"My sword is one inch away from slicing your neck. My victory is one inch away, yet why can't I do it, Althea? What kind of spell have you cast on me to have me thinking about you all day?!"
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Byeol meets a tragic death at age nineteen...
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My sword slashed through the monster's skin, the blood staining my face. Letting go of it's throat, I watched as it plummeted toward the ground, and it wasn't long before a pool of dark red appeared underneath the body, coloring the snow red.
Every droplet of blood is one droplet of sin added to the jar full of it that's currently overflowing.
It's whimpers and growls of pain drained from it's body along with it's life source, but I didn't close my eyes. Didn't look away. I didn't falter or wince at the sight. My nine year old self was long dead and forgotten, as repeated countless times by the emperor. My father. Not my dad. If I share blood with him, he would never hear me calling him father. He didn't deserve it, just like he told me I wasn't made to have a normal life - I didn't deserve it. Despite my hatred for him, his words ran deep and banged on the walls of my heart, begging to be let in and believed - The same words that cut deeper than any sword that has ever pierced my skin.
That's what he molded me into, after his heir: a warrior. He made sure I'd never close my eyes, never falter at the sight of something so cruel. And it worked. No matter how much I wanted to feel for it, I couldn't. I couldn't cry at the sight, and I could only stare at the mess I created.
"Your highness." I surpressed the urge to shake my head and to tense visibly at the sound, the voice of Hunter snapping me back to reality.
God. What the fuck was I thinking? I swear I'm not depressed.
"Yeah?"
"This part of the forest is cleared. Should we move further inside?"
I put my fur hood up, hoping it'd shield me from the cold of the mountain and of the snow falling heavily.
"How are we in terms of injuries?"
"Eight men injured, two of them severly." He reported.
"Make sure the two are back to camp by noon, and the other six..." I paused, contemplating wether it's a good choice to continue further. The truth is, we've been running out of time. The danger period ends in five days, and we still have three huge parts to clear out. "Patch them up and we'll move deeper into the forest."
"You got it."
"And get somebody to collect the monsters and ship them back to the Palace for the leather."
He nodded, bowing before turning around and leaving.
I raised my head, looking at the sun through the leaves of the trees.
