Tl: I would like to thank my proofreader Kittu2001, who will clean my mistakes from now on. Thank you very much!
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Black fluids formed at the end of the knife and then dripped.
It was a neat workmanship.
Impulsively, Melkiade, who came up with the idea of killing the entire Bu clan, was buried in other thoughts when he saw the blood.
'Amelia.'
The name he gave her was strange.
He had never called the name, though he had been pondering over it for days and nights.
He knows the reason better than anyone else
'Cause it will be too late if he calls her by that name. '
Maybe it's a bit scary.
"That's funny."
There is a fear in the Emperor of Lehel.
It's truly a laughable thing, but he couldn't bring himself to laugh.
'Am I already attached to her?'
Is he already serious about this ridiculous play house.
Melkiade, standing alone in the pile of the corroded monsters after sweeping away the swarm single-handedly.
Nevertheless, he looked dissatisfied and annoyed.
"Your Majesty! Are you all right?"
Kalian is approaching but Melkiade raised his hand to stop him from coming any closer.
"What's left of the Monsters?"
"It's not much."
"Lets finish them all and go back."
"Yes."
He didn't like the idea of a monster. Monster that feeds on fear.
Therefore, the warrior dealing with them had to kill his fear first.
'Is she up by now?'
The tears that filled Amelia's red eyes and the small white hand that was holding him were still on his mind.
Anyone who sees the beast for the first time would react like that...
How come he's bothered by it?
'It's annoying.'
As it was before, Melkiade didn't like the cheeky little girl crying.
She's a small, fragile creature that would easily die.
Melkiade looked down at his hands quietly.
The feeling of a fragile body that would instantly die if he gave her the wrong strength.
Hugging the little body, Melkiade recalled the weight of trust given to him by the child.
He felt a heavy responsibility for the first time.
'I really don't know who's more dangerous.'
Maybe she's more dangerous than those monsters.
To him, it was funny and pitiful to see her leaning on his neck like a young and small beast.
Maybe that's why.
He wanted to protect her.
"It's unbecoming...."
A bitter smile came up.
Scornful of himself, Melkiade gave the sword a strength to the monster's hand.
'This is why I didn't want to get involved.'
Melkiade had a sense that he was not normal.
How many lives have been harmed by this hand? There were many innocent lives among them.
Nevertheless, he could not find a single piece of regret in him.
He did what he had to do.
How is he going to protect when he's like that?
"Still."
It was the first time he wanted to protect someone.
"Your Majesty! Monsters are dispersing!"
Melkiade's sentiment was distorted by Kalian's cry.
"Catch and kill every last one of them."
"But Your Majesty, that will slow down your return."
Melkiade's expression hardened.
"No, we'll be done by the end of the day."
"As you command."
Kalian bowed his head and stepped out first.
His body reacted first to the news that his return might be delayed, but Melkiade did not look back.
Amelia is in the cathedral.
'She'll be all right.'
The cathedral is a sacred place.
He didn't want to see that face now. He didn't think he'll ever be able to abandon her again.
'What?'
Melkiade could not dare to answer that question.
"Go after them!"
Melkiade and the Guards arrived at a village while they were pursuing the monsters.
No one survived the horribly massacre in the village.
After going through this kind of situation many times, Kalian still could not hide his regret that he is not used to it.
"They're all dead."
"They must have been eaten by the monsters."
The guards looked around the village to see if there were any survivors, but they couldn't find any and shook their heads.
"No survivors."
It was common scene that has nothing special, but Melkiade had a strange feeling.
"That's strange."
There's something wrong.
It was already late before he noticed that there is something wrong as he was distracted by the thought of Amelia.
There were no survivors in the village. Melkiade, who realized that something was wrong in a ghost town without a dead body, held the reins of the horse when a thought came up to his mind.
"Kalian! It's a trap!"
It was just when he was about to issue a retreat order.
"Ahhhhhh!"
A knight's scream roared as he walked deep into the village.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
With Kalian's voice came the hidden swarm of evil creatures. In an instant, they were besieged.
"Your Majesty!"
The monster was not the only problem. Exactly where Melkide moved, a purple magic circle suddenly appeared.
"Ugh."
When the light of the magic circle went off after hitting Melkiade, it became a mess as if someone had dug his head.
"......daughter."
A familiar name popped up in his head, Melkiade hit the monster's head with the sword's hilt with force.
"Kal.....lian."
The pale Melkiade, barely uttering words, looked at Kalian.
"Retreat."
"......!"
The golden eyes flashed red, and Kalian gave a signal to the guards.
They were besieged and couldn't escape the monsters, but they tried to widen their distance from Melkiade as much as possible.
"Ugh."
His body was not in his control.
'Too much madness.'
So far he have been able to keep himself sane, but he didn't know when this would break off.
Before that happens, Kalian and the others have to get away from him.
It was then.
"Your Majesty, at your back--!"
Melkiade turned his head at Kalian's cry. A huge monster, was aiming for him.
What!
The monster was so large that even the horse crouched.
An unknown giant monster has emerged. It's a monster with a strange appearance that he had never seen before.
'It's determined and aimed.'
Normally, he wouldn't have resorted to this stupid trap.
"That's a slacker."
As he recalled Amelia, Melkiade shook his head. For now, he had to face this situation.
"Retreat!"
"But Your Majesty!"
Kalian and the guards were no match to the creature.
The monster that has just appeared was bigger than the monsters they killed.
As soon as the monster ran, Melkiade moved, clenching his teeth?. He could barely move since his body is not moving as he wanted, so his movement was slow.
Melkiade swinged his sword and pierced it into the monster's heart.
A monster usually has a core that one need to destroy in order to kill them.
"......!"
Melkiade's hand, which was trying to find it, hesitated.
There was no core found. And then suddenly the eyes of the beast shone brilliantly.
Melkiade thought he might die after a very long time.
'Is he going to die like this?'
He thought it didn't matter anyway. There's no such thing as someone who's going to be sad about his death.
"Daddy!"
No, there's one.
Someone who will be sad if he dies.
It was in that moment when Melkiade gave strength to his hand holding the sword.
Just as the teeth of a demon was about to fell on top of Melkiade, something suddenly shone.
Boom!
With a loud sound, the body of the demon fell to the floor. At the same time, the sun set on fire on the body and disappeared in ashes.
Melkiade saw a holy knight standing with a sword in his hand, blurred with madness.
'He's...'
Melkiah recognized the person.
Holy knight Ludwig.
But his interest of what was Ludwig doing there disappeared when a small child appeared.
"Daddy!"
Amelia, who was sitting on a white horse led by the knight, ran in tears.
Feeling her small embrace. Melkiade was surprised and wondered at the same time.
'Crazy...'
The sensation of something rapidly eroding in his mind and body suddenly disappeared.
'....How did this happen?'
Melkiade's gaze turned to Amelia.
It was also a miracle.
"...How did you get here?"
Amelia answered as she cried.
"I followed you because I was worried that you were going to a dangerous place alone!"
Amelia, who was sobbing, scolded Melkiade with a stern voice.
"You're doing that because you're grown up, huh? Don't you know that you can't go to dangerous all by yourself?! Does Amel have to go and get you?! What?! Amel will stick right next to you from now on! You can't ever come alone in this dangerous place again, okay?"
With a fierce look on his face, Melkiade simply didn't realize what this was about.
When he heard Kalian holding back his laughter, Melkiade belatedly realized that he was being scolded by a small child.
"Understand, Dad?"
Amelia, with her hands up at his waist, pressed him sternly.
It was ridiculous, but it wasn't bad.
"Sure."
Amelia, who received the answer, finally smiled.
