The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 39

Chapter 39: The Broken Princess ※Conrad Gargouille’s POV

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※Conrad Gargouille’s POV

“Haa… Good grief…”

I let out a deep sigh as I watched Her Highness and Young Master Gil left the audience chamber. Thanks to Young Master Gil, the dragons in this kingdom had a chance of survival for the time being. However, in return, the dragons had to leave the kingdom. 

“She’s telling us to leave or we will die in three days?! How ridiculous!”

“That young woman! Who does she think she is?! The sheer audacity to say all that without shame!!”

The elders began to openly voice their anger toward the princess. That said… If they hated her that much, then why didn’t they say something to the princess? …Well, they would be killed on the spot if they dared though. 

“Co-Conrad-dono… Might we ask you to become our mediator? So can we come to a mutually beneficial conclusion with Her Majesty Mercedes?”

“At this rate, we won’t have any other option but to die…”

The bureaucrats rushed toward me, pleading with desperate expressions. But there was nothing I could do. I simply shook my head quietly.

“Tha-That’s right! You will be just fine! After all, you quickly sided with Her Majesty to secure your position and life!”

“Since you’re the captain of the royal guard, then you should be protecting the people!”

The elders seized the opportunity to blame me. Sure, I had served the previous king as the captain of the royal guard, but seeing them scramble to protect their own skin without a care for others made my skin crawl.

“Like hell! Who was the one who immediately swore loyalty the moment Klaus Drache Lindwurm won the previous Royal Selection?! All the while watching the former queen die a painful death in silence and not only that! When Princess-sama… When Her Majesty Mercedes was in danger, who was the one who pretended not to see it and simply stood by?!”

“””-?!?!”””

I roared at them in return and the elders along with the filthy bureaucrats shrank back in fear. 

Even if the law dictated that they must obey the winner of the Royal Selection, they were the ones who had chosen to abandon Princess-sama. What gave them the right to complain now? They should have been grateful that Her Majesty was still lenient with them. They should have expressed their thanks to Young Master Gil as well. If it weren’t for him, they would have already been dead by now. The least they could do was leave this kingdom as quickly as possible.

“Conrad-sama, there’s no need to speak with these people any further than this. In the end, they are nothing but worthless scum who latch onto power, eager to eliminate anything that slightly inconvenient them or anyone who refuses to submit to them.”

Elsa, who had stepped beside me, coldly declared this while casting a chilling gaze upon the dragons. Indeed. She had suffered countless injustices in this kingdom as well. If anything, it wouldn’t be surprising for Elsa to resent the mercy Princess-sama had shown to these worthless dragons. 

“Haaah… I suppose so. It’s none of my concern whether they choose to take their own lives or be personally executed by Princess-sama. As for me, I shall take these next three days to let my weary old bones recover from the battle with Klaus and the others.”

“What a strange thing to say. Gilbert-sama has already healed your entire body, has he not?”

“Heh. You’ve got me there.”

While exchanging lighthearted banter with Elsa, we also left the audience chamber. I had said enough. Even those brainless fools should have realized by now that their only option was to flee the kingdom within three days if they wished to survive.

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“Princess-sama, is Young Master Gil doing well?”

I called out to Princess-sama as she stood alone on the balcony, gazing at the night sky. The breeze felt pleasant and she gently tucked her flowing, glossy black hair behind her ear.

“Fufufu~ Gil-kun had overexerted all of his energy from excitement. He ended up falling asleep right away.”

“Haha! I figured as much.”

Just as she said, Young Master Gil had been so excited during dinner time. Just watching him had been a delight. It was his first time having such a luxurious meal. Every bite he took was met with a look of pure happiness, so much so that it almost made my chest tighten painfully. 

That child… He also once smiled like that, sparkling so happily like Young Master Gil…

“…Just so you know, Gil-kun is mine… okay?”

“-?! O-Of course! I’m very much aware of that fact!”

In the darkness of the night, Her Highness’s crimson eyes gleamed as she bared her sharp fangs at me. I had always been by her side since she was an infant, but never did I imagine she possessed such a strong sense of possessiveness.

“And… Are you really fine with it?”

“What is?”

“Those people.”

Saying so, I lifted my gaze to the night sky. There, a great number of dragons were fleeing from the kingdom as if their very lives depended on it, desperate to escape death.

“Who knows? I don’t really care.”

“I see…  Though I must admit, I never expected you would show mercy to those dragons.”

As she replied with disinterest, I let out a wry chuckle, half in jest. She must’ve let my guard down at that moment, if only slightly. 

“I don’t recall granting them any mercy. If even a single one of them comes into my sight after three days, I’ll kill them on the spot.”

“…Then all they can do is pray they never cross paths with Your Highness.”

I said while shaking my head. I had no idea how they would survive once they left this kingdom, but at the very least, I hoped they could live in peace.

“Say, Conrad. What do you think those dragons will do now that they have to leave the kingdom?”

“What will they do…?”

“Yeah.”

Unable to grasp the intent behind her question, I tilted my head to the side. What else could they possibly do aside from finding new land to live…?

“Most of the land in this world is ruled by humans. Now… What do you think will happen when dragons suddenly appear in such places?”

“That’s…”

“Not to mention, that arrogant Klaus even tried to force the surrounding human nations into submission, didn’t he? Wouldn’t that make humans see dragons as a threat?”

Indeed. Just as Princess-sama pointed out, humans would not take kindly to dragons. After all, the dragons had burned down human cities under Klaus’ command. They even had the audacity to demand their submission. 

“That said, humans alone are no match for dragons. But well, I can’t imagine there’s any place left in this world where dragons can find peace.”

“…”

“Oh, of course, that’s not the only reason. Can you imagine what will happen when they flee to the surrounding nations… To be precise, to the Hylics Empire?”

I see… So Princess-sama intended to use the fleeing dragons to corner the nation that once oppressed Young Master Gil.

“That said, even without pushing those dragons to the Hylics Empire, I think the Hylics Empire is already as good as finished the moment Princess-sama personally sets foot there…”

“…I don’t want Gil-kun to hate me.”

Even though Young Master Gil adored Princess-sama, but if she were to slaughter humans ruthlessly… I doubt Young Master Gil would take it kindly. No matter what, Young Master Gil was still human. It would be hard to see fellow human being slaughtered like that. Putting his extraordinary healing magic aside, Young Master Gil had become a very important presence for Princess-sama…. Well, not just for Princess-sama, but for me as well. 

“Besides, Gil-kun said I need to judge what kind of people humans truly are after I see them for myself. I could never betray his words… Or his feelings.”

“I see…”

Indeed. For Princess-sama, the only person who truly mattered in this world was Young Master Gil. Both I and Elsa could still serve under her thanks to Young Master Gil. If it weren’t for Young Master Gil, we would’ve been killed by Princess-sama, just like the other dragons. No matter how much we had contributed to the last Royal Selection, or no matter how much we had helped Princess-sama, none of that mattered. Right… The only reason Elsa and I were still alive was because of Young Master Gil’s feelings toward us. He thought of us as someone important, regardless of how useful we were. 

“Ahaha~♪ I can’t wait to see those who made Gil-kun suffer~ I can’t wait to see them suffer even more!~”

Princess-sama said with a blissful expression on her face as she watched a large group of dragons fleeing the kingdom in fear. Upon seeing the crazed gleam in her crimson eyes, I realized Princess-sama’s heart had already been broken and… Us dragons were the cause of it.

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