In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 37

Chapter 37: The Shattered Hope and the Mocking “Demon King”

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(Alto’s POV)

By the time I reached the royal capital, the sun was already high in the sky. A journey that should have taken half a day by carriage had been cleared in a single run with continuous physical enhancement active. Every muscle in my body screamed, and my lungs felt like they were about to burn through.

But there was no time to rest.

I looked up at the royal castle. Sturdy walls, layered with multiple detection barrier fields. Security was so tight it would not let even an ant slip through.

…Normally, this was where I would give up and go home. But now, I possessed the “abnormal ability” dwelling within this body. I took a deep breath and switched the circulation of magic power inside me.

『Cognitive Obstruction · Stealth Mode.』

Enduring the unpleasant sensation of my mind being shaved away, I ran straight up the castle wall, slipped through the corridors like a shadow, and headed for the western detached palace. The top-floor balcony. I disengaged the window lock through magical interference and slid into the room with the wind. The cloying scent of roses mixed with the sharp smell of disinfectant alcohol. At the center of it all, she lay upon a canopied bed.

“…Lilianna.”

I released the concealment and rushed to her bedside. The moment I saw her, my heart froze. She was terribly thin. Her breathing was shallow and irregular. And above all…

Her left arm, thrown out from under the blanket. From the fingertips to the wrist, the skin had hardened and completely transformed into translucent, violet-colored crystal.

“I’m sorry… I’m late…”

With trembling hands, I took a ring from inside my coat. The dull silver ring I had forged in the ruins… The final hope, stabilized using my “magic.” That was when it happened…

Click.

The sound of the door opening echoed behind me. I instinctively tensed, but froze when I saw who had entered. It was Margaret, the head maid. Even upon seeing me, she did not raise her voice. She swiftly checked the hallway behind her, then silently closed the door and locked it.

“…As I thought, you did come.”

Her voice was quiet, yet tinged with unmistakable relief.

“…You can see me?”

“No. I felt no presence at all. …But the one that child was always waiting for was you.”

She walked over slowly and stopped beside me and Lilianna. In her eyes dwelled not hostility, but deep affection and a clinging sorrow.

“Alto-sama. …We have been waiting for you.”

“Margaret-san…”

She looked at the ring in my hand and nodded faintly.

“All those days in the underground archive, I watched over you. Only when she was with you did Lilianna-sama forget the ‘royal curse’ and smile like an ordinary girl.”

“…Thank you for always bringing food.”

“Yes. But… I was powerless. I could do nothing.”

Margaret’s expression twisted.

“Yet I sensed a strange power from you. Something bottomless—someone who could remain unfazed even when touching Lilianna-sama, who possesses overwhelming magic power. …If it was you, perhaps—”

She collapsed to her knees and bowed her head deeply.

“Please… I do not believe I can fulfill the promise I made to the late Eleanor-sama. Therefore, Alto-sama, I entrust her to you. …Please, save Lilianna-sama.”

It was not the plea of a head maid, but the anguished prayer of a surrogate mother. I nodded firmly and turned back to Lilianna.

“I don’t know if I can do it, but…!”

I took Lilianna’s cold left hand and pressed the ring onto her ring finger. The instant the ring slid fully into place… I screamed inside my mind.

Activate access!!

Buun…!!

Centered on the ring, a jet-black wave erupted. Countless “threads of light” that had pierced the ceiling and extended to Lilianna from beyond the sky were devoured and severed by my void.

“…!”

Margaret gasped. The atmosphere of the room changed instantly. The oppressive heaviness vanished, and Lilianna’s complexion shifted dramatically. The deep crease between her brows smoothed out, and her shallow breathing grew deep.

“…Ah…”

A breath of relief slipped from Lilianna’s lips. It worked. The interference from the sky was gone. Relief nearly drained all strength from my body. But…

The very next moment, something went wrong.

Kiiiiiiiiin!!!!

A piercing, high-frequency shriek burst from the ring. The “threads of light,” which should have vanished, instead reconnected. Furthermore, they were thicker, more vicious and glowing a sinister crimson-black.

“W-What…!?”

Crack! Crack!

The ring sparked violently. It was hot. Lilianna’s finger burned with searing heat.

“No! This is wrong! The output is increasing!? Is the other side… Resisting!?”

Whatever it was that sensed my magical interference forcibly increased the transmission strength. Like a dam bursting, a torrent of energy concentrated into the tiny ring.

Crack.

An awful sound rang out.

“W-Wait…! Hold on, please… Endure it…!!”

I desperately poured in more magic, but it had reached its physical limit.

Paaaaan!!!

With a dry explosive sound, the dull silver ring shattered into pieces. Silver fragments glittered as they scattered across the floor.

“No way…”

I stared blankly at Lilianna’s hand. Once again, red threads of light pierced her body. Then, those particles of light converged, forming a “human silhouette” above Lilianna’s bed.

Buun.

A noisy, distorted three-dimensional hologram. The figure displayed was a tall man wearing an old-fashioned white lab coat. Handsome, yet with a cold, reptilian cast to his features. His eyes looked down at us through the projection.

『What an unpleasant noise.』

The man’s mouth moved. A voice that seemed to resonate directly inside the brain filled the room.

『There appears to be a filthy bug clinging to my terminal access port.』

“…Who are you?”

I stepped in front of Lilianna protectively and glared at the hologram. It was him. This was the one trying to kill Lilianna.

『Who, you ask? Hmph. Does livestock dare ask its owner’s name?』

The man curled his lips in mockery.

『I am the one who governs all. …The being you call and fear as the “Demon King.”』

The Demon King. A being from fairy tales. Yet the presence emanating from him was nothing so trivial. It was not magic, but something far more alien and cold.

『I warn you. That girl is my “key.” A tool to be used until it breaks, to restore this world to its proper form.』

His gaze pierced me.

『If you interfere, I will delete your very existence. …Do enjoy spending what little time you have left in fear.』

Swish!

The hologram vanished. All that remained were the shattered remnants of the ring and Lilianna, once again writhing in agony.

“…Ah, agh… It’s hot, it hurts…!”

“Lilianna!!”

I pulled her into my arms. Her body temperature was dangerously high. The backlash from the resumed interference had worsened her condition.

“Alto-sama… This is…”

Margaret collapsed onto the floor, trembling. It was a failure. Even the alloy infused with my magic could not withstand his output. A mere barrier was not enough. He detected our resistance and crushed it with even greater force.

“…Damn it!!”

I slammed my fist into the floor. The moment hope appeared, I was thrown straight into despair. Lilianna’s life flickered like a candle in the wind. But there was one thing I now understood.

The enemy had finally revealed himself. The man who called himself the “Demon King.” Unless I defeated him, Lilianna could not be saved.

I squeezed the hand of the nearly unconscious Lilianna until it hurt. Not yet. This was not over yet. Footsteps—several of them—approached from the hallway. I gritted my teeth, wiped away the tears of frustration, and stood up.

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