CPSMBD Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The Voice

My body had already slipped beyond my control, leaving me only able to roll my eyes to their limits to stare at it. The moment I met those blood-red eyes—eyes that seemed caked with dried, viscous blood—an inescapable chill enveloped me. My entire body trembled.

It glided past my cheeks, the tips of my ears, and the backs of my hands, barely touching, whispering seductively.

[Violetta. You know my name. Call for me.]

I wanted to refuse, but my mouth wouldn't open. My tongue had turned to stone. I wanted to shake my head, but all I could manage was to furrow my brows in defiance.

[You know it, don't you? Just call my name, and you'll be freed from all the pain that torments you.]

Gathering every ounce of strength I had, I gritted my teeth and fought against the fear that bound me. Perhaps my desperation worked—like a miracle, my body responded. I glared into the darkness and screamed until the veins in my neck bulged. My voice echoed through the empty space.

"No! I said I don't want to!!!"

I covered my ears and shook my head, but its voice persistently burrowed into my mind.

[Why? Why won't you call for me?]

'Because... you're something that should never be allowed into this world.'

It smiled, splitting its lips wide as it freely peered into my thoughts.

[But there will come a time when you'll have to seek me out. Just like that day.]

"How absurd. I'll never have reason to call for you again, so get out of my life!"

I swung my dagger wildly toward where it lurked. But my blade only cut through empty air. The darkness had no substance—I couldn't inflict any damage.

[Hope. One of the most coveted and valuable emotions humans possess.]

The darkness cackled with a frivolous laugh.

[But you know what? I find it most entertaining when I crush it.]

The darkness that had been circling me distorted its form before taking on a familiar shape.

[Look carefully. The day we first met.]

Before me appeared my younger self, with pink hair and chubby cheeks. My face was covered in tears, and the summer dress my mother had bought for vacation was torn and ruined. It was a memory I had sealed away in the deepest recesses of my mind, never wanting to remember or recall it again.

[Look, it's you from the day you first called my name. Don't you remember? You ended up begging me for help.]

I was still afraid. Still terrified. But what appeared before me was merely a remnant of the past. It could frighten me, but it could no longer manifest itself—at least not unless I called its name.

"Get lost, you bastard! Rot in hell forever!"

The darkness that had been standing firm wavered momentarily.

This wasn't the time for this. The Crown Prince—I'd forgotten about him while distracted by the darkness.

"Your Highness! I need to find Crown Prince Friedrich!"

I had to find the Crown Prince and get us out of here quickly.

"Your Highness! Crown Prince Friedrich!"

I ran around calling for him until my throat was raw, but the Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen. Why did he disappear into the mist alone, leaving me behind? It was just for a moment that I took my eyes off him.

With all my remaining strength, I called out his name one final time.

"Friedrich! Where are you?!!!"

Breathing became difficult. My cheeks were already drenched with tears. I wiped them away while letting out ragged breaths.

"Friedrich!"

As I screamed his name once more, darkness descended again.

***

"Friedrich!"

I snapped my eyes open while calling the Crown Prince's name. The first thing I saw was the Crown Prince himself—the very person I'd been desperately searching for. He was looking down at me with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?"

"Your Highness? Is it really you?"

I touched his face, not in any state of mind to judge whether what I was doing was appropriate.

"Yes, it's me."

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

The Crown Prince responded calmly to my urgent questions while gently patting my back.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness."

Only after confirming with my own eyes that the Crown Prince was unharmed did I finally feel at ease. All the tension suddenly drained from my body, leaving me overwhelmed with exhaustion.

'Wait! Did I just carelessly call His Highness by name?'

Calling a superior's name so casually was nothing short of insubordination.

'I hope I won't be severely reprimanded?'

I nervously glanced at the Crown Prince. But he didn't seem to mind that I had called his name. Instead, he was busy checking my condition with worried eyes.

"Why are you sweating so much?"

The Crown Prince wiped the sweat from my forehead with his sleeve. Only then did I realize I had been sweating.

"Your Highness... what was that just now? Was I dreaming?"

"A fairy's trick. It shows you what you fear most."

"Ah... so that's what it was."

I finally understood what I had just witnessed.

"Were you very scared?"

To be honest, I wanted to burst into tears. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and cry about how terrifying it was, how I never wanted to experience such horror again. The Crown Prince was being especially gentle today, and I wanted to pour out my emotions and receive his comfort.

But the thread of reason that remained held me back. The Crown Prince was my superior. He was someone I had to serve, someone with whom I couldn't share emotions beyond that relationship.

No matter how difficult today had been, if I relied on the Crown Prince now, I would come to expect more in the future.

'More than just a master-servant relationship.'

Currently, the Crown Prince's feelings were being manipulated by a drug. Soon he would take the antidote, and then he would realize—that he didn't love me.

'No. I can't give him even a fraction of my heart. I must cut out the seed before it takes root.'

I shook my head, pretending to be fine while forcing a smile.

"No, I wasn't very scared. I'm fine now."

"I see. That's good."

I deliberately stepped back to avoid his hand that was wiping my forehead, brushing off my clothes.

"Oh my. My clothes are a mess."

The Crown Prince, who had been watching me dust off my clothes, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"...Violetta, what did you see in the Fog Forest?"

The darkness I encountered in the Fog Forest came to mind. My hands trembled with fear. Pretending to be unfazed, I hid my shaking hands behind my back and played innocent.

'What I saw... no one should know. Not even Your Highness.'

I shook my head and kept my lips sealed. Then, forcing a smile and trying to keep my voice light, I said:

"It was nothing. Just my brother causing chaos, insisting on wearing my dress to a banquet. Hahaha."

"Lord Estrisen in a dress at a banquet. That certainly would be terrifying."

I didn't want to discuss what I had seen any further. I deliberately changed the subject.

"What about you, Your Highness? What did you see?"

"...Thousands of women gathering at the palace gates, rushing at me wanting to marry me."

"Haha. That's not too different from the current situation."

"Right. So it wasn't very scary. Reality is more terrifying."

Working by the Crown Prince's side for six years had taught me to read between the lines. I immediately noticed that the Crown Prince was lying.

'And he knows I lied too.'

But both the Crown Prince and I tacitly agreed to let the matter rest.

'There's nothing to gain from exposing each other's vulnerabilities.'

The Crown Prince extended his hand to me as I sat on the ground and said:

"Shall we go? Now that we've experienced the fairy's trick, we should be able to meet the fairy folk soon."

"Yes."

I took the Crown Prince's offered hand and stood up. The thick mist that had surrounded us had already cleared completely. The cheerful songs of birds could be heard throughout the forest—refreshing sounds we couldn't hear in the misty forest.