«FLASHBACK»
YESTERDAY: 2 PM
Lux was patrolling at the outskirts of the New Kingdom near the borders it shared with the Heiburg Republic.
This was the meeting place that was written and given to him roughly one and a half hour earlier ago by Mel.
Although this was practically the slums, its state was horrendous. He saw either dead or ailing bodies everywhere he looked. Almost as if... this place was plagued.
But if the situation is that dire, I can't understand why the government has been keeping their hands off of this place.
He saw a woman likely in her late 30s sitting by her open door. She looked lifelessly distressed. Lux came over and stood in front of her silently, not saying a word. She was the first one to speak, but she did not even look to who she was speaking to.
「Are you someone working under a noble again? I don't need anything so just go.....」
「.....I am not. Can you tell me what happened here?」
「....Can't you see for yourself? This place has no hope left. Eventually, we'll all soon die.」
「I am willing to help. So please, tell me what caused this mess.」
The woman stared on blankly.
A thought occured to him.
Of course. Why would they trust an Arcadia—
「.......That's... we were, starving you know?」
Contrary to his expectations, the woman gave in.
「They call these places the suburban districts on the outskirts but to put it simply, these are just the slums. Leftover people are forced into this wasteland.....」
「However, a noble came by. The food was... it was delicio...—UUEKHH!!」
Alarmed, he stiffened at the sight of the woman vomiting. Her breaths coming short, Lux noticed she started to fall limp. However, just as she seemed to surrender to her struggle, she grabbed onto Lux's leg and desperately tried to mutter out—
「R...look...t-tang...!」
Struggling.
She kept on struggling.
It was painful to watch. The sight of a human's suffering.
....This is... I should—
Thump
Before he even realized, the woman took her last breath.
An uncomfortable pit hollowed in his stomach.
And it wasn't even about the woman who had just died.
Earlier...
He looked at his hand, slightly trembling.
Earlier, what did I just—
Unconsciously, he brought a hand to his mouth, as if he was about to throw up.
Slowly, he recalled the thoughts that naturally occured to him earlier.
⟨This is... I should—⟩
I should what? What was I going to—
He held his breath.
I should kill her.
Thoughts uncharacteristic of him flooded his mind.
That way, she won't have to suffer. A quick, painless death—
YOU ARE READING
The Fallen Prince's Misery
Fanfiction"Without the Black Hero's name, who are you?" The tale of a former prince's glory as a nameless hero that drove the Empire to its destruction is buried under the name of a criminal. "Lux, who are you?" A son. A brother. A friend. A partner. A her...
