The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 52

Chapter 52: Begging for Life

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“Le-Let go of me! Do you have any idea who I am? I am Gunther Furst Hylics, the second prince of the Hylics Empire!”

Prince Gunther struggled with all of his might, but against over ten thousand imperial soldiers restraining him, there was nothing much he could do. Besides… He had tried to save himself by abandoning his soldiers earlier. The soldiers were now looking down at Prince Gunther with disdain in their eyes. And also…

“L-LET ME GO! What did I even do wrong?”

“Sto-Stop! Stop it! Please!!”

Servants and guards were dragged out one after another from within the palace. There were many familiar faces among them. The cook who had always punched me in the stomach. The butler who had constantly harassed me and berated me for being unable to do my job. The soldier who had tripped or kicked me when I passed by him. But above everything else…

“I-I didn’t do anything wrong! Let me go!”

There was Madam Polke, the wet nurse who never stopped insulting my mother, hitting me and punishing me. She was also the one who had stomped and broke my mother’s keepsake brooch when I was thrown out of the palace. Even now, I still couldn’t forget all the things she had done to me. All of them were burned into my mind. 

“…Young Master Gil, it’s not too late yet. Would you like to go to Princess-sama’s side now?”

“Yes…”

Conrad-san hesitantly asked and I nodded in return. Now that those people had been dragged out in the open, I couldn’t just stand in the sideline as an observer. I couldn’t possibly leave Mer-san to shoulder this burden alone.

“Mer-san.”

“Gil-kun…”

Seeing me descending from above, Mer-san looked up at me. Concerns filled her crimson yes. She must be thinking how painful it must had been for me to see all these people again. 

“Ah… Gil-kun…”

“It’s okay, Mer-san. The painful and sorrowful memories I’ve had until now have all been overwritten by the happy and joyful days I’ve spent with you.”

Jumping down from Conrad-san’s back, I threw myself toward Mer-san, who spread her arms wide to catch me. I buried myself in her thick, sturdy neck. Since she was in her dragon form, her scales felt rough and rugged against my skin, but Mer-san’s warmth remained the same. I found my heart being gently enveloped by her, no matter what her form was. 

“Wa-Wa-Wait! There’s a misunderstanding here! I only bullied you because I was ordered to!”

“He-Hey, haven’t I always been kind to you??? RIght??”

“You liar! You used to get drunk and call Prince Gilbert a ‘useless failure’ all the time!”

“W-wait! I’m not like these people—I’ve always cared for His Highness! It’s true!”

As soon as they saw me, the people that the soldiers had dragged out of the palace started flattering me up one by one. They conveniently ignored all the harassment they had done to me over the past ten years, pretending none of it ever happened in the first place. They were just trying to save themselves by trampling others.

“…It seems the ugliness of humans and dragons isn’t so different after all.”

“Indeed. I do have to agree with you here.”

Elsa-san glared scornfully at the people and Mer-san nodded along. When Mer-san had won the Royal Selection, the dragons who had turned a blind eye to the injustice she had suffered immediately groveled and begged for mercy to save their own life. 

That said, Elsa-san seemed to be harsher toward dragons than Conrad-san. Maybe something had happened to her in the past…

“Let me go! I said let me go! Ah! Aaaaaaah….!! Prince Gilbert! You’re Prince Gilbert, right?!”

Madam Polke, who had been screaming as she was dragged along by the soldiers, suddenly broke into a fake smile upon seeing me. She must be trying to curry my favor so she wouldn’t get killed. 

“Ah, Prince Gilbert… This lowly Polke has always been worried about you! To abandon such a young boy in the Dark Forest… Just how cruel is His Majesty the Emperor?!”

Her voice sounded cloyingly sweet. It was something I had never heard before and her sycophantic gestures as she looked at me… To someone like me, who knew Madam Polke’s true nature, she looked like some hideous monster out of a fairy tale.

“But His Highness has returned with such a magnificent dragon at his side! Surely you are destined to be the next emperor!”

“””Ooooooooohhhhhh!”””

Soldiers raised their fists as they cheered, echoing Madam Polke’s flattery. They thought they could easily manipulate a child like me by flattering me as the next emperor, but..

“Mer-san, she’s the one who broke my mother’s keepsake brooch.”

“What!? P-Prince Gilbert!?”

Without looking in the mirror, I was certain I must look utterly devoid of emotions. My face was pale and bloodless, like I was donning a mask. I hated Madam Polke so much for how she treated me, but now I felt nothing. I think I could kill her without even batting an eye.

Everything from the Hylics Empire had become a fossil of the past for me… No. They had become something utterly meaningless to me. 

“I see… In that case, there’s no reason to let her live.”

“Eek! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”

The moment Mer-san glared at her with her crimson eyes, Madam Polke, who had been acting so brazenly, screamed and collapsed. She was frothing at the mouth.

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