-chan, lost their lives.

Then, I encountered Moses-sama, revered as a god in the beastman nation, and prayed for everyone to get along—

Such thoughts flash through my mind like a kaleidoscope.

ーIs this my destiny?

I am a cursed child.

I should never have been born.

Blessed by no one except my parents, raised in secrecy by everyone around me, and eventually targeted for assassination…
Even Himizu-onee-chan and the Royal Guards were killed because of me… and Ortho too…

「I should not exist.」

「Yes, that’s correct. Your existence brings misery to many.」

The man’s words must be true.
Indeed, my existence brings unhappiness to all involved characters.

A mix of regret, self-pity, and anguish swirls in my chest.
The man dressed in black approaches me even closer.

Within striking distance, he brandishes his knife.

「Well then, this is the end. Princess.」

Is this the end?
No, it’s better if it ends here.

I don’t want to make anyone else unhappy because of me.

Then, at that moment—

「The one reaching the end is you!」

The sound… came from behind.
First, the assassin’s head flew, followed by a fierce noise and a gust of wind.

Finally, an onii-chan with a familiar face… walked up to me.

「Hey, Liz?」

「What… is it?」

Before I could finish my sentence, a slap struck my cheek.

With a dry sound, and a sorrowful expression, the onii-chan said:

「You’re not allowed to say you shouldn’t be alive ever again. If you say it again… I’ll punch you.」

His words brought light to my heart.

「It’s okay to be alive. That’s something very obvious… never say it again.」

With that, Lute-onii-chan embraced me tightly.